Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Hamilton Tiger-Cats are at opposite ends in Grey Cup contest
Head coaches Orlondo Steinauer of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Mike O'Shea of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will again be on opposite sidelines at the Grey Cup game.
Hamilton will have home-field advantage Sunday when it faces Winnipeg at a sold-out Tim Hortons Field. The Blue Bombers come in as defending champion after downing the Ticats 33-12 in the 2019 Grey Cup.
This time around, the roles are certainly reversed.
In 2019, Steinauer guided Hamilton to a CFL-best 15-3 record, tying the league mark for most wins by a first-year head coach. Steinauer also got the better of O'Shea that year as the Ticats swept the two-game series with Winnipeg, which posted an 11-7 record before advancing to its first Grey Cup appearance under O'Shea.
This season, Winnipeg (CFL-best 11-3 record) was certainly the class of the league, all of its losses coming after it had clinched first in the West Division. Hamilton (8-6) finished second in the East Division behind the Toronto Argonauts (9-5).
Steinauer and O'Shea definitely have a long history together.
They were teammates in Toronto (2001-08), O'Shea a hard-nosed middle linebacker and Steinauer a versatile performer in the secondary. They often spent time together evaluating game film as part of their preparations.
O'Shea and Steinauer won a Grey Cup as players with Toronto in '04 before adding another as Argos assistant coaches in 2012.
O'Shea, 51, from North Bay, Ont., is in his seventh season as Winnipeg's head coach. He's a finalist for the CFL's coach of the year honour for the first time.
Ryan Dinwiddie, who completed his rookie year as Toronto's head coach, is the East nominee.
Steinauer, a 48-year-old native of Seattle, is in his second season as Hamilton's head coach. He was the CFL's top coach in 2019.
Hamilton and Winnipeg met just once this season. The Bombers began their title defence with a 19-6 home win over the Ticats to kick off the CFL's resumption of play.
The league didn't hold a 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So, the two teams that began the '21 campaign will now close it out.
Hamilton comes into the Grey Cup having won six of its last seven games. And the Ticats' defence has been solid in the playoffs, anchoring wins over Montreal (23-12) and Toronto (27-19) in the East semifinal and final, respectively.
Hamilton registered six sacks and five turnovers versus the Alouettes while holding CFL rushing leader William Stanback to 29 yards on 12 carries. On Sunday, the Ticats didn't allow a touchdown as Toronto's scoring consisted of six field goals and a single.
Twice in the first quarter, Toronto drove inside the Hamilton five-yard line and each time had to settle for a field goal. Ticats quarterback Dane Evans also stripped Argos' defender Shaq Richardson of the ball at the visitors' 25-yard line that prevented the Double Blue from adding to a 12-0 advantage.
Evans was also instrumental in Hamilton's win over Toronto. He relieved starter Jeremiah Masoli in the second quarter and finished 16-of-16 passing for 249 yards and a TD.
Evans also ran for two fourth-quarter touchdowns as the Ticats became the first team to secure a home Grey Cup berth since the '13 Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Steinauer hasn't said who'll start Sunday against Winnipeg. Masoli was under centre for the season-opening loss to the Bombers.
Hamilton will attempt to earn its first Grey Cup crown at home since 1972. That year, standout Ticats defensive lineman Angelo Mosca capped his illustrious CFL career by hoisting the hallowed trophy with teammate Garney Henley before a partisan Ivor Wynne Stadium gathering.
The legendary Mosca, who was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1987, died Nov. 6 at age 84 following a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's.
Two years ago, Winnipeg native Andrew Harris put an exclamation mark on the Bombers' championship season. He was named Grey Cup MVP and top Canadian after rushing for 134 yards and a TD on 18 carries while adding five catches for 35 yards and a touchdown against Hamilton.
On Sunday, Harris ran for 136 yards and a TD as Winnipeg dispatched the Saskatchewan Roughriders 21-17 in the West Division final despite committing six turnovers. The game was Harris's first since Oct. 15 due to a knee injury.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec 7, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."