HardCoreBlue

Appreciating sarcasm myself, I think you've overused it. I also think the word entitlement gets misused on this site at times. This is not how I interpreted the original post, rightly or wrongly as I'm not able to be inside BigBlue's head. For some of us who have committed our lifelong loyalty to this club, feeling we are in the know, as appropriate, on the health and direction of this club is a reasonable expectation not a sense of entitlement. Where I diverge from BigBlue's original post is I believe there has been vast improvement of an inclusive approach with fans from our previous regime of Mack. You rarely ever saw Mack engage.

Maybe, maybe not. Regardless, imho, we trade Buff, we 'take from Peter, give to Paul' as the saying goes. Not to mention the fact (which you made somewhat) that most other teams are usually smart and will feel hard pressed to give up anything substantial WE NEED. Being 29/30 in this league is not really the same as it was 10/15 years ago. If he is taking care of himself (which is probably a whole other discussion), another 5-7 years of productivity is not out of the question. I say re-sign, he's too much of a special player not too. I think he likes it here, just a feeling. Doesn't seem to like the limelight all that much which he can usually get here compared to other cities.

Yes for sure. I do see improvement. Ive always looked at the Jets through rose-coloured glasses. But this win one lose one has to stop. Regardless of the division. This is the division they play in. They wanted to be in the West from day one. That is the team they should have built. I think they play better defensively. I think they are a better puck posession team. But all that simply equals another season with the same record. Its not that they havent improved, its that they are still within the same general level of success. And thats not good enough. Yes Dustin Byfuglien is good for on average one or so mistakes a game but he brings such a dominance to the game that is hard to replace. Not too many players in the NHL can do what he does, e.g. defense, forward, PP, PK. He'd probably play Goalie if he had to and do it well. He helps give us an identity that other teams would kill for, e.g., the Oilers. If it was up to me, no way do we trade him. If anything, we build around him to help him even play more to his strengths.

I didn't want to derail any recent NHL thread, so this is the first post I could find about the Maple Leafs. First, it probably would be a good idea to get the Maple Leafs right before any talk about expansion. Second, I'm going to draw a comparison between the current leafs with of all people Mike Kelly. I read in the press that the Leafs didn't do the ceremonial stick raise to their fans in last nights win against Tampa Bay. Dion Phaneuff (one of the most over rated defenseman BTW) said it was no disrespect to the fans, they just wanted to change things up. Change things up?They can even screw this up. This smacks of a Mike Kelly approach where you insulate yourself, behave in the way that suggests the only thing that matters to you is your immediate team forgetting the fact that they represent and have responsibility to much more than just their team. One of Mike Kelly's significant mistakes was suggesting to fans he didn't care about them and only his team (I won't even talk about the Media, with what Kessel recently did). If this Maple Leaf team thinks this strategy of 'changing things up' includes negating their responsibility to the fan base and the media, I'm sorry to report (not really sorry) that this will not help them win.

As long as BC are willing to bring in talented players, I heard Tim Burke would like another shot at HC. Sorry couldn't resist.

Hoping he works out with us as he just re-signed how about '100% Cotton'? It's also my wife's maiden name so I'm partial to it. :-)

To appease to the people/groups that count (e.g., helping to ensure the GC is well hyped), they pretty much have too, even if it's more optics than substance when it comes to 'splashes'.

I liked what Maurice said about the schedulers with not playing a NHL game in their life, classic.

Chip Cox sure would look nice in Blue and Gold though I'm assuming he either a) re-signs or retires. As much as I dislike Montreal, I've always enjoyed watching him play. If not talking the Bombers, probably my current favorite defensive player.

As I've said about Kane before, he considers himself as his own enterprise similar to how LeBron James conducts himself. I believe everything he does both on and off the ice is purposely meant to build and promote his 'business'. For example, if being a good team player helps his business, that's what he'll do and how he will market himself. He's a lot smarter than some people give him credit for. The problem with that approach is LeBron James is arguably the biggest star in the NBA. Kane is a barely average NHL player. My guess is a lot of NHL experts would disagree with you.

As I've said about Kane before, he considers himself as his own enterprise similar to how LeBron James conducts himself. I believe everything he does both on and off the ice is purposely meant to build and promote his 'business'. For example, if being a good team player helps his business, that's what he'll do and how he will market himself. He's a lot smarter than some people give him credit for.

When really thinking about this and not being the biggest fan of his approach/style to coaching, someone like him maybe is what the doctor ordered. His type of demeanor and approach to the game might inject some needed life and might actually help give our offense an actual identity that then we can continue to build on. If he's not available, find someone built from the same guild.

I like what you're saying overall in this post, I really do. But remarkably coming from a person like me who coaches Atom football players where 100% effort and focus is everything, this statement imho is blinding some Bomber decision-makers from corrececly evaluating players and making some tough decisions. The tough reality being that regardless of 100% effort every play every down and being a loyal team member to a fault is unfortunately not good enough to guarantee a roster spot/starting position. We aren't in Atom, Peewee or Bantam anymore. When I really think about it, that's how Wade Miller was able to be a Bomber for so long . He was simply not talented enough to warrant taking up a roster spot but boy was he loyal, focussed and a hard worker. Probably why he got into private business. Now that he's leading this organization with a head coach who seems to be molded quite similarly, this color blindedness of seeing effort/loyalty as the end all be all of who deserves to be a Bomber concerns me. Bullshit. Wade Miller may not have been the most talented guy but there was a time when he was one of the teams best special teams players and he clearly had the talent to be a CFLer. Thanks for your opinion, but to use your well used quote on other people, your opinion is not based on fact. Wade Miller was not a very good football player, that's a fact. He was also the same guy who came out and said he would quit the team if a very bad coach was fired which would suggest not the best judgement of talent as well. Do love his loyalty and commitment though, misguided at times. "Wade Miller was not a very good football player" but good enough to get into WBB Hall of Fame And I congratulate him on that, well done. I'm sure he's a great guy, bleeds blue and gold like we all do but for the 11 seasons I watched the Bombers while he was playing, knowing this can be very subjective because stats don't tell the whole story and to split hairs somewhat, I would not have put him in the 'good category'. I would have put him in the 'useable category' but within very defined parameters of use, i/e., special teams, pass protection. He was like the Scott Arniel of Hockey, okay, showed flashes at times but overall just adequate.

I like what you're saying overall in this post, I really do. But remarkably coming from a person like me who coaches Atom football players where 100% effort and focus is everything, this statement imho is blinding some Bomber decision-makers from corrececly evaluating players and making some tough decisions. The tough reality being that regardless of 100% effort every play every down and being a loyal team member to a fault is unfortunately not good enough to guarantee a roster spot/starting position. We aren't in Atom, Peewee or Bantam anymore. When I really think about it, that's how Wade Miller was able to be a Bomber for so long . He was simply not talented enough to warrant taking up a roster spot but boy was he loyal, focussed and a hard worker. Probably why he got into private business. Now that he's leading this organization with a head coach who seems to be molded quite similarly, this color blindedness of seeing effort/loyalty as the end all be all of who deserves to be a Bomber concerns me. Bullshit. Wade Miller may not have been the most talented guy but there was a time when he was one of the teams best special teams players and he clearly had the talent to be a CFLer. Thanks for your opinion, but to use your well used quote on other people, your opinion is not based on fact. Wade Miller was not a very good football player, that's a fact. He was also the same guy who came out and said he would quit the team if a very bad coach was fired which would suggest not the best judgement of talent as well. Do love his loyalty and commitment though, misguided at times.

I like what you're saying overall in this post, I really do. But remarkably coming from a person like me who coaches Atom football players where 100% effort and focus is everything, this statement imho is blinding some Bomber decision-makers from corrececly evaluating players and making some tough decisions. The tough reality being that regardless of 100% effort every play every down and being a loyal team member to a fault is unfortunately not good enough to guarantee a roster spot/starting position. We aren't in Atom, Peewee or Bantam anymore. When I really think about it, that's how Wade Miller was able to be a Bomber for so long . He was simply not talented enough to warrant taking up a roster spot but boy was he loyal, focussed and a hard worker. Probably why he got into private business. Now that he's leading this organization with a head coach who seems to be molded quite similarly, this color blindedness of seeing effort/loyalty as the end all be all of who deserves to be a Bomber concerns me.

You're right which depressingly usually tells one what kind of season we had . . .

no this is 100% false. Some opinions can be dumb and incorrect and some smart and correct. "I like chocolate more than vanilla" is a subjective opinion that depends on the person expressing said opinion, "In my opinion Drew Willy can't read a defense" is a dumb and incorrect opinion. All "opinions" are subjective, regardless of their correctness. You seem to take it upon yourself frequently to be the arbiter of others opinions. I don't think that's helpful, and points I think to what the OP was saying in the first place. That's because I am the arbiter. I bet I've been a fan of this team for longer than you've been alive. Your judgment of others "level" of fan support means absolutely nothing to anyone, except you. Don't you think it would be more productive to try to not antagonize people all the time? Good for you? Does that make a difference? A lot of people like to claim to be huge fans without actually backing it up, I'm just pointing out when people are wrong. If you think anything is personal, it's not, you just might happen to be one of those people who are always wrong and need the most correcting. Wow, you must be a hit at work.

I think I know what you're trying to say with this but help me understand this more. The word that is throwing me off is 'all'.

I like the way you think! It's reminded me what to say next time an eskiblow, stumpeder or roughie fan gives me a hard time.

No not completely. They've still haven't found that forward to open space up for their highly skilled yet not very good in limited space forwards. Not that I don't mind though.

Is that the Taman effect?Do you mean the Grey Cup championship win at home effect? Most teams will never enjoy that feat in their lifetimes. IMO he deserves a mulligan considering we are without our marquee QB. It's all about the playoffs. Nope it doesn't work that way. No mulligan given for not having your marquee qb. Sask needs to find a QB who can at least manage a game allowing other players to step up. To date, that has not been achieved Taman and group. As much as it pains me to say this, see Calgary as a perfect example of what needs to happen when a 'marquee' player goes down.

Collecting a pay cheque? The team definitely lacks leadership on the ice and on the bench. Just curious, but based on what? I'm not necessarily defending Andrew Ladd but needed Leadership comes in many different forms other than smashing guys in the face and looking mean.

It seems Nic Grigsby could not accept or understand that the RB position in the CFL is the one of the most if not cruelest positions to play. Ifhis plan is to stay in the CFL, it will be no different. This 'bad situation' Alex Suber refered to in his twitter is misguided as its not a situation unique to our club, it's straight across the board. Nah, the coaches not playing the best players and them looking to get out was the 'bad situation' he was referring to. Sitting Grigsby and Kelly just brought it to a head. Actually that statement supports what I said. In the RB world of the CFL, it's 'what have you done for me lately' (i.e., not four games ago) and lately Nic Grigsby was deemed 'not the best player'. He didn't accept that. What I'm suggesting is this scenario is not unique to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. This is the reality of thge CFL. If Nic Grigsby lands with another CFL team, he will be met with this 'bad situation' guarenteed. If anything, based on CFL standards, the Blue Bombers demonstrated tons of patience with him.

This statement has me puzzled. Maybe he mean we have a legit QB (Willy) and an able backup (Brohm) jus t like the Stamps. It will take more than a few games to make that statement, see Joey Elliott as an example.

It seems Nic Grigsby could not accept or understand that the RB position in the CFL is the one of the most if not cruelest positions to play. Ifhis plan is to stay in the CFL, it will be no different. This 'bad situation' Alex Suber refered to in his twitter is misguided as its not a situation unique to our club, it's straight across the board.