The segment containing diners’ attempts to break their personal bests in Blimpy Burgers from last night’s episode of “Diners Drive Ins & Dives” on the Food Network has been uploaded (7MB about 3 minutes)

The record holder, James Rocker, appears but does not try to break his mark of 40 patties. Rocker has an account of his record attempt on his live journal.

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ESPN Radio 1250 has put up a page with pictures and some brief biographical information about the qualifiers for Friday’s Wing Championship Series finals.

A gallery (with minimal captions) of the Dallas Wing Championship Series is also available.

Brian Subich’s qualfication video is now available on philly.com’s Wing Bowl page

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In a profile on NJ.com, Bill “El” Wingador” Simmons describes how he is preparing to make a comeback in Wing Bowl 16:

Wingador insists he competes against himself, not the field, but he knows if he’s going to make it six Wing Bowls he probably will have to out-eat Californian Joe Chestnut, who won in 2006 and 2007 and is considered the Tiger Woods of eating as the world’s No. 1 competitive chow-hound.

“I’m not worried about Chestnut,” Wingador says. “We’re friends, but he talks trash.”

Wingador goes to the gym (Bally’s) almost every morning, then begins eating, insisting he doesn’t have this routine programmed backwards.

A regular at several Gloucester County restaurants, he usually has four eggs over with scrapple and pancakes followed by a cheesesteak for breakfast. Lunch may feature a whole pizza and roast beef hoagie. Dinner could be a combination of chicken, or pork, or ham, or rice and beans, or four slices of pizza, and/or his personal favorite, spaghetti with chicken parm. Or, sometimes, all of the above.

Simmons believes he is capable of 200 to 240 wings at Wing Bowl 16.

PhillyBurbs.com has an article about WIP host / comedian “Big Daddy” Graham.

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Tonight’s episode of “Diners, Drive Ins and Dives” on the Food Network, titled “Burgers, Rings and Fries”, closes with Lauren Lobert of the University of Michigan’s women’s hockey team eating 21 burgers. She mentions her eating ability on her hockey team page where she says she has the female record for eating Blimpie Burgers. The episode will rerun at 1am (10pm Pacific) and I will try to record it and upload the clip. (For anyone keeping track, today is the third anniversary of Kate Stelnick’s appearances on Good Morning America and the Tony Danza show.)

update A video clip of the Blimpy Burger challenge segment has been uploaded.

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HugeEaters.com reports that “Krazy” Kevin Lipsitz & Lorraine are expecting twins
The (UK) Telegraph on Eddie “Bozo” Miller
USA Today reports that “Ham & Eggs” will be commercial free
PennLive.com reports Brian Subich’s qualification for the Wing Bowl.
hot dog contest for Drexel U students, $100 first prize
32 inch pizza challenge at Paventi’s Pizzeria in Charlotte, NC
Wing sauce contest in West Chester, PA, first prize is Wing Bowl tickets
Orange eating contest in Brunei to celebrate Chinese New Year.

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According to a recent email, the person in the gray shirt cropped out of the above two pictures was the top finisher in a recent qualifier for WPLR’s Eat the Meat II chicken wing contest with a result of 80 wings in 9 minutes. Due to having previously competed in a Nathan’s qualifier, the winner was not only prohibited from competing in the January 26 finals, he was excised from the radio station’s website pictures above. The contest rules have the following restrictions for “professional” eaters:

Professional eaters, persons recognized by AICE , the IFOCE or members of any professional eating organization or participants in any professional eating competition are not eligible. The decision of professional eater status will be determined by a WPLR Eat the Meat Official and is final.

If former competitors in a professional eating competition are not eligible, then this restriction could be interpreted as prohibiting all competitors in last year’s “Eat the Meat” contest (who were allowed to compete) as it awarded a prize of $1,000. The original winner (whose name was not given in the email) might have a basis for filing an FCC complaint.

Joe Menchetti won a qualifier for last year’s contest, and was also prohibited from competing in the finals.

The final qualifier will take place on January 24 and requires Connecticut residency to enter.

update I received an email from the original winner of the qualifier, Michael Springer. He competed Nathan’s East Hartford Qualifier and came in fifth with 17.5 HDB and also the Ash Creek Ribs contest where he finished second to last with 1.8 lbs. He informed the radio station of those contests and they said that would not block his participation. After he won the qualifier, the radio station disqualified him for being a “professional” eater despite not having won any prizes in his previous contests.

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Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub’s 100+ lb. burger was recently featured on a recent episode of the Rachael Ray Show. The segment can be viewed online. The segment shows how the burger was created.

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SuperVegan has a blog entry and gallery from Wednesday’s vegan Buffalo wing eating contest in Brooklyn. Dan McGinley (17 or 18 vegan wings) won the contest. Marc and Corey (no last names) came in second and third.

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Deadspin has a picture of a poster in a New Lisbon, Wisconsin bar reading

“Free Tap Beer!! during Green Bay football games (until someone pees or leaves)”

The brands of beers on the poster are Bud and Bud Light. If the odds of dying from water intoxication from drinking Bud Light are the similar to the odds drinking plain water, it is surprising that such a contest is being held given the death of a competitor in the “Hold Your Wee for a Wii” contest sponsored by a Sacramento radio station. (Of course, some people might say that Bud Light is virtually indistinguishable from water. 😉 )

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Jill Stoler needs team members for the Clinton Station Diner burger contest.
CalorieLab on Eddie “Bozo” Miller
San Diego 12 egg omelet challenge
Krystal opening in Arkansas, a year’s supply of burgers to the first 12 adults in line.
American Stomach author on NPR at 11 am, will discuss competitive eating
Competitive eating parody on Shark Divers
Nathan’s hater Peter King of Sports Illustrated compares Seahawk Shaun Alexander to a Coney Island hot dog competitor.
Gal Sone dines with assistance of a crab cracker.
Mike Huckabee responds to Frank Pastore, the Big Texan steak record holder, questioning his conservatism.

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(From an anonymous comment) An announcement for the La Costeña Jalapeño Eating Contest in Laredo, TX appears on the IFOCE website. The contest will be held on February 23 at the Jalapeño Festival. The total purse will be $5000. Registration opens Jan 22 at noon.

If no earlier IFOCE contests are held, there will be almost 4 months between full-fledged IFOCE competitions (not counting the Wing Bowl as a 100% IFOCE event). The announcement alludes to this hiatus:

The nations greatest athletes have been resting their gullets in the off-season and are ready to make a serious mark on 2008.

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Radio podcasts for the first two Pittsburgh Wing Championship Series qualifiers are now available on the WCS page. The finalists from the third qualifier have also been posted: Wing Kong, presumably not “Micah Collins”, (48 wings), Pitt Panther (44), and Ms. Sweet (44) .

Update: qualifiers from the previous two contests are now listed
Jan 16: Captain Butthead (68), The Snake (52) and Gone with the Wings (52)
Jan 17: Wingleberry (46) and Spiker (35)

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Gothamist has a report on a temporary eating challenge being held in Forest Hills, Queens:

If the folks at On the Grill have their way, this storefront Israeli spot in Forest Hills may become to Queens what Nathan’s Famous is to Coney Island. The restaurant’s chef Tzur Kalaf has no intention of giving up his Glatt Kosher certification and serving hot dogs, though. Instead he’s launched what he calls “The Great Falafel Eating Contest”, which started Monday and lasts until Feb. 28.

The rules are pretty simple: Any participant who eats five falafel sandwiches in 29 minutes gets their meal free and wins a $50 gift certificate to On the Grill. If a contestant doesn’t eat all five sandwiches in the allotted time, then they pay for the number that they polished off.

The author is not aware that IFOCE members are banned from unsanctioned eating challenges. George Shea apparently makes no mention of the ban either when he is interviewed.

The photo of the restaurant sign appears to claim that the challenge is only in effect from 5:30 pm to 10 pm from Monday through Thursday.

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Jeff Olson noted that the rules for Wing Bowl 16 are now available on 610wip.com.

The rules state that 5 trips to Mexico will be awarded to individual entourage members:

Five (5) trips for two (2) persons will be awarded to five (5) different members of Wing Bowl 16 entourages. Winners will be chosen at the sole discretion of WIP. Selection will be based on but not limited to: overall appearance, creativity, etc. The trips will be to either Punta Cana or Cancun, Mexico.

The rules bar entry to “any member of non-IFOCE professional eating organizations, including but not limited to AICE, are also not eligible to participate in the contest.” This is different from the language in the document picked up by Bill Myers which blocked “any member of, or person affiliated with, non-IFOCE/MLE professional eating organizations, including but not limited to AICE”.

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Dan Gross’ new Wing Bowl column on philly.com has quotes from George Shea who says:

Bill “El Wingador” Simmons “is the purest wing eater I’ve ever seen. He has complete comfort with the wing, but El Wingador competing against [Joey] Chestnut is like Don Rickles playing golf against Tiger Woods.”

Shea makes the following defense of “El Wingador”: “Wingador has something none of the other IFOCE eaters have. Passion.” and then apparently contradicts himself in the following sentence: “He has a passion for this event like most other eaters, but I don’t think he can beat Joey.”

The claim appears that Joey Chestnut “competes in IFOCE events around the world”, but I believe there are 8 active IFOCE/AICE eaters who have competed outside North America, with Sonya Thomas being the only IFOCE member in that group.

The column describes the relationship between the Wing Bowl and the IFOCE: “The IFOCE grants a provisional sanction to the Wing Bowl, but does not oversee the event and is not involved with its judging.”

Dave “U. S. Male” Goldstein, who will turn 40 the weekend of the Wing Bowl, also appears in the column and will be competing for more than prizes:

Goldstein is taking pledges for Rangerforacure.info, a charity set up by Army ranger Chris Young, who battled thyroid cancer and now raises money to fight childhood cancer. Interested parties may contact Goldstein at USMaleWingBowl@aol.com

PhillyBurbs.com has a report on Michael Sarian’s victory in Saturday’s hoagie eating qualifier which claims that the field for this year’s Wing Bowl is 28, including 10 professional eaters and 18 nonprofessionals.

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A backlog of videos and galleries appears to be developing on the official Wing Bowl sites. The Wing Bowl 16 page on 610wip.com has been stuck on 12 successful qualifiers for quite a while (the gallery for “Dr. Big Time” has yet to appear on it) and I do not think the videos page on philly.com has been updated this week. The only successful stunt this week I am aware of is “Big” Brian Subich qualifying by eating 3 “Fat Bitch” sandwiches, which are foot long cheesesteaks topped with chicken fingers, cheesesticks, mayo, ketchup and french fries in 7 minutes and 53 seconds.

I have not been able to obtain the winner of January 8 Wing Off in Glassboro, NJ. Please inform me if you are aware of that information.

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In a comment on megamunch, Pete “Philly Guy” Miernicki reports that Brad Sciullo defeated him by 4 wings at tonight’s Wing Off to qualify for the Wing Bowl. Pete also reports that a Wing Off will be held this Saturday at a 76ers game.

updatePhilly.com has information about the Saturday contest:

In a first, the WIP-AM (610) Wing Bowl will stage a qualifying round during halftime of Saturday’s Sixers-Raptors game at the Wachovia Center. Four contestants, chosen this week, will eat all the hot dogs they can in two minutes. (As a bonus, they get two tickets in the Sixers All-You-Can-Eat Section.)

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Liz K attended a hot dog eating contest at Olde Tyme Drafts and Dawgs and wrote a blog entry about it for Westword. Entrants had to eat 15 hot dogs in under two hours. Bathroom breaks (without vomiting) were allowed. The restaurant will try to repeat the contest monthly.

Skinnyboy has part I of a report on the Denver Wing Bowl on his blog.

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The myspace blog for Foodvibes has the details about Wednesday’s vegan wing eating contest. An article about the contest mentioned it was filled up, but the blog does not mention that entry is closed. The top prize is $50 cash and $200 in gift certificates.

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Usually when competitive eating is brought up in association with bass fishing, it is about the possibility of the Sheas selling the IFOCE for a significant amount as the pro-fishing circuit B.A.S.S. was sold to ESPN for $35 million dollars. Another connection between the two sports will take place when boostedcpe/Butterbean attempts to qualify for the Wing Bowl Tuesday by eating 3 pounds of fried bass in 5 minutes. He announces his stunt in a thread on a bass fishing message board.

This makes the known upcoming stunts for this week:

Jan 14 Brad Sciullo 72 Chips Ahoy cookies & 1 gallon of milk in 2:30 (If allowed to compete due to age)
Jan 15 “Butterbean” 3 pounds fried bass in 5 minutes.
Jan 15 Adam “Hungry Hungry Hebrew” Taxin, hamburger eating contest vs. dog
Jan 18 Pat Bertoletti, 6 lbs of sour cream in 8 minutes

update BeautifulBrian.com has a page on today’s stunts which reports that “Big” Brian Subich qualified, but Brad Sciullo failed to complete his stunt.

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In a comment on megamunch, “Will” Bill Myers says he picked up a copy of the Wing Bowl 16 rules when he competed in today’s qualifier. Rule #2 follows:

Wing Bowl 16 is an IFOCE/MLE officially sanctioned and sponsored event, any member of, or person affiliated with, non-IFOCE/MLE professional eating organizations, including but not limited to AICE, are also not eligible to participate in the contest.

The FCC’s web site has a page about regulations about radio station contest rules which states that eligibility restrictions must be publicized in some manner from the time a contest is announced:

“Material terms” include those factors which define the operation of the contest and which affect participation therein. Although the material terms may vary widely depending mentioned in a cupon the exact nature of the contest, they will generally include: (1) how to enter or participate; (2) eligibility restrictions; (3) entry deadline dates; (4) whether prizes can be won; (5) when prizes can be won; (6) the extent, nature, and value of the prizes; (7) the basis for valuation of prizes; (8) time and means of selection of winners; and/or (9) tie-breaking procedures.

In general, the time and manner of disclosure of the material terms of a contest are within the licensee’s discretion. However, the obligation to disclose the material terms arises at the time that the audience is first told how to enter or participate and continues thereafter. The material terms should be disclosed periodically by announcements broadcast on the station conducting the contest, but need not be enumerated each time an announcement promoting the contest is broadcast. Disclosure of material terms in a reasonable number of announcements is sufficient. In addition to the required broadcast announcements, disclosure of the material terms may be made in a non-broadcast manner.

Wing Bowl rules do not appear on 610WIP’s web site. The Wing Bowl 16 page has “Official Rules for Wing Bowl 16” at the bottom, but there is no link or following information. I do not know how frequently WIP has announced Wing Bowl 16 eligibility restrictions on the air. We might get a chance to learn if the FCC views those restrictions as satisfactorily disclosed if an AICE eater files a new FCC complaint.

update GJoe’s FCC complaint mentioned in a previous comment is based on being excluded from a previous Wing Bowl, not the upcoming one.

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The Pottstown Mercury has a report on Thursday’s Wing Off at the Trappe Tavern won by Paul Sakelarides. Paul’s wife, Fran, was the only woman who competed, which probably suffices to make them the third best couple in IFOCE history after the LeFevres and Lipsitzs.

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Curtis Sliwa is not the only competitive eater who works as a talk radio host. Adam “Hungry Hungry Hebrew” Taxin, who will attempt a Wing Bowl stunt competing against a dog on Tuesday, has a one hour radio show on Tuesday afternoon on WNWR. Frank Pastore, who set the Big Texan 72 ounce steak record of 9.5 minutes in 1987, has a Christian talk show in Los Angeles.

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1033espn.com has a page about the Dallas Wing Championship Series, which will have its first round on Sunday. Details about the first round follow:

* Sunday January 13 – Boston’s Pizza in Grapevine
* Begins with pre-game show before kick off of Divisional Game 1
* Contest begins in between the conclusion of Divisional game 1 and kick off of Divisional game 2
* Each team has 2 rounds of 3 players (6 participants total per team) competing against their own “teammates” in order to represent TEAM GAC or TEAM NATE in the finals
* 3 minute per round
* Winners from each round move to the semi final round to compete against 1 other person. The winner of the semi final round goes to the Finals on Sunday, February 2nd.

Nate of Team Nate is presumably Nate Newton, who weighed over 300 pounds as a member of the Dallas Cowboys in the 1990s and was caught smuggling over 200 pounds of marijuana after his football career ended.

The first four qualifiers of the Pittsburgh Wing Championship Series finals are listed on espnradio1250.com’s WCS page: Mr. Good Time (30 wings), Obi Wing Kenobi (28), Broken Wing (65) and The Red Hot Wing Nut (54).

update Derek “Wing Tut” Payne has a blog entry about his participation in the Thursday qualifier.

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The blog for the Princeton Oyster Bowl reports that two time defending champion Kristina Costa will not be able to defend her crown because she will be in South Africa during the contest. The website claims that the current favorites are 2005 winner Roy Cherris and Barbara Devaney, who lost to Kristina Costa in overtime in 2006. Last year’s first prize was a 42 inch plasma TV, this year’s prize has not been listed.

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