I'm just a little curiouse whatever happened to John Macdonald? he was our first round pick back in 2001 i belive, i always liked him and thought he had great talent! anyone know waht he's doing these days? 8)
After retiring from politics in 1891... oh, wait... you mean the other John Macdonald.
Macdonald, Hamilton's first pick in 2002, was put on the DL in June of 2004 and subsequently released.
He was good on a bad team but would be terrible on a good team. kind of like a donnelly. would never play or make any other team.
Great motor, solid size, limited speed and skill.
He was a safe draft pick that filled a need.
Not a game changer, was a fringe guy.
We released him, and nobody jumped at picking him up.
A wasted pick from years gone by.
I chat with his sister occasionally who has a business on the New Credit Reserve up in the Hagersville area....if I remember correctly (hope I am), he's a teacher now....but I can't recall where exactly or any other details.
I do remember him as being a very hard worker and maybe the timing was all wrong in his case.
And yes, I'll say it...he is a very nice guy....lol....(in his case he really is)......football just didn't work out for him though
John Macdonald was an average CFL player who never really got to shine. he had decent athletic ability, but his height was an issue.
He was very hard worker with a good motor and always found a way to make the odd big play. A real Steeltown player - an over-acheiver with heart.
My friend knows his father. He told me johnny Mac is now teaching high school in Caledonia. He was not released from the Cats - he declared free agency, got a 3 or 4 small offers and decided to pack it and start teaching because the money wasn't worth it. Being an undersized guy playing DT, his felt his body couldn't take the beating anymore.
3 or 4 small offers? compared to what? the large salary he had? i have to say that this account sounds like one being filtered from a father to a friend. bottom line is hamilton let him go. i find it hard to believe that over half the cfl offered him a contract and he decided to go to more lucrative profession like teaching? oh well i guess you have to put a spin on it but i hate that. he has nothing to be ashamed of. i dont think he was very good but he was there i wish people would just be honest and say my time came and passed. i had a great time and now there isnt an opportunity for me to continue my career so i am moving on.
For a guy who goes overboard with negativity at times
your words were the closest thing to 'soft and sweet'
as you can probably get, newworldorder. Bravo! 
P.S.
I am glad you don't think teaching is a lucrative profession, NWO.
Most people think it is..and also that
teacher's work so little that they
almost steal the money they are paid. :roll:
I guess i ll take your backhanded compliment. i would hardly say i am negative. i think i call a spade a spade...maybe you confuse the cold hard truth as negativity.
Well, actually no one here knows what Macdonald himself said. Maybe he said exactly what Newworldorder thinks he said....and maybe not.
And teachers are very over-valued. I'm married to one. She makes almost $80k for a 8 month year (when all the breaks---summer, Christmas, March, PA Days, are subtracted), and works a 6 hour day. Rare are the days when works is brought home (as teachers always say they do). Plus 24 sick days a year (of which a full year can be cashed in upon retirement---that's a full year's salaary just for not using up your sick days!! Plus job security like you would not believe. I benefit from her salary and I'm extremely grateful for it of course but since we're calling a spade a spade, there it is.
An Argo-Cat fan
I think you should re-consider swinging your allegiance
towards the Tiger Cats this year, Argo-Cat fan
Your true home is with the wrong-headed Argo fans.
They have a loose relationship with the truth as well.
Tell me Ronfromtigertown, just where have I played loosey goosey with the truth? I’m curious.
An Argo-Cat fan
A truly honest person would give his wife an ultimatum. “Give that overpayment back, or else”
Notice, I only said honest, smart isn’t a prerequisite.
And I didn't even mention the teachers' pension plan. Retirement at 55 for almost all of them.
If you have kids and you want to do them a huge favor, tell them to become teachers. They'll be grateful for life and also have the resources to take care you of you when you're old and drooling.
An Argo-Cat fan
Virtual classrooms will be the future.
1 teacher can teach a class to thousands across the province.
Just log-in!!!
They’ll probably still want class sizes restricted to twenty pupils…
Your turn, Ron. Set me straight…
I have never changed the opinion of anyone
who has an opinion like Barney's, Wilf
so all I ever say to them is,
if teaching is such a cushy job,
why don't you become a teacher?
Sometimes there is a lot of stammering
or backtracking on their rosy picture
and sometimes there isn't. Whatever.
P.S.
Wilf, either you are trying to be funny
or you are just showing your age
Even I knew that a virtual classroom
must be a course taken over the internet.
I admit I didn't know that some of these courses
now have instructors and groups of students
who can interact with each other.
Come to think of it...maybe you're right
and these groups are limited to 20 students
just like Mc Guinty wanted to achieve
with school kids up to grade 2 or 3.
Barney ,you’ve side tracked another thread.(well maybe it was bent somewhere near the end anyway)
My daughter is looking at four years at McMaster (OK the first one was semi wasted ),and two more at Teachers College for an investment of six years at $6,000 per yr. minimum .
She loves it and will make a great teacher!
Glad to hear Teachers are well paid ,it’s better than the American alternative I’ve heard as they are way too low paid and the standard of teachers drops off with low pay.
A bit more truth. I was a public school board administrator for 20+ years and was grossly over-paid for what I did. In fact, my job was not even necessary but not being a stupid man, I stayed for the duration and retired at 49. But if you look at the latest public sector salaries, the Toronto District School Board has plumbers, plasterers, glaziers, etc. making over $100,000/year. One plumber made $167,000 last year. I didn't make half that in my last year.
Beamreach, good luck to your daughter. She's made a wise choice.
An Argo-Cat fan
I think that young teachers make between 45 and 65 in the first 5 years (with decent job security). The average CFL salary for a young player is between 40 and 50 (with little to no job security). I think the decision is a no-brainer.
The thing that I forgot to mention in my original post was Johnny Mac's knee injury. He tore his ACL in 2001... his entire playing career he was playing on it. So that, was a big factor in his decision.
As for the teams, I think he had BC, Ottawa, and Winnipeg offering him low-ball salaries.
I also heard hewas coaching at Guelph.