Maybe you already knew Bears rookie linebacker Brian Urlacher used to lift weights everyday at 6:30 a.m. -- in the fifth grade. Or that he drank chocolate milk in high school, instead of Stroh's (like the rest of us) or that he hides his eyes during the birthing classes he and his wife, Laurie, attend each Tuesday night. (The couple is expecting their first child next month.) But did you know, as I discovered while working on QB Killaz, that Urlacher, the uber-backer, lives and dies for ... cracking skulls? ... maiming backs? ... scaring old ladies? ... ping-pong.

Yes, I said ping-pong.

The guy is crazy for it. Plays non-stop. Plays all out -- as in he'll dive into the drywall if need be. And he hates to lose. Oh how he hates to lose. When we talked a few weeks ago inside Halas Hall, Urlacher was still smarting over a recent defeat -- still twisting and crunching his fitted Bears cap in his hands over the loss. "I still just can't, I just can't, just can't believe it," said Urlacher. He says it caused his overall record to plummet to roughly 500-3. (Or 500-3-0-0-0-0, if the NHL is keeping track.) And this is not counting the games he played during a recent charity event in Chicago against several national champions from the Far East -- including the Korean national champ, who "beat the hell out of me," he says.

It makes you wonder, right? If a guy gets this worked up over ping-pong, imagine what he's like on the football field. (I suppose we could just ask Jerry Wunsch.) But isn't this what they say about all the greats? Jordan. Woods. Elway. Doesn't matter if it's the Masters or Old Maid -- if you're keeping score, these guys will beat your brains in. Urlacher is no different. During one Little League game, his brother Casey cranked a double off him. So the next time up, Urlacher beaned him.

Recently, the Urlachers bought a new home in a suburb of Chicago. As Laurie filled each room with new furniture, Urlacher had to drag his beloved ping-pong table from room to room until it finally wound up in the garage. "I was kind of hoping it would stay in the dining room with the chandelier," Urlacher said.

He was joking.

I think.

David Fleming writes football for ESPN The Magazine. Check out his column every week at espnmag.com.