SonyaTheBlackWidow.com is currently down and brings up a generic search page. It also experienced an outage of several days after Sonya announced she would miss last year’s Krystal finals and for more than a week after the controversial 2006 meatball contest.

Sonya Thomas’ most recent update to her website reports that she did not receive a slot to the Famous Famiglia pizza contest despite signing up on-line soon after registration opened.

The contest press release, available on the Famous Famiglia news page, is dated September 11 and lists several expected entrants even though registration officially opened on September 15.

Sonya Thomas has updated her website to mention that she will not be competing in this year’s Krystal finals, but does not provide much information on the reasons for her absence.

Last year Sonya Thomas also reported that she would miss the KSO IV finals due to a work related schedule conflict, but that conflict was resolved.

• Jill Stoler has reports on the bun & cheese and loukoumades eating contests she competed in this weekend.
• If you missed the update below, Sonya Thomas declined her wild card slot which will go to Crazy Legs Conti
• Krystal amateurs Info: Sackful challenge pregame contest for pairs ($500 $100 prize), finals slot registration
• Saint Louis Sushi gallery. The top 3 - last years winner did not repeat, the winner is not named
• Mount Union College hot dog contest
• Phoenix area hot dog contest with qualifiers for high school students
• “Furious” Pete to do eating contests at the Mr. Olympia expo this weekend

• Kobayashi interview in Thrillist (from Val Bromann)
• Sonya Thomas hopes to break 20 lbs. in the Louisiana grits eating contest
• Report on Ghirardelli Square ice cream eating contest
• NYC IFOCE Pizza prizes: 1st- $10,000 , 2nd - $2,500 3rd- $1,000 (from email)
• NYC Falafel eating contest video
• Astroland amusement park in Coney Island closes
• Paul Barlow’s website hits 50K visits (from email)

Buffalo Buffet Bowl results from a Mike Landrich comment:

1. Sonya Thomas
2. Juliet Lee
3. Badlands Booker
4. Jim Reeves

Full results from the wing eating contest held at the Buffalo Wing Festival courtesy of “Wild” Bill Myers:

1st 4.23 $1500 Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas
2nd 4.15 $750 Eric “Badlands” Booker
3rd 3.98 $300 Juliet Lee
4th 3.52 Russ “The Black Hole” Keeler
5th 3.24 “Buffalo” Jim Reeves
6th 2.85 “Big” Brian Subich
7th 2.83 Brad “The Lunatic” Sciullo
8th 2.77 Dave “U. S. Male” Goldstein
9th 2.02 Mike Landrich
10th 1.88 William “Wild Bill” Myers
11th 1.65 Matthew Ventre
12th 1.27 “Beautiful” Brian Seiken

update WKBW.com has a video

update #2Beautiful Brian has a contest video

Podcast interviews of Sonya Thomas and Hall Hunt are available on the Krystal Square Off blog.

The Krystal Square Off blog confirms that Sonya Thomas will compete in the Jacksonville qualifier on Labor Day and the twitter page is seeking input on questions to be asked in Sonya Thomas’ and Hall Hunt’s podcast interviews.

A gallery of the Chattanooga qualifier is also available.

According to the eatfeats database, Sonya Thomas is 12-0 in all qualifier contests in her career: (list of results is available after the jump)
Read the rest of this entry »

A blog has been started on the Krystal Square Off website at http://krystalsquareoff.com/blog/. The two most recent posts are about Sonya Thomas’ absence from the Chattanooga qualifier and Humble Bob’s hope to break the triple digit mark. The blog mentions a rumor that Sonya might compete in the Jacksonville qualifier Labor Day weekend.

A Krystal Square Off twitter page has also been set up at http://twitter.com/ksquareoff

update A podcast interview with Bob Shoudt is now available on the blog.

According to the birthday in Eat This Book, today is Sonya Thomas’ 41st birthday.

The Freakonomics blog entry about competitive eating has a link to a transcript of a chat session by Sonya Thomas. The chat was conducted by the Washington Post on July 3.

• 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

• Jill Stoler has a belated birthday tribute to Pat Bertoletti
• Poll about biggest eating baseball players: (1st Babe Ruth 2nd John Kruk 3rd Tommy LaSorda)
• Sonya has a commentary about the Nathan’s finals
• Furious Pete is seeking a dining partner for his attempt at the Zeus Burger at the Clinton Station Diner July 5.
• Kobyashi reports he is now in New York City
• Tomoko Miyake has an autograph signing session for her new book
  

The website for Marie Claire magazine has a brief interview with Sonya Thomas.

WTKR has a preview of Saturday’s Nathan’s qualifier at the MacArthur Center in Norfolk, VA which reports that Sonya Thomas is expected to compete. No other entrants are listed. The article says that truncating the qualifier to 10 minutes could work in Sonya’s favor.

• Gallery of Saturday’s contests in Brunswick, GA from Bruce Pobanz
• Sonya Thomas thinks the new 10 minute duration will make it difficult for her to become the first woman to break 40 HDB
• Don Lerman believes “food pervision” companies have stolen his “interlectial propery”
• Article about local competitors at Chicago Nathan’s qualifier
• Preview of the Pittsburgh Nathan’s qualifier. Brian Subich is the only listed expected entrant
• Milia Mahfoud, the only female entrant, won a pancake eating contest at the Kingsburg Swedish Heritage Festival.
• Humble Bob has some pictures of the gyro contest on his home page
• Skinnyboy had a drunk fan while he attempted a hot dog challenge
• Article about Crazy Legs Conti in the Monterey Herald
• Calendar lists New Orleans Nathan’s qualifier on June 4 (a Wednesday) at Metairie
• Jamie of Hungry Sisters will be an assistant for Hog Happenin in Lincolnton, NC, which will have some eating contests
• $175 burger containing gold flakes
• Video of pizza eating contest from G.L.O.W. wrestling between Matilda the Hun and Mount Fiji

SonyaTheBlackWidow.com has today’s results from the the Sweet Corn Festival in West Palm Beach, Florida:

1. Sonya Thomas: 32 1/2 ears
2. Joe Larue: 31 (or 31 1/2)
3. Crazy Legs Conti: 30
4. Hall Hunt: 28
? Justin Mih
? Billy Perry Jr

update PalmBeachPost.com has an article about the contest.

update #2 Sun Sentinel also has an article

update #3 Hall Hunt has a blog entry about the contest with pictures of his finished ears of corn and of the ears of another top 3 eater and UPI has an article

Sonya has updated her FAQ with her thoughts on the new IFOCE rankings released yesterday. She concludes her commentary with an announcement that she will compete in the 2008 Nathan’s circuit and expects to be the first woman to break the 40 HDB mark.

Forbes.com has a series about champions. Sonya Thomas is featured in the section about champions of more obscure disciplines:

“I can eat a lot, but I know when I’m getting full in competition,” Thomas says, “and that’s when it becomes a mental challenge. It’s about focus. When the food is stuck in your chest, you can’t eat a lot and you might be sick. You need the will to win and the mental strength to concentrate on your esophagus, swallowing and pushing the food into the bottom of your stomach.”

Standing in the wings as history unfolds, eating boss Richard Shea has a unique vantage point.

“People have lost faith in superstar athletes,” Shea says. “They’re celebrities now. When people cheer Sonya Thomas, they do so because she is not Tom Brady. She is not A-Rod. She isn’t even Stephon Marbury. She is a regular gal like themselves–a gal who can eat 46 dozen oysters–and that resonates.”

Krystal Square Off finalists offer advice on how to eat as much as possible in as short a period of time as possible in USAToday.com
The Hollywood Reporter on Super Bowl halftime viewing options
Giant sushi roll eating contest for teams of Japanese female college students
Blog entry & gallery by recent Quick Chek sub winner
Picture of Sonya Thomas & fan at Washington Capitals game
NY Daily News on Brooklyn vegan wing eating contest
Andrew “Skinnyboy” Lane attempts 7 pound breakfast burrito challenge (Female burrito finishers receive free food for life)
Don “Moses” Lerman is upset about not being named a jalapeno judge
Krystal Super Bowl photo contest

AOL fanhouse has a report and gallery from a hot dog contest held in honor of Dollar Dog Night at yesterday’s Washington Capitals game in which students from several area colleges competed. Virginia Tech student Alex Malycke won a pair of Southwest Airline tickets by eating 7 hot dogs in 3 minutes. Sonya Thomas served as judge and also performed a one minute exhibition.

The Washington Post DC Sports Bog and On Frozen Blog also have reports about the contest (thumbnails above are from On Frozen Blog). On Frozen Blog also has a video of Sonya’s exhibition. Sonya’s moratorium on dunking food in water was not in place during the exhibition.

The owner of the Capitals, Ted Leonsis, is also an executive at AOL, which probably helped in the contest receiving the publicity it did.

In other news about the NHL’s Southeast division, if the Nathan’s qualifiers start at a Florida Panthers game in March as they have the previous two years, we are about a month and a half away from the beginning of that series.

update A longer video is available on youtube which begins with an interview with Sonya.

The Major League Eating youtube page has been updated with two segments from the Tour de Gorge programs produced for HDNet. George Shea interviews Sonya Thomas before a meatball contest. Brian Seiken makes an appearance in the interview to discuss his dream about Sonya and Dale Boone. There is also footage from the 2004 Thanksgiving Invitational won by Badlands Booker in which Cookie Jarvis, “Hungry” Charles Hardy, Tim Janus, Don “Moses” Lerman, Brian Seiken, Dale Boone and others competed.

SonyaTheBlackWidow.com has two new updates to start the new year. Sonya has comments on various IFOCE eaters. She also has a page on her personal history in the Wing Bowl which concludes with the announcement that she will probably skip the upcoming Wing Bowl. If Sonya passes on Wing Bowl 16 and avoids contests which allow dunking, her next competition will not occur until a non-dunking contest appears on the IFOCE schedule.