With the First Pick in the Draft, the L.A. Clippers Select ... A Vegetarian! June 23, 2009

Posted by Marta at June 23, 2009 2:33 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBack

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Hoop-heads like myself are very well aware that the NBA draft is coming up on Thursday, and it is shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable drafts in recent memory. One thing that seems pretty certain, though, is that the Los Angeles Clippers will take Blake Griffin as their number one pick. But here's a pre-draft revelation about the Oklahoma big man that not many people were expecting—dude's a vegetarian!

Over the course of two years in college ball, Griffin showed tenacity around the hoop and a willingness to bang down low—he even got himself a concussion to show for it. He simply dominated in the tournament this year, dropping 33 points and 17 rebounds on Michigan in the second round. He's energetic, a ferocious rebounder, and has unleashed some straight-up highlight-reel dunks that'll get you humming the SportsCenter theme song while you watch him on YouTube.

And all that? Powered by tofu, of course.

According to yesterday's SportsCenter, the Clips are as impressed with Griffin as everyone else is. In an attempt to make the Oklahoma boy feel "at home" during a pre-draft meeting with team brass, they took him out to a steakhouse in New York City. Looks like they should have done a bit more homework—they have vegetarians in Oklahoma too, y'all!

No word on what Blake ordered from the steakhouse menu, but as SportsCenter pointed out, he'll have no lack of great vegetarian restaurants to choose from in the city of angels as he attempts to become the latest savior of the NBA's most troubled franchise. Best of luck, Blake. You're gonna need it.


P.S. If his career pans out, Prince Fielder might have some competition for the best vegetarian pro athlete!

This Giant Vegetarian Will Devour Us All! February 24, 2008

Posted by Marta at February 24, 2008 7:00 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 3 ) | TrackBack

So did y'all see Cloverfield? With the giant squid monster thing that knocked down half of Manhattan? As a little guy, that's kind of how I've always felt about dudes like Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers:

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As in, he's the squid monster, I'm the 4-story apartment building that gets turned to rubble. You know what else Prince Fielder is, though? A vegetarian. Check it, from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

That 6-foot, 260-pound build is powered by wheatgrass, soy and tofu nowadays. No meat. Not even fish.

It wasn't always this way. Fielder used to enjoy a stacked burger or a juicy steak as much as any carnivore, but a few weeks ago he received a book from his wife, Chanel, that changed his outlook on what he puts in his massive frame. The book described how certain animals are treated and slaughtered for food. ...

"After reading that, (meat) just didn't sound good to me anymore," Fielder said. "It grossed me out a little bit. It's not a diet thing or anything like that. I don't miss it at all."

Just in case you aren't obsessed with sports like I am, the 23-year-old Fielder is the youngest player in history to hit 50 home runs in a season, and is one of the most talented, exciting young players in the game. Not a bad spokesperson for vegetarianism!

The cool thing is, Prince isn't the only pro athlete going all not-a-nugget on us these days. Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez is calling himself a vegan lately, as is Salim Stoudamire of the Atlanta Hawks. Raja Bell of the Phoenix Suns, Ricky Williams of the Miami Dolphins... the list goes on. And that's without even mentioning Carl Lewis—only, oh, the greatest American athlete of all time, who won 9 Olympic gold medals and said that his best year of competition was the year he went vegan. Powered by tofu, indeed.

I gotta tell you, I've been following sports for a long time, and I've never seen so many vegetarian athletes coming out of the woodwork like I have in the past year or two. And it makes sense if you think about it. Pro athletes are, for the most part, young people—and young people, as we all know, get the deal about animals not being food.

Between the Patriots choking so bad in the Super Bowl that they needed the Heimlich, and my fave athlete of all time, Pedro Martinez, turning out to be a friggin' cockfighter, I've been needing a nice, posi sports story lately—and I think a 260-pound vegetarian who hits home runs like he's on the Xbox with a cheat code is just what the doctor ordered. Thank you, Prince Fielder. Now bring on spring training!

So who's the best veg athlete on the planet? Hit me with some comments.

-Dan