Why are fans so bummed about Chris Canty's season-ending knee injury?

Is it because his loss signifies a major blow to Virginia's football team? Sure, that's part of it. Losing Canty, a legitimate All-America candidate, makes the defense less formidable. This is the first real setback in what has been shaping up as a special season.

Chris Canty

But it's more than that. In his five years at UVa, Canty has connected with fans like few players in Cavalier history. His engaging personality has endeared him to fans, teammates, coaches and even jaded reporters, some of whom have encouraged him to get into sports television once his football career is over. And it's easy to see why.

Chris is loud, funny and articulate. More importantly, he's kind, enthusiastic and perpetually upbeat, a guy full of life and joy -- much like Anthony Poindexter, who suffered a major knee injury of his own as a Virginia senior in 1998. Poindexter's injury essentially derailed a promising NFL career, but his optimistic worldview never changed, and he now provides inspiration to the Cavaliers as an assistant coach.

Canty also may be an inspirational leader for Virginia's team this season, as Glenn Pappalardo argues in a well-written Sabre column. No matter how you look at it, the injury is a terrible shame, a sad end to the collegiate career of a great player. But if anyone has the attitude and fortitude to handle this kind of adversity, it's Chris Canty. After all, he's come back from a broken leg and a dislocated elbow, always better than before and always with a smile on his face.

We can only hope the rest of the Cavaliers prove just as resilient.

Football recruiting...

Victor Harris

Highland Springs star RB/CB Victor "Macho" Harris has set all five of his official visits. He'll go to USC on October 15th, Michigan on October 31st, Virginia on December 4th, Virginia Tech on December 11th and Miami on December 18th. It is not clear if Harris, who names no leader, will visit the University of Maryland. Harris previously had Maryland in his final six.

Virginia will also receive an official visit from T.J. Pitts, a 5-10, 195-pound tailback out of North Hall HS in Gainesville, GA. Pitts, who is also considering offers from Virginia Tech, UNC and Mississippi State and interest from Florida and Georgia, will visit Charlottesville on the weekend of November 6th (Maryland game). North Hall coach Bob Christmas believes UVa may be the frontrunner right now. Christmas was the head coach for current UVa running backs coach Anthony Poindexter.

Basketball recruiting...

Virginia has almost filled its entire scholarship allotment for the 2005 class after Brian Moten, a 6-5, 175-pound shooting guard out of Christian Center Academy in Cincinnati, Ohio, verbally committed to Virginia following an official visit last weekend.

Moten enrolled at Christian Center Academy in order to raise his core GPA. As a senior at Arthur Hills High School in Saginaw, Michigan, he averaged 28 points and five assists. He finished fifth in voting for Mr. Basketball in the state of Michigan. An excellent scorer, Moten is known as a superb outside shooter.

Moten is the same size as another UVa commit, DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, MD) swingman Mamadi Diane, with the difference being that Moten can play some point and is almost certain to stay at 2 guard while Diane could end up at small forward and shooting guard.

With four commitments in the fold, the Cavaliers could hold the fifth and final remaining scholarship for next year's class. If they choose to accept another commitment, the Cavaliers would not have a scholarship available for next year's class. Possible remaining 2005 targets include Montrose Christian (MD) 6-8, 225-pound small/power forward Uche Echefu and 6-9, 245-pound power forward Alfred Aboya out of Tilton School (NH).

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There were many thoughtful and sensitive posts about Chris Canty's season-ending knee injury, but this was among the most interesting and informative.

Subject: I am one of the team docs for FSU football, and I can tell you this,
Posted by: hoobones on Mon Sep 27 2004 11:33:31 PM
Message: it is unbelievable the number of injuries these kids sustain. We have a group of 18 orthopedic surgeons, and are very specialized. My specialty is foot and ankle, and I treat virtually all the FSU foot and ankle injuries. Having been in Tallahassee for a little over 2 years, I have operated on 9 FSU football players, including 5 on the current 2 deep. Keep in mind, that is ONLY THE FOOT AND ANKLE injuries, and ONLY THOSE THAT REQUIRED SURGERY. That does not count the numerous knee, shoulder, hand and other injuries these guys absorb, upon which my partners have operated.

I can't even begin to tell you how disproportionate it is to have 9 injuries requiring surgery from a population of roughly 85-95 extremely healthy kids age 18-24. I would estimate the injury risk to be approximately 200 times that of an individual in the same age range, even amongst those who consider themselves athletic or very active or both.

I love the game, the atmosphere, the passion, the drama of college football as much as anyone, but sometimes I wonder about the price these kids are paying.

I wish Chris Canty and every other Hoo and collegiate football player a speedy recovery from injury, and a long, productive and pain-free life after football.

Cavaliers pass tough test vs. Syracuse

Virginia's first three football opponents didn't provide much of a challenge. They were too small, too slow -- and the Cavaliers were just too good.

Marques Hagans

Syracuse was a little different. The Orange aren't a great team by any means, but they are big and physical, especially on offense. Which is why UVa coach Al Groh anticipated a stern test, and that's exactly what his team got last Saturday.

For the first time this season, the 'Hoos were unable to dominate the line of scrimmage, but they flaunted much more big-play capability in producing a 31-10 victory at Scott Stadium. Syracuse had no run or pass of longer than 18 yards, while Virginia made four plays that covered 39 yards or more.

Junior quarterback Marques Hagans had a hand in all of those plays. He completed passes of 47 and 39 yards to Michael McGrew and a 54-yarder to Heath Miller. He also had a 59-yard scoring run in a near-flawless performance. He ended up 11 of 12 for 202 yards and a TD. He also rushed for a team-high 81 yards and two touchdowns.

The defense allowed several long drives but only relinquished one TD and one field goal in a solid performance. Canty's injury in the fourth quarter was the lowlight of the game.

For an article on the Syracuse game, please see the link below.

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