Fierce #PingPong

Periodic reminder that table tennis should be one of the prime time, most-covered events when the Olympics roll around again.

Better try something easier to master than ping-pong ...

Can you win at anything if you practise hard enough? - BBC News: 

Rory Scott, a coach who has trained juniors who later played for England, watched Sam in a recent tournament.
His verdict? "He is nowhere near the standard of the top under-11 player in the UK."
Why did the project fail? One reason might be that Ben chose the wrong sport.
"It is probably the most difficult sport to pick for this challenge," says Steve Brunskill, head coach at the Swerve Table Tennis Centre in Middlesbrough.
"Table tennis has the smallest court, the smallest ball, the smallest bat, the quickest reaction times, the most spin, and it's the only sport where you play on one surface but stand on another.
"You have to play so much to develop the skill, co-ordination and timing, and you have to learn to cope with different styles of opponent."

Sick Shot

 Source:


 

"Kill" is probably a little strong.

Watch Justin Bieber Kill at Ping-Pong -- The Cut

Any media coverage of ping pong, even if disgraced pop baby men are the subject, is going to catch my eye. Ping-pong, ESPN, ping-pong ... you have a duty you are shirking.

The Tao of Ping Pong

Playing Ping Pong in China: Profiles: GQ: 

Ping-pong would be my salvation. It would not only help me meet Chinese people, it would earn me their respect. Whereas in the U.S. ping-pong enjoys about the same esteem as dodgeball, China puts its champions on prime time. I'd prove I was more than just a big-nosed idiot foreigner—I was a big-nosed idiot foreigner who could excel at a sport they revere. If ping-pong could make Chinese people like Nixon, I just might have a shot, too.

Side notes:
The Tao of Pong is actually the name of a movie. Go figure.
Blazing Paddles was the Backyardigans take on Ping Pong action.
Jim McPherson plays a mean game in the Kim Stanley Robinson's The Gold Coast.
Of course, there's Christopher Walken in Balls of Fury.
Yes, yes, Forrest Gump. Others gathered here as well.
Dang, I missed the chance to watch this documentary.
Susan Sarandon, cougar of the ping pong world?!

Ping Pong Hustlin'

Marty Reisman, a Throwback to a Bolder Era of Table Tennis - NYTimes.com: 

ᔥ Deadspin

He is known to measure the height of table tennis nets with $100 bills because, sure, a $1 bill is just as long, but why be “chintzy” about it?

I have a new respect for Susan Sarandon based on this article. A good time start planning for your trip to Cary for the second round Olympic Team Trials. My view from the stands during the first round of trials back in February:

 

Table tennis team trials

I took Blake and a friend from work to the U.S. Olympic Table Tennis team trials held at Bond Park in Cary, NC today. Saw some great play and am more eager than ever to get a table to put out in the garage.

Playing on the wii is fun, too. But it's not the same.

Pictured below are 7th ranked Peter Li (in dark blue with back to camera) out of Maryland and (I think, we missed introductions) 10th ranked Chance Friend from Texas Wesleyan University.

None of pictures turned out great, and videos got to flickr on their sides, but they're there for the viewing.

Ping Pong

Chicago PING PONG 2000: Other cities should learn from Chicago's fine example. Providence, take note.

[Update 8/31/2015: link is dead. Unable to locate a cached version.]