Baller-in-Chief

(From Kiki Ryan for Politico.com)

Most past presidents have had a sport of choice: Richard Nixon loved to bowl and installed the White House bowling alley; Bill Clinton played golf; John F. Kennedy liked touch football; George W. Bush was a mountain biker. And while basketball may be thought of as President Barack Obama’s main game, a look at the first 18 months of his presidency (and a little bit before) reveals that he’s quite the athlete-in-chief — his wife and kids are pretty sporty, too.

Here, POLITICO takes a look at the Obamas’ sporting life.

Basketball:

Obama, a power forward, often shoots hoops on the South Lawn of the White House, where he had a basketball court specially installed. He’s played with his staff, including former Duke basketball player Reggie Love, his daughters, and members of his administration — like the 6-foot-5-inch Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

The family has taken in a number of basketball games as spectators, too. Obama was at the Verizon Center in January to catch the Duke-Georgetown game (he even visited announcers in the CBS booth). Shortly after moving into the White House, he caught his hometown team, the Chicago Bulls, play the Washington Wizards at the arena. More recently, Obama had a basketball double-header: he caught Washington’s WNBA team, the Mystics, at the Verizon Center with Sasha (who wore the team’s jersey) after playing a game of his own with an Army team at Fort McNair.

Obama’s love of the game is apparently contagious. While in Los Angeles in June, the first lady took her mother and daughters to watch the Lakers play in Game Six of the NBA Finals. (Sasha and Malia brought home a jersey signed by Lakers coach Phil Jackson for Father’s Day.)

And don’t forget Obama’s brother-in-law, Craig Robinson, the head coach at Oregon State University. The entire family watched the Beavers take on George Washington University in November.

Tennis:

Both FLOTUS and POTUS like to volley.

While appearing on “The Jay Leno Show” last October, Michelle told Leno that there’s nothing about Barack that bothers her, calling him “perfect.” Except for one thing: when he beats her at tennis. “He beats me quite often,” she said. “That gets to be pretty annoying.”

The competition between the couple most certainly comes out on vacation. Last month, while vacationing in Maine, the first family visited the Bar Harbor Club to hit the court. During their vacation last summer on Martha’s Vineyard, the family played on the private tennis court nestled into their rental property. In Hawaii last Christmas, the first couple played at the Kailua Racquet Club, too.

Daughters Sasha and Malia resisted tennis at first, Michelle Obama recently told Ladies’ Home Journal. “But now they’re starting to get better, and they actually like it,” she said.

When not playing with the family, Michelle has also played on several occasions with her chief of staff—and pal—Susan Sher. (And since we’re on the topic, her garden even contains tennis ball lettuces.)

Baseball:

Safe to say Obama’s arms are better at throwing up three-pointers than tossing out pitches. In April, President Obama threw the first pitch at Nationals Park “a little high and outside,” as he described it. Last summer, at the All-Star game, he also threw a ceremonial pitch: the ball barely made it to the plate.

Still, he’s a fan. Obama frequently wears Chicago White Sox gear—even when the Nationals are involved. He wore his Sox cap for his pitch in April; in June, he cheered on the South Side Chicago team, again wearing his cap, as they played the Nats.

Michelle Obama seems to like the sport too. She and Jill Biden joined Yogi Berra as he threw out the opening pitch at Game 1 of the World Series last year. FLOTUS has also visited Camden Yards in Baltimore, where she pitched and caught and hung out with kids at a “Let’s Move” event.

Golf:

Obama may not be as golf-crazed as some presidents, but as of last month, he’d played 41 rounds since taking office. During a two-month stretch earlier this year, he played golf eight out of nine weekends. While in Washington, he heads to the course at Andrews Air Force Base, often with White House Trip Director Marvin Nicholson. And as with tennis, he uses his vacation time to play, too. He hit the green multiple times in Hawaii over Christmas and last summer in Martha’s Vineyard.

Soccer:

It’s fair to call Obama a soccer dad. He and Michelle are frequently spotted on the weekends cheering on both daughters, who play here in town.

Bowling:

Actually, let’s not go there. Who can forget Obama’s dismal game during the Pennsylvania primary, when he bowled a 37 with repeated gutter balls? That’s one sport Obama should drop.

(More Photos.)

(From David Saltonstall for the New York Daily News Online)

Egan-Chin/News
President Obama plays golf at Farm Neck Golf Club on Martha’s Vineyard on Monday.

OAK BLUFFS, Mass. – President Obama has been known to talk some trash on the basketball court, but on the golf course he leaves pride behind.

“I just want to say ahead of time that I am terrible,” the First Duffer told a crowd of onlookers Monday as he began his vacation on celebrity-studded Martha’s Vineyard with a round of golf. “Thank you.”

With that, Obama stepped up to the first tee at the Farm Neck Golf Club, took two casual practice swings, then clubbed his drive a solid 200 yards or more – and into the woods left of the fairway.

The crowd cheered anyway, and Obama – dressed in a black golf shirt, brown pants, a beige cap and two-tone golf shoes – acknowledged his gallery with a small bow.

“Look at that – no mulligan,” one woman exclaimed after Obama – said to be a stickler for the rules – declined to take a do-over.

Obama golfs regularly, but almost never in front of an audience. Experts on hand for Monday’s rare peek at his form declared themselves impressed – to a point.

“He has a naturally athletic golf swing, very well-coordinated,” said Farm Neck golf pro Michael Zoll, a PGA member who watched Obama warm up. “He does what few golfers do, and that is he trusts his wrists at the top of his backswing. And he generates a lot of club head speed not by trying to muscle the ball, but as a result of the natural timing he has.”

On the other hand . . .

“He did push the ball to the left,” noted Zoll, “and that came from his picking his club up, as opposed to swinging his arms more freely. . . . That kept the club face slightly open at impact.”

Left unknown was the President’s final score Monday in a round that included included UBS CEO Robert Wolf, Chicago pal Eric Whitaker and White House aide Marvin Nicholson. Once the foursome left the first tee, Secret Service agents kept the public and the press away.

Obama’s sporting day also included a round of tennis with First Lady Michelle Obama at the family’s rented 28-acre compound.

The President has no calls or meetings on his schedule at the moment, presidential spokesman Bill Burton said, but he is staying up-to-date with developments on the economy, health care and foreign policy.

Burton hit back at Republican critics who said Obama should forgo his week-long vacation when many Americans are struggling economically.

“As I recall, the previous President took quite a bit of vacation time himself, and I don’t think anyone bemoaned that,” Burton told reporters, referring to George W. Bush’s month-long summer getaways. “I think it’s important for the President, as with anybody, to take a little time, spend time with his family, and recharge his batteries.”

Obama’s plan for the week is not to have one, Burton said. “You know, he’s on vacation, so everything is a little bit loose,” Burton said. “You know, you wake up, you have some breakfast, you work out and then you decide, oh, what do I feel like doing today? He’s doing that just like anybody else.”

Egan-Chin/News
Obama plays a lot of golf, but doesn’t often play in front of an audience.

(From FIFA.com)

FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter has just completed a hectic four-day visit to the United States. As part of his packed schedule Blatter took in the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, gave a host of interviews to the American media and enjoyed a private audience with US President Barack Obama.

No sooner did Blatter step off the plane at New York’s Teterboro Airport on Friday afternoon than he began his demanding round of engagements, attending the Gold Cup gala dinner, the prelude to Sunday’s final. Just a few hours earlier Mexico made sure of their place in the showpiece match by beating Costa Rica on penalties, with hosts USA joining them courtesy of an altogether more predictable 2-0 defeat of Honduras.

Blatter spent the whole of Saturday and Sunday morning talking to both the national and international media, with MLS among the many subjects up for discussion. “It is our wish for the United States to have a strong championship,” commented the FIFA President before adding, “The US Soccer Federation might want to think about changing the MLS calendar to make it a more attractive league. All we can do though is make suggestions.”

The press also took great interest in Blatter’s meeting with Barack Obama, scheduled for Monday. “I know he has quite a few people around him who are big football fans and who will be doing everything in their power so that he can attend the opening ceremony of this major event,” said the President of world football’s governing body in reference to the invitation he extended to President Obama in June to attend the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™.

In particular, he was very interested in the development plans and using football for development, especially in the areas of education and health.

Joseph S. Blatter on Barack Obama.

The American media also asked Blatter several questions about the bids to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and 2022. Remaining impartial, he refused to make any comment.

After lunching with the Swiss Ambassador to the United Nations Peter Maurer, he made his way to the venue for Sunday’s Gold Cup final, the new 82,500-capacity Giants Stadium, part of the Meadowlands Complex. Just before the match got under way, Blatter made the symbolic gesture of scoring the first ever goal at the stadium.

When the match kicked off, however, the Americans failed to follow the FIFA President’s example and were swept aside by their Mexican opponents, who scored five second-half goals without reply to win the title in style. Gerardo Torrado, Giovanni dos Santos, Carlos Vela, Jose Antonio Castro and Guillermo Franco were the men on the scoresheet.

Afterwards the FIFA delegation, which also comprised FIFA vice-president and CONCACAF President Jack A. Warner, FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke and USSF President Sunil Gulati, boarded a plane for Washington for Monday’s audience with President Obama, scheduled for 14.00 hours local time. Following a meeting lasting half an hour, where numerous topics were discussed, Blatter declared that he was: “impressed by the enthusiasm of President Barack Obama. We talked about Africa, and the World Cup in South Africa. In particular, he was very interested in the development plans and using football for development, especially in the areas of education and health.”"

In an Official Statement from the White House, President Obama “complimented FIFA on their efforts to incorporate community service, education and public health projects into their plans for staging the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.” The President of United States of America also thanked “Mr. Blatter for inviting [me] to attend next year’s event” and said he “hoped [my] schedule would allow him to do so.”