At least we still have this to look forward to!

Eating arch-rivals in rematch
By Beth Harris, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CULVER CITY, Calif. - In a chewy chow-lenge, Takeru Kobayashi outlasted Joey Chestnut when the eating titans faced off to see who could devour the most pizzas.

Kobayashi, a six-time world hot dog-eating champion from Japan, consumed 5 3/4 P'zones in a six-minute span of chaotic consumption Saturday to edge Chestnut. The 25-year-old from San Jose, Calif., wolfed down 5 1/2 P'zones on Stage 15 at Sony Studios.

"I'm a little bummed," Chestnut said. "There's nobody I like beating more than him, he pushes me harder than anybody."

The arch-rivals are best known for their annual Fourth of July hot dog-eating showdowns on New York City's Coney Island. Chestnut has beaten his Japanese competitor the last two years, winning last year in a five-dog eat-off after they tied at 59 frankfurters in 10 minutes.

This time, they went cheek-to-jowl in a stomach-centric contest sponsored by Pizza Hut featuring the P'zone, a pizza weighing almost a half-kilogram with pepperoni and other ingredients sealed inside a crust. At nearly 30 centimetres long, it resembles a calzone.

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Screw Kobe vs. Lebron. You can give me Chestnut vs. Kobayashi any day. I think most can agree that while Kobe and Lebron is great they are different players who score and defend in different ways. But Chestnut and Kobayashi are attempting to do the same exact thing. While they have different styles its a one on one, me vs. you battle every time out.

I genuinely think competitive eating has overtaken boxing in importance. Honestly, if Kobayashi were Chinese instead of Japanese we could build the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest into the biggest sports rivalry spectacle since Balboa vs. Drago. And this time I wouldn't bet against the American. Joey Chestnut is the future of American sports. There, I said it.