David Chan

Walking down the third-floor hallway of the high-rise Newport Beach hotel Monday afternoon, Elsa Ramon was so nervous she began to sweat. "Why am I doing this?" she wondered as she scanned the doors, looking for Room 309. The 18-year-old UC Irvine drama major said she had spent a month debating what to do. In fact, she said that at the last minute she had all but decided to back out, until some guys in her campus dorm encouraged her to go ahead.

Walking down the third-floor hallway of the high-rise Newport Beach hotel Monday afternoon, Elsa Ramon was so nervous she began to sweat. "Why am I doing this?" she wondered as she scanned the doors, looking for Room 309. The 18-year-old UC Irvine drama major said she had spent a month debating what to do. In fact, she said that at the last minute she had all but decided to back out, until some guys in her campus dorm encouraged her to go ahead.

A group of Stanford students said they will try to keep Playboy magazine photographer David Chan from photographing women students for the periodical's "Girls of the Pac-10" layout.

Only two Orange County swimmers qualified for the finals at the Southern Section Division III meet Saturday at the Belmont Plaza pool in Long Beach. Pacifica's Jeff Maddox won the 500 freestyle, upsetting Mike Soria of Santa Fe Springs Sante Fe. Maddox's time of 4:39.61, was three seconds faster than Soria. Maddox also took second in the 200 individual medley, finishing in 1:57.59. David Chan of Ridgecrest Burroughs was first in 1:52.81.

Raphael, Michaelangelo, Donatello and Leonardo--a.k.a. the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"--are back in action. The sequel to New Line Cinema's big hit (domestic gross: more than $121 million) is set to go before the cameras in October for Golden Harvest. This time out, the budget's $20 million--up from the $12 million for "Turtles I." "We want to give the film bigger production values and better sets," says producer David Chan. "We want it to be even more entertaining.

In the six seasons since UCLA left the Coliseum, the home team has won 5 of 6 of the USC-UCLA encounters. The only time the home team lost was in 1983, when USC had a sub-par 4-6-1 team. In the last four games, the home team has played way over its head, beating the point spread by at least 11 points on each occasion. As long as there is any semblance of parity between USC and UCLA football, I think the visiting team will not be very victorious in the future. DAVID R. CHAN Los Angeles

The U.S. Tennis Assn. men's national 50-55 hardcourt championships will begin today at the Lindborg Racquet Club in Huntington Beach. Doubles play begins today and singles start Tuesday. The event will feature more than 150 players from the United States. Scheduled to compete are Dick Leach, Bob Duesler and Jim Nelson, three of the top-ranked players in the 50-55 division. The finals for doubles and singles will be July 21.

Tired of the dissonance of urban life? If so, check out Sunday's final round of the 1990 Pasadena Instrumental Competition--an evening of youth and talent guaranteed to be music to your ears. The Garland Theater of Polytechnic School will be filled with the sounds of youthful virtuosity as 10 budding artists, between the ages of 16 and 23, vie for $16,000 in cash prizes and an opportunity to perform with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

They came, they buzzed, they answered. Edison High School's five-member Scholar Bowl team took home a $2,500 prize and national trivia bragging rights this week after capturing a prestigious tournament of academic quiz champions in Washington. Among the questions that turned the tide in a tense 45-minute contest against a Charleston, S.C., team: "Imaginary mass can travel faster than light. What are these theoretical particles called?"

The king of kung fu cinema is set to star in a new movie about China's famed shrine of martial arts, the Shaolin Temple. Jackie Chan will star in the $29-million production, "Shaolin," the latest screen portrayal of the 1,500-year-old temple in central China whose famous fighting monks have featured in films by stars such as Bruce Lee and Jet Li, and in the 1970s TV series "Kung Fu" with David Carradine. Chan's Chinese-language film will costar veteran Hong Kong actor Andy Lau, actor-singer Nicholas Tse and Chinese actress Fan Bingbing.