TORONTO – The Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the hometown Hamilton Tiger-Cats are set to compete in the 108th Grey Cup in a rematch of the 2019 championship. The host team has not made the Grey Cup since 2013. This marks the tenth time in the history of Canadian Football that the modern-day incarnations of the two clubs have played for the iconic trophy after having met in 1953, 1957-59, 1961-62, 1965, 1984 and 2019.
108th GREY CUP Winnipeg Blue Bombers vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats Sunday Dec. 12 at 6 p.m. ET TSN, RDS, ESPN2
• The Winnipeg Blue Bombers own an 11-14 (.440) record in the Grey Cup. Their most recent appearance in the championship game came in 2019 at the 107th Grey Cup, where they defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33-12. With this Grey Cup appearance, Winnipeg will surpass Edmonton for the most all-time. • The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are 8-13 (.381) in the Grey Cup. They last won the Grey Cup in 1999 by a score of 32-21 over Calgary. • This is the first Grey Cup rematch since Montreal and Saskatchewan played in 2009 and 2010, with the Alouettes claiming both victories. The last time that two teams met back-to-back and split the contests was 2002-2003 with Montreal and Edmonton. • Hamilton owns the longest championship drought with their last Grey Cup win coming in 1999. • Since 1980, this will be the third time that the same two coaches have met in consecutive Grey Cup games. • Teams from Hamilton and Winnipeg have met in the championship game 11 times, including their past incarnations as the Tigers and ‘Pegs in 1935, and as military service teams in 1943. They have met nine times as their modern-day incarnations. – 1935 (Winnipeg won 18-12) – 1943 (Hamilton won 23-14) – 1953 (Hamilton won 12-6) – 1957 (Hamilton won 32-7) – 1958 (Winnipeg won 35-28) – 1959 (Winnipeg won 21-7) – 1961 (Winnipeg won 21-14) – 1962 (Winnipeg won 28-27) – 1965 (Hamilton won 22-16) – 1984 (Winnipeg won 47-17) – 2019 (Winnipeg won 33-12)
• Winnipeg and Hamilton met once this season, when they kicked off the 2021 campaign: – Week 1: HAM 6 – WPG 19 in Winnipeg
• Orlondo Steinauer and Mike O’Shea will each be making their second appearances in the Grey Cup as head coaches. Steinauer played in three Grey Cups, winning twice (1999 and 2004). He also won the Grey Cup as the defensive backs coach of the Toronto Argonauts in 2012. O’Shea played in and won three Grey Cups with Toronto, and he also won one as a Special Teams Coordinator in 2012.
• This will be the third time that Hamilton has hosted the Grey Cup since 1950 when the Tiger-Cats were formed. – In 1972, Hamilton defeated Saskatchewan 13-10 – In 1996, Toronto defeated Edmonton 43-37.
• This will be the first Grey Cup at Tim Hortons Field.
• December 12 will be the latest date that the Grey Cup has been played since 1937, when it was contested on December 11 in Toronto.
The 108th Grey Cup from Hamilton’s Tim Hortons Field, featuring Arkells and special guests, The Lumineers, in the Twisted Tea Grey Cup Halftime Show, will be played on Sunday, December 12 at 6 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast live on TSN and RDS – Canada’s home of the CFL. A limited number of tickets are still available at ticketmaster.ca/greycup.
The 2021 edition of Grey Cup Week will feature a number of free fan events, including the CFL Awards, the Grey Cup Arrival delivered by Canada Drives and the Commissioner’s Fan State of the League address, as well as, fan favourite celebrations, such as the Spirit of Edmonton events, the CFL Alumni Association Legends Luncheon, and much more. Additional details and registration information can be found at greycupfestival.ca.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
