Badlands Booker: Enemy of chickens everywhere.

Planning to enter the Old Home Week Pierogi Eating Contest? Let this video serve as inspiration.

Kobayashi generally sticks to the big events, but we’re going to see if the bear is free on Aug. 1.

The big game is less than three months away, and you want to be in prime eating shape. We feel your pain and we want to help you get in shape. For eating dozens of pierogies, that is.

Not sure if you’re ready to sign up and join the ranks of Takeru “The Tsunami” Kobayashi and Mike “The Pierogi Earthquake” Novak? AskMen.com has some inspirational advice that might “tip the scales” for you.

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Competitive Eating

Old Home Week 2008 is right around the corner! We had a grand old time gorging on deliciously buttery pierogies last year, so we figured we’d give it another go!

Among our plans for this year:

• Even more pierogies (that means we expect you to eat more)
• Cold beverages (sorry about the scalding water we made you drink last year)
• Better organization (enough chairs to go around for everybody)
• Wittier commentary during the event (not a guarantee)
• A better Web site (It may still be under construction)
• A movie about pierogies
• A pierogi presence in the parade