Koon Dog Kuhn Bowls them Over at Dawg Bowl

7/16/04

Make no Bones about it; the First Annual ESPN-Pittsburgh Dawg Bowl was a gut wrenching battle. ESPN-Pittsburgh AM 1250 partnered up with Yuengling Beer and Silver Star Hot dogs for an exciting event. This "no-hands", contest also required the Eaters to eat the 1.5 oz. Dogs from a Dog Bowl. Also, after every ten Hot-Dogs consumed, eaters were required to "fetch" and return Dog Bones. This contest was structured similar to the notorious Philly Wing Bowl and ESPN-Pittsburgh's own Wing Bowl. Specifically, the event was broken down into two 12" 50' second segments followed by a two-minute sprint for the remaining four Eaters with the highest totals.

If you are still asking who is Bob "Koon Dog" Kuhns ask no more. Bob Kuhns is an established Competitive Eater from the Pittsburgh area who has recently won the Pittsburgh Wing Bowl and finished second in Frank's Red Hot Chicken Wing contest recently conducted in Pittsburgh. Also, Bob qualified for the Dawg Bowl with the highest number of Hot dogs eaten, 33. (The qualifiers consisted of only one 12 minute 50 second round). Koon Dog had Chowhound Chapman and Pete Maurizio to thank for his final total of 56 Hotdogs. During this Dog-Eat Dog war the top three competitors were locked in a fierce battle with several lead changes. By the end of the second round all of the Eaters appeared as though they had been in a 12 round Heavyweight Title fight. Both Koon Dog and Pete Maurizio. Put on a brave face but it was not hard to see the pain and determination in the contours of their battle weary faces as they contemplated the immense responsibility and burden of bringing victory to the people of Pittsburgh common. It was reported that Chowhound was glossy eyed and looked like a volcano on the verge of eruption. His manager, David "Coon Dog" O'karma (A different Coon dog) applied ice, Pressure Point anti-Nausea techniques along with the wisdom that comes with 30 years of Competitive Eating experience, In order to keep Chowhound on his feet. The fourth finalist (name unknown) launched a stream of Hot dog chunks right before the beginning of the 2 minute segment much to the delight and cheer of this Blue collar, Steel-Town audience. Unfortunately, this did create an extra delay in starting the final round. After the frenzy of the 2-minute sprint, the totals were counted with Bob Kuhns capturing the title with 56 Hot Dogs, Chowhound finishing in a close second with 54 Dogs while Pete Maurizio. finished with 53. It was a great day for the competitive Eating fans of Pittsburgh PA whose native son brought them the honor and glory of being Pittsburgh's first Dawg Bowl Champion. When asked what he would do differently, the pre-race favorite, "Chowhound" Chapman commented that he might have strategically erred during the second stage when he left some Hot dogs partially eaten. Contest rules specify that partially eaten Hot dogs could not be counted. "You live and learn each time you step into the coliseum, said Chowhound Chapman, who also added, "it's easy to forget things in the midst of battle". Chowhound's trainer David Coon Dog O'Karma added, "The Dawg Bowl shows that there are many well known but unrecognized Independent Eaters all across this great country of ours".

Winners received

1 st Place: Overnight all expense paid trip to Disney for four

2 nd Place: Four Tickets to Steelers football game, Penguins hockey game, Pirates baseball

game, Pitt football game, Penn State football game