A longtime sports psychologist is not making much progress with Dave Dickenson, and the B.C. Lions’ quarterback is leaning toward retirement. At the very least, he likely will miss the rest of this season.
Those were the messages to Metro yesterday from sources close to Dickenson.
“The shrink (Dr. Frank Lodato) is a good man, and Dave likes him, but the fear factor is great,” one of the sources said. “No matter what is said publicly right now, Dave has his mind pretty well made up to skip this year and he’s thinking strongly about retiring. Not that he’ll say anything. He doesn’t want to be a distraction. But he’s very worried.”
Dickenson, among the premier QBs in CFL history, suffered a concussion several weeks ago and has been receiving treatment. It was, depending on whom you believe, the third or fourth concussion of Dickenson’s career. Doctors have warned him his health would be in serious jeopardy if he took another head blow.
In his absence, the Lions have used Buck Pierce and Jarious Jackson as their QBs. After starting the season at 5-0 and prompting some to predict a perfect season for B.C., the Lions have lost two games in a row.
• Can anyone explain why:
• The NFL’s Tennessee Titans legally prevent their suspended player, Adam (Pacman) Jones, from participating in a bogus wrestling show but the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos sit back and allow their prized defensive lineman, Adam Braidwood, to participate in that dreadfully violent ultimate fighting, or whatever the heck it’s called?
• NBA clubs are trying to outbid each other for retirees such as Charles Oakley, Allan Houston and Reggie Miller?
• Ontarian Mike Weir gets to be part of the International Team at the Presidents Cup golf tournament in Montreal next month while Albertan Stephen Ames, considerably more successful in recent years but clearly less politically correct, is bypassed?
• If the Edmonton Oilers come up empty in the Peter Forsberg sweepstakes, they’ll likely trade defenceman Steve Staios and a prospect for an established scorer … Ty Gretzky, son of Wayne, will live at his family’s Phoenix home for his junior year in high school and will play hockey there rather than return for a second year to Minnesota, where his play was mediocre … Bruce Froemming, honoured by the Philadelphia Phillies the other day because he has umpired in more than 5,000 games and plans to retire after the season, announced in a pre-game speech that one more round of boos would make him happy. Naturally, Philly fans were quick to oblige.
