Twistity Sports Exclusive: MUMPS IS THE WORD

 
Sports always liken the passion of the fans to a fever and use slogans like: Catch it.

The National Hockey League went a step further. It is actually in the throes of transmission.

As of Wednesday, 15 players from five teams had been diagnosed with mumps or a condition similar, with three more from the Pittsburgh Penguins being tested. It’s not exactly an epidemic, but it’s a little strange that a disease for which people are vaccinated has had an outbreak from coast to coast.

“It’s not this scourge that’s going to end things for the league or force us to shut down,” said Bill Daly, the NHL’s deputy commissioner.

One Penguins player was diagnosed after visiting a children’s hospital, but he didn’t get mumps from the kids and the concern – unfounded, it seems – was that he might have been infectious and given it to kids. So several other clubs cancelled visits to hospitals as a precaution.

This began back in September in California in Orange County, where several players with the Anaheim Ducks live. Three players either got the disease or displayed symptoms of something described as mumps-like. Given the close quarters in which players operate on the ice, you can guess what happened.

Teams have disinfected their training facilities and offered booster shots, though they can’t make shots make mandatory. The NHL has consulted with experts to make sure no other diseases are being transmitted, though Daly said “no one is as concerned as the media is.”

Oh, the media. That’s it. There’s the problem.

Meanwhile, hockey has gone viral. Or something like it.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .