I'm Back (and I'm Bringing Friends)

I was hoping that making this announcement would come after a more joyous day for Tiger-Cat fans – like, say, following a Grey Cup win and victory parade – but that was not to be. The Ti-Cats, for a second straight year, were unable to win it all, but that will not put a damper on the news that, yes, Blogskee Wee Wee is coming back!

Two years ago, most of you reading this will know that I stepped away from the keyboard. There were many factors that played a role in my decision to stop, but the two biggest ones were time and desire. The time commitment became too much and, frankly, I just felt like I had nothing left to say (some of you might think I never had anything to say) and did not want to continue just for the sake of continuing. But the desire is back and the time is there, so I figured it was time to dust off the ol' keyboard and get back at it.

But what good is a sequel if we don't take a tried formula and add a new wrinkle or two, right? I am happy to announce that Mark Fulton (who you may know on Twitter and the Ti-Cats/CFL forum as FenderGuy69) will be joining the team as our East Division analyst (and his inaugural post will be up tomorrow). Mark has a keen analytical mind and you will find few people who understand the game of football more than he does.

I am equally as excited to announce that the role of West Division analyst will be filled by Eric from Eh Sports Opinions. The Winnipeg native, and Blue Bomber fan, knows as much about the CFL as anyone out there and will help provide a non-Tiger-Cat perspective on things.

Finally, I would like to announce that we are also launching a podcast in the new year. The Podskee Wee Wee podcast will be co-hosted by myself and Mike Graham (aka Mike_Ticats on Twitter), and will cover a wide range of CFL topics. Mike is a rabid CFL fan and I know you will enjoy his no-holds-barred opinions.

I, of course, will still be looking mainly at the Tiger-Cats, but the hope is that with the help I am receiving we can expand our coverage and tackle more topics that interest the fans of all nine CFL teams (yes, even you Argos fans).

So there are plenty of things, both new and old, to look forward to with the new and improved Blogskee Wee Wee. I hope that this incarnation will live up to the standard I tried to set all those years ago.

Cheers, everyone, and let the fun begin... again.

Articles Added to Sidebar

As everyone is probably already aware, I am participating in a CFL Blogging Contest. I am also trying my darnedest to win it. For anyone who has yet to read my articles, I have decided to add them to the sidebar. So if you haven't checked out the articles, you now do not need to go looking for them in previous posts. They will be front and centre for everyone to see. (Well, technically, they'll be on the side to the right, but you get the idea.)

The contest closes on September 1st, and the writer with the most page views will be crowned the winner. So if you like what I do here, check out the articles over on the sidebar. Thank you for your support.

Exciting New Things

It's halftime in the opening game of the 2011 season, so I figured I could take the time to update you on some cool stuff I've been involved in over the last couple of days.

First, I have added two new sites to the sidebar in CFL Insider and Bastard Bomber Fan. Normally I wouldn't link to the site of a team that isn't the Ti-Cats, but the site is well run and a lot of fun, even if you don't like Winnipeg.

However, the main reason I linked to BBF and CFL Insider is because this past Tuesday, I participated in a fantasy draft through Fantas-Eh with the two gentlemen that run those sites, as well as with the men that run Canadian Football Talk (who organized everything, and where you will find the results for the league), No Yards and Rouge Radio.

It was an absolute blast and should be a ton of fun. If nothing else, it was great to participate in something with fellow CFL fans. Based solely on the draft, this is going to be a good group of guys to play fantasy football with, and I can't wait to gain bragging rights over my fellow CFL scribes when I take home the title.

More Changes

I decided to make a couple changes to the site, and, as always, I have decided to let everyone know what those changes are.

First, in addition to being able to follow me on Twitter, you can now like me on Facebook. If you, like many in this world, are a habitual Facebook user, you will be able to get all your Blogskee Wee Wee updates via Facebook now.

I have also added another site to the sidebar in No Yards: A Canadian Football Blog. It is my hope that people will read the sites that I recommend because anyone writing positively about the CFL deserves to be recognized. (You can also follow No Yards on Twitter.)

Finally, just recently a podcast called 3rd and Long launched. As an avid podcast listener, I subscribed to these guys right away. There are not many CFL-related podcasts out there, but this is probably the best one I have listened to. (You can also follow 3rd and Long on Twitter.)

There could some more changes coming soon as well. Stay tuned.

Site Changes

With a new season quickly approaching, I have decided to make some additions to the blog.

First, I have brought back the countdown clock. I figure it's a fun way to mark the time until the next game. I put it up top, so one of the first things you will see when you come to the site is how long until the next game.

Secondly, I have set up an e-mail address and I have a link to my Twitter feed. I was advised that having these things available to visitors would be a good idea since it would allow people to contact me without having to post comments on the site itself. Makes sense to me.

Thirdly, I have added two new website links to the sidebar: Oski-Oui-Oui's End Zone and Canadian Football Talk. These are two sites that I frequent for CFL news, and I figured fans out there might not know of them. Also, if there are any guys and gals out there with CFL sites that would like me to add them, just send me an e-mail or hit me up on Twitter. I'll be glad to help out any aspiring blogger who wants to get their name out there.

Finally, I brought back the "Follow" button as well. No real reason, but for those that want to follow, it's an easy way to get updates. It's all about making things easy for the reader.

Sorry that this isn't a football article, but when I change things around, I think it is helpful for you, the reader, to know. With this out of the way, we can get back to talking about football. The season is just around the corner and I can't wait!

New Countdown Clock

A friend of mine – who is also one of my most frequent readers – told me that he did not like the Countdown Clock that I had been using, since it only counted down to midnight of game day, and not to the actual kickoff of the game.

I agreed with him.

The previous clock was just the best I could find at the time. But after spending some time searching the Internet, I finally found one that I have deemed worthy of being the official Blogskee Wee Wee Countdown to Kickoff Clock.

This is first of many changes that will be coming to Blogskee Wee Wee over the next couple of weeks. If you have any ideas as to what you'd like to see, do not hesitate to drop a comment in the comment section. After all, as much as I do this for myself, I also do it for you, the faithful readers.

Anyway, enjoy the new clock (if you care) and be on the lookout for more new changes coming soon.

Ticatfans.com

As I have said before, I spend an awful lot of time on the Ti-Cat forum, as I find it a cool place to interact with Tiger-Cat fans, even if some of them can be a bit obnoxious. If you would rather not deal with the abrasive personalities that try to dominate the discussion over there, then I suggest checking out another forum that also caters to our Tiger-Cat obsession (because face it, if you're reading this you're a tad obsessed):

ticatfans.com

It's a pretty cool place to connect with fans of the Tiger-Cats and discuss the various goings-on of the team. They were even kind enough to give your humble scribe a little shout out, for which I am thankful. Hopefully some of their users will come over here and enjoy what I have to offer, and I implore my readers to venture over there to check out what they have to offer.

The Countdown is On

If you are anything like me you can't wait until the start of the 2010 CFL season. I've pretty much been counting down the days since last season ended, and I am brimming with anticipation over the start of the new season.

With that said I have decided to add a "Game Day Countdown" to the sidebar. Right now, as you can see, the clock is counting down until the day of the first pre-season game against Toronto at the Rogers Centre SkyDome.

I will update the clock after every game to reflect the new time until the next game. Here's hoping this gives all you Ti-Cat fans a little something to look forward to. At the very least counting down the days should be fun.

The Countdown is On!

Another New Addition

I decided to add a link on the sidebar to the Ti-Cats Fan Forum. I regularly post on there, and I find that it's a fun way to interact with fellow Ti-Cat fans. Like all anonymous Internet-based forums, you will find some interesting characters, but for the most part these are knowledgeable fans who just love the Cats.

Even if you don't feel like signing up, you can just check it out. Initially, that's what I did. It was when I read something that someone posted that caused me to sign up so I could debate them. (It may have been about Bo Smith; man I hate that guy.) Now I go on there almost every day hoping to interact with my fellow Cat fans. It's a fun way to kill time until the season starts.

Speaking of which, I am currently in the process of adding another new feature in the coming days. Once I have finalized the details I will post about it. Check back in the coming days for another new addition to Blogskee Wee Wee.

Addition By Addition

Just thought everyone would like to know that I've recently added Hamilton Spectator writer Drew Edwards's blog "The Scratching Post" to my list of links. It's a really good read. Edwards covers football for the Spec, he offers great insight in his posts, and most of his writing centres around the Tiger-Cats. I urge everyone to check him out.