Archive for Other IFOCE members

Link Buffet: July 3, 2008

Articles about Nathan’s finalists

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Dallas Observer interviews Nathan Biller

The Dallas Observer continues its series about entrants in the Plano, TX Nathan’s qualifier with an interview with “Nasty” Nathan Biller, who is getting a master’s degree in sports business at New York University.

update The Fort Worth Star Telegram has a short preview. Walter Duke is one of the expected entrants

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Link Buffet: May 31, 2008

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    Patrick Vandam interview in TwinCities.com

    Patrick Vandam, runner-up in the most recent Nathan’s qualifier, answers some questions on TwinCities.com. Vandam is planning to compete in Saturday’s Nathan’s qualifier in Chicago.

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    SykoBozo in the Houston Chronicle

    The Houston Chronicle has an article about David “SykoBOZO” Cagle’s preparation for the May 17 gyro eating contest. Pat Bertoletti, Tim Janus, Bob Shoudt and Erik Denmark are listed as other expected entrants. The contest is negotiating with Joey Chestnut to have him compete.

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    Cameron McKirdy article

    RegisterGuard.com has an article about Cameron “the consumption kid” McKirdy, who made his competitive eating debut by finishing 8th at the “Stand by Me” pie eating contest last summer. McKirdy expects to compete next at the Stockton Asparagus Festival and reports he has lost 25 pounds since starting his competitive eating career.

    update The Register Guard’s blog has an entry about McKirdy with some pictures.

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    Brad Sciullo retirement announced

    A page on IFOCE.com announces the retirement of Brad Sciullo.

    Brad emailed that he had retired several weeks ago, but it was unclear if he wanted that publicized, so it was not announced on eatfeats.

    update The reason for retirement Brad provided in his email was not health related.

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    NCAA Bracket Challenge

    Paul Barlow emails that he has set up a NCAA tournament bracket challenge league:

    Please publish this invitation for all Eaters and Fans to join in my NCAA Basketball picking league on Fox Sports.com’s bracket challenge. The league is called Eat More Basketballs, the password is ifoce (lower case)….even though the password is my eating league, all eaters in any organization is more than welcome - I just wanna have fun!! I didn’t have everyone’s email, so this will hopefully suffice as an invitation to all.

    Whoever wants to enter better move fast….the NCAA tournament starts Thursday!!

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    Pete “Pretty Boy” Davekos mini-documentary

    (From Andrea Fasano) PressPass.tv has a video recorded at the Pig Skin Eating Championship focusing on Pete “Pretty Boy” Davekos at http://presspass.tv/videos/?vid=7009

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    Link Buffet: February 9, 2008

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    Juris Shibayama article in the Tennessean

    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.

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    10 questions for Super Paul on IFOCE.com

    IFOCE.com has been updated with 10 questions answered by “Super” Paul “Bone Breaker” Barlow:

    MLE: Tropicmon.com also shows a host of celebrities – such luminaries as Michael Jordan, Bill Clinton, and Emmanuel Lewis – hunting down SuperPaul for a photo. Does this ever get irritating? What stalker celebrity have you had to turn down for a photo op, and why? What was your favorite celeb run-in?

    SPB: Many, many, times I have had to turn down beautiful supermodels who wanted more than just a picture, but then I woke up.

    My favorite celebrity run-in was Jenny McCarthy, the Playboy centerfold turned actress turned autism advocate. I wanted more than a picture, but she turned me down. I actually made her laugh with me, not at me. It made me feel all funny inside, and I ruined my Depends. Another favorite was meeting Vendela Kirsebom, a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. She told me she would never forget me, and the next two times I met her, she remembered me…after I reminded her of who I was.

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    Ron Koch eats 50 pancakes at IHOP AYCE

    ronkochreceipt.jpg

    The image above is the receipt from Ron Koch’s lunch yesterday at the International House of Pancakes where he got the All You Can Eat special for $3.99 and ate 50 pancakes in 45 minutes. The receipt reports he received 13 additional servings. Koch hopes to return to IFOCE competition in the near future. Thumbnails from the pictures of the lunch are below.

    ifoce-046a.jpg ifoce-071a.jpg ifoce-072a.jpg

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    Thank you from the Keeler family

    An email sent by Russ Keeler thanking several IFOCE members for helping with his daughter’s report follows after the jump.

    Read the rest of this entry »

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    Fire destroys Chris Abatsas’ building & business

    (From competitiveeatingnews) Cleveland.com reports that a fire on November 8 destroyed a building owned by Chris Abatsas which housed his adult entertainment club, Monroe’s Cabaret, and a dry cleaners. No injuries were reported but a witness believed someone was trapped in the fire. Two other fires have destroyed buildings in Cleveland this month, one started several hours after Abatsas’ building burned and one the week before. Abatsas did not have insurance. The cause of the conflagration is unknown, but police will investigate it as if it was arson.

    A 1999 article in the Cleveland Scene reports efforts by the police to shut down Monroe’s Cabaret due to alleged drug transactions and safety inspection violations.

    Fox TV article & video

    WKYC video

    fire gallery

    Cleveland.com blog entry

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    Seaver Miller update from Paul Barlow

    Many people have wondered why Seaver Miller has not appeared in any IFOCE events since the pretzel contest on the Tyra Banks show after making a strong run at the IFOCE rookie of the year in 2006. Paul Barlow has solved this mystery and sent the following email reprinted below with Seaver’s permission. It is too bad that Seaver will not be able to compete in another eating contest, but fortunately the condition which has led to his retirement appears to be under control.

    I have been in contact with Seaver Miller a few times over the last several months, and with his blessing, can now reveal what happened to our favorite foraging fireman.

    Initially, I thought maybe he was going to be on a reality show, and was secluded somewhere outside the U.S.A. Visions of him “stealing my spot” on Survivor filled my head, and after I’ve sent in 13 videos, I thought maybe the producers called IFOCE headquarters looking for a young, handsome substitute great eater, instead of being stuck with an old, handsome, mediocre eater to put on their show. Was this to be yet another TV appearance denied???

    Turns out, I was once again, extremely wrong….a pattern that repeats throughout my life (just ask my wife). Seaver told me, around April, that he had a mysterious-possibly deadly aliment that would keep him out of action indefinetly. He didn’t want to tell me what it was, fearing the worst. I still wasn’t quite sure if this was true, and that he said this just to avoid my jealous reality contestant wanna-be wrath. It was true, and Seaver has gone through a lot this year.

    It turns out that he went to the doctor, and they found pollups(sp?) on his lymph nodes - which, at the time, caused him to be worried about cancer, among other terrors. The scond time we talked, he was still figuring out what was going on, and I was worried, he sounded like a man who was really playing survivor - for his life, not for TV. He swore me to secrecy, and I kept my word, only “hinting” to Hall Hunt - who I know has a direct connection upstairs - so Hall could put Seaver in his prayers. My upstairs connections are pretty much destroyed after 38 years of being an insane bachelor, who has since been “shackled”, and forced to be a good father, and wanna-be good eater.

    My next calls to Seaver resulted in answering machines, which scared me more. Either he blocked me out, or maybe he was in some hospital, or some cemetary plot, or on some island getting voted out. Finally this week, I heard from the hydrant harraser, and now the mystery has been solved with both good news, and sad news for all faithful fireman followers.

    It turns out, Seaver has what is called a “lazy intestine”. This basically means the thing doesn’t process food like it should, so it keeps him messed up - stomach wise. He does not have cancer, but is on a lot of medication, so competitve eating is out of the question. He informed me this also eliminates him from any reality shows, so my spot on Survivor is still open. I am certainly glad he is as OK as possible, and hope he can at least attend some of our events - Seaver is a great guy with a nice family, and in his brief, but star-studded role, in our galaxy of gluttony, he was a welcome addition.to any contest….even though his presence meant I would finish eighth instead of seventh. Hurrah for Seaver “The Acheiver” Miller, may his life torch stay lit for a long time!

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    Link Buffet, November 8, 2007

    Short article about Juris Shibayama, no quotes or other new information.
    Former NFL star Herschel Walker sponsors a hamburger eating contest to promote his line of food products.
    Crystal Light eating contest video
    Soft taco eating contest between teams of cheerleaders.
    Another eating contest for cheerleaders, this one involving tater tots.

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    Beautiful Brian’s tribute to Krazy Kevin

    BeautifulBrian.com has a tribute to “Krazy” Kevin Lipsitz.

    Kevin also makes an appearance in the Harper’s article about Dale Boone when he travels to Chattanooga to take on Boone in a 2003 Nathan’s qualifier.

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    Krazy Kevin Lipsitz retires from competitive eating

    “Krazy” Kevin Lipsitz sent out the following retirement statement. MosesNews.com has a lot of pictures of Krazy Kevin.

    update Kobayashi also has a tribute to Kevin Lipsitz

    Dear George and Rich and all my friends in the Competitive Eating Community,

    The time has come for me to retire from Competive Eating, after a long run of 10 years. I have enjoyed all the years I have been part of the eating contests and more important than all the trophies, TV shows, movies and prizes that I have won, are the friendships and memories I am taking away with me.

    I have truly enjoyed every contest from my first Nathan’s contest in 1997, through all the years after that. During that time I got to travel all over the country, putting thousands of miles in the air and on the road, under my belt. Hundreds of memories will always be with me.

    As one of the original pioneers of the sport, as it started to take shape and eventually became the IFOCE and MLE, I was proud to be there at the very beginning, when some of the legends such as Ed Kratchie and Curtis Sliwa, Mike Devito and Hirofumi Nakajima were still active and at the top of their game. I remember very vividly when I sent Curtis Sliwa into permanent retirement at the 2000 Carnegie Deli- United Pickle International Championship. Fortunately, Curtis took it in stride and it was not awkward everytime I ran into him in later years.

    Read the rest of this entry »

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    Juris Shibayama in Nashville Medical News

    (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.

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    Chicago eaters in the Chicago Tribune

    The Chicago Tribune has an article about Pat Bertoletti’s victory in last week’s jalapeno contest. Bertoletti will compete in the grits contest in Louisiana next week.

    The Tribune also did an article about Tim Brown’s preparation for the jalapeno contest.

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    Another Juris Shibayama article

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

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    Dr. Big Time article in the Tennessean

    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.

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    Juris Shibayama profiled in DNJ.com

    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.”

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    Leon Feingold completes IBL season

    Former IFOCE member Leon Feingold has completed his season pitching for the Netanya Tigers of the Israel Baseball League with a 3-2 record and a 3.63 ERA. Leon has a blog about his experiences in Israel at http://leonfeingold.blogspot.com/

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