Back Porch Table Tennis

If you're like most Americans, you think of ping pong as a leisurely game played in people's basements. But in much of the rest of the world, table tennis is viewed as a highly competitive sport. And as you'll see if you watch some of the highlights from last weekend's English Open -- described as "the Wimbledon of table tennis" -- the sport can be incredibly intense.

Anna Kournikova isn't great at tennis. She was very good at being very attractive and thus very good at garnering attention from the media and endorsers, but never very good at tennis. Unfortunately for Jimmy Fallon, she's pretty decent at beer pong, as he found out last night. Or at least better than Fallon anyway. If it were anyone else, I would bite on "sandbagging," but not with Fallon. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my 400-count sheets (pantsless, natch) waiting for Conan to come back.

Yesterday, Brinson reported on Wang Hao, the gold medal winning ping pong player from China who was arrested for peeing outside a karaoke club and becoming aggressive. That is, as aggressive as a ping pong player can be.

Do not fret, hopeful Hao fans, because it appears Chinese celebrities aren't too far off from the famous people in this country. Hao is heading to counseling for the pee-punch-proclamation.

Hao will undergo team-mandated counseling after reportedly getting into a fight with a security guard who was trying to stop him from urinating outside a karaoke club.

According to Reuters report, witnesses said Wang emerged drunk from the club last Thursday, attempting to urinate outside the building, then came to blows with the security guard.

"I am the famous Wang Hao! I am the world champion! Does it matter if I beat you?" the 24-year-old said, according to the one witness.

The problem with being a celebrity, here in America or anywhere really, is that people are always looking to bust you doing stuff. Perhaps you're Alex Rodriguez enjoying an evening of Madonna's music. Or Britney Spears trying to sneak 40 gallons of Red Bull and 3,000 bags of Cheetos into her home under the cover of dark*.

Or, maybe you're just a gold medalist ping pong baller from China who wanted to urinate outside a karaoke club.

China's national table tennis team will give Olympic medalist Wang Hao counselling after he reportedly got into a fight with a security guard for trying to stop him from urinating outside a karaoke club.

Local media reports last week quoted witnesses as saying that the two-time Olympic singles silver medallist had emerged drunk from a karaoke club on Thursday and come to blows with the security guard when he tried to urinate outside the building.

"I am the famous Wang Hao! I am the world champion! Does it matter if I beat you?" shouted the 24-year-old, according to a witness quoted by the papers.

Now, I understand that there may be some serious translation issues at hand here. But I really hope not, because I love the idea of someone famous yelling "Do you know who I am???" as they're being dragged away from the front of a karaoke club.

And in fairness, the manager of the Chinese team has said there was no fight and that Wang had "just an argument" with the bouncer ... although there hasn't been any denial of the urination. Wang is also blaming the incident on the loss he took this past weekend. So, the lesson: as always, avoid urinating outside nightclubs.

*May not have actually happened.