Posts tagged BarackObama at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

Have you ever wished you could find all of Barack Obama's basketball highlights in one easily digestible clip, with an excellent soundtrack added? Well, then ... enjoy!



Via The On Deck Circle by way of Ball Don't Lie, which (despite figuring prominently in my feed reader) came quicker to my Google Reader account thanks to the magick of Unsilent Majority's "shared items" stream, which is the finest combination of LOLcat photos and soccer news money can buy. (Money can buy it, right Maj?)

A video you have to see to believe:

There was once a time when no politician would be caught dead associating with pro wrestling, but there they are, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain all appearing on tonight's edition of WWE's Monday Night Raw. And really, why not? With all three candidates insisting that they're the ones whose policies will be the best for ordinary Americans, what says "ordinary Americans" more than pro wrestling?

My personal political feelings aside, I have to think Obama will do the best job of appealing to wrestling fans, with his "Do you smell what Barrack is cooking" line. The other two looked a little stiff.

Apparently, Bill Simmons had Barack Obama all lined up to appear on his podcast. I had no clue (do people still read this guy? I thought he was running an NBA D League team or something. Kidding. Kind of.)

Senator Obama will no longer be appearing though. And it has nothing to do with his busy schedule or the non-political topics (think: NBA) with which they most likely would have discussed. Instead, according to the New York Daily News, ESPN has pulled the plug on the podcast appearance, without really providing a specific (read: good) excuse.

At the last minute, network executives killed a podcast with the senator that was scheduled for Friday with host Bill Simmons.

The presidential candidate was all ready to do it.

'Senator Obama would be happy to appear on ESPN at any time,' said his spokesman, Tommy Vietor.

It's not the first time the sports network has canceled an appearance by the Democratic front-runner. According to a campaign source, a television interview set up with host Stu Scott was canceled by higher-ups as well.

Ruh-roh! Looks like we found the first problem with Sports Guy's new contract at the WWL. He probably should have demanded veto power over any guests, but then again, when he inked back with ESPN, the SG podcast was a lot smaller, at least in terms of marketability.

Barack Obama appeared on WIP 610 AM (you can hear the audio at the 700 Level) in Pennsylvania today and after talking about what a "terrible" bowler he is, he got into a discussion with some of the hosts -- including Angelo Cataldi, Al Morganti, Rhea Hughes and Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams -- about the good Dr. Julius Erving. That's when Cataldi threw him a pretty hot little curveball.

After Obama spoke about former Sixers legend Julius Erving - Dr. J - being a boyhood idol, Cataldi asked whether Obama would rather be the president or Dr. J in his prime.

'The Doctor,' Obama, immediately drawing laughs. 'I think any kid growing up, if you got a chance to throw down the ball from the free throw line, that's better than just about anything.'

Later, Williams, a former Phillies pitcher, said that remark stood out for him, and summed it up this way:

'If given the choice to live in the White House or jump over it, he'd rather jump over it.'

Really? Mitch Williams has a radio show? I kid, I kid. I actually really dig Barack's answer; as awesome as it would be to run the country, would it really be any less cool to be the most famous dunker of all time (sorry, Mike) in the middle of his prime?

In fact, it would probably be a lot cooler -- yeah the whole power thing is great, but Dr. J could freaking fly over buildings and stuff. Not to mention that you get to play basketball, instead of attending budget meetings and getting harassed by Congress. Finally, Barack's answer speaks to the sports-riddled sociopath that gets to drive my brain 80 % of the time; as a sports fan and a short dude that's never even sniffed a 10 foot rim, I'd take the celebrity of basketball over the hassle of politics all day.

And, as crazy as it sounds, it's probably a lot more realistic for the common man to become President of the United States than it is to become an NBA player. Seriously.

Although Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy has never, to the best of my knowledge, declared an affiliation with a political party, endorsed a candidate or donated money to a campaign, he's generally thought of as a conservative. Dungy has been criticized for supporting the anti-gay Indiana Family Institute and he has said that if he had a gay player, he'd tell him what the Bible says about homosexuality.

But Dungy also says he thinks highly of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. When Obama made a recent appearance on an Indianapolis radio station, the hosts played a recorded clip from Dungy saying:

"Senator Obama, this is Tony Dungy from the Indianapolis Colts, just welcoming you to the Indianapolis airwaves. I missed you when you were at Plainfield and hopefully I get a chance to see you the next time you come to town. I just want you to know how much I respect you and how much we appreciate your campaign."

Said Obama in response, "Tony Dungy is one of the classiest guys in sports. For you guys to have done that, that just made my day. I really appreciate it. I think he's just an outstanding coach and as you guys know has built an outstanding organization." He then added, "I will still be rooting for the Bears."

Barack Obama is trailing Hillary Clinton in the Pennsylvania primary polling, but he seems to have a strategy for winning the key Steelers fan demographic: Be photographed with former Steelers running backs Jerome Bettis and Franco Harris.

Josh Patashnik of The New Republic writes:

I can't tell whether these are formal endorsements, but if they are, getting the Bus's backing could be a good sign for Obama's general-election prospects. Harris is a loyal Democrat, making 84 percent of his political contributions to Dems, but Bettis gave money to Bush in 2004.

Hmm. I wouldn't have figured Bettis for a Bush supporter, although he also gave money to a Democratic Congresswoman from his home state of Michigan. The blue cloth Obama is holding is his own version of the Terrible Towel, reading, "Here we go America, here we go.

Jason La Canfora reports in the Washington Post (via PFT) that the 2008 NFL season will open on Thursday, September 4, with the Washington Redskins visiting the Meadowlands to take on the Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

Although nothing formal has been announced, the game will presumably be televised by NBC, which owns the network television rights to prime time regular-season games.

The Super Bowl champion hosting the season opener on Thursday night has become an NFL tradition over the last five years, although this year there's a bit of a controversy, as Thursday, September 4 is also the final day of the Republican National Convention.

The NFL will most likely back down and move the kickoff to 7 p.m. in an effort to have it finished before John McCain gives his convention speech, although if the game goes long, it could be the least-watched speech in the half-century plus that the conventions have been televised. Barack Obama will be hoping for overtime.

The Rotation is a weekly study on the NBA by one of our All-Star voices. In rotation this week is Tom Ziller.

Here's a fact: A vast swath of America thinks the NBA is a haven for thugs. A lot of people see black skin, jewelry, rap music, and tattoos and think of gun play and drug trades. Of course, the NBA's police blotter has been no worse than those for the other two major sports. And it isn't like the NFL doesn't have black people, or baseball players don't get tattoos. But the 'thug' label continues to stick to the NBA in a way it doesn't to any other league.

Few folks would dispute that this is a race issue and a culture issue, and fewer would suggest that such issues are easily solved. But there is one guy calling for these issues to take center stage: Barack Obama. And if elected, he could help save the NBA.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) stepped up his campaign message of transparency yesterday, calling for primary opponent Senator Hillary Clinton to follow his lead and release her March Madness bracket.

"She may say that she's been doing this for 35 years," Obama told a crowd in a Las Vegas sportsbook Friday, "but I didn't need 35 years in Washington to know not to pick against Roy Williams in March. We need to know that the next President has the necessary sound judgment to lead this country, and I believe that my Final Four of UNC, Kansas, Pitt, and UCLA demonstrates just that."

"What is Senator Clinton hiding? Did she even have a post-Sweet 16 strategy?" the candidate continued. "Does she understand the complexities of top-level basketball enough to know that Memphis' poor free throw shooting will cost them in a close game? These are questions America needs to have answered."

Some political analysts were less than impressed with Obama's predictions, however. Chris Mathews, host of MSNBC's Hardball, discussed the issue on-air last night. "Looking at the bracket itself, the guy's not exactly perfect," Mathews said. "I don't see a single big upset he got right, he tabbed Clemson for the Sweet 16 and they imploded, and let's not get started on UConn. I don't think [Obama's bracket] is a winner."

The American people have spoken, and they agree with Barack Obama.

At least, they do when it comes to their March Madness picks. Obama has picked North Carolina to win the national championship, and the composite national bracket at ESPN.com shows that North Carolina is the most common pick of the more than 3.65 million people who filled out an ESPN bracket.

North Carolina was also the most popular choice to win its first-round game, with 99.6 percent of ESPN.com entrants picking the Tar Heels, and 0.4 percent picking Mississippi Valley State Mount St. Mary's. The other four No. 1 seeds were just behind, with UCLA picked to win its first round game on 99.5 percent of brackets, Memphis on 99.4 percent and Kansas on 99.2 percent.

In a possible sign of Duke hatred, the Blue Devils were seen by the fans of America as the most likely of the Top 8 teams to lose their first-round game. Still, only 1.3 percent of fans picked Belmont to upset Duke.

The most evenly divided first-round game? UNLV vs. Kent State, with each team picked by 50.0 percent of the public. Oddly, at least through the first half, that has been the most lopsided game of the day so far.

We've heard from Bobby Knight, Dick Vitale, local columnists, statisticians and every other yahoo about who they picked to win the NCAA Tournament. But what about the candidates for President? Sure, we know their views on the war and health care but do they think you need strong guard play or a dominant big man? Give us something we can use, people!

Barack Obama stepped into that void this morning by telling the radio station 850 The Buzz that he likes North Carolina to take home the crown. Obama's basketball prowess has been well reported and North Carolina is a popular, if chalky, choice but there are some grains of salt to take from Obama's selection. 850 The Buzz is located in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill triangle so his selection could be seen as a way of currying favor with voters who will go to the polls on May 6 in the North Carolina primary. There's also the chance to curry favor with John Edwards, who hasn't endorsed anyone but does have a court emblazoned with the Tar Heel logo on his property.

To his credit, though, he didn't throw a bone to the voters of Pennsylvania by picking Pittsburgh or one of the Big Five schools. He's got Kansas, UCLA and Stanford rounding out his final four. Republican nominee/pool runner John McCain will reveal his bracket on his web site before today's first game and Hillary Clinton took a pass on naming her last team standing.

(H/T The Big Lead)

Back in 2005, David Amber of ESPN asked Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames about the impact he has on young black hockey fans. "I'd be flattered if I could be someone they looked up to and see me as someone that will help them follow their dream," said Iginla, who was born in Edmonton to a Nigerian father and an American mother in 1977. Now the Flames' leading goal-scorer in franchise history and a legit MVP candidate once again, his status as a role model and barrier-breaking star is unquestioned.

Iginla was in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday with the Flames, who lost, 3-2, to the Capitals. Playing in a city consumed by U.S. presidential primary politics, I asked Iginla if he had any thoughts about the historic race between Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton -- two individuals redefining expectations and inspiring young fans as much as Iginla has. Although he doesn't have a horse in the race as a Canadian citizen, is he keeping up with the primaries? And what does the first black captain in the NHL think about Obama's chances to become the first black president in U.S. history?

Matthew Yglesias, a terrific politics writer who dabbles in basketball, looks at Greg Oden's endorsement of Barack Obama for president and worries a little (and perhaps with a bit of sarcasm tossed in... I hope):

[The Blazers] won the draft lottery, took Oden with the number one pick, and Oden promptly suffered a season-ending injury. So is Obama like the much-hyped prospect who winds up letting your team down? A disturbing thought.

We should note not all NBA endorsements are effective. Brave and noble Kings rookie Spencer Hawes (a devout conservative in every sense, including the 'curses like a sailor an atheist at the refs' sense) 'officially' endorsed Republican Mitt Romney through the Sacramento press ... just two days before Romney dropped out.

Smart politics 101: ingratiate yourself with the fans of popular sports teams

Democratic presidential candidate and erstwhile hoops junkie Senator Barack Obama took some campaign time to hang with the Texas Longhorn football team today. Austin is friendly territory for any Democratic presidential candidate, so this was an easy call. Good luck finding as warm of a reception in College Station, Senator Obama.

Given the senator's eagerness to flash the hook 'em sign, his campaign just might find itself doing a little damage control among the Aggie vote. (Oh, who are we kidding. The Aggies are all Republicans, aren't they governor?)

Looks like he and the players had a good time, even sneaking in a requisite pose with the Heisman Trophy. Now's a good time to mention that although Texas coach Mack Brown is "agnostic" when it comes to politics, Bevo Beat did uncover a $500 donation from Brown's wife to the Obama campaign last march. No word yet on whether Brown was proud of his wife's political contributions for the first time in his life.

This is the top half of the front page of the Sunday, February 10 edition of the Washington Post. On Saturday, February 9, three major news events happened: Barack Obama won three primaries to establish himself as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, the screenwriters' union declared an end to their strike, and the Redskins named Jim Zorn their head coach.

The Post's decision to play "Zorn Is Named Redskins Head Coach" as their lead, front-page headline, is drawing criticism from some readers. The paper's ombudsman writes:

Several readers were unhappy that on last Sunday's front page, Sen. Barack Obama's Feb. 9 primary victories were played below a story on the Washington Redskins naming Jim Zorn as head coach. Saadia Mahmud of the District wrote: "I've heard the argument that The Post tries to be a local paper. . . . In this case, local also looks provincial, insular and narrow-minded."

Emilio Garcia-Ruiz, assistant managing editor for Sports, is in charge of the Sunday paper. He said, "The stunning nature of the Redskins hire, the fact that it was a complete surprise, to me made it a more compelling story. Plus, we have been leading A1 with politics just about every week, and this was a nice change of pace." Good point, but Obama's multiple wins also could have gotten better display.

Call me a Philistine, but I'm with Garcia-Ruiz on this one. On that particular Sunday morning, the Zorn news was the biggest story to the biggest number of Post readers and deserved the biggest front-page play.

Via The Big Lead.