SPORTS
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Dickenson 'scoped, spotlight on Printers
Lowell Ullrich
The Province
July 7, 2004
Click here to find out more!
Dave Dickenson said the day he signed with the Lions that chances were slim he'd play in each game with the CFL team every season.
His status as a prophet was reinforced Tuesday, after he underwent an arthroscopic procedure to remove a piece of torn meniscus in his left knee. He will be out until late August.
The procedure was the third performed on the all-star quarterback since he slipped on a wet Surrey practice field last October, and it prompted questions as to whether he will actually play again this season.
Before coach Wally Buono met with the club's attending orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Bob McCormack, some in the organization wondered if a meniscus tear suspected from an earlier MRI reading could have been repaired during the original surgery on Dec. 3.
But Buono insisted Tuesday that the latest chapter in the nine-month saga is not related to the first two operations by Calgary orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Stuart, which the club has described as successful procedures.
Buono also wasn't willing to concede the quarterback shouldn't have returned so soon, or that the strength of the knee factored in Dickenson's ability to withstand a hit Friday from Saskatchewan's Scott Schultz.
"There were no issues before the hit; no direct pain. Dave said before the game he felt the best he'd been in six months," said Buono. "[The hit] caused a hyper-extension, which caused a pinch in the cartilage."
Buono was told that the surgery performed by McCormack at a private clinic Tuesday was minor.
After Dickenson's follow-up surgery in May, they also said the procedure was of a minor nature. However, the operation not only cost Dickenson training camp, he was only approaching full strength in the days leading up to last week's date with the Riders.
Dickenson has spent his share of time recovering from injuries.
He played in the 1999 Grey Cup with a shoulder separation and didn't make it through the 2000 season in Calgary after he hurt his left knee in the Western Division final.
But he also admitted earlier this season that he may have pushed his rehabilitation in an effort to be ready for training camp this year.
Now he has given sophomore Casey Printers his best chance to forge a CFL career. Printers will start Friday against the Edmonton Eskimos. Spergon Wynn will be activated as Printers' backup.
"It's kind of bittersweet [to start] because you would love to have Dave on your team," Printers said. It also means Buono will no longer tell two quarterbacks they will play in a game, but hope Printers or Wynn will be good enough to go the distance.
"We might not throw for 500 yards, but if [Printers] throws for 400 and he runs for 85, we're still productive," said slotback Geroy Simon. "I don't see any setbacks."
lullrich@png.canwest.com
Sports | canada.com Sports & Scores
Dickenson 'scoped, spotlight on Printers
Lowell Ullrich
The Province
July 7, 2004
Click here to find out more!
Dave Dickenson said the day he signed with the Lions that chances were slim he'd play in each game with the CFL team every season.
His status as a prophet was reinforced Tuesday, after he underwent an arthroscopic procedure to remove a piece of torn meniscus in his left knee. He will be out until late August.
The procedure was the third performed on the all-star quarterback since he slipped on a wet Surrey practice field last October, and it prompted questions as to whether he will actually play again this season.
Before coach Wally Buono met with the club's attending orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Bob McCormack, some in the organization wondered if a meniscus tear suspected from an earlier MRI reading could have been repaired during the original surgery on Dec. 3.
But Buono insisted Tuesday that the latest chapter in the nine-month saga is not related to the first two operations by Calgary orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Stuart, which the club has described as successful procedures.
Buono also wasn't willing to concede the quarterback shouldn't have returned so soon, or that the strength of the knee factored in Dickenson's ability to withstand a hit Friday from Saskatchewan's Scott Schultz.
"There were no issues before the hit; no direct pain. Dave said before the game he felt the best he'd been in six months," said Buono. "[The hit] caused a hyper-extension, which caused a pinch in the cartilage."
Buono was told that the surgery performed by McCormack at a private clinic Tuesday was minor.
After Dickenson's follow-up surgery in May, they also said the procedure was of a minor nature. However, the operation not only cost Dickenson training camp, he was only approaching full strength in the days leading up to last week's date with the Riders.
Dickenson has spent his share of time recovering from injuries.
He played in the 1999 Grey Cup with a shoulder separation and didn't make it through the 2000 season in Calgary after he hurt his left knee in the Western Division final.
But he also admitted earlier this season that he may have pushed his rehabilitation in an effort to be ready for training camp this year.
Now he has given sophomore Casey Printers his best chance to forge a CFL career. Printers will start Friday against the Edmonton Eskimos. Spergon Wynn will be activated as Printers' backup.
"It's kind of bittersweet [to start] because you would love to have Dave on your team," Printers said. It also means Buono will no longer tell two quarterbacks they will play in a game, but hope Printers or Wynn will be good enough to go the distance.
"We might not throw for 500 yards, but if [Printers] throws for 400 and he runs for 85, we're still productive," said slotback Geroy Simon. "I don't see any setbacks."
lullrich@png.canwest.com
