TrueBlue4ever

Glad I was late and missed picking from last night's game. Will go with William Powell.

Jeremiah Johnson.

I think the case of Bush v Gore pretty much put to bed any notion of the SCOTUS being an apolitical body. The travel Muslim ban decision and dissent just reinforced it once more.

Yes, let's protect those unborn fetuses, they have rights too that should supercede the choice of the mother......until they are born, then we can rip them out of their mother's arms and throw them in cages.

Sorry, if scoring a 2 point conversion gets booed down as not counting for anything, you all can go lump it!

Think back to 2001. Our offence was built on spreading the ball around with no one primary target, even with Milt and Charlie Roberts on it. We regularly had games where at least 7 different players would catch the ball, and once had 9 as I recall. 9! That is almost unheard of. (Stegall, Bobby Gordon, Arland Bruce, Stoddard as starters, two of Andre Arlain, Markus Howell or Geoff Drover getting action as back-ups, and the 3-headed monster of Eric Blount, Troy Mills, and back-up Charlie Roberts all got catches ). We were pretty much unstoppable. That is what this offence could morph into. That misdirection was something to behold. Keeping the focus off of one guy like Dressler is better for our overall success and his (and other players') health long term. And yes, we had 9 different targets in the Montreal game (and 6 different rushers). The results speak for themselves. And let's not forget that Dressler is now our primary FG holder again, and how important that crucial but oft overlooked role is.

Derel Walker

Just as it is impossible to take the media's 'Rider love too seriously, it is hard to take the opposing 'Rider hate on this site too seriously. They have their holes for sure, and I do not care for how Chris Jones runs that team/carries himself/ingests oxygen, but the man does have a Grey Cup ring and took a team with no proven QB and turned in a 10-8 record last year having to play in the West. Maybe they will suck, but it's too easy to disregard them around here just cuz they be from Saskabush. I think Collaros was done in Hamilton, but is not done as a QB, much like Calvillo was done there but found a re-birth in Montreal. Now, the wild card in this is that o-line, and if they don't show any better than they did in the pre-season, then Collaros may be in for more shell shock at Mosaic and be mentally ruined forever. Jones did not help himself with cap mis-management and the cuts he made, including Bagg and Bond. Saskatchewan in my mind is a .500 team give or take a win or loss, and I think the media is putting them ahead of Winnipeg because (at least from what I have heard the media outside of Winnipeg say) they believe that Nichols is gone longer term than Mike O'Shea's rosy "4-6 weeks, but he'll be back in 4 games and on the 6 game IR" prediction, with many mentioning Labour Day (that's week 12, BTW, with the Bombers 11 games into their year at that point) as his return date. Bombers without Nichols for 10 games looks a whole lot different than Bombers with out Nichols for 3, and the media seems to be hedging their bets on his early return and dropping the Bombers in the standings accordingly, right or wrong. I lean more to O'Shea's math, but who can really know in today's upper/lower body "malaise" world of injury reports?

I will admit to hitting the 'Riders button, but then having buyer's remorse almost immediately (hence my question about changing picks). I have stewed on it for a few days. 'Riders at home are a different animal, and I believe Collaros has one comeback left in him. If they score, that crowd can will them to one or two more TD's easily before the visitor knows what hit them. But then, Argos have always burned me as a pick, since they have no home advantage to speak of and play like a home team on the road, I have never been able to figure them out. Deciding factor is that Sask. o-line and how poor it has looked so far, against that double Blue front 4 and Trestman's schemes. Formally requesting a change of my pick to Toronto, the others can stay the same. Will PM this request as well.

Manny Arceneaux - BC Open question for the group or the moderator: if a player scored 2 point convert but not a TD, what would people say to making that a 1/2 strike deduction, given that it is exactly like scoring a TD and is not infrequent in the new CFL game. Thoughts?

Ah, my bad.

"Minor" adjustments would be good. You have 86 wins and 76 losses overall. The only place that inequity happens is the new "loser point" NHL. ;-)

If you make a pick and then want to change it, is that possible? Can't seem to figure out how.

WEST (before Matt Nichols' injury, was tempted to have 4 teams tied at 11-7 on top of the division, and pick names out of a hat to rank them) Edmonton 12-6 (a healthy Mike Reilly for the whole year and the possibility of a home Grey Cup gives them top spot) Calgary 12-6 (lots of personnel changes, but it hinges on the health of Bo Levi Mitchell's shoulder) Saskatchewan 10-8 (worse than Winnipeg except for the record, and that has to do with Nichols' injury. Still, hate him or hate him, Chris Jones finds a way to get results with his teams, and I may be the only one who thinks Collaros is not washed up - we shall see. After all, I said last year that BC's Jennings would be league MVP - oops.) Winnipeg 9-9 (with a pure rookie at QB, they start 1-4 and then it takes Nichols a few games to shake the rust off, so they end up at .500 but peak heading into the playoffs, and land the best-case scenario of a crossover spot. The Bombers are better than last year thanks to the addiction of Bighill, but it actually means fewer wins - in the regular season, at least) BC 8-10 (not a bad team, but can't compete with the horses in the West, where 8 of their 10 losses come from) EAST (another year, another crossover, and for most of the year the worst team in the West challenges the best team in the East for a better record) Toronto 10-8 (Marc Trestman continues his CFL magic with the ageless Ricky Ray, and James Wilder Jr. has a massive year with the NFL as his motivation) Hamilton 8-10 (the wild card this year that could finish anywhere from 1st to 3rd in the division, but I sense a QB controversy early will keep them below .500) Ottawa 7-11 (Trevor Harris continues to put up big numbers and look flashy, but it doesn't translate into wins) Montreal 5-13 (lots of big money signings, but no chemistry and no legit QB means last overall again) DIVISION SEMI-FINALS Calgary over Saskatchewan Winnipeg over Hamilton DIVISION FINALS Edmonton over Calgary Winnipeg over Toronto GREY CUP Head and heart still wrestling over this one - what the hell, Nichols returns to his original stomping grounds and hoists the Cup. Winnipeggers pull an Ovechkin and frolic in the fountains of Winnipeg. Which in reality looks more like a 10,000 person beer-bottle-spraying shower celebration at Portage and Main in minus 20 degree weather. AWARDS James Wilder Jr. (TOR) over Mike Reilly (EDM) for MVP Alex Singleton (CAL) over Brad Sinopoli (OTT) for best Canadian (Andrew Harris is actually the 2nd best Canadian this year, but west vs.east, you know) Adam Bighill (WPG) over Shawn Lemon (TOR) for defensive MOP Some big guy from Toronto over some big guy from Calgary for best O-lineman Felix Menard-Briere (OTT) over some newbie from BC or Saskatchewan for best rookie Chris Rainey (BC) over Liram Hajrullahu (TOR) for best special teams player Justin Medlock wins the scoring title

OK, time to make predictions for the team standings, playoff results, and award winners. And try to remember that if you put in records, make sure that the number of wins and losses are equal. ;-)

With Washington's win, Alexander Ovechkin now can say "you can win a cup with Ovechkin on your team". So now that he gets his name engraved on the trophy, who is the "best player never to win a Cup" currently playing in the NHL, and who is the best who never won who is retired? For current players, potential nominees include Steven Stamkos, Henrik Lundqvist, Joe Thornton, and if their droughts continue for a few more years, Carey Price and Connor McDavid. All time, names that spring to mind include Marcel Dionne, Gilbert Perrault, Michel Goulet, Dale Hawerchuk, Eric Lindros, and maybe Jerome Iginla and Paul Kariya. Thoughts? Anyone I missed?

At least he shot first in this one. Oops, is that a spoiler alert? Well, given how weak the praise is, who cares?

I believe the term is "game manager", according to all the tall foreheads at TSN.

5 burning questions: 1. Nichols is the undisputed key to all of our success and Grey Cup hopes this year, and has largely been healthy during his tenure. But Darian Durant's retirement has left a big hole in our depth. Who (if anyone) steps up to give us confidence that we have a capable back-up that can carry us if needed after all of these years of poor QB development? 2. Has Adam Bighill single-handedly transformed last year's at times porous defence into a championship caliber squad, or will he suffer from NFL malaise and overhype? Can one player make that big a difference? 3. With the offensive weapons we acquired on top of last year's assets, which high profile incumbent, new signing, or prized draft pick does not make the cut? 4. With all of the free agent signings, little time has been spent talking about the losses, and of those losses, the quietest and yet possibly biggest loss (figuratively and certainly based on actual size) was Travis Bond on the o-line. He was the "nasty" that transformed that whole line into one of the league's best. Who replaces him, and how does the whole line suffer without his presence? 5. Injuries: Leggett and LaFrance have not hit the field yet, just how bad are their injuries, and do they survive past other cuts if they are looking like long-term injuries?

That Travis Yost tweet is almost completely inaccurate. #1 scorer - Jonathan Marchessault: expansion draft from Florida #2 scorer - Reilly Smith: trade with Florida to ensure Vegas picked Marchessault in the draft #3 scorer - William Karlsson: expansion draft from Columbus #4 scorer - Alex Tuch: trade with Minnesota to ensure Vegas didn't pick Eric Staal or a young defenseman in the draft #5 scorer - James Neal: expansion draft from Nashville #6 scorer - Eric Haula: expansion draft from Minnesota #1 scoring defenseman - Shea Theodore: trade with Anaheim to ensure Vegas picked Clayton Stoner in the draft #1 goalie and probable MVP - Marc-Andre Fleury: expansion draft from Pittsburgh

As the primary tenants of the arena, I would think the Knights have some say in the scheduling of stuff, as since the league mandates practice times, media availability, locker room access and such for both teams, this is one area I would say they need to step in and take control of the situation and not allow "random" workers to manipulate things to clearly mess with one team.

So the Knights are pulling out the hijinks outside the games as well, on top of the ear tickling stuff in game. Day of Game 1, when the Jets had their morning skate, 2 maintenance workers were on the ice holding things up and cutting into the practice time and wouldn't leave when asked. On the off-day, yellow caution tape was put up blocking access to the ice when the Jets arrived for their optional skate. Today, during the Jets' allotted ice time, the lights in the arena were turned off. It's kind of sad but expected when fans do the disrupting, like fire alarm pulls in the visitors hotel at 2 am, but for the club itself to try this kind of nonsense is pure bush league stuff and needs to be addressed by the league.

Wednesday, CBC, Sportsnet, NBCSN at 8:00 p.m. Tagline: "Pinawa Dam at Hoover Dam" Storyline: Jets try to avoid the Vegas flu and re-take control of the series. Quote: “What happens in Vegas (on the road) stays in Vegas (on the road)" - every bachelor party ever Quote #2: "Strange memories on this nervous night in Las Vegas.....No, this is not a good town for psychedelic drugs. Reality itself is too twisted" - Hunter S. Thompson Fun facts: Winnipeg is 8-1 in the playoffs when they score the first goal, 1-4 when they do not.....Vegas is 7-1 when scoring first, 2-2 when they don't......in the regular season, the top 6 teams in winning percentage when they scored the first goal were Tampa Bay (.837), Vegas (.829), Washington (.811), Nashville (.804), Winnipeg (.787) and Boston (.784).....the top 4 teams in winning percentage in the regular season when scored upon first were Boston (.467), Tampa (.462), Winnipeg (.428) and Washington (.422) - Vegas was sixth (.415) and Nashville twelfth (.387).