TrueBlue4ever

My initial take is definitely Stegall and Poplawski are locks at slotback, the third spot is an interesting battle between Edwards, House, and Wilcox. Diving into their stats may help with the ultimate choice. Murphy is locked in a one wide receiver spot, and some interesting candidates for the other position and the #3 runner-up. Pitts and Nielsen may pull ahead of a crowded second tier that includes Boyd, Gordon, Holmes, and Grant (factoring in their respective era-based successes). Older players will have less flashy numbers due to changes in the style of the passing game, so remind your self to consider their success against others of that same era. If I'm lucky I can get the bios done by the end of the weekend, but don't hold me to it. I'll do my best.

Leo Lewis and Charles Roberts are deservedly running away (no pun intended) with the poll, so it is time to move on to the receiving corps. I will split up the candidates into slotback and wide receiver categories, but as some were referred to as wingbacks (which morphed in to the slotback position) and flankers (which as best as I can tell was the original wide receiver position), I may inadvertently have put a receiver in the wrong category, so please alert me to any errors. Also, the CFL listed every all-star as a wide receiver (even Stegall, a career slotback), so my slotback list is pretty much from my memory, and wide receiver is my default where I wasn't sure. Regarding the list - to keep the candidate list from spinning out of control, I was going to limit the number of candidates in each category to 10. In fact, I came up with 9 slotbacks and 12 wide receivers, and chose not to include a further 7 receivers (all wideouts) due to the constraints of the list. I will tell you who I have omitted, and why (in my rationale anyway), so if you feel that one of the receivers on the omitted list (or someone else I have not mentioned at all) deserves to be on the final list, tell me, BUT tell me also who they should replace, because I am not making the candidates' pool bigger. And singular big moments do not equate to an all-time career, so Alfred Jackson and his 307 yard receiving game do not warrant inclusion on the candidate list My basis for initial inclusion was any receiver who is in the club's hall of fame, or had at least one CFL all-star nod in their career. I have left off a few receivers who did win the club's rookie of the year award - in those cases I felt their one good season was not enough to establish them as an all-time great. I hope no one will begrudge me leaving the likes of Mitch Running and Eric Guliford off the list because of that. So the ones I left off the list despite meeting the baseline criteria in some instances are: Derick Armstrong - only 2 seasons here, only one 1000+ season, and an acrimonious departure David Williams - chemistry with Dunigan, but only one decent year here, and did a lot more with the BC Lions, so not enough career mileage to warrant a nom Geroy Simon - accomplishments with other teams do not factor in, so his Hall of Fame career with BC is a moot point. He only topped 700 yards once in his 2 seasons here. Chris Matthews - rookie of the year, but his 1 & 1/3 seasons in Winnipeg were too brief compared to other candidates. NFL success not a factor to consider Albert Johnson III - his receiving numbers were pretty pedestrian and his time here limited, he was more of a return specialist (which already earned him a spot on the all-time team) Eugene Goodlow - hard to keep him off this list, but his phenomenal 1981 year (100 catches - first ever to do that, and 1494 yards with 15 TDs is brilliant) on its own does not get him into the conversation of all-time great based on lack of longevity. He basically had only that one year of stats (injured 5 games into the next season, had he finished out that year on the pace he was at, I probably would have added him to the list). Arland Bruce III - "Runako Reth" only had one 1000+ yard season and 2 years in Bomber colours, and his achievements elsewhere do not count. NOW, BEFORE YOU TELL ME STEGALL AND POPLAWSKI ARE WINNING THIS, SO DON'T BOTHER DEBATING - YOU WILL PICK THREE FROM EACH GROUP. With the advent of the 5 receiver set, I will take the top 2 slotbacks and top 2 wide receivers and place them on the team. The #3 choice at each position will go head-to-head in a subsequent run-off vote to be placed in the "5th receiver" spot. The slotbacks: Gerald Alphin, Terrance Edwards, Rick House, Gord Paterson, Joe Poplawski, Tom Scott, Milt Stegall, Jim Thorpe, Gerald Wilcox The wide receivers: Darvin Adams, Jeff Boyd, Clarence Denmark, Farrell Funston, Robert Gordon, Bud Grant, Mike Holmes, Bob LaRose, James Murphy, Ken Nielson, Ernie Pitts, Perry Tuttle

Merci beaucoup! Gave my blood pressure a workout for sure coming up with some of these. Great fun venting my spleen.

I know it. I would be content to see Toronto get a second NHL franchise so that "average" fans could actually cheer on a home team in person, rather than watching on TV while corporate meetings go on in the 200 level. The only problem is we'd have to hear how much better T.O. is than everyone else because we can support 2 teams, and my hate would rise even more. It's a vicious cycle. This is why you can't have nice things to play with, Hogtown!

Very kind of you. I tend to run on a bit. Thanks for your patient reading.

And now, part 2: Things that may tick me off, depending on the day - Teams and Fan bases 1.0 - NY Yankees - the original mercenary team that tried to destroy a sport by outbidding everyone else and buying championships. They rate higher than the Miami Heat for doing the same things simply because their shenanigans were part of the reason the Expos are no more. 1.0 - Buffalo fans - I get it, 4 Super Bowl losses and the Brett Hull crease violation goal all suck. That misery doesn't make you special or anything. We all get our hearts torn out by sports. It's been 20 years, time to let it go (and the Hull goal was actually legit according to the rule, since he was the puck carrier). 1.0 - Winnipeg Jets/fans - Yes I love the Jets. But it's like family. You love them more than anything, but they drive you nuts at times and you want to kill them. Right now, the love-in is still super strong, with us still basking in the simple joy of having them back. There team is young, exciting, and on the rise. And for the most part, we have a great, loud, knowledgeable fan base. This hate score is pretty much based on the last 2 months. Yes, Troy Westwood, we get it, you think the team is in serious trouble, and all of us are just in denial. And for all those chicken littles, yes I get your take - you are no coach but you can tell that Maurice sucks, with his 99 point all star coach season and all, and he won't break up his two best players who only had 175 points playing together this year. But hey, I haven't heard that take in over 3 hours, please post or call in and tell me again the 89th variation of your opinion. I go back to Blake Wheeler last year when he tried to inject some reality into an overexcited fan base, I will paraphrase his quote for this year's angst-ridden mob: "We all need to pump the f***ing brakes, we haven't won lost anything yet" Coaches 1.0 - John Tortarella - better than he used to be, but even if you hate the media that much (even when you were one of them), could you at least fake it, given all the money you are being paid? Grumpy old man at 40 years old. Imagine if you had real problems. 1.0 - Bobby Knight - an über-jerk who was beyond dismissive of the media. the original "I'm the smartest guy in the room, just ask me". I imagine an alternate universe where the kid at the free throw line who had to deal with Knight throwing a chair at him walks over and decks Knight, knocking him on his stupid rear end. and dropping his ego a few thousand points in the process. 1.0 - Bill Belichick - Again, for a guy with no real problems, you sure are sour. If you are such a genius, why can't you at least pretend to be interested in attending a press conference, or at least being respectful and civil to the journalists? Speaking of the media... 1.0 - beat reporters who ask inane questions, or recite a one minute agenda-driven narrative in the guise of a question just to get an agreement from the coach or player as a "quote" from said person for their next article. Don't tell them how they feel, just ask and let them tell you themselves 2.0 (anger rising!) - athletes who don't answer questions and get into a p*ssing match with the reporter. If you don't like the public side of being a pro, then go play in beer league. But if you want your $30 million contract, then answering questions for the media and fans is part of the job. Don' t be a whiny baby. Martina Navratilova was once asked by a male reporter if she was still a lesbian. She responded by asking him back "Are you still the alternative?" If she can handle the most insensitive question ever asked with that kind of grace, then you all can do at least half as well as her and just politely answer as best you can when the reporter asks how you feel after a tough loss. The "I don't think much about this, but whenever I'm reminded of this I get mad" category 1.5 John McEnroe - I thought his superbrat phase was just limited to his playing days, but he's still a major jerk as a commentator and as a guy in general. It's like he is permanently sucking on a lemon while undergoing a root canal. If you hate people that much, get off TV, stop dragging me down into your misery ,and go be a hermit like Yoda. 1.5 - Kobe Bryant - For wrecking a team with his "me first" attitude, and for getting away with it for so long. And for paying off a sex assault victim to keep himself out of jail. 1.5 - sports agents who negotiate (and self-promote) in front of the camera more than in private. They typically are looking out for their own interests more than their clients, and annoy GMs and fan bases to no end in the process. 1.5 - Steve Fehr - Ok, he's just doing his job as a player rep, but he has left a lot of scorched earth behind during his time as head of the MLBPA. Now he's brought his act to hockey. Prepare for a two-season lockout. 1.5 - Marc Crawford - already disliked him as the Avs head coach when I cheered for the Red Wings. Then.....Nagano. Czech Republic. Shootout. Gretzky stapled to the bench. Dude should be banned from coaching at any level in this or any other lifetime for that level of idiocy. 2.0 - Leafs fans - for being corporate suits and not regular Joes at the games. For being irrelevant for 50 years yet still droning on about how great the team and your "nation" is. For your incessant whining about "93 and your faux God Gilmour and the missed high stick. 2.0 - Boston Bruins - for Tim Thomas and his smug, ultra conservative smirk and politics, for dirty rat Brad Marchand, for being from Boston 2.0 - Serena Williams - for winning more than anyone else, and still being a sore loser, then playing the race and gender cards instead of owning her temper 2.0 Roger Clemens - in the same alternate universe where the kid charges Bobby Knight, Mike Piazza charges the mound when Clemens throws a bat at him and lays waste to him like Rocky on a side of beef. 2.0 - "U.S.A., U.S.A." - it takes a special kind of arrogance to turn your country's name into a sports chant. It says something that the phrase "Ugly American" is commonplace but "ugly Spaniard" or "Ugly Norwegian" or "Ugly [insert any other country in the world]" doesn't exist, no? 2.0 - Don King - behind the smirking face and used car salesman buffoonery of this human troll doll lies a man who actually killed another guy, and should be doing multiple life sentences for all sorts of crimes. Hate lowered since he (like boxing) has fallen off the map The "Hope I don't have sharp objects on me if you want to debate the following" group 3.0 - Boston Red Sox - for trading Babe Ruth, for employing Ty Cobb - the all-time dirtiest player ever, for decrying the Yankees and their mercenary style of buying championships, and then becoming exactly that themselves, for Pedro Martinez throwing a 72 year old man to the ground, and beaking of about it afterwards (in my alternate universe the basketball kid jumps out of the stands to hold him down while Piazza lays waste to him with a broken baseball bat like DeNiro in "The Untouchables") 3.0 - O.J. Simpson - if I really need to say why, then welcome back to earth after your alien abduction 25 years ago. Only the karmic payback of his overly long robbery sentence keeps this number down. 4.0 - Edmonton Oilers - for breaking the Jets hearts forever in the '80's. For their bandwagon fans today who wear orange and blue to Jets' games and declare their fandom, but couldn't identify anyone on the team between the end of the Messier and the start of the McDavid years (not even Captain Canada Ryan Smyth) if asked, or who will proclaim that if McDavid isn't the best player in hockey history, he for sure is the best Oiler ever. For being gifted the top draft choice year after year and still being incapable of building a competitive AHL team, and then trading away all that talent to ensure they get another first overall draft pick. 4.0 - MLB players and owners - "Sports is heartbreak, and you are owed nothing". So was the argument someone had with me once when I said I was owed a championship season. Normally, I could agree with this sentiment, but in this case the championship I was owed was the 1994 Expos. It's one thing to lose a game 7, or blow a 4th quarter lead, or make a crucial error in the 9th inning. That is the normal heartbreak of sports. But to lose a championship because millionaires and multi-millionaires couldn't figure out how to split a billion dollar pie and quit on the fans paying the freight in the one year your favourite team finally is poised to win it all? That sucks. That the same team then gets dismantled and sold off to the highest bidders sucks more. That those same players go on to win with those other big market teams is just painful. That your team then folds due to the money grubbing politics of the sport is soul-crushing. To then wipe that season and any memory of that team from the collective memory banks of the league is just plain cruel. It took me 22 years and the Blue Jays recent run for me to actually watch a complete baseball game from start to finish again, so deep did this one cut. 4.0 - Matt Cooke - a half point of hate for every player's career he ended and every suspension he never got that he should have for his flying elbows and head shots. You don't want to know what level of payback occurs in my alternate universe. 4.5 - Lance Armstrong - not that he cheated (so many others did), not that he lied about it to cover his tracks (human nature when you want to keep everything you got as a result of your cheating - anyone would lie), but he used his money, power and influence to slander, sue and destroy the lives of so many who questioned him in an effort to cover it up. Way beyond what anyone else ever did to hide a lie. And then to go on the Oprah forgiveness tour and say "yup, I was lying all these years. Hey, sorry about that." You know, a simple "F*** you, Lance" in response just doesn't quite cut it. 5.0 - New England Patriots - Victor Kiam's "Classic b*tch" misogyny over a locker room incident. The "tuck rule" and the fraudulent Super Bowl appearance because of it. Spygate and the fraudulent Super Bowl win (maybe 3 wins) because of it. Belicheat and his sour looks. Brady's phony all-American charm (just ask his pregnant girlfriend who he stepped out on with Gisele). Being handed a Super Bowl when Atlanta forgot how to run out the clock up by 25. Being handed a Super Bowl when Seattle forgot how to run, period. Aaron Hernandez. Caveman Gronk. For being so damn good and giving an insufferable fan base a reason to be even more insufferable. Robert Kraft and his massage parlour. Deflategate. But most of all, getting caught cheating time and again and playing the victim card each time. Woe is you indeed. Jackasses. 5.0 - Ray Lewis - May have committed a murder. Probably aided and abetted a murder. Definitely helped cover up a murder, but his conviction for obstruction seems hollow. And yet he still got to play in 2 Super Bowls after that, and is still employed as a TV talking head, talking about his faith and preaching tolerance and goodness and belief in the Lord. Let's hope the Lord has a few things to say in response come Judgement Day when Ray goes to meet his maker. 5.0 - NFL owners - for turning a blind eye to concussions that are killing players. For turning a blind eye to social justice and siding with Donald Trump in colluding and blackballing Coilin Kaepernick. 5.0 - Boston fans - ESPN writer and Boston native Bill Siimons once wrote about tortured fan bases and how irritating it was when those fans thought it made them special. So take what I said about Buffalo fans and multiply by about 1 million for Boston fans. You’d think the Curse of the Bambino was the Holocaust the way Red Sox fans carried on. “No team ever suffered heartbreak like the Bosox. Losing game 7 in ‘75 after the greatest game ever ending with Carlton Fisk’s homer. Bucky f***ing Dent and those stupid Yankees. Aaron Boone. Bill Buckner and the most devastating loss a team has ever suffered. That game was ours!!!!”. Now add the groaning of Celtic fans and their conspiracies about the refs handing bad calls to the Lakers or those cheap shot artists the Pistons in the’80’s and 90’s. Bruins fans and the phantom “too many men - last call in the Forum always goes to the Habs” B. S. Patriots fans and their self-righteous “We’ve persevered in spite of Goodell trying to take us down” And how have these poor, hard-done by fans survived such atrocities? With 6 Bruins titles, 3 since 1970. 4 Red Sox titles since 2004. 6 Patriots rings since 2002. 17 Celtic banners including 8 in a row and 6 since 1974. 12 championships for the city since the turn of the century. And as insufferable as they were as sore losers, they are twice as nauseating as sore winners. I don’t like them. 5.0 - Blue Bombers/fans - The opposite of love is not hate. They are simply opposite ends of the spectrum of the same emotion (passion). No, the opposite of love (or hate) is indifference. And I am far from indifferent about the Bombers. So along with a lot of love comes a big dose of hate for the things about this team and it’s fans that irk me. Earl Lunsford’s failures. Brock dissing everything in the city, save for the zoo. Laying an egg against the Argos in 1987. 68-7 loss to Edmonton because they forgot to pack good shoes. Reinbold and his exorcisms. West-wide and the mail-it-in job in 2001. Unfinished Business x 18. Joe Mack. Joe Mack. Joe Mack. 52-0. Mike Kelly and your mom’s basement. Being asked in 2014 if I was going to renew my season tickets for the 33rd straight year and saying yes, “but I’m starting to feel like a sucker”. The shrug from the Bomber rep that followed that comment. 22 year drought. 29 year drought. This is not an exhaustive list. But even more hate for those fans who throw out the constant negativity, even during (especially during) the high points. Who always love the back-up QB more. Who want every coach fired after year one. Heck, after every loss (I have a self-imposed 48 hour ban after a home loss on visiting this board so I can tune out the “sky-is-falling” crowd). For bashing other fan bases and the blindly displaying the exact same behaviour here. For the buffoonery of snowball fights, tent tear downs, beer can throwing, scraps with police in the stands, and attacking players on the field, all of which gives a black eye to the entire fan base. But most of all, I hate that I care so much, and that I keep coming back for more. But hate and love are the same emotion, so I look forward to loving again. 6.0 - Barry Bonds - SI writer Rick Reilly once made a list of the 5 biggest jerks in sports he ever met. Bonds was in 3 of his top 4 positions. Bob Costas said before his first encounter “I’d heard the stories, and wanted to give him a fair shake. So I was prepared to try and like him more than most said I would. I left that first encounter disliking him even more than the worst anyone had ever told me about.” The most arrogant, selfish, fat-headed (literally), me-first cheater punk to ever play the game. I am convinced he is now being kept out of the Hall of Fame as much for being a total d*ck to the media, whose votes he now needs, as for any steroid usage, and the schaudenfraude in me smiles at that thought. Watch how little his own teammates celebrated with him when he broke the home run records. They hated him. And he preferred the spotlight to himself anyway, so he was happy not to share the stage. And he let a friend rot in prison rather than own up to his obvious cheating. 7.0 - The myth of Tiger Woods - I don’t have a problem with Woods himself (his affairs are probably to closest to being a human as Mr. Robot has ever gotten) as much as I do with the fawning media coverage of him. If I had been taken away from a real life at age 2 and taught nothing other than how to golf, I bet I’d be world class too. And this is not hubris. Unlike basketball, where being 5’10” and white is a genetic disadvantage no matter how hard I practice, golf is an Everyman sport. Don’t believe me? Look at a photo of that physical specimen John Daly and remind yourself he had 2 major titles. But the media wanted a messiah and turned Woods into their God, lapping up his phony humility and making him bigger than he was (not just the best in the game, not just the best ever, but the greatest, most focussed, mentally tough, MOST everything guy on the planet), and shoved it down our throats. Then the PGA got in on the act, “Tiger-proofing” courses by making them longer and actually making things easier for him by eliminating half the field who couldn’t hit as far as him but could keep up on the greens. Then they tore him down - hard. And revelled in his collapse without once acknowledging their own hypocrisy in creating the false idol. Now they are desperate to have him climb the mountain again, and proclaim that he’s back every week when it is just wishful thinking. Here’s a fun game. Get a stopwatch on a golf tournament and see what percentage of air time goes to Tiger vs. The Field. Bet it’s close to 50% for the week. Then see if he’s better than a 42nd place finish, which we’ll hear more about than the guy who finished 2nd. There’s a world of great golfers out there, maybe cover them too. I feel better. I’m going to go take my Xanax now.

Well, here we go, and there's a lot of hate to go around. As a wise man once said: Don't know if the following rant will be of any entertainment value to any of you, but my therapist says it should do me a world of good. For starters: People/things I should hate but don't Darian Durant - jerk move, but him leaving freed up cash and landed us Bighill, so the love points balance out the hate. I'm good with it. Gary Bettman - Phoenix and Florida are flops and Carolina is pretty poor (chalk a lot of that up to lousy arena locations as much as anything), but hockey is big in the non-traditional markets of Dallas, San Jose, Nashville, and Tampa Bay, and he had the foresight to beat the NFL into Vegas, which has become a hockey mad town. And he let the Jets back in the sandbox, so hard to hate on that. PK Subban - rival we boo because he's a bit of a diva, a diver, a bit chippy, and a self-promoter. But mostly because he is really good. Plus he donated $10 million of his salary to a children's hospital, and his self-promotion is as much about growing the game as his own brand. Actually a pretty classy guy with the fans - grudging respect for a guy we'd adore if he was a Jet. Rod Black - He's a hyper broadcaster with a penchant for goofy nicknames, which rubs many the wrong way. And his interview skills can be downright embarrassing. But it's all in service of selling the CFL. He is an ardent booster, and does not play favorites. He likes to sell the players as stars as well as promote the teams, which is how the NFL broadcasts have always done it. Can appreciate what he is trying to do if not a fan of how it comes across on the TV. I have no issue with him. Flame away. Saskatchewan Roughriders fans - Hey, stop throwing things at me! I know I am in the severe minority, but simply put, I don't waste any time going to their message board to listen to their chatter about how they get screwed over, that they are owed respect, that they are the greatest team ever, or whatever else most on this board tell me they are up to. I can't be bothered to care. They are die-hard fans who are one of the strongest franchise models in the CFL and support their team through thick and thin in a community model that encompasses the whole province. And I personally have never had an issue with any of them at a Banjo Bowl, Labour Day game of otherwise. hey have always been courteous and welcoming to me when I have been the same to them. Bitter rivals for sure, but no personal animosity. My list (subject to change over time): The mild annoyances - 0.25 - Paul Edmonds as a hockey play-by-play guy - too wordy for a fast sport like hockey. Was perfect for baseball and the storytelling it requires. Would be better as an analyst. 0.25 - Dallas Cowboys - no real hate, but as a Niners fan this is kind of a lifetime achievement award. Makes for fun dinner conversation with my Texan wife. 0.5 - Miami Heat - for ruining basketball with the "buy a superteam" model which is now what all teams want to do. Fortunately, I have pretty much zero interest in basketball, so it scores low 0.5 - Buffalo Bills - for making me sit through 3 more lousy Super Bowls after they choked in the first one, and taunted America when they kept getting back there despite everyone praying for new blood. "We're Back. Deal with it, America" Best comeback to that was this sign at the Super Bowl "0-4. Deal with it, Buffalo" 0.5- Seattle Seahawks - for the L.O.B. arrogance and Richard Sherman's trash talk after knocking out my beloved Niners. For Marshawn Lynch and his "I'm here just so I won't get fined" media scrum nonsense. For Pete Carroll not running the ball and handing those stinking Patriots a Super Bowl. For thinking that neon lime green looks good in a uniform. One hate point for each, but 2 love points back for their loud fans and the ORIGINAL 12th fan claim, and retiring that jersey #12 for them, and 1.5 love points for drafting a one-armed defensive back who is a great player and a greater human being and role model. 0.5 - soccer players who dive, and the soccer refs who refuse to card them for unsportsmanlike conduct. I only care every 4 years at a World Cup. 0.5 - anthem singers who can't be bothered to learn the melody or words of the anthem they are going to sing. This is not about nervousness, You have one job! 0.5 - anthem singers who turn the song into a lounge act. Aretha Franklin once took 4 minutes, 53 seconds to sing the Star Spangled Banner. Queen of Soul, King of the World, I don't care. That is nonsense. 0.5 - The entire Sportsnet hockey panel. well, maybe just Nick Kypreos mainly. But I have a mute button on my remote, so hate is fleeting. 0.5 - Darren Dutchyshyn - I dunno, he just has that kind of punchable face, you know? And WTF is "Roof daddy????" Hear he's a bit of a hothead too, possibly because of pharmaceutical enhancements to his physique? Homer broadcasters 0.5 - Rick Jannearet (Sabres) - there's homers, there's annoying catchphrases, and there is over the top hyperactivity. He covers all the bases with a nasally high-pitched tone. But he is honest about his boosterism. Fairly innocuous. 1.0 - Johnny Most (Celtics) - this guy truly BELIEVES the world is out to get the greatest team ever, the Celtics, and worships at the altar of Larry Bird. Take it down about 5 notches, Johnny. 1.5 - Rod Peterson - a blatant homer and provocateur, the worst thing is he deep down knows this is just an act to provoke a response from haters, but he still unapologetically buys his own hype and goads those who don't get on board. More unprofessional than the blind homer. Sports parents 0.5 Bonnie Lindros - If I lived in Quebec City, would have a much higher score. Once told the Team Canada head coach "Eric has the flu, I'm sending Brett to practice instead". Since the Big E is a distant memory, most of my hate is symbolic for the "ugly generic hockey mom" 0.5 - Richard Williams - Couldn't stand his mouth or his "match-fixing" between his daughters in tennis finals, but with Venus gone and Serena alone on top, he has largely disappeared. 1.0 - Earl Woods - raised a phenom, but sad he couldn't have devoted the same time and attention to his other 4 kids or his first 3 wives. And Earl , your son's a golfer, not Jesus. Hated the branding of Tiger as the latter. Hated the media even more for lapping it up (see further down on my list). 1.5 LaVar Ball - If you run your mouth, flout college rules, say you could beat Jordan one-on-one, and boast that your kids are the next superstars of the league, then you'd better deliver. Or at least keep them from getting arrested in Asia for shoplifting and using the President to bail them out. Again, media, why do you give this clown air time? Part 2 in a bit, when I get into some more serious hatred.

Apologies for the somewhat NSFW music. Not my mix.

Did someone say Kerwin Bell........?

Did someone say Chris Szarka? Time for this video clip, then.

Hate will come and hate will go. Any list probably needs a refresh every couple of years or so.

I think they knew that the moment he got hurt. I have a feeling we won't see him all series long.

This is more a wish list. I hate betting when my heart is involved, and I want to believe that the Jets are just coasting to save their energy rather than the media speculation of a fractured locker room. So don't hold me to these picks Calgary over Colorado, don't think it will be that close, even though I haven't been sold on the Flames' goaltending all year.. Vegas over San Jose, Fleury will outplay Jones. Both buildings will be ridiculously loud. Winnipeg/St. Louis a lot depends on who wins the first game and how the score looks. The Jets' psyche, even if only half as fragile as the media and doom-saying fans right now, needs a jolt of confidence, and the Blues belief in their savior goaltender may falter if playoff pressure gets to him. Imagine the headlines in either hometown paper if their team loses the opener 5-1. I think the Jets have the talent to overcome the Blues and their own demons, but they will be pushed. Right now the way the "experts" are talking, the Jets winning would be the upset, and isn't this a massively talented underdog if that is the case? Maybe being dismissed is the best thing for them. If there is a juicy upset in the first round, it's Dallas and their sudden interest in defensive hockey beating Nashville. Both Calgary and Winnipeg really struggled against the Stars' trap game this year, right now the low seed no one would want to face. Logic says Nashville will prevail, but the Stars are my dark horse to get to the Conference Finals at least if not the Stanley Cup, depending on who they draw each round. The Blue Jackets aggressive trade deadline moves make for a compelling story, now that they snuck into the playoffs. Wouldn't it be neat to see it all come together and re-invigorate the "all in" mentality of trade deadline day for future teams if they were to make a run to the Conference Finals? If it was another match-up, I might buy into this fairy tale scenario. Then I realize they are playing the Lightning. Tampa will blow by Columbus. Boston over Toronto - again. The Leafs will find some way to steal a few games and make their fans believe they are going to win, before a spectacular choke job - again. The fans will mourn saying they gave it away when really they were always the inferior team - again. Washington/Carolina - I think the defending champs get at least to round 2 in their title defence, but I can't think of a better storyline in this year's playoffs than the "bunch of jerks" getting to create a whole lot more "storm surge celebrations" in the playoffs. The upset I'm not betting will happen, but the one I'd most like to see for sure. Maybe they all put on gaudy Don Cherry suit jackets after a win and do the slow clap. NYI/Pittsurgh - like the Blues and Jets, the lower seed is probably the favorite, and the "upset" will be if the higher seed wins. The Islanders have flown under the radar all year despite the best defence in the NHL, which is always a winning formula in the playoffs. Still, everyone who says you can't just flip a switch at playoff time has not watched the Penguins the last decade. Not that they limp in, per se, but they find at least 5 extra gears come April. Take the Pens. Round 2: If going with my heart - Vegas over Calgary and Winnipeg over Nashville If going with my head - Calgary over Vegas, Dallas already beat Nashville and will beat Winnipeg. Tampa over Boston Pittsburgh over Washington Round 3: Heart: Winnipeg over Vegas Head/Heart: Calgary barely finds a way to solve Dallas (because a Tampa/ Calgary re-match would be much better hockey, so kind of a "heart" pick) Head: The Dallas magic continues, as they get the perfect storm of opponents in each round that their trap-style frustrates the most. Tampa over Pittsburgh Finals: Heart: Tampa outlasts the Jets in a fun 7 game final Heart/head: Tampa handles Calgary in 6 decent games Head: Tampa sweeps Dallas in a boring Final

Vegas would play Colorado in the 2nd round. Same with Boston and Tampa. They can’t meet in the Conference final.

If they had the answer they wouldn't have finished second in the division. One of the big things teams figured out about the Jets was pressuring them in their own end before they could wind up and clear their zone really threw them off. Passes off the mark a lot on the break out when feeling pressure. The Jets have a real problem in the second period when their bench is the far one, because they can't seem to get the puck super deep to complete the change and either get stuck on the ice for long periods when they can't get past centre to their bench, or get caught in a quick transition game while they are changing lines leading to an odd-man break, Hopefully Ehlers' return and his speed through the neutral zone can assist their entry. Sami Niku might help too since he seems to have good vision and skating ability out of his own zone.

First of all, I may have to award 20 hate points out of pure petty spite and jealousy to Bluto for coming up with this glorious topic before I did (says the old man shaking his fist at a cloud)! Damn you anyway. (Love you, man!) Second, this may cost me an entire week of productivity at work thinking about this. Third, I simply have to put out a multilayered list (because, well, does anyone who has seen my novel-esque posting history seriously need to ask why) covering teams, players, coaches, fan bases, sports parents, and broadcasters since they all contribute to my hate in different ways. This will take some serious trigonometry to get the points balance right. I'll get back to you later on this, but rest assured Boston will feature prominently across many areas.

This is the classic playoff mentality of "don't leak any injury news". I don't see him returning for a while, but the club doesn't want to write him off just yet because the level of injury you play with in the playoffs is much higher, so they'll keep it as day-to-day, when it may well be more like week-to-week. Just a hunch on my part due to past experience. Probably has a break somewhere and they would consider a playing cast if desperate, but he is not 100% by any stretch. If it required surgery now, I suspect they would have said he's done for the year.

I think the Jets dodged a major bullet not having to play Dallas in the first round. The Stars, like the Wild, employed a trap-style designed to clog the middle and slow down the feet of the Jets, which worked quite well. St. Louis (like Nashville and Colorado) played a more up-tempo style against the Jets this year, which suits Winnipeg. The success Winnipeg had against St. Louis this year was when they employed a run-and-gun style, and did not run into a hot goalie (Allen kind of stole the one game St. Louis won in a shootout). The Blues win this series if their goalie continues to be white hot and they decide not to go toe-to-toe with the Jets offensively, but play a shutdown defensive style. The Jets win if their best players play their best - their talent exceeds that of the Blues. Hopefully they do flip a switch (after seeing them play they way they can against Nashville in the last month, part of me DOES believe the slump was more about letting their foot off the gas to rest for the big grind ahead). I don't mind this match-up, but we sort of don't know what to expect from St. Louis, since they have transformed themselves completely since we last played them. Did they embrace a whole new style of defence-first play after firing their coach, or is it all about Binnington? I think he is due for a regression, now that he actually has some legitimate pressure and expectations on him. Scoring the first goal of the game will be key for both of these teams, so they can then dictate what kind of game is played.

Fortunately, their opponents will have nothing to play for (maybe Grand rapids to seal up second place, but that could have already happened by game time), so the Moose may get uninterested squads.

How about these?

Do we get one more year of Trouba as an RFA/arbitration one year deal signing? I thought so. The big talk this year might be the RFA offer sheet, which disappeared a few years ago with the Brian Burke/Kevin Lowe spat. Before Austin Matthews and Nylander signed big deals, they were rumoured to be getting big offer sheets, so Mitch Marner is now in that boat, and with Trouba, Connor and Laine all RFA's they might be the hot targets for an offer sheet. Open question - if anyor all of the following offer sheets are thrown out, do we match? If not, what is the threshold we do match at? Trouba - 7 years, 8 million per year Connor - 7 years, 7 million per year Laine - 7 years, 8.75 million per year The salary numbers are my best guess at what an "inflated but not ridiculous" offer for each would be.

One man's take: First of all, I must apologize for some egregious omissions. Tom Casey, Bob McNamara, and Charlie Shepard should all have been included on the list, and would in my mind rank above some of the others this list, but in the end 13 was a sizable number in itself, and I don't believe any of these omitted players would have cracked the top 2. From this list- 13) Miller - Great rookie season, but the focus of those Bomber teams was Brock's passing, not Miller's running. 12) Richardson - only back to ever win a rushing title in a 16 game or more season with less than 1000 yards (beat out Damon Allen 925-920 in 1993). Like Miller, was serviceable but not the key element of a pass happy offense. 11) Reid - a very strong 2010 season, and a game for the ages against BC (260 yards, 3rd best ever) in the only successful display of the otherwise goofy "Jet Package" (does it bother anyone else that the greatest rushing AND passing games in Bomber history are both products of the Mike Kelly offensive system? Maybe "The Source" will chime in). But Reid, an admirable replacement for Charlie Roberts, never felt like a game changer at running back to me. 10) Mimbs - Holds the single season rushing record - the only Bomber ever to rush for a mile in one year. So why do I not really remember anything about him? A very underrated back, if he had hung around for a few more years would rank higher. 9) Washington - very steady numbers, he was good for 1000 or so every year, but was buried on some poor teams which lowers his profile 8) Raimey - Like Washington, very good numbers over an extended period, but stuck on some poor teams, and replacing a legend in Leo Lewis he suffers by comparison. One of the best backs on the list in terms of pass catching, and he was a star returner as well, which moves him up on the list. 7) Herron - Destined for greatness, especially after that revelatory 1972 season, but a drug bust in the off-season led to his departure, so he does not have the mileage to crack the top 6. Depending on my mood, he could slide as low as #10 on this list for me. The top 6 are now in the "has done something no other Bomber RB ever did" category, so they get raised a level above: 5 tie) James and Harris - I said before Harris was in tough to crack the top 5, which I am sure will be met with some flak from younger MBB members. So I'll put him in a tie with KId Dymamite (maybe if Harris had a cool nickname he might rank higher). Both are Winnipeg natives and grads of our high school football programs. James' numbers appear smaller, but he had to share time with Lewis, Casey, McNamara, and Shepard, and was still able to put up some heady numbers (18 rushing TDs in one season!) and be the best Canadian on the team 4 times, one more than Harris. Harris has more all-star nods, and is arguably the best dual threat runner/receiver the club has ever employed at running back (although Leo Lewis makes a pretty compelling case as a receiver too). Trying not to let James' moonlighting as an NHLer at the same time influence me - I will hedge my bets and place both of them at the edge of the top 5. In the "only player ever to...." category, no one else has ever hit 1000+ rushing-800+ receiving yards in one season in CFL history (Harris) or played both the Stanley Cup and Grey Cup in the same season, or for that matter a Grey Cup and NHL game IN THE SAME DAY (James) 4) Hanson - no stats make a comparison hard, but he was the first player to ever put the Bombers on the map, and was THE team by all accounts in his playing days. His "only player ever to..." contribution? Name another Bomber who was the best male athlete in the nation across all sports. Can't? That's because no one else ever has been honoured as such. That puts him up to #4 for me. 3) Reaves - My 1984 bias clearly on display, but he is the only Bomber RB to ever be selected as the Most Outstanding Player in the CFL, so that rarified air of top 3 is warranted to me. He boasted before the year started that he wanted to hit 1800 rushing yards, and came oh so close to hitting it, despite being the primary target in every game. The Bomber game plan was "run on first down for 5-6 yards, short pass play on 2nd down, repeat down the field". A classic power back with deceptive speed and brilliant vision and cutting ability for a big man, has was essentially automatic for 20 carries and 100 yards a game. Even his lesser seasons were quite impressive ("only" 1323 yards in an off year in 1985 ,1471 in 1987). He was the focal point of the offence for 5 years here. 2) Lewis - Bud Grant called him "the greatest player I ever coached". I defy anyone to come up with a better counter-argument as to why Lewis should not be on the all-time team. Still the career leader in all-purpose yards for the club, and #2 in career rushing, in a committee running system he was still the most dominant player on the team during the club's 50-'s-60's heyday. Threat as a runner, receiver, and returner, he did it all. His "only player to..." list includes winning 4 Grey Cups, being the team MOP 5 times, and leading in career all-purpose yards. 1) Roberts - It would take a lot to bump Lewis off the top of this list, but 6 straight 1000+ and 4 straight 1500+ yard rushing seasons (only player to...) is my rationale for doing so. Unlike Reaves or Harris, who could generate 3-4 more yards after first contact on pure power, Roberts was the best ever at avoiding tackles for losses (which given his o-line, was an occurrence at least a half dozen times a game in some cases) by being untouchable. Still, he was able to fight for extra yards consistently when he was being wrapped up, despite his small stature. The Barry Sanders of the CFL, his rushing totals were more of an individual accomplishment than almost any other back. In an era when Khari Jones and Kevin Glenn each topped 5000 yards passing, and we had receivers like Bobby Gordon, Geroy Simon, Albert Johnson III, Milt Stegall, Terrance Edwards and Arland Bruce to name but a few, Roberts was still a superstar.

Harris will need at least 4 or 5 more years of production like the last 2 to be considered. He is great ,but this is pretty heady competition. As I said before, right now he might scratch top 5.