Hogging the Spotlight Gives This Champion a Satisfied Feeling

It’s always exciting to see a new sports star emerge.

In the world of competitive eating that would be San Jose State student Joey Chestnut, who’ll be seeking the $4,000 first prize Saturday in the Wienerschnitzel World Chili Cheese Fries Eating Championships on the Queen Mary.

Chestnut, ranked No. 2 in the nation by the International Federation of Competitive Eating, holds world records in the categories of grilled cheese sandwiches (he has gobbled 32.5 in 10 minutes), jumbo waffles (18.5 in 10 minutes) and ribs (5.5 pounds in 12 minutes).

“It’s amazing -- he’s only been eating for 11 months,” said federation spokeswoman Kate Westfall, meaning of course, that the 6-foot-1, 220-pound student had been eating competitively for only 11 months.

Chestnut first wowed ‘em as a rookie on the asparagus circuit last year, downing 6.8 pounds of the vegetable in 11 1/2 minutes at the Stockton Asparagus Festival. Of course, the stuff was deep-fried. No one in his right mind would eat that much asparagus sans flavoring.

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Dueling signs: An anonymous photographer points out that a Santa Maria college is just blowing smoke when it declares what type of campus it is (see photo).

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Shocking: Joyce Covey of La Canada Flintridge says she was walking on a horse trail when she spotted an eye-catching sign on a high-voltage box (see photo).

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Somewhat related items: Codette Wallace of Riverside saw an ad for what sounded like a high-priced outhouse, since no bedrooms were mentioned (see accompanying).

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At the other end of the spectrum, B.T. Hutton read about a Temecula house that could be the scene of some real stampedes to the restrooms (see accompanying).

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Ooh L.A. L.A.: Sounds like Bernard-Henri Levy, the French author who surveys the United States in the new book “American Vertigo,” got caught in a few SigAlerts while visiting this area. He describes L.A. as “a huge, slow animal, lazy but silently out of control.” I disagree, naturally. L.A. doesn’t seem that silent to me.

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Yer Outta There! Baseball is not a popular sport in France, and Levy strikes out on his description of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. He calls the museum’s Doubleday Field “the big stadium nearby -- where, they say, some of the finest games in the country are played.”

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miscelLAny: Talk about being caught between two enemy camps. John Stein of Pacific Palisades checked into the Calipatria Inn in the Imperial Valley the other day and was a bit surprised to see it fully booked. He checked and found out why. Two large delegations were staying there: a group of duck hunters and a group of bird watchers. They did not share the banquet room.

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Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATIMES, Ext. 77083, by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A. 90012, and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.