Hamilton, ON (Best E Casino) - It's Hall of Fame weekend in the CFL, with Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie leading the way.
The former Boston College star headlines the list of the five newest inductees. Joining Flutie for enshrinement into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame are former players Mike (Pinball) Clemons, Mike Pringle and John Bonk as well Tom Shepherd in the builders category.
The five received their Hall of Fame jackets Friday night prior to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers-Hamilton Tiger-Cats game and had their busts unveiled at halftime. The Hall of Fame dinner Saturday night in Hamilton will officially cap the weekend's festivities.
Flutie starred in the CFL for eight seasons (1990-'97) before returning to the NFL. He was named Canadian football's outstanding player an unprecedented six times and captured three Grey Cup titles, including two straight with the Toronto Argonauts ('96-'97).
Clemons spent his entire 12-year playing career with Toronto ('89-2000) before retiring to serve as the Argos head coach. Clemons, now the team's president, was part of three Grey Cup champions as a player (1991, '96, '97) and another as a head coach (2004).
Pringle retired in 2004 as the CFL's all-time rushing leader with 16,425 yards. In 1998, he became the first -- and only -- player ever to rush for more than 2,000 yards, finishing with 2,065. He also amassed a CFL-record 20,254 total yards from scrimmage. Twice he was named the league's outstanding player.
Bonk spent 14 seasons in the CFL as a center with his hometown Hamilton Tiger- Cats (1972-'73) and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1973-'85). A four-time All- Star, Bonk was named the league's top offensive lineman in 1984 and also won a Grey Cup with the Bombers that year.
Shepherd began his involvement with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1966. He served as the club's director from 1980 to 2005 and team president from 1987 to '89. Shepherd has also helped over $10 million for the CFL club.
LANCASTER TRIBUTE: The Hamilton Tiger-Cats honored the memory of CFL legend Ron Lancaster prior to their game Friday night against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Lancaster, 69, died Thursday, a month after he announced he was being treated for lung cancer.
A video tribute to Lancaster was played on the stadium scoreboard while a moment of silence was also recognized. Members of Lancaster's family were present and wept during the tribute. As well, Ticats players wore decals with Lancaster's No. 23.
Lancaster spent 19 seasons as a player in the CFL with Ottawa and Saskatchewan. He also served as a head coach with the Roughriders, Edmonton Eskimos and Ticats. Lancaster won two Grey Cups as a player and two more as a head coach, the last coming as Hamilton's coach in 1999.
Lancaster had been working as a color analyst on Tiger-Cats radio broadcasts this season in addition to serving as the club's senior adviser to organizational development. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1982 and the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1985.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders will also pay tribute to Lancaster prior to their game Saturday against the B.C. Lions. The team will wear its retro jerseys and have No. 23 decals placed on its helmets.
Fans are also being encouraged to sign a Card of Condolences that will be available on the club's practice field, Inside Mosaic Stadium, flags will fly at half mast and there will be special markings on the field.
There will also be a video tribute and moment of silence.
WAKING UP: Last season, B.C. Lions defensive end Cameron Wake captured the CFL's outstanding rookie and defensive player awards. This season, the former Penn State Nittany Lion is closing in on the league's single-season sacks record.
Wake earned his two individual awards in 2007 after leading the CFL in sacks with 16. But the 6-foot-3, 265-pound Wake has registered 15 sacks so far this year, giving him seven games to attempt to break the single-season record of 26 1/2 sacks registered by former Lions star James (Quick) Parker.
Wake was a force in the Lions' 28-23 win last week over Saskatchewan, registering six tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble. B.C. takes on the Riders again Saturday at Mosaic Stadium.
PICKETT DUTY: It's only fitting that Cody Pickett make his CFL start in Calgary.
Pickett will get the nod at quarterback Saturday for the Toronto Argonauts when they face the Stampeders at McMahon Stadium. Pickett, in his second CFL season, saw his first action in Canada in last week's 39-9 loss to Winnipeg, completing 9-of-13 passes for 100 yards after coming in for starter Kerry Joseph early in the fourth quarter.
Despite the limited action, Argos coach Don Matthews saw more than enough to name Pickett his starter early last week.
Pickett is no stranger to Calgary. He visited the Alberta city as a youth to watch his father, Dee, compete in the Calgary Stampede. Dee Pickett was a championship roper on the pro rodeo circuit and in 1984 was crowned a world champion cowboy. In 2003, he was also inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame.
Cody Pickett also established himself as a top-notch rodeo competitor, going to the National Finals Rodeo three straight years as a high school standout.
But Pickett does have solid football credentials, too.
He played collegiately at the University of Washington and was a seventh-round pick of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers in 2004. He was dealt to Houston in July 2006 before being released. Pickett then played for NFL Europe's Rhein Fire in 2007.
He then signed with Oakland before being released and ultimately picked up by Toronto.
