Ping Ping. Wiff whaff. Gossmia. Call it what you want but the Rams at Texas Wesleyan University call it table tennis and they’re pretty good too.

“We have a good team,” said Andreas Ball, one of the Rams top table tennis players. “We don’t have to fear any opponent. If we play at our best we can compete with anybody.”

They’ve won numerous national titles in men’s, women’s and mixed, but since the sport isn’t huge in the United States the roster resembles something you’d find at the United Nations. Not Fort Worth.

“They speak Spanish or German or Croatian like myself and another player, but we try to encourage everyone to speak in English when everyone is together,” said Jasna Rather, the Rams Head Coach.

And one of Rather’s best players is China native Sara Hazinski.

“I started when I was in China at the age of seven and I think my dad pushed me really hard to be good,” said Hazinski.

And Andreas Ball represents Germany. So what does he think of Dallas’ most famous German Dirk Nowitzki?

“I’m a big fan of Dirk Nowitzki obviously,” said Ball.

Schools like Ohio State, Stanford and Harvard come to mind when talking about the top table tennis programs in the country so how does NAIA Texas Wesleyan keep winning every year?

“We have to go around the United States and internationally to different tournaments to recruit our top players,” said Rather.

And the age old question why call the sport table tennis and not ping pong?

“Table tennis or ping pong it doesn’t matter,” said Rather. “It’s a fun game and it’s good for anybody to try to play.”

And at Texas Wesleyan, to win.

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Electric go karts are turning wheels in Frisco.

“They’re really, really fast but they don’t use gas,” said Robert Finley, Co-Owner of Pole Position Raceway.

Pole Position Raceway originally started in California in 2005.  Now, the company has seven locations across the country, and their newest electric kart racetrack just opened.

“The concept was, let’s do indoor karting like we’ve never done before,” said Finley. “It was always done with gas powered go karts. These are electric battery powered go karts.“

Don’t let the electric karts fool you.  Their torque and acceleration are arguably better than any gas kart out there and even the biggest race fanatics say their power is impressive.

“It’s better than the gasoline powered ones, which is shocking to me because I’ve been driving gasoline engines my whole life,” said customer Michael Arden.

“Actually coming in I thought electric go karts, forty five miles an hour there’s no way they can go that fast,” said Brantley Price, employee of Pole Position Raceway.  ”But then after I’ve been in the seat of these at least ten times, every time it’s an adrenaline rush.”

Finley is excited to see so many people enjoying the new concept, and he’s already announcing plans of a new track in North Texas.

“The goal is in about ninety days we’re going to start breaking ground on another one over in on the west side toward Fort Worth near maybe Southlake,” said Finley.

Finley says it’s been hard work opening the Frisco track, but he’s not complaining.

“I’m having a blast,” said Finley. “It’s not work when you’re having fun everyday.”

And he says his goal is to make sure everyone at Pole Position Raceway is having as much fun as he is.

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After Will Rosellini left the world of professional sports, he dedicated himself to science, a passion developed while watching some of the world’s best pitchers.

“I was curious how they could throw with the accuracy of a quarter of an inch, but I could only throw with the accuracy of three to four inches,” said Rosellini, CEO of MicroTransponder.

The former professional baseball player realized this tiny difference related to the nervous system.  That discovery led him to start MicroTransponder, a company developing solutions to treat neurological disorders.

“What we’ve found in clinical studies is that by applying electricity to the vagus nerve we can open up a window in the brain with neurotransmitters that allow us to drive the brain to pay attention and learn faster,” said Rosellini.

MicroTransponder and research partner UT Dallas have quickly discovered their findings could potentially help people with a particular disorder.

“The place where that’s been immediately successful and applicable would be in the treatment of Tinnitus,” said Rosellini.

Tinnitus is not an ordinary ringing of the ears.  It’s constant and can reach unbearable decibels, affecting the way of life for people like Phillip Lofton who suffers from Tinnitus.

“Because you suffer alone and nobody else can hear it, it’s hard for my family members and friends to understand it never, ever goes away,” said Lofton.

For twenty years Lofton has battled Tinnitus. The noise he hears has been measured at decibels equaling a jet engine. To Rosellini, that sound is a reminder of why he’s working so hard.

“For nearly two million people the tinnitus is so bad it affects them at work and for 15% of people of Tinnitus sufferers they’re emotionally disturbed by the suffering,” said Rosellini.

MicroTransponder has seen successful results on human patients in Belgium, and they are currently raising funds to be approved in the United States.

“For smaller companies that are doing medical products, we need to raise on the order of ten to twelve million dollars to get our product approved by the FDA,” said Rosellini.

Although MicroTransponder is in the early stages of fundraising and treatment, the company has big plans.

“We intend to restore or enhance the nervous system of one million patients worldwide,” said Rosellini.

And as long as he still suffers, Lofton says he wants to help find a solution.

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Professional bodybuilder Stephen Frazier knows a Christmas card goes a long way in spreading holiday cheer and on Saturday Frazier and several clients took a break from lifting weights in Grand Prairie and instead focused on lifting hearts. In just a few hours, Frazier and his team delivered bags to a homeless shelter in Fort Worth.

“Everyone contributed just great,” said Frazier, Owner of SGP Fitness.  ”We have tons of bags. I think it’s going to make a big difference.”

This idea wouldn’t be possible without Cindy Rodriguez, and she couldn’t help but smile while filling each bag with socks, gloves, hats, and other simple items that are sometimes easy to take for granted.

“Sometimes I get in a funk and I complain and than I think  it could be worse,” said Rodriguez. “I could not have a place to sleep or a car or a great job so I think this kind of helps people to remember you need to be grateful for what you have.”

Frazier is no stranger to charity. He’s donated countless hours to giving back and urges members of his gym to do the same. He started SGP Fitness five years ago and since then he’s come to love teaching others to live healthier lives whether it be through lifting weights or providing for those less fortunate during the holidays. It took most of the afternoon to top off all the bags and when the moment arrived in downtown Fort Worth it took just a few minutes to pass them all out. Some people took their bag and left. Others stayed to say thank you.

“I’m thankful and blessed,” said Junior Patterson.

And next year these homeless men and women can expect another visit from Frazier and his team.

“We’ll do better next year,” said Frazier. “I always say get up and do something. Just do more.”

It’s proof a little goes a long way and sometimes it starts with just a simple Christmas Card inside a bag.

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It was Dallas Mavericks Media Day and with the addition of Vince Carter and Lamar Odom the team is excited for the season to start on Christmas day.

“I’m fired up,” said Mavericks Forward Dirk Nowitzki. “It’s been a long summer kind of with a lot of uncertainty. You didn’t know what was going to happen so I was obviously pleased to see that we found an agreement that’s decent for both sides. Now we can go back to playing some hoops and defending our title.”

“Sixty six games in a hundred and twenty three days so if you have a deep team like we do now it definitely could help,” said Mavericks Guard Jason Kidd.

“We have good team,” said Mavericks Forward Vince Carter. “We have a good nucleus of guys here whose won championships around here. I’m just glad to be a part of it.”

“It’s going to be a lot of games coming,” said Nowitzki. “A lot of nights so we’re going to need everybody to contribute on certain nights. We have a fun group. A veteran group. I’m looking forward to it.”

“After a long lockout which no one wanted but it happened so we’re excited,” said Dallas Mavericks Jason Terry. “What better day to get things started then on Christmas? We’re going to drop the banner on them and on the Heat.”

The Mavericks know they have a lot of work to do to get back to the playoffs but it’s clear repeat is on most people’s mind who are looking for this team to succeed. It’s no easy task and it all starts at the American Airlines Center less then two weeks from today.

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Pat Smith is the wife of NFL Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith. She is a mother of five, entrepreneur and philanthropist that is building a community of women with one call to action –  to Treasure You.

Smith was the first African American woman to win the Miss Virginia USA title and first runner-up in the 1994 Miss USA Pageant. Through all that achievement Smith’s world was crumbling around her. While preparing for the competition, Smith lost her mother to breast cancer. It was that loss that inspired her to begin mentoring women to achieve their dreams.

Through local television segments, social media and her Treasure You website, Smith’s organization is serving as a vehicle to help women in their journey to discover self worth. Smith recently hosted over one hundred women from all over the country at the Westin Stonebriar Resort in Frisco, Texas for her second retreat.

“Literally I have women that I’ve never met before who love the concept, stepped out on faith and came,” said Pat Smith. “They didn’t know anyone here. It just shows you that as women we need that.”

One of the many Treasure You moments Smith had planned included a private screening of the movie ‘I don’t Know How She Does It.’

“The trip on the bus was a total surprise and then the red carpet,” said Treasure You Participant Norvella Hayes. “We are getting treated like royalty. I love it!“

“Melani Ismail is a really good friend and she really thought I could benefit from Treasure You and really encouraged me to come and so far I have not been disappointed,” said Treasure You Participant Dawn Nuefield.

“I haven’t been the same since my first Treasure You Retreat so I’ve told them I really don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Smith. “It’s like a roller coaster ride but I know in the end their going to be so inspired and their going to be touched.”

Smith says she is already working on the next retreat and has hopes for Treasure You’s impact to expand to women not only across the nation but around the world.

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