(From Sekou Smith’s Hangtime Blog via NBA Fanvoice Online)

Who would you take in a game of H-O-R-S-E between Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant and the leader of the free world?

Proper etiquette suggests you go with the world’s most important (person and) basketball fan and not the world’s most important basketball player.

And since this hypotehtical competition would take place on President Barack Obama’s home turf, we’re going with the home team.

Chances are the President and Bryant won’t have time for games when the White House welcomes the Los Angeles Lakers this afternoon to honor their 2008-09 championship season.

But there’s nothing wrong with dreaming a little bit. (And here is a little video cheat sheet for the President if he does decide to take Kobe on):

Kobe’s NBA Finals Top 5 Plays
Checkout Kobe Bryant’s top 5 plays during the NBA Finals.

We could let Magic Johnson officiate. He’s one of several former Lakers greats expected to be in the visiting party, which will also include NBA officials in addition to the Lakers, their coaches and various other staff members.

This is reportedly the Lakers’ third trip to the White House, they also made visits in 1985 and 2002.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson is becoming a regular on these sorts of outings, having also visited with the Bulls during their championship days.

The Kobe Bryant-led Lakers earned this visit, though. And here’s a look back at how they did it:

NBA Finals Top 10 Plays
From Dwight’s record-setting night to Fisher’s clutch three-pointer, check out all the best plays.

I don’t know what you have planned today. But I’m taking a late lunch and tuning in to NBA.com to see Kobe, Ron-Ron Artest and the rest of the Lakers invade the East Room for a visit with the President.

(From Forum Blue & Gold)

The Lakers got to meet the President Monday, and the only thing that would have made it better is weather that would have allowed it outside on the basketball court President Obama had installed at the White House. And with the way the Lakers have been playing defense lately, no doubt Obama could have dropped 20 on them.

This new ad spot, which first aired on Thanksgiving, has to be one of the best football commercials ever, and is definitely the best commercial ever involving a sitting President of the United States.

What more proof is needed that Barack Obama is the Baller-in-Chief?

From the NFL:

In support of his United We Serve initiative, President Obama and NFL stars Drew Brees, DeMarcus Ware, and Troy Polamalu team up to highlight the importance of fitness for America’s children. The NFLs Play 60 initiative stresses that young people can live a healthy lifestyle by engaging in 60 minutes of physical activity a day. The Presidents United We Serve initiative encourages all Americans to get engaged in their communities and help create a brighter future for our nations youth through service.

Look at Polamalu in the background looking as genuinely excited and playful as a little kid — priceless.

(From Elizabeth Williamson for The Wall Street Journal Online)

A Star on the Court, He’s Called a Hacker On the Course; Fans Miss the ‘Original Guy’

One day last summer, Gene Mulak, observing carnage in the sand trap, decided it was time to rescue the Leader of the Free World.

“Open the clubface more!” the golf pro yelled to President Barack Obama. A rank of bodyguards stiffened when they heard the shouting, but the commander-in-chief continued to hack away, sand flying, recalls Mr. Mulak, a resident professional at the Vineyard Golf Club in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.

Mr. Obama waved off the guards and welcomed Mr. Mulak into the pit. The pro says he gave the president tips on his golf stance and his swing, both of which were conspiring against him. “He would have had trouble getting out of any bunker in the country,” concludes Mr. Mulak.

Which all serves to deepen a mystery that has surrounded the presidency: Why has Barack Obama forsaken basketball for the links?

On the campaign trail, Mr. Obama played a mean, frequent and public game of hoops. He played outdoors and in, with pols, pros, troops in Kuwait and university kids half his age. “For people our age, it was like watching Clinton on ‘The Arsenio Hall Show,’ playing the saxophone,” says Alex Podlogar, a 34-year-old sportswriter at the Sanford Herald in Sanford, N.C.

But as president, Mr. Obama has neglected the court. He has played only seven known games of basketball since taking office, compared with 25 rounds of golf, a sport he picked up about a decade ago when he was an Illinois state senator. That’s more golf than former President George W. Bush played in two terms, according to CBS White House correspondent Mark Knoller, who tracks presidential trivia. (In 2003, Mr. Bush quit golf, saying he did so out of respect for the troops serving in Iraq. Since leaving office, he has returned to the sport, an aide says.)

And where Mr. Obama’s basketball game is showy and often televised, his golf is furtive and off-the-record. He plays with junior aides and discreet longtime friends. There’s no press allowed onto the course with him, no cameras — and few witnesses. A foursome of loyal staffers often plays out ahead of him, clearing the way and trying to ensure no one spies.

Official White House photo by Samantha Appleton
Fans say President Barack Obama has forsaken his stellar basketball game for a mediocre golf game, a sign that he’s gotten ’soft.’

The frequency and secrecy of the president’s golfing has infuriated some of his basketball fans. This love of the links can’t be for keeps, they moan, for he who plays secretly must surely play badly.

How badly? His score is a matter of “national security,” deflects David Axelrod, political adviser to the First Duffer. White House aides said playing golf gets the president outdoors more, but declined to comment further on why he appears to be favoring golf over hoops, or why members of the press haven’t been allowed to watch him tee off.

Postings by golf observers on the Web site Baller-in-Chief, which is primarily devoted to the president’s basketball game, posit a brutal answer: Mr. Obama has a golf handicap in the mid-20s, considered weak to average, and a cramped swing that’s not so pretty.

A recent anonymous posting on Golf.com comes from a golfer who claims to have caught some of the action: “I had the misfortune of being stuck in a group on the same course as the Prez and his buddies and watching them play one hole in the time it took our foursome to play 3 was painful. The only thing stopping us from telling them to pick it up was the incredibly large security detail he had with him.”

Some people dissing the president’s golf game have an agenda: They want him back on the basketball court.

“The fact that he isn’t playing [basketball]…is a metaphor for those people who think he’s gotten soft, backed off of his promises, sold out,” says Claude Johnson, Baller-in-Chief’s founder and owner of Black Fives Inc., a basketball merchandising firm in Greenwich, Conn. “When President Obama goes back to basketball, that will be a sign that we haven’t lost the original guy.”

Fifteen of the past 18 presidents have played golf, according to “First Off the Tee,” a history of presidential golf by Don Van Natta Jr. Dwight D. Eisenhower did so with military routine. John F. Kennedy was a graceful player known for lucky breaks. Bill Clinton fudged his score so often that some golfers call a mulligan — a penalty-free do-over for amateurs — a “Clinton” or “Billigan.”

Mr. Obama’s aides say the president, known for his discipline, doesn’t take mulligans and adheres to every rule on the course. When in Washington, Mr. Obama most often plays on one of two military courses, Fort Belvoir in Virginia and Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. At Andrews, the press is safely quarantined in a nearby food court.

The president isn’t all fun and games when he’s on the course. Before teeing off at the Vineyard Golf Club, for example, the noted orator couldn’t resist offering a snap address to 400 people penned in on the deck of the club house. Mr. Mulak, the golf pro, says Mr. Obama hits in one direction. “Barack generally hits his ball to the left,” he says.

Matt Lombard, a staffer in the pro shop at Mink Meadows Golf Club in Martha’s Vineyard, hoped to catch the president’s game during the Obama family vacation on the island in August. He says he was bringing golf balls down to the driving range when the Secret Service stopped him, dumped the bucket and tapped each ball with a small hammer.

Mr. Lombard was shut into the pro shop with a couple dozen other people, who saw the president tee off with a swing Mr. Lombard describes as: “Eh, not so much.” The group strained to see a presidential putt. “He took it as a gimme,” says Mr. Lombard, referring to the tradition of automatically counting the next stroke as in the hole if the ball is close enough. His conclusion: Mr. Obama “ought to play a little more basketball.”

Presidential golf ball

A day later, the president rushed through a bicycle ride with his family, then headed back to the Vineyard Golf Club, the island’s most challenging course. As Mr. Obama hacked through the grass, some 30 members of the White House press corps sat out of sight on a bus for five hours.

Mr. Mulak says he never learned Mr. Obama’s score that day, but figures he surely broke 100, an average score for a hacker on a tough course. “Solid shots — I wouldn’t say straight lasers at the pin,” he says.

Back in Washington, there are signs that the president’s basketball jones is returning.

A tennis court behind the White House has been restyled into a basketball court. Last month, Mr. Obama gave it a road test, inviting over some congressmen and cabinet members for a game.

It’s about time, says Mr. Podlogar, the North Carolina sportswriter. “Let me put it in language you might be better able to understand, Mr. President,” he wrote recently in his newspaper: “Basketball? Yes, you can. Golf? No, you can’t.”

WSJ’s Elizabeth Williamson discusses how fans of President Obama’s basketball game are lobbying to get him back on the court and off the golf course.

(From Huffington Post via Plum TV)

The Obamas touched down on Martha’s Vineyard soil Sunday afternoon, and Plum TV was there to capture President Barack Obama’s first golf swing on the Vineyard. It was a fine cut, followed by a fist pump and bow. Plum TV was also treated exclusive tour of the course by resident golf pro Mike Zoll and took a sneak peak into the gift bag Farm Neck will be presenting to the first family.

Golfing nearby were Larry David and Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck.

In June, the president told “The Early Show” that he enjoys golf because it makes him “almost feel normal … you’re out of the container … It’s as close as you’re going to get to being outside of this place.”

Damon Weaver’s interview of President Barack Obama included some basketball moments.

Damon Weaver: Everybody knows that you love basketball. I think it would be cool to have a president who could dunk. Can you dunk?

President Obama: Not anymore. I used to when I was young, but I’m almost 50 now so, your legs are the first thing to go.

Damon Weaver: My buddy Dwayne Wade promised me if you gave me the interview he would play you in a one on one basketball game, but he’s not sure if he would let you score. Would you be willing to play him in a one-on-one basketball game?

President Obama: I would play Dwayne Wade, and if Dwayne was here, I’m sorry to hear that he was trash talking about his game. I’ve got to admit though Dwayne Wade is a little bit better at basketball than I am, so I might rather have him on my team playing against someone else than playing against him.

You’ll recall that 11-year-old Weaver got press credentials through KEC-TV News in order to interview President Obama regarding education. The sixth grader attends the Kathryn E. Cunningham/Canal Point Elementary school, in Pahokee, Florida.

(From Katherine Brandon for The White House Online)

The President invited the Detroit Shock to the White House today, where he congratulated them on their third WNBA Championship in six years.  Earlier in the day, the Shock hosted a WNBA Fit Clinic at the local Boys and Girls Club, as part of United We Serve.  The President praised the team’s dedication to service, and noted the great work they have done in Detroit.

He also praised the team, and the WNBA, for serving as inspiration to a generation of young girls who dream of playing professional sports:

Let me also say something as a father — I was mentioning it to the team before we came out.  It’s hard to believe the WNBA has already been around for 12 years.  And that means that my daughters have never known a time when women couldn’t play professional sports.

They look at the TV and they see me watching SportsCenter and they see young women who look like them on the screen.  And that lets them and all our young women, as well as young men know that we should take for granted that women are going to thrive and excel as athletes.  And it makes my daughters look at themselves differently; to see that they can be champions, too.  So, as a father, I want to say thank you.  (Applause.)  And thank you to all the WNBA athletes who work hard each day to set a positive example to which all our daughters can aspire.

(Read the transcript.)

By Claude Johnson

Last week I got a call from the producer of a new upcoming television show called “The Buried Life” on behalf of these four young guys who are trying to accomplish a list of 100 things to do before they die while helping strangers do the same thing.

So it’s a kind of a how to do anything series with a pass it forward twist.

The four guys tracked me down because #95 on their list is ‘Play Ball with Obama’ and they thought maybe Baller-in-Chief.com could help.

From their website, which is impressive and well done:

We’ve decided to step up our game and add another seemingly impossible item to the list: #95: Play Ball with Obama.  Bay-rock is one of our heroes, he changed the world in a moment -- we want to see if he can ball.  One on one, one on four, TBL vs. The White House, whatever!  The challenge is out Mr. President.

Their project sounds really interesting, especially the altruistic component where they help others.  It also seems well-funded, which in and of itself is quite an accomplishment for this quartet of seemingly ordinary everyday guys. Well-funded enough, anyway, to make a difference with a charitable organization, an important social cause, or in lives of individuals who could benefit most. This is as important as ever, in D.C. as well as elsewhere.

Kudos to the group for creating something from nothing, and taking their vision this far.

So I told them I wasn’t sure if I could help but that I would try.

The guys in this group are Ben Nemtin, Duncan Penn, Jonnie Penn, and Dave Lingwood. They seemed likable and energetic.

“We started this project to inspire others and to prove anything is possible,” Duncan later explained.

It’s an improbable list, especially #95.

“This is a tough one,” I said.

“They’re all tough, but we’ve completed all of the ones we’ve tried so far,” their producer said.

Of course, playing President Obama in basketball would have been much earlier than #95 on my list, but I give the guys credit nevertheless.  Or maybe they’re saving the hardest ones for last.

My advice to them was that if they focus on helping provide assistance and exposure to local D.C. community service projects, then 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue will tend to pay that much more attention to what they’re doing.

Their trailer below does a good job of explaining the project:

Meanwhile, the entire crew is in Washington, D.C. this week talking to politicans, officials, media contacts, people who’ve played basketball with the President, and anyone else who might offer clues or leads or advice.

Keep an eye out for a big purple bus rolling around in the city.

If you have any leads, they say, you can contact them here: crew@theburiedlife.com.

Or go to their website, where you can sign up and create your own personal list of 100 things to do before you die.

What’s on your list?

(From The Huffington Post)

Obama, Willie Mays Discuss How Baseball Legend Paved The Way For The President

On his flight to the MLB All-Star game in St. Louis on Tuesday, President Obama was joined by legendary ballplayer Willie Mays.

Watch their conversation, in which the ground-breaking baseball legend describes how he helped lay the groundwork for Obama’s election:

(From Christina Bellantoni for The Huffington Post)

POTUS Loves Sports

A few hours before President Obama stepped to the mound at the Major League Baseball All-Star game in St. Louis Cardinals territory, a sports analyst told me there was no way he’d wear his White Sox gear.

But that’s exactly what he did, another demonstration that Obama is an unabashed, fervent fan of all things sports.

It’s not just baseball he loves — asked last week about news reports from abroad he’ll attend the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the president even offered a pun: “That’s my goal.”

I’ve been noting this on Twitter for months using the tag #potuslovessports, but finally pulled together all of the examples of the Obama obsession for a story in today’s paper:

From making March Madness bracket picks in the White House Map Room to thanking Russians for Washington Capitals hockey star Alex Ovechkin, President Obama is embracing his role as America’s No. 1 sports fan.

He plays basketball and golfs most weekends, and he’s hosted nine sports teams from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Columbus Crew soccer champions at the White House since taking office in January -- a record-setting pace.

“The passion that Obama has is on the extreme side and shared by only a small handful of presidents,” said Marc Ganis, a sports analyst and president of Chicago-based SportsCorp Ltd.

Mr. Obama’s enthusiasm goes beyond the usual photo-op. He knows his facts and he loves his Chicago teams -- pro basketball’s Bulls, pro football’s Bears and big league baseball’s White Sox.

On Tuesday night, Mr. Obama was in the sports spotlight again, throwing the ceremonial first pitch at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in St. Louis and trading quips with Fox Sports play-by-play announcer Joe Buck -- including an insult to the Washington Nationals’ lousy season.

Read the full story here.

I had fun reporting the story, interviewing John Sayle Watterson, author of The Games Presidents Play: Sports and the Presidency. He gave me all kinds of historical details that didn’t make the final cut.

Among them:

Herbert Hoover used to gather Cabinet members to play a game he called “Medicine Ball,” sort of like volleyball, every morning on the White House south lawn at 7:30 a.m. with few exceptions.

According to Watterson, President Teddy Roosevelt was an avid athlete — from hunting and tennis to wrestling and jujitsu. “He was the first president to really engage in sports in a major way and used sports to shape his image,” the author said.

Sports Corp.’s Ganis noted there were some fervent fans — President Nixon would send Redskins Coach George Allen suggestions for plays —  but former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton rarely “did the sports thing” beyond photo opportunities.

This president knows his stuff — Obama has long said he prefers ESPN’s sports center to political cable shows.

At one point his NCAA bracket (he accurately picked University of North Carolina as the winner) was a featured item at WhiteHouse.gov. He’d given ESPN the exclusive interview and filled out the bracket in the Map Room from memory. Obama also has been vocal advocating for a change to college football tournament system.

Obama watches the games intensely, hosting a SuperBowl party at the White House for members of Congress, joining friends for the NBA All Star game and predicting the Los Angeles Lakers would win the championship in six games (it only took five).

Further making my point yesterday, before heading to the midwest for a speech on community colleges, Obama made time in his day for another sports star as tennis great Serena Williams visited the Oval Office.

The White House also posted video of Bob Costas interviewing Obama:

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs uses baseball, soccer and football references on a regular basis, and even a technological gaffe implicated the sports-loving Obama team — one day the White House live stream played ESPN.

Wizards player Etan Thomas has been spotted at the White House and is rumored to be playing with Obama, who has retrofitted the tennis courts into an outdoor basketball court.

In May when honoring UNC, he reminded the players that he’d chosen them for the bracket and said he needed to work on his jump shot.

This week after paying tribute to the champion Columbus team, the president fumbled a signed soccer ball on his way back to the Oval Office.

Bush’s first year in office included similar events, from the University of Oklahoma football and softball teams to hosting the first, second and third-ever White House tee-ball game for youngsters, according to events compiled by Mark Knoller of CBS News.

Knoller, the unofficial White House historian, noted that Bush threw the first pitch during Game 3 of the New York Yankees versus the Arizona Diamondbacks World Series, just weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

He later honored the Diamondbacks at the White House for their victory.

Here’s Obama’s basketball court:

(From ESPN Online)

ST. LOUIS — President Barack Obama was true to his word: He didn’t bounce it.

Obama’s ceremonial first pitch at the All-Star Game barely reached the plate Tuesday night. St. Louis Cardinals star Albert Pujols helped the president, reaching out to scoop the toss.

Decked out in a Chicago White Sox jacket, the president was asked about sporting his favorite team’s gear to the All-Star Game.

“Everyone knows I’m a White Sox fan,” Obama said, “and my wife thinks I look cute in this jacket, so between those two things, why not?”

Obama had warmed up on the White House grounds Monday night, and was determined his pitch would reach the plate on a fly.

Later, he joined the Fox broadcast team in the booth in the second inning. They asked what it was like for him to be in St. Louis after being overseas for about a week.

“It’s as close to home as I’ve been in a while and it’s the national pastime,” Obama said.

While Obama was in the booth, White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle began warming up in the bullpen.

“It’s about time,” Obama said with a laugh.

###

Below, another take, this time with full audio, courtesy of The Daily Kos:

(From The Huffington Post)

In an interview CBS’ “The Early Show” broadcast Tuesday Morning, President Obama told anchor Harry Smith that he enjoys golf because it helps him “almost feel normal … you’re out of the container … It’s as close as you’re going to get to being outside of this place.”

Watch:

Transcript:

Harry Smith, ANCHOR, THE EARLY SHOW: Golf. What does it do for you?

President Barack Obama: It is– first of all, I’m terrible.

Harry Smith: I’m horrible. Worst thing I ever started. Best thing I’ve ever done.

Pres. Obama: It is the–. It is the only time that for 6 hours. First of all that I’m outside.

Harry Smith: uh huh, uh huh.

Pres. Obama: And second of all, where you almost feel normal. In the sense that you’re not in a bubble. There are a whole bunch of secret service guys, but they’re sort of in the woods.

Harry Smith: Uh huh. Uh huh.

Pres. Obama: And when you’re up there in the–

Harry Smith: Uh huh.

Pres Obama: And you’re hacking away, and hitting some terrible shot and your friends are laughing at you.

Harry Smith: Uh huh.

Pres. Obama: You know. It- It feels as if you know- you’re-you’re out of the container.

Harry Smith: Yeah.

Pres. Obama: And that’s actually-. I realize now–It’s as– as close as you’re going to get to being outside of this place.