Re: Tulane football players become sick, possibly from swine flu
http://www.nola.com/tulane/index.ssf/2009/08/tulane_scrimmages_despite_flud.html
Tulane scrimmages despite flu-depleted squad
by Tammy Nunez, The Times-Picayune
Saturday August 22, 2009, 10:43 PM
[photo]
Michael DeMocker/The Times-Picayune
Tulane Coach Bob Toledo said if the players had gotten sick Tuesday instead of Thursday, the Green Wave likely could've held Fan Day on Saturday as scheduled.Tulane had its first football scrimmage of fall camp Saturday, but the flu stole all the attention again.
Six new suspected flu cases were reported Saturday morning before the scrimmage, and
27 players were out sick for the intrasquad session, according to the team physician, Dr. Greg Stewart.
One more player fell ill at the end of the scrimmage. It is believed the cases are Type A flu because two players tested positive for that strain.
It is not known whether the players have H1N1, a Type A flu, but the symptoms have played out like a normal flu and nothing extraordinary, Stewart said.
The swift spread of the illness and the amount of players affected in a short time is unusual. Coach Bob Toledo said he has never seen an outbreak like this in all his years, and neither has Stewart.
"I was talking to (Tulane athletic director) Rick Dickson earlier, and we were saying the same thing," Stewart said. "We've had a couple of scares in the past where there were one or two people, and I thought, 'OK, we've got to get ready.' But a lot of times, that's like a GI bug or something like that, and you're like, here it comes, let's get ready, get set up and everything, but it never panned out. We never saw anything from it, not like with this one.
"The nice thing is, you figure that they started Thursday with it, we treated them immediately, and here we are three days later ... and that first group is pretty much (fever-free). If were we to practice tomorrow, they would be OK. If they had all gotten sick Tuesday, we probably would be having Fan Day."
Tulane Fan Day, scheduled for Saturday before the scrimmage, was canceled because of the outbreak, and coaches thought about calling off the scrimmage, too. Instead, Toledo took the thin ranks of healthy players and scrimmaged anyway.
The most affected positions were running back and cornerback. Three running backs were missing -- Andre Anderson, J.T. McDonald and Payten Jason, who was moving up the depth chart before falling sick. Both starting cornerbacks were out Saturday, as well as tight end Tyler Helm, who had just moved into the No.¤1 slot on the depth chart after Cody Sparks broke his kneecap on Monday.
"Some kids got thrust into some roles, but that's a good thing," offensive coordinator Dan Dodd said. "Andre Anderson, we don't need to see what Andre Anderson can do right now. We would have liked to see Payten Jason right now, and J.T. McDonald -- that certainly would have helped. But hey, that's football. That's the great thing about where we're at right now. A year ago, we didn't have the depth to be able to march on.
"The group I was particularly pleased with today was the offensive linemen. We came out here today with eight total offensive linemen. We lost one on the second play with the twos, so basically seven players scrimmaged the whole day."
Sophomore Albert Williams was the leading rusher, with six carries for 86 yards, including one run of 30 yards. Quarterback Joe Kemp completed seven of nine passes for 94 yards and a touchdown, to fullback Antoine Duplessis. Kemp had no interceptions. Top receivers Jeremy Williams and Casey Robottom were held out for precautionary reasons. Neither was sick or injured.
Defensive back Adam Kruegar intercepted a pass by Ryan Griffin, and defensive lineman Devin Williams recovered a fumble. Linebacker Trent Mackey was the leading tackler, with seven.
It wasn't a day for the team's first-stringers, though.
"When you're missing 27 guys, it's hard to have much continuity and consistency, but one of the things we wanted to do is let the guys who are healthy get better," Toledo said. "We'll get all those guys back. It's not like they're out with season-ending injuries. They're just sick and will be back soon. We've got to keep working and get better. With so many guys out, this is an opportunity for the young guys to show us what they can do."
QUICK HITS
? Nineteen players who had been sick were fever-free Saturday and will do light conditioning today.
? Two players were injured in Saturday's scrimmage. Backup offensive lineman Zach Morgan turned his ankle, but Toledo said he did not think it was a serious injury. Backup linebacker Darryl Farley injured his leg.
? The team will have to wait until Monday or Tuesday to find out the severity of Sule Osagiede's neck injury. Osagiede injured his neck a week ago and has undergone two MRI exams and met with a spinal surgeon. But he is scheduled for more tests Monday, Stewart said.
? Sparks was released from the hospital Saturday morning. He had been battling an infection doctors thought was related to the rupture of a bursa sack. But Sparks' parents, David and Nell, were at the scrimmage and said Sparks was feeling much better Saturday. He is expected back in four to six weeks.
Tammy Nunez can be reached at
tnunez@timespicayune.com or 504.232.3697.
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You have to figure that many of the 19 players who will be practicing again after only a few days will still be shedding virus...
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