Your “Welcome To Smarch” Wednesday Evening Open Thread

NFL News:

• now that the Franchise tags have been applied (where applicable), all is quiet until next Tuesday, March 7th, when the “legal tampering period” begins and teams can start talking to pending free agents.
  • no contracts can be signed until after 4:00 ET March 9.
  • nfl.com has a list of the “101 Best Free Agents Available”
    • Top-5:
      1. Alshon Jeffery, Chicago Bears wide receiver
      2. Calais Campbell, Arizona Cardinals defensive end
      3. Brandon Williams, Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle
      4. Dont’a Hightower, New England Patriots linebacker
      5. A.J. Bouye, Houston Texans cornerback

• pending Free Agent news:
  • Chris Long has opted not to re-sign with the Patriots
  • the Eagles are going to kick the tires on Jamaal Charles
  • as previously stated, Colin Kaepernick has decided to take his kneeling talents elsewhere.

• “Lemme back in” news:
  • Josh Gordon has applied for reinstatement
  • anti-Tebow Johnny Manziel has re-hired his agent, who is shopping him around

• Belichick is debating the type of offer that could get him to trade Jimmy Garoppolo
  • according to PFT, it’d be a first-rounder, another pick, and the GM’s mom

Canada 150:

March 1, 1927 – The British Privy Council awards Labrador to Newfoundland over a claim from Quebec, which still does not recognize the decision to this day.

• This dispute is the result of important Canadian history factoids:
  • no formal boundaries were ever established in the northern regions of British North America and New France
    • usually, territorial boundaries “followed the river”
  • Canada was formed in 1867 out of former English & French colonies that were:
    • forced together after the Seven Years War (1756-63)
      • reinforced along southern borders after the US Revolution and The War of 1812
    • united as a new country partly to avoid US invasion after the Civil War, due to British trade support for the South
  • Newfoundland was part of Britain until 1949.
• in 1902, the Newfoundland colonial government issued timber licences to loggers for areas in Labrador along the Hamilton River
  • Quebec & Canada objected, and demanded the British government, through the Privy Council, decide the matter
    • Newfoundland argued it had rights to all watershed land, along both sides of the river
    • Quebec argued it had rights to the southern side
• in 1927, the Council determined Newfoundland had a claim to the land drained by the Hamilton (Churchill after 1965) River

Rather than continue to pursue the claim, Quebec exacts its revenge by claiming 75% of the profits from the Churchill Falls Dam, which it built as a joint revenue-generating project with Newfoundland in the 1960s to capitalize on the growing US need for electricity.

Tonight’s sports:

• NHL:
  • Penguins at Blackhawks – 8:00PM | NBCSN / Sportsnet

• NBA:
  • Wizards at Raptors – 7:30PM | Sportsnet1
  • Cavaliers at Celtics – 8:00PM | ESPN
  • Rockets at Clippers – 10:30PM | ESPN / Sportsnet1

• NCAA:
  • Arkansas at Florida – 7:00PM | ESPN2
  • Marquette at Xavier – 9:00PM | FS1

• Women’s soccer: U.S. vs. Germany – 7:00PM | FS1

I gotta admit, Trump sounded a lot more conciliatory last night. Whether TV president acts like an actual president remains to be seen. I STILL PREFER PRESIDENT BARTLET!