Loren Woods is on the comeback trail! Woods has had surgery for his back
problem in recent days and says
he's expecting a full recovery.
In a weird and totally unanticipated twist, though, it turns out that a
condition endemic to the Sonoran desert, known as Valley Fever, may have set the
stage. To explain, if you grow up in Tucson, you almost certainly have the
fungus that causes Valley Fever, but most long-term residents don't have an
issue with it. But for people who move there, it can be a real problem.
In Loren's case, it may have actually infected and weakened his spine thus
allowing a fall to be a serious problem rather than a minor issue.
The really interesting question is this: will Arizona's rivals now point to
this and say "you don't want to play in Arizona. You could catch what Loren
Woods has and then who knows."
It'll probably happen but it's too bad. Most people manage to deal with it
without too much of a problem. Example #1? Probably Sean Elliott. We don't know
for sure, but we'd bet that having grown up there, like most natives, he has a
lowgrade case which doesn't particularly affect him.