Don Lerman in car accident
From MosesNews.com
DON LERMAN AND HIS GIRLFRIEND SHARON WAS INVOLVED IN A SERIOUS AUTO ACCIDENT FRIDAY NIGHT HIS CAR HIT IN THE REAR THE FRAME LOOKS LIKE ITS BENT BEYOND REPAIR. LERMAN AND HIS GIRLF FRIEND SPENT THE NIGHT A NUMC HOSPITAL WHICH SUPPLIED THE WORST CARE POSSIBLE LERMAN MAY HAVE A CONCUSSION AND POSSIBLY BROKEN NECK AS WELL AS BURST BLOOD VESSEL IN HIS EYE , TOMORROW LERMAN AND HIS GIRL FRIEND WILL SEEK FURTHER MEDICAL CARE
Let’s hope Don & Sharon have no permanent injuries & return to good health as soon as possible.
Kobayashi’s jaw status report
Kobayashi has posted a blog entry on the current condition of his jaw. He says that while his right jaw has recovered, he still has issues with his left jaw. He does not make any statements on competing in the Krystal Square Off or US Open II.
WebMD on competitive eating safety
WebMD has an article about the health impact of competitive eating. Joey Chestnut, Hall Hunt and Dr. David Metz are quoted.
If competitors are vomiting regularly, that could cause problems, Sitaraman says. Protracted vomiting can increase the chances of aspiration, or food getting into the lungs rather than the esophagus. This can lead to deadly pneumonia. But competitive eaters say vomiting at competitions is rare.
Sitaraman was surprised when, doing a search of the medical literature of the past several years, she found no reported complications from competitive eating, short of a single case of a jaw fracture. “Maybe [competitive eaters’] gastrointestinal tract has adapted and acclimatized to eat those calories,” she speculates.
Anti-CE interview from Fox News on youtube
An interview with MeMe Roth of the National Association Against Obesity conducted by Neil Cavuto on Fox News criticizing competitive eating after the Nathan’s finals can be viewed at http://youtube.com/watch?v=y1coz4elffw
Competitive eater on “Fat March” yesterday
Last night’s episode of the weight loss reality show “Fat March” featured a competitive eater named Will Millender. An article and blog entry about Will appeared in May.
Columnist wishes for death of competitive eater
Mike Downey of the Chicago Tribune offers a negative review of Nathan’s hot dog eating contest in his latest column
I wish Kobayashi, Chestnut or one of these guys would explode like that gastronome from Monty Python’s “The Meaning of Life” who eats one morsel too many.
Jason Fagone on competitive eating injuries
(From Jason Fagone & megamunch) Jason Fagone wrote an article about the health issues facing competitive eaters for slate.com.
The apparent frivolity of competitive eating has always colored our response to its bad health outcomes. An eating injury or death has never seemed tragic or heroic, just … sad. Kobayashi’s injury ought to change that. It deserves to move competitive eating past the joke/jeremiad dichotomy and into the framework of actual sport—with all of sport’s narrative dignity, its metaphorical richness, and, most importantly, its empathy for the human bodies it churns through and spits out. The squeak of the Tsunami’s jaw grinding against its joint isn’t the sound of a freak meeting his end. It’s the sound of his sport limping, heavy-gutted and mumble-mouthed, into a new Golden Age.
Jason Fagone interview in Metro
Jason Fagone did an interview for Metro about his thoughts about Kobayashi’s condition and health issues for competitive eaters:
Are jaw arthritis or other similar problems common among competitors whose careers revolve around shoving ungodly amounts of food down their throats?
Sonya [“The Black Widow†Thomas] complains a lot about her jaw, or at least she did while I was reporting the book. She feels that one of the big bottlenecks in her game is her jaw strength. She’s also kind of insecure about her speed of swallowing. She tells this story to reporters about trying to eat many hard-boiled eggs on stage in front of a lot of people. … She had this terrible moment of seizing up and thinking she was going to choke and die in front of a lot of people. She powered through and she managed to eat some absurd amount of hard-boiled eggs.
Kobayashi finds a doctor
Newsday reports that Kobayashi’s request for assistance have resulted in him finding a suitable medical professional to treat his condition:
On Tuesday, his United Food Fighters Organization said on its Web site that Kobayashi has found a doctor he can trust and was “creating an environment in which he can dedicate himself to healing.”
“The contest is coming up soon, and we’d happy if everyone kept him in their thoughts,” the group wrote.
The information originally appeared on Kobayashi’s news page
IFOCE – Kobayashi “day to day”
IFOCE.com reports that Kobayashi’s injury status is listed as “day to day”
Other links
ABC Sports
Deadspin
Kobayashi diagnosed with temporomandibular joint disorder
In his most recent blog entry, Kobayashi reports that he is suffering from temporomandibular joint disorder (which is translated from Japanese as gnathal arthropathy), making opening his mouth difficult (automatically translated):
As for the gnathal arthropathy for the food fighter, if you refer to the baseball, kind of those where the pitcher breaks down the elbow.
Speaking honestly, the finishing the fact that it makes cure almost is desperate circumstance to the conference July 4th.
Say, not to be story of the conference of Nathan’s, the serious problem which relates to also future activity.
It is the fatal wound.
In order to cure, repose and long-term remedy are necessary.
update France24 has a translation of Kobayashi’s blog entry
NY Pizza contest winner on weight loss reality show
The Brooklyn Papers reports that Will Millender will appear on a weight loss reality show in which he will attempt to walk from Boston to Washington, DC.
Trial, tribulations, and even a slice of celebrity are nothing new for Millender, who has battled his weight for several years, and whose image can still be found on storefront posters across Ridge for his first place showing at the Fifth Avenue pizza-eating contest last June at Rocco’s Pizzeria (Millender was cheered to victory by a huge crowd that included a once-legendary, now slimmed-down, eater, Borough President Markowitz).
He ate 10 slices in the regulation 12 minutes. The performance made him a legend.
Kobayashi’s little helpers
In a recent blog entry about his appearance in the Japanese edition of Iron Man magazine (he might appear in the US edition as well) and a bodybuilding DVD featuring Ronny Coleman, Kobayashi has a picture of his supplement container filled with 36 kinds of nutritional aids. Glutamine, BCAA, and creatine are three of the supplements Kobayashi uses. He says his supplement consumption increases when he is preparing for an eating contest.
Supersize Me on MSNBC
Supersize Me, a documentary about Morgan Spurlock’s quest to eat only at McDonald’s for a month will be shown on MSNBC tonight at 11 PM and 3 AM eastern,
5th anniversary of Japanese schoolboy death
According to this article in metropolis Japan, today (April 24) is the 5th anniversary of the death of a 14-year-old Japanese boy who choked on a piece of bread after challenging two classmates to an eating contest. The death resulted in the cancellation of Food Battle Club and a three year hiatus for all televised eating contests. It is interesting that the press conference announcing the formation of Gyaruru is the same day as that tragic event.
Ron Koch to face NFL opponents May 21
Brian Seiken reports that Ron Koch will face a field of pro football players at the New York, New York hotel in Las Vegas on May 21. This will be Koch’s first contest since the Reno ribs contest in August.
Death in Indian eating contest
newindpress.com reports that Sridhar, son of Shanmugham, a 29 year old from a village near Sathyamangalam in Erode district died from breathing complications after eating 20 rice cakes in an idli eating competition. Sridhar is believe to be an epilepsy patient.
Radio stunt curtailing predicted
mercurynews.com has an article about the aftermath of the fatality in the water drinking contest:
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we all got a letter: No more stunts, ever, of any kind,” said KSAN-FM (107.7) program director Larry Sharp. “It’s terrifying. All stunts probably have some measure of danger. Anything can go wrong.”
Since 1938, when Orson Welles aired his famous “The War of the Worlds” play, radio stunts have gotten stations and hosts in trouble. Many hosts have been fired but often hired elsewhere. This is the first time in anyone’s memory that 10 people, including managers were fired
In other news, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department is now investigating the death as a homocide.
10 employees fired following water drinking contest death
mercurynews.com reports that KDND fired 10 employees, including the three DJs who presided over the water drinking contest in which Jennifer Lea Strange died after drinking approximately 2 gallons of water.
startribune.com has more details about the contest including reports that the DJs were warned of the risks of the contest by a caller:
About two hours into the contest, a woman who identified herself as Eva called the show. She warned the hosts that “those people that are drinking all that water can get sick and possibly die from water intoxication.”
One host replied that “we’re aware of that.” Another said the contestants had signed releases, “so we’re not responsible.”
“And if they get to the point where they have to throw up, then they’re going to throw up and they’re out of the contest before they die, so that’s good, right?” one host said. One of the hosts then asked a DJ stationed in the kitchen with the contestants, “Is anybody dying in there?”
“We got a guy who’s just about to die,” he said.
“Make sure he signs the release,” the host replied.
Woman dies in bladder endurance contest
(Thanks Brian Subich) MSNBC.com reports that a woman died after competing in a contest in Sacramento where the objective was to avoid going to the bathroom while drinking a 8 ounce bottle of water every 15 minutes. The winner would receive a Nintendo Wii.
Choking incident in Music City Bowl rib contest
(from independentmail.com) Clemson defensive tackle Elsmore Gabriel required the Heimlich maneuver after getting a bone lodged in his throat during a rib eating contest held at the Music City Bowl (Nashville, TN) team welcome party. Gabriel continued eating after the bone was removed and Clemson lost the contest to Kentucky by two ribs. William “Refrigerator” Perry, who appeared in the 2003 Nathan’s finals and a Kobayashi cartoon on Saturday Night Live, also played defensive tackle at Clemson.
Don “Moses” Lerman’s foot tumor is benign
Don “Moses” Lerman says that the biopsy reports from his foot tumor have come back and it was found to be benign, which is excellent news. Moses also says that he intends to have a web cam installed on his website in the near future.
“Theeta” Rappai, India’s top eater, dies
ibnlive.com reports that Kurian “Theeta” Rappai of Thrissur, India died Saturday morning. The English translation of “Theeta” is big eater and he earned his nickname by forcing restaurants to drop their all you can eat specials. The article claims that Rappai once ate 15kg (33 lb.) of pudding in one meal. Reports of Rappai’s age vary. ibnlive says he was 65 while newindpress claims he was 63. Rappai retired from big eating this summer due to diabetes and other health issues. sarathc’s father knew Rappai and he describes the time Rappai exacted revenge on a buffet that charged prices different from what was listed on the menu.
updated The Peninsula has an article about Rappai stating he was 67. The life expectancy for Indians is 60 – 61 years.
Moses’ tumor removed – biopsy results upcoming.
Don “Moses” Lerman reports that his foot tumor was successfully removed yesterday, but he will be off his feet for the next two weeks. Analysis on whether the tumor is cancerous or begign is upcoming.
Loading ...