Watchdog: The best of Neil Best

All eyes on Coney Island

Joey Chestnut's fifth straight Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest title made him the "Bjorn Borg of the Smorgasbord" -- as Major League Eating dubbed him -- and was seen by 1.95 million Americans on ESPN on Monday.

That's a record for viewership. The event also tied the 2006 and '07 dog-a-thons for best rating at 1.3 percent of homes, including those populated by vegetarians and people with weak stomachs.

Chestnut himself fell short of his record 68 dogs and buns in 10 minutes, finishing with 62. Former champ Takeru Kobayashi claimed to have eaten 69 in an unofficial, simultaneous exhibition in Manhattan, but a CNBC count matched to a video of the event tallied only 65.

If MLE and Kobayashi can resolve their contract dispute and get him back on the podium beside Chestnut, all previous ratings records are sure to be swallowed whole come 2012.

McCarver laments Jeter 'venom'

Back in March, Fox analyst Tim McCarver, who will work his record 20th All-Star Game on Tuesday, said it would be difficult for the Mets to perform under their cloud of financial troubles, and it would be difficult for SNY's announcers to handle, too.

So what does he think of them now?

"I think for the players to get all of your thinking on what's going on on the field is the most difficult thing under those circumstances, as I said a couple of months ago," McCarver said Wednesday. "That's why I'm surprised how well the Mets have done. They're a feisty, gritty team and I think it's certainly a reflection on their manager."

What about SNY's guys? "They've dealt with it beautifully," he said. "I knew they would, but I raised that question because I know if I were an announcer of the Mets, I'd have had to do some thinking about how to present it to your fan base in an objective fashion."

As for the Yankees, McCarver said he was "surprised at the venom" directed at Derek Jeter during his fitful march toward 3,000 hits.

"It's a strange phenomenon; I don't understand it," he said. "Not with what the guy's track record has been with this team."

Jeter Opus a book fit for hit king

What do you get for the Jeter fan who has everything to mark the occasion of No. 2's No. 3,000?

How about this: Orders are being taken for The Official Major League Baseball Derek Jeter Limited Marquee Edition Opus.

It's a 75-pound, 790-page, 110,000-word, 1,000-photograph well, opus, 222 copies of which will feature a 4-inch by 6-inch piece of the old Yankee Stadium outfield wall affixed to the front and hand-signed by Jeter.

Cost: $4,500. That's a mere $1.50 per hit!

All-live from All England Club

The era of tape-delayed sports already was in its death throes after last month's announcement by NBC that it would begin offering all Olympic events live on one platform or another.

But it suffered another blow this past week when ESPN secured a new 12-year contract with the All England Club, expanding its previous role and ending NBC's 43-year association with Wimbledon.

NBC long has had to juggle Wimbledon (and French Open) coverage with its reluctance to mess with the lucrative, highly rated "Today" show.

That's over now. Ian Ritchie, the club's chief executive, said the decision to go with ESPN was driven in part by having a "single narrative" on a single, primary network.

It also was driven by recognition that tape delay is a 20th-century anachronism. "Sure, there is a place for highlights," he said. "But there is no question the sports viewer nowadays wants to see things live."

American golf in a divot

An ESPN call previewing the British Open took a detour the other day when someone asked about Dottie Pepper's assertion on the Golf Channel that American golfers are "very soft and very pampered."

The subject at hand was the U.S. Women's Open, but American men have not exactly been on a roll, either.

ESPN analyst Andy North said he'd "be happy to weigh in'' on the topic and went well beyond golf to lament the entire state of sports in pampered America. Fore!

"There are not enough leaders because kids haven't had to be leaders," he said. "The parents make all the decisions for them. They drive them around. They do everything they need to do for them.

"I think that affects building champions."