Amar’e Stoudemire eats better than you do

Way, way better than you do. Even when he's eating kosher.

The latest Bon Appetit magazine includes a cool profile of the New York Knicks All-Star, discussing his relationship with his personal chef Maxcel "I love cholent" Hardy, and Stoudemire's interest in keeping things Torah-safe in his diet. It's a fun read, just not if you're hungry. Because the food discussed, and the recipes the piece links to, will have your stomach growling. Speaking from experience.

Here's a portion, so to speak:

But it's not all lobster tails and midnight feasts for friends. Last summer, Amar'e announced to Hardy that he was interested in learning more about a kosher diet. A recent trip to Israel had strengthened Stoudemire's spiritual feelings—and focused his ideas about diet. "I have a Hebrew background, and I read the Torah, which really explains the proper way to eat. I spent a week in Israel, just studying," Stoudemire says. "From an athletic standpoint, I figure if you want to have a strong body, why not eat kosher?"

Hardy was way ahead of him: "I told him the story about when I interviewed with a kosher catering company." They'd asked Hardy to make matzo ball soup, which he'd never done. "I just kept thinking to myself, This is like making hush puppies. When I served it, the rabbi grabbed the matzo ball out of the soup with his hands and threw it against the wall to 'test' it. It busted up everywhere. 'Perfect,' he said. 'You're hired.'"

Now Hardy buys kosher beef and chicken and avoids pork—though there are allowances. "If Amar'e had a good game, he might want crab legs, or maybe lobster macaroni and cheese."

This is what you get, when you drop 25 and 10. We added a can of tuna fish to our mac and cheese when it was time for mom to cook dinner (my father's a chef, and he worked nights) growing up; but perhaps lobsters would have been in the offing for supper had I dominated the paint in the world's most famous arena before chow time.

The entire piece is a great read, as are the recipes included in the profile. Especially this brilliant piece of advice from the hip-hop artist Fabolous:

"You can't go cold turkey on fried chicken, you know?"

Indeed, good sir. Indeed.

Related: Amar'e Stoudemire, New York Knicks

Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh on “Law & Order: SVU”

A little more than a month ago, we brought you the news that NBA All-Stars Carmelo Anthony(notes) and Chris Bosh(notes) would appear on an early season episode of the NBC mainstay "Law & Order: SVU." On Wednesday night, that episode aired, and it was quite the doozy.

The plot is as follows: A former high school basketball player and current junkie accuses a hugely successful coach (Dan Lauria of "The Wonder Years") of sexually abusing many of his players. An investigation follows, led by the usual "SVU" team, plus a new detective in place of the recently deposed Christopher Meloni. A bunch of really bizarre stuff happens, at which point it becomes clear that the coach also abused Prince Miller (Mehcad Brooks, aka Eggs from "True Blood"), an NBA star seemingly modeled after LeBron James(notes), when he was a young boy. Miller eventually comes forward when he realizes that the coach is still abusing players and must be put away for good.

Melo and Bosh appear in only two scenes, and they couldn't be more different. In the first, they introduce Lauria at his Hall of Fame induction and praise his contributions to his players and the community. In the second (which you can watch here), they stand with Miller as he gives a tearful press conference about the horrors of sexual abuse. Bosh even puts his hand on his friend's shoulder as a show of support.

I have no idea what changed for Anthony and Bosh -- perhaps their personal journey will be an extra on the DVD. What I do know, though, is that Bosh seems to be a more natural actor than Anthony. Mock his reluctance to mix it up in the paint all you want, but don't ever say that he's uncomfortable in front of the camera.

(NBC video via EOB and PBT)

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