• Val Bromann has a blog entry and gallery from the contest in which Pat Bertoletti, Tim Brown and Patrick Vandam competed against Jimmy John’s sandwich makers (Chicagoist report / preview)
• Dickey’s BBQ finals to be held in Dallas in January 2009. San Antonio and Lynchburg, VA qualifiers have been scheduled for September.
• Furious Pete profile (article scan) in the Toronto Sun (condolences to Pete on the recent loss of his grandparents)
• Columnist responds to Juris Shibayama’s letter
• Sonya Thomas lists her favorite bands (Thanks for the compliment Sonya)
• Don Lerman to judge upcoming cannoli eating contest (Also confirmation that Kevin Lipsitz received the Lifetime Achievement Award)
• Record set at Ballard, WA lutefisk eating contest
• Female division winner has best overall mark at Strasburg, OH Corn Festival
• West Virginia Hot Dog Festival report
• Article about Chris Kenney, 11th place finisher at Bartolini’s meatballs
• Statistics on the Dubuque Conuty Fair’s eating contests
• Preview of Sunday’s dumpling eating contests in Queens, NY
• Blog entry about Seattle doughnut eating contest / Saturday Knights concert
• Vineland, NJ pizza contest August 9, $50 gift certificate first prize
• Report about eating contest held at Nobuyuki “the Giant” Shirota’s restaurant
• Biryani eating contest for Indian familes
• Charlotte Dawson, a judge on Australia’s Next Top Model wins a celebrity meat pie eating contest

• Video of the end of the Apple Ugly eating contest (the trophy was a mounted toilet seat)
• Ian Hickman beats Elizabeth Canady in overtime at Bowie burger contest
• Detailed review of MLE game by Platform Nation
• Skinnyboy eats 8/9 of Big Texan 72 ounce steak
• Gallery of 2008 Philadelphia Nathan’s qualifier
• Picture of Samantha Brown at Italian sausage contest
• MissBusyLady describes her start in competitive eating fandom
• Juris Shibayama sends a letter to the editor about last week’s column (from Crawfish comment)
• Boston hot wing eating contest Thursday
• Donut eating contest in Pittsburgh Friday
• Full results for the Singapore qualifiers on MLE.asia
• Vietnamese sub eating contest in Ho Chi Minh City

• Final Denver hot dog qualifier report
• Column criticizing Juris Shibayama for finishing “toward the back of the pack” that does not bother to find out his actual placing
• Megamunch blog entry and gallery from the UEPa meeting at Gregory’s Steakhouse
• Report on Tour de Donut in which cyclists can reduce their reported finishing times by eating donuts
• The Serious Sports News Network reports that a congressional committee will investigate allegations that PEDs were used in the Nathans’ finals
• Mini-essay contest for slots in the Bowie burrito eating contest, also lists expected ranked entrants

WZTV (Fox 17/ Nashville) has an article and video about Juris Shibayama with footage from his medical office. The reporter surprises “Dr. Big Time” with a Twinkie eating contest, which the spinal surgeon wins.

Ken Hoffman of the Houston Chronicle has a column about serving as a judge at the Nathan’s finals, where he was assigned to keep track of Juris Shibayama’s total. Hoffman did not focus 100% on counting the amount of hot dogs eaten by “Dr. Big Time”:

Even though I was counting Shibayama’s hot dogs, I was videotaping Chestnut and Kobayashi’s furious assault on processed meat and enriched white bread. I looked like a total tourist with my badge and camera dangling from my neck.

While the contest was going on, my cell phone rang. It was my buddy Sean Pendergast. “I’m watching on TV — which judge are you?”

The column reports that the Major League Eating Wii game will be released next week, which would give it a Bastille Day release date and set up the possibility of a crepe eating contest to promote its launch.

George Shea describes how the overtime format was decided on:

“In most matches, we use a one-minute overtime to decide ties,” Shea said. “However, the speed with which Kobayashi and Chestnut eat would have made it very difficult to judge who had eaten more. I felt it would be more decisive to have a five-hot-dog eat-off.”

• Article about Juris Shibayama in The Tennessean
• Crazy Legs Conti profile in The Examiner
• Another poster with Dale Boone on it
• AOL fanhouse live blog
• Youtube video from yesterday’s weigh-in
• Examiner article about competitive eating health risks. Tyler Cymet, a doctor of osteopathic medicine at Northwest Hospital who says he treated competitive eaters is quoted.

New Orleans qualifier results from Dr. Bigtime comment & IFOCE.com report:

1. Juris “Dr. Bigtime” Shibayama - 28
2. Peter Parker - 17
3. Damon Serignet - 16

Dunno after that.

Juris Shibayama has a page on IFOCE.com in which he describes his exercise regimen.

Hall Hunt announces that he is going to start training for a marathon and has a report on the 10k he ran last weekend.

The Tennessean has a preview of the “Ham & Eggs” contest that will be televised on Spike TV during the halftime of the Super Bowl focusing on Juris “Dr. Bigtime” Shibayama

update The Daily Herald also has an article about Shibayama’s performance in the ham contest which mentions his new #8 ranking.

Juris “Dr. Big Time” Shibayama has started a personal website at http://doctorbigtime.com with a page devoted to competitive eating.

There have been a lot of recent changes for Japanese websites. Sakura Takahashi has moved to miotakahashi.net Tomoko Miyake, Saori Nakayama and Kana Kanisawa have all moved their blogs to new URLS (See sidebar for links)

Andrew “Skinnyboy” Lane has challenged Juris “Dr. Big Time” Shibayama to reveal his body fat percentage in order to determine who deserves the title of the most fit eater in the IFOCE.

(From Dr Big Time) An article on Dr. Juris Shibayama appears in the Nashville Medical News:

Throughout medical school, Shibayama competed in body building. While he doesn’t have the time for that anymore, he’s up at 5 a.m. for an elliptical workout daily and lifts three or four times a week. His best bench press was an impressive 500 pounds when he was 22. “I got it on videotape, because I knew I’d never be able to do it again,” he said.

Shibayama approaches competitive eating with a similar drive, preparing for last month’s competition by expanding his stomach. When training first began, he could drink a gallon of water in about six minutes, “and I felt terrible for like an hour. But now I’m to the point where I can drink it in 45 seconds, and I feel pretty good after about two or three minutes,” he said. Once he mastered that, he would drink a gallon of water in the parking lot of an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant, and then head inside to eat all he could eat.

DNJ.com has another article about Juris Shibayama’s second place finish in the Nashville Krystal qualifier.

The Tennessean has an article on Dr. Juris Shibayama’s second place finish in the Nashville Krystal qualifier:

Shibayama brought a cheering squad that included Linda Sykes, a patient he operated on in July.

She said she never thought she’d see the muscular doctor scarf down hamburgers so fast, but she expected him to do well in the contest.

As for herself, she expects to remain in the crowd watching.

“I like Krystals, but I don’t think I could do that,” she laughed.

The article also has video from the qualifier.

DNJ.com has an article about Juris “Dr. Big Time” Shibayama, who will compete in the Nashville Krystal qualifier.

Last year, he ate 33 burgers. On Sunday, the surgeon is shooting for 40 burgers in eight minutes.

The strategy, Shibayama says, is to chew as little as possible: “Big bites.”

His mother isn’t as excited about the new competitive hobby than his friends.

“She just doesn’t think it is very healthy,” Shibayama said. “Everyone else thinks its pretty cool though, and if I get on ESPN, they’re going to love it.”