A new record for me to beat.

I don't know if you guys ever watch the annual Nathan's hot dog eating contest on the 4th, but I do. I never miss it. As I watched this years contest, I felt a myriad of emotions...excitement, disgust, sheer amazement, and more disgust. How is it physically possible to eat 68 hot dogs? Ask Joey Chestnut. It's his third contest win in a row, and he broke the world record again this year. He again ripped the title away from the Japanese, with Takeru Kobayashi coming in second with 64 dogs.

You should try to find Chestnut's interview after he won. He's about to spew the entire time. The interviewer keeps asking him questions, and Chestnut looks like he's trying to focus on not unleashing a tide of chewed up hot dogs on the dude. It was entertaining and completely nauseating.

But, the Japanese got back another world record the day before the hot dog eating contest. The world record Largemouth Bass. The bass was caught on Lake Biwa in the Shiga Prefecture. It was caught by Manabu Kurita, a pro staffer at a local tackle shop. The beast weighed 22 lbs and 5 oz. beating the previous record by an ounce. The previous record stood for 77 years. The 1932 record was held by George Perry who caught a 22 lb 4 oz bass on Montgomery Lake in Georgia.

I've seen the world record replica of Perry's bass. Its mouth looked like the opening of a 5-gallon bucket. As a bass fisherman myself, I was pretty amazed.

Here's the catch. Even though the Japanese bass is technically heavier than the American bass, the International Game Fish Association rules state that a replacement record must weigh 2 ounces more than the previous record. So on paper, it's considered a tie.

Lake Biwa is one of the most ancient lakes in the world. Its more than 300 feet deep, and its considered to be 4 to 5 million years old. Interestingly, large mouth bass are an invasive species in the lake, and Japanese officials have been trying to rid the lake of bass and other invasives. Looks like there's one less lunker in there.

They asked Manabu what lure he used to catch the giant fish. He wouldn't give any details. I bet it was hotdogs.