Sports & Entertainment Beat

Welcome back to the Spotlight! In recognition of Father’s Day this upcoming weekend, I would be remiss not to impart some learned wisdom while also dialing the dad jokes up to 11. If you decide to read on, then you probably have the same last name as me. For those playing ketchup (though surely by now many of you musta-heard), the hottest news off the grill this week is that the 16 time winner of the annual Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating competition (and presumptive 4 time recipient of a new heart valve) Joey Chestnut received some news that was just the wurst. Indeed Chestnut was rolled off this year’s competition. Namely, since Nathan’s relishes its annual brand spotlight (no relation), it has a real beef with Chestnut endorsing Impossible Foods, a purveyor of fake beef—including plant-based hot dogs. To put things in perspective, Chestnut’s deal with Impossible Foods is akin to Michael Jordan moving his buns from Nike to Adidas. To be frank, Chestnut’s representatives would have done well to consider not only whether his deal violated exclusivity or non-competition obligations owed to Nathan’s, but also whether they could cause heartburn. If this is some carefully orchestrated publicity stunt that ends with Nathan’s offering Impossible hot dogs in its restaurants, then that would sure be grate to make everyone may feel less sauer. As it stands, Chestnut is setup for a Labor Day one on one hot dog eating competition opposite his rival Takeru Kobayashi, which is to be streamed on Netflix. For now, let’s walk one footlong in front of the other into the next segment…

• • ​The Cricket World Cup is in full swing here in New York, with much fanfare surrounding an American team outperforming the expectations of many (including by beating heavy favorite Pakistan). While I’m still brushing up on the rules and terminology of the sport of British origin, I would expect swarms of capital to be infused into the sport here in the states. An infinitely better proposition than swarms of joro spiders (see last week’s Spotlight). 
     
  • Meanwhile, the cross-cultural exchange was in full effect with the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies taking Major League Baseball across the pond to London for what was by all accounts a successful endeavor. Smart move by the MLB not scheduling the Kansas City Royals—that could have been confusing. 
     
  • Speaking of Kansas City, the Chiefs organization must be relieved that a player made news this offseason for other than for committing a crime or making misogynistic comments, as Travis Kelce and his recently retired brother Jason acquire a significant stake in craft brewing company, Garage Beer. For my part, I’m relieved I did not have to mention T.S. (Taylor Swift for search engine optimization purposes).