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Tuesday, July 4, 2023

W.2- Where There's a Chestnut There's a Way


Death. Taxes. And Joey Chestnut on the Fourth of July.




The Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest has been held since 1916 (not really), but in recent editions it has been not only an annual testament to gluttony and obtuse traditions, but also, oddly enough, perseverance in the face of adversity. The "107th anniversary" competition, held for the second straight year on the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues at Coney Island, New York, was no different.

In 2020, by necessity, the event broke from tradition and was held indoors without spectators in the middle of a pandemic. A year later, the competition was held "500 steps away" in a minor league baseball stadium due to health and safety requirements. In 2022, the crowds returned to the traditional corner stage, but Chestnut (aka "Jaws," aka "The G.O.A.T.") was forced to compete while on crutches and in a walking boot due to a broken leg and ankle tendon injury, *then* had to subdue a stage-rusher mid-chomp.

Though his total number of dogs and buns consumed dropped from a record 76 to 63, he still won with ease.

This time around, Mother Nature decided to take Her turn in presenting a challenge to overcome. Less than an hour after the women's competition had been completed on a hot and humid late July 4th morning, sudden bad weather moved into Coney Island that resulted in a lightning strike, downpour and flooding of the streets, causing the stage to be cleared and spectators to run for cover and huddle together anywhere they could find safety.

It set the stage for "the greatest living eater" to add the title of iconic "leader of (hot dog eating) men and those choose to follow them" to his career resume. Or at least that's how the sympathetic accounts will remember it.



Amid published reports of the men's event having been cancelled per the orders of the NYPD, the weather eventually began to clear some 90 minutes after the coverage of the competition had been set to premiere on ESPN2 (which was noticeably silent when it came to the ongoing status of the event).

Then, emerging from the facilities like puffs of white smoke rising above the Vatican, Chestnut appeared.



Thy will be done.




Two hours late, the game was on once more. The 39-year old Chestnut, who'd weighed in at 225 pounds at an official ceremony, was seeking his 16th Hot Dog Eating title and to win eight straight crowns for a second time in the last 17 years.

After years of comparing Chestnut's feats of Independence Day consumption with Rafael Nadal's stunning dominance at Roland Garros, the Spaniard's absence from Paris this spring and his announcement that 2024 will likely be his final season meant that Chestnut's accumulation of chompionship belts seemed about to be assured to put that particular debate to rest. A 16th title would push Chestnut *two* title belts ahead of Nadal's 14 career RG wins, seemingly forever putting his total of single-event dominance out of Rafa's reach.

Clearly, "The Numbers Guy" is working overtime this week. Competition barker George Shea *always* seems to be.



With the spectators farther away from the stage, lined from below with security personnel due to last year's incident, the 10-minute eating binge began with Chestnut leading a three-man pack -- Aussie James Webb, 2021-22 runner-up Geoffrey Esper and Nick Wehry, husband of women's champ Miki Endo -- who were within shouting distance in the early going. But after just a minute or two, the trio were simply battling each other for a position on the podium.

With the weather and all the distractions scuttling his precise preparations for the competition, Chestnut's final total was lower than expected once again, but he was never really challenged. He finished with 62 dogs and buns consumed, one less than a year ago, but still held a healthy lead over the field as he picked up yellow Mustard Belt #16.



Esper won the three-man race for 2nd and finished with 49 (cutting Chestnut's '22 margin of victory from 15.5 to 13), two more than the promising Webb's 47. Wehry had 45.

*NATHAN'S HOT DOG EATING MEN'S CHAMPS - since 2000*
2000 Kazutoyo Arai
2001 Takeru Kobayashi
2002 Takeru Kobayashi
2003 Takeru Kobayashi
2004 Takeru Kobayashi
2005 Takeru Kobayashi
2006 Takeru Kobayashi
2007 Joey Chestnut
2008 Joey Chestnut [def. Takeru Kobayashi in 5-dog "Eat-Off"]
2009 Joey Chestnut
2010 Joey Chestnut
2011 Joey Chestnut
2012 Joey Chestnut
2013 Joey Chestnut
2014 Joey Chestnut
2015 Matt Stonie
2016 Joey Chestnut
2017 Joey Chestnut
2018 Joey Chestnut
2019 Joey Chestnut
2020 Joey Chestnut
2021 Joey Chestnut
2022 Joey Chestnut
2023 Joey Chestnut

[competition record]
76 - Joey Chestnut, 2021
75 - Joey Chestnut, 2020 (*-held indoors)
74 - Joey Chestnut, 2018
72 - Joey Chestnut, 2017



Earlier, before all the nasty weather arrived, the women's competition re-crowned its own dominant champion. Though Miki Sudo's defense of her title wasn't nearly as cut-and-dry as Chestnut's. Hmmm, or was it?



A year after returning to the July 4th competition after missing 2021 due to being 37 weeks (9 and a quarter months) pregnant with son Max, 37-year old Sudo found not only the 84-degrees-and-humid weather to be a challenge, but "mystery" newcomer Mayo Ebihara (from Tokyo), as well.

What first-time Nathan's competitor Ebihara, 27, would bring as far as pressure on Sudo was unknown, but it was expected that she could be stiff opposition. What resulted was a gastronomic classic.

As the real-time scoreboard attested throughout the 10-minute chow-down, Sudo and Ebihara were neck-and-neck (gullet-to-gullet?) from start to finish. As Sudo admitted afterward, she was distracted by the presence of her new potential rival and found herself watching Ebihara in the early going rather than going about her own business. Sudo eventually righted course and got down to business, but the two women remained within one dog of each other -- save for a brief moment about 6 minutes in -- until the final 2:00 approached, when Sudo's average began to allow her to keep about a 1.5 (or so) lead.

But, soon after, the numbers tightened once again. With 1:30 left, the scoreboard read 32-32, and with :30 it was 35-35. As the clock hit :00 Sudo edged ahead 37-36.

In the end, after all the dogs were officially accounted for, Sudo's final tally was announced as 39.5, with Ebihara's being 33.5, as a ninth Pink Belt was claimed. Needless to say, there was quite a discrepancy between those numbers and the "running totals" announced during the competition.

2021 champ (in Sudo's absence) Michelle Lesco finished 3rd with 24 and 1/4 dogs and buns.



The large difference -- Sudo picked up 2.5, while Ebihara lost 2.5 -- was said to be because the judges "lost count" in the commotion.

Hmmm. Rigged? Something fishy? I don't know... but since no one involved is named Clinton, Biden or Obama, don't expect the Republicans or the Supreme Trump Court to get involved in this one.



No matter, Sudo -- whichever "total" was true -- maintained her undefeated record in the competition, having won all nine times she's been entered.

*NATHAN'S HOT DOG EATING WOMEN'S CHAMPS*
2011 Sonya Thomas
2012 Sonya Thomas
2013 Sonya Thomas
2014 Miki Sudo
2015 Miki Sudo
2016 Miki Sudo
2017 Miki Sudo
2018 Miki Sudo
2019 Miki Sudo
2020 Miki Sudo
2021 Michelle Lesco
2022 Miki Sudo
2023 Mike Sudo

[competition record]
48.5 - Miki Sudo, 2020 (*-held indoors)
45.0 - Sonya Thomas, 2013
41.0 - Miki Sudo, 2017
40.0 - Sonya Thomas, 2011
40.0 - Miki Sudo, 2022

Having coasted to his own eighth straight (x 2) crown, Chestnut lamented his low total and chalked it up to the stresses of such a trying day. With "more room" to fill in his stomach, Chestnut promised to add a few beers to the equation later. As for next year? Like Venus Williams, there is no indication that he's going anywhere anytime soon.

He still has many more "meat" sticks to slay.









=DAY 2 NOTES=




...and then the rains came, decimating Day 2's schedule like Joey Chestnut destroying a plate of Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs. Or, you know, like rain, lightning and flooding wreaking havoc with the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island, New York.

Of course, thanks to the roofed stadiums on the grounds of the AELTC, the rain that fell in London on Tuesday didn't turn the day into a total loss. While seven women's matches that began at the start of play never resumed, leaving the likes of #21 Ekaterina Alexandrova (leading Emma Navarro 6-4/5-2) and qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan (two games from her maiden slam MD win, leading Ysaline Bonaventure 7-6(0)/4-0) tantalizingly close to advancing, three other women's matches *were* completed.

Being the defending champion at Wimbledon (well, unless you're Simona Halep and you won the '19 event, saw the '20 tournament cancelled and the '21 champ retire, then you return in '22 and the AELTC organizers are like, "Who are you again?" and let the #1 seed take the spot you earned) has its perks. On the women's side, it means opening play on Centre Court on Day 2.

While most of her fellow competitors are being left in limbo are far as the schedule is concerned, #3-seeded Elena Rybakina *knew* how her day was set up. So she finally got *something* for winning the points-free singles crown at the All-England Club a year ago.

Then things almost *didn't* go as planned.

Of course, the Kazakh was never going to emerge from any shadows at *this* Wimbledon. Since she lifted the Venus Rosewater dish last summer, Rybakina has reached the Australian Open final, and come within one victory of completing the "Sunshine Double." Heading into the spring, she was right on Aryna Sabalenka's heels, and leading Iga Swiatek, in the Player of the Year race. But even though Rybakina found her way to a title in Rome (thanks in large part to *three* retirements), illness and allergies ran her '23 ship aground over the past month. She withdrew from her 3rd Round match in Paris, and played just two pre-SW19 grass court matches, falling in the 2nd Round in Berlin to Donna Vekic.

No Wimbledon women's singles defending champion has lost in the 1st Round the following year since 1994, but Rybakina's situation and an opening opponent like the hard-hitting Shelby Rogers at least put that possibility in play on Tuesday. Early on, it looked like it could happen. The Bannerette started out on fire, breaking to open the match and riding the momentum to a 6-4 set win.



But when true champions are on the other side of the net -- or, you know, behind a plate of hot dogs -- it's not about how you start, but whether you can sustain such excellence, push back against the inevitable vitalization of your opponent, and *then* finish off what you started.

Rogers couldn't do that against Rybakina, who at least for one round proved that she's back for more.

Rybakina broke Rogers in her first service game in the 2nd set, as the proverbial silence was broken and the hero's hand reached back over the steep edge of the cliff and pulled herself into the fray. Rybakina dominated a 6-1 set, then jumped ahead 4-2 in the 3rd.

In game 7, Rybakina failed to convert on three BP. Rogers saved the third with an ace (replay essentially showed that the Slazenger's fuzz caught the far, far, far edge of the sideline). But then Rogers overhit a volley, sending it beyond the baseline and giving the Kazakh a fourth BP. A DF handed Rybakina a 5-2 lead.

Then, in front of tennis (Roger Federer) and made-up royalty in the Royal Box, Rybakina held serve at love to win 4-6/6-1/6-2.



So, wherever Rybakina found herself heading into this Wimbledon, she seems in a better place now that she was before this match. Perhaps she has Rogers to thank for that, with the Bannerette having offered her the chance to play her way into the grass season in just a single afternoon. An offer that the Kazakh gladly accepted.

The rest of the women's field may be in a far less celebratory mood about such an occurrance.

...later in the day, '22 women's runner-up Ons Jabeur (#6 seed) defeated Magdalena Frech on Court 1, then #2 Aryna Sabalenka handled Panna Udvardy on Centre Court.

As it stands, 34 of the 64 women's 1st Round matches remain uncompleted through two days, with 22 of them having not yet even played one point.





...ROGER FEDERER WILL NEVER TIRE OF BEING ROGER FEDERER... ON DAY 2:



I still say he should play a supporting role, say a character named "Roger Federer" (maybe he's even a former tennis star), in a murder mystery movie set on a train traveling through the Swiss Alps.


...JUST A NOTE... ON DAY 2:

Tomorrow's packed schedule will take place on the 10th anniversary of "The Radwanskian Massacre" of 2013. Well, the "unofficial" anniversary, as that upset-laden day was a Day 3 occurrence. With the rearranging of the grass court calendar in recent years, the *actual* date (June 26) came up on Monday of *last* week.

I think a full decade makes a recounting of what happened back then a bit dated this time around. But you've been warned, you know, just in case.




...PAMMY DAY... ON DAY 2:




..."DA, DUH"... ON DAY 2:


















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*RECENT DEFENDING CHAMPS OUT IN 1st ROUND*
[AO]
2003 Jennifer Capriati
[RG]
2005 Anastasia Myskina
2018 Alona Ostapenko
2022 Barbora Krejcikova
[WI]
-
[US]
2005 Svetlana Kuznetsova
2017 Angelique Kerber
2022 Emma Raducanu






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TOP QUALIFIER: Jessica Bouzas Maneiro/ESP
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q3 - #18 Lucrezia Stefanini def. (PR) Hsieh Su-wei 6-2/6-7(3)/7-6(11-9)
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.-WC): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: (PR) Barbora Strycova/CZE (def. Zanevska/BEL; first Wimb. match since 2019 SF)
FIRST SEED OUT: #15 Liudmila Samsonova/RUS (1st Rd.-Bogdan/ROU)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Day 1/2 wins: Jodie Burrage/GBR
UPSET QUEENS: xx
REVELATION LADIES: xx
NATION OF POOR SOULS: xx
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: 1r wins: Kenin
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: 1r wins: Burrage, Svitolina
PROTECTED RANKING WINS: 1r wins: Sorribes Tormo/ESP, Strycova/CZE
LAST BRIT STANDING: 1r wins: Burrage
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: xx
IT "??": xx
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominee: Kenin
CRASH & BURN: Nominee: #7 Gauff (1r-Kenin)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF LONDON: Nominee: Bucsca (1r: saved 4 MP vs. Rakhimova)
DOUBLES STAR: xx
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): xx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx
SPIRIT OF JANA (NOVOTNA) HONOREES: xx






All for Day 2. More tomorrow.
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