Baller-in-Chief

(From NBC Sports Online)

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) -North Carolina made President Barack Obama’s bracket a winner with its romp through the NCAA tournament. Now Obama will get the chance to thank the Tar Heels for making him look good.

The president will honor the national champions at the White House next Monday.

Obama – who played a pickup game with the team last spring – picked the Tar Heels to win the title before the tournament. North Carolina was the only one of his Final Four picks to make it to Detroit, but the Tar Heels’ 89-72 win against Michigan State on April 6 allowed him to finish in the top 20 percent of the 5 million-plus people who entered ESPN.com’s pool.

It was the fifth NCAA championship for the Tar Heels (34-4) and the second in five seasons.

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Baller-in-Chief.com is a website-blog that reports everything about the basketball activities, interests, and skills of President Barack Obama.

(A “baller” is one who “has game” — that is, exhibits proficiency — either on or off the basketball court. For more on that, please see Breaking Down The Term ‘Baller-In-Chief’.)

To date this includes almost every online media item about Obama and basketball that’s ever been published — hundreds of entries including articles, editorials, blog posts, video clips, audio segments, and photos from around the world, carefully vetted and screened, often adding our own commentary and insights, to achieve the highest quality of content and relevance.

There’s no agenda here, other than to promote the president and his hoops game.  Our tag line says it all:  “Obama and Basketball. Period.” (Well, we do also advocate for physical fitness, romanticize the cult of pick up basketball, and encourage a view of the sport as being more than just a game.)

What started as a simple question in an article by Claude Johnson called Baller-In-Chief back in February 2008 — Has there ever been a basketball-loving President of the United States of America? — turned into a new buzz-phrase and a new genre of interest that’s been featured in such major media as Sports Illustrated, ESPN, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, The Boston Globe, and The Tom Joyner Morning Show.

Baller-in-Chief.com is edited by Claude Johnson, the founder and president of Black Fives, Inc. (http://www.blackfives.com), which researches, promotes, teaches, and preserves the pre-NBA history of African Americans in basketball. Johnson also writes for The Black Fives Blog (http://www.blackfivesblog.com).

Meanwhile …

Whether you want to play pickup basketball at the White House, have an Obama basketball Jones, are politically motivated, are eager to join a hot trend, want to hang out with cool people, or just want to connect with others who love to play hoops for more than just to stay in shape, Baller-in-Chief is perfect for you!

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Thank you.