Vancouver, British Columbia (My Sportsbook) - The predictable has happened: The B.C. Lions officially have a quarterback controversy.

The appearance of veteran Dave Dickenson to start the second half of the Lions' 22-16 road loss to the Toronto Argonauts on Monday only served to fan the flames that had been simmering the last few weeks. And now, with B.C. facing the Montreal Alouettes in a showdown of the CFL's division leaders, the main talk surrounding the team is whether it will be Dickenson or sophomore Casey Printers who draws the starting assignment.

Wally Buono, the Lions head coach/GM, is refusing to say who will start, adding only that his players have confidence in both Dickenson and Printers.

At the crux of the problem has been Printers' fine play this season. Printers had a brilliant training camp while Dickenson recovered from off-season knee surgery. Dickenson, a finalist for the CFL's outstanding player award last year, drew the starting assignment in B.C.'s opening three games, but each time was replaced by Printers. Then in July, when Dickenson required another knee operation - his third since December - Printers inherited the starting job.

And he ran with it, leading the Lions to nine wins in 11 games. Printers not only impressed with his passing - he has a CFL-high 32 touchdown passes - but was equally adept at using his legs to escape opposing defenders. With Printers in control, B.C.'s passing attack became the league's best and he began to attract attention throughout the league, being mentioned often as the favorite for the CFL's outstanding player award.

Printers has completed 294-of-445 passes (66.1 per cent) for 4,587 yards with a CFL-best 32 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions. He is also the top rushing quarterback in the league with 397 yards on 69 carries (5.8 yards) and eight touchdowns.

But opposing defenses seem to be figuring Printers out.

On Monday, the Argos sacked him five times in the first half alone. And while B.C. had the ball over twice as long as Toronto in the opening two quarters, Printers had trouble finishing drives with points.

Coincidentally, when Dickenson came into the game, he led the Lions to 10 points, including a sparkling 68-yard touchdown pass to Chris Brazzell that pulled B.C. to within 19-16.

While Dickenson doesn't have Printers' athletic ability, he does hold one huge advantage over the young player - CFL experience. Dickenson, 31, is in his sixth CFL season and eighth year of professional football. In 1999, he was named the league's outstanding player and led the Calgary Stampeders to a Grey Cup appearance. Last year, he completed 370-of-549 passes (67.4 per cent) for 5,496 yards with 36 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions. Deservedly, he was named the West Division nominee for the CFL's outstanding player award, finishing as the runner-up to Montreal's Anthony Calvillo.

There are few looks a defensive coordinator can present Dickenson that the former University of Montana star hasn't seen before. He has a knack for making the big play and has enjoyed prior success with Buono, who also served in that capacity with the Calgary Stampeders during Dickenson's tenure there. Dickenson's familiarity with Buono was a big reason why he signed with B.C. in May 2003 as a free agent after spending two years as a backup in the NFL.

But Dickenson now has a history of knee problems and carries a huge salary by CFL standards. He's in the second year of a four-year deal that reportedly pays him over $450,000 annually.

Right now, the Lions have the best of both worlds. They've got two reliable quarterbacks who are polar opposites of one another, giving Buono flexibility and versatility heading down the stretch. Printers, like Dickenson, has two years remaining on his contract, but the last year is an option year, meaning he could sign with an NFL team following the 2005 season. Likely this off- season, the Lions are going to have to make a decision on which quarterback they want to keep, then deal the other because whoever isn't the starter will be safe in the knowledge of knowing they can certainly play elsewhere. And when teams know a squad must trade a player, then that player's worth diminishes significantly.

On paper, it would seem Buono has a pleasant problem to deal with. But the quarterback situation, if left to fester, will only serve to become a distraction with a team that has definite Grey Cup aspirations. Timing, as they say, is indeed everything and the Lions have to be careful what cards they play here, and especially, when they play them.

RISON COACHING: Former NFL star Andre Rison is now an assistant coach with the Toronto Argonauts.

Rison, a five-time Pro Bowl player, joined the Argos as a receiver in August after being out of football for more than three years. Rison raised eyebrows upon signing with Toronto when he called himself the greatest receiver in pro football history.

But in five games with Toronto, Rison had just 14 catches for 174 yards and one touchdown. He was also fined by the league for critical remarks directed towards its officials.

With receivers Tony Miles and Bashir Levingston, also the club's main kick returner, both coming off the injured list, the Argos had to shuffle their roster prior to their game this weekend against Calgary. So Rison and Johnny Mitchell, both former NFL first-round draft picks, were reportedly the odd players out.

But Rison will travel with the team to coach its receivers Saturday in Calgary.

SELECT COMPANY - Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Danny McManus is looking to join a very select group.

McManus needs just 299 yards passing Friday night against Ottawa to become just the third player in league history to reach 50,000 career passing yards. The only other players to accomplish that feat are Toronto's Damon Allen (over 60,000) and Hamilton GM Ron Lancaster (50,535).

McManus should be a good bet to achieve the accomplishment against Ottawa. McManus is averaging 289 yards passing per game this year but the Renegades' defense is surrendering a league-worst average of 322 passing yards per game.

OOOPS - George Black, the CFL's director of officials, said Hamilton's DeVonte Peterson should've been penalized for his clothesline hit on Winnipeg kick returner Keith Stokes.

Peterson leveled Stokes on a punt return in Hamilton's 20-13 win. Stokes fumbled on the play, which the Ticats recovered deep in the Bombers zone to set up a Troy Davis rushing touchdown.

Peterson wasn't penalized on the play, but Black said the Ticat player should've been flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty because the hit was above the shoulders and was done in an unnecessarily rough manner.