B*U*R*P

An Espn.com article last month described Derrick Favors (one of the top-ranked high school players in the country) as his team's "meal ticket" .

Unfortunately, he and his teammates were never taught what type of meals they should, and should not, eat before games.

The article describes what happened to him and his teammates before a state tournament game last year where they lost in the first round.

They "had a transportation issue before that first-round game. The bus was late by 90 minutes or so. The Hornets arrived about 30 minutes before tipoff, and perhaps worst of all, somebody -- a parent, a fan, nobody seems sure -- decided to try to help by buying dinner. Those bacon cheeseburgers were good."

Ah, if only they had read my post from last year ("You Are What You Eat"- August 2007) and gone to some of the websites about nutrition for basketball players, they would have known that you don't eat greasy bacon cheeseburgers any time before an important game or practice.

What you eat before games depends upon how long you have to digest the food. Carbohydrates are the best and most easily digested types of pre-game meals. A little protein can be added if you've got a while before gametime.

And the bacon cheesburgers?

"four players suffered cramping problems during the game, Favors landed in foul trouble, and the Hornets -- who averaged 83 points per game last season -- scored six points in the fourth quarter".

Moral of the story? You are (and might play like) what you eat.

Moral #2: Bacon cheesburgers should NEVER be (or be eaten by) your meal ticket.