Nathan's Final Line Up...With Giant!

The last HDB has been consumed in the fight to the Nathan's finals in a few days. "Humble" Bob Shoudt ate 32 HDBs to grab the QVC qualifier yesterday, and rookie Arturo Rios took the Civil Service qualifier on Wednesday. Rios's win caused a bit of a disturbance, since traditionally the Civil Service qualifier has been reserved for only civil servants, and Rios--a driver for the Daily News--didn't exactly fall into that category. Additionally, the second place winner, Allen "The Shredder" Goldstein, finished with 26 HBDs in what was his third qualifier, which made him the overall wild card winner.

If Rios hadn't competed, Goldstein would have won outright, leaving the wild card slot open for Tim "Gravy" Brown, who also had a strong showing across three qualifiers. While everyone was happy to see Goldstein and Rios advance, there was a general grumbling about the apparent bending of the rules. Someone must have been listening, because the IFOCE announced they would be sending both Goldstein and Rios to the finals.

With Kobayashi still insisting he'll be there to eat off against America's best on the 4th, the final slot at the table went to someone new: a giant from India! Apparently, the 7'8" P. Theyagarjan is "the eating champion of India," holding titles in chicken tiki masala and hot dogs. Uhhh....weird! Of course, how much of this is hype and how much is the real deal will be revealed on th 4th.

This reporter--still pending Bunnette status confirmation--is heading to New York on Tuesday and will be faithfully bringing you competition stories in the days to come.