When life moves too fast, Slashfood Ate (8) beer edition is here to help us keep up on the latest beer news we might have missed. Let's see what the bullet points find noteworthy in the beer world this week:

• On Tuesday, the Abita Brewery exploded. Don't worry: Beer terrorism isn't to blame -- a tank accidentally became over-pressurized. More amazing: Though production was halted for the day, supposedly no beer was harmed in the incident. More proof that God loves beer!
• With the auto industry down the tubes, maybe beer can save the Michigan economy: Bell's Brewery is undergoing a $5.2 million expansion.
• The Baltimore Sun's Rob Kasper tried to get a discussion going on "the best beers of the NFL's Final Four." What do you guys think are the best beers in Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Phoenix and Philadelphia?
  

I'm the first person to admit that my sports knowledge is infinitely less than my food knowledge. Hell, I didn't even know that Terrell Owens was a football player much less a Dallas Cowboy, until I read an article that said he received his signing bonus in the form of a giant tub of popcorn. The mammoth container took two people to carry.

If you're reading this and saying it can't possibly be true, you're right. T.O.'s actual signing bonus is a whopping $12.9 million. MJD the sports blogger who wrote the piece envisions a hilarious alternate scenario in which T.O. would be paid in $12.9 million worth of Dale and Thomas Popcorn. That works out to 1,003,331 million gallons of popcorn.

As I said, I'm no sports fan. I think all sport stars should get there actual salaries - not just bonuses - in popcorn, or better yet, peanuts.

With playoffs approaching, the Wall Street Journal revealed (by subscription) how the diet of football players has changed over the years, as players in the NFL have faced fad diets and had to meet increasingly high physical standards. The new approach to feeding players is a "nutrient timing" strategy. This approach is designed to continually replenish the body with the nutrients, carbohydrates and proteins that are consumed during workouts, as well as other daily activities. Nutrient timing is gaining popularity in other sports, as well as simply among anyone who exercises on a regular basis.

The meals and snacks on the players' diet aren't the tater-tots and chicken wings that were served to players who wanted to "bulk up" in the 1980s and 1990s, though. As regulatory groups crack down on the use of performance enhancing substances, the teams look to nutritionists to maximise their abilities. Protein filled snacks include peanut butter sandwiches and yogurt, while balanced dinners have options like roasted pork loin and baked cod with red pepper coulis, accompanied by sides like potatoes and salad.