They Said It!

By Larry Hodges

"Yes. My English is okay, yes good. But Edison, he invented the phonograph and the light bulb. I can tell you, but must write. How do you spell ‘Edison’? It is very hard. But I study. I study hard." -Cheng Yinghua at the Macy Block Open, shortly before passing his citizenship test, which includes a written test. Contributed by Alan Williams.

"My timing is terrible! That’s why I failed at skiiing and table tennis." -Actress Kelly Preston, in the Kevin Costner movie "For The Love Of The Game," right after walking in on Costner with another woman.

"His intense competitive streak was always there, whether in table tennis, basketball or cards…." -The Life of Al Gore, The Washington Post, Page A-26, Oct. 10, 1999

"After a while, all this maneuvering seems like a pingpong (sic) match – serve, volley, point, serve, volley, point." –Editorial on political partisanship in Seattle Times, Page B-4, Oct. 6, 1999. Contributed by Dr. Michael Scott.

"Each period of music-making has its own fad for us – we’ve had bicycles, Scrabble and whist – and the current one is ping-pong. You get quirky in the studio – you get some tension. You come out and play, and it’s real physical, you can get quite effusive and aggressive and not do any harm, and 15 minutes later you’re sweating, you’re laughing and it’s been a great release." -Singer Peter Gabriel on his web site at www.realworld.com.

"Jack & Jill" star Amanda Peet proved her ping-pong prowess at Elle’s L.A. bash for its "Hollywood" issue at the Standard the other night. Commandeering the table, Peet and a galpal launched a game so fierce that other guests – including the U.S. Olympic ping-pong team – were afraid to interrupt. Finally, an "Entertainment Tonight" crew meekly asked the dueling darlings to step aside, so it could shoot the Olympians in action. -New York Post Gossip at http://www.nypost.com/100999/gossip/pagesix.htm, by Richard Johnson with Jeane MacIntosh and Kate Coyne