It's the last day for Alpha Prime One. I'm not the most sentimental person, but I'm going to miss the people and antics of our class. But I'm also looking forward to a new class, new instructors, and classmates. Even though we've been broken up, I'm sure Team Ampersand will still convene in w308 for many more late night work sessions. See you in semester 2.
I mentioned in an earlier blog that I was writing for the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, so I want to give the site another plug. The MJHL's exciting, fast-paced hockey, where you can watch local talent play their hearts out. My last article is on Eric Coulombe, an up and coming rookie for the Steinbach Pistons. Head over to the site to check it out. While your at at it, take a look at the rest of the site. Games are held in the city at Dakota Arena in St. Vital and Century Arena in Fort Garry. I encourage all hockey fans to check out a game.
This is old news by now, but every time I see this I still have a good laugh. A Taiwanese television show, which appears to be an offshoot of the trashy tabloids Next and Apple Daily, put together a computer animation of the Tiger Woods car crash. It's good to see that they've diversified from their usual stories on how Canadians are corrupting Taiwanese youth with marijuana and what popstar Jolin is eating for breakfast.
The slapping sound effect at the beginning is especially effective. The video also manages to give both sides of the story. North American news shows should take some cues from this; when something wildly sensational occurs, speculate through the lens of computer animation. Who needs journalists anymore.
All joking aside, I know the Tiger gossip and news has reached a saturation point, but this is still hilarious.
Last night I was right in the middle of my usual mid-week homework procrastination, vegging out on the couch and flipping through the channels. I stumbled across a program on PBS showing the best of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame induction concerts. Let me just say that it was an unbelievable hour and a half of footage. George Harrison, Ringo Star, Mick Jagger, Bruce Springstein, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, and a guy with a keytar(!) doing some Beatles songs. Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Tom Petty doing Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth"(Petty's puffing on a smoke throughout, looking pretty badass for an old guy. Not sure why I bothered to include this, but it's just so random). A reunited Santana jamming out "Black Magic Woman". These were just a few of the sonic gems that were included.
The highlight of the show was (and I'm sure you've probably guessed based on the title of this post) Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Dhani Harrison, Steve Winwood, and Prince jamming out The Beatles "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", in honour of George Harrison's posthumous induction into the Hall. Petty and Lynne alternate on Harrison's haunting vocals, while Winwood belts out the first section Eric Clapton's famous guitar solo. Then Prince comes out and just kills the solo. It's pretty ridiculous. Maybe one of the best guitar solos that I've ever seen.
This got me thinking about Harrison's original version. I had never really included it in my favourite songs, but I think it's definitely made the jump. I listen to it fairly regularly on my IPOD and whenever I hear it on the radio, I turn up the volume. It's underrated as far as Beatles songs go. I'd go as far as saying it's my favourite Beatles song. I can't really explain why, but the song just has that feeling to it that draws me in.
I'm not the best at describing music because honestly I'm not that musical of a person, so I apologize for the poor quality of my above description. I think I'll just let the music do the talking. Here's the original and some cover versions. Enjoy.
The Beatles and Eric Clapton
Tom Petty, Dhani Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Steve Winwood, and Prince
The Wu-Tang Clan, Eryka Badu, John Fruciante, and Dhani Harrison put a hip hop spin on it
There's also a great version by Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and Dhani Harrison out there, but Youtube won't let me embed it, so you'll have search for it yourself.
Today, I finally joined Twitter. This was something that I never imagined I would ever do, but yet here I am joining the Brave New World. You can check me out twitter.com/neilbabaluk if you're also connected in.
In our PR lab class our assignment was to sign up for Twitter. It seems that Twitter is an extremely valuable tool for the Public Relations trade. Basically it broadens the audience that is able to receive the message that you are conveying. The Web 2.0 strikes again. It seems to have completely changed the way that information is deseminated. Marshall McLuhan's "the medium is the message" has never been more relevant.
As much as I hate to admit, I had actually been meaning to get around to setting up a Twitter account for awhile. I've been writing feature articles for the Manitoba Junior Hockey League since the beginning of the semester. A former CreCommer, who also writes for the site, recommended that I use Twitter as a way to publicize my articles. I guess he's been doing it for some time now and his hits have increased exponentially due to this. So from now on, I'm going to use Twitter as a way to spread my articles among the masses.
It's a strange world, that's for sure. I've got Barak Obama, Shaq, Chad Ochocinco, among numerous others as people that I follow. I'm not sure if they have anything interesting to say, but I am now in the know, which is kind of cool.
So again...add me. I've got tons of interesting things to say. Really, I do. I'm not kidding. twitter.com/neilbabaluk
Continuing on in the complete random direction that my blog has taken, I figure I'd put the spotlight on VBS TV, a great "web tv station" or whatever the proper term is.
VBS is Vice Magazine's web tv station and it provides a wide range of content, usually in documentary form. Topics range from travel, popular culture, music, skateboarding, to politics and environmental issues. Some of my favs are Epicly Later'd (skate show), Thumbs Up! (hitchhiking show), and the Vice Guide to Travel (travel docs).
I hadn't checked it out in awhile and had honestly forgotten about it, before I stumbled across a VBS clip about secret oil wells in Los Angeles.
It's not the most exciting clip in the world, but it led me back to the VBS page and I rediscovered some classic shows. Here are some things on the site that you should definitely check out:
Thumbs Up! 1st Episode Two guys hitchhike across the U.S. from L.A. to Florida. They hop trains, scam rides, and basically do it by spending the least amount of cash they can.
Bulgarian Dirty Bombs Journalists attempt to purchase dirty bombs through the Bulgarian black market.
I'm going to state this right off the bat: Allen Iverson is my favourite basketball player of all-time. When he was in his prime in Philadelphia, he was one of the dominant shooters in the NBA. He played hard every game (maybe not during practice), usually took a pounding and put up massive numbers. He also gave one of the best rants in the history of ranting. The Answer was pure entertainment.
It kind of makes me sad the way he's going out, but he's not doing himself any favours. The last few years have not been kind to A.I. He sulked his way out of Philadelphia and forced a trade to Denver. In Denver, he didn't really mesh with Carmelo Anthony and injuries slowed him down. He definitely got a raw deal in Detroit, never quite fitting in with their system. Signing with Memphis was a chance to kick start his career and maybe develop a new role as a mentor. He had the opportunity to throw off the selfish player label and become a leader on a team of young up and comers.
One game into his stint in Memphis, Iverson's ego kicked in and the whole idea of Iverson as a leader and mentor was thrown out the window. He told the media that he didn't enjoy coming off the bench and later left the team to contemplate retirement.
I'm not sure what he's thinking. He didn't have any takers this summer, except for the Grizzlies. I would have hoped he would have realized that with Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo playing guard, his minutes were going to be severely limited. He had the chance to come off the bench, mentor Conley and Mayo, and play well enough to either earn himself a contract next year with a contender or have a contender trade for him down the stretch. But he blew it.
I think A.I. has more gas in the tank and can be a productive NBA player. He just needs to realize that his role has shifted. If he can't do this, well, maybe he'd be better off retiring.
Month number three of CreComm has kicked off and I can confidently say I have hit a wall. I manage to get what I think should be enough sleep every night, yet lately I've been living in a state somewhere between dozing and being awake. I'm pretty much on the go at all times nowadays, whether it be school, work, or homework and my body is taking quite the beating.
As I'm writing this, I'm wishing I could take a nap and catch up on some z's, but I unfortunately have to head off to work right away, for another exciting Friday night at Transcona Pool.
Instead of writing a longer more detailed blog this afternoon, I actually spent the last half an hour burning a CD of what I guess I would call "wake up music", for the ride out to work. I need something to go along with coffee to rev me up today. I figured I'd share some of the music that will hopefully stimulate my ears and brain enough, so I don't pass out at my desk tonight.
Hopefully, I'll have a longer more interesting blog post going in the next couple of days.
Just a quick blog post today, as the life of a CreCommer has picked up its pace. I'm throwing out a plug for the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. The MJHL is full of fast-paced, exciting hockey featuring some talented up and coming players. The league features 3 Winnipeg area teams: the Winnipeg Saints, the Winnipeg South Blues, and the Selkirk Steelers. It also features 8 other teams from all over the province; from the south (Winkler Flyers) to the north (OCN Blizzard and Swan Valley Stampeders) and the east (Steinbach Pistons) to the west (Neepawa Natives, Portage Terriers, Waywayseecapo Wolverines, and Dauphin Kings). If you have a chance you can catch Saints games at Dakota Arena and Blues games at Century Arena here in the city.
I'm also writing for the MJHL Website, so I guess I'm plugging myself as well. Steve Dreger and I are feature writers. We basically profile current players who are making an impact in the league and former players who have moved on to bigger stages, like the NCAA. Here's an article I wrote about Selkirk Steelers' playmaker, Colan Jackson.
Steelers' Jackson happy to be back in MJHL
It’s a tough decision to uproot yourself and move all the way across the country. For Colan Jackson, the Selkirk Steelers’ play maker, the journey to the University of Guelph to play for the Gryphons, was the right choice at the time.
“It was a decision to get going with school and start up the education a little sooner,” Jackson said of his decision to make the move to Southern Ontario. “Guelph had a good program and I decided to give it a try.”
Jackson found that the situation was not the right fit for him and wouldn’t allow him to improve his game as much as he would have liked.
“Each day during training camp, more and more guys kept showing up and I didn’t think that I’d get the ice time that I wanted,” he said.
The decision to leave Guelph and return to Selkirk was an easy one for Jackson because he wouldn’t have to sacrifice his education by coming back.
“It wasn’t a tough decision at all,” he said. “I’m applying to go back to school for the second semester and hoping to get a scholarship, playing the next few years here in Selkirk.”
Steelers head coach, Ryan Smith, believes that Jackson’s return is important to the team’s success.
“He’s a veteran player and a leader, both on and off the ice,” Smith said. “His main weapon is his offence and we rely on it, as that’s a big part of our team strategy.”
Jackson sees himself and his strengths the same way.
“I try to step up and be a team leader, not just on the ice,” Jackson said. “I try to play hard at both ends of the ice and hopefully chip in offensively.”
Jackson and the Steelers have a score to settle with the Portage Terriers, who defeated them in last year’s final. He anticipates the road to the MJHL championship going through Portage.
“We want to make another trip back to the final, hopefully it would be against Portage, and after that, the RBC Cup,” Jackson said.
So, I was going to write a nice, long, detailed blog post about traveling through Taiwan. Kind of like a condensed Lonely Planet guide to the country. I spent almost a year and a half living there and feel that it is definitely under-rated as a travel destination. But, time constraints this week have put the kibosh on that plan. So instead, I'm giving you the reader a preview to next week's blog post. I'm going to do a quick profile of one of the more beautiful spots in the country, Sun Moon Lake.
Sun Moon Lake is a beautiful alpine lake located in the central section of the island. It is surrounded by lush, forest covered mountains on all sides. There is a small touristy village on one side of the lake, that contains the area's hotels and hostels, plus the area's famous pottery workshops.
I found that Sun Moon Lake is a great place to kick back and relax. It's a good retreat away from the hustle and bustle and non-stop activity of the Taiwanese cities. Sun Moon Lake is apparently only really packed with tourists during Taiwanese long weekends, so we had the good fortune of being there during the middle of the week.
A must do, is to take the afternoon-long boat cruise around the lake. The boat takes you around the lake, stopping at the numerous temples and pagodas that dot the hills surrounding its shores. Thankfully, our boat captain made sure that the ship's coolers were well stocked with Taiwan Pijo (the national beer), which made the afternoon even more enjoyable.
It is against the law to swim in Sun Moon Lake, except for the annual "Across the Lake" swim. No one I talked to could give me a reason why this was the case, except for the standard, "because the government says so." It's kind of a strange rule because the annual swim is much more dangerous than swimming on a regular day, as the year I was there four people died during the event. A little bit of stealthiness and this rule is easy to get around.
That's a quick preview of my next post, which will give the travel highlights for the beautiful island of Taiwan.
So, after a month and a half of blogging, which is about a month and a half more than I ever thought I would do, I think it's time to reboot the blog. When I started the blog, it was encouraged to keep our blogs fairly specialized, but I think being more general is the direction I want to take it. I'm still probably going to write about sports a lot, but I think for me, just writing about sports is too narrow of a perspective. I'll probably throw in some posts about travel, politics, music, and other random things that interest me.
Before I do the reboot, I'm going to go back to the well and discuss another Olympic related issue. I'm a little bit behind the times on this one, but I'm still really stoked about it. This being the inclusion of Rugby Sevens, along with golf, in the Summer Olympics.
For those who don't know, Rugby Sevens is a variation of the traditional, 15 man, rugby union game. Instead of 15 men per team, each team consists of seven fast, skilled players. Big bruisers that are necessary for the traditional game are not needed. Games consist of two ten minute halves and are non-stop scoring affairs. End-to-end runs resulting in trys are the norm.
The major competition for Sevens is known as the IRB Sevens World Series. It consists of tournaments in New Zealand, Hong Kong, South Africa, Dubai, Scotland, England, the USA, and Australia. New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, Samoa, Fiji, and England are the powerhouse teams. I was lucky enough to attend the 2008 Sevens tournament in Wellington, New Zealand.
I was traveling through New Zealand at the time with some Kiwi friends and we noticed some advertisements for the tournament. I didn't know much about rugby at the time, so my friends decided that this tournament would be a good introduction to the game. Rugby is basically a religion in New Zealand, so I figured this would be quite an event. So, after my friend blew off a job interview in Auckland, much to his wife's dismay, we hopped in a car and made the four hour trek down to Wellington.
All I have to say about my first impression of the tournament was that something like this would never happen in North America. Spectators were encouraged to dress up for the event, so the stadium was full of groups in matching costumes. There were groups of fans dressed up as doctors, Rambo-type soldiers, and even a group of Canadians dressed as hockey players. Between matches, there were drinking competitions on the sidelines hosted by the event emcee. Basically, it was two days of 30,000 people in costumes getting hammered out in the sun and watching some rugby.
The games were extremely entertaining. My national pride was dented early on, as Canada was walloped 48-0 by the host All Blacks. The Cook Islands pulled a massive upset on the first day by defeating England in a nail-biter. Kenya became a fan favorite by playing extremely fast-paced and exciting rugby.
The tournament culminated on the next day, after over thirty exciting matches. The All Blacks sent the crowd into a frenzy by scoring an end-to-end try on the last play, to defeat Samoa in the final. They then proceeded to do their world-famous hakka (Maori war dance), while the booze-fueled crowd went insane.
I hope that the excitement and free-spirited nature of Rugby Sevens tournaments translates over to the Olympics. It's quite the spectacle.
When our Buyer Beware group got together, we tossed around several ideas for what we should examine. None of the suggestions seemed right until Emmanuel suggested that we look into something that he had come across at his previous employer, MTS. He mentioned that when he was dealing with customer billing, the topic of text short code charges was a constant issue.
What are text short codes?
Text short codes are a by-product of the text message segment of the wireless industry. Short codes are numbers that consumers can send a text message to in order to participate in an automated application. These can include promotions, contests, products such as ringtones and wallpaper, and "jokes of the day". Consumers send a text message to the short code and are charged an initial fee for sending and receiving messages. They are then enrolled in a subscription through the short code. The short code number continues to send the consumer text messages, while charging them a subscription fee through their wireless carrier. To opt-out of the subscription, the consumer must send a text with the word "STOP" to the short code. They can also receive customer service by texting the word "HELP".
The Issue
The issue with short codes is that in advertisements, short code companies are not clear with how one can opt-out of the subscription or that there is even a subscription and associated charges involved. They usually include this information in small text that appears only briefly at the bottom of the advertisements. Short code advertisements often target the 12-15 year old age market, a group that are hardly savvy consumers and who often do not read legal fine print.
The goal for our Buyer Beware project was to examine if short code companies are misleading consumers by not properly disclosing subscription fees and other charges. We went about our research from several angles. We looked at the regulations behind the short code industry and the legality of subscription fees. We then took a look at short code scams. Our third angle was actually subscribing to a short code and seeing how the subscription works. Finally, we surveyed 50 high school students (the target market) to uncover their knowledge of short codes and fees.
This research led us to one final conclusion to present to you, the consumer:
AVOID TEXT SHORT CODES!
Regulations
The one thing that became clear through our research was that while text short codes follow industry regulations, they are often misleading and often vague about subscriptions and the charges that are involved. As a savvy consumer, it is best to avoid short codes because there is a good chance that you will receive a startling wireless bill at the end of the month. If you are intent on using a text short code, make sure that you read the fine print and are aware of subscription fees and how to opt-out of the subscription.
As I mentioned earlier, we came to this conclusion by looking at the issue from several different angles, starting with the regulatory side of short codes. They are regulated by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) and are required to disclose subscription fees and an opt-out method. Marc Choma, the Director of Communications for the CWTA had this to say about short code regulations:
"All short code subscriptions are strictly permission based by the consumer. As far as advertising, all prices for short code programs must be present in any call-to-action advertising, as well as in the short code message itself.”
The CRTC decided that CWTA regulations were sufficient for the short code industry when it shot down a petition from L'Union des consommateurs of Quebec, that called for the CRTC to regulate the industry.
The research indicated that short code regulations are fairly strong in this country. They are not consumer friendly however, because they do not regulate the size or length of the fine print in advertisments. This can cause consumers the most hassles.
Scams
We then took a look at short code scams. Short code scams do exist in other countries, but in Canada, CWTA regulations make them a non-issue for wireless consumers, as unsolicited texts are against regulations. The issue is that people do get scammed by not reading the fine print in advertisements. They then are charged fees through their wireless carrier and feel they have been scammed when they see large fees that they don't understand. As always, the moral here is to always read the fine print.
Short Code Enrolment
Emmanuel enrolled in several short codes to see exactly how short code subscriptions work. First, he subscribed to a "Celebrity Soulmate Calculator". The website advertising was clear in identifying that the cost of a text was $1.25. After discovering that his celebrity soulmate was Natalie Portman, Emmanuel soon found out that he had been enrolled in a subscription that sent him a daily horoscope at the cost of $1.25 per text. This was not mentioned at all on the website. Emmanuel used the "STOP" function to opt-out because he was aware that was how to get out. This function was only mentioned briefly in the first text that he received from the short code. This short code obviously targets teenagers and if they did not catch that information, they would not know how to opt-out at a later time.
The second subscription Emmanuel enrolled in was from local radio station, Curve 94.3. They were advertising on a billboard to text if you like the band Pearl Jam or not. At the bottom of the billboard was the fine print, which was so small that it was completely illegible to passing motorists. The fine print states that each text costs $0.50. The ad campaign encourages texters to send up to ten texts a day. That would work out to a lot of money on a monthly wireless billing statement.
Again, the evidence pointed to the fact that consumers must always read the fine print.
Survey and Results
After examining several short code marketing campaigns, we came to the conclusion that they generally target teenagers. So Christa hit the streets to survey teenagers on their knowledge of short codes and fees. 50 surveys were completed by teenagers in the 13-15 age group. Here are the results:
• 35 out of 50 surveyed do not read fine print. • 17 out of 50 said that you must be over 18 years old to use the service. Out of the 17, 10 had used the service anyway. • 20 out of 50 answered “no” when asked if there was a charge for the service. • 7 out of 50 answered correctly on question #3-How many times are you charged? The correct response being, “until you tell the company to stop charging”. • 21 out of 50 have subscribed to the service.
Here are some quotes taken directly from answers to the survey:
“Have you had any experiences, good or bad, with the service?” “Bad because my mom got mad and I got grounded.” “Once, and it was ok but I didn’t know how to stop it.”
“Do you read the fine print on the ad? If so what does it say?” “It’s too small to read.” “Try to-Too small.” “I don’t read fine print.” “Wouldn’t know it’s too fine.” “No, I never have time to.”
This survey indicates that teenagers are major users of text short codes, but have little knowledge of the fees and subscriptions that are involved. Reading the fine print is not a concern for them.
Again, all evidence points to the fact that consumers must always read the fine print.
After conducting this research, we came to an enlightening conclusion, which I'm sure you can figure out as well. Always read the fine print!
We recommend that consumers avoid using text short codes because if you do not read the fine print and are not aware of subscriptions and the associated fee, a large monthly wireless bill is likely to be awaiting you.
UPDATE: Emmanuel discussed the results of our project with supervisors at the MTS call centre. They were extremely impressed with our conclusions as educating consumers on short code avoidance will help to minimize the call volume they receive related to short code disputes.
As well, two supervisors from the Wireless Sales & Service department of MTS Allstream Inc. have informally requested a copy of our project, as the information we gathered would be helpful in understanding short code regulations, not only for their customers, but also for their employees taking calls.
I'm sitting here watching Sportscentre and they just showed a report from Edmonton. To my surprise there is a good coating of snow covering the ground in E-town. It's kind of depressing because that's likely going to be making it's way over here sometime soon. Like most Winnipegger's, I've got a love hate relationship with winter. On one hand I enjoy hitting the outdoor rink and snowboarding on our meager hills. On the other hand, minus 40, enough said.
Yet, all in all, I'm kind of looking forward to this winter. It looks like it will be the first time since 2006 that I'll be heading out west to snowboard. I can't wait to hit the slopes of Lake Louise and Sunshine Village.
But before that happens, two more months of first term CreComm. Anticipation is all I have right now.
This afternoon, the International Olympic Committee will make its big announcement on where the 2016 Summer Olympics will take place. It is the culmination of several years of IOC sanctioned "bribery" and backroom politics. Recently heads of state have been getting in on the action as well. Vladimir Putin was heavily involved in the lobbying that won Sochi, Russia the 2014 Winter Games and Barack Obama traveling to the IOC convention in Copenhagen to support Chicago's 2016 bid. Potential host cities spend almost $100 million dollars in an attempt to make a winning bid. Only one will be chosen, so for four cities, this money is down the drain.
Then the big spending begins. Billions of dollars will be spent by the host city to construct venues, improve infrastructure, and provide security for the games. Much of this money comes from corporate sponsorships, but a large chunk is paid for by municipal governments. After the inevitable cost overruns, the municipal governments and citizens by extension are on the hook for the cost. The Vancouver games are already $45 million overcost on construction, which will come out of the taxpayer's pocket. The citizens of Montreal finally finished paying off the 1976 games, in the late 1990s.
I forgot to include this article in my previous post. The New York Times discusses how foreign athletes are being excluded from training at Olympic venues in Vancouver and Whistler. Part of the game or unsportsmanlike? What do you think?
It took all of three posts for it to happen. I've managed to go off topic. I figure there's a whole wide world outside of sports and maybe I should explore it a little bit. I know I promised to do a training camp roundup for the Canadian NHL teams, but I figured that I'd go in a different direction for this post.
I spent the weekend stuck inside at work on what was likely the last good weather weekend of the summer. As I am a city employee, I had plenty of time to read the newspaper though. Flipping through a few newspapers, I came across some articles that are kind of thought provoking. They not connected in any way and cover a wide spectrum of topics. I thought I'd share a few of these articles from the Free Press and the Globe and Mail that I found interesting.
Margaret Wente hit the nail on the head with this article. University professors spend way too little time in the classroom. The example of University of Manitoba hit home for me, as I am a graduate from that fine institution. If I had a nickel for every unhelpful prof or in over their head sessional instructor that I experienced during my five years there...well I'd have several nickels. Not to say this is true of all the profs I had teach me. Some of the best educators that I have ever had taught me at Manitoba. Yet, the vast majority of the profs in my department(cough...Political Studies...cough) seemed more concerned with their next research paper or their next conference in Ottawa, than reaching out after class to help their students.
Universities need to re-examine the whole teaching/research system. It is obviously in need of an overhaul.
It's good to see that the winners at City Hall can take a proposed development that is extremely beneficial for the City and completely screw it up. Public consultation is always important. These are the people that elect councillors and pay the planning department's salaries. The development idea is great, as it is a method to deal with urban sprawl issues, but the City mishandled it.
At least I didn't go completely off topic. The Eric Tillman sexual assault drama has been dragging on in Regina for quite some time. I know it is innocent until proven guilty, but I think this article is somewhat in poor taste. The article extols Tillman's virtues as a CFL general manager, working behind the scenes, yet only makes brief mention at the end what he is charged with. This article would have been better served if it had been written after the resolution of the case.
The Globe also has a great article by Stephen Brunt on a former American CFL running back, who has taken an interesting football route. Big man on campus
A new week begins, yet things stay the same in Bomberland. Losing in Regina on Labour Day is expected. It's a tradition in itself. The Banjo Bowl was supposed to be different though. The game is traditionally an inverse of the Riders domination of the previous week. It used to be that no matter what the two teams records were, each team would almost be guaranteed to win at home. Times have changed though as the Riders have been asserting their dominance over the Bombers at home, in the "Crotch of Canada", and away, in the "Armpit of Canada". On a beautiful prairie Sunday afternoon and after eight Bomber turnovers, the Riders continued their run of dominance over the Bombers that dates back to the 2007 Grey Cup. I'm not even going to mention the score because I'm trying to do my best to block the game from taking hold in my memory bank.
The obvious magnet for the anger of Bomber fans is Mike Kelly. His offense has been a total failure from jump street. Flip-flopping between slandering the shotgun formation and using it constantly, the non-stop quarterback carousel, and refusing to use a formation with more than four receivers have created what might go down as the worst offense in CFL history. His public relations skills have been questionable from day one as well. But this post is not about Mike Kelly. Yes, it is obvious that he needs to go, but fans need to direct some of their anger towards the higher ups in the organization, most specifically Lyle Bauer.
To keep it short, Lyle Bauer needs to go. He has accomplished some pretty impressive financial feats during his tenure as President and CEO, including pulling the Bombers out of a massive financial hole. Yet his leadership has not translated into any on-field success. Nineteen years without a Grey Cup championship is a long time. Under Bauer's watch the Bombers have lost two championship games and have struggled through mediocre and down-right embarrassing seasons in between. The hiring of Mike Kelly was his decision and it has been reported that no one else was seriously considered. The responsibility for this season and all the turmoil and ugliness that has encompassed it falls squarely on Bauer. The end of the season needs to be a time of change and renewal, starting at the top.
Okay, that's the end of my rant for today. I promise my next post will be much more positive. NHL training camps are kicking off this week, so I'll take a look at how the Canadian teams are looking for the upcoming season.
Welcome to Life on a Couch, a blog that combines two things that one can partake in while lounging on their comfortable sofa: sports and blogging.
My name is Neil Babaluk and I have just started in the Creative Communications program at Red River College. One of our first big assignments for the program, and an ongoing one at that, is to create a blog and unleash it on the unsuspecting blogsphere. Well, maybe unleash it is the wrong phrase to use. More like, my blog has been given training wheels and I’ll tentatively roll out into the blogsphere.
After much intense, deep-rooted soul searching, I finally decided on a topic to structure my blog around. Imagine the Seinfeld episode where Jerry is doing some soul searching out on a pier and when he finally comes to a life changing decision, he takes off running. That’s exactly how the whole choosing a topic process played out for me. At first I wanted to do a free-ranging blog where I discussed things that I came across in my travels or interesting items that I found on the internet. After I lost confidence in that idea, I narrowed the idea down to a general sports blog. That seemed to be too broad of a topic as well. My next idea was to blog about weird sports played around the world. It’s a cool idea, but I decided that it was too narrow in scope. Finally, I had my Seinfeld moment and decided that I wanted to blog about the Canadian sports scene.
This blog is dedicated to the analysis and discussion of sports and sporting events that take place in our fine country. Whether it is the CFL, NHL, and MLB or Olympic sports and other amateur pursuits, it will be discussed here. I can promise plenty of Blue Bomber talk, as my unconditional love for the team has been constantly tested this summer. I actually briefly considered naming the blog "Fire Mike Kelly".
I may stray off topic occasionally to discuss American or global sports, but the main purpose of this blog will be to discuss Canadian sports. I think I will throw in an entry about weird sports though. The chance to blog about elephant polo, wife carrying, and bog snorkeling is too good of an opportunity to pass up. On that note, I encourage everyone to leave comments and let me know why my opinion is completely off base, which it probably will be most of the time.
