TORONTO - Nobby Wirkowski, who experienced highs and lows with the Toronto Argonauts during the 1950s, has died at the age of 88.The death of the longtime Mississauga, Ont., resident was confirmed Thursday by the CFL team.Wirkowski, a Chicago native, spent most of five seasons with the Argos as a player and quarterbacked the team to the 1952 Grey Cup championship. He later became head coach.Wirkowski, with a receiving corps that included Royal Copeland, Bill Bass, Rod Smylie and Zeke O’Connor, led the Argos past Hamilton, Sarnia and finally Edmonton to win their 10th Grey Cup championship.He ran for a touchdown and threw for another in a 21-11 win over the Eskimos before 27,391 at Torontos Varsity Stadium. The Argonauts did not win another Grey Cup until 1983.Torontos lack of success in the two seasons after its Grey Cup win led to a fan backlash with Wirkowski bearing the brunt. Viewed as a poor runner, he fared badly at times behind a weak offensive line.In 1953, the Double Blue finished last in the East and scored only 172 points all season, their lowest output since 1948. In 54, the team was out of the playoffs again in third place although Wirkowski set a career passing mark with 62 TD passes.Toronto manager Harry Sonshine said Wirkowski would not quarterback his team again and recruited Tom Dublinski from the Detroit Lions for a reported two year no-cut contract worth $17,000 annually. The Lions later sued Toronto for enticing away three of their players.Coach Frank Clair had not wanted to part with Wirkowski and left to coach the University of Cincinnati.Wirkowski was dealt to Hamilton with two other players for defensive halfback Dick Brown in a blockbuster trade in June 1955.A Canadian Press story at the time referred to Wirkowski as more often a bum than a hero to Toronto fans although one of the best passers in Canadian football. He also played for Calgary before returning to Toronto in 1959 when he suffered a career-ending knee injury during an exhibition game.He became an assistant coach that year and was elevated to head coach when Lou Agase was fired after an 0-3 start to the 1962 season. He held the position until 1964.A letterman in football, basketball and baseball during his high school days, Wirkowski went on to star at the University of Miami (Ohio) under legendary coach Woody Hayes, who became an icon at Ohio State.Wirkowski led the RedHawks over Texas Tech in the 1948 Sun Bowl, and then defeated Arizona State in the 1951 Salad Bowl, later known as the Fiesta Bowl.In a 2007 interview with the Mississauga News, Wirkowski recalled that some of his college teammates back in 1948 wondered if he could throw the ball 70 yards.I told them Sure, Wirkowski said. They bet me a milkshake I couldnt. Now I wasnt allowed to throw the ball on the run or anything like that. I had to have my feet planted. I threw the ball 84 yards.He coached at Torontos De La Salle High School from 1952 to 1957.Wirkowski had strong ties to York University. He helped found the York football team, served as its first head coach and was also the schools athletic director while serving as a professor in the faculty of physical education.He was Yorks head coach from 1968 to 1975 and 1988 to 1989, returning briefly as an associate coach in 1984 and 1987. Wirkowski retired from York in 1992.He is a member of the Miami University Athletics Hall of Fame, York University Sports Hall of Fame and Mississauga Hall of Fame.Drafted by the Chicago Cubs as a youth, he served overseas as an engineer with the U.S. Army during the Second World War. Devin Bush Womens Jersey . - The Green Bay Packers got back to work on Friday without star quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Heath Miller Jersey . She still remembers the massive roar of the home crowd when the Canadians walked out on the pitch before 47,784 fans at Commonwealth Stadium in 2002. Lang expects a similar reception for the Canadian team as the host nation at this years tournament, which begins Tuesday. http://www.steelersrookiestore.com/Steel...uster-Jersey/.Y. -- As if the worst start in franchise history isnt bad enough, Buffalo Sabres President Ted Black braced his teams win-starved fans for potentially more tough times. JuJu Smith-Schuster Youth Jersey . And fellow Leaf, Jake Gardiner, hiking in Whistler. Kevin Greene Womens Jersey .J. - Trying to learn and absorb the new West Coast offence being installed by new offensive co-ordinator Ben McAdoo, the New York Giants wrapped their final organized team activity Thursday before a three-day mini-camp next week.The Minnesota Wild surprised the heavily-favored Chicago Blackhawks with a shutout victory in Game 3. The Wild hope to repeat that success and tie the Western Conference semifinals at two games apiece when they host the defending Stanley Cup champions in Fridays Game 4 from Xcel Energy Center. Watch the game on TSN and TSN GO at 9pm et/6pm pt. After losing the first two games of this best-of-seven set in Chicago by a combined 9-3 margin, Minnesota answered with Tuesdays 4-0 victory on home ice. Game 3 was scoreless after 40 minutes, but the Wild rode a strong third period to their first win of the series. Minnesota was able to get in the win column thanks to third-period goals from Mikael Granlund -- who scored twice -- Zach Parise and Erik Haula. Ilya Bryzgalov also made 19 saves for his first playoff shutout in eight years. "Happy to get the win and happy for a lot of our guys," said Minnesota head coach Mike Yeo. "Whether its Bryz, whether its our big guys, they all did well tonight and its good to see. Now we need to build on this and even the series." Minnesota is in the second round of the playoffs for only the second time in franchise history. The club made it to the Western Conference finals in 2003, then lost its next three postseason series before downing Colorado in seven games in this springs opening round. The Wild have won three straight home games and are 4-1 as the host this postseason. The Blackhawks, meanwhile, hope to bounce back in Game 4 and take a commanding 3-1 lead in this series. A victory tonight for Chicago would give the club a chance to close the set out Sunday on home ice. Corey Crawford gave up three goals on 17 shots for the Blackhawks, who had won six straight games before Tuesdays setback. Chicago had been perfect since falling behind 2-0 to St. Louis in the opening round. "I didnt mind our first 40 minutes, but when they got that goal to start the third it got the crowd electrified," said Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville.dddddddddddd "We played the right way but theyre as tight a defensive team as were going to play here. Chances are going to be low and we have to work with that." The game was scoreless going into the third, but the Wild struck quickly to take a 1-0 lead. Haula scored off a nice saucer pass from Justin Fontaine at 1:41 of the third. Granlund scored his first goal less than three minutes later. The score stayed 2-0 until Parise tallied on the power play with 2:35 left. Granlund followed with an empty-netter with 1:17 remaining to seal the victory. "It was a tough game because were playing a really good team," said Granlund. "After the first goal things seemed to open up a bit. Its a new series again. Well enjoy this and come back ready for Friday." Bryzgalov only had to make four saves in the third for his fourth playoff shutout and first since May 7, 2006 with Anaheim. Minnesota expects to get Matt Cooke back for Game 4 as the controversial forward has completed a seven-game suspension for delivering a knee-on-knee hit against Colorado defenseman Tyson Barrie in Game 3 of the opening-round series. Cooke had one assists in three games before getting punished for the hit, which knocked Barrie out for the remainder of the playoffs. In injury news for Chicago, center Andrew