Concussed

See this guy on the left? You might recognize him. His name is Sidney Crosby. He plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins, but for the last month he's been M.I.A. When I first heard that Sidney had a concussion way back in January, I thought he'd be back in a few days or weeks. Oh, how wrong I was. He has now missed 15 games, and his return isn't in sight. In a press conference yesterday, he announced that he is unsure if he will even play again this season.

Let's go wayyy back to January 6. You'll recall that on that day Sidney was diagnosed with a mild concussion and was projected to be out for about a week. Apparently, that projection was wrong.

At first, I was upset about his prolonged absence. Even though we have been playing relatively well without him, it's never good to have your captain and star player out of the lineup. However, I realized that this was not just any old injury. It was a brain injury. Rumor has it that Sidney suffered two brain injuries in consecutive games against the Capitals and Lightning. Brain injuries are serious business, and you don't need to be a neurosurgeon to figure that out. To learn more about Sidney's injury, I headed to WebMD and read their article on concussions. The article says "Some symptoms last for just seconds; others may linger." Obviously, in Sid's case the symptoms have lasted a lot longer than a few seconds.

I'm a hockey fan, but I'm also a caring and compassionate person. I want Sid to come back for the good of the team, but I realize that his health is much more important than winning or losing. After all, losing a few games is a lot better than losing a great player like #87 forever. So, get well soon Sidney, and don't come back to the ice before your noggin is ready! :)