Obama plays hoops with NBA stars
President Barack Obama wrapped up his 49th birthday bash with perhaps the ultimate gift for a basketball fan.
Someone arranged for Obama to play hoops with a “dream team” of NBA stars — past and present – (and UConn Huskies superstar Maya Moore) at Fort McNair, a short distance from the White House.
It was a private game, meaning the White House press pool was not allowed into the gym to capture images. But we’re told Carmelo Anthony, Derek Fisher, Dwyane Wade, Grant Hill, LeBron James, “Magic” Johnson, Alonzo Mourning, Bill Russell, and David West were among those in the lineup. Kobe Bryant was there too, but didn’t play.
Those who did suit up played before an audience of wounded soldiers and teenagers in a White House mentoring program. But there was no word on who made Obama’s team or who won.
After the game, it was back to the White House for a barbecue on the South Lawn with Gulf shrimp on the menu.
Having guests dine on seafood from the Gulf of Mexico may be part of a White House effort to reassure anxious coastal communities worried about their livelihoods in the wake of the BP oil spill.
Obama has been encouraging tourists to go to the Gulf Coast to help revive the local economy. The first family has plans to vacation on Florida’s Gulf coast this weekend.
Obama weighs in on big controversies – no DH, Duke and UConn
Perhaps emboldened by his successful push to overhaul the U.S. healthcare industry, President Barack Obama waded bravely into some of America’s other great debates, declaring himself an opponent of Major League Baseball’s use of the designated hitter, picking Duke University to win the men’s college basketball championship on Monday and the University of Connecticut to take the women’s college basketball crown on Tuesday.
“Even though I am an American league guy, I gotta admit that I am a baseball purist,” Obama said after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the Washington Nationals’ baseball team’s first game of the season.
“I think no DH makes more sense. Have everybody out there playing, doing what they’re supposed to be doing,” he said, during an appearance with the Nationals’ television broadcasters.
Obama is a fan of his hometown Chicago’s White Sox, a team in Major League Baseball’s American League. In the American league, pitchers do not take turns at bat. Teams instead have a “designated hitter,” the DH, who does not take a turn in the field. In the National League, pitchers take turns at bat and are virtually always by far the weakest batters on their teams.
The American League has been using the DH since 1973, and the issue has been the subject of countless barroom debates by fans.
Obama criticized his ceremonial pitch when the Nationals broadcasters showed a tape of it. “This is heartbreaking right here. Released it a little high, a little early,” Obama jokingly lamented. “What breaks your heart on these is you’re down there practicing… throwing strikes. You come out here, the thing slips out of your hands a little bit. You know, it’s heartbreaking,” he said.
Obama eyes a new job: sportscaster
Sportscasters, beware. In a few years – three or seven, to be exact – President Barack Obama may want your job.
The basketball-playing prez took the afternoon off on Saturday to attend a game between Georgetown and Duke universities.
Part way through the second half, he took a turn at the announcers’ table to provide commentary on the college basketball game.
“Obviously, two great teams,” he said – keeping a polite neutrality as he started.
Asked for commentary on the replay of one of the player’s moves, Obama jumped right in: “This was a terrific spin move and he didn’t get any help coming back.” That drew praise from the professional announcers there.
“After retirement, I’m coming after your job,” Obama quipped. “You either have three more years or seven,” he said, covering himself in case he wins a second presidential term.
Now a U.S. senator, Scott Brown is ready to take on Obama
Fresh from a stunning election victory that shook the confidence of the national Democratic Party, Scott Brown says he’s ready for a showdown with President Barack Obama — on the basketball court. Brown, known only a few weeks ago as a dude with a truck, says he challenged Obama to hoops when the two spoke by telephone on the night the Massachusetts Republican won Teddy Kennedy’s dyed-in-the-wool-Democratic-blue seat in the U.S. Senate. “The only time I spoke to him was election night and I did challenge him to pick his best, and I’ll take my daughter Ayla who plays for Boston College, and we’d challenge him to a little 2-on-2. I think we’d have the upper hand,” Brown said in an interview with TV comedian Jay Leno. “He looks like he’s in great shape. It’d certainly be a tough game,” he said. Brown didn’t mention how the president responded. Obama, a hard-core hoophead, has shot baskets on the campaign trail, with U.S. troops in the field and with kids on the South Lawn of the White House. At 48, he would have a two-year advantage over the 50-year-old Brown. But as Sports Illustrated magazine notes, the president can’t dunk and doesn’t have a hoopster nickname. Brown does have a nickname. At Tufts University, he was known as “Downtown Scotty Brown,” possibly for his long-distance jumpshots. And that’s not all. In a given week, Brown told Leno, he swims close to 2 miles, bikes about 95 and runs 15 or 20 miles.
If Obama’s really looking for ways to reach out to Republicans, a friendly game of basketball might make a nice change from all the ankle-tripping, elbow-jabbing, floorboard-thumping contests on Capitol Hill.
Photo Credits: Reuters/Brian Snyder (Brown Victory); Reuters/Mario Anzuoni (Leno); Reuters/Jim Young (Obama and Young Hoopster)
Scott Brown can`t hold a candle to President Obama. Scott Brown would fare much better in a nude matchup for Playgirl with Levi Johnston,( Bristol Palin`s baby daddy )…. Obama is much too intelligent for the likes of Scott Brown, or any other of those right wing knuckle dragging neanderthals . After the drubbing Obama gave those idiots at that republican retreat, it`s no wonder the party of NO, hitches their wagons to light weight untelligent fools like Sarah Palin,and Joe the Plumber.
Schumer calls foul on Adidas’ NBA uniform plan
New York Senator Chuck Schumer has called a foul on German sports equipment giant Adidas AG and its plans to shift production of official National Basketball Association uniforms to Thailand from a factory in upstate New York.
In a statement, Schumer said the shift could cut some 100 jobs at American Classic Outfitters in Perry, New York, which has made official NBA gear for about 40 years.
“It is flat wrong for Adidas to move the production of the jerseys worn by NBA players outside the United States when there are U.S. companies that have done this work so well for so long,” the Democratic lawmaker said in a statement.
“To do it in this economic climate adds insult to injury,” he added. “The jerseys the NBA players wear should be made in the USA, plain and simple.”
Adidas told ACO several weeks ago that it was canceling a contract that started in 2008 and was supposed to run through the end of 2014, according to The Buffalo News.
The company said in a statement the shift in production was part of a supply-chain consolidation, to move production closer to the source of the fabrics now being used.
About half of the NBA’s game-day jerseys have been made in Perry, along with uniforms worn by the WNBA and teams in the NBA’s farm leagues.
Did he not get the memo that the Commish has always wanted to establish NBA teams outside of North America?And the senator probably forgot about the Raptors when he said the jerseys worn by NBA players must be made in the USA.
Hoop Dreams: Obama puts on full-court press at White House
Forget about Afghanistan, healthcare and the economy. President Barack Obama took time out on Thursday to indulge in his favorite sport as he hosted cabinet members and lawmakers for a round of pickup games on the White House basketball court.
It was the biggest day of hoop dreams at the White House since Obama took office, and reporters disappointed at being kept away went one-on-one with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs before the opening tip-off.
As for why were journalists being barred: “To protect the privacy and the statistics of any of those involved,” he quipped at his daily briefing.
As for who would referee between political friends and foes: “I assume they call their own fouls, which I’m sure is a point of contention at any given point,” Gibbs said.
As for why no women made the cut: “The point is well taken,” Gibbs said, conceding that as the father of two young daughters Obama would have to seek gender equality next time.
The roster included Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, and 11 members of Congress, including two Republicans.
Earlier in the day, Obama also dropped by to watch a game on the White House court played by the Marine Wounded Warrior basketball team from the National Naval Medical Center.
More pictures of President Obama Playing basketball at Image Overflow
Confucius? No, Yao Ming
Instead of a cultural icon, well-known author or scholar, President Barack Obama sought the advice of … a basketball player as he talked of the importance of strong U.S.-Chinese economic ties.
In a speech opening the Strategic Economic Dialogue between the United States and China, Obama — an avid basketball fan and player — quoted China’s most popular sports star and Houston Rockets center, Yao Ming.
Obama said he and Chinese President Hu Jintao both agreed the two nations needed to hold “sustained dialogue to enhance our shared interests.”
Then he went for the analogy.
“As a new President and also as a basketball fan, I have learned from the words of Yao Ming, who said, ‘No matter whether you are new or an old team member, you need time to adjust to one another.’”
“Well, through the constructive meetings that we’ve already had, and through this dialogue, I’m confident that we will meet Yao’s standard.”
Wonder if it makes a difference that the seven-time All Star just had foot surgery which will rule him out for the whole next NBA season?
NCAA mystery: Why did Obama change his pick?
Call it the March Madness Mystery – why did President Barack Obama change his pick of which college basketball team would win the NCAA tournament?
Obama, an avid basketball fan and recreational player, first chose Pittsburgh to go into the semifinal against Louisville, which he predicted would win the whole thing.
But then something changed his mind. He scratched out Pittsburgh, wrote in North Carolina to play against Louisville and then changed his choice of tournament winner to the Tarheels.
What does he know that we don’t? What made him switch from having no confidence that North Carolina would even reach the semifinals to full confidence they would be the champions?
In earlier plays, Obama also switched to Tennessee from Oklahoma, to Florida State from Xavier, to VCU from UCLA, and to Oklahoma from Clemson.
He did the picks on a board that carried the presidential seal and title “Presidential Bracket,” according to ESPN.com.
Wonder what team Obama would have chosen if Oregon State were in the bracket, after all that’s where his brother-in-law is a basketball coach.
Concerned Mom: As a mom, you know what it takes to manage a 16 hour day, keeping both private and semi-private concerns going. It ain’t easy. Try planning a planet. its a great sign of mental health that he can take 12 minutes of his life to pay attention to a sport he loves. Its those things that make people who they are and give them their momentary diversions into self-ness (which in small doses is at least as important as 24-7 selflessness if we want our leaders to be sane).
Britain’s Brown probes Obama on possible tennis match
We all know that Barack Obama knows his way around the basketball court. He also has a decent golf swing. But what about tennis?
That is one of the things British Prime Minister Gordon Brown inquired about during his first visit to the Oval Office since Obama took over the presidency on Jan. 20. Tom Bradby of ITV News asked them how they found working with each other.
PRIME MINISTER BROWN: Yes, Tom, I’ve enjoyed every conversation that we’ve had, both on the telephone and when we’ve met. I don’t think I could ever compete with you at basketball — perhaps tennis.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Tennis, I hear you got a game.
PRIME MINISTER BROWN: Yes, we could maybe have a — have a shot.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: We haven’t tried it yet.
PRIME MINISTER BROWN: I don’t know if you — I think you’d be better. But there we are.
The photo was taken very excellently. That shows how close and warm between the US and UK. So attractive.
Team Obama does what Chicago Bulls couldn’t – win
Team Obama accomplished Saturday what the president’s beloved Chicago Bulls basketball team was unable to do the night before: win. President Barack Obama played basketball in the morning at the newly renovated Interior Department court with friends and staff, including Chicago pal Marty Nesbitt, press aide Ben Finkenbinder and Reggie Love, who serves as Obama’s personal assistant and Saturday also carried the basketball. White House officials declined to comment on details of the outing. ”The president enjoys playing basketball when possible. This was a private game with friends and some staff,” one administration official said. One of the players on Obama’s team, however, said the president’s side had won the game. The president left the White House wearing track pants, a black jacket, running shoes and his White Sox baseball cap for the five-block motorcade to the Interior Department. The game was played on the department’s newly renovated basketball court, one of the original amenities of the 72-year-old building. The court was recently renovated and its massive skylight was uncovered and restored during the work. Friday night the president took in the Chicago Bulls-Washington Wizards basketball game played at the Verizon Center sitting courtside opposite the Wizards bench. The Bulls lost 113-90. For more Reuters political news, click here Photo credit: Reuters/Molly Riley (Obama watches Bulls-Wizards basketball game Friday)
