Riders Trade Fred Perry to the Smoe's

[cromartie]

Ya know, I used to like Eric Tillman, I thought he was a pretty stand up and smart guy, this last year however with his press antics, my opinion of him has gone way down. I still think he is a smart man, but he sure isn't as classy as I thought. I don't remember this kind of behaviour of him when he was with Ottawa or BC. Did I just miss something all those years or is this something different?

Here's what piqued my interest about him. In 2001 he was a columnist for TSN. In his season preview, the teams he picked to finish last in each division just happened to be the two teams that had fired him. Coincidence? Hardly. No logical person would have reached the conclusion going into that season that BC and Toronto were last place teams (though certainly no one thought they were first place teams either-and they weren't, obviously)

Don't get me wrong, I've always thought the guy was meant to be a CFL GM. But, yeah, the shine is wearing off a bit.

[Solar Max]

Tillman is a very savvy guy, Sir P. It's quite possible that he's playing for the home fans. I can't recall this sort of bad behaviour while he was here in BC, or in Toronto either. As for the time in Ottawa, there are still some that would like to find a nice tall streetlamp on Bank St.

[Lions4ever]

It's great to sit back here in the middle of Riderville and watche as the Champs are dismantled piece by piece. Listening to the whining is quite a refreshing change to listening to all the gloating about the new dynasty in the making. LOL

http://www.newstalk980.com/incoming/200 ... erry-trade

This sheds a different angle on why the Riders let Perry go in essence.

They let him go in essence? Essence of what? Petunia?

Now watch those Rider fans come out of the closet and say that they're glad such a dirty player has been ousted from their midst. After all, he really should have been flagged and suspended for that helmet hit on Dickenson. 8)

[Sir Purrcival]

Tillman is a very savvy guy, Sir P. It's quite possible that he's playing for the home fans. I can't recall this sort of bad behaviour while he was here in BC, or in Toronto either. As for the time in Ottawa, there are still some that would like to find a nice tall streetlamp on Bank St.

I don't doubt that he is either pandering or maybe just caught up in this "Open and part of the community thing" but revealing private financial details about an ex-employee? Yowser. That is a mistake, a big one, ethically, legally, what have you. You don't think that some Rider players might have taken note of that do you? I know if I was working for the man, I sure would. If I was considering a Free Agent offer from him, I would take note of it as well.

Incidently, the page on the web has mysteriously vanished. I guess someone has twigged that maybe someone has committed a boo-boo

[TheLionKing]

Now watch those Rider fans come out of the closet and say that they're glad such a dirty player has been ousted from their midst. After all, he really should have been flagged and suspended for that helmet hit on Dickenson. 8)

A "dirty" player on the Riders ? I'm totally shocked !

[WestCoastJoe]

As has been pointed out, the news 980 page has been removed. If a player has "off-field" issues, how the GM or Head Coach handles the media side of it is very dicey.

I have not seen what Tillman said publicly. He has, however, made some dumb media moves in the last year. If Tillman spelled out a player's personal financial problems in great detail, that would seem out of line. As a straight football deal, player trading, without possible "off-field" issues, or SMS issues, the Riders gave up a lot to get some maybes.

There are problems if you say nothing, also. Recall when Don Matthews, with the Lions in the mid-1980s, released Sammy Greene, a fan favourite. Matthews would say nothing to the media, and they roasted him for it. Matthews position was probably the more ethical one to have, however. The rules are changing in this media-driven society. Not much gets to stay private anymore.

[Reider]

This issue can be debatable until the cows come home, but lets face the facts, if Tillman didn't pour water on the fire so to speak, the fire would still be burning and wide spread. It's funny that people always point to Tillman for simply stating the facts aka his reasoning behind the trade, but never consider the fact that Fred Perry's own actions are the means to those facts.

Lots of non-rider fans are misinformed. Tillman is / was not trying to drag Fred Perry's name through mud. He likes Fred and even made sure that Edmonton would help Fred out more than the Riders currently were, before finalizing the deal. He even let Fred talk with Danny Maciocia first to make sure both sides were happy with the details.

Eric's main motivation behind releasing the facts is basically to tell his side of the story aka to be accountable for his actions since this trade looked very lopsided on paper and the fans were raging.

[Solar Max]

Good points, Reider.

So when Tillman called Wally Buono a liar last year, and called the BC Lions organization "a disgrace", his main motivation was to make sure he could tell his side of the story? Or perhaps it was to build a relationship between the two clubs?

Intentions are all well and good, but the fact is that he dragged Perry's name through the mud, intentionally or not. Spinning this as you feel best is not supported, as the page has been pulled at Riderville.

[Reider]

Good points, Reider.

So when Tillman called Wally Buono a liar last year, and called the BC Lions organization "a disgrace", his main motivation was to make sure he could tell his side of the story? Or perhaps it was to build a relationship between the two clubs?

Intentions are all well and good, but the fact is that he dragged Perry's name through the mud, intentionally or not. Spinning this as you feel best is not supported, as the page has been pulled at Riderville.

Eric and Wally are friends. Eric was saying just a couple of weeks (or so) ago that Wally called him up and they had a good chat. I'm not sure what the liar or disgrace comments were in reference to, but clearly Wally isn't too upset about it (speaking of spin jobs lol).

In terms of Perry. I guess it's one of them issues where one can view it from different contexts. You can play the "dragged his name through mud" stance all you want, but Tillman did nothing illegal because all he did was tell the facts. What's that saying.... don't do the crime if you can't do the time?

[Solar Max]

Good points, Reider.

So when Tillman called Wally Buono a liar last year, and called the BC Lions organization "a disgrace", his main motivation was to make sure he could tell his side of the story? Or perhaps it was to build a relationship between the two clubs?

Intentions are all well and good, but the fact is that he dragged Perry's name through the mud, intentionally or not. Spinning this as you feel best is not supported, as the page has been pulled at Riderville.

Eric and Wally are friends. Eric was saying just a couple of weeks (or so) ago that Wally called him up and they had a good chat. I'm not sure what the liar or disgrace comments were in reference to, but clearly Wally isn't too upset about it (speaking of spin jobs lol).

In terms of Perry. I guess it's one of them issues where one can view it from different contexts. You can play the "dragged his name through mud" stance all you want, but Tillman did nothing illegal because all he did was tell the facts. What's that saying.... don't do the crime if you can't do the time?

Good spin this time, great work.

It isn't up to YOU to dictate to others whether Tillman dragged Perry's name through the mud though, it's the reader's. I never said a word of legalities, so you're just throwing out a red herring there.

IN MY OPINION, Tillman publicly dragged his name through the mud.

As for Wally and Eric being friends, that comes either from you, or Tillman. We've seen you spinning things in this thread, and we know that Tillman called Wally a liar after two Lions/'Riders games, so his word isn't exactly gold here, either.

You'll need other sources than your word and Eric's to convince some of your audience here of that.

[Sir Purrcival]

This issue can be debatable until the cows come home
True
Tillman didn't pour water on the fire so to speak, the fire would still be burning and wide spread.
Also true

It's funny that people always point to Tillman for simply stating the facts aka his reasoning behind the trade, but never consider the fact that Fred Perry's own actions are the means to those facts

And so that gives Tillman the right to pass personal information out? I don't think so. Put yourself in that position. How would you feel if an ex-employer started passing out personal details on your financial affairs? It may be 100% accurate but it still doesn't make it right.

Lots of non-rider fans are misinformed.

No I don't think we are. I don't think people misunderstand his motives. We all pretty much understand the microscope that the Riders are subject to by their fans. I'm sure the pressure to respond to something like this can be enormous but perhaps he should have spent some more time trying to find a deal that wasn't so prone to objection. Perhaps he should have told the media that there were a number of personal issues that helped the deal make sense and let the fans deal with it. Perhaps he could have told the fans that the reason's were none of their damned business and have withstood the pressure to respond. All things die down eventually as this would have. Unfortunately, rather than take the higher road, he opened his mouth about matters which were inappropriate for him to do so. It is a complete swing in the opposite direction to the Trevis Smith incident where the cone of silence seemed to be in purrfect working order. (yes I know that was a different regime)

Eric's main motivation behind releasing the facts is basically to tell his side of the story aka to be accountable for his actions since this trade looked very lopsided on paper and the fans were raging.

Yep they were raging and you know what, too bad. There are somethings that they just don't have a right to know about. This was about Tilliman trying not to look like he made a bad deal. Justifying his actions as it were by pointing to the actions of another. He gets paid to make decisions and to bear the consequences of the decisions he makes. I'm sure he knew that the fat was gonna hit the flame when he made this deal, but rather than be ready for it, he played coy for 24 hours and then reacted by violating the privacy a player who had worked very hard for the Riders. Not classy and not a good way to set an example for the rest of your team.

[Reider]

Tough crowd.

[Solar Max]

Not really. Just not a Rider site.

[Rammer]

It's great to sit back here in the middle of Riderville and watche as the Champs are dismantled piece by piece. Listening to the whining is quite a refreshing change to listening to all the gloating about the new dynasty in the making. LOL

http://www.newstalk980.com/incoming/200 ... erry-trade

This sheds a different angle on why the Riders let Perry go in essence.

That, however, cannot be true, Rammer. Ask almost anyone at Riderfans BEFORE 1 PM yesterday. 8)

The 'Riders were forced into a bad deal by locker room and Luxury Tax issues, and had no choice to trade Perry for Jyles. It IS strange that Tillman would not yet have learned that dissing people in a public forum will come back to bite him, though.

Guess it's tough for you seeing the 'Riders get hosed by the hated Esks, though. For me, not so much. :lol:

I have zero problems with the resultl of this transaction, it weakens our biggest opponent. Going to the Esks doesn't mean that he will be playing at the same level at any rate, no problems there, and if he does play at 07 abilities, the Esks are still about 4 starting NI's away from contending in the West finals.

[Solar Max]

I have zero problems with the result of this transaction, it weakens our biggest opponent. Going to the Esks doesn't mean that he will be playing at the same level at any rate, no problems there, and if he does play at 07 abilities, the Esks are still about 4 starting NI's away from contending in the West finals.

I think perhaps for Lions fans, this was the best of both worlds. Perry is getting older, and Jyles is a 4th stringer.

The swap of draft picks is moot too, because they just swapped draft order. It is sad that the 'Riders couldn't make some more Lion friendly trades such as this one, though. 8)