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Justin Abdelkader
Booster shots given to Red Wings players to ward off mumps

Red Wings forward Tomas Jurco's mom is visiting from Slovakia, which made it handy for him to ask her a pressing question: What is mumps? The potentially dangerous viral infection has swept through NHL locker rooms, infecting more than a dozen players. The disease is spread through saliva or mucus picture sneezing and coughing so it easily could be transferred from player to player in a high-contact sport such as hockey. In response, the Wings are in the process of making booster shots available to players and team personnel. "I assume I've been vaccinated," Wings coach Mike Babcock said Monday. "But I also understand that a lot of European players wouldn't...