Dunlap: How Can You Not Be Worried About Fleury?
Marc-Andre Fleury practiced on Monday in Cranberry.
That's good.
I guess.
But I'm still really worried.
I'm worried first about the health -- both short and long term -- of the guy who played so well for much of this season and also the health of the Pittsburgh Penguins in these playoffs if they have to play without him.
How can you not be?
How can you see Fleury out there on the ice in practice on Monday and be totally (or even halfway) at ease?
Sorry, but as people who consume sports here in Pittsburgh, we should all understand by now the unpredictable nature of concussions.
They sting like a million yellowjackets sometimes and keep people out of action even when you anticipate a return; and even long after it seems they have healed up and moved on from a head injury.
They have a way of not going away.
They have a way of arduously lingering on -- after all wasn't Sidney Crosby only supposed to be out a little more than a week after he got his bell reverberated?
Heck, Fleury does commercials for UPMC, widely thought of to be one of the leaders in concussion care, so you can be sure he's most likely receiving the best treatment possible. And, even with that, can we be sure he's going to be OK? I don't know. Even more so, can we be sure he's going to be ready between the ears to play in just over 48 hours?
I'm not at all trying to be morose, glum or pessimistic here, but to me I can't get too high about seeing No. 29 out there on that practice ice on Monday afternoon. Now, there is no question it is better than the alternative; it sure beats Fleury being absent from practice.
But all that said, while many in our city will take today as some point of celebration, for me at least, I can't push it to that point until Wednesday at about 8 p.m. when I physically see Fleury out there and the puck drops to start Game 1 against the New York Rangers.
There is just so much that can happen between now and then.
Fleury could have dizzying spells.
He could fall back into the spells of those symptoms that debilitated him.
He could experience those problematic feelings that kept him out of five games after his most recent concussion -- a second one in a short span -- in a win over Nashville on March 31.
Believe me, the last thing I want to do is be Mr. Negative in all of this. Many times, I get painted as such and it just isn't fair or accurate. And I'm not being negative here, either, but rather looking at it objectively.
With the unpredictability and seemingly randomness of concussions, you can do what you wish, but I will temper my excitement until I actually see Fleury out there on Wednesday.
And I sure hope I do.
For his health and that of this fan base.
Colin Dunlap is a featured columnist at CBSPittsburgh.com. He can also be heard weekdays from 5:40 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Sports Radio 93-7 "The Fan." You can email him at colin.dunlap@cbsradio.com. Check out his bio here.
