Crazy Legs Conti, Takeru Kobayashi, Joey Chestnut, Juliet Lee and Tim Janus are among the eaters featured on ESPN's E:60 tonight at 7 p.m.

The Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship will be in the spotlight tonight on ESPN as the network’s prime-time television newsmagazine, E:60, takes an in-depth look at the sport of competitive eating. The program airs at 7:00 p.m. ET.

A camera crew from E:60 covered several stops along this year’s Krystal Square Off tour, including qualifiers in Nashville and Knoxville and the World Hamburger Eating Championship in Chattanooga. Among the competitive eaters who will be showcased include Takeru Kobayashi, Joey Chestnut, “Crazy Legs” Conti and Tim “Eater X” Janus.

A press release from ESPN describes the coverage as follows:

There are 80-100 competitive eating events a year at venues across the country. The top two are Nathan’s in New York and Krystal’s hamburgers in Tennessee. In a sport replete with colorful personalities, E:60 correspondent Jeremy Schaap takes an in-depth look at competitive eating . . . Highlights include interviews with some of the greatest “eaters” in the world such as Takeru Kobayashi, Joey Chestnut, Juliet Lee, “Crazy Legs” Conti and Tim “Eater X” Janus.

If you missed the action at this year’s Krystal Square Off, head over to the Krystal Square Off blog for coverage, podcasts, videos and photos.

Tim "Eater X" Janus claims victory at the Knoxville qualifier for the Krystal Square Off V with 63 Krystals.

This past weekend was a busy one for the Krystal Square Off V qualifying circuit.  Not only was there the hectic, back-to-back event schedule to content with, but there was also a bit of controversy surrounding the contest in Nashville, which ultimately led to the IFOCE instating a new rule.

Here’s a recap of the Nashville contest courtesy of the Krystal Square Off Blog:

In a contest marked by controversy and the hottest and most humid conditions seen on the tour so far, Juliet Lee’s victory had some calling foul due to excessive debris during the eight-minute regulation period. After a lengthy conference with judges, Major League Eating made the decision to hold a three person eat-off, the first ever in Krystal Square Off history, between “The Lovely” Lee, Eric “Badlands” Booker and Juris “Dr. Bigtime” Shibayama. Each was presented with 10 Krystals, and Lee was first to consume hers, earning her the win.

Because of the excessive debris issue and the difficulty judges had tallying the number of Krystal burgers actually consumed by a number of eaters, include Lee, Major League Eating held an impromptu conference call Saturday evening to discuss establishing a new rule that will help prevent confusion in future contest.

Coined the Mustard Yellow Card, the rule will allow judges to disqualify competitors for “messy eating” after an initial warning is given.

A full explanation of the rule from IFOCE.com:

Major League Eating announces today the creation of a new rule called the Mustard Yellow Card. The rule allows league officials and judges to formally caution a competitor if the official or judge feels said competitor is eating in a fashion that is so messy it impedes the ability to determine the amount of food consumed.

After one caution is given the judge has the right to disqualify the warned competitor if the competitor has not satisfactorily corrected his or her eating style.

While no formal definition need be given, messy eating can include food and debris on a competitor and in a competitor’s eating area and cups.

Thankfully, Sunday’s contest in Knoxville was straightforward with Tim “Eater X” Janus the clear winner with 63 Krystals.  Janus did break the previous Knoxville record of 49, which was set by Chip “Burger” Simpson last year.  Crazy Legs Conti finished second with 50 Krystals, just one burger short of what he needs to be a Wild Card contender.

For more details and information about this weekend’s contest, including photos and links to video news coverage, head over to the Krystal Square Off Blog.

Pat Bertoletti, at Krystal Square Off IV above, won the 2008 Acme Oyster-Eating Championship

Juliet Lee finished second with 31 and a half dozen, and Crazy Legs Conti tied with Chris Abatsas for third after both sucked down 24 dozen.

Tim “Gravy” Brown was disqualified for a reversal after 14 dozen.

Click here for the full AP story on today’s competition.

Competitive eating's Acme Oyster House contest returns tomorrow

The famed contest is perhaps best known for launching the career of Krystal competitive eater Crazy Legs Conti back in 2002 and providing Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas with one of her most impressive records of 46-dozen oysters in ten minutes. That’s 552 oysters!

Tomorrow’s contest promises to be exciting as rumor has it Thomas will not be competing, giving other eaters the chance to suck and slurp their way into the top slots.

Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti, the third-place finisher in the 2007 Krystal Square Off, is the early favorite but with a field of eaters like Crazy Legs (ranked 11th), Juliet Lee (ranked 10th), Tim “Gravy” Brown (ranked 13th), ChipBurger Simpson (ranked 9th) and the home state’s top eater, Damon Serigent, the top oyster title is definitely up for grabs.

For those of you in New Orleans for the event, don’t forget to stop by the famous Krystal on Bourbon Street.  You never know, you may run into the Burger King himself while there.

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