Sideswipe

For the man who has everything: A personalised branding iron for the BBQ.

Winner Takeru Kobayashi ate 53 3/4 hot-dogs in 12 minutes. Stumbling across the hot-dog-eating contest on Sky drove a reader to compile a list of non-sports clogging up sports channels. He writes: "While Americans are far from the only people constantly stretching the definition of what is a sport (our very own Mike Hosking once memorably told his Newstalk ZB audience that mountain climbing was a sport), the folk at United States sports channel ESPN are really casting their sporting net pretty wide. Here's a brief selection of other alleged 'sports' they are showing to their New Zealand audience via Sky - spelling bees, salsa dancing champs, dog training, Ms Bikini calendar series, bull riding, poker, fishing, ATV racing, cheerleading and jump rope championships."

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Some people really hate the World Cup. Two men were arrested in Berlin on suspicion of filling soccer balls with concrete and then placing them in public areas with signs encouraging people to kick the balls. Police found a workshop in the men's apartment where they made the balls.

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A Reader writes: "Mark Sainsbury asks Steve Maharey during Wednesday's Close Up on TV1, 'So how would you grade NCEA so far?' Mr Maharey's reply, " ... somewhere between an Achieved and a Merit". So that must equate to somewhere between 35 per cent and 85 per cent. Take your pick."

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Listerine's Abbie Malakai wanted to let readers know that Pfizer does very much live its core value of respect. "The "tagging" John Mackay mentioned was done with temporary chalk which lasts only a few days and washes away easily - probably sooner rather than later, knowing Auckland's weather."

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Andy explains why the young man was crawling on hands and knees over a pool of vomit while onlookers shout "Lick it, lick it". He writes: "I was pleasantly surprised to see that our antics had made it into Sideswipe. Let me clear this matter up. The young man (Simon) was on his stag do and we had set him a list of tasks to complete. If he didn't complete one, he was forced to drink a concoction consisting of such things as cat food, fish, baby food, peas, yoghurt etc (which resembles vomit). The groom-to-be tipped it on to the ground, and was rightfully made to get down and 'lick it'."