Regina, SK (My Sportsbook) - The CFL endured its version of the Heidi controversy last week.

On Saturday night, football fans watching the Saskatchewan Roughriders' 39-32 win over the Edmonton Eskimos were denied a chance to watch the final 13 minutes of the game due to a power outage at Mosaic Stadium.

Rain and lightning sent both teams and officials into the locker room and delayed play early in the fourth quarter. The game was temporarily suspended by the officiating crew when conditions had not improved approximately 30 minutes later.

That prompted CBC to a movie starring Nick Nolte titled The Good Thief.

Once power returned and action resumed, instead of returning to the game, CBC decided to stick with the movie, a decision that not only irked football fans, but CFL commissioner Mark Cohon as well.

At the time of the delay, Edmonton held a five-point lead. But CBC's decision not to resume the telecast following a 57-minute delay prevented fans outside of Saskatchewan from watching the Roughriders (6-2) rally for seven-point victory and move atop the West Division standings, one point ahead of second- place B.C. (5-2-1), which had battled to a 45-45 overtime tie the night before with Calgary.

Only television viewers in Saskatchewan were able to watch the Roughriders' comeback victory.

The CBC's decision brought back memories of the Heidi controversy nearly 40 years earlier. On November 17, 1968, NBC cut away from the New York Jets- Oakland Raiders NFL game with 65 seconds remaining and New York ahead 32-29 to air the children's movie Heidi.

Fans watching the game on television missed the Raiders rallying for the 43-32 victory over New York, To add insult to injury, 20 minutes into the broadcast of Heidi, NBC ran the final score of the game, resulting in thousands of irate fans tying up NBC's telephone lines for hours.

ROGERS HEADING NORTH?: ESPN.com reported this week that former Detroit Lions receiver Charles Rogers was heading to Canada in an effort to rejuvenate his pro football career. Trouble was, no one told the Montreal Alouettes.

The Alouettes hold the negotiation rights to Rogers, whom Detroit selected second overall in the 2003 NFL Draft, based on having placed him on their negotiation list last year. But Jason Fletcher, Rogers' agent, told ESPN.com that he was speaking with three teams about Roberts.

However one of them wasn't Montreal as Jim Popp, the Alouettes head coach and general manager, said he hadn't spoken to either Rogers or Fletcher. What's interesting about that is if Rogers is to play in the CFL, it has to be with the Als because he's on their negotiation list, which gives them exclusive negotiation rights to the player.

Rogers, 26, was released last year by the Lions following three miserable seasons. He appeared in just 15 games with Detroit, registering 36 catches for 440 yards and four touchdowns. He was also suspended for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy.

HOLMES RETURNING HOME: Corey Holmes is back in Regina.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders re-acquired the versatile Holmes from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last week, in a deal that saw them also land Canadian receiver Ryan Getzlaf for receiver Jason Armstead.

Holmes spent his first five CFL seasons in Regina, and was among the club's most popular players for his on-field brilliance and outgoing, friendly personality. In 2005, he was a finalist for the league's outstanding player award but captured the CFL's top special teams player honor.

He was dealt to Hamilton in 2006 for the first pick in the Ottawa Renegades dispersal draft, which the Riders used to take quarterback Kerry Joseph. However, Holmes struggled to regain his form with the Ticats, and with the emergence of Jesse Lumsden this year had been relegated to special teams duties.

The move should definitely give Holmes a boost. The Roughriders are 6-2 and first in the West Division while Hamilton (1-6) remains last in the East Division.

This isn't the first time this year Hamilton and Saskatchewan got together to make a deal.

Prior to the season, Hamilton dealt offensive lineman Wayne Smith and receiver D.J. Flick to Saskatchewan for quarterback Rocky Butler. The Ticats also traded kicker Jamie Boreham to Regina for a draft pick and sent cornerback Tad Kornegay there for receivers Thyron Anderson and Jason French.

BENJAMIN PASSES AWAY: Nick Benjamin, the first player taken in the 1985 Canadian College Draft by the Ottawa Rough Riders, died last week. He was just 46.

Benjamin died following a long battle with kidney disease.

Benjamin spent five years with Ottawa after being drafted by the club. He then joined the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1989 before retiring after the '93 season.

RECORD CHASE: Charles Roberts needs just 157 yards to become the Winnipeg Blue Bombers career rushing leader.

Leo Lewis holds the Bombers career rushing record with 8,861 yards. But Roberts could break the mark as early as Friday night when Winnipeg faces the Toronto Argonauts at Canad Inns Stadium.

Roberts ran for 179 yards in Winnipeg's last meeting against Toronto -- an Argos 31-27 victory in last year's East Division semifinal -- and has average over 130 yards rushing in the Bombers' last four regular season games against the Double Blue.

Prior to the game, the Bombers will honor Milt Stegall for becoming the CFL's career touchdowns leader. Stegall broke the record of 137 all-time touchdowns by scoring twice in Winnipeg's 36-18 home win over Hamilton on July 27. Stegall currently has 140 career touchdowns.

Mike Pringle, who shared the all-time touchdowns record with George Reed, will be on hand Friday night, as will CFL commissioner Mark Cohon.