And the door is thrown open to a new generation of competitive eater

Takeru Kobayashi's staggering streak of six straight Coney Island hot dog eating contest victories is in serious jeopardy.

He's listed as day-to-day with a strained jaw he suffered in training for the annual 4th of July contest.

"Some days ago, my jaw ceded the front," Kobayashi intones on his blog. "It is the fatal wound. In order to cure, repose and long-term remedy are necessary."

(His English may be better than that. I lifted those words from a google translation of his web site.)

If Kobayashi is scratched from the hot dog contest, it leaves the door wide open for a new champ to be crowned. Joey Chestnut has proved a tough competitor in recent years, and Crazy Legs Conti is a dark horse in the race. But my money is on The Black Widow, Sonya Thomas.

She was feted in this space about a year ago, and this 4th of July may be her day to shine.