Man vs. Food to Al Harrington: Don't quit your day job

Loyal fans, team employees, and now Al Harrington's heart and arteries are just a few entries on the growing list of casualties claimed by the NBA lockout. Last weekend the Nuggets forward attempted and subsequently failed the Bugsy Challenge at the Flamingo Hilton in Las Vegas. Harrington, who averaged 10.5 PPG and 4.6 RPG for Denver last season, was obviously looking to boost his career LDL numbers by devouring this humongous hunk of hamburger heaven.

From Haute Living via Balls Don't Lie:

a burger with six one-third-pound burger patties, six types of cheese (American, cheddar, pepper jack, fresh house-made mozzarella, Swiss and panko-crusted deep-fried provolone), chorizo, sautéed mushrooms, black and tan onion rings, three strips of applewood smoked bacon, three strips of cayenne peppered bacon and a fried egg, all oozing with Burger Joint's special pink peppercorn aioli. This massive burger is accompanied by a cast iron skillet packed with two whole potatoes cut in wedges and deep fried, then smothered in cheddar cheese sauce, three-cheese blend, crumbled bacon, sliced green onions and topped with two strips of cayenne peppered bacon.

Although an isolated event, Harrington's weekend of gluttony sheds light on the fact that during a lockout players are largely left to their own devices in the absence of a training camp or structured off season workouts. The injury-laden, inferior basketball played during the lockout shortened season of '98-'99 is a prime example of what may amount to a lost '11-'12 season for a league that started to regain some national traction over the past few years.

Harrington's epic fail is somewhat surprising since it's no secret the man's got a big mouth as evidenced by the amount of trash he talks during a game. Although the Nuggets forward could not finish the massive burger in the allotted 45 minutes, Harrington can proudly declare that he's better than Lebron James (at hamburger eating), because had Lebron attempted a similar feat, he would have undoubtedly choked during the last 5 minutes.