Bishop hurt in Argos' romp over Stampeders

The Toronto Argonauts may have walked away with a dominating 48-15 victory over the Calgary Stampeders Thursday night, but their attention quickly shifted to the health of quarterback Michael Bishop.

Bishop led the Argos with 273 yards and three touchdowns en route to an easy win at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

However, the Argos pivot injured his righthand at 9:43 of the third quarter, after attempting to rush the ball near Calgary's end zone, when he was tackled by defensive lineman Anthony Gargiulo.

"At this point anything that I say to you would be speculation," said Argos coach Michael Clemons.

"We do know it's a wrist, we do know it's his throwing hand and we do know it's more than a mild sprain."

Bishop immediately grabbed his hand and headed to the locker room before leaving in an ambulance for X-rays at a Toronto hospital.

"When someone like Michael Bishop reacts like that, you take notice, because he's a tough customer," Clemons said.

Toronto's Jamel White (suspected concussion), Adriano Belli (calf) and Ken Wheaton (unspecified) also suffered injuries.

The Toronto (2-1) defence was a major contributor in the victory, forcing10 turnovers and making five interceptions off Calgary quarterbacks Henry Burris and Akili Smith.

Safety Orlondo Steinauer had three interceptions while linebacker Kevin Eiben finished with a pick and two fumble recoveries.

"It's fun to contribute that way when you get a team win, but this is two points —it's one step on the journey of what our mission is, which is win the Grey Cup," Steinauer said. "It [Bishop's injury] is a blow to our team.

"All three of our quarterbacks are going to be an integral part of us getting to the Grey Cup. Hopefully, it's not serious.… We're not extremely worried because we're very deep at that position this year."

The Stampeders (1-2) suffered their second consecutive crushing loss of the season.

Calgary was embarrassed last Sunday against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who walked away with a 49-8 win.

'There aren't a lot of answers': Higgins

"It's not an easy thing to stand on the sideline and watch everything fall apart," lamented Stampeders coach Tom Higgins. "Nothing is anywhere close to where we want it to be.

"All aspects have to improve and some adjustments have to take place. There aren't a lot of answers right now."

The Argos opened the scoring on their second drive of the game. Bishop found receiver Andre Talbot in the flat for 10 yards at 7:33 of the first quarter to give Toronto a 7-0 edge.

Toronto extended its lead to 10-0 following a Noel Prefontaine 36-yard field goal more than three minutes later.

The Argos kicker made his return to the lineup after suffering a concussion during the season opener against the B.C. Lions.

Toronto then took advantage of a Calgary turnover to increase its margin by 17 points just 1:24 into the second quarter.

Bishop connected on a 26-yard touchdown pass with receiver Tony Miles, who made a great diving catch in the end zone.

The scoring drive was made possible after defensive end Jonathan Brown sacked Calgary quarterback Henry Burris, then recovered the fumble.

Toronto led 27-0 at the half

Burris was replaced by backup Akili Smith on the next drive, which resulted in an interception by Eiben. Toronto failed to score on the turnover as defensive back Calvin Bannister picked off Bishop in the Calgary end zone.

An Eiben fumble recovery led to another field goal by Prefontaine, putting Toronto in front 20-0.

Bishop gave the Argos a 27-0 advantage after hooking up with receiver Arland Bruce for 14 yards with 1:27 remaining in the first half.

"We wanted to strike first and get the lead and put them on their backs," Bruce said. "We know they had a short turnaround as well so the first team that comes out striking, I think it's going to look good for them."

Backup Mike McMahon replaced Bishop in the third quarter and continued the offensive onslaught.

After Jeff Johnson's one-yard touchdown gave Toronto a commanding 34-0 lead at 6:09, McMahon found receiver Derrell Mitchell for 11 yards on another scoring major.

Trailing 48-1 in the fourth quarter, Calgary scored 14 meaningless points that ended with a 27-yard interception return for a touchdown by defensive back Brandon Browner in the final minute.

The game featured the return of Mitchellto Toronto. The 35-year-old veteran receiver rejoined the Argonauts on July 2 following three productive seasons with the Edmonton Eskimos, who released him on June 23.

Mitchell, who needed 92 yards to break Paul Masotti's team mark of 8,722, finished with five catches for 64 yards.