Al Bruno will forever be remembered for delivering one of the biggest upsets in Grey Cup history.He guided the upstart Hamilton Tiger-Cats into the 86 final against the heavily favoured Edmonton Eskimos, who had posted a league-best 13-4-1 record. Many football pundits had predicted a lopsided affair, and they were right as the 9-8-1 Ticats captured a stunning 39-15 victory.The Ticats announced Monday that Bruno died Sunday night at the age of 87. Jason Riley, a former offensive lineman with Hamiltons 86 championship squad, credited Bruno for the upset victory.He was a master of bringing people together and building the chemistry of a team, Riley said. Everybody thought the 86 Eskimos would blow us out in the Grey Cup but actually it was the other way around because our chemistry was so good that everyone just played for each other and didnt worry about the hype.Al had a way of bringing the guys together . . . thats what made the difference.The cause of death wasnt divulged but Riley said Bruno, a native of West Chester, Pa., entered hospital in Port Charlotte, Fla., initially due to a kidney issue but passed away peacefully of heart failure. he added Bruno had just one kidney due to previous cancer treatment.Bruno came to the CFL in 1966 as an assistant coach with the Ottawa Rough Riders before taking a similar job with Hamilton in 1968. He served as the offensive co-ordinator at Harvard from 1971-81 before returning to Hamilton as its player-personnel director in 82.Bruno was named head coach during the 83 season after Bud Riley was fired and got the job permanently leading Hamilton to a 2-1-1 record. He suffered a mild heart attack during the 87 season and was replaced for six games by defensive co-ordinator Ted Schmitz before returning.Bruno was fired during the 90 campaign after Hamilton lost five straight to drop to 4-8. Bruno worked as a scout with both the B.C. Lions and Buffalo Bills before serving as McMaster Universitys head coach from 1994 to 96, bringing Riley aboard as the offensive line coach, a position he still currently holds.Bruno was a receiver at Kentucky, where he played for legendary head coach Paul (Bear) Bryant. The Philadelphia Eagles selected Bruno in the third round of the 51 NFL draft, but he signed with the Toronto Argonauts instead and played on their Grey Cup-winning team in 1952.Bruno spent two seasons with Toronto, then played briefly with Ottawa in 54 before finishing his CFL career with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1955-56). Bruno was inducted into the Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame in 08 and is also a member of the Chester County Sports and West Chester Henderson High School Halls of Fame.Al was a big, dependable receiver and I dont ever remember him dropping a pass, said former Argos teammate Nick Volpe. He later became a coach who was known to be one of the best around; he understood the game very well.Al had a great way with people. He was always very calm, friendly and efficient. He will be missed.Riley, currently a full-time teacher and football coach at a Burlington high school, spent 10 seasons with Hamilton before retiring after the 93 season. A four-time East all-star, Riley was named to the Ticats Walk of Fame in 95 and said he owes it all to his former coach.I dont know where Id be in life right now if it wasnt for Al Bruno, Riley said. He brought me to Hamilton from Vancouver, he was with me most of the time I was with the Ticats.I went to four Grey Cups with him and when he went to McMaster and brought me in as the offensive line coach and Ive been there ever since. I love the man.Riley figured he was done with football in 84 after being released by the Saskatchewan Roughriders. A former defensive lineman who helped the University of British Columbia capture the 82 Vanier Cup, Riley was taken in the first round of the 83 CFL draft by Winnipeg before being dealt to the Riders.When Saskatchewan released me I was ready to go back to school and pursue other things because I was pretty discouraged, Riley said. But Hamilton called and Al assured me Id be playing within the next few weeks.Its funny because the B.C. Lions called the day I was flying out to Hamilton and told me they wanted to play defensive line. Now, it was my hometown, my natural position, it wouldve been a lot cheaper because I couldve played while living at home. But I was a man of my word and trusted what Al told me. But I did (tell the Lions) if I wasnt on the roster as promised Id come back to the B.C. Lions. Everything worked out like he said and my wife and I established roots and made a life here because of Al Bruno.Longtime CFL executive and scout Mike McCarthy was Hamiltons player-personnel director and assistant GM during Brunos tenure on the sidelines and called him a players coach.He cared about his players, McCarthy said. It didnt matter if they had a bad day or a bad game, he always believed in them.There wasnt a guy loved more by his team than Al Bruno because of what he did for those guys.Riley agreed.He wasnt an Xs and Os guru although he was around the game all his life and knew it very well, Riley said. His forte was bringing people together and building the chemistry of a team.He would get guys who were released from other teams like myself, Paul Bennett and Miles Gorrell and make it so that it was fun. It was all about family. A lot of us had young kids at the time and to him you were a person first and a player second. That kind of gets lost with some professional coaches and organizations.McCarthy knew Bruno well before their CFL days. McCarthy was a coach at Brown University when Bruno was at Harvard and the two actively recruited a highly touted quarterback named Doug Flutie, whose older brother, Bill, was a receiver at Brown.Doug Flutie went on to play at Boston College, capturing the 84 Heisman Trophy. He starred in the CFL with B.C. (and younger brother, Darren) Calgary and Toronto, winning three Grey Cups from 1990 to 97 before joining the NFLs Buffalo Bills.Funeral arrangements werent immediately known, although Riley said there will be a memorial mass Thursday in Port Charlotte. Eddie Shack Jersey . Scheffler told The Associated Press on Wednesday he made the choice because he had three concussions over the past four years. John Cullen Jersey . The question is how many minutes will be available to them and can any of their defence or goaltending provide value? Top Picks: Following a down year in 2011-2012, Matt Duchene rebounded with his highest points-per-game (0. https://www.cheappenguinsjersey.com/1781...y-penguins.html. No, the San Antonio star didnt announce retirement plans during an off day at the NBA Finals on Wednesday. Rod Buskas Jersey . Jones took a beating, the worst one of his record reign, in a bout against Alexander Gustafsson that knocked the light heavyweight champion on the canvas for the first time in his career and put his belt in jeopardy. Rob Brown Jersey . "Its not done, but its a huge step," Hannover general manager Dirk Dufner said. Poor defending allowed the visitors to score in the second minute, when Leon Andreasens header from Christian Panders cross sent the ball inside the far post.LIVERPOOL, England -- With their title dreams extinguished, Liverpools players circled the pitch inside Anfield Stadium, heads bowed, to the backdrop of another passionately sung rendition of club anthem "Youll Never Walk Alone." The final match of the Reds season could have been a celebration of the most unlikely championship triumph in Premier League history. It ended up being a tale of what might have been. Liverpool came up short Sunday in its bid for a first league title in 24 years, finishing two points behind champion Manchester City despite a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Newcastle. Brendan Rodgers team did their part on what proved to be an anticlimactic last day, passing the 100-goal mark for the league campaign after near-identical strikes in the space of two second-half minutes by Daniel Agger and Daniel Sturridge. That clinched a club-record 26th league victory. But Liverpool was also relying on a favour from West Ham at Etihad Stadium, which was always unlikely to happen. City won 2-0, keeping the trophy out of Liverpools grasp. "Im devastated for the fans," Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said. "Although weve made them dream, Im devastated we didnt go that one step more." If there was any frustration inside Rodgers after the final whistle, he hid it well. For Liverpool had the destiny of the title in its hands just three weeks ago, when it beat Norwich 3-2 for an 11th straight win. Then came a decisive nine days when Rodgers side lost 2-0 at home to Chelsea before conceding three goals in the final 11 minutes to draw 3-3 at Crystal Palace. It meant there was more hope than expectation heading into the Newcastle match. "We finished the season winning 12 games out of 14," Rodgers said. "So the players have shown incredible level of consistency and quality in that period ... wed prefer to finish top, but its a great mark of progress this season." Anfield has seen previous last-game drama, with Arsenal winning 2-0 here in 1989 thanks to an injury-time goal from Michael Thomas to snatch the title from Liverpool.dddddddddddd Twenty-five years on, Journeys famous song "Dont Stop Believin" blared out before kickoff. But all hope among Liverpool fans was gone by halftime, with their team 1-0 down thanks to Martin Skrtels own goal in the 20th minute and City having virtually guaranteed finishing first by going 1-0 up against West Ham. After a poor first half, Liverpool steeled itself to finish the season on a high, with Gerrard crossing for Agger to volley in after 63 minutes and then producing a similar delivery for Sturridge to tap in at the far post. It was all in vain. "When we went in front and there was no roar from the crowd, I realized the story was elsewhere," Rodgers said. Having started so positively, Newcastle imploded after the break in conceding two quick goals and then seeing Shola Ameobi and Paul Dummett both sent off. Ameobi received two yellow cards in 10 seconds for dissent as he argued with the referee about fouls in the build-up to Liverpools goals, before Dummett departed after a high challenge on Luis Suarez. Sunday was all about Liverpool, though, not Newcastle. From a seventh-place finish last season, Liverpool almost achieved what many considered impossible. "The word now is belief -- belief that we can be up there challenging," said Rodgers, who read out to his squad before the match a letter from a young fan called Ben -- sent before the start of the season -- which urged the players to believe they could win the title. "Probably at the time, the players and maybe the staff all thought the letter was maybe far-fetched," Rodgers added. "But I truly believe we could progress. "For us, its been a wonderful campaign of growth and development." The Premier League remains elusive to the 33-year-old Gerrard, who sees hope for the future. "I thought my days of title races had gone," he said, "but having played with this group of players this year the dream is back. Although Ive only got a couple of years left I still believe I can get there." ' ' '