Feuds of the Week

This past week, the second of the Wimbledon fortnight, was the week in which NBC had the rights to the majority of the tennis coverage from the All-England Lawn Tennis Club. As has been the case entirely too often during non-US Open majors, most of the coverage has been tape delayed and/or poorly executed, with taped matches not only being shown, but in place of close live ones.

It's a fantastic strategy if you're looking to quell any possible excitement (or ratings) for your sport, but if you're looking for the most important tournament of the year to be as dramatic and interesting as possible, maybe consider making fans actually tune in to your broadcast to see a live event.

The Verdict: Tennis fans and NBC both lose (although the always-necessary fourth hour of The Today Show wins). There's no reason that we should have to resort to finding back alley online foreign TV streams if we want to watch a match unfold. If you can't figure out a schedule to get a maximum audience, let somebody else try.

Takeru Kobayashi vs. Joey Chestnut

In what has become one of the most consistent and electrifying rivalries in well, the realm of physically-challenging events, Chestnut and Kobayashi will compete once again in the Nathan's Hot-Dog Eating Contest for the honor of the prestigious mustard yellow belt.

To put it into the context of another sport, Chestnut appears to be the Rafa Nadal to Kobayashi's Roger Federer. Year after year, Kobayashi was dominant and bordered on untouchable, but Chestnut, the up-and-comer, made the leap in '07 (setting a new record at 66 dogs and buns in 12 minutes) and defended the belt last year.

The Verdict: I'm looking for a Federer-type French Open resurgence from Kobayashi this year. I'm not saying Chestnut goes down early (perhaps by an errant Ed "Cookie" Jarvis elbow?), but I feel like this ends with Kobayashi gearing up, winning, and letting it all out triumphantly. His emotions, that is.

The Real World vs. NYC Prep

Since network summer shows are consistently awful, let's put the two shows with the least intelligence but the most entertainment value up against each other.

First, The Real World: Cancun has a case because it has the history and name recognition. Also, the first two episodes have featured an above-average college football punter, a make-out session between a guy in his 20s and woman in her 50s, and a saliva-filled taco. All in two short episodes. I know.