Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest Chestnut vs. Kobayashi Preview & Live Thread

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Following the colossal success of last year's Nathan's hot dog eating contest live thread, we're back to do it again. Face it, there's nothing better you could be doing right now. Watching grown men and women try eat as much highly-processed meat as possible is much more entertaining than your family and friends.

Last year, Joey Chestnut, American Hero, took back the mustard belt from Takeru Kobayashi of Japan by eating 66 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes? Will Chestnut repeat as champion? Will Kobayashi regain the title he held for so many years prior? Will someone choke to death on a hot dog? The drama will unfold at high noon Eastern on ESPN.

While many people have been talking about how technology is making swimming world records obsolete, nobody is talking about how hot dog eating world records are becoming obsolete. In 1991, Frank Dellarosa at 21.5 hot dogs to set a new world record. Kazutoyo "The Rabbit" Arai ate just over 25 in 2000. Just 7 years later, Joey Chestnut set the latest bar at 66. Imagine if someone had followed up Roger Bannister's 4 minute mile just a few years later by running a 2 minute mile, and you have some idea of just how this record has fallen.

Bodog has the following odds listed for the event:

Joey Chestnut 5/7
Takeru Kobayashi 11/10
Field 13/4

For those curious about who they get with those 13/4 odds, here is the complete field, courtesy of the International Federation of Competitive Eating:

Pat "Deep Dish" Bertoletti
Tim "Eater X" Janus
Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas
"Humble" Bob Shoudt
Hall "Hoover" Hunt
Tim "Gravy" Brown
Rich "The Locust" LeFevre
"Patrick "Vandam" Vandam
"The Lovely" Juliet Lee
Juris "Dr. Bigtime" Shibayama
Eric "Badlands" Booker
Erik "The Red" Denmark
Arturo Rios "Grande"
Pat "From Moonachie" Philbin
Allen "Shredder" Goldstein
Crazy Legs Conti
"Nasty" Nate Biller
"Pretty Boy" Pete Davekos
"Double-0" Kevin Ross

As for me, my hypothetical money is on Chestnut. Any other pick on this day would be un-American.

The lineup is set. The hot dogs are cooked. You've got nothing better to do. Let's get this live thread started!

LIKE IT

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365 days ago

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Jon wrote:

A guy in a Cubs mask. Well, now we know who CriticalFanatic is cheering for.

How do we know it isn't CriticalFanatic?

365 days ago

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I remembered!!

I'm going with Kobayashi, although it seems fitting an American scarf down the most dogs.....

365 days ago

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There's no way Kobayashi wins. I'm going with the pride of San Jose, CA - Mr. Joey Chestnut.

365 days ago

PackRat

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Imagine how many hot dogs Mickey Mantle ate in his career..especially World Series appearances...

365 days ago

MrNFL

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Well...it's still more of a sport than poker.

365 days ago

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I should go make some breakfast. But something tells me I won't want to be eating while I watch this.

365 days ago

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Competitive eating in HD. That sounds like nightmare fuel.

365 days ago

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USA! USA! USA! Now time to get drunk at 11am while blowing stuff up and throwing black cats at kids.

365 days ago

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Ha. A reference to them calling Joey Chestnut an American Hero last year.

365 days ago

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Free Paul Page!

365 days ago

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Major League Eating! The Game!

Finally, a game that actively promotes childhood obesity. God Bless America.

365 days ago

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Jon wrote:

Major League Eating! The Game!

Finally, a game that actively promotes childhood obesity. God Bless America.

I'll take 7.

365 days ago

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OK. Here's the question:

How do you explain this event to a four year-old that wants to watch cartoons?

365 days ago

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MLE the Game for Wii......oh, yeah.

365 days ago

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No, seriously, free Paul Page.

365 days ago

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Did I just catch the words "barf-o-meter" on the screen?

I can only hope that Paul Page provides the commentary for the game.

365 days ago

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That hot dog mascot is awesome by the way.

365 days ago

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Ha ha. Eater X was impressed by the muscle tone on the game. He should be impressed that there's actually a game (soon to fill the USED bins at a video game retailer near you).

365 days ago

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Jon wrote:

Did I just catch the words "barf-o-meter" on the screen?

I can only hope that Paul Page provides the commentary for the game.

Did you miss our post on this? We had a preview of the game up a few months ago.

365 days ago

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Here you go, it includes a guy barfing.

http://www.faniq.com/blog/Video-Major-League-Eating-The-Game-Should-Do-Well-With-The-Obese-Fat-Guy-Demographic-Blog-7957

365 days ago

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100%InjuryRate wrote:

Did you miss our post on this? We had a preview of the game up a few months ago.

Yeah, I remember it. I'm still in shock though that development time actually went into it.

365 days ago

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A competitive eater with a mohawk who's a chef specializing in making healthy food?

*Head aspolde*

365 days ago

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I'm glad I'm not the only one that stared at the TV with his mouth wide open when they played that feature.

365 days ago

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Now Paul's promoting the Nationwide Series.

*develops facial tick*

365 days ago

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Hot dog eating contests! Arena football! The Nationwide Series! It's a thrilling weekend of sports on ESPN!

365 days ago

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I wish they'd quit saying "gurgitate".

I guess I should give them a break. It's got to be hard to try to make this into a sports broadcast.....

365 days ago

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You play the Wii eating game then to burn off the Wii calories you put on you play Wii fit. Nintendo is trying to curb Mii obesity. It really is an epidemic.

365 days ago

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No sporting event is complete without a Mr.T/A-Team reference.

365 days ago

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WTF!!?!?!?!?

I can't believe they lumped this in with some of the greatest moments in sports. ugh.....

365 days ago

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Okay, we're done here. They just compared Kobayashi to Ali. I don't think this can get any more ridiculous.

365 days ago

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Mouth arthritis at that young of an age is usually only an affliction that effects pr0n stars.

365 days ago

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Ryan wrote:

WTF!!?!?!?!?

I can't believe they lumped this in with some of the greatest moments in sports. ugh.....

This is why the terrorists hate us.

365 days ago

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In-depth analysis on Kobayashi's jaw. Now THAT is what the 4th is all about.

365 days ago

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gearhead wrote:

This is why the terrorists hate us.

This is why I hate us sometimes.

365 days ago

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(Edited 07/04/08 12:26PM by CriticalFanatic)
gearhead wrote:

This is why the terrorists hate us.

Actually, I think the terrorists hate us because we've tried to turn the Cavemen into commercial, tv stars.

365 days ago

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CriticalFanatic wrote:

Actually, I think the terrorists hate us because we've tried to turn the Cavemen into commercial, tv stars.

What do you mean tried? That's the best commercial that's been on this telecast!

365 days ago

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So my next question is when will we begin to televise competitive drinking?

A case race ... now that's made for primetime television.

365 days ago

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Crap - 13 more minutes? I don't know if I can hold the little one off much longer. She's attacking the remote.

Oooh - Hot Dog Martini. barf...........

365 days ago

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James Bond, douchebag, the white Kanye - we're off to a great start

365 days ago

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Crazy Legs Conti sporting a Clemson tiger paw.

Rednecks and competitive eating - a marriage made on ESPN.

365 days ago

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They're coming out to a remix of "She Blinded Me With Science."

Have we stepped into the Twilight Zone?

365 days ago

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What do you think your nickname would be?

Mine would be "The Machine."

365 days ago

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CriticalFanatic wrote:

So my next question is when will we begin to televise competitive drinking?

A case race ... now that's made for primetime television.

I can just see it now - the FanIQ Flag Day Case Race.

365 days ago

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CriticalFanatic wrote:

So my next question is when will we begin to televise competitive drinking?

A case race ... now that's made for primetime television.

I've had a lot of training playing beer pong. Will team FanIQ enter the competitive drinking when they show it on ESPN?

365 days ago

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100%InjuryRate wrote:

What do you think your nickname would be?

Mine would be "The Machine."

Ha ha. I'm not much of an eater.

Mine might be Squeak (from BASEketball - aka "Little Bitch")

365 days ago

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Who's winning? I don't have cable... Anyone watching?

365 days ago

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twatne wrote:

Who's winning? I don't have cable... Anyone watching?

Hasn't started yet.

365 days ago

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Jon wrote:

I can just see it now - the FanIQ Flag Day Case Race.

I think this is a project worth developing!!

365 days ago

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A guy in a Cubs mask. Well, now we know who CriticalFanatic is cheering for.

365 days ago

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"Gravy" is rocking the Cubs mask. There goes the Cubs' season. Done.

365 days ago

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Jon wrote:

A guy in a Cubs mask. Well, now we know who CriticalFanatic is cheering for.

How do we know it isn't CriticalFanatic?

365 days ago

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I know women who have eaten a tenth of their weight in cheesecake. They weren't in an eating competition though.

365 days ago

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I thought it started at noon (EDT). When does it start then?

365 days ago

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damn, i could really go for a hot dog now.

365 days ago

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twatne wrote:

I thought it started at noon (EDT). When does it start then?

Telecast started at noon. It will probably start in about five minutes

365 days ago

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So we might not be the coolest people in the world for watching this. But there are people who probably camped out overnight to get in the front row, so at least we have them beat.

365 days ago

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twatne wrote:

I thought it started at noon (EDT). When does it start then?

Well the broadcast started then. But the eating starts in a few minutes.

365 days ago

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100%InjuryRate wrote:

damn, i could really go for a hot dog now.

Let's see if you're still saying that about 10 minutes from now.

365 days ago

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Jon wrote:

So we might not be the coolest people in the world for watching this. But there are people who probably camped out overnight to get in the front row, so at least we have them beat.

I ashamed to admit it, but I had to camp out in front of my TV in order to see this.

365 days ago

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Well Jon, we devoured the 33 posts from last year.

365 days ago

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OK. So what does he listen to on the headphones while he eats?

I'm guessing the Fat Boys....

365 days ago

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Nathan's hot dog eating correspondent. The job all journalists want.

365 days ago

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Ryan wrote:

Well Jon, we devoured the 33 posts from last year.

Yeah, hopefully we don't puke them all back up and get disqualified.

365 days ago

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100%InjuryRate wrote:

Nathan's hot dog eating correspondent. The job all journalists want.

Erin Andrews must have been busy today.

365 days ago

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Jon wrote:

So we might not be the coolest people in the world for watching this. But there are people who probably camped out overnight to get in the front row, so at least we have them beat.

It is those weirdos dream to get sunbaked and have pieces of hot dog and bun all over them.

365 days ago

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And we are off! 10 hot dogs in the opening minute for Chestnut.

365 days ago

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Best line ever!

"They attack those hot dogs like Lindsay Lohan attacks a minibar."

AWESOME. Gotta love the announcers, they know this is ridiculous, but they have some good fun.

365 days ago

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Chestnut out to a strong start!!

365 days ago

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Somewhere, there's someone who is going to have spinal surgery on Monday who is watching their surgeon cram hot dogs into his mouth right now.

365 days ago

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Chestnut is dominating! San Jose REPRESENT!

365 days ago

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I'm counting on you guys to keep me posted! I'm overseas, so I can't watch my hero Kobayashi in action!

365 days ago

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"She is Madonna to his A-Rod"

I had no idea competitive eating was so scandalous.

365 days ago

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Yeah, Kobayashi is struggling to keep up. Chestnut is a freakin' machine.

365 days ago

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5 minutes to go - halfway point

Chestnut 35
Kobayashi 33

365 days ago

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Kobayashi is consistently about two to three dogs behind Chestnut.

365 days ago

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It's all tied up! Come on Chestnut! America needs you!

365 days ago

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Is he injured again? he has not done enough training I think do to last years misfortune. hope he catch up!

365 days ago

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wait so who's winning? We have two scoreboards?

365 days ago

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USA! USA! USA! Like Homer Simpson said "You dont win friends with salad. You don't win friends with salad."

365 days ago

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I can't believe how jacked up i am for this.

/complete loser - me

365 days ago

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2 minutes left, both at 50

365 days ago

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Japan, Japan, Japan!!! Go Tsunami!

365 days ago

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1 minute left, Kobayashi up 2. Chestnut needs a miracle.

365 days ago

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How come Russia doesn't have an eating champ? They need someone. Seriously.

365 days ago

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what happens with a tie?

365 days ago

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TIE!!

365 days ago

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(Edited 07/04/08 12:51PM by Jon)

It looks like they are both at 59....

They both need to swallow.

Photo finish, and possibly overtime (I have no idea how that works).

365 days ago

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100%InjuryRate wrote:

How come Russia doesn't have an eating champ? They need someone. Seriously.

I'm sure they hold the record for borscht

365 days ago

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YES! This is good news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

365 days ago

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5 dog eat off!

365 days ago

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Five dog eat-off? That hardly seems fair

365 days ago

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A TIE!

5 more hot dogs each.

This is awesome.

365 days ago

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5 more. I think they might explode.

365 days ago

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USA! USA! USA! USA!

365 days ago

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great!

365 days ago

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japan, japan, japan!

365 days ago

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Chestnut wins

365 days ago

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CHESTNUT WINS!

USA! USA! USA!

365 days ago

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HELL YEAH CHESTNUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

365 days ago

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Someone get that man to a hospital.

Or a toilet.

365 days ago

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Wow. That was actually exciting. I almost won with my Kobayashi prediction.

Maybe next year.

USA!!

365 days ago

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I was certain the "shootout" was going to mean something entirely different.

365 days ago

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By the way, that actually was pretty damn exciting.

365 days ago

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Oh well. Time to go get fussed at by the wife for camping out in front of the TV and computer for the last hour. (Of course she had to come home from work/grocery in the middle of the contest! ugh....)

365 days ago

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Ryan wrote:

Wow. That was actually exciting. I almost won with my Kobayashi prediction.

Maybe next year.

USA!!

traitor!

365 days ago

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very sad... he will be back next year. without injury and proper training! chestnut is probably on drugs; like lance armstrong!

365 days ago

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100%InjuryRate wrote:

traitor!

Ha ha. Sometimes you've gotta root for the underdog.

365 days ago

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We also shattered our own comment record. This will be hard to top next year, but we'll be back to try.

365 days ago

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Jon wrote:

We also shattered our own comment record. This will be hard to top next year, but we'll be back to try.

I'm already starting to store up the gluttony and hot dog jokes for next year!!

365 days ago

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Whoa, I almost puked up a comment there. That would have cost us the record.

365 days ago

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Sweet, they are replaying it now for those of us who found an hour of this to be insufficient.

365 days ago

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twatne wrote:

very sad... he will be back next year. without injury and proper training! chestnut is probably on drugs; like lance armstrong!

He needs to work on his deepthroating.

/had to make joke

365 days ago

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What a shame...

365 days ago