(From Jason Gay for The Wall Street Journal Online)

Wow, that was a fabulous birthday basketball game President Obama threw himself the other day. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Magic Johnson and Bill Russell. Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul.

Scott Baio and Noam Chomsky. Sally Quinn and the Arcade Fire. Warner Wolf and Joan from “Mad Men.”

Or something like that. Did anyone get a confirm on the president’s final roster? The dreamy White House contest was a closely guarded secret. The media were barred, tickets weren’t sold and nobody watched—it felt just like a Memphis Grizzlies home game.

But as Gilbert Arenas could tell you, you can’t hide zesty basketball gossip in D.C. A few details of the game have emerged. Here’s a run-down:

• Mr. Obama finished with 12 points and five rebounds. But the game’s highlight was a backboard-rattling windmill dunk over an embarrassed LeBron by recently retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. The dunk was beautiful, but Justice Stevens yelling “Boo-ya”? Priceless.

• The Knicks agreed to let Amar’e Stoudemire play but only if the Treasury and the World Bank offered to pay the rest of Eddy Curry’s contract.

• Even at 76, Mr. Russell totally dominated young Mr. Anthony, scoring 14 points. No, we’re just making a little joke there. Mr. Russell scored 52.

• At halftime, Mr. Anthony was traded to Russia along with six former KGB spies.

• In what’s surely the first of many oversights, Messrs. James and Wade forgot to tell Chris Bosh about the game.

• Laker veteran Derek Fisher delighted his teammates with wild anecdotes from a similar contest in 1955 with President Eisenhower.

• Mark Cuban didn’t watch the game but was still fined $100,000 by David Stern for thinking about it.

• Impressively, a well-lubricated fan in a Phillies T-shirt managed to sneak in and rush the court, whereupon he was Tasered by the Secret Service and picked up on waivers by the Red Sox.

• When Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov saw the lineup for the game, he angrily asked, “What is President Obama doing with my 2016 Nets roster?” whispered something intensely into his cuff, and was picked up within 15 seconds by a helicopter piloted by Mr. Stern and Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Esti Ginzburg.

• Brett Favre was invited, but at the last minute he texted the president and told him he’d retired. Then he called an hour later and said he wasn’t retired. Then he called and said he would wait until his ankle is healed. Now Mr. Favre is in a secret prison, facing a 10-year sentence for annoying Earth.

• The White House reported that Kobe Bryant was there but didn’t play. This is untrue. Mr. Bryant played 10 minutes when he was fouled hard by Mr. Wade. Angered that Mr. Wade didn’t apologize, Mr. Bryant grabbed a PA microphone and cursed out all of the players, grabbed a pair of beers, slid down an emergency inflatable sled and disappeared.

• It goes without saying, but the president’s game couldn’t have been pulled off without the magic recruiting touch of recently hired Knicks consultant Isiah Thomas.

(From Ileana Morales for The Huffington Post)

WASHINGTON — It took one shout of “Who Dat!” to get the celebration started in the White House on Monday as President Barack Obama saluted the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints.

President Obama with Saints jersey. (Getty)

Obama congratulated the team, owner and coaches in an East Room ceremony. He said the team lifted up “the hopes and the dreams of a shattered city” in the wake of the ravages of Hurricane Katrina.

The Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts, 31-17, in Super Bowl XLIV in Miami.

Obama said the Saints’ Super Bowl win was huge for New Orleans and for the country. He noted that after Katrina, the Saints had to play an entire season on the road because their home stadium, the Superdome, was ruined in the storm.

“Back then people didn’t even know if the team was coming back. People didn’t even know if the city was coming back,” Obama said.

Now, the president said, the Saints proved their team and city are here to stay.

Brees presented the 44th president with a No. 44 Saints jersey. The Chicago Bears fan joked he couldn’t get away with wearing it in Chicago.

Coach Sean Payton is also from Chicago.

“You’ve got to be tough to be a Chicago guy. I make some tough decisions every day, but I never decided on an onside kick in the second half of the Super Bowl,” Obama said.

The Saints took a risk using an onside kick – called ambush – against the Colts to open the second half of the championship game.

“I’m glad that thing went alright,” Obama said. Players and members of Congress and Obama’s Cabinet laughed.

Brees, in a previous White House visit, filmed a public service announcement to encourage kids to exercise for 60 minutes each day. The team spent the morning in Washington playing football with kids from the Boys and Girls Club. Later, they visited wounded troops and their families at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

“These are big guys with big hearts, and shoulders big enough to carry the hopes and dreams of an entire city with them,” Obama said.

Obama also talked about the BP oil spill, the latest disaster to hit the Gulf. He was optimistic about the battle to stop the flow of oil now that the leak appears to be plugged. His administration, he said, remains committed to the Gulf’s recovery.

The president said seafood from the Gulf is now safe to eat, and the White House served some this week. Team members showed off some of New Orleans’ famous cuisine. They served some shrimp to the White House press corps and were sharing recipes with White House staff, including, according to Obama, a 30-foot po-boy that was to be served at lunch.

But before lunch, there were autographs, silent cameraphone clicks and more cheers. Players standing on bleachers in the East Room snapped pictures of the president as he made his way around to shake their hands.

Then the Saints left the same way the came in – to claps, chants of “Who dat!” and the band playing their song.

(More photos.)

(From Shane D’Aprile for The Hill Online)

President Obama hosted more than a dozen current and former basketball pros Sunday for an afternoon game at Fort McNair.

The group included LeBron James, Grant Hill, Dwyane Wade, Joakim Noah (left), and Derrick Rose (center, with Obama). Magic Johnson and Bill Russell served as the coaches. Kobe Bryant was also in attendance, but didn’t play in the pick-up game.

The group played before an audience of “wounded warriors” and participants in the White House mentoring program.

The event was part of the president’s birthday weekend at the White House. He played a round of golf Saturday at Andrews Air Force Base and a barbecue is scheduled on the south lawn of the White House for Sunday afternoon.

(From The Huffington Post)

WASHINGTON — LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and other NBA all-stars joined President Barack Obama on Sunday to entertain wounded troops.

The basketball superstars were joined by some retired legends, including Bill Russell and Magic Johnson. College player Maya Moore of the Connecticut Huskies women’s team also played.

The game was played for a group of “wounded warriors” – troops injured in action – and participants in the White House’s mentoring program.

The action took place at a gym inside Washington’s Fort McNair, a short drive from the White House. The president was inside the gym for about two hours.

(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 The Huffington Post)

President Obama and Sasha were able to work in some daddy-daughter time this weekend (before she heads off to Spain with mom), attending an WNBA game on Sunday. They were joined by one of Sasha’s girlfriends and president of the Washington Mystics Sheila Johnson. For those wondering, the Mystics beat the Tulsa Shock, 87-62. Check out some pics of Barack and Sasha watching the game, and the president presumably explaining the facts of basketball to his youngest girl.

(PHOTOS at original article)

(From the Associated Press Online)

President Barack Obama speaks with Washington Mystics owner Sheila Johnson, far right, during a Washington-Tulsa WNBA game on Sunday. Obama’s daughter, Sasha, is in the middle. (JIM WATSON / AFP – Getty Images)

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama checked out the WNBA’s Washington Mystics on Sunday after spending the morning shooting some hoops himself.

Obama, his daughter Sasha and a friend of Sasha’s had courtside seats for a women’s basketball game between the Mystics and the Tulsa Shock at the Verizon Center in downtown Washington. Sasha and her friend, whom the White House declined to identify, both wore Mystics jerseys.

The crowd at the arena roared when the scoreboard showed the president’s arrival. Obama chatted during the game with Mystics owner Ted Leonsis and team president Sheila Johnson.

Obama and his party left the arena a few minutes before the end of the game, which the Mystics won, 87-62.

After the game, Mystics player Marissa Coleman told reporters: “The only two times I’ve noticed who was courtside was when LeBron (James) was here, and obviously today. And today’s was even worse. It’s just kind of a surreal thing to look over and see the President of the United States sitting courtside.”

Earlier Sunday, Obama played basketball against an Army team at Fort McNair in the District of Columbia.

Obama has attended basketball games at the Verizon Center before. In January he had front-row seats for a Duke-Georgetown game, and even sat in with CBS’ announcers for about seven minutes. Last year, he saw his hometown Chicago Bulls lose a game to the Washington Wizards at the arena.

(From Sean Gregory for Time Magazine Online)

Craig Robinson, head basketball coach at Oregon State University
Melissa Golden / Bloomberg News / Getty Images

Craig Robinson was thrust into the national spotlight two summers ago after he introduced his sister, Michelle Obama, before her speech at the Democratic National Convention. Though he receives plenty of attention for his family ties, the first brother-in-law has built an impressive career in his own right. Ten years ago the former investment banker left a high-paying finance gig to chase his dream of coaching basketball. Now, Robinson is head man at Oregon State University, where he has led an impressive turnaround of what was once a sad-sack program. Robinson talked to TIME about his family, his career, and his new memoir, A Game of Character.

A significant portion of the book is dedicated to describing the lessons you learned from your father, Fraser, who passed away in 1991. What was it like, emotionally, to write about him?

I wanted to pay tribute to the lessons he taught us. A good example was my dad’s relentlessness. He was a guy who worked a shift job, sometimes double shifts, and he still had the energy to come home and play with his kids, whether it was on the floor, with the dolls with my sister, or throwing the ball around.

How do you think your parents’ example has helped your sister, and perhaps impacted her relationship with the President?

I don’t like to speak for her. She has her own way of managing things, but it’s really nice is to see her as a mother. It’s like watching my mom raise her kids. I think both she and Barack are very grounded. I love the give and take and [their] partnership. Everyone’s relationship should be like that. It has to be a partnership. One person can’t be the friend, [with] the other person being friended all the time.

What was the relationship like between your father and President Obama?

It was brief. My dad was the kind of guy who could get along with many different constituencies, many different intellects. He was never worried about station in life when it came to having a relationship with [someone]. He got along with Barack just as well as he did with everyone else in the family.

How did your dad influence your decision to become a basketball player at Princeton?

I was fortunate to have a couple of offers. One was from the University of Washington, one was from Princeton. But Princeton doesn’t have athletic scholarships. So I picked the University of Washington because I thought it would save my folks like $4,000. So my dad did what dads do when you make the wrong decision. He sort of did one of these chin rubs, looked down and said, “Why don’t you think about that?” And I went to bed and thought about it and realized that I did want to go to Princeton, I just didn’t want him to have to pay. And as soon as I said that he said, “Ok, you’re going to Princeton.” That showed sacrifice. 

You and I both played basketball in college for Pete Carril, the Hall of Fame basketball coach who won over 500 games at Princeton. Characterize his impact on your life, and give me your favorite Carril story.

When I came to Princeton, I was your typical city kid who already thought he was a basketball player. Thank goodness coach Carril wasn’t one of those coaches who would just shun you if you didn’t agree with what he thought. He was tough and he made sure I knew that I didn’t know anything about the game. He rebuilt me into a player. I always tell people I really learned to play from him.

My best Carril story was I came back from Europe, where my team in England had allowed me to do some coaching. It was the first time I thought I wanted to be a coach. I was thinking, ‘I’m good at it and I love teaching, talking about the game of basketball.’ So on my way home to Chicago I stopped off at Princeton to say hello to coach Carril. I said, ‘coach, I know what I want to do, I want to be a coach.’ And he said ‘you don’t want to be a [blank] coach’ — and you can fill in the words — and I was stunned. But later on, when I sat back and thought about what he was saying, he wasn’t being malicious. He just saw this kid from the south side of Chicago work his way through Princeton, and get this opportunity to play in Europe, then he’s coming back and he’s going to be all basketball. He wanted me to have some other experiences.

Coach Carril wasn’t afraid to be critical of his players. What was the one thing he harped in on with you?

He thought I wouldn’t run as fast as I could all the time. So he called me “Grandfather Time.” Not “Father Time,” but “Grandfather.” Only he could take Father Time to the next level.

Your sister enrolled at Princeton two years after you did. What was that like?

It was a lot of fun having a familial support system there, although she probably had fewer boyfriends because I was around. Not because I chased them off, but you know how it is. If your big brother is around and you’re in college, it’s different. She was probably glad when I left.

On a scale of one-to-10, where do you fall in the “boyfriend interference” department?

I was like a three; I didn’t have to interfere. She could take care of herself.

Perhaps the most interesting part of your biography is your decision to leave investment banking to take a relatively low-paying assistant coaching job at Northwestern University. So many people want to chase their dream but don’t do it. How did you manage that?

It was a tough decision but it wasn’t a difficult decision. I had always thought, at some point in my life, I would work at a Wall Street firm, save enough money to send my kids to college, and go teach seventh grade and coach high school basketball. When I was thinking about leaving investment banking, I had this inflated sense of what my kids thought that was. They had no idea what investment banking was. All they knew is that I would get up and go to work in a suit.

So when I was making the change to coaching, I discussed it with them. And if they had any kind of reservations, if they started to cry, I might not have done it. I said to my son, ‘Listen, I might be changing jobs.’ He thought for a minute, and said, ‘Huh. What are you doing?’ I said I was going to be a basketball coach. He paused, and he said, “Does that mean your office is a gym?” And I said, ‘No, not exactly. My office is going to be next to the gym.’ And my daughter, who was 3 at the time, says ‘Do they have a pool?’ I said, ‘Yes, they do.’” And that was when I knew I could make the change.

You grew up playing basketball in the parks, and people often lament that today, kids don’t just go out and play. Is that good for basketball?

I don’t think so. You learn stuff playing outside, where there’s some ramifications to losing. When you come into the gym, you’ve got 12 guys, you just play. If you lose, who cares? If you went to the park, and it was the only court and you lost, you were off for an hour-and-a-half. Then you played harder. You got better.

How has your connection to the First Family helped your basketball team?

People like to talk about it, therefore they like to hear from the coach at Oregon State. So we get a little publicity from that. But elite high-major basketball players never pick their school based on who the coach is related to. They pick it on ‘How is this guy going to get me to the next level?’” So it helps us from a brand management and marketing standpoint. But to get kids to come, we have to prove to them we are going to be a winning program, that they’re going to get playing time.

You were out on the road campaigning quite a bit during the ‘08 election. What did you take away from that experience?

What I learned from that is you can’t assume people have a specific political vision based on who they are, where they live, what they drive, where they work. I was surprised to see how many people were willing to listen to new ideas. I never would have thought that if I didn’t get the opportunity to get out there and meet those folks.

Do you speak to the president often?

Not as often as I would like. He does call me after big wins, so I know he is paying attention. That’s all I can ask for. I talk to my sister more often.

Have those conversations changed since she’s become First Lady?

Not really. The conversations are what you think they would be among close members of a family. We talk about the kids, we talk about the schooling, we talk about how each other is doing and that’s pretty much it. We try to keep it as regular as it can be.

(From Kevin Ding for the Orange County Register Online)

WASHINGTON — Sometimes maintaining calm with his light touch, other times gathering storms by unleashing emotion, Lamar Odom was and still is the Laker to look to for feeling.

Odom, the heart of the 2008-09 championship team’s pregame huddles, was the middle man who connected with all the teammates around him, so it was most amazing to see him muted Monday.

Odom was downright awkward he was so nervous about the Lakers’ visit to the White House to celebrate their title with President Barack Obama. The thing is, you’re only that nervous when what’s coming up means that much to you.

Monday meant that much to the Lakers, who come away from the day with a refreshed outlook on their existence as champions. That’s because Obama offered a unique reminder on greatness just in the short time he spent with them.

However you feel about Obama’s political stances, there’s greatness in the man who has risen the way he has. The Lakers were, to quote Coach Phil Jackson, “in awe” of the president. But in the same way a relaxed, friendly demeanor from a completely confident Kobe Bryant can disarm terribly anxious kids nervous about meeting him, Obama connected with the Lakers with ease.

The ever-expressive Odom was stone-faced as the president quoted Odom in his speech about the Lakers’ championship run. Odom was in obvious disbelief that the president was actually quoting him.

“I wish I had a tape recorder,” Odom said later, back to his usual big laughter with the formal ceremony over.

But standing in the back row of the risers, Odom was stiff and shifty-eyed. Bryant later explained: “Lamar’s very emotional. He actually went and saw President Obama speak at the (Democratic) convention in Denver.”

It was therefore unbelievably great for Odom and all his teammates that Obama cracked on him in that private time on stage when he was shaking their hands goodbye.

“How’s married life?” Obama asked Lamar.

“Beautiful,” Odom answered quietly.

“Yeah, you’d better say that,” Obama said then for all Odom’s teammates to overhear, “because she’s sitting right there!”

That was the unpublicized dialogue with the president’s back to the audience that produced such laughter on stage. It was so entertaining that Shannon Brown had to cover his mouth and Derek Fisher couldn’t help but start clapping.

“It was hilarious,” Bryant said.

Obama’s knowledge of the Lakers — not just in reality TV marriage material, but in the basketball game he so loves — left them feeling special. That’s not a simple trick to pull off in a half-hour or so.

Obama could not have known that Odom gets ribbed with the nickname “Mr. Kardashian” on the practice court, but the president somehow pushed the right button. He did the same thing with Magic Johnson, kidding him about losing to Obama’s local team, the Chicago Bulls, in the 1991 NBA Finals.

When Obama tried to be like Mike and pantomimed Jordan’s famous right-then-left layup against the Lakers while looking back at Johnson, it was just the kind of communication these guys are used to — the good-hearted ripping that guys give other guys they like — and Johnson certainly got the message without a trace of mean-spiritedness.

“It was really a special moment in time that I’m always going to remember: President Obama trash-talked Magic Johnson,” a grinning Johnson said later. “Me restraining myself not to come back at him. Because he was the only man on Earth that I ever let trash-talk me and not say anything back. Because I’m competitive, too, right? But it was a great moment.”

There were other sweet moments, particularly for Bryant as he watched his wife and daughters in the front row of the audience approached by Obama.

“It means everything to me,” Bryant said. “As a father, you’re just a proud parent to see them being able to interact with the president of the United States.”

Bryant supports and admires Obama — to the point he collected newspaper front pages the day after the election — and has taught his daughters about him. That’s why Bryant noted he got to spend time with President George W. Bush in 2002 on a similar visit but dismissed Bush as a baseball guy.

This was the visit that Bryant deemed “perfect.”

(Just like all you Bryant fans who wonder why his teammates continue to high-five him on that fractured right index finger, Obama recoiled at first when shaking hands with Bryant backstage before the ceremony for fear of aggravating the injury. The president knew what was up.)

The ceremony wasn’t “perfect” for everyone. It was too bad all Lakers staffers didn’t get a chance to meet the president as was originally promised. That audience was also overly stuffed with political people who asked to be there instead of set up with all Lakers folks closest to the front. New Laker Ron Artest, another big Obama backer, missed out after developing flu-like symptoms in the morning.

Yet the overriding sentiment still shined through the same way the warm sun did on this January day in Washington. Besides Obama having a State of the Union address to prepare for, no one seriously considered scheduling time for the Lakers with Obama on his new outdoor basketball court because it was unimaginable the weather could cooperate the way it did.

The Lakers will have to get back to basketball without that smooth lefty known as Barry O’Bomber as a high school hoopster. But they won’t forget his confidence and excellence when they return to the court.

It’s a demeanor they admired from afar coming in and now can learn from coming out.

They came in as that little fifth-grade girl who dared approach Bryant after the team’s Monday morning coaching clinic for local children and was rewarded with his practice jersey.

But the truth is that Obama admires the team, too. And it should encourage the Lakers to make him proud again.

“I still get enormous, enormous pleasure from watching great athletes on the court,” the president said. “And nobody exemplifies excellence in basketball better than the Los Angeles Lakers last year.”

(From the Associated Press via the Washington Post Online)

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama welcomed the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers to the White House Monday, praising the team for their accomplishments on the basketball court and their service in the community.

An avid basketball fan himself, Obama said he gets enormous pleasure from watching excellence on the court – and nobody exemplified excellence more than the Lakers last year, as they won their 15th league title, defeating the Orlando Magic.

Obama said he was especially excited to meet Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson, who has won 10 championships, though he didn’t hesitate to point out that six of those victories were with Obama’s hometown Chicago Bulls.

President Barack Obama holds a personalized Los Angeles Lakers team jersey presented to him by Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, left, as he honored the 2009 NBA basketball champions Lakers, Monday, Jan. 25, 2010, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) (Charles Dharapak – AP)

“You remember that,” Obama joked with former Lakers all-star Magic Johnson, who was on the losing end of the Bulls 1991 victory.

Obama commended the Lakers players not only for their athletic achievements, but also their work off the court. The players held a fitness clinic for Washington-area school children Monday, and several players are donating money to relief efforts in Haiti.

President Barack Obama stands with Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 25, 2010, during a ceremony honoring the 2009 NBA basketball champions Los Angeles Lakers. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) (Charles Dharapak – AP)

The Lakers added to Obama’s collection of sports jerseys, presenting him with a bright yellow jersey with the president’s name stitched on the back.

(From Kurt Helin for NBC Los Angeles Online)

The Lakers meet the president, a nice way to forget about the ugly loss in Toronto.

Getty Images

The Lakers weren’t expecting to get a walkthrough — a pregame practice going over positions — on their off-day in Washington D.C. on Monday.

But when you’re going to meet the President, you practice.

On Monday, the Lakers got to meet Baller-in-Chief Barack Obama, and before the President walked in and official press conference started, the Lakers had a walk-though with White House staff on where to walk in, where to stand on the risers and the like.

They got it right when the lights went on — just like they did last year in the NBA Finals, which is the reason they got to meet the President. And while the President does more of these meet-and-greet photo ops than anyone on the planet, he seemed to seriously enjoy this one. Because who doesn’t want to take a break from writing and rehearsing a long speech given to a room where half the people want you to lose your job, so instead you can talk hoops with Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant?

Obama has made no secret before he is a fan of Jackson, not surprising since he grew up in Chicago as a Bulls fan. Obama also made a joke about Jackson’s ritual of handing out books to players before their longest road trip of the year, saying he would like Jackson to send the Democrats and Republicans some books about playing as a team.

This was not the first time meeting the president for all of the players. Jordan Farmar introduced Obama at a campaign rally in Newport Beach back in 2008.

“President Obama was really cool,” Farmar said. “We talked basketball right away.”

Magic Johnson was there for the Lakers and said Obama was the first person he let talk some trash to him without talking back. Jeanie Buss offered Obama some courtside seats (although more people would still want to see Jack Nicholson).

If the weather in Washington were not the typical January cold and dreary, Obama would have wanted to have done this ceremony outside, on the full-sized basketball court he had put in at the White House. Maybe shot around a little on the court, and with the way the Lakers have played defense of late Obama probably could put up 20 points on them. The scouting report on Obama is that he is a pretty good and smart player, but likes to talk a little trash and shoot a little too much.

Maybe Kobe and Obama would have gotten along just fine.

(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.