CFL legend Al Bruno passes away.....

[notahomer]

http://www.theprovince.com/sports/Forme ... story.html

Was the TigerCats head coach when I was first getting into the CFL.

[notahomer]

http://www.ticats.ca/article/ticats-mou ... f-al-bruno

I had no idea Bruno was an ex-player...

[274always]

after pigskin pete that's two big losses in the tigercat family. makes you wonder if 2014 will be their year.

[Robbie]

RIP Al Bruno. At least he survived his heart attack way back in 1987.

His highlight must be coaching perhaps the biggest upset in CFL Grey Cup history by shocking the highly favoured Edmonton Eskimos in the 1986 Grey Cup - the second to last time the Tiger-Cats won the Cup before 1999 which was also played at BC Place. It was a third time charm for Bruno and the Tiger-Cats who lost two straight Grey Cups in 1984 and 1985. Who was at the 1986 Grey Cup on November 30, 1986? It was also the highest attended Grey Cup at BC Place at 59,579.

And Bruno was the last coach to hoist the smaller version of the Grey Cup.

[Toppy Vann]

My son and I were at the BC Place game expecting an Eskimo BLOW OUT and the Cats came on firing on all cylinders and sent the crowd going crazy. Not sure if the Esks felt as we did that this game was a mismatch as the Esks would not be challenged.

[Ravi]

For Argos fans like myself, 1986 is an especially painful year to remember. Because the fourth place team in the West (Calgary) had a better record than the third place team in the East (Montreal), the four western teams battled it out in two semi-final games in the first round of that year's playoffs with the winners (Edmonton and B.C.) meeting in the West Final. In the East, the Argos and Ticats played a memorable two-game total point series. The Argos held a 26 point lead in that series during the second quarter of the second game in Toronto. However, they couldn't hold that lead as the Ticats stormed back to win the series 59-56. That was one of Al Bruno's finest moments as head coach as he had to keep his team focused after losing the first game of that series at home 31-17. I really wish that the league would have that format as opposed to the crossover. One of the reasons to have that 1986 format instead is that it gives the league an extra playoff game which means an additional gate.

[notahomer]

..... The Argos held a 26 point lead in that series during the second quarter of the second game in Toronto. However, they couldn't hold that lead as the Ticats stormed back to win the series 59-56. That was one of Al Bruno's finest moments as head coach as he had to keep his team focused after losing the first game of that series at home 31-17. I really wish that the league would have that format as opposed to the crossover. One of the reasons to have that 1986 format instead is that it gives the league an extra playoff game which means an additional gate.

I have to agree that was, IMO, Bruno's finest moments refocussing his team for the win.

I wouldn't mind them returning to that format. As a team in the West, if the Lions are going to make the playoffs this season, I personally would still rather they had to play through the West to get to the Grey Cup

One issue some people may have is the loss of the bye for the division champs. Then again, it seems to some players/coaches that bye isn't that big a deal anyways.....(it seems like it has been used as an excuse from time to time in CFL and NFL-'we lost our focus etc'....)

[Robbie]

For Argos fans like myself, 1986 is an especially painful year to remember.

1986 was a season of biggest changes in the CFL with regards to both on and off the field.

a) The regular season was increased from 16 to 18 games.

b) The size of the endzones were decreased from 25 to 20 yards.

c) The playoff season was changed into one that came into effect from 1986 to 1992 and was a predecessor to the current crossover playoff format. But this format took effect only once in 1986. The playoff structure was revised to allow a fourth place team from one of the divisions to qualify for the playoffs if that fourth place team has earned more points in the regular season standings than the third place team from the other division. But instead of a crossover in which the 4th team became the 3rd place team in other division, the four qualifiers in one division played semi-finals and a final while the two qualifiers in the other division playing a home-and-home, total-points, 2-game playoff. The latter is very similar to soccer playoff format in many leagues and tournament qualifying as they still use total-goal series.

Because the fourth place team in the West (Calgary) had a better record than the third place team in the East (Montreal), the four western teams battled it out in two semi-final games in the first round of that year's playoffs with the winners (Edmonton and B.C.) meeting in the West Final. In the East, the Argos and Ticats played a memorable two-game total point series. The Argos held a 26 point lead in that series during the second quarter of the second game in Toronto. However, they couldn't hold that lead as the Ticats stormed back to win the series 59-56.

I would have loved to see another case in which there was a total-point series in which a team that's leading by a big margin will still try to rub it in.

One of the reasons to have that 1986 format instead is that it gives the league an extra playoff game which means an additional gate.

That was partially changed in 1993, but it was rather unfair in that the east division leader got a bye but not the west division leader, and the Lions gave a good fight out of the Stampeders.

One issue some people may have is the loss of the bye for the division champs. Then again, it seems to some players/coaches that bye isn't that big a deal anyways.

And it's discussed before about how last 30 seasons the first place team in the west division has made it to the Grey Cup less than 50% of the time.