Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber did a phone interview with sports radio host Jim Rome this afternoon, and after the amiable Q&A about training camp and the obligatory Brett Favre question, it was time for the plug. Ronde and Romey commiserated for a few minutes on the “Beat the Heat” campaign, which aims to educate coaches and parents about the importance of hydration at football practice.  The co-sponsors: NFL teams … and Gatorade. 

“There are better ways to hydrate than water,” Ronde said at one point.

Um, like what? Lemme see … oh yeah, Gatorade.

 So let me get this straight: Gatorade is joining with NFL teams and players to promote and educate athletes about better hydration — and the best way to do so is to drink … Gatorade? 

Ain't it nice to see that pure altruism is alive and well?

    

This article appears in Jul 30 – Aug 5, 2008.

Eric Snider is the dean of Bay area music critics. He started in the early 1980s as one of the founding members of Music magazine, a free bi-monthly. He was the pop music critic for the then-St. Petersburg...