Million Dollar Kick

Field goal contests are standard in football. Give some person off the street a chance to win some money by kicking the football through the uprights.

The CFL does it a bit differently -- you have to kick the ball a long way for an amateur (50 yards), but you get a million Canadian (about $810,000 U.S.).

Brian Diesbourg of Belle River, Ontario, became Canada's latest millionaire by splitting the uprights from 50 yards as part of a contest sponsored by Wendy's.

Diesbourg's kick was part of the halftime of the Toronto-Hamilton game in Toronto. For the baseball fans out there, the Argos play in the Rogers Centre, the new corporate name for SkyDome.

I should point out that while Diesbourg won $1 million, the money will be paid out $25,000 annually over 40 years. Still, an impressive amount for a field-goal kick.

After missing from 20, 30 and 40 yards, the 26-year-old mechanical engineer hit the big money winner before 40,085 fans. "When it left my foot I was hoping it went left because I just missed the first three to the right," said an elated Diesbourg to the CBC, who was mobbed by members of the Argos after the memorable kick barely cleared the crossbar.

An avid soccer player, Diesbourg was selected from nearly 200,000 online entries to attempt four kicks for a variety of prizes.