Grey Cup notebook: Coach Ryan Dinwiddie sees himself in Argos’ long-term plans
Argos #Argos
REGINA — Argos coach Ryan Dinwiddie tipped his cap to team owner Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, and in the process, suggested he would like his coaching tenure in Toronto to last “for a long time.”
“I have a lot of love for them, what they’ve done for us … our facilities, our meals, and (MLSE co-owner and chairman) Larry (Tanenbaum) is a good person, he takes a lot of pride in the Argos,” Dinwiddie said.
“A lot of people don’t understand how important they are to us, and how they support us. They really want this place to be special, and I owe that to them, to make sure I do my best to make sure it is, and I take a lot of pride in that. I want to be here for a long time.”
Sunday stroll
Meanwhile, Blue Bombers coach Mike O’Shea took his usual game day walk to the stadium Sunday.
“I do it all the time, just something I do,” said O’Shea, who walked several kilometres from the team hotel to Mosaic Stadium Sunday morning, with the weather warming to just under freezing and sunny.
Trending down
Viewership for the CFL’s division finals last weekend fell off by roughly 15 per cent compared to 2021.
The Argos-Alouettes East Division final drew 629,000 viewers on TSN, who watched Toronto down Montreal to gain its first berth in the Grey Cup since 2017.
Toronto lost the 2021 East Division final to Hamilton, a game that drew 846,000.
Two-time defending Grey Cup champion Winnipeg defeated the Lions in the West final, drawing 1.2 million viewers. The Blue Bombers drew 1.346 million for their win over Saskatchewan in the 2021 West final.
Toronto enjoyed its largest crowd of the season at BMO Field — 21,331 fans — for the East final, which was almost double the team’s regular season average of 11,875 fans.
Bye-cep injury
Argos linebacker Wynton McManis did not play Sunday after suffering an injury in last weekend’s game.
McManis had just returned from a knee injury just to play in the East final before suffering a biceps injury in the second quarter.
The Argos will arrange surgery for McManis as soon as they return to Toronto from Regina.
Singing stars
Anthem singer Teagan Littlechief trended on Twitter after singing the Canadian anthem in three languages — English, French and Cree.
“I’m over the moon,” Littlechief said when she learned she would be singing the anthem. Littlechief proudly represents the White Bear First Nation in southeastern Saskatchewan.
Country hitmakers Jordan Davis, Tyler Hubbard and Josh Ross put on a light-and-fireworks-filled show at halftime.
SHARE:
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be a registered Torstar account holder. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free)
Conversations are opinions of our readers and are subject to the Code of Conduct. The Star does not endorse these opinions.