Saturday in the park

Chase Utley has been the minor focus of a few local blog posts this past week for an interview/commercial he did for Maxim magazine. Because it was a non-sports magazine talking to a jock, the questions were more of the human-interest nature, which is always a little more revealing than the stuff the sporting press comes out with.

For instance, Utley was the typical cliché Philadelphia questions, like which cheese steak joint he likes best, what he did with the money when he signed his big contract extension, why he chose the song that plays when he comes to bat, and fantasy baseball stuff. You know -- dorky, meaningless stuff.

But ever the pitch man ready to take care of his product, Utley pushes Abbott Nutrition’s EAS Myoplex shakes. For visitors of the Phillies clubhouse, EAS products aren’t too hard to find and I suppose they are a fairly popular supplement/meal replacement product.

In fact, Utley says they taste great!

“Well, for me they're easy and convenient. And they give me the fuel that my body needs, especially in the off-season. And they taste good.”

Needless to say I was intrigued by the Myoplex shakes and decided to check them out. Wouldn’t you know it that they sold them at my local grocer? Out the other afternoon to pick up Clif Bars, sugar free Red Bull and Gatorade mix, I saw the Utley shakes at eye level to the immediate right of the Powerbars. In reading the label I learned that Myoplex shakes are kosher, wheat and rice-gluten free, and it contains a milk protein derivative which makes it unattractive for vegans.

Noticing that, I read the nutritional label and saw something that surprised me:

Myoplex shakes have 50 milligrams of cholesterol per one 76 gram serving. That comes to 1,000 milligrams of artery-clogging cholesterol per a 20 serving container.

If I'm wrong I hope someone could set me straight.

It seems to me that a Clif Bar or two would be a better meal replacement. And since Utley is a budding environmentalist after seeing An Inconvenient Truth, he can take solace in the fact that Clif Bars are organic.

No, I don’t have a sponsorship with Clif Bar, though I eat one for breakfast most mornings…

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Alex Rodriguez could be a Myoplex shakes man, too. Who really knows what that guy eats, though it seems as if we know every other little thing about A-Rod.

But before anyone starts to think that the celebrity culture has taken of sports, guess again. According to a story in The New York Times, sports figures don’t go through anything near what celebrity celebrities have to deal with.

Nevertheless, don’t look my way if you are looking for someone to separate sports from the so-called “entertainment” world. Sports, simply, ARE entertainment. What else could it be?

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Speaking of entertaining, it's quite a paradox to hear the entire park boo AND see flashes pop from cameras whenever Barry Bonds comes to the plate.

Make up your mind, dude...

According to a story from Bloomberg, Barry Bonds "loses" $10 million a year for simply being Barry Bonds.

My question is how can he lose it if he never had it?

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Jayson Werth walked to the plate to the strains of "Fear the Reaper" tonight.

Perhaps he's gotta have more cowbell?

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Despite running like a tired, old nag this morning, it was a lot of fun seeing old familiar faces at the Red Rose Run in Lancaster. The running part was a mess and the weather was a little hot and humid, but for a guy who doesn’t get out all that much, it was great to see a lot of good people.

Tomorrow we hit Hershey Park and then, weather permitting, the bike race over roughly the same course we ran on today… good times.