• Pat Bertoletti practices for Krystals: video 1, video 2. Pat says the contest in the Czech republic he will compete in will be an hour long.
• Birmingham, Michigan cupcake eating contest August 15
• Furious Pete seeks input on an eating contest to be held at the Mr. Olympia expo
• Suggestion on prize to be included with Joey Chestnut baseball card
• Aurora, OH burger challenge increases by a half a pound when somebody successfully completes it.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has an article about Loren “Bubba” Yarbrough, Larry McNeil and “Super” Paul Barlow’s practice session for Krystal Square Off V in which they try to eat 15 Krystal burgers as fast as possible. Qualifier dates for this years Square Off have yet to be announced.

The men try to avoid “reversals” because they don’t want their bodies to regularly respond that way when they compete. But sometimes it can’t be helped.

“If you don’t puke every now and then, it’s because you didn’t try hard enough,” Yarbrough said. “That’s just a fact of life.”

Jynx productions has uploaded a video to youtube about Pat Bertoletti’s victory in the 2007 Waffle House waffle eating contest at the Texas State Fair. Bertoletti wears a Steakbellie t-shirt during his training session at a Waffle House the day before the contest.

• Video of a Joey Chestnut training session for Time Magazine (link fixed)
• Video of a Pat Philbin training session with QVC qualifier footage for TVJersey
• Pictures from the weigh in.
• podcast of Crazy Legs Conti on WFAN this morning
• Interview with Joey Chestnut’s mother
• Pat Bertoletti profile in The Regional News
• Dave “U. S. Male” Goldstein article wins a prize
• History of competitive eating by Time Magazine
• Sonya Thomas is one fan’s favorite
• Nathan’s odds by covers.com - article thinks contest will be 12 minutes
• Fox News video of Atlanta bacon contest (from Paul Barlow)
• Juris Shibayama comments on the Wall Street Journal blog

• Video of bacon eating contest from Super Paul Barlow
• Video of a recent Pat Bertoletti practice session
• amNY article about Badlands Booker
• Video promoting upcoming “Hungry & Focused” apparel from Badlands Booker
• Synopsis of upcoming “Hurl” episodes on G4
• Crazy Legs and Eater X make the cover of the current Village Voice (from Liz K) - a gallery from their article
• MSNBC on extreme July 4 meals
• 2 for the price of 1 Nathan’s online coupon
• Slideshow of Henderson, MN sauerkraut competition
• Fox News article about Nathan’s
• Krystalist announces Krystal Square Off V
• Megamunch emails the following request for an upcoming Baltimore Examiner story:
  

  Are there any long-term health effects of competitive eating? What about just short-term effects? Should people take certain precautions if they are competitively eating? Are there warning signs someone should look out for if they compete frequently? Contact: Sara Michael, smichael@baltimoreexaminer.com

The Chicago Tribune has an article in which Tim “Gravy” Brown’s describes his techniques for hot dog eating. The article also appears on the Chicago Tribune’s blog.

Steve Penhollow of The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has emailed the following request:

We have a hot dog eating contest coming up as part of our Three Rivers Fest. I think it’s the first competitive eating event we’ve had in the area.

What is the dominant strategy for eating the most hot dogs?

I’d love to quote someone in my article.

Thanks.

• York (PA) Revolution to offer all you can eat seats where you can enjoy the company of former Baltimore Orioles
• Japanese commercial featuring a ramen eating contest
• Pat Bertoletti posts a picture of a hot dog training session (see above) to a yardbarker comment (The Waffle House belt is to remind Pat that Joey can be beat)
• Kansas State Games to have a hot dog eating contest July 18
• UK hot dog eating contest May 23
• Twins closer Joe Nathan to appear (but not compete) at tomorrow’s Nathan’s qualifier
• Today is Cookie Jarvis’ birthday according to a comment
• Furious Pete has posted an article about the Collegiate Nationals to bodybuilding.com
• China and the Philippines ban conversion of rice paddies to golf courses (via Freakonomics)
• Chicago Nathan’s qualifier next weekend to take place in Matteson
  

Joey Chestnut has posted a video to his yardbarker blog of him preparing for Saturday’s asparagus eating contest by eating 3 pounds of asparagus in 3 minutes. The video is also available on youtube. Joey makes the following prediction for the contest:

Pat is a great eater and whenever I get lazy he pulls off an upset. The chances of Pat walking away with a win in this contest are slim to none. I will let you all know how the contest goes down.

(from SkinnyBoy) Skinnyboy has uploaded a video clip of Joey Chestnut’s appearance on the Food Network’s “Unwrapped.” Joey estimates he consumed 5,000 hot dogs in preparing for the Nathan’s finals.

Russ from the Ace of Spades blog is registering his dissatisfaction with the state of the world by entering the bacon eating contest to be held March 1 at the Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival in Des Moines, Iowa:

I’d like to think that by attending this event for all you morons, I’ll be doing my part to reunite the Republican Party under the banner of smaller government, sensible immigration laws, strong foreign policy, and mandatory consumption of bacon and other pork products on a daily basis. I could be the Barry Goldwater of the Pork Products Wing of the New Conservative Enlightenment, helping all my fellow Americans discover a world where wrapping bacon around hot dogs is not only legal, but mandatory.

(The quoted material refers to the banning of street vendors selling bacon wrapped hot dogs in Los Angeles.)

Today Russ asked his commenters for advice about preparing for an eating contest.