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Show HYDRATION': A MATTER OF TASTE t doesn't take a science or health major to know that hydration is important. But if for some reason this fact has eluded you, news flash — water is essential, especially for athletes. However, when it comes to hydrating during athletic events, there are more options than just water for the athletes. Most of them like to keep things consistent when they play their sport, and everyone has their own flavor preferences. The question is which sports drinks do different athletes prefer and why? While there are plenty of competitors in the market, athletes tend to side with one of the "Big Three" drinks for hydration during games and practices — Gatorade, Powerade and, of course, water. It is important to start by acknowledging that the U is a Coke-sponsored school, and because of that, Powerade is more readily accessible and provided during athletic events. The ease of obtaining Powerade may play a role in the preference of some Ute athletes, but this is not a survey to turn in for a stats class project. Rather, the goal is to find out what the athletes' preferences are. When talking sports drinks, is there anywhere to start other than Gatorade? It's the original sports drink, and it has come a long way since its early pickle juice days. Remember when we all learned about that in elementary school? Our minds were blown, and we questioned if all those delicious flavors we drank contained pickle juice or not. Well, they didn't. In fact, Gatorade has a variety of flavors that have absolutely nothing to do with pickle juice. This wide selection is where Gatorade has the edge over the other two drinks. Heather Bowen is an outfielder for the softball team at Utah, and Gatorade is her beverage of choice during games. "Cool Blue Gatorade," Bowen said. "It's my favorite by a long shot too ... I'm not really a big fan of water. I like to have taste in my drinks. Gatorade also has more flavors to choose from than Powerade." Powerade almost has an underdog feel to it. Gatorade is the golden child in sports drinks, while Powerade has played catchup since its origin. Interestingly enough, the ingredients in the two drinks are extremely similar. The carbohydrate content, vitamins and electrolytes all have similar levels in both Gatorade and Powerade, while the latter has slightly higher levels of sugar. There's minimal evidence to show that one drink is better than the other, and it simply comes down to personal preference. But what about all-natural water? You know, the fluid that costs significantly less than the popular sports drinks? Despite the high availability and low costs, water is tasteless and doesn't offer the performance benefits that other sports drinks can. So the question becomes, is there still a place in sports for water to be the drink of choice? For Utah softball captain, Hannah Flippen, there certainly is. "Gatorade is just too thick," Flippen said. "I like to have water, but it can't be super cold — just regular room temperature is fine." When asked what her feelings were about flavored water, Flippen said she hasn't had Propel, a popular water flavoring, since she was about 10 years old. Water hydrates just fine, and it doesn't leave those ridiculous red mustache marks on your mouth after you drink it. You can kiss that postgame date goodbye if you're sporting those marks after drinking a Gatorade or Powerade. At the end of the day, the choice of hydration during an activity probably doesn't have any impact on the type of performance an athlete has that day. However, if there was this kind of evidence, I'm sure ESPN would have already put up a stat chart comparing batting averages of players who drink Gatorade with players who don't. But until that point, just allow yourself to sit back, relax and let your taste buds decide for you. bjensen@chronicle.utah.edu @brockjensen02 M I VE I VER KIM P otographers Nee ed 6 { THECHRONY I NEWS I OPINION I ARTS I SPORTS I WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015 C. Z Contact ala@chronicle. uta to apply news can be inspiring, too. Contact c.tanner@chronicle.utah.edu for information about being a news writer for The Daily Utah Chronicle. BRENNISEN PEANUTS C f a baseball fan is going to go to any Major or Minor League game, they need to do it right and order the most insane-sounding thing on the menu. Why? Because why not, and if they don't they'll have to resort to watching someone else eating that delicious concoction with their mouths wide open, drooling all over themselves. Ballpark food may be pricey, but everything is expensive at professional sporting events, so just get over it. Buy it and enjoy food heaven. I'll start with the "Churro Dog." Hot dogs are a staple of all ballparks, and the Diamondbacks have taken that initial idea and created a masterpiece. The churro replaces the hot dog, a chocolate-glazed donut replaces the bun, and then there's vanilla frozen yogurt poured gently on the churro, with caramel and chocolate sauces drizzled over it. The only thing that could make this better is real ice cream, and since it's already over 1,000 calories, why does it matter to add the somewhat "healthy" option? There's still time to correct this mistake — come on, Diamondbacks, make it happen. To take a break from the sweets, there's a "Hangover Burger" at Target Field. It's certainly not the average burger, with two quarter-pound patties that contain beef and bacon, topped with the basic lettuce, onions, American cheese and sauce — which is made from sriracha, ketchup and cornichons — and mayo. Oh, and don't forget the fried egg. It was only sold for the All-Star game when the Twins hosted but should definitely be brought back. Mixing sweet and savory might be a risk, but it's a risk I'm willing to take when it comes to "The Funnel Dog," sold at Arvest Ballpark in Arkansas. It sounds exactly how it looks. It's a hot dog inside a funnel cake, so basically a glorified (not to mention ridiculously awesome) corn dog. Now for burgers and funnel cakes. "The Mother Funnel Burger" created by the wonderful people at the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers home park is a bacon cheeseburger between two funnel cakes — what more could a person want? Everything's bigger in Texas, and apparently so are quesadillas at Rangers Ballpark. It's called the "Murpha-dilla',' after outfielder David Murphy, and it's a beef brisket quesadilla, 24-inches long. If that isn't good enough, it sits on a pile of Doritos. They also serve a "Fried Sm'Oreo" — a deep-fried graham cracker-crusted marshmallow, in the middle of two deep fried oreos. Everyone likes breakfast foods (or, at least, they should), so "The Hammer" at Turner Field should win anyone over. Waffles are used instead of regular buns or bread, and on the inside is fried chicken, bacon, pepper jack cheese and pecan maple mayo. Again, the sweet and savory thing is odd, but I have nothing to lose. Grilled cheeses are so simple, yet they can be a tricky thing to perfect, and the Pirates seem to have a found an answer with "The Closer." It's filled with nine cheeses, four pieces of sourdough bread and, of course, bacon because bacon really can fix everything. I could go on and on about baseball park food I want to try, but it's making me hungry and sad that I probably can't try any of these, so I'm going to stop. Also, why would I play $20 for a Little Caeser's pizza (this is true, I witnessed it at Comerica Park in Detroit), when I can eat something truly unique? k.brenneisen@chronicle.utah.edu @kbrenneisen C 41. RISE Being a Direct Support Professional is a unique opportunity to provide services to adults and children with developmental disabilities with tasks as diverse as the individuals. As a Direct Support Professional you are not just a caregiver; you become an advocate for equality and a connection to community involvement. In return, along with competitive wage, you learn compassion, joy, patience and more about yourself. With a variety of services offered through RISE Services, the Direct Support Professional has the ability to customize a schedule that will complement other activities. RISE offers full-time, part-time and summer positions. Please apply online at: jobs.riseservicesinc.org ■ ,*7 For the latest info on Arts events going on around the U and Salt Lake City, follow our Titter account at @ChronyArt 7 |