This has been everywhere already, but it’s still Anna K in a catfight at some thing in New York Las Vegas, so that stays fresher than other bits of news like that one guy with the fake nose dying. From yesterday’s Page Six:

Kournikova and her pals were partying at Lavo after attending the Hardbat Classic table tennis tournament when a woman at the next table “threw a drink at Anna. She felt Anna was invading her space,” our source said. Kournikova “sprung into action” and starting screaming at the woman and shoving her. “It was a big fight,” the spy said.

Whatever. Hollywood Tuna had some images of Anna K entering the event. I guess expecting someone to get their clothes ripped off was wishful thinking on my part, but that’s really the only reason anyone cares about Kournikova. This won’t qualify as sports news next time. Unless she gets her clothes ripped off. That’s always timely.

I know absolutely nothing about this video, other than the fact that kid’s two great loves seem to be slapping white balls and grunting. Call me when you turn 18, homegirl.

If you’ve seen the not-quite-annoying ads on ESPN featuring (in order) Bill Simmons, the Celtics, Notre Dame, Mike Golic, and “Serbian table tennis sensation Biba Golic,” you probably thought, Biba Golic?! Did they just make that name up? They did not. From her Wiki page:

At the age of 12, just three years after her start in table tennis, Biba became a member of the Serbian National Cadet Team, and continued to climb the ranks to the senior Serbian National Teams during the next 10 years. In 2002 she joined Europe’s most prestigious table tennis league, the Bundes League in Germany, where she played for 1 year. It was here that she connected with Killerspin and became a sponsored player in Killerspin’s ‘Krew’.

Here’s a video of Biba in action from an appearance on The Best Damn Sports Show Period, a show that might actually be in the top five of sports shows, but only because of that glass table on set with all the billard balls in it. That thing is awesome. Read the rest of this entry »

Rule #1 about the Internet: if it seems to good to be true, it is most definitely fake.  And even if it IS real, you’re best off saying that it’s Photoshopped or fake, because it’s way better to be cynical than be some rube who can’t spot a forgery.  That’s the case with this excessive table tennis celebration, which is entertaining but obviously staged, even if some people are fooled:

I don’t really know where this clip is from - other than it appears to be taking place at USC - but it was just uploaded yesterday. And it is awesome. Never before have I seen such a celebration by a guy who just scored his first point after being down 0-10 in a ping-pong match.

And, I’m being dead serious about this, I would absolutely watch way more ping-pong if this happened more frequently.

Let’s play a little game I like to call “Occam’s Razor.”  What’s more likely: a large crowd of people attend a ping-pong tournament in a USC gym, where one player launches into a ridiculous dance after scoring his first point… OR… Students at a college with a famous film school made a humorous video depicting such an event?

Officials in table tennis's governing body, disappointed with the lackluster crowds at the Olympics (held in the country where the sport is most popular), are looking to garner more interest in the women who  paddle balls so well.  Their solution: more skin and tighter clothing.  Oh sure, but when I tell that to women I'm the asshole.

“We are trying to push the players to use skirts and also nicer shirts, not the shirts that are made for men, but ones with more curves,” International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) vice president Claude Bergeret said.

One player, Japan’s Naomi Yotsumoto, has taken matters into her own hands. At the Japanese national championships last year, she played in a daring ensemble of her own design: knee socks, a pleated mini-skirt and a shirt that left one shoulder bare. [See it here - Ed.]

A young Japanese woman in a pleated mini-skirt?  I find that pretty hard to believe. 

If the ITTF wants some other ways to make ping-pong sexier, they should take a trip to Bangkok.  For just a couple baht you can watch women do things with ping-pong balls that must be seen to be believed.  I don't want to ruin the surprise, but let's just say they can fire the balls out of their vaginas.

Winners get to play the defrosted aliens in the back: 

Ha, that was funny how the little girl cried when her team lost the point. It's probably because she knew she would have to commit suicide if she was defeated. -KD