Players Down Food By The Ton
Every day was spaghetti day for the New York Giants this summer. If not spaghetti, maybe linguini. Or ravioli, bow ties, wagon wheels.
Pasta was the fuel that allowed all those extra-large men to don heavy equipment and work up to 4 hours a day on the practice field in heat approaching 100 degrees.
“These guys burn 5,000-6,000 calories a day,” said Heidi Skolnik, the Giants nutritional consultant.
With players such as 308-pound tackle Jumbo Elliott piling it high on their plates before moving on, the Giants’ 70-odd players consumed more than 1,100 pounds of pasta between July 23 and Aug. 16, when they broke camp.
Joan Buchbinder, the New England Patriots nutritionist, said 60 percent of an athlete’s diet should come from carbohydrates to be stored in the muscles as glycogen.
“The problem we have with a lot of the players, especially the rookies who are living in a motel, is they do so much eating at McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway or Kentucky Fried Chicken,” Buchbinder said. “Then we have those who are without their wives back home in North Carolina or wherever, and they’re living in apartments, living bachelors’ lives; and then we’ve got the family men with three kids who have lots of temptations around the house like ice cream and chips.”
Patriots strength and conditioning coach Johnny Parker said Buchbinder succeeds because she doesn’t expect pro football players “to eat sprouts, twigs and berries.”
“She tells them to eat pancakes, waffles and French toast for breakfast,” Parker said, “and plenty of rice, pasta and potatoes - all high-energy carbohydrate foods that can provide the body large quantities of glycogen.”
That goes for coaches, too. Rick Venturi, the Browns’ defensive coordinator, would smoke a dozen cigarettes and drink five cups of coffee before the morning practice. In July, he started feeling weak and disoriented in the 90-degree heat in Platteville, Wis., and was diagnosed with heat exhaustion. He’ll be out of work as long as a month.
Bill Petty is the director of dining services for ARAMARK food services, which is responsible for feeding the Patriots and 20 groups that use the facilities at Bryant College in Smithfield, R.I., during the summer.
Petty said the team will go through 1,500 pounds of beef, 2,500 pounds of chicken, 2,000 pounds of turkey, 6,000 pounds of fish, 4,000 pounds of fruit, 4,000 pounds of potatoes, 1,000 pounds of pasta, 40 bushels of corn, 1,200 gallons of fruit juice, 700 gallons of milk and 225 gallons of ice cream in the four weeks of camp.
The Giants offer a stir-fry bar at dinner. When shrimp is available, Giants players will go through well more than a pound apiece.
Chargers’ coach hospitalized
San Diego coach Bobby Ross underwent surgery to relieve pressure from scar tissue that was pinching his small intestine and causing pain. Team spokesman Bill Johnston said Ross could remain at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, Calif., for 4-5 days, meaning he’ll miss tonight’s exhibition. Trainer Keoki Kamau said the problem stemmed from an appendectomy performed 35 years ago.
Eagles 16, Steelers 6
At Pittsbirgh, Randall Cunningham was ineffective, completing only 6 of 16 passes for 73 yards. But the Steelers’ Neil O’Donnell was worse, hitting on 3 of 10 for 39 yards and two interceptions before leaving in the second quarter.
Colts 29, Bears 7
Craig Erickson and backups Jim Harbaugh and Paul Justin each threw a TD pass vs. visiting Chicago.