It's Official - Flu Bug Has Hit Duke

[BD80]

If this happened to Ol' Roy, he would appear in hospital gown with an IV in place and gasp into the microphone how his kids were so brave and that the refs shouldn't be so hard on kids who are so sick.

For Duke, it is next play. I just wish I had known about this before making the picks

This does explain why the energy level was so low on the bench. For those who are suggesting that there is something that the team could have done to resist this virus or prevent its transmission have absolutely no concept of the level of contact and exertion (sweat) that occurs in practice at this level. As lovely as ginseng tea sounds, I doubt any of us have that level of infectious contact in our daily lives. Once one of the players had it, transmission to most of the players was inevitable.

[killerleft]

I have heard no one at Duke making excuses. I AM glad we have found out about it, though. It explains a few things. Markie has played great defense against many of the better players around. But he just couldn't keep up last night.

That Duke tries to make lemonade out of lemons instead of crying about every hangnail, like Ol' Roy, is something that I appreciate very much.

Belmont played their hearts out and deserve the accolades they are getting.

And our guys reap the benefit down the road.

[buddy]

I am getting to be an old timer and of course every year have a flu shot. In all the years I have done that, I have never had the flu. I am wondering if the team and coaches are encouraged to have a flu shot?

This year's flu vaccine turned out to be only about 40% effective. I had the shot and the flu. There is also a bronchitis-like virus infection going around. Both are very debilitating. Even though these guys are young and in fabulous shape, these illnesses will stop you dead in your tracks. We can only hope that they are on the road to recovery. We need a strong effort from everyone tomorrow, and especially the healthy players. K doesn't believe in excuses, which would explain why this hasn't been mentioned in the press. Hopefully some reporter will pick up from Markie's interview that maybe the Devils are understrength.

[_Gary]

Count me in as one that's glad to have gotten this report. Thanks Udaman. What bugs me most is that it was darn clear after the game, during the presser, that Coach K was sick as a dog. Yet not one reporter asked about it? You'd have thought one guy could/would have figured it out and at least asked the question. Even though Coach would have blown it off (no pun intended) it still could have been reported. Anyone want to bet that if this was UNC it would have been reported and a running scroll on ESPN would have kept the nation informed of it 24/7?

My apologies for coming down a little hard on Markie last night. Hope he and the other guys can recover quickly. I agree with Udaman that *if* we can somehow get by WV we will actually be in good shape for a Sweet 16 game next Thursday. A big "if" to be sure.

[ajtrublu]

can we stop with the excuses? the team has been in a funk the past month (really since unc1) and the flu was a non-issue for all of those games. it's not like the team had been playing its best basketball and the belmont game came out of nowhere.

There's a difference between an excuse and an explanation. It doesn't give them a pass on playing below their capabilities, but it does give a little insight into why they might have. I, for one, appreciate knowing the facts.

[ajtrublu]

Best post of the year. Those guys play their hearts out every game. Injuries and illnesses are not imaginary and they do affect how people play. Sometimes players even have a bad game when they are well - it is the nature of sports not a personality disorder. Some of the whining and comments were very offensive. Demarcus has been an unbelievable leader and player this year. To turn on him after a bad game is unbelievable. Go to Inside Carolina.

I vote yours the best post of the year. Well said.

[UrinalCake]

The effects of the flu on the coaches should not be overlooked either. While they may not be running up and down the court, there is still an enormous physical and mental toll required of managing a game, not to mention the days of preparation beforehand. I don't know too many 60+ year-olds with the physical capacity to do these things while dealing with the flu, all the while taking crap from the media who are anxious to proclaim that they've lost their "edge."

[blazindw]

Alright, everyone, dig in your kitchens. First, we need lots of chicken soup. We also need orange juice and vitamins, along with some cold medicine. Send it over to the team hotel immediately.

Secondly, quarantine all the sick players and coaches so the sickness doesn't spread. As much rest as possible.

Finally, we need everyone with tickets to come out in force to the Verizon Center tomorrow. The entire arena will once again be against us, since the Xavier-Purdue winner will be facing the winner of our game. Everyone cheering against us means that they don't want to see us in the next round. Let's do our part in trying to energize our team just like we do in Cameron. When the team's playing well, we're loud. When they need a pick-me-up, we encourage them. The team feels us, so let's let them (and everyone else) know that we're behind them. Let's bring the noise and cheer loud for Dear Old Duke!

[Jumbo]

It's not the flu. They'd all be in bed, not running down the court. Just a nasty virus, possibly RSV, though that can come pretty close to being as bad as the flu. RSV has been widespread around the area this winter.

Whatever it is, they need to get as much rest as possible (yeah, right) and plenty of fluids. Keep your fingers crossed for Saturday.

No wonder K kept telling Gerald to take over.

Exactly. People have a tendancy to refer to any viral illness as the "the flu." That's why the term "flu-like symptoms" is appropriate. The actual flu -- influenza -- is a lot more debilitating than what's been going around.

[g4orce]

This year's flu vaccine turned out to be only about 40% effective. I had the shot and the flu. There is also a bronchitis-like virus infection going around. Both are very debilitating. Even though these guys are young and in fabulous shape, these illnesses will stop you dead in your tracks. We can only hope that they are on the road to recovery. We need a strong effort from everyone tomorrow, and especially the healthy players. K doesn't believe in excuses, which would explain why this hasn't been mentioned in the press. Hopefully some reporter will pick up from Markie's interview that maybe the Devils are understrength.

I remember reading that the flu vaccine is always based upon what type of strain(s) that they expect to spread, and that the reason that so many people have caught the flu/whatever bug it is is that the strain was different than what was projected.

I'm proud of the guys for playing through whatever they have, and I believe it is obvious that they have something. Everyone seemed so off of their game from the effects of this, so to still get a W despite the inspired play of Belmont is great.

Yeah, we've had a slump, but I think the combination of Singler hitting the wall, injuries, general fatigue from being beaten up and then also trying to reintroduce Zoubek and Smith into the lineup have all contributed to it. I have faith in K and how we will handle this.

[throatybeard]

Exactly. People have a tendency to refer to any viral illness as the "the flu." That's why the term "flu-like symptoms" is appropriate. The actual flu -- influenza -- is a lot more debilitating than what's been going around.

Where do the ubiquitous "flu-like symptoms" fall in this spectrum?

And do anyone but athletes suffer from "flu-like symptoms?"

[greybeard]

Excuses? Most people stay home from work when they get a stuffy nose and I can guarantee most jobs aren't as demanding as an NCAA Tournament game. Some of you are unbelieveable! I for one am darn proud of the kids!

The team has to play well enough to win. They did. End of story.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Coach K's voice had the raspy sound for a while before the final game of the regular season. DeMarcus has been coughing for weeks. If the upper respiratory infection the players and coaches are experiencing is anything like what's been going around in various parts of NC, it certainly may be an influence on how the team has played for the past 3-4 weeks. (I speak from firsthand experience how this crud makes one feel!) Getting rest and plenty of fluids along with OTC medications intended to treat the symptoms is what it takes to get past the stuff. It runs its own course. Since some of them have been bothered by this problem for 2-3 weeks, they may begin to pull out of it during the tournament. We've got to think positively and expect that the medical staff traveling with the team knows what to do to help them feel as well as possible.

[rsvman]

Where do the ubiquitous "flu-like symptoms" fall in this spectrum?

And do anyone but athletes suffer from "flu-like symptoms?"

Influenza symptoms are generally more severe than symptoms caused by other respiratory viruses, but there's a fair bit of overlap. Real influenza typically causes an illness that has a rapid onset and that is marked by fever, shaking chills, headache, fatigue, cough, congestion, and overall body aches. Common cold, on the other hand, has a slow onset and usually starts with a little bit of scratchy or sore throat, and then progresses to runny nose/congestion, occasional cough, and usually does not include fever.

Any illness that has the symptoms of influenza but without PROOF of the diagnosis can be referred to as "flu-like" or "influenza-like illness." Plenty of people get these symptoms. Again, this would mean FEVER, usually chills, body aches/headache in addition to respiratory symptoms such as cough and nasal congestion. Illnesses that do NOT include fever should not be called "flu-like."

There are obviously lots of respiratory illnesses that are slightly worse than the "common cold," which I described above, but not as severe as influenza. These illnesses can be caused by a variety of viruses (but not usually RSV, as an earlier poster suggested; you can probably tell by my screen name that RSV is a virus I know a lot about).

[Troublemaker]

I'm chuckling. I can't believe some of you are so petty as to actually reject Duke's sickness as an "excuse." Either you think Duke is faking sickness, or you don't know what sick is.

When you're sick, you feel sick. That's why they call it sick.

[Madrasdukie]

Alright, everyone, dig in your kitchens. First, we need lots of chicken soup. We also need orange juice and vitamins, along with some cold medicine. Send it over to the team hotel immediately.

Without getting into the details, and empirically speaking, pomegranite juice (100&#37 does wonders both as a prophylactic and recovery tool to address flu-like symptoms.
I just wish our guys know of this and could get some.
I would definetly send some to the team hotel, if I knew how to do so.

[dukestheheat]

Exactly. People have a tendancy to refer to any viral illness as the "the flu." That's why the term "flu-like symptoms" is appropriate. The actual flu -- influenza -- is a lot more debilitating than what's been going around.

It sounds like the guys have some type of upper respiratory infection and NOT the full-blown influenza virus. Thank goodness for pointing out what is going around and I'm relieved that it doesn't appear to be (at least reading this) the bad guy.

Certainly, with the upper respiratory stuff, you can't breathe well and you also lose energy, but it's nothing near the full blown flu!

We can recover much more quickly from that and play like we plan to play versus West Virginia.

LET'S GO DUUUUUUUUUUKE!

we can do this! no excuses at all.

dth.

[Mike Corey]

With all due respect to the original poster, I'm told that it is not true that such a preponderance of members of the team is under the weather.

[norduck]

http://www.wral.com/sports/story/2613840/

[dukie8]

There's a difference between an excuse and an explanation. It doesn't give them a pass on playing below their capabilities, but it does give a little insight into why they might have. I, for one, appreciate knowing the facts.

except that the facts are that it was announced that k is sick (not any of the players). i have no idea why so many people on here have interpreted that as meaning that the entire duke roster of players is deathly ill with the flu and now feel better about what went on last night.