Lou Pickney's Online Commentary
Independence
Wednesday
July 4, 2007
Happy Independence Day to one and all. We're at 231 years and counting now for the United States.
My brother Matt and I watched the Nathan's Coney Island hot dog eating contest today on ESPN. Part freak show, part grotesque endurance test, the event is now an annual tradition that is carried live on the largest sports cable network in North America.
In an incredible showdown, American Joey Chestnut beat six-time defending champ Takeru Kobayashi with an astonishing 66 hot dogs consumed to Kobayashi's 63. That was Kobayashi's first-ever loss to a human; Kobayashi's only previous loss in an eating competition happened in 2003 on the Fox show Man vs. Beast, with Kobayashi losing to a 1,089 pound Kodiak bear in a bunless hot dog eating contest.
There were some bizarre, hilarious elements that went along with the showdown, including a midget dressed up as Uncle Sam, someone wearing a giant hot dog costume, and the public address announcer looking like a cross between an auctioneer and someone from a 1970s political rally.
|  | Yellow championship belts are not a common site.
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The best part was the "mustard yellow" title belt that Chestnut won. I haven't seen anything like that since the Ultimate Warrior wore a yellow Intercontinental Title belt at WrestleMania VI in April 1990.
Last night I hit up Gentleman Jim's in Murfreesboro for the first time. It's a college bar that had a packed house filled with people out enjoying the pre-4th of July evening. I was driving so I only had a little bit of beer, but they serve mixed drinks there in gigantic styrofoam cups. There was a fun mix of friends out for that, most of whom came out to the pool today at MTSU, where volleyball, swimming, and drinking was the order of the day. College girls in skimpy swimsuits? Advantage: me.
I'd be remiss to use the word advantage and not bring up the incredible 12 deuce game from Wimbledon between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova that I watched at the gym today (yes, my gym was open on Independence Day -- that place rules.)
I already knew the outcome (Serena won) but it was nonetheless a captivating series of events to see them fight back and forth with such intensity. My time on the Precor ran out by the time Deuce #12 was up, and I left without knowing who took that game. But with the volleys and the drama that came as a result, it made for captivating television. Women's tennis is much more exciting to watch than the men's game, at least in my opinion.
Tomorrow morning I fly out for Tampa. A weekend in my old stomping grounds should be a nice way to spend a few days. Florida, here I come...
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