The SoapBoxers

An exciting week in sports this week. I am still resting up from my trip to the Solheim Cup, and I am sure you are all ready to read something other than another golf article, so I will just touch on some golf briefly and move on.

Golf

A real win for the LPGA this week with a win for the United States Team in the Solheim Cup. It might have well spelled a coming out party for Michelle Wie, who along with Paula Creamer were clearly the stars of the US team. Wie went an impressive 3-0-1 in her four matches played. It is too easy to forget she is still very young has it seems like she has already been playing forever.

Sergio Garcia sees another opportunity slip by as he extinguishes a late lead on Sunday in yet another tournament. And what is up with the rugged bearded look Sergio? Go back to the clean shaven Michelob Poster Boy look, it is much better for you and I am sure your many sponsors would agree with that assessment.

Baseball

C.C. Sabathia became the majors first 15 game winner of 2009 as the Yankees continued to dominate over the Boston Red Sox. No love in Beantown right now as the Yanks have built an impressive lead and seem to be firing on all cylinders. The Yankees now have a huge 7 ½ game in the division … just a few months ago it seemed like this was totally out of the question for this year.

Today marks the 20th anniversary of Pete Rose’s lifetime ban from baseball. What I have always found fascinating about the Rose lifetime ban is that very few people are on the fence with an opinion. You either think Pete Rose should or should not be in the Hall of Fame. Even current Hall members are on different sides of the issue. There is no disputing however that the all time hit leader has some statistical support in many categories that warrant a spot in Cooperstown, only time will tell if the decision of Bart Giamatti is ever overturned.

Football

Brett Favre is back …. again …. I think I would un-retire for a cool twenty five million dollars over two years. The Vikings have the running game, they have the defense, I am not sure they have the receivers. All the Vikings really need to do is to manage the game offensively. This could be a huge year for Adrian Peterson if he stays healthy.

Latest line from Vegas….over/under for number of times the new “JerryTron” 60 yard long High Definition Jumbo screen gets hit by punts at the new Dallas Cowboy stadium this year….14 ½.

And finally …

The crazy comment of the week:

Lou Holtz makes a bold post season prediction for the BCS Title game. “ I personally believe, if you ask me, ‘Who’s going to play in the national championship game?’ I’d say it’s going to be Florida and the University of Notre Dame. They return 11 starters on offense. They return all three running backs, the two best wide receivers, they have a great defense coming back.”

And to think …. ESPN pays this guy …. wow.

Until next week … Good Luck with your last minute Fantasy Football drafts!

On Thursday, My wife and I attended the final practice round of the Solheim Cup being played at the fantastic Rich Harvest Farms golf course in Sugar Grove Illinois.

This article will rate the various experiences we had throughout the day. The LPGA is floundering a bit, losing a number of tournament sponsors, and recently the commissioner, Carolyn Bivens, stepped down. Women’s golf this week takes center stage and needs to score big, both on TV and with the fan base and nothing gets this to happen like a good ol fashioned continental rivalry.

We arrived at the course right as the gates were opening for practice round action. The weather was a little bit like it has been in the midwest most of the summer – windy, a bit rainy and unseasonably cool.

Play was delayed slightly because of the weather, so the spouse and I took up residence near the practice green area to watch some of the United States and European teams finest women golfers warm up for their rounds.

My wife has never attended a major golf event before this week. She was anxious to see many of the LPGA players as well as the greats of the Ladies European Tour (LET). She was also eager to get some autographs and multiple photo opportunities of the players and the course itself.

Our first stop was to hit the merchandise tent. Unfortunately, the Solheim Cup folks had failed to order in enough stock of many items. The tents were already out of pin flags (a popular item for autograph hounds) as well as a number of shirts were limited to just one size and a number of other items were “temporarily out of stock”.  We were informed they had actually run out of many of these items on Wednesday. Score – BOGEY – out of too many items on Wednesday is unacceptable, and as usual many things were way too overpriced.

Rich Harvest Farms is a wonderful golf course. It is not, however, fan friendly to walk. The course is very spread out over a huge amount of land, but the actual golf holes themselves are epic for a match play format. This is a tough golf course with superior bunkering and green complexes. Score – EAGLE

The players were out today completing their final practice round. The course is a long walk, so they took it a bit easy today I am sure to conserve energy for actual play. Mrs. Goodman took the time to rate the best … and worst of each team based strictly on their fan friendliness to the galleries. It is important to note that these opinions in many cases are only based on a thirty second contact, but as well all know, the first impression is the strongest.

European Team

Hole In One – Janice Moody. Actually she DID have a hole in one during Wednesday’s practice round. Janice took time to talk to the gallery, especially young kids and asked them questions. She was outstanding with autograph requests as well as photos.

Birdie – Catriona Matthew. The Women’s Open Championship winner this year was very polite and autographed the ball she was using during the round today and gave it to my wife. That extra bonus definitely moves her up the leaderboard here.

Bogey – Helen Alfredson – Stymied the crowds multiple times and even left her own teammates behind after 9 holes. They went back to the clubhouse, she wanted to play a few more … definitely had her game face on today and nothing else seemed to matter.

Double Bogey – Anna Nordqvist – Was a “No Show” on the course today and when asked by a few folks after the opening ceremonies about getting a photo or autograph, she looked exceedingly un-impressed.

Team USA

Eagle – Brittany Lang seemed to genuinely interact with the people and took a LOT of time signing autographs along the way.

Tap In Birdie – Angela Stanford – again was interacting with everyone along the way and after the opening ceremonies, she waited off to the side and took pictures with ANYONE who wanted one.

Birdie – Kristy Mc Pherson– The former Big Break star is still trying to make an impression with the fans, and succeeding.

Bogey – Paula Creamer – The Pinkster is no doubt one of the fan favorites. She is also one of the most saught after of the United States Players. She was the only person on the course my wife did not get an autograph from today, and sadly my wife wasn’t the only person that could say that. Paula did her best, but when others are taking all the time needed at every stop, and you are a player who is not, it stands out.

Triple Bogey – Natalie Gulbis. A fan favorite for some folks the REAL fan favorite was totally incognito today except for the opening ceremony. Cmon Natalie, you left too many guys disappointed.

And to end the day, the X on the scorecard goes to the parking at the Solheim Cup. We left immediately after the opening ceremonies took place and it took us almost 90 minutes just to get out of the parking lot. REALLY – take a lesson from other major tournaments with much larger crowds. There is no excuse for that type of delay.

Overall, it was an incredible experience and I cannot wait to see the real action on Friday.

As Y.E. Yang hoisted the Wannamaker Trophy with his named newly engraved as the winner of the 91st PGA Championship, the ink had not even dried on the headlines.

“After Fading in the PGA Championship, Tiger Woods’ Slump is Official

” Tiger Woods’ PGA Championship collapse sets up pivotal 2010

“ Tiger Woods Loses PGA Championship to South Korea’s Y.E. Yang

Too many of the fish wrappers state the obvious train wreck type of headline. Don’t bother giving any credit to Mr. Yang. After all, he was a golfer who had to go through qualifying school this year. He formerly was ranked 110th in the world rankings. He had only one PGA Tour golf tournament victory to his credit.

Was, Formerly, Had … all those are way in the past tense now.

Yang becomes arguably the biggest upset winner since Buster Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson. Douglas was the only guy in the place that night that seemed like he didn’t know he was supposed to go home on the wrong end of the stick. He was the guy that was going to get knocked out … not the guy DOING the knocking out.

This has to be one of the biggest sports stories in the history of South Korea. Yang will and should be lauded as a national sports hero. Heck he has won just two less major golf championships that all of the European golfers over the last 10 years combined.

Tiger Was 14-0 in Majors when holding at least a share of the 54 hole lead. Formerly he had played aggressive in many of those rounds, setting scoring records that may never be broken. He Had been untouchable in Majors when entering the final round. It was pretty much like bringing in Goose Gossage to face your kid’s little league team.

Was, Formerly, Had … in Tigers case these are being used in the present tense

And as many will celebrate the demise of the golf demi-god known as Tiger Woods, we get to see that at least on this weekend he was a mortal human … Not just a robotic, cannot be beat, machine like terminator that goes into the final round with the lead and says … I must break you.

The man Tiger is chasing, Jack Nicklaus, won 18 Professional Golf Majors (British Open, Masters, PGA Championship, US Open) in his career. Maybe more astounding than the 18 wins he that he finished second place in those same majors a remarkable 19 times. That means 19 times he was very, very close. Formerly, Jack was considered to be the best golfer of all time. Now many think it is Tiger Woods. Just think if maybe he had just one or two less lucky shots by an opponent, or avoided a bad break or slight miscue to hurt his chances, he might have 25 even 30 majors to his credit.

Was, Formerly, Had … I don’t think Jack dwells on this too much these days.

Regardless, what happens now will be interesting with Tiger. Many times in his career he seems to make it a point to do the unthinkable just to prove the naysayers wrong. After all, two of the traveling championships are at two of his favorite venues, the Old Course at St Andrews, and Pebble Beach.

Or, maybe he is getting a bit older. Maybe he has lost a bit. Maybe the rest of the field is getting better.

I did see one thing on Sunday’s final round that led me to believe he would not win the tournament. On the 7th hole when faced with a long approach 2nd shot on a reachable par 5, Woods chose to hit a bunt wedge to layup range. That was an unspectacular and non-heroic shot to be sure. Formerly a younger Tiger would never had made such a “safe” play. He would have ripped a 3 wood into the green and taken his chances. Was that a sign of older wisdom on the golf course, or a sign that the nerves are present to the guy who never seems to get nervous?

Was, Formerly, Had.

I am sure he is already thinking about Augusta next year.

Golf

The big news of the week is not the fact that yours truly shot a career low round of 67 this past week … it instead is the fourth golf major of the year on the PGA tour.

This week Hazeltine hosts the 91st PGA Championship. I have been one to pick Tiger Woods in all of the majors this year and he is a smooth 0-3. So I will go with someone else. Camillo Villegas is my pick for the week.

Tiger does have an interesting statistic in his quest for a major this year. He has one each of the tournaments he played in BEFORE playing in a major this year … the pre Major Grand Slam if you will.

He has 14 Majors in 248 career starts. This also includes 70 tour victories. Jack Nicklaus at the same point in his career had 9 major wins and 41 tour victories…amazing.

Next Week the Solheim Cup will take place in Sugar Grove Illinois. Johnny Goodman will be present with Mrs. Goodman checking out the action as the members of the US team take on the European contingent. This will be my first venture to an international type of tournament and I hope to bring some photos to an article in a couple of weeks.

Cornhusker Football

The family all went to the annual “Fan Day” at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln Nebraska this past week. This is the day where all the players and coaches are available for the mass throngs of husker faithful to sign autographs, take pictures, high five one another … and stand in long long lines. I took my 3 1/2 year old son to this event and he had the time of his life. It is nice to see college athletes taking time to meet the community and sign autographs for the kids. One of the best things at the event was a player who was having each of the kids sign his name sheet which was located on the table in front of him. When I asked him why he was doing this he said ” because one day one of these kids will end up being a college football player … and I can say I have one of their first autographs”

Baseball

The Yankees swept the Red Sox this past weekend to vault into first place in the American League East. Troy Tulowitzki of the Colorado Rockies hit for the cycle … was it preferred scoring on a bobbled ball by Alfonso Soriano … should it have instead been ruled a double with an extra base error …. too late now … but I know the head of The Soap Boxers is happy ….

SuitGate

Too much is being made of the “technology” which is being used to make swimming times faster. The high tech suits allow for easier buoyancy and well as alarmingly faster times. What happened to the good ol days of Mark Spitz and the Moustache? Can we all just wear the trunks and goggles and see who is fastest? I wish tennis would go back to wood rackets as well. It would show who is the most talented, not just necessarily who has the best equipment.

And finally for the parting shot this week. Fantasy Football drafts are just around the corner. Send your thoughts to me here and I will be sure to include any tid bits of your wisdom in a column for next week in the sports wrap up.

Living in a rabid football state such as Nebraska, the beginning of August means the start of the college football season is almost upon us. Spring practice starts this weekend, and yours truly is very excited to take his son to his first “fan day” where he can meet behemoth linemen, shake hands, take a few photos, meet some coaches and have a few autographs signed….oh…and I will make sure to get Jr. a lemonade while we are all standing in line for some photo opportunities.

As the season draws nearer, Johnny G is excited with anticipation of the season tickets arriving in the mail, getting some of the ol’ tailgate gear dusted off, and waiting for those cooler afternoon days that signal the weekends of the fall.

This week I will do a breakdown of the Big XII. While the SEC may feel like they have the best conference in the college ranks, the folks here in the Midwest feel otherwise.

Texas and Oklahoma figure to be the cream of the crop in the south division. Much debate took place last year over these two teams. Who should have gotten into the BCS game, who was better….well I think one of these schools may win the South, but I have a feeling that the other one won’t be finishing in second. I pick Oklahoma State as my surprise team of the conference. The Cowboys start the year with a toughie against Georgia, but they return a lot of talent and I expect them to open some eyes, much like Texas Tech did last year.

Now before you go on saying I am the Husker fan homer (which coincidentally I am) I am going to pick the Huskers to win the North. I would not be surprised if they didn’t win because I am not a big believer in having first year quarterbacks leading their squad to titles. A second year coaching staff that seemed to find their groove in the second half last year, along with most of the defense coming back leads me to pick the Cornhuskers.

In the North, I think Kansas is the better team, and I even pick them to win at home against Nebraska this year. The Jayhawks have an awful lot back this year and have maybe the best receiver in the conference in Dezmon Briscoe. Still the Jayhawks have to play the south teams of Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech … brutal. This is enough to give the nod to the Huskers who should have an easier way of it in league play.

Goodman’s Picks

North Division

1. Nebraska
2. Kansas
3. Missouri – lost too much to be dangerous
4. Colorado – better than the others here
5. Iowa State – A long way to go but not as far as
6. Kansas State – could be as bad as when Snyder came the first time around

South Division

1. Texas – feel slighted from last year
2. Oklahoma State – My surprise team of the league this year
3. Oklahoma – Lost too many “O” lineman
4. Baylor – Will surprise some this year. Robert Griffith III. Remember that name
5. Texas Tech – Will show if Mad Bomber can get it done with less talent
6. Texas A&M. Money can’t buy you a good team..at least not yet.

Next week we will be into the throes of the Month of August.  August is an important date on the calendar for a variety of reasons:

• Summer is winding down and school is just around the corner
• Casual Observer Blog writer Johnny Goodman celebrates another birthday.
• College Football fall camp starts
• Fantasy Football drafts take place everywhere

Now normally I would say the second item on this list is the most important but since I am trying to entertain you all, I won’t go on about my 39th birthday plans.

Fantasy football has already begun for some of us.  Going to the local bookseller, picking up one, two , or even nine of our favorite magazines.  Websites galore publish countless articles about what rookies to take, who is hot and who is not.  Some of these sites are even proud enough to charge users a “fee” to tap into their myriad of insider information.  This is not the case here at the Casual Observer, where outstanding opinions such as ours are free of charge.

Before you harp on your friends at work, or grumble at the spouse who is heading over to a friend’s house all day on a Saturday to conduct a draft, there is a few things you need to know about fantasy football.  Heck, it might even be something that can continue to spur our economy….because it has turned into a big business venture and capital boon for many companies who have ties to this popular pastime.

Fantasy football has turned into a billion dollar industry.  The popularity of football, coupled with the things such as Direct TV, the NFL network, and your local sports bar establishment which will show each and every game, has had significant effects on football viewing and rooting habits among participants. 55 percent of fantasy sports players report watching more sports on television since they started playing fantasy sports. The NFL entered into a five year, $600 million deal in 2006 with Sprint that was driven at least in part because of fantasy sports, allowing subscribers to draft and monitor their teams with their cell phones.  Other outlets such as ESPN have tapped into this market as well in the last two years.

Many folks are so rabid with their fantasy leagues that they will even forgo their normal “root, root root for the home team” in exchange for cheering for the players on their fantasy roster.  To circumvent this,  many longtime fans refuse to draft players who play for ‘their [real] team’s rivals, thus preventing the problem of cheering against their team.

Often, a fantasy owner may end up watching a game he would otherwise have had no interest in, simply because he “owns” one or more of the players involved.  It pays (literally speaking) to familiarize oneself with the rosters of each and every team in the league.  If your player gets hurt, finding the best replacement quickly before someone else can tap the services of the hot player can often mean the difference between winning and losing.  Most leagues play for some sort of monetary prize, a trophy, or both.  Many on line sites such as CBS Sportsline even have fee leagues whose overall winner can make more than most of us doing in our careers on an annual basis.

Yes, fantasy football is popular, likely kills productivity in the workplace to some degree and has created its own subculture and the need for business to support this pastime of thousands of sports fans everywhere.

…..Now I will bid $32 on Adrian Peterson.

Sports sometimes mirrors life. This past week we were given a number of opportunities to look at sports situations that turned back the clock. Allowed us once again to look at some of our heroes of sports and remember a time when they were on top of their respective pillars of greatness in their sports.

Lance Armstrong once again riding in the Tour de France. Armstrong had been in the top two or three spots much of the race. Earlier this week he fell back in the standings during one of the mountain stages, which were one of his strengths in past victorious races. Yes, age has caught up with the cancer surviving iron man of cycling. Armstrong himself has indicated he is likely now relegated to helping his teammate win the race. Our hopes were with him, he might still have a great stage in him somewhere, but for now we have to remember what used to be and what could have been.

Michael Vick was released from house arrest and now will take his appeal to Commissioner Roger Goodel to possibly be reinstated in the NFL. Vick’s story is a tragic one on many levels. A young player with a long career in front of him he became entangled in the underworld realm of dog fighting. Vick has paid for his mistakes by doing prison time, giving up millions of dollars in contacts and endorsement deals, and being tainted for the remainder of his career and life with a label he will never be able to shake. With Vick we have to remember what used to be and what might have been.

Tom Watson played a phenomenal Open Championship this week. He was at or neat the top of the leader board for the entire tournament. Everyone expected TW to be on top of the championship standings this week, and it was TW. Just not the one anyone was expecting. Watson was an 8 foot putt away from becoming the oldest person to ever win a golf major tournament and become only the 2nd player to win 6 Open Championships. The golf ball doesn’t know how old the person is who is hitting it….but it wasn’t to be. Tom reminded us of what used to be, and gave all the golf fans a shot of feeling what could have been.

Earlier this year Randy Johnson won his 300th game. Last year Dara Torres wowed us at the Olympic games winning three silver medals. Brett Favre is likely to come back and play yet again, un-retiring for the third time and playing for the Vikings if his shoulder heals well.

We all have our heroes, and every once in awhile, long after their moment in the sun has set whether for good or for worse, we get reminded and even given a glimpse of that hope, excitement and interest that we as sports fans all have.

As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the United States landing on the moon, we are reminded of the heroes that generation. I am too young to remember the moon landing on that fateful day in 1969. Heck I wasn’t even born for that matter. What an incredible moment that would have been…to see something that had never happened before.

The excitement, the uncertainty, and the ability to root for something better than winning or losing…..

Here is wishing all of you to take a moment to remember what used to be and to dream about things yet to come.

Most of you know after reading my column week in and week out that it is no secret I am a golf fan. This upcoming week holds one of the best tournaments of the year in the Open Championship.

Now we as hearty Americans call it the British Open, but truth be told there is no need to throw the first word of that sentence out there. This is THE OPEN. Not the United States Open, the Canadian Open, French Open, Scottish Open or Australian Open.

THE Open Championship.

The oldest of what is considered golf’s majors first played out over the great course at Prestwick, just a wee bit south of Glasgow on the Ayshire coast. It was held the first time in 1860.

Willie Park Senior edged out Old Tom Morris that year. The prize was the Challenge Belt, purchased by the members of Prestwick Golf Club. There was no prize money, but the winner received custody of the Belt for the year. If a player won the Belt three years in succession, it would be his to keep.

This was eventually done by Tom Morris’ son Tommy Jr., or as he was more popularly known, Young Tom. In 1870, just 10 years after this tournament began, Young Tom won for the third straight time and the Moroccan red leather belt was his to keep.

No Open was held in 1871 mostly in part as no replacement award for winning had been commissioned.

Finally in late 1872 an agreement was reached between three clubs that were to host The Open — Prestwick, the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers (now based in Muirfield) and The Royal and Ancient Golf Club (more commonly referred to as St Andrews) They decided that the winner would receive a medal and that each of the three clubs would contribute £10 toward the cost of a new trophy, which was to be a silver claret jug, instead of another belt. Its proper name was to be The Golf Champion Trophy.

Today the winner each and every year hoists the Claret Jug after being announced as the champion golfer for the year.

This year my pick and nearly everyone else’s pick will be Tiger Woods. A host of others will be looking to win – can Padraig Harrington do it a third straight time?  Can Sergio Garcia break his string of top ten finishes and break through to win?  Will it be the hot hand of a player such as Martin Kaymer or Paul Casey?  What about one last hurrah for Colin Montgomerie?

That is what makes this so special,  many players, most of which the casual golf fan has never heard of, representing a variety of countries.  A diverse International field … This is

The Open Championship.

Tune in this weekend to early morning coverage each and every day, and see golf as it was meant to be played, in its purest form, among the links of it ancestral home on the Scottish Coast.

As covered last week by yours truly, the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Championship lived up to all the hype.  Joey Chestnut became a three time champ downing a new world record 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes.  Amazing.

Tiger Woods outdueled the field and won for the third time this year.  Hunter Mahan threw an impressive final round 62 at Eldrick at Congressional, but it was not enough. Woods had his game face on all day and won for the third time this year.  He heads to the Open Championship in two weeks and if he can play like this should be considered the favorite..then again…when isn’t he?

Tragedy hits the NFL.  Seems like we have been talking too much lately about untimely deaths of popular figures of American culture.  The more details that are coming out the less the local community feels like they really knew Steve McNair.

Roger Federer wins an unprecedented 15 grand slam title.  While last years match was considered “the greatest game ever played” we do not seem to be hearing the same talk this year about this 2009 version of the Mens’ Wimbledon Final.  Roddick and Federer went more games this year than Nadal v. Federer last year.  Nike wasted no time in having a smooth looking velveteen jacket that was gold and white with a nice “F”  on the front and a smooth number 15 on the back…..wonder how long it will be before that is outdated?

Lance Armstong is making a comeback to vie for the Tour de France this year after retiring some years ago.  The seven time winner finds himself in 3rd place behind current leader Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland just 40 seconds behind.  Can  Livestrong continue this feat and win an 8th Tour?  Either way it will be an amazing story and it will be especially with the French Media, who has looked for every possible angle to try an diminish the great cyclists record in this prestigious event.

For you fantasy geeks out there remember that most Fantasy Football drafts are just around the corner.  Many of my co-workers are already buying magazines and laying out the big plans for the boys bachelor party weekend…errrrr…Draft Collaboration.  It is truly amazing how much wasted efficiencies are realized each year by millions of workers surfing the net and trying to figure out who is a better pick, Adrian Peterson or Michael Turner.  Count me among those that love the fantasy leagues and the draft parties.  I am just not a rabid fan as many I know.  Look for some upcoming fantasy football articles from the Goodman file later this year.

In college sports news “of sorts”  The University of Nebraska allowed comedian, Larry the Cable Guy, to perform a 4th of July concert at Memorial Stadium.  This is big news to those of us here in Nebraska as the last time a “non-football” event was held at Memorial Stadium was the Farm Aid concert some time in the 1980’s.  The only reason that year the University allowed the Farm Aid concert was because they were going to tear up and replace all of the Astroturf in the stadium.  Larry who is a native Nebraskan, charged a whopping $4-$6 dollars for tickets depending on seating and where you purchased them.  You can catch the action on Comedy Central likely in a month or two as the event was taped to be shown on TV at a later time.  Nice Job packing the house with over 50,000 who watched the concert this past Saturday.

Until Next week….GIT – R- DONE!

While most of us revel in the fireworks of the Fourth of July or the backyard barbeque, I for one take in a sporting event unlike any other. It is my favorite hour of television for the entire year. The Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Championship.  2009 ushers in the 94th installment of this major eating event. The contest takes place every year where it all started at the company’s flagship store in Coney Island on July 4.  This year will be a fierce rematch of two-time champion Joey Chestnut against six-time champion Takeru Kobayashi.

According to legend, on July 4, 1916, four immigrants had a hot dog eating contest at the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog stand on Coney Island to settle an argument about who was the most patriotic. After ten minutes, Neer Sehgal had eaten thirteen hot dogs and was crowned the victor. The contest has been held nearly every year since, in conjunction with the fourth of July at the site.

To add to the dramatic theatre of the event, there is a weigh-in with the Mayor of New York City prior to the contest. On the day of the contest, the contestants arrive in the “bus of champions” and are announced to the eating stage much like Heavyweight boxing champions are announced in a Rocky Movie. Competitors arrive with props and the list of “eating accolades” which include world record holders in such culinary delights as hot wings, crab cakes, pickled pig’s feet and my personal favorite … mayonnaise.

It will be very hard to duplicate last years event, where Chestnut and Kobayashi wolfed it out bite for bite against one another. Kobayashi narrowly escaped a “reversal of fortune” at the buzzer, ( eating terminology for losing your lunch). After the end of the 10 minute regulation, both were tied at an amazing 59 hot dogs a piece. Next what ensued is one of the most exciting fifty seconds in the history of organized sport. This is way better than Elway’s’ drive against the Browns, MJ’s shot at the buzzer to beat the Utah Jazz, more climatic than Tiger Woods dropping in a long put to send the US Open Last year into a sudden death playoff. Heck I will even say it was better than the 1980 “Miracle on Ice”

I am talking about the monumental yet slightly constipating five hot dog overtime.  Chestnut won, but Kobayashi immediately vowed to return to reclaim the Coveted Mustard Yellow Belt which ranks up there with the WWE title belt in terms of prestige.

“Each July Fourth I am thrilled as an enormous crowd gathers in front of the original Nathan’s Famous,” said Wayne Norbitz, President and COO of Nathan’s Famous, Inc.  “We value our association with this great American holiday and I appreciate the fans, who come from around the world to witness the spectacle first hand while millions more watch on ESPN.”

Last year, Coney Island authorities stated that 40,000 fans crowded the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in Coney Island to witness Joey Chestnut’s rematch with Takeru Kobayashi.  Amazingly, more than one million households tuned in to the contest’s live telecast on ESPN.

To add to the spectacle this year The 2009 contest will be preceded on July 3 by a hot dog bun eating contest, in which three professional eaters will take on three semi-professional eaters..elephants from Ringling Brothers Circus.

Vegas has the Pachyderms as the early morning line favorite.

I for one know exactly where I will be at high noon come this Saturday. Smack dab in the middle of my couch watching the battle for the bejeweled mustard belt…likely while enjoying a wonderful Johnsonville bratwurst and a beer.

Have a Happy and safe fourth of July!