The Boston Herald has a preview of Saturday’s Verizon VoiceWing Buffalo Wings finals consisting mainly of “bib sheets” for Joey Chestnut, “Badlands” Booker and “Crazy Legs” Conti. Conti’s appearance implies that Kevin Lipsitz has definitely vacated his spot for Conti since Conti finished in the sixth position in the DC qualifier and only the top five will advance.

Updated 11/12 12:48 pm – The Boston Globe has an interview with Rich LeFevre about the contest (No questions about Carlene’s status are asked)

The expected contestants for the contest are
Seattle (Everett, WA) qualifiers:
1. Joey Chestnut, 4.5 lb.
2. Eric “Badlands” Booker, 3.6 lb.
3. “Humble” Bob Shoudt 3.5 lb.
4. Patrick Bertoletti 2.93 lb.
5. Jason “The Erbivore” Erb 2.9 lb.

San Francisco qualifiers:
1. Rich LeFevre 4.92 lb won in double OT
2. Cookie Jarvis 4.92 lb lost in double OT
3.-5. ? (Does anyone know who else qualified)

DC (Bethesda, MD) qualifiers:
1. Sonya Thomas, 5.75 lb
2. Tim “Eater X” Janus, 4.0 lb
3. “Krazy” Kevin Lipsitz, 3.85 lb
4T. “Big” Brian Subich, 3.2 lb
4T. Chip Simpson, 3.2 lb
6. “Crazy Legs” Conti, 2.9 lb. (will appear due to Lipsitz missing)

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The finals for the Verizon VoiceWing Buffalo wing contest will be held at Back Bay Kings in Boston. The menu is quite sophisticated for a restaurant located in a bowling alley.

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IFOCE.com has a full list of the expected competitors in the Knoxville Krystal qualifier Sunday. The ranked members of that roster are Don “Moses” Lerman, Patrick Bertoletti and Kevin Carr. Cookie Jarvis does not appear on the list, so he will not make the finals since Knoxville is the final qualifier. Patrick Bertoletti would probably be favored, but he might be handicapped by competing in the Verizon Voicewing Buffalo wing finals the day before.

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Krystal Square Off Qualifier, Greater Jacksonville Fair, Nov 6 (from IFOCE.com)
1. “Crazy Legs” Conti, 31 burgers
2. Hall Hunt, 30 burgers
3. Brian Miller, 24 burgers

Conti is not the first Bostonian to win a big event in Jacksonville in 2005; the Patriots won the Super Bowl in February.

Not only does Hunt miss the top spot and automatic qualification by just one burger, his total puts his 3 contest average at 26.67, third place in the wild card category, and less than a burger behind Loren Yarbrough’s average of 27.33. The top two wild card qualifiers make the finals and Joey Chestnut has the first wild card slot. No eater can compete in more than three qualifiers.

Jacksonville.com has a profile of Hall Hunt (registration required)

With one qualifier remaining in Knoxville Sunday, the winners of the first round contests are:

Notable eaters who have yet to qualify include Cookie Jarvis and Patrick Bertoletti. Don “Moses” Lerman and Kevin Carr have also announced intentions to compete in Knoxville.

Recorded non-winning finishes of 20 or more burgers are: (list might be incomplete)

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In this blog entry, collegiate bodybuilder Britt Miller describes her meals on a trip to Las Vegas, which included 24 ounce prime ribs with all the trimmings and frequent trips to the buffets.

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Cincinnati Weekly has an interview with Columbus resident Kevin Carr, the 40th ranked IFOCE member. Carr will compete in the Knoxville Krystal qualifier.

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Philly.com has an article describing the complaint Arnie “Chowhound” Chapman lodged with the Federal Communications Commission. Chapman claims that his being prevented from competing in the 2005 Wing Bowl after successfully completing his qualifying stunt violates the FCC statute that on-air contests must have fair and consistent rules. A video clip of the Chowhound’s stunt in which he ate 28 clementines is available.

In other Wing Bowl news, the Philadelphia City Paper claims that the 2005 Wing Bowl was probably fixed so that Bill “El Wingador” Simmons could beat Sonya Thomas.

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The University of Florida student newspaper, The Alligator, has a profile of UF graduate student Hall Hunt.

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Sonya Thomas fan bc has a photo gallery and forum thread of last Saturday’s buffalo wing contest in Bethesda, MD.

“Beautiful” Brian Seiken also has a photo gallery from that contest.

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From IFOCE.com and “Beautiful” Brian Seiken

Smirnoff Twisted V Wild Grape World Grape Eating Championship, Grand Central Terminal, NYC

1. Ed “Cookie” Jarvis, 8.95 lb
2. Eric “Badlands” Booker 8.9 lb
3. Tim “Eater X” Janus 7.8 lb
4. “Humble” Bob Shoudt, 6.75 lb.
5. Don “Moses” Lerman 5.75 lb.
6. “Crazy Legs” 5.15 lb.
7. Pat Philbin 4.25 lb.
8. “Beautiful” Brian Seiken, 4 lb.
9. Bobby Bacala (Sopranos) ? lb.

Updated 11/02 9:10 am with complete results – thanks Brian Seiken

Sonya Thomas does not appear despite the $2000 first prize and the apparent ease in travelling to the contest (just hop on Acela and she’s at the contest site)

Updated 11/03 1:01 am “Beautiful” Brian Seiken has uploaded a photo gallery – Thanks Yo Mama

From speedeat.com: “Gentleman” Joe Menchetti attended the contest and challenged Jarvis to a cannoli eating contest to be judged by Brian Seiken. Jarvis declined the challenge.

Corrected 11/03 9:35 pm: Menchetti did not attend the contest and the cannoli challege was issued five weeks ago.

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The East Valley (AZ) tribune has a profile of Mike Jones, who competed in the Phoenix grilled cheese qualifier and the Chandler baked bean contest.

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From IFOCE.com:

1. Ron Koch, 36 burgers
2T. Hall Hunt, 26 burgers
2T. unnamed Floridian, 26 burgers

Ron Koch’s total is the 5th best performance so far, behind only Sonya Thomas, Joey Chestnut, Tim Janus and Badlands Booker.

With two qualifying contests remaining, top ranked IFOCE members who have yet to qualify include Cookie Jarvis and Patrick Bertoletti.

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(From IFOCE.com) Sonya Thomas showed absolutely no effects from a two month contest hiatus at the DC (Bethesda, MD) Verizon Voicewing Buffalo Wing qualifier. Her total of 5.75 pounds beat runner up Tim Janus’ amount by a pound and 3 quarters. “Krazy” Kevin Lipsitz came in third. Sonya’s result is over a pound better than nemesis Joey Chestnut’s tally in Seattle from the start of October. Chip Simpson, who made his debut last week winning the Birmingham Krystal qualifier, competed along with “Crazy Legs” Conti, Don “Moses” Lerman, “Beautiful” Brian Seiken and Allan Goldstein. The top 5 finishers are eligible to compete in the finals to be held in Boston.

WTop radio has an article about the contest along with 4 pictures.

Added 11/1 12:59 am The DC Examiner has a contest writeup. The Examiner also did an interview with Sonya earlier in October.

Updated 10/31 9:25 AM “Beautiful” Brian Seiken, who competed, has a contest writeup on his website with near-complete results, pictures, and a reason why Sonya Thomas still has to worry about thrown food items despite being banned from the Wing Bowl.

Results from that article:

1. Sonya Thomas, 5.75 lb
2. Tim “Eater X” Janus, 4.0 lb
3. “Krazy” Kevin Lipsitz, 3.85 lb
4T. “Big” Brian Subich, 3.2 lb
4T. Chip Simpson, 3.2 lb
6. “Crazy Legs” Conti, 2.9 lb.
7T. “Beautiful” Brian Seiken, 2lb.
7T. Alan Goldsten, 2lb.

Pat (from Moonachie) Philbin missed due to car problems, Don “Moses” Lerman struggled due to lack of a chair.

The top five finishers advance to the finals in Boston. Crazy Legs (who has adopted Tim Janus’ face painting) will also make the finals due to Kevin Lipsitz missing the finals due to a previous engagement.

Fixed 11/01 12:20 am made correction that Pat Philbin missed due to car trouble and not Brian Subich (Thanks Brian Subich)

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Several sellers have put Wing Bowl tickets up for sale on ebay. They are asking, and generally getting a good deal more than the $5 face value.

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(from IFOCE.com) Jed Donahue, who won the grilled cheese contest at the Southern California Fair, notched his second victory in a little over two weeks at the 84 Lumber Baked Bean contest at Chandler Arizona, eating 84 ounces of baked beans in 1 minute and 45 seconds. Rich LeFevre finished in second place with a time of 1:59.

Justin Mih, a student at UC-Irvine and runner up to Donahue in grilled cheese, came in 3rd with a time of 3:30 placing him on the roster of impressive collegiate rookies populated by Joey Chestnut, Patrick Bertoletti and Hall Hunt.

The East Valley Tribune has an article about competitive eating in general which mentions the contest.

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gazette.net has a preview of Saturday’s Verizon voicewing qualifier which will be held in Bethesda on Saturday containing brief interviews of Sonya Thomas and Tim Janus. Sonya self-confidence does not seem to be affected by her recent struggles with Joey Chestnut.

Bethesda is also the home of the National Institute of Mental Health. Determining which, if any, of the entrants should check into the institute after the contest will be left as an exercise for the reader.

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A hot dog contest was held in Houston in which the prize was a pair of World Series tickets. The winner, Bill Hedge, consumed an impressive 16 hot dogs in about 10 minutes, which makes him a potential threat to qualify for Nathan’s.

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WIP 610 has announced that the Wing Bowl has sold out in a little more than 24 hours despite the lack of previous competitors.

Update 10/26 11:26 pm philly.com has more information about Wing Bowl ticket sales (go to the bottom of the page). 18,000 tickets were sold, which is probably about the capacity for basketball or hockey.

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An article about last Saturday’s Verizon Voicewing Buffalo wing qualifier has finally appeared in the form of an editorial in Thursday’s Oakland Tribune. The author has the right to voice whatever opinions he wants about competitive eating, but not to print incorrect facts. He claims that Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut appeared in that contest.

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From Bubba Yarbrough and IFOCE.com:

Greater Alabama Fall Fair, Birmingham, AL

1. 32 burgers Chip “Chip Burger” Simpson
2. 30 burgers Bubba Yarbrough
3. 26 burgers Larry “The Legend” McNeil

Chip Simpson takes first in his first major competition. Bubba and Larry continue their impressive fall tour throughout the south.

With 3 contests remaining, the current list of qualifiers is (Joey Chestnut will almost certainly get a wild-card spot)

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The site for the DC Verizon VoiceWing qualifier has been set at Union Jack’s British Pub in Bethesda, MD. Sonya Thomas will make her first contest appearance since Labor Day weekend. “Beautiful” Brian Seiken also expects that he, Pat Philbin, Don “Moses” Lerman, “Big” Brian Subich, “Krazy” Kevin Lipsitz, Tim”Eater X” Janus and Allen “Shredder” Goldstein will compete, giving the contest the most ranked IFOCE members since the US Open in July. Philbin will begin his campaign to win Wing Bowl 14.

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In this forum thread for the Opie and Anthony show, Pat (from Moonachie, NJ) Philbin is encouraged by his fans to participate in the Wing Bowl. One fan is apparently not upset about the lack of previous competitors in Wing Bowl 14, for he plans to camp out for tickets starting 24 hours before they go on sale.

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pe.com has a column (registration required) by someone who participated in last Monday’s grilled cheese contest at the Southern California Fair. He finished with 8 sandwiches, which he found rather unappetizing. There is also a video.

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The Arizona Republic as a preview of Friday’s grilled cheese contest focusing on two local eaters.

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Speedeat.com mentions that the next Wing Bowl will be closed to all previous competitors and have a $5 admission charge. 610 WIP’s Wing Bowl page makes this information official. Tickets will go on sale starting Sunday. The starting time will remain 6am the Friday before the Super Bowl. All admission fees are allocated to charity, but if the net result of the restrictions is a victory for Joey Chestnut or Rich LeFevre, they might want to use some of those funds for additional security.

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