The Nets say that there isn’t any time table for his return — it’s just a matter of when the 6-foot-7 swingman feels he is healthy enough to get back on the court.

On the season, Douglas-Roberts is averaging 15.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 34.8 minutes per game. He has also connected on 19-of-21 free throws. Last season as a rookie, Douglas-Roberts averaged less than five points per contest.

Despite the improvement by Douglas-Roberts, the Nets are winless on the season. At 0-7, the Nets have been hit hard by the injury bug. In addition to Douglas-Roberts getting swine flu, the Nets are without Devin Harris (groin strain), Yi Jianlian (knee injury) and Courtney Lee (groin strain). In fact, the only healthy starter at the moment for New Jersey is Brook Lopez.

Chris Douglas-Roberts has swine flu (Image: Zuma Press)

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Swine Flu Sidelines Chris Douglas-Roberts

James discovered the lump early last year and had to undergo numerous tests to find out whether it was cancerous or not.

LeBron James had a lump removed from his jaw in June.

“I was working with some good professionals,” he said, according to ESPN.com. “They were telling me they didn’t think it was cancer, but we had to be sure, of course.”

Thankfully, the lump was benign.

I’m surprised that this information is just coming to light now, but it’s understandable why James would want to keep it on the D-L. It’s been a bumpy year for him — first the lump, then the loss to Orlando in the NBA East Finals, and now he may have Swine Flu.

I guess even mega-superstars can have a run of  bad luck.

Image: Zuma Press

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LeBron’s Cancer Scare

After missing two practices and a preseason contest, LeBron was back on the court on Thursday. Along with LeBron, Coby Karl and Darnell Jackson have been sidelined due to the flu.

Despite the fact that LeBron may have the swine flu, he’s looking at the bright side of the situation.

Said LeBron: “If it’s going to happen, now is the best time. I don’t wish anyone to be sick. I wish great health for everyone. But if this is the time the flu bug is going to hit our team, I’m glad it’s happening now.”

The Cavs have four more preseason games left. The next three are against Texan teams (the San Antonio Spurs and then the Dallas Mavericks twice) and the final exhibition outing is against the Boston Celtics. Cleveland also hosts the Celtics to begin the regular season. By then, LeBron should be fine — swine flu or no swine flu.

Does LeBron James have swine flu? (Image: Zuma Press)

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Does LeBron James Have Swine Flu?

Image: sxc.hu

Flu outbreaks, however, can knock down an entire team, and since this strain is so contagious, it is spreading like wildfire across college campuses, where students are always in such close proximity to one another. This isn’t an isolated problem at just a few schools.

My issue is that players are, at times, probably still playing games even though they don’t feel 100%. That leads to outbreaks at other schools, since football is a contact sport. Let’s look at the spread of flu over the past few months:

• Duke: One player was confirmed to have swine flu this August, and dozens of others from the team experienced flu-like symptoms.
• Tulane: A week before their season opener, 27 players had “mild” flu symptoms.
• Washington State: 16 players missed practices right before the season opener, and many also missed the game due to a flu outbreak at the school.
• Georgia: Safety Makiri Pugh tested positive for this strain of the flu and sat out during week one. So far, no other players have reported illness.
• Mississippi: The number of players experiencing symptoms is still growing. We’re sitting at around 30 right now, including quarterback Jevan Snead.
• Wisconsin: So far, at least 10 players have the flu.

None of these school has been as highly affected as Div-II school Stillman, however. They had to cancel their season opener, which couldn’t be rescheduled due to time issues. Ouch.

The problem is that players are worried that missing practices or games is letting the team down. If they are able, they attend, even if they’re still sniffling. Coaches need to be more forceful with players, telling them to stay home and isolate themselves for at least 48 hours before returning to the field. We don’t want to see games get canceled, and we definitely don’t want to see teams lose just because they’re down so many first-string players.

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Swine Flu: Where Will it Hit Next?

The school is now screening every player and staff member for symptoms to avoid a team-wide outbreak – but are they doing enough? Could college football’s Week 1 be in trouble?

Ok, number one, people need to calm down about the swine flu. It’s the flu. Yes, you can die from the flu. Yes, the H1N1 is aggressive. At the end of the end, though, if you treat the symptoms, get rest, and stay hydrated, you’ll be just fine unless there’s some reason that your immune system is compromised (such as you’re very young, very old, or have AIDS). So everyone that is freaking out? CALM DOWN.

That said, the flu, no matter what strain, is very contagious. While I’m ready for football season to start as much as the next fan, I’m wondering whether or not schools with swine flu problems shouldn’t cancel or postpone games. Football is a very contact-friendly sport, and players are gong to play if they possibly can, even if it means hiding some symptoms or getting out of bed while still feeling ill.

Tulane coach Bob Toledo may have jumped for joy when he was at UCLA, but at Tulane, he's just hoping to have enough players to practice for Week One. Image: Newscom

What we don’t want to see is an outbreak at other schools to the point where it becomes a real problem.

I trust that colleges have this under control. Football may just be starting, but students have been participating in other sports. I just hope that players across the country are responsible enough to avoid playing if they could be contagious.

UPDATE: According to reports, 18 players at Tulane have been sidelined. So, it’s good to see that the coaches and administration are making an effort to keep other players as healthy as possible.

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Pig Flu Hits Tulane: Is Week 1 in Trouble?

Image: sxc.hu

Yet, coach David Cutcliffe says that the worst is believed to be over. They had enough players healthy to scrimmage this past weekend, which is saying something since up to half of the team was experiencing symptoms believed to be associated with the H1N1 virus. One player has officially tested positive for this strain of flu.

The players have all be debriefed on ways to avoid contracting the swine flu, and sanitizing products have been provided. The football team isn’t the only part of the campus affected by the swine flu, which was confirmed to reach Durham in May.

Hopefully, the team will be tip top by Week One…and I do have one plea for players on the Duke team: if you still have symptoms at all, please don’t hide them or say you’re OK just so you can play. With such close contact, it’s an easy virus to spread, and you don’t want to endanger players on your own team or on other teams.

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Swine Flu isn’t Keep Duke Down

His publicist has issued the following statement:  “It has just been confirmed that Rupert Grint has taken a few days out of filming due to a mild bout of swine flu.”

She went on to say that “he has now recovered and is looking forward to joining his fellow cast at the premieres this week (for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince).  (He) will then return to filming directly afterwards.  Other scenes were shot in his absence which did not require his involvement and thus filming was not disrupted.”

Grint has made a full recovery and is no longer contagious.

image: Warner Bros.

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Harry Potter’s Rupert Grint Had Swine Flu

Now, because the ball boys and girls have reported flu-like symptoms, the top players have been warned to be on high alert.  Of course, to add to the drama, the announcement came on the same day that a “nine-year-old girl became the third person to contract the [H1N1] virus and die in Britain.”  In case you are unfamiliar with the technical name, H1N1 is what many people are calling the “swine flu.”

Not only is this awful since it can affect the results of the tournament (and the health of the athletes), it can also contribute to the spread of the disease since these players and their trainers will continue to travel around the world to compete.

Some star players have spoken out about the news.  Venus Williams said: “I guess there are sicknesses around, hopefully the players won’t get sick.  Hopefully our immune systems are strong enough, that’s what they are there for. We’re going to all put ours in use, take vitamin C and keep playing.”

Roger Federer basically summed up my own thoughts: “It is not good news, especially for the players travelling round the world, meeting so many people, it is not a good thing.  But I am sure the club is trying to protect us as much as possible.”

I hope he’s right but I’m not overly encouraged by the comment by Johnny Perkins, the spokesman for the All England Lawn Tennis Club: “It is in the community, it is in the schools, it would be strange in a way if we didn’t.”  With the world monitoring the progress of swine flu, I’m surprised that they didn’t ask employees who were ill to stay away in the first place.  This should have been a precaution that was put in place before the Championships began.

image: Zuma Press

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Swine Flu Hits Wimbledon