Two Dolphins were suspected of swine flu

Two defensive backs of the Miami Dolphins, Sean Smith and Jason Allen were kept out of Saturday night’s exhibition game against the Carolina Panthers. The reason was a bit scary-they came down with flulike symptoms and were suspected by some teammates of being affected with swine flu.

Smith and Allen underwent tests and remained at the team hotel during the game. By so far the team said they did not get the test results yet. Coach Tony Sparano said nothing had been confirmed about the flulike symptoms. Smith’s agent, David Canter, said his client was already feeling better and planning to take part in the team’s next practice Monday.

Quarterback Chad Pennington also said he never heard of swine flu when he was told about that Smith and Allen were ill. But there were still suspicion among the players who considered the virus a possibility.

“You see it on TV,” running back Ronnie Brown said. “To actually have it be close—you read so much about it, but to have it affect you a little, that’s kind of scary. We have to make sure to wash our hands, stay clean, be careful and do the right things.”