Scoreboard Gourmet

Citi Field to Host Nathan's Hot Dog Regional Eating Contest on June 26th

You know I loathe eating contests. But I love sandwiching vegetarian news between two posts about encased meat. That's funny because I am a humongous fan of vegetables (and starch). And because it's funny. Anyhoo, before the Mets play the Twins at 1:10pm on Saturday, June 26th, Nathan's is hosting a content which will give someone a seat at this year's 4th of July Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney. So, if you like watching people force food down their throats until they barf or nearly barf, this information is for you. You're welcome.

Free Beer and Hot Wings at West Michigan Whitecaps

The inaugural Free Beer and Hot Wings Morning Show "Wingstock" festival will take place at Fifth Third Ballpark, home of the West Michigan Whitecaps (Single A Tigers), on Saturday, June 12. Snoop Dog, Jackyl, Pop Evil and Richy Nix will be there. And, of course, there will be a Wing Alley, featuring a variety of outside vendors offering their best flavors of chicken wings, not for free.
This is a one-day festival on the field of Fifth Third Ballpark - no baseball - but I couldn't resist mentioning FREE BEER AND HOT WINGS.

Racetrack, Train-track, Supermarket-check-out-track

This may be the greatest thing I have ever seen - the two lane supermarket check-out conveyer belt track. Holy efficiency; diversion of groceries.
I'm in love with you, PathMark on 125th Street (160 East). And yes this is a Scoreboard Gourmet topic. Ever hear of Fastest Bagger competitions? That's more of a sport than, say, competitive eating. You know I'm right. Think about physical prowess for a moment. Thank you. 

Cancer v Hot Dogs

Thanks to TFMJ, our faithful reporter, for sharing this news from the AP wire...

Hot dogs may be as American as baseball and apple pie, but a national cancer-awareness group says they're hazardous to your health and should carry warning labels.
The Washington, D.C.-based Cancer Project, a vegan advocacy group, wants to force hot dog makers to use warning labels. The group filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Superior Court in Newark on behalf of three New Jersey residents. The defendants are Kraft Foods Inc., manufacturer of the Oscar Mayer brand; Sara Lee Corp.; Nathan's Famous; and the makers of the Hebrew National and Sabrett brands.
The lawsuit cites a report by the American Institute for Cancer Research that concluded regular consumption of processed meat can increase the risk of colorectal and other forms of cancer.

Will that warning label be in the form of edible ink on the encasement? Edible vegan-ink, I mean. How about this warning label: Taking personal responsibility will make people like you more.

Eat For Free in Coney at tonight's Brooklyn Cyclones game

On Thursday, July 2nd (that's today) you get a free hot dog, soda, and chips when you buy a $15 Field Box Seat to Brooklyn Cyclones v Tri-City Valley Cats.
To get the Eat For Free offer, enter the code POCKET if you buy online, call 718-507-TIXX, or visit the KeySpan Park ticket window.

Given the chaos in Coney around the 4th of July (you may have heard of a little hot dog eating contest) Scoreboard Gourmet highly recommends going out there tonight if you're really itching to visit during the holiday weekend. Consider yourself warned.

Food Prices at Yankee Stadium

Today is the day I come back to you with Yankee Stadium Food Prices, and a wicked cold or some other sort of sickness given the wet weather. If the Yankees knock me out how will I watch the Mets and UConn tomorrow? Oy the problems in my life.

Memory Championships

Mental Athletes! The 12th USA Memory Championship will be held Tomorrow (Saturday) at Con Edison's headquarters at 4 Irving Place in Manhattan. ConEd provides food and drink for the athletes. Isbre is providing water for spectators. That's Free water and Free entry.

The 2008 reigning USA Memory Champion is Chester Santos. I'm told he eats special foods to train/prepare. I'm hoping he reaches out to me to tell us about it.

List of Registered Mental Athletes

White House Chef Predictions Like Fantasy Football(?)

says the AP...

Speculating about a new chef at the White House has become — as one culinary insider puts it — fantasy football for foodies.

But as tempting as it may be to see the Obama family's choice as the ultimate "Top Chef" competition, former White House chefs say the job is about selfless service, not star power.

Walter Scheib, White House executive chef for Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, believes there's a 90 percent chance the new administration will stick with his successor, Cristeta Comerford. And if the Obamas do hire someone new, it won't be a television personality or any of the celebrity names bandied about on food and political blogs, he said.

"None of these people have any idea what the job is about," said Scheib. "And they're temperamentally not suited for it. You have to be a person who has a real heart of service, and it can't be someone who needs to see themselves on camera."

Roland Mesnier, who retired in 2004 after 25 years as the White House's executive pastry chef, would never recommend a TV chef for the first family. "Celebrity chefs, in my book, are not chefs. They're entertainers," he said. "All these people on TV? Forget it."

. Thankfully some people still have brains. Read Holly Ramer's full story here (on Yahoo)

smart people doing dumb things

I was just logging on to ask You why Obama didn't unbutton his blazer during last night's 60 Minutes interview, and to ask what You think about his allegedly proposed plan to bring national playoffs to college football when I saw this:

Federal regulators on Monday charged Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban with insider trading for allegedly using confidential information on a stock sale to avoid more than $750,000 in losses. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil lawsuit against Cuban in federal court in Dallas.

The agency alleged that in June 2004, Cuban was invited to get in on the coming stock offering by Mamma.com Inc. after he agreed to keep the information private. The SEC said Cuban knew the shares would be sold below the current market price, and a few hours after receiving the information, told his broker to sell his entire stake of 600,000 shares in the search engine company before the public announcement of the offering.

By selling when he did, Cuban avoided losses exceeding $750,000, according to the SEC. At the time of the offering, Cuban was the largest known shareholder in the Montreal-based company, which later changed its name to Copernic Inc. The SEC is seeking a court judgment against Cuban finding that he violated the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws, an injunction against future violations, an unspecified civil penalty and restitution of the losses Cuban allegedly avoided.

dumb.

double stuff racing league: Williams Sisters v Manning Brothers

have you seen that commercial - dueling press conferences - Williams Sisters v Manning Brothers (the professional athletes, not the entire families)? It's funny. And Venus and Serena look amazing, gorgeous. The Mannings are so damn white. But they play their parts well, calling the Williams sisters "copycats." it does concern me that nabsico has decided to leave out the second f in stuff. I can't make sense of that.

in other news, Inside the NFL moved from HBO to Showtime. That stinks. Who can afford two premium channels?

Food Network Jumps the Shark

it's official; the Food Network is over...

(as read on cynopsis) Food Network has a new series in the works tentatively called Eat the Clock that combines competitive eating with a road race, according to THR. The series watches as two contestant teams rush to different Los Angeles restaurants where they stuff themselves. The pilot goes into production soon and if it is picked up, Food Network may premiere the series in first quarter 2009.