The Unknown Poster

You cant really be arguing that an athlete who gets his MRI hours after an injury compared to the average wait time for everyone else isnt getting preferential treatment... It IS preferential. I dont have a problem with it. And if the team is paying a fee far larger that is going into health care, then whats the problem? Yes, it is the optics of two-tiered health care. But the only people that are afraid of that are the ones who would rather everyone have lousy health care together.

If you get hurt today and need an MRI, you dont get it tomorrow. If Bryan Little blows out his knee tonight, he's had his MRI by breakfast tomorrow. The idea athletes dont get to the top of the list is probably naive. But whether its a horrible thing, we dont know. Does the team pay fair market value for it (rather then bill it to Manitoba Health)? Im not sure there would be an overwhelming amount of people who would be THAT angry that pro athletes, given the nature of their business, get in right away. Sure some will be mad. But again, if you're MRI is scheduled for 10 months from now, Bryan Little getting an MRI tomorrow isnt the reason you have to wait 10 months. But I do agree, given the horrible wait times here, the optics are bad. $3mm for an MRI machine is chump change to True North. Then again its chump change to the Province too so why dont we have more machines?

I used to believe without any doubt that only arrogance could have us believe we're the only intelligence life in the universe. But there is always that possibility that the conditions for higher life all came together only here. I suppose, and Im not math expert, that the odds of that happening only once are pretty low. But if you accept the possibility that life arrived her on meteors at the right time in the early earth to lead to microbial development...AND that early life avoided catastrophes that would end...PLUS the earth cooled and had the right atmosphere and temperatures and water etc, you still need life as it evolves to avoid extinction. For example, if a meteor never kills off most of the dinosaurs, we probably arent here right now (or maybe we're lizards). Then once mammals develop to a certain point, what gives them that extra boost to language and organization? Was it eating meat as some suggest? What if that doesnt happen? So many things went right. BUT...with so many planets out there, how can it not happen again? And then ofcourse, the evidence of possible microbial life on Mars tells us that if life happened on two planets in the same system then the universe is probably teeming with life. Unless ofcourse, life began only on Mars and came to earth on rocks. But still... Since the Earth is young and we as a species are young, if there is intelligence life out there, where are they?

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Although to be honest, I did enjoy his show when I saw it (I dont have FOX News in my cable package). I did find his straight forward manner easy to watch. But he was just smart enough to twist any subject to an anti-left, pro-right perspective regardless of reality. My favorite segments were the ones involving Dennis Miller who I like a lot more. As an aside, I liked Miller's answer when asked about how he can be a conservative and not oppose gay marriage and he basically said who cares and that gay marriage was 735th on his list of things to worry about (or some such number). Anyway, the story is amusing in that it basically says FOX and O'Reilly mutually agree he should be fired... It also relates an exhaustive investigation that led to this which is essentially FOX adding credence to the allegations that O'Reilly's people said just this week were 100% false. So it will be interesting to see how he responds. And whether any major news org or network hires him. He's filthy rich (especially when your boss pays your settlement fees) so he doesnt have to work. But I suspect he will end up on an alt-right source. On another note, has anyone read any of his books? They intrigue me and I've considered ordering one to try it out (Killing Kennedy, Killing Lincoln etc).

the NHL had him at 16 among North American skaters before the draft. So depending on how many Europeans would be ranked higher, he was probably a 20-30 guy. Not "off the board" as I said but definitely a surprise at #7. I believe there was an audible sense of surprise from the TSN panel when Chevy called his name.

His agents now saying its not true. Which they will say of course. As Atomic pointed out, didnt Bylsma's term in Pittsburgh end when Crosby decided it was time for him to go? Odd because Im sure I recall Bylsma being considered a player's coach who came in and let the players play their way. Then again, wasnt he forcing a defensive system on them and once he was replaced, the star players flourished again?

Very exciting. But if a planet older than earth that would have undergone a similar development to earth has life, one has to wonder at what stage of advancement would it be? If its simple microbes, as exciting as it is, its not the earth-shattering discovery some want. if its rudimentary intelligent life, why did it develop so slowly (and what does that say for evolution). If its intelligent life, is it looking back at us? I want to see humans on Mars and the revelation of life existing on other planets (in whatever form) before I die.

If anyone is going to get to the bottom of budget over runs and new building boondoggles its David Asper!

You're being deliberately obtuse. The point was tied directly to one pick, not all the pics. And that one pick which was an "off the board" selection. I mean, I could explain it to you but I think you understood it.

The point was in the question.

I actually agree. Not so much that they were ok with losing per se but that their expectation was a step back year and so as they saw Helle struggle and the D struggle, they said meh, we expected it. But when they saw Scheif having a career year and Ehlers improving and Trouba becoming one of the best and Laine being a top goal scorer and the biggest reason the team was falling out of contention was D injuries and below average goaltending, they should have made moves. Cheap and easy moves. What if the Jets had made the playoffs and drew Chicago in the first round? This isnt the same team that got swept by the Ducks. It feels like they didnt even try. Thats what makes me sour this year. I think the team will be better next season. But this really felt like a lost season due to inaction by the GM. Investing in Helle is one thing. Myers goes down long term and Buff is struggling to play 30 minutes and you dont get help?? Inexcusable.

Maybe. But I dont buy its a hard cap. Owners make big money through playoffs. Adding a couple of cheaper players to get to the playoffs is easy money. Sure, there are no gurantees. But if Chipman is screaming in his box he cant also be telling Chevy no when he wants to add a 2 million player.

I assume he was hired because the previous coach was coaching a system not in line with what the NHL team was coaching. So there was a learning curve for players being called up. Now they all play the same way. Thats fine. I mean, its the AHL. The jets will be fine as far as talent goes I think. I guess Im more sour. My #2 team is the Pens. And twice they looked like it might be time to blow it up and they instead made ballsy moves that werent even "big" moves and won the cup. Maybe three times actually. When they hired the previous coach and turned their season around and won the cup. And then firing the GM and the moves Rutherford made mid season to win the cup again. There's a GM not sitting around. This season people sort of snickered at their moves at the deadline and maybe their aging veteran D will die off as the Playoffs progress but with Letang out, its worked out well. Adding young guys that compliment Crosby, Malkin and Kessel. And Chevy did nothing. And its not like it snuck up on us. Team D has been the achiles heel for the entirety of the Jets time here. AND goaltending. Okay, Helle was given the ball. But they knew Trouba was holding out. They knew Buff was struggling to play 30 minutes a game. They knew Helle and Hutch were below average. They knew Myers was hurt long term. Not a single sniff of effort from our GM. I dont subscribe to the notion that ownership handcuffs the GM financially. I really dont. But what excuse can there be for not bringing in a veteran D man? Or a veteran back up? In December/January when there was still a chance?

One might argue that Pittsburgh has a very good AHL program. Ours? Well, stocking your AHL team with talented draft picks is one thing. Giving it a coaching staff based on a guy you didnt want on your NHL staff is something else altogether. Im being unduly harsh. But I agree to a degree. We need a couple of guys to come out of those later rounds and surprise us. Although I'd say usually those diamonds in the rough take longer to develop so we're still seeing some of it maybe. Also, doesn't Pitts have a few ubndrafted players playing strong roles? Sure, playing with Crosby and Malkin sounds easy but they have to hold up their end of the deal. Chevy gets the credit for going "off the board" with Scheif and hitting a home run. Had he not been as good as he is, what's Chevy's reputation like?

Im not ready to give up on Helle but if Chevy goes into next season with zero competition for the starter and a "hope" that Helle can be good, he probably should move on. I like Chevy but that can change in a hurry. Drafting well is nice. Its a testament to your scouts and vision. But a GM cant let his team flounder because he's afraid to make a move.

I actually think it's a fair idea. $3miion for an MRI. So buy one and let the province use it for free. At the very least I'd like to think the athletes jumping the cue are paying (or their teams are) just as they work in a private clinic in the us

I really don't think this true. Mark Chipman moved press away from his box because he couldn't contain his emotions. He wants to win. I believe he hasn't Chevy's back. But it still boggles my mind that chevy let the Jets struggle all season and did nothing to help. What does that say to the players?

this is interesting for those who can't get past the paywall between 2008 and 2016 there were 92 cases of preferential treatment. Of those 59 were jets or Bombers. Obviously a pro sports team isn't waiting a year for an MRI. Health minister is asking other jurisdictions how they handle athletes. I don't know what an MRI machine costs but how about the Jets and bombers buy a machine and gift it to the province in exchange for access as needed.

It depends which shows you go to. They're competitors so I try to be fair. I went to a couple of their shows recently. Their shows at Rookies Bar are vastly different from their shows at the Church. And Im not sure they'd disagree to be honest.

Regardless of Stanley, Jets had assets to bring in a goalie at any time and chose not to, even when faced with the clear knowledge that it was struggling this season. They also decided not to shore up D when Trouba held out and Myers got hurt. I like Chevy but his lack of effort this season is a real head scratcher.

Do you regularly attend CWE shows?

Its a WWE thing. Its just their style of "story telling" is not to sell. I think they think it doesnt matter and impacts the match in a needless way. They are wrong. But that's probably their mindset. I was talking with Omega about something recently that sort of mentioned this. I was asking him about his finisher the One Winged Angel and how he developed it. There were similar moves before his but he said he had a big match and knew his arm was going to be the main focus worked throughout the match, so he needed a finisher other than the Croyt's Wrath because he'd have to execute it basically one handed. He specifically said because they wanted a match that sold everything as opposed to WWE where they'd simply not sell the arm injury and just execute their move. I think this is also why some North American fans get hot at guys like Dave Meltzer and accuse him of favouring Japanese wrestling with his ratings. But not selling or not selling effectively or not selling consistently are a part of what makes a match great. Why AJ might be an exception is because he came from Japan where its important and missed WWE's re-programming centre (NXT). The worst thing is, you might have someone sell in the moment. But then hop up and act like its no big deal. Using Nia Jax as an example, she was in an arm bar submission last night for quite some time, broke out of it and then never sold the arm whatsoever. I dont know why, but that drove me nuts. Sell you're friggen arm! I recently was talked into coming out of "retirement" for one last match. And being a generally poor worker myself because I dont do it often, it takes a conscious effort to remind yourself to sell. But I always try to remember, on things like chops and punches, to sell the effect on my own hand. Another aspect of this with WWE is they dont sell injuries. Guy gets killed on Sunday and is fine on Monday. They actually kept Roman off TV to sell the beating which is shocking but its because Stroman is a big Vince project. Unfortunately, they had Roman at all the house shows over the weekend.