GA Russell

The CFL Awards will be distributed Thursday. The league announced the finalists last Thursday. http://cfl.ca/article/mitchell-and-burris-headline-shaw-cfl-awards Most Outstanding Player - Henry Burris (OTT), Bo Levi Mitchell (CGY) Most Outstanding Defensive Player - Simoni Lawrence (HAM), Adam Bighill (BC) Most Outstanding Canadian - Brad Sinopoli (OTT), Jamaal Westerman (WPG) Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman - SirVincent Rogers (OTT), Jovan Olafioye (BC) Most Outstanding Special Teams Player - Brandon Banks (HAM), Rene Paredes (CGY) Most Outstanding Rookie - Vidal Hazelton (TOR), Derel Walker (EDM) My predictions: Burris Lawrence Sinopoli Rogers Paredes Walker

More on Andrew Harris http://3downnation.com/2015/11/16/andrew-harris-sounds-like-a-man-on-his-way-out/#comments ***** Mark Fulton last Friday analyzed the penalties called throughout the season. http://3downnation.com/2015/11/13/flag-on-the-play-cfl-penalties-by-the-numbers/#comments ***** Drew Edwards discusses the Ticats set for free agency. http://3downnation.com/2015/11/17/key-ticat-contributors-on-track-to-hit-free-agency/#comments ***** And here Edwards lists all of the players headed for free agency. http://3downnation.com/2015/11/19/an-unofficial-team-by-team-list-of-potential-cfl-free-agents/#comments ***** John Hodge picks this week's two home teams. http://3downnation.com/2015/11/19/east-and-west-final-picks/#comments ***** Santino Filoso interviews Russ Jackson, whom I had the pleasure of meeting in 1978. http://3downnation.com/2015/11/19/looking-back-with-russ-jackson/#comments ***** John Hodge believes the players' contracts should be made public. http://3downnation.com/2015/11/19/cfl-must-publicize-player-contracts/#comments ***** Curtis Rush recalls the Argos' 10 best moments of 2015. http://3downnation.com/2015/11/19/my-10-best-argonaut-moments-of-2015/#comments ***** The league this morning announced the nominees for the Jake Gaudaur Award. http://cfl.ca/article/team-nominees-for-jake-gaudaur-veterans-award http://www.tsn.ca/bombers-lb-westerman-leads-nominees-for-gaudaur-veteran-s-award-1.396072 ***** Gary Lawless today gave his own look at the upcoming free agents. http://www.tsn.ca/a-look-at-the-top-2016-cfl-free-agents-1.396314

Happy Birthday Bill!

More on the Fluties. http://3downnation.com/2015/11/18/fluties-lose-mother-and-father-on-the-same-day/#comments ***** 11/18 Checking Down http://cfl.ca/article/checking-down-norwood-could-have-torn-acl ***** The league lists the 20 players most likely to determine the outcomes of the two Finals games Sunday. http://cfl.ca/article/into-the-spotlight-20-players-to-watch-in-the-finals ***** Again this week, the league is collecting articles about the Finals games. Eastern Final http://cfl.ca/article/2015ef Western Final http://cfl.ca/article/2015wf ***** It looks like Austin will start Masoli again this week. It also looks like Eric Norwood has a torn ACL. http://www.tsn.ca/masoli-to-start-eastern-final-for-ticats-1.394201 http://www.tsn.ca/report-ticats-norwood-out-with-torn-acl-1.395148 http://www.tsn.ca/ticats-de-norwood-unlikely-to-play-in-east-final-1.395812 ***** Seattle released Chris Williams yesterday. http://www.tsn.ca/seahawks-release-ex-cfl-wr-matthews-1.395379 ***** Andrew Harris will be a free agent, and he made a comment the other day that he may be looking elsewhere. http://www.tsn.ca/futures-of-harris-lulay-the-biggest-off-season-questions-for-lions-1.394996 http://www.tsn.ca/lions-gm-buono-harris-comments-will-have-negative-effect-1.396068 ***** Darrell Davis says that the Riders have 31(!) guys headed to free agency. Of course, I suppose the cynic would say that they should all be welcome to leave. http://3downnation.com/2015/11/18/lots-of-work-remaining-for-woeful-riders-who-have-35-potential-free-agents/#comments ***** Mark Fulton has fun with stats regarding past Finals. http://3downnation.com/2015/11/18/cfl-divisional-playoffs-history-by-the-numbers/#comments

Doug and Darren Flutie's parents died this morning, within an hour of each other, both of heart attacks. http://www.tsn.ca/parents-of-ex-qb-flutie-die-of-heart-attacks-within-an-hour-1.395956

Here's the New York Times obit. And speaking of the devil, it mentions that his sister gave him the nickname Flip. But it fails to mention The Fantastic Baggys. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/18/arts/music/p-f-sloan-60s-songwriter-dies-at-70.html?_r=0

The posting on this thread sure has slowed down, hasn't it? Maybe some good deals will be had before Christmas. Here are the current prices of some OAS's and OAC's. Each is less than $12.00 + $3.99 shipping. Joe Farrell - $11.96 http://www.amazon.com/Original-Album-Classics-JOE-FARRELL/dp/B00RVD8DBM Keith Jarrett - $11.67 http://www.amazon.com/Original-Album-Series-KEITH-JARRETT/dp/B00SIESH1Y Robert Palmer - $11.67 http://www.amazon.com/Original-Album-Series-ROBERT-PALMER/dp/B011Q9HIOE Django Reinhardt - $10.33 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KNSLI6Y/ Charles Aznavour - $11.69 http://www.amazon.com/Original-Album-Series-CHARLES-AZNAVOUR/dp/B00KN15OQQ

Paul, I remember Skip and Flip, but we're not talking about them! Phil was also called Flip, short for Philip. It is my impression that at that time nobody he worked with called him "PF." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0GQAWlr3_0

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51xgcBkv1pL.jpg

PF Sloan, aka Phil or Flip, died yesterday of pancreatic cancer. RIP. He and Steve Barri wrote many hits of the '60s, my favorite being Secret Agent Man. They were also known as The Fantastic Baggys. https://www.bing.com/search?q=P.F.+Sloan&filters=tnTID%3a%22C8E19099-19A0-4615-8624-39D716449C9C%22+tnVersion%3a%221162721%22+segment%3a%22popularnow.carousel%22+tnCol%3a%228%22+tnOrder%3a%22228379cf-1a67-426b-ba4f-cfd484e69bd4%22&FORM=BSPN01&crslsl=0

John Hodge Semi-Finals picks http://3downnation.com/2015/11/15/semi-final-cfl-picks/#comments ***** Eastern Semi-Final Hamilton 25....Toronto 22 http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/game/toronto-argonauts-hamilton-tiger-cats-20151115/Stats http://cfl.ca/article/masoli-rallies-ticats-to-last-second-win-over-argos http://cfl.ca/video/index/id/119865 http://www.tsn.ca/ticats-get-past-argos-in-eastern-semi-1.394130 http://3downnation.com/2015/11/15/ticats-advance-to-east-final-on-medlocks-last-second-game-winner/#comments http://3downnation.com/2015/11/15/milton-justin-medlock-delivers-a-kick-for-the-ages/#comments http://3downnation.com/2015/11/15/arthur-argonauts-hit-end-of-long-lonely-road/#comments http://3downnation.com/2015/11/16/medlock-kicks-ticats-back-into-east-final/#comments Justin Medlock kicked a 47-yard field goal on the last play of the game to win it. The Argos led 18-6 with three minutes left in the third quarter. Swayze Waters missed two field goals which I think he would have made before his injury. ***** Western Semi-Final Calgary 35....BC 9 http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/game/bc-lions-calgary-stampeders-20151115/Stats http://cfl.ca/article/off-to-the-races-stamps-handle-lions-in-western-semi http://www.tsn.ca/stampeders-top-lions-in-western-semifinal-1.394286 http://3downnation.com/2015/11/15/west-semifinal-win-could-be-costly-to-stamps-as-they-knock-out-b-c/#comments The Stampeders' offense started a little slow, but Calgary controlled the game from the end of the first quarter on. ***** I forgot to post the Week 20 Plays of the Week http://cfl.ca/video/index/id/119499 I urge you to watch this, because the #1 play was Rico Murray scoring a touchdown on an onside punt. ***** Semi-Finals Plays of the Week http://cfl.ca/video/index/id/119939

Thanks for the tip, Mike! I see that that box is much less expensive on amazon.uk than on amazon.com Have you found the cheapest price on the net?

This reminds me of SMERSH or SPECTRE. In regard to ISIS, they control territory. The failure of everyone to recognize them as a legitimate government should not make Hollande's statement erroneous, I think. PS - I read somewhere that military experts believe that a war is not over until one side agrees to stop fighting.

Scott, does anyone else share your view?

The league's website has two good collections of articles regarding the semi-final games. East http://cfl.ca/article/2015esf West http://cfl.ca/article/2015wsf ***** The league has picked 30 players to keep an eye on in the playoffs. I take it that if some of these people have a bad game, their teams are going to lose. http://cfl.ca/article/into-the-spotlight-30-players-to-watch-in-the-playoffs ***** Jamie Nye Semi-Finals picks http://cfl.ca/article/weekly-predictor-whos-playoff-journey-continues ***** The league has a new format for the Coach of the Year Award - each division has one nominee. This year it will be Ottawa's Rick Campbell against Edmonton's Chris Jones. I'm very confident that Campbell will win. But I'm sorry that Toronto's Scott Milanovich is not in the running. I would have voted for him because the Argos had a good year despite playing only 5 games at home, 12 on the road and 1 game at a neutral site. http://cfl.ca/article/jones-campbell-named-finalists-for-agf-coach-of-the-year ***** Here Santino Filoso reviews his pre-season predictions. http://3downnation.com/2015/11/12/reviewing-training-camp-predictions/#comments ***** Let me say now that the Ticats have had a great year, but I can't see them beating the Argos with their 3rd and 4th string quarterbacks. http://3downnation.com/2015/11/14/the-day-before-ticats-v-argos-news-notes-and-a-preview-vid/#comments http://3downnation.com/2015/11/13/the-matchups-the-argonauts-vs-the-tiger-cats/#comments http://3downnation.com/2015/11/13/ready-or-not-its-the-playoffs-and-masoli/#comments In the Western game, I can see the Stampeders winning the Grey Cup, but it looks like they won't have Jon Cornish tomorrow. However, Jerome Messam ought to be enough to beat the Lions. http://3downnation.com/2015/11/14/stampeders-primed-to-start-title-defence/#comments

CNN reported earlier that the French President declared it to be an act of war. I guess we'll know soon what response, if any, will be made.

I forgot to mention that as promised, Brandon Bridge started for the Als, and thus became the first Canadian quarterback to start since Giulio Caravatta in 1996. http://cfl.ca/article/bridge-airs-it-out-in-first-career-start-under-centre ***** In regard to the final stats... 1) John Bowman led the league in sacks despite being benched for two games. 2) I believe that at age 40, Henry Burris became the oldest qb to lead the league in passing yards. ***** I was surprised Monday when the Als announced that Jim Popp would return next year as the head coach. http://cfl.ca/article/als-announce-popp-to-return-as-head-coach-next-season ***** On Tuesday the Divisional All-Stars were announced, as chosen by the members of the FRC. http://cfl.ca/article/stars-aligned-cfl-divisional-all-stars-announced http://3downnation.com/2015/11/09/2015-cfl-east-division-all-stars/#comments http://3downnation.com/2015/11/11/2015-cfl-west-division-all-stars/#comments ***** And here are the final power rankings as the teams go into the playoffs. Malcolm Kelly - 11/9 http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/cfl-power-rankings-1.3311765 cfl.ca - 11/10 http://cfl.ca/article/esks-lead-the-final-nissan-titan-power-rankings ***** The Bombers announced Tuesday that they will not renew the contract of OC Marcel Bellefeuille. http://cfl.ca/article/bombers-wont-renew-contract-of-marcel-bellefeuille ***** 11/11 Checking Down http://cfl.ca/article/checking-down-division-semi-finals-news-and-notes

2015 Final Standings http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/standings ***** 2015 Final Statistics http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/statistics http://cfl.ca/statistics/list/year/2015

Happy Birthday 2015 Eric!

Both of this weekend's games will be Sunday afternoon, so let's over the next two days catch up on the week's news. Only the Hamilton at Ottawa game affected the standings, so the other three games saw a lot of second-stringers given the opportunity to show what they can do. Toronto 21....Winnipeg 11 http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/game/winnipeg-blue-bombers-toronto-argonauts-20151106/Stats http://cfl.ca/article/argos-snap-skid-and-spoil-davis-debut-with-victory http://3downnation.com/2015/11/06/bomber-thoughts-week-twenty-winnipeg-at-toronto/#comments The Bombers gave Dominique Davis his first start. ***** Ottawa 44....Hamilton 28 http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/game/hamilton-tiger-cats-ottawa-redblacks-20151107/Stats http://cfl.ca/article/sophomore-surge-redblacks-claim-east-crown http://3downnation.com/2015/11/07/the-best-hank-burris-throws-six-tds-as-ticats-lose-44-28-to-redblacks/#comments In only their second year, the Redblacks clinch first place in the East. Chris Milo must feel like the luckiest guy in the league! ***** Calgary 28....BC 7 http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/game/calgary-stampeders-bc-lions-20151107/Stats http://cfl.ca/article/strong-finish-stamps-thump-lions-in-post-season-prep http://3downnation.com/2015/11/07/mission-accomplished-as-stamps-escape-b-c-with-no-major-injuries/#comments These two teams meet again Sunday in the Western Semi-Final. Huff let Drew Tate start the game. ***** Sask 30....Montreal 24 http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/game/saskatchewan-roughriders-montreal-alouettes-20151108/Stats http://cfl.ca/article/thrilling-finale-riders-storm-back-for-ot-win-over-als http://3downnation.com/2015/11/08/alouettes-end-2015-season-in-usual-fashion-with-a-tough-loss/#comments Unbelievable. The Als completely controlled the game at home. I had a number of errands to run Sunday. The Riders scored a TD with eleven minutes to go in the game to make the score 24-14. I decided that I had heard enough, so I turned the game off, and left to do my chores. When I got back home, I wasn't even curious to see the final score. Imagine my shock when I checked before heading to bed and saw that the Riders had pulled it out!

http://youtu.be/hohrGa1DKJI

1) I think that the art form owes its popularity to Jon Hendricks. 2) For a long while (the '70s and '80s), it seemed like Mark Murphy was the only person doing it.

Thanks uli! This looks like it's worth checking out.

Here's a list that should provide fodder for the hot stove league. Was Nolan Ryan really the best athlete ever born in Texas? Can you come up with better examples for other states? http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/more-sports/the-greatest-athlete-of-all-time-from-every-state/ss-AAcW0Vf?FORM=ML12RA&OCID=ML12RA&wt.mc_id=ML12RA

Here are two NBC pieces, one about vinyl and the second about cassettes. http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/why-millennials-are-buying-more-vinyl-records-n458806 http://www.cnbc.com/2014/04/17/cassettes-are-making-a-comeback.html