"sport" news and stories

Starting this season, the Los Angeles Dodgers are giving fans a reason to come to games other than to see baseball. Tickets for seats in the right field bleachers will be raised to $35 each ($40 on game day) and will include all-you-can-eat food. The deal includes Dodger dogs, peanuts, popcorn, nachos, sodas and more, but excludes ice cream, beer and candy. The way it will work is that fans in that section can simply walk up to the food booths and ask for whatever they want, whether it is just one hot dog and garlic fries or two dozen dogs for their whole group of friends. The Dodgers executive vice president and chief operating officer said that some foods may be set up in a buffet section to expedite service.

It isn't that hard to eat two Dodger dogs, despite the fact that they are quite large, but they run only $4.75 (or $5.25 for all-beef) each. A soft pretzel is $3.50 and peanuts are $5. It seems like the average fan may not eat $35 worth of food, excluding beer, during a game.

The ticket prices this season for right field were $10 each and the left field bleachers will still be available at that price.

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In the Krystal Square Off III World Hamburger Eating Contest in Chattanooga, Tennessee this past weekend, Takeru Kobayashi brought home another championship title by eating 97 hamburgers in 8 minutes. Joey Chestnut came in second, finishing with 91 hamburgers, followed by Patrick Bertoletti in third with 76. All the numbers are up hugely from last year's contest, in which Kobayashi narrowly beat Chestnut with a final total of 67-62 burgers. One other big change from previous years was that the contest was televised on ESPN2, which gives the sport a much wider audience and much more publicity than it enjoyed before.

The contest is known as the "square off" because the burgers that the competitors wolf down are square, but Krystal's burgers hosts the contest because they have been holding eating contests at their stores since the first one opened in 1932. According to company legend, the tradition was set when the second customer challenged the first customer to a head-to-head hamburger showdown.

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It looks like Ohio State isn't the only college football team that's going to get their own brand of cereal this season. The University of Florida Gators are getting a line of Frosted Flakes Corn Cereal, which are a limited edition item to commemorate 100 years of Gator football. The cereals will be available at 250 Publix markets throughout the state.

Some fans are buying it for the box, which could be something of a collectors' item to a die-hard fan, but others are simply buying the cereal because they like frosted flakes for breakfast. No matter what the reason behind the purchases, Publix says that the cereals are selling quickly and that they expect to see sales climb throughout the season or until the stocks, since it was produced in a limited run, run out.

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If you just "watch" the game, this will be of little aid. Remember, it's early in the season; you'll have plenty of time to hone your hometown hand foods before the super bowl, which is sacred and has a its own set of game day gastro requirements. If you are an aficionado in for the season, take these tips and have a four hour tailgate party at home.

First of all you need a crockpot, a large T.V. at the very least, and probably cable. Where I live one of the Networks comes in unacceptably snowy via antenna. For quick, easy dishes check these crock recipes at Out of the Frying Pan. Use your imagination and plenty of cheese to personalize things. Food coloring, shaped or sculptured dipping foods, etc. Here are a few more tips:

• Watch with friends; if you drink, make it light beer. You'll get plenty of carbs and calories from all the snacks.
• Don't start throwing food at your friends until the third quarter. Don't throw cheese in any form, hors d'oeuvres dipped in cheese, or the crockpot.

A 20-year old Celtic supporter in Scotland is very devoted to his team and has taken his devotion far beyond the standards set be even the most die-hard tailgaters. He has vowed to eat only foods that are in the club's colors for the 2006/2007 season, meaning that he has eaten a diet of salad, green vegetables and white meat (mostly chicken and a little fish) since July.

Clearly, the young man, Scott Campbell, is lucky that there are actually quite a few foods that come in green and white. Had the team colors been blue and silver, he would have been wise to come up with another way to express his loyalty.

Does anyone else have any other dedication-through-food stories, or is Campbell the only one who has taken it this far?

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