Have you ever had one of those days where as you walked around, you noticed awkward stares and befuddled looks in your direction? You start to get that paranoid feeling that something's hanging out of your nose or one of your friends drew some sort of delightful feature on your forehead. Pittsburgh Penguins star center Sidney Crosby received exactly those raised eyebrows today as he went to work.
Check out "Sid The Kid's" face as he came to work today:
The first obvious suspect for the swollen face is a case of the mumps, as that pesky virus has been claiming a lot of NHL in recent times, notes CBS News. The Anaheim Ducks were the first team this year to have reported cases as three players were affected. The Minnesota Wild became the next team as five of their players were sidelined. Now, it seems to have hit the northeast as Tanner Glass of the New York Rangers as well as two players from the New Jersey Devils have been hit.
Why have the mumps been so prevalent for the game of hockey though?
"You see the hits that they have, and sometimes the spraying of saliva," said Dr. Judith Aberg, chief of the infectious diseases division at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. "I think they are high risk. I am surprised we haven't actually seen this before."
The NHL and it's players association have decided to take swift action, as this is something that cannot be ignored.
"The NHLPA has been actively educating the players regarding the recent outbreak, while providing best practices on how to avoid contracting and spreading mumps," players' association spokesman Jonathan Weatherdon said.
As far as Crosby is concerned though, all reports have indicated that this isn't a case of the mumps, according to CBS Sports. Penguins head coach Mike Johnston said that team doctors did run blood tests on Crosby and nothing about mumps was mentioned.
So, it doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't have mumps, but something is going on with the star hockey player. Perhaps a little case of "covering up" is going on in Penguin-land?
As far as his availability in tonight's game against the Calgary Flames is concerned, Crosby is going to play. After all, he's a hockey player.