Toronto, ON (Best E Casino) - There was nothing cheap about Milt Stegall breaking the CFL's all-time receiving yards record.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers veteran entered Friday night's game against the Toronto Argonauts needing 17 yards to break Allen Pitts' record of 14,891 yards. He tied it with a 16-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter of the Bombers' 39-9 win.
But Stegall, 38, didn't settle for a short reception in order to establish a new mark. Instead, the 14-year CFL veteran shattered it with a 92-yard touchdown grab that put Winnipeg comfortably ahead 28-3.
"I won't lie, the way in which I broke the record was special," he said. "It's been a long time since I've run that far ... I might not be as fast as I used to be, but I think if you put the ball in my hands I can still make things happen."
Stegall finished the game with two catches for 108 yards, giving him 14,983 career receiving yards.
OH, CANADA: What an eventful week it was for Tom Canada.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive end was traded to Hamilton, pondered not reporting to the Tiger-Cats, then found out he has an enlarged spleen that effectively killed his being traded to Eastern Canada.
Canada was the key figure in a deal Tuesday between Hamilton and Winnipeg that saw the Bombers also send the rights to defensive end Corey Mace -- who is on the Buffalo Bills' practice roster -- for former USC linebacker Zeke Moreno. The trade was agreed upon by supper time Monday night.
But Canada was adamant that he didn't want to go to Hamilton and publicly had stated he was seriously considering not going. Hours later, though, Bombers GM Brendan Taman and Hamilton's Bob O'Billovich were sent scrambling when Canada went to hospital and diagnosed with an enlarged spleen.
Technically, Taman could've let the deal go through but in the spirit of sportsmanship he and O'Billovich continued working on a trade that saw Hamilton acquire a conditional draft pick and Mace for Moreno.
WHERE IS JEREMAINE?: He's a four-time 1,000-yard receiver in the CFL, but this hasn't been a usual season for Jeremaine Copeland of the Calgary Stampeders.
Through 11 games, Copeland has just 34 catches for 496 yards and four touchdowns. Take a look at the Stampeders' receiving corps and the former Tennessee star is just fourth behind Ken-Yon Rambo (60 catches for 943 yards and five touchdowns), Nik Lewis (48, 577, seven touchdowns) and Brock Ralph (37, 534, three touchdowns).
The good news is Copeland has had two straight productive games. He had six catches for 80 yards and a touchdown in Friday night's 41-30 home win over Montreal after registering four catches for 92 yards and a touchdown a 38-33 victory over Edmonton on Sept. 5.
Still, last year he had 67 catches for 1,110 yards.
DUO DOUBTFUL: The Saskatchewan Roughriders will likely have to make due without a couple of veterans Saturday when they face the B.C. Lions at B.C. Place
Offensive tackle Wayne Smith (back) and receiver Corey Grant (Achilles tendon) are doubtful for the game.
Smith suffered back tightness following practice Thursday which is expected to keep him out of the lineup. Canadian Steve Morley, acquired from Toronto for receiver Nathan Hoffart in the offseason, will replace Smith.
Grant also didn't play in last week's win over Winnipeg as a result of his injury.
TOUGH SLEDDING: Avon Cobourne's quest to become the first player in CFL history to register 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season just got more difficult.
Cobourne has been sidelined the last two weeks with an ankle injury. That leaves him with 715 yards rushing and 46 catches for 463 yards.
Cobourne is expected to return to the starting lineup next week when Montreal hosts the Edmonton Eskimos. That will leave Cobourne seven games to accomplish the history double.
The 1,000-yard rushing crown is easily within reach considering before getting hurt Cobourne was averaging almost 80 yards rushing per game. At that pace, he'd end up with over 1,200 yards.
Finishing with more than 1,000 yards receiving will be a little bit more difficult.
Prior to his injury, Cobourne was averaging five receptions and 50 yards per game. With seven regular-season games remaining, he'd have to average 77 yards receiving per contest to reach the 1,000-yard plateau.
ROSTERS EXPAND: This week, CFL teams were able to expand their practice rosters to 12 players for the entire month of September in order to take a good look at those players released from NFL training camps.
The Toronto Argonauts took full advantage of the practice roster expansion, signing nine players, including former NFL first-round picks Kenyatta Walker and Duane Clemons, on Monday.
Walker, an offensive lineman, was taken 14th overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2001 NFL draft. He played six seasons with the Buccaneers and helped them win the 2003 Super Bowl over the Oakland Raiders as their starting right tackle.
Clemons, a defensive end, was taken 16th overall by the Minnesota Vikings in the 1996 draft. Clemons spent 10 seasons with Minnesota, Kansas City and Cincinnati. Four times he registered at least seven sacks.
