OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Filus' rank been down again this time

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GFoT |Blade : Timo Boll ALC • FH : DHS 3 Neo Provincial MAX • BH : Tenergy 64 MAX
Crossover to Takeover!

ADHAM IS LOSING IT

Another eventful weekend in table tennis, highlighted by ITTF President Adham Sharara's 180-degree FLIP-FLOP on the supposed worldwide celluloid ban. Now he admits there is no upcoming worldwide ban of celluloid, but says he claimed there was as a "simplification" of the issue for us. El Presidente also continues to insist that the big ball IS BETTER for defenders, and coaches and players are simply unable to figure out how to use it.

Click here to read Adham Sharara's frankly bizarre response to an email from forum member Lorre.

HOW TO PLAY ANTISPIN

We've started a new OOAK project to attempt to unlock the secrets of antispin. I have a personal interest in this since I have a sheet of Joola Timeless on the way -- if it ever gets here. I have a tracking number that lists the status as having left Germany on November 26 and nothing since.

BIG EURO TOURNAMENT LIVE STREAM THIS WEEK

No more ITTF ITTV-streamed events this year, but there is a big Euro tournament (INTERSPORT Super Cup) in Ekaterinburg, Russia on Tuesday and Wednesday that will be streamed live on http://www.laola1.tv Among those listed as competing are Timo Boll, Kalinikos Kreanga, Vladimir Samsonov, Dimitrij Ovtcharov, Patrick Baum, Bastian Steger, Michael Maze and Alexey Smirnov.

U.S. NATIONALS NEXT WEEK

Here in the USA we still have the 2011 U.S. National Table Tennis Championships taking place December 13 – 17 in the unlikely location of Virginia Beach. Not sure if they have live streaming planned, but here's the official website: http://www.usnationalsvabeach.com/

PUSHBLOCKER WILL REACH CAREER BEST RATING

I hear our forum friend Pushblocker recently defeated two 2400 players which should get him over 2300.

Unfortunately no video.

PIC OF THE DAY

Recent pic of Li Qian's backhand rubber.

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The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
Table Tennis Video Links: itTV | laola1.tv | ttbl | fftt | Challenger Series | mnnb-tv

My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

Li Qian has a quite lovely name... It's as graceful as her game.

Qian = Lovely (Li is her last name).

SELF-SABOTAGE…AGAIN

Came in tied for second in my club championship. I switched from the Dr. N Barricade blade to the Dr. N Firewall+ with the same rubbers, Bomb Talent and BFY Tackiness Drive. With the harder outer ply the pips played better, but now I understand why Dr N uses short pips on the forehand of this blade. I couldn't loop for $%^t. Guess I should have practiced with it first.

JOOLA TIMELESS UPDATE

I had actually planned to use Joola Timeless in this tournament, which I had ordered November 21, but it didn't show up on time. There was some good news, however, as is there was finally an update on the tracking information and the package listed as being processed Monday at a USPS Sort Facility in New Jersey. I'll probably have it in a day or two.

BOLL PULLS OUT AT THE LAST MINUTE

According to ettu-org, Timo Boll withdrew from the INTERSPORT Super Cup starting today Ekaterinburg, Russia. It is reported he has bronchitis. Recently, in an interview with a German sport magazine Boll talked about retiring due to a back injury that has plagued him for the last ten years. Boll will be replaced by Kirill Skachkov of Russia. You can watch a live stream of the event at http://www.laola1.tv/en/int/table-tenni ... 70193.html


No mention of the Boll pullout.

DECEPTIVE RUBBER GETS STAR BILLING

A giant banner ad for a deception rubber on a major mainstream TT website? Loved seeing this Joola Timeless banner emblazoned across the top of http://www.ettu.org.



WHO'S THE BEST CHOPPER IN THE WORLD?

If it's not Joo, it's got to be Wang Xi. Unbeaten (14-0) this year in the very tough German Bundesliga, Xi is the real deal. It's a crime that he's not on the pro tour. Easily world top 20.

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The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
Table Tennis Video Links: itTV | laola1.tv | ttbl | fftt | Challenger Series | mnnb-tv

My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

STILL NO JOOLA TIMELESS

Day 15 came and went after my Joola Timeless order with nothing in the mail. No update on the tracking either. Maybe it'll be here tomorrow, maybe not. If and when it arrives, I wonder if I'll have the only sheet of Joola Timeless in North America? The Joola distributors sure don't have it.

MEDIOCRE MA GETS OLYMPIC SPOT

Despite his recent mediocrity on the ITTF pro tour (including several early round defeats), it looks like Ma Lin will still be on the Chinese 2012 Olympic team. According to tabletennista.com, the team will consist of Ma Lin along with Wang Hao, Zhang Jike, Ma Long and Xu Xin. Wang Liqin, who is currently rated one spot above Ma Lin in the December ITTF ratings, is the odd man out. Only two members of the team will be allowed to compete in the men's singles competition.

SPARSE CROWD IN EKATERINBURG

More proof that the big ball has not made the game any more popular. Despite most the top Euro players competing, it looks like very few spectators are turning out for the European Supercup in Ekaterinburg, Russia. This screen grab was taken moments before Russian favorite Alexei Smirnov faced Vladimir Samsonov.


LOSER SERVES

The "loser serves" scheme being pushed by the Latvian TT Association was used at the 2011 Baltic States Table Tennis Championships. I don't like it. Check out this video.

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The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
Table Tennis Video Links: itTV | laola1.tv | ttbl | fftt | Challenger Series | mnnb-tv

My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

Never seen anything like it, great vid...

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Without opponent, no match.

SORRY TO SAY THIS, BUT THE PEOPLE WHO RUN BUTTERFLY ARE IDIOTS

I have a love/hate relationship with Butterfly. I love their products, but I hate their stupid business practices. If you live in North America and want Tackiness Chop 1.1mm (the quintessential defensive forehand rubber), you can't get it through normal channels. If you want Tackiness Drive 1.5mm (the quintessential control rubber), you can't get it. If you want Tenergy in 1.7mm, you can't get it. If you want a Grubba Carbon blade with a straight handle, you can't get it. Martin Kilpatrick, Butterfly's NA distributor, claims on their website that they will special order anything Butterfly sells for you, but they won't even bother to answer emails let alone follow through.

Meanwhile, Butterfly Headquarters in Japan has cut off many international distributors and implemented draconian foreign sales restrictions on the chosen few distributors they kept. Yes, it's still possible to get Tackiness Chop 1.1mm, Tackiness Drive 1.5mm, Tenergy in 1.7mm or a Grubba Carbon with a straight handle, but now it's even more expensive and take a long time for delivery.



Someone please tell Shunsaku Yamada, Managing Director of Tamasu Co., Ltd (a.k.a. Butterfly) to stop being a propeller head and start distributing his products correctly.

Why is it so hard for Butterfly to make the products people want to buy easily available in North America?

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The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
Table Tennis Video Links: itTV | laola1.tv | ttbl | fftt | Challenger Series | mnnb-tv

My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

This bat was used in the recent ITTF Tour Grand Final.

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The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
Table Tennis Video Links: itTV | laola1.tv | ttbl | fftt | Challenger Series | mnnb-tv

My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

GRRRRR, NO JOOLA TIMELESS AGAIN

It HAS to come tomorrow. What did come today is a new USATT magazine. Here's my favorite USATT Mag feature, "The Junkyard" by Rich Burnside, alongside some filler from Larry Hodges.

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The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
Table Tennis Video Links: itTV | laola1.tv | ttbl | fftt | Challenger Series | mnnb-tv

My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

A bat with both sides red?????????? Were they different types of rubber? I know it would still be against the rules.....but wow.

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Happy Holidays 'round the world!

I thought the other side was just a red sponge.

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The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
Table Tennis Video Links: itTV | laola1.tv | ttbl | fftt | Challenger Series | mnnb-tv

My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

Hm, it's hard to tell. I thought I saw pips there just at the edge. But whatever the case, it's not really legal.

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Happy Holidays 'round the world!

The Long Pips 101 article seems to be an old one.. I'm sure I've read this (and had a little chucke ) quite some time ago.

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OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
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ITTF HOPES NAME CHANGE WILL PUT PEOPLE IN SEATS

The ITTF has changed the name of it's professional circuit, formerly known as the "ITTF Pro Tour." It will now be known as the "ITTF World Tour." How this will translate into anything tangible remains to be seen. Maybe the hope is that people will mistake the "Lady Gaga World Tour" with the "ITTF World Tour" and buy tickets. Worth a try.

TIMELESS WAIT FOR JOOLA TIMELESS

Unbelievable. I ordered Joola Timeless on November 21. Still not here even though it's been in the country since at least Monday (and it probably sat there for a week before it was even scanned). Now there have been four days no further tracking updates. This rubber had better be worth all the aggravation.

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The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
Table Tennis Video Links: itTV | laola1.tv | ttbl | fftt | Challenger Series | mnnb-tv

My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

This is cool.

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The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
Table Tennis Video Links: itTV | laola1.tv | ttbl | fftt | Challenger Series | mnnb-tv

My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics