The Khari Jones Trade

I was going to include this in the last post, but I thought it sort of deserved its own post. So, here are my thoughts on the Khari Jones deal:

I'm not one of those people that think Calgary got particularly hosed. Fleming was going to leave as a free agent anways, so while an expensive and old QB, a random fullback and a pick may not have been the ideal for one of the league's top D-lineman, one of your random fullbacks and a safety, it was better than nothing. As well, while B.C. may wind up having to offload Dickenson in the offseason (Printers doesn't enter his option year for another year, so he's safe from NFL poaching for at least a season, meaning that something's gotta give out there) Toronto and Hamilton may also be in the market for Quarterbacks. As well, Saskatchewan may wind up having to offload another one of their quarterbacks, but there's a bit less certainty there (alot will depend on how Greene comes back from the broken leg, and whether Danny and Roy decide to go with him or Burris, as I get the sense that neither is really all that keen on being back-up to the other). In theory the price for Jones could have fallen if the market was glutted, but then they wouldn't have a premier D-lineman as a bargaining chip. Is Jones an upgrade over what they have? I think so. Crandell, though younger, hasn't been as consistent as Jones (though, he did beat him in a Grey Cup) and their young quarterbacks are just too green at this stage. That being said, alot of Calgary's offensive problems stem from their receivers dropping the ball, and the lack of a running game. While Khari can't do much about the drops, he's shown a greater willingness to run than has Crandell, and that may help open up more holes for Victor Ike.

I think this is a good deal for Winnipeg too. Fleming will have an impact immediately and Lysack is a good safety. As well, it appears that Winnipeg is looking to go with Kevin Glenn for the long-term, so trading Khari just made sense. They also got rid of a large salary (and Glenn has already been locked in long-term, so they should be able to upgrade in other positions during the offseason). I'm not sure about trading within the division, but sometimes you just have to go with what works.

All in all, I'm looking forward to seeing how this all shakes down (and am a little concerned that we still have to play Winnipeg again, and they'll have Fleming in the lineup).

Think Of The Children

Eventful weekend, and a busy week ahead.

Moot went alright. I wasn't as organised as I might have liked to have been, but I think I was at least composed through most of it. At any rate, it went better than my first year moot did (which admittedly isn't saying much).

Rugby was fun. I hadn't played a full game before, so it was a good experience. My delivery wasn't as good as I would have liked, but on the whole I think this helped refresh me on what was supposed to be going on and when. I got a bit dinged up, but after a diagnosis from my sister today I was assured that I'm fine.

Volunteer party was ok. I think the problem with having it so early is, some people can't make it that early so don't bother, and other people just go for the volunteer stuff than go and do other things. Hence why things cleared out so early. I had fun nonetheless, kicking it with the SL crew. My knee was sore, however, so I wasn't able to dance as much as I might have liked (I did manage to make it onto the dance floor for "Home For A Rest" and "Jump Around" though). After the party, I hit Keegan's with a number of other Volunteer types (and the OVC). Good breakfast.

Lois Hole went ok. Got a chance to chat with a few of the new debaters this year before the judges briefing. It looks like we've got a good crop. Also saw Mini-Gary out to judge (apparently he bumped into Jones in RATT the day before).

In light of my late night the previous evening, I was pretty exhausted by the end of the tournament. Nevertheless, I made it out to the football game. See the annoying thing when they play bad at home is that I can't change the channel on them. As well, with the Riders winning today, I'm a little concerned about our playoff positioning. At least Winnipeg lost.

Next Saturday, I'm running a debate tournament (just a one-day Pro-Am deal, but still fairly intensive). As well, I've got to go down to Calgary on Thursday for a couple of interviews, so I'll be missing a bit of school as well. Luckily, I'm not on Council anymore. Suckers.

Baffin Island

As mentioned, Friday is going to be hella crazy. Mooting, following by Rugby and Volunteer Partying. Saw a speech by Preston Manning today, put on by Democracy Now. Good speech, though I almost had to laugh when he was saying things like "People don't get excited about things like structural reform of government". I also had the pleasure of taking in the event with the Greatest SU President in at least the last 7 years (and I say that with all due respect to a certain UADS Alumna and almost classmate of mine). Jones was also there. Good times, though they ran out of pizza and a I didn't get a seat. My personal highlight:

Preston: When we will get Senate reform is when there's a constitutional amendment that Quebec and Ontario want, and they need us to sign on.
Me (to Chalk): Isn't that what Meech was?
Chalk: Tsk.

Speaking of Preston, apparently my former DIE Board fellow Tribune William McBeath has joined the blogging world. Oooh, look at that, I scooped Steve Smith. Eat it Smith!

I misplaced my cleats before Rugby practice today, so I had to go it in my regular shoes, which definitely made for less traction. I think I know where I left them, so hopefully I can track them down in time for the intersquad scrimmage.

In terms of The Apprentice tonight, I'm not sure if it's that the tasks are more complicated this or that this crew is demonstrably less competent than the intial ones. Stacie may have deserved it, but not as much as Maria and Ivana (oh, and Andy, who my debating peeps inform me is actually just a highschool debater, and therefore less cool than were he a university debater, is damn lucky that Apex went over budget). As well, I get the sense that Apex thinks that they're actually contestants on Survivor, which isn't going to get them very far (speaking of which, the episode today was ok, though I'm still having trouble keeping track of everyone's names). The whole appeal of The Apprentice (at least for me) has been that weasels and freeloaders generally get their comeupponce. While we have seen verbal bitchslappings in the Boardroom by The Donald and friends, there's still a lot of people that I think need to get fired.

Pancakes On Parade

So, this weekend, my younger sister didn't have anyone to run with, so I did the Terry Fox Run in Leduc. I only wound up doing 5k (my sister's hands got cold, so she said we should stop. And I didn't really know what speed I should be going otherwise). I won a T-shirt in the draw though.

Speaking of free T-Shirts, I also got one this Friday. The Debate Exec (or parts thereof) went to the new Stolli's (they were having some sort of a preview for club execs). They gave us free drink tickets. Julia won a Mike's T-Shirt, but she didn't want it so she gave it to me. Always good to get free stuff. As far as Stolli's itself, I thought it was pretty nice, if small-ish. Crossman didn't much care for it, but part of that was due to the fact that it wasn't the "old" Stolli's. After exhausting the drink tickets, we hit up Wooly Bully's (which suprisingly didn't have a line).

Another rugby practice today. This one was quite intense as well. We're having our first intersquad scrimmage on Friday, which means it will be kinda tight getting to the volunteer party. I'll have to run up the hill after the game, then go shower in Van Vliet and get pimped up. I'll still be there though, so not to worry SL Hacks (or worry, I guess, as the case may be).

A Ten Year Old Kid Could Have Done Better

There's something invigorating about physical exertion in inclement weather. Today's rugby practice was conducted amidst the downpour. The rain/hail let up for a bit at points, but by the end it was coming down pretty hard.

If there was ever any question that The Apprentice has surpassed Survivor, it was answered for me tonight. I thought Survivor had a fairly solid debut, but The Apprentice just blew it out of the water this week. The challenge was exciting, and the Boardroom was dramatic. I think this episode was the best reality tv I've seen since the first season of Survivor. Definitely looking forward to next week, particularly to see how the team dynamics for Apex are affected.

I also caught a bit of The Benefactor (stupid half hour break between Survivor and The Apprentice). I didn't really care for it, but mostly because I don't really like Mark Cuban (or the Mavs) anyways.

Left Wing Lockout

First debate meeting yesterday. I think it went ok. Lots of new people, so hopefully we can hang onto them.

I think I've also finally sorted my schedule out. I squeaked into Bankruptcy when I noticed that there was an opening, only to find out that they opened up an additional 5 spots (again) about half an hour later. Oh well. Should be good times. I've got a fairly diverse schedule this semester, but my final schedule is fairly reasonable.

Second Rugby practice today. There will probably be a few more people as well, as this one's after the Club's Fair.

As for my thoughts on the lockout, I'm obviously disappointed with not being able to watch first-class hockey this year. As well, I'm worried about never getting to see certain players again (never did get around to watching Mario live). That being said, depending on the settlement, it may be worth it in the long run. I'm one of these fans willing to sacrifice a couple of years of not having hockey if it can mean that the Oilers can be viable and competitive in the long term. Besides, if it means just not watching some other sun belt team win the Stanley Cup, that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. As well, depending on what the ticket prices look like, I may check out a Roadrunners game this year. Still is rather disappointing that there's likely not going to be any hockey this year.

Turn That Bucket Upside Down

Alright, lots of stuff has been going on since I last wrote.

Orientation was fun times. I really enjoyed presenting. As well, being a Transfer Presenter, I got a chance to check out some of the other presentations, all of which were very entertaining. Highlights included the Tyler Botten presentation of "University, Yesterday and Today" as well as watching the Academics groups put on two completely different yet equally informative presentations using the exact same video as a base. I also finally got to experience a Chris Samuel presentation. Since I didn't really have an Orientation faculty anymore, for the Faculty BBQ's on Tuesday I scoped out Engineering, as usual. However, unlike last year they just had hotdogs instead of burgers. Rather unfortunate. Gary informed me it was because they were able to provide more hotdogs per student than hamburgers. I think another factor may be that when you have the best food you also have more interlopers. The Science lineup for burgers was too long, and while I was briefly tempted to swing by my former Faculty for pizza, instead I went with Samuel and some of the other OPs to SUB. We tried to start the wave on the way down to the President's Address (watching the crowd of people move down is a sight to behold), but it didn't take. We were able to acquaint ourselves with the "Skeezebucket" Cheer, however. The address was nice. Roman and I got to reprise our "Law, Law, Law" chant from the year before. When they were going to move on to the actual program, Tyler yelled out "But what about the Faculty of Law?", prompting us to get up and start giving it. We even got the nurses (and certain Education degree holders) behind us to join in. Harlow even came down to the address especially for the chant. I'm not sure why, but he seemed to get into it.

Classes have been good so far. Sort of an adjustment getting back into the swing of things. I think I have my schedule finalised, but these things have been known th change. Rugby starts on Monday. I'm really out of shape so that should be interesting if nothing else. Hopefully the weather is a bit nicer by then at least.

For Friday, I was faced with somewhat of a Tri-lemma regarding various activities. There was the WoW Concert (or whatever they're calling it now) and the Sleeping Bag Drive-In, First Friday Back with the Law folks, and finally the football game. Needless to say I chose the football game, though the other options were definitely tempting. Always good watching an Esks win, though at the end it almost felt like a loss since Pringle didn't get the record and Calgary scored at the end. It was also quite cold. Afterwards I swung by Gary's for a bit for some chick-flick viewing. Gary's basement is a veritable shrine to Edmonton sporting greatness. I'm rather jealous that he has not one, but two Gizmo bobbleheads (they were all gone by the time I got to that particular game). I forgot (for about the third time) to get my Apprentice tapes back before I left though (tangentially, this season looks like it'll be pretty good).

First debate meeting this Wednesday. I'm hoping it's a good year. We're hosting nats, so there's definitely a few added variables for the year.

Mama Cooked A Breakfast With No Hog

Well, the Black Dog was quite fun last night. Pretty good turn out as well. I'd never been to the basement of the Black Dog before, but it was quite cozy. There's a big screen tv there, and the music was quite a good mix of early 90's Gangsta Rap (I don't think I'd heard New Jack Hustler since highschool). I also got to chat with Gateway EIC Adam Rozenhart about the state of his publication. Roman also dropped by for a bit.

Today, I was supposed to have a live draft for this NFL fantasy football league on Yahoo! (that's right, they don't get a link) with some people from Cusid. I'm not really much of an NFL fan (I prefer the Canadian variety), but this was sort of something to do. The chatroom never popped up though, so the draft couldn't be held. Another way will need to be found to hold the draft. Stupid yahoo. I also missed the first part of Friday Night Football because of this. Good game. I felt bad for Ottawa at the end, though I suppose one of the reasons why Montreal is the best is their ability to make the key, game-deciding plays when it counts. A better call on the third and goal from the 3 in the first quarter from Ottawa, and it might have been a different game too.

On the sporting front, I'm rather interested to see the fallout from the retirement of Lawrence Dallaglio and resignation of Sir Clive Woodward. On the one hand, it weakens English Rugby (which is a good thing). At the same time, though, it sort of provides the Poms with a convenient excuse when they get thrashed by the Southern Hemisphere this November. Oh well.

Orientation training starts tommorrow, bright and early. I'm quite excited. Hopefully the weather improves for the actual Orientation (I feel sorry for any OLs leading a tour in this rain). Should be a good weekend, at any rate.