Live From ...

Tomorrow, I'll be blogging live from Wing Bowl, starting by 6 a.m. But here's an item to get things started ...

Check it out. Is it just me? Or does Eagles quarterback Jeff Garcia kind of resemble last year's Wing Bowl champ, Joey Chestnut. OK, it's not as good as Howard Eskin and the Burger King, but, hey, both are champs. (Garcia won a title in Canadian Football League.) Wait, one gave the Birds wings, the other ate the birds' wings. And both succeeded guys who heaved and had to leave. (Sorry, Donovan. Can't resist a joke.)

Got to the center by 5:30 a.m. Plenty of time, you'd think. All my gear seemed good to go. Even rigged up a platform for my laptop, using hooks and a neck strap, so I could type while I walked around. But couldn't get this laptop to properly link. Wireless detected. But no web pages would load. Sorry about that. Back at the office now, I'm filing my photos and reports.

Some might think Wing Bowl lures uneducated slobs. But here's proof to the contrary: Two guys quoting one of the Founding Fathers. Sounds a lot like something Wing Bowl's Founding Fathers, Angelo Cataldi and Al Morganti, might say, but it is an actual quote.

In the catacombs of the Wachovia Center, the contestants and their entourages gathered early, prepping their floats, and waiting for the grand procession, which began at 6 a.m. Rob Lewanowski of Collingswood is an angel who, frankly, looks like hell. He was part of Steak Bellie's crew ... or perhaps some strategy to make other contestants lose their appetites.

While waiting to enter the arena, Black Death (really Philly's own Jermaine Pressley) poses with his Wingettes.

Later, while chatting with a woman who looked like an extra for Rocky Horror, I found that Pressley is a cook at Bertucci's in Center City, and she and others in his entourage are coworkers there. Kira Wolfson, 20, said she was going for the "1940s dead pinup girl" look. To qualify, he ate a half a sheetcake filled with pudding and ate out of a woman’s hand. (See video.)

Hank the Tank gets ready to roll into the area. Being a ground attack, however, didn't seem to help him handle wings. He didn't make the Top 10 this year, though seven other local eaters did.

As Rock the House resounded to the rafters, contestants nervously waiting for the eating to begin. Their Wingettes, however, got into the spirit.

As the first round progressed, WIP's Rhea Hughes (no, that's not her in the picture) reported a surprising showing by a front-row local. Dave "US Male" Goldstein of Voorhees had moved onto this third plate ahead of most of the other contestants. Most contestants sat, but some ocassionally stood, perhaps taking some pressure off gastronomically, or at least help gravity.

But when the first results were read, the hosts and fans alike were pleasantly surprised. Two professional eaters failed to make the Top 10, and last year's champ in "the shock of the world" was only No. 9, while the eater was ... well, here's the list, with local names in bold:

• Dr Winglove
• California's Joey Chestnut
• Curly von Burly, 77 wings
• Bulldog, 78
• Damaging Doug, 81
• Chicago's Patrick Bertoletti, 83
• Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, 84
• U.S Male, 89
• Beast from the Northeast, 91
• Gentleman Jerry, 112!!!
  That's "Gentleman Jerry" Coughlan eating in the picture above.picture

When the Top Five were announced, however, hopes of a local winner were unceremoniously dashed. The final order of finish, included at third and fourth, the two pros in the picture, diminutive marvel Sonya Thomas (left) and Patrick Bertoletti (right), who sported mowark and headband while tuning out the crowd with decibel-blasting headphones. The list:

• U.S. Male, 130 wings
  
• Black Widow 156
  
• Patrick Bertoletti, 157
  
• Gentleman Jerry, 158
  
• Joey Chestnut, a record 166 wings
  

Just like last year, except for having eaten a record 182, Joey Chestnut again wins Wing Bowl. Here's his crowning moment as captured on one of the Wachovia Center's giant overhead screens.