Force

Always the Middle
Originally uploaded by steakbellie.

This is my middle son. He's 11 now and wrestles at 105lbs.

I'm always amazed at how differently the three of them wrestle. Ch@arlie's matches always remind of a clubbing. He plan is usually to scare the crap out of the kid with strength and shoot in on them deep when they are retreating. He's had some success with it this year.

Here, he's about to snap his opponents head down.

Baby Strikes Again

Baby Strikes Again
Originally uploaded by steakbellie.

7 Matches this morning for my boys, 7 wins and ALL of them were pins! Typically at least 1 of the three of them is not wining.

I really like this photo from M@x's match. The ref just slapped the mat signifying the pin, and my son jumped up from excitement. His opponent is looking very defeated. You can see the whole story in the photo.

Election 04 (eight words)

please believe
some tried;
just not
our best

The Persistence of Loneliness (American Sonnet)

i walk to get my lunch
drawing up contingency plans

in case i get mugged from behind
or a meteor strikes

in case someone says hello to me
or an old stranger has a heart attack

in case i am bit by a radioactive spider and gain superpowers
or the economy goes into depression and i lose everything

in case jesus returns
or my house catches fire while i am naked

in case someone cuts my brake lines
or puts sugar in my gas tank while i am outrunning corrupt police

i see it all
and i intend to be prepared

Wednesday (eight words)

maybe you should
wear those ashes
more often?

waiting it out (American Sonnet)

never had the good drugs
just filtering gallons of the worlds weakest poisons
pedestrian sub-poisons if you will
high fructose corn syrup
or some orange dust that tastes like cheese

we are just wasting time
or doing laundry
till the next alarm goes off

my crime is watching reports of who the Olsen Twins killed
my crime is watching Rey Mysterio do the 619

and some poor Reservist
is going to give his right leg
just to be as bored and idle
as i am

MLE Chowdown Championships!

Well it's posted if you missed it on SPIKE. They just played this during the Superbowl halftime this week. Wing Kong and I get plenty of coverage in this one in the first few minutes. It's only 23 minutes total.

The greatest honor is given to Wing Kong and I when announcer, Crazy Legs Conti describes us as the 'Haim and Feldman' of Competitive Eating. What better could he say?????

Thanks KatRocket, Matthes, and Chris for catching it Live!

And THANKYOU Artie Lange!!!!!!!

It's soda, Mom.....

The funny thing is that that the guy in the Mohawk just ate 221 Wings or so about 2 hours before in Wing Bowl 16.

release

for the few of you that need news before the freshness dating lapses: I didn't win WingBowl. Hell, I didn't even make the second round let alone win it. Not even close.

I ate the best first round of my 3 years, but it wasnt enough. Improving by 6 or 8 wings a year wont keep you ahead of a surging talent pool like we have in Major League Eating right now.

I had spent alot of time in the last couple months strengthening my jaw for this and THAT was successful. I bit through bones during the contest and it never got sore like in previous years. I was super-clean with my wings. Maybe too clean? My strategy was to be super-clean so maybe thats the flaw. I was 6 wings away from 80 wings when the first 14 minutes ran out.....I wasn't full. I wasn't done.

The great Wing Kong has said "I didn't get beat, I just ran out of time" and maybe that applies here. Good News? Wing Kong, had a final first round count of 80 and went on to eat 121 or so by the end of the second. I know how bad he wanted that second round appearance and he put the time into training to get it. It's awesome news!!

The float is another story, and that you will have to wait a couple days on. We were in a 3 way tie for first and somehow didn't win a damn thing. THATS a Crime that I will tell in my crime story blog. We looked good. We looked f'ing great.

Overall it was a BLAST and I got to see some of my good friends from across the country. We ate alot of wings for free, and had a few beers toboot.

I was looking forward to the end, but now I'm sad it's gone. I still see those last six wings.

sigh (eight words)

knew i
was different,
learned i
wasnt special

yesterday (eight words)

in many
ways, I
got what
I deserved

say 'weeee' (eight words)

lap bar locked
too late to get off

details

WingBowl is this Friday.
If you are interested in listening, coverage starts at around 6am. You can listen through your computer at 610WIP.com Click 'Listen Live' somewhere in the top left corner of the page.

About this year:
About 30,000 Tix sold out in 45 Minutes.

Contest Structure is the same:
1rst Round - 30 Eaters for 14 Minutes
2nd Round - Top 10 Eaters move on to eat for 14 more minutes
3rd Round - Top 5 Eaters move on to eat for 2 more minutes.

Prize Structure is different:
Winner of Round 1 wins a Harley Davidson Motorcycle
Contest Winner receives a Toyota Tundra
Best Float/Enterauge receives: 72" TV and 10 trips to Punta Cana

Competition:
The big storyline is that ElWingador (former 5 Time Champ and local resident) is coming out of retirement specifically to beat Current 2 time champ (and number 1 pro in the world) Joey Chestnut. ElWingador has his hands full here.
10 of the 30 Eaters have Professional Status.

My Strategy:
There's a great prize for the float this year. Some of you remember the 11ft beer can we built last year, and I announced on the radio that this year we would be building a 12ft beer can. I cant tell you what we're doing this year, but it will be the first contest that I compete without the kilt. The kids are happy about that, but I had to really make this commitment to sell the concept/theme.

My brother and 2 other close friends werent able to be in the Enterague this year, so I've had to find replacements for them too. I'll miss not having my brother bagpipe me into the stadium. That was always emotional.

We have a very good chance of winning this prize.

My other startegy is to win the first round prize. Beating Joey in 30 minutes of eating would be nearly impossible, but I think if I am extremely clean on the wings I have a better chance than the lottery of taking the first round. I'm experienced enough to know what has to be done. My capacity is much higher than it was last year, and I'm going to sacrifice every resource that I have in the first 14 minutes to win that motorcycle. Even if it means there's no room left to eat in the second round.

I cant wait to show you guys the float we made!

UPDATE
Matthes pointed out in the Comments about the Final Installment of the SPIKE TV eating tournament I went to in Vegas last fall. SPIKE TV will be airing it this Sunday during HALFTIME of the SuperBowl. I know that it was originally an hour and has been edited down to 30 minutes. I'll be eating Hardboiled Eggs and I can tell you it ENDS pretty good for me!!!

for you (eight words)

BE NOT AFRAID
I will catch
the Satellite

from the ether

everyone is making things out of
carbon nano-tubes,
but me.
:(

From the Ether

sick.
busy.
repeat.

If any of you find find my body (eight words)

Call 911 FIRST
Call the Olsen Twins SECOND

30 minutes in February (American Sonnet)

Hours and hours of self doubt are broadcast in my head
This office only appears to be silent
It's actually resonating with Direct Observation, with Rationale
of Why I cant win, why I'll never be the best, there's truth and proof

My heart rages undeterred with hope and ignorance
above the facts and science
possibilities
it has it's own vision and voice
and the roar is becoming deafening in here

So for now I do the things I dont like to do, and prepare
My guts pay the price in the end
It's the heart that pushes you way out past misery
Past Reason

I wish this was about bowling

New SB Logo?

WingBowl is 2 weeks away and I have a nice post about that looming in my head. There is always sooooo much to do before the event and my head is spinning.

I decided to make a logo for myself that I could use year round and not just for WingBowl. I modified last years tshirt logo to get what you see.

The whole thing came to me during a 12-hour wrestling tournament, where I was heavily influenced by other wrestling clubs t-shirts that said all kinds of tough things about pride, discipline, and hardwork. I laugh everytime I see this now.

Please let me know what you think about this on a t-shirt!

The Gaps You Dont See

mighty mighty
Originally uploaded by steakbellie.

Wrestling is a HUGE part of my life. In the years, I've been doing this blog I've only mentioned it a few times. As much as I love it, I guess I'm not inspired to write about it.

This is the SEVENTH season that my sons are involved and they are getting very very good. Practice begins 3x a week in November and in January we add Matches on Sat mornings (about 5 hours) and Tournaments on Sundays (can be 8-10 hours if you keep winning). On thursday nights we do the computerized matchups with the opposing teams and this is the second week that I got home at 1am. The Season can go into March, sometimes longer if you can go to the National Tournaments.

I have the 'box score' of every match my three sons ever wrestled in the last 7 years saved on my pda. My oldest son also wrestles for the middle school. I'm at work for those matches, so my wife goes to them and describes the match to me over her cell phone as it happens. I can hear the whistles in the background and close my eyes to see it happen.

I hate baseball and dont really understand team sports in the way that many people do. For me wrestling is so much like life. There is always a risk of failure, even when you do everything right. You can get advice and encouragement from the people on the sidelines, but in the end it is really it is just you alone against a problem. Anything can happen, but those who are most prepared will benefit the most.

You really have to be careful about pushing your kids in sports. A few years ago, my oldest son wanted to quit and play basketball. It killed me, but my wife was wise enough to let him do what he wanted. He missed it terribly and the next year came back and began taking responsibilty for his own training and fitness. Twice a week now he gets called up to practice with the High School Team. I get alot of satisfaction out of the mature decisions he makes surrounding wrestling.

I like the physical closeness my boys have during the winter. They roll around the floor like cubs, laughing and pining each other. The energy they expend is healthy. They are not afraid to touch or hug or crush each other. Or me.

Whats really fascinating is that they all fight so differently despite the same genetic pool and the same training. Kids are pretty amazing.

Staging My Own Writers Strike (eight words)

Still Here
Still Alive
Still Thinking
Not Writing

but isnt it? (eight words)

you probably
think this
song is
about you

truckin (haiku)

gasoline and steam
coolant and motor oil
service engine soon

back to work

Thanks for all the kind words.
It wound up being a positive experience for me. It was the first viewing/funeral attended by my sons and I cant tell you how proud I am of them. I think they learned/felt/experienced alot.

It's funny that when you live to be 100, there are alot less people around to come to your own funeral. All of your friends are already dead. A great showing of the family though and perhaps the last time there's a reason to be together in such completeness.

Uncle Charlie was the last living member of his High School Class. Thats pretty cool. He's also the last living member of his generation in my family. I found myself remourning my Grandparents as well with his passing.

It was great to hear all the stories and to laugh inbetween the tears.

Now we go back to work......