The CFL's appeared in a surprising number of U.S. TV shows, from 30 Rock to The Simpsons to Modern Family and The League, but Monday saw one of the most detailed CFL references yet on American television. Unsurprisingly, it came from CBS' How I Met Your Mother, which has long played up character Robin Scherbatsky (played by Cobie Smulders, who's from Vancouver)'s past as Canadian pop star "Robin Sparkles". The execution was brilliant, though, featuring a MuchMusic "Underneath The Tunes" segment where every Canadian celebrity from Alex Trebek to Paul Shaffer to Geddy Lee and Jason Priestly comments on how things went south for Sparkles when she turned into "Robin Daggers" at the 1996 Grey Cup halftime show. Here's the segment:

Some particularly stellar highlights from that:

Argos' head coach Scott Milanovich is one of three finalists for the 2012 CFL Coach of the Year award.

The Annis Stukus Award for CFL coach of the year is always notable, as it's the CFL's lone major season-long award that's handed out well after the season. Nominees Mike Benevides (B.C.), John Hufnagel (Calgary) and Scott Milanovich (Toronto) were announced Wednesday, and all are deserving candidates. It will be interesting to see who picks up the prize at the award luncheon Feb. 28 in Regina, but all of these coaches deserve recognition for what they pulled off in 2012.

Benevides' instant success with the Lions was rather remarkable. Many thought there might be a rough early transition period after Wally Buono gave up his coaching role to focus on serving as general manager, but that didn't happen; the Lions won their first two games, were 3-2 after five (much better than the 0-5 start they got off to in 2011) and put up a league-best 13-5 record on the year. They allowed a league-low 354 points (no one else conceded less than 400) and put up a respectable 479 points (third-best in the CFL). B.C. eventually fell to Calgary in a close West Final, but had plenty of chances to win that. Yes, this was a talented team with high expectations, but it's easy to underachieve in this league, especially after a coaching change; the Lions didn't, and Benevides should be credited for that. All in all, it was a great first year for Benevides, and that probably speaks to the value of his long experience with Buono and B.C.; he served as the Lions' special teams coordinator and linebackers coach from 2003-07, then as their defensive coordinator and linebackers' coach from 2008-2011). His performance so far definitely suggests he's a solid successor to Buono as B.C.'s head coach.

Can Jerome Messam (23) recapture his 2011 success in Montreal?

It's been 14 months since the Edmonton Eskimos traded franchise quarterback Ricky Ray to the Toronto Argonauts, a move that altered the destinies of both franchises; Ray led the Argonauts to the 2012 Grey Cup, while the Eskimos struggled to a 7-11 record, fired general manager Eric Tillman and brought in Ed Hervey to replace him. Hervey appears set to follow in Tillman's footsteps in terms of controversial trades, though, sending Canadian running back Jerome Messam to the Montreal Alouettes for just a sixth-round draft pick. The question is if this sequel will work out any better for the Eskimos than the Ray deal did. From this corner, the signs aren't optimistic.

50 years after he started in the CFL as a player, Bob O'Billovich is leaving the league.

Half a century's a long time to spend anywhere, but it's particularly remarkable to spend that long around one league in the often-changing world of football. Bob O'Billovich managed that, though, officially announcing his retirement Monday 50 years after he started in the CFL as a player. He worked as a player, scout, coach and executive over the years, and left a prominent impact wherever he went.

O'Billovich most recently served as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' general manager, but was dumped from that position in December to pave the way for Kent Austin to take the roles of both head coach and general manager. The Tiger-Cats offered O'Billovich a consultant role, but as he told Drew Edwards Monday, it felt like time for him to move on:

"The last two weeks seemed like every day's been like Saturday," O'Billovich told Edwards. "I don't think it's sunk in yet. I came to a big decision, my family and I discussed it while we were away, and I just think it's time for me to spend some more quality time with my family right now."

LeBron James with the Grey Cup at Toronto's Real Sports Bar and Grill.

The Grey Cup's been in plenty of unusual situations over the years. It's been used in celebrations on B.C. mountaintops and in Toronto strip clubs, it's survived Taliban rocket attacks in Afghanistan, and it was even stolen and briefly held for ransom in 1969. Thus, being held by Miami Heat stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade is far from the weirdest thing that's ever happened to the trophy. It's probably the weirdest thing that's happened to it so far this year, though.

What led to the photos of these Heat stars holding the Grey Cup at Toronto's Real Sports bar? Well, the Heat are in town for Sunday's game against the Raptors, and some of their players apparently decided to head out to the opposition's bar the night before. (Real Sports is owned by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which also owns the Raptors.) There, it sounds like they ran into a bunch of Toronto Argonauts who were celebrating with the Grey Cup; the photos here come from Argonauts' receiver Mike Bradwell, who was part of an Argonauts' group that was honoured at the Maple Leafs' game the previous night. (We've now mentioned the Raptors, the Leafs and Real Sports in this post: hurrah for MLSE synergy!) You can see LeBron with the trophy up top; here's another photo Bradwell took of Wade holding it.

Stewart "Smokey" Stover (#35) and the Kansas City Chiefs lost Super Bowl I 35-10.

There’s an exclusive club of players who have played in both a Grey Cup and a Super Bowl and an even smaller group of those who have won both, but what’s yet more exclusive is the club of those who have played in both in the same calendar year. Research suggests the only man ever to do so is Stewart “Smokey” Stover, who played for the Kansas City Chiefs (then of the American Football League, which was just starting to merge with the NFL) in their 35-10 Super Bowl I loss to the Green Bay Packers in January 1967 (some cool Life photos of it can be seen here), then headed north to the CFL and won a Grey Cup with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. It’s a remarkable achievement, made even more remarkable by Stover’s story.

You see, Stover was never seen as the most likely type to have a long professional football career. He went to military school in Oklahoma, then was turned down by University of Tulsa coach Bobby Dodds, so he went off to play at Murray State and the University of Lousiana-Monroe. He recorded a stellar career at those schools (and is a member of both schools’ athletic halls of fame), but was still seen as an underdog in his attempt to join the AFL’s Dallas Texans in 1960. He was one of 129 men trying out for the team, and only made it thanks to a little subterfuge. Here’s what he told Jimmie Tramel of the Tulsa World about how he got into the AFL:

The Alouettes have released veteran backup quarterback Adrian McPherson.

The Montreal Alouettes' offseason has been full of changes, and the team's decision this week to release backup quarterback Adrian McPherson, wide receiver Brian Bratton and wide receiver/returner Trent Guy is just the latest one. The team's lost some notable figures, including head coach Marc Trestman and several assistants to the Chicago Bears and assistant general manager Marcel Desjardins to the new Ottawa expansion team, but they've also already acquired some promising players, including Byron Parker, Arland Bruce and Quinton Porter. The release of McPherson, Bratton and Guy shows general manager Jim Popp is continuing to remake the Alouettes' roster, moving on from players who have played important roles in the past.

Former B.C. QB Mike Reilly may shine for Edmonton this year, not against them.

The B.C. Lions' decision to ship backup quarterback Mike Reilly to the Edmonton Eskimos in exchange for a 2014 second-round pick (and a trade of second-round picks in 2013) bears plenty of similarities to the old "Life Of Riley" sitcom, but the more appropriate catchphrase may be "what a revolting development this isn't!" For both Reilly and the Eskimos, this looks like a terrific move. Although he hasn't played a lot of CFL games thanks to being behind Travis Lulay on the depth chart, Reilly stepped in and shone while Lulay was hurt last fall, and he sure looks like the favourite to win the Edmonton starting job this season (the Eskimos' other options currently on the roster are Kerry Joseph, Matt Nichols and Jeremiah Masoli, none of whom have exactly shone lately). Similarly, after a failed first TV incarnation with Jackie Gleason as blundering aircraft riveter Chester A. Riley, the show took off when they did a new version with William Bendix as the lead; it was a combination of the right person and the right situation. The Reilly trade may yet play out similarly, as it should align well for him and both teams involved.