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Hambone
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cms22 wrote:
Sun Aug 23, 2020 9:23 am
good discussions, thanks :)

as per "working away from family for many months being common", that is almost always voluntary. and usually the motivation is make much more money than you could locally (oil workers, whether oil sands or foreign. i know a guy who works half the year in indonesia. comes back many times - precovid).. many hockey players are already rich. and as mentioned, many commercial workers go home all the time from remote oil work. military not so much.
Often depends on the individual and their family situation. Some can cope with it. For others it's a huge struggle. How much pro athletes might make still doesn't make the loneliness of being away from their families go away. They are no different than anybody else when it comes to that. I have a bit of background in this as my dad worked away from home from when I was about 7 until I was out of high school. It wasn't nearly as extended as some who go off to work in camp situations these days. He started out 10 & 4 on the west coast. Later on it was only 5 & 2. As kids it still sucked seeing him leave at 6:00pm every Sunday night not to return until around 9:00pm Friday night. Unbeknownst to us kids who were oblivious to such things at our ages my mom was also dealing with depression through much of that. But dad needed to go where the work was and logging was slowing down in the Comox Valley area by that time. My brother now does 14 & 7 and has for many years. In the mining sector there's lots of 14 & 14 and 21 & 21 situations. As a single guy 21 & 21 has an attraction. One could do a ton of travelling the world on that rotation. These camp things also are marriage killers for many regardless of logging, mining, oil patch or military. Years ago an uncle came home for an extended tour at sea with the Navy to find out my aunt had left him for somebody else.
You're as old as you've ever been and as young as you're ever going to be.
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Gridiron Ernie
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Hambone wrote:
Sat Aug 22, 2020 12:04 pm
Any rumblings yet on CFL players who might opt out of their contracts when that door opens on Monday?

https://www.tsn.ca/report-cfl-players-c ... -1.1512818
I just noticed that there's about half a dozen (and counting, no doubt -- not sure when the deadline is for players to decalre) players listed so far at 3DownN -- one being Lions' kicker Sergio Castillo. Another name of note is RedBlacks' Richie Leone.
Murdoch
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MBT going to free agency is a big one. I liked what I saw from him last year. Like him better than Mike Reilly to be honest.

Believe most opt outs were one year deals with Ricky Collins being an exception. His deal requires him to go back to Edmonton if he doesn't make the NFL.

CFL didn't really come up with much on their own for the players but at least the options are clear. Seems the players agreement is still binding so maybe business as usual pending the 2021 season.
cms22
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CFL contracts don't seem very long in general............

naive question but does everyone's contract shorten by a year? or is like 2020 never happened? for players who don't opt out......

i think reilly was 3 year contract. fulfilled two of the years and i think passed some deadline to partially guarantee 3rd year. i could be wrong on this though

seems like CFL has massive player movement every off-season, so this might be double that (which would be 2/3 of starters or something like that). so why not just make everyone a free agent? of course, there may not be a league

i didn't understand the options of nfl not playing...... the risky higher payment vs. the lower risk voluntary lower payment. it was twitter so i don't expect an explanation, but what is the difference?

what would be the logistics of having to restart the entire CFL from scratch? could MLSE own a toronto team in a new league? might depend on the corporate structure of the Argos and what happens if the CFL folds.

i think they could start a new league if CFL disappears. a fresh start might even be nice in vancouver. go back to some partial community model.....community model is probably great for selling tix.
cms22
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as per rich MLB and spending 7 months away from family, i was thinking they don't have to do it. so a very top player will make $250MM from his career, not $350MM. it shouldn't matter. but i'm not sure that's how people think
Murdoch
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cms22 wrote:
Mon Aug 24, 2020 6:38 pm
CFL contracts don't seem very long in general............

naive question but does everyone's contract shorten by a year? or is like 2020 never happened? for players who don't opt out......
My understanding is the 2020 year counts as a year of the contract. Hopefully it means only nine more years of Mike O'Shea in Winnipeg.

Some of the players are happy with the deals they have in place ala Matt Nichols for one. Provided the bonuses were paid which they haven't made clear, there will be another one coming up soon for those on longer deals.

I'm not clear on Reilly's deal but I think his peak performance was expected in the first couple of years. Now that they are over do they just go ahead and give him another $400,000 reporting bonus. Does age come into play? Yes, he is an iron man.

And I love the idea of Nathan Rourke down the road. Kevin Williams MLb. Lions could have a bright future if the league and team can pull through the chaos.

I need to give a little shout out to Rachel in the CFLPA home office who delivered big time with a very cool New Era stretch CFLPA shirt after I sent an email asking about buying a hat from their store in order to show and give support for their cause. Super nice black stretchy CFLPA logo on the front and #cflpateam on the back. In addition the package also included a touque that fits an actual head and can be worn, and a couple of decks of players cards. I am hesitant to open the package but can see I have a Fajardo and Masoli for sure.

I would encourage everyone to visit the CFLPA website and check the store. Maybe there is a young person who might like player cards as a gift and an introduction to the game in our lives that could use a stocking stuffer come Xmas. Once again, I can't say enough about the cool response from the PA.

Now I am going to send an email to Randy Ambrosie and will see what I get from him.

All in all a pretty good day. Best regards to all.
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Sir Purrcival
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Just don't ask him for a loan!
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cms22
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wow, that's great on the free merchandise........

i have always liked some of the BC Lions polo golf shirts i've seen on the sidelines or on the internet....... but mostly i've only been able to find "product sold out" or "only small size left" on internet...... not sure which companies. reebok? adidas? both over time?
cms22
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wow, that's great on the free merchandise........

i have always liked some of the BC Lions polo golf shirts i've seen on the sidelines or on the internet....... but mostly i've only been able to find "product sold out" or "only small size left" on internet...... not sure which companies. reebok? adidas? both over time?
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Hambone
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cms22 wrote:
Thu Aug 27, 2020 11:07 am
wow, that's great on the free merchandise........

i have always liked some of the BC Lions polo golf shirts i've seen on the sidelines or on the internet....... but mostly i've only been able to find "product sold out" or "only small size left" on internet...... not sure which companies. reebok? adidas? both over time?
I don't know if Ric's Sports & Stuff in Chilliwack is still operating. It was a great place to get Lions' stuff as Ric is a huge fan. I was thinking about popping in there as I was fueling up next door to the mall on Friday. As the traffic was typically brutal eastbound out of Vancouver I was behind schedule. I still had another 7 hours to go so decided to hit the road. Sadly I'm not finding any website for Ric's now. He was dealing with some health issues a couple years back so he may have closed shop.
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Murdoch
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So they didn't get the $150,000 from the government, now they go after the fan to cough up $400 a shot to have their name etched onto something that is probably not the actual Grey Cup. I think the chances of success with the program are about the same.

I am amazed by the lack of good ideas the League comes up with. They forget that the fan is the guy paying for everything.
TheLionKing
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Got my two free Lion masks in the mail today along with a letter about having my name etched on the new base for the Grey Cup. The masks are made in China and seemed to be cut from neoprene. Not good quality in my opinion.
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Hambone
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Murdoch wrote:
Thu Aug 27, 2020 6:34 pm
So they didn't get the $150,000 from the government, now they go after the fan to cough up $400 a shot to have their name etched onto something that is probably not the actual Grey Cup. I think the chances of success with the program are about the same.

I am amazed by the lack of good ideas the League comes up with. They forget that the fan is the guy paying for everything.
Obviously it isn't the actual Grey Cup. If they get the sort of response they hope for they'd have to remove all the teams and player names and still wouldn't have room. They are building a base, hence the name Fan Base, that the Cup will sit on when on display in the CFHOF in Hamilton. The Lions also will be adding the names of Lions fans to some sort of plaque to be mounted beside the BC Lions Wall of Fame in BC Place. It will be interesting to see how they do. I think they will do well. With the past 37 Grey Cups under my belt it is attractive to me because of that association with the Grey Cup. It will be cool to have my name linked to the Cup in the CFHOF and to the Lions at BCP. I'll be signing up. However it's certainly not for everybody. I think if I was just a ST holder who either didn't go to Grey Cup or only to selectively few I probably wouldn't take up the offer.
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Murdoch
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Hambone wrote:
Fri Aug 28, 2020 8:49 am
With the past 37 Grey Cups under my belt it is attractive to me because of that association with the Grey Cup. It will be cool to have my name linked to the Cup in the CFHOF and to the Lions at BCP. I'll be signing up.
With a track record of 37 in a row they should be adding your name for free as a true CFL legend never mind hitting you up for another $500. My advice on how to go would be "HAMBONE" as a way to stand out. Good luck and I will smile if I ever see it.

I've said before about recognizing long time season ticket holders. I have an uncle who goes back as far as Tom Casey and Indian Jack Jacobs. That adds up to a lot of support over the years.

Off topic but probably as good of a person to ask as any. Is there a better burger anywhere in the interior than Herbies in Cache Creek? Curiosity took me to the end of the road in Kitimat last summer and the Herbie was probably my top rated burger of the entire trip. Always nice to find the hidden gems away from the corporate lights.

Best regards
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Hambone
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Murdoch wrote:
Fri Aug 28, 2020 10:28 am
Off topic but probably as good of a person to ask as any. Is there a better burger anywhere in the interior than Herbies in Cache Creek? Curiosity took me to the end of the road in Kitimat last summer and the Herbie was probably my top rated burger of the entire trip. Always nice to find the hidden gems away from the corporate lights.

Best regards
I've heard Herbie's mentioned but have never stopped there. I'm usually either heading to the coast or heading home from the coast so tend to be in a hurry. Typical trip might include a quick pit stop for fuel and maybe a drive-thru gut bomb. If the tank and my belly are full when I leave PG or Van then I'm good to go and just stare at the windshield for the next 8 hours bladder permitting. :wink:
You're as old as you've ever been and as young as you're ever going to be.
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