Chestnut By A Nose

Mark Yost checks in from New York and Nathan's Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest:

As I'd suspected, Kobayashi's alleged jaw injury was nothing but an elaborate ruse by a champion in his waning years of competition. Daunted by Joey Chestnut's qualifying record of 59 1/2 hot dogs, Kobayashi knew that he couldn't hang with Chestnut, and the Nathan's Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest belt would finally be returned to America.

George and I caught the Q train this morning and took it to Brighton Beach, otherwise known as Little Oddessa for its large Russian immigrant population. We walked about a mile on the Riegelman Boardwalk to Coney Island and proptly got a dog and an order of crinkle cut fries at Nathan's boardwalk stand. While I stood in line for the food, George watched beachgoers pony up to "Shoot the Freak," one of our favorite Coney Island midway games. "Only live human target on the boardwalk...."

Next we were crushed to learn that our favorite miniature golf course had closed down, shuttered by progress and the ongoing redevelopment of Coney Island by Thor Properties. So to prepare for our trip to Staten Island tonight, we went to the Brooklyn Cyclones shop and bought away-game caps.

It was only after this that we made our way toward Nathan's and the hot dog eating contest. This marks a significant change in our strategy from years past. Before, we used to get here early and stake out our spot near the stage. The wait could be excruciating, especially on hot, sunny days (just ask Janelle Koster). This year, we waited until there was just three minutes to go before the start of the contest. And we approached from the ocean side instead of the street sign. We were about 50 yards from the stage on Stillwell Avenue. I hoisted George up on my shoulders and he had a perfect vantage point.

From the very start, it was clear that the contest was Chestnut's to lose. He downed 10 hot dogs in the first 50 seconds. But Kobayashi hung tough. He and Chestnut were neck and neck right to the end. But when all was said and done, Chestnut had wrestled the belt away, downing an incredible 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes. Kobayashi only managed to eat 63. Whie both those numbers are impressive, you have to remember that just a few years ago, Kobayashi was winning with 38 hot dogs. Chestnut has clearly raised the bar.

Up Next: The home-and-home series between the Brooklyn Cyclones and the Staten Island Yankees.

SP ADDS: Chestnut and Kobayashi are just lucky this guy has other things to distract him from taking his competitive eating more seriously.