Obama's other running mate: a basketball; Shooting hoops has become a key ritual of his campaign.

[DeepModem Mom]

LAT: Obama's other running mate: a basketball
Shooting hoops has become a key ritual of his campaign. And if he wins? The White House bowling alley may have to go.
By Peter Nicholas, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 4, 2008


(Jae C. Hong/AP)
GAME ON: The University of North Carolina’s Jack Wooten pressures Barack Obama during a game in Chapel Hill. The Democrat is likely to play even on election day, says one friend.

....Old friends from Chicago have flown in just to play. To round out the teams, Obama plucks a few athletically inclined aides and any stray players who happen to be in the gym that day. Games might last an hour or two, with two teams of five squaring off as Secret Service agents stand guard. The public and the press are usually barred.

Play is competitive. Obama bruised a rib playing the day of the Indiana and North Carolina primaries in May, when Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias knocked him to the floor. "Barack was between Alexi and the basket," Whitaker recalled. "Alexi lowered his shoulder and took him out." Vic Lombardi, a Denver sports TV anchor recruited to play in a game that same month, said the competition was so fierce that one of Obama's sneakers came apart. "There've been a couple of plays where you see him go down and you're just like, oh, man. That could be bad," said Reggie Love, Obama's 26-year-old personal aide, who played basketball and football at Duke University....

Players say Obama chatters throughout the games, razzing those who miss a shot -- Love is a favorite target -- or calling out strategies....

***

Obama, 47, has been playing most of his life. He played on a high school team that won the state championship, though he was not a starter. Teammates at Punahou School in Honolulu recall a teenage Barry Obama who was bulkier and flashier than today -- a player who liked to drive the lane and take double-pump shots.

Friends say his game has evolved since then. Less dazzle, more thought. He moves without the ball in hopes of getting open, and looks to pass to the man cutting toward the basket. But he has the same competitive drive. "He's got a killer instinct," said (Arne) Duncan, who is 6-foot-5 and played on Harvard's basketball team. "There are a lot of folks who play for the workout or because it's something to do. Barack plays to win."

Still, Obama's skills are open to debate. A natural lefty, he can shoot layups with his right hand. Players say he can execute a cross-over dribble, switching the ball between his left and right hands to throw off the defender. (Chris Duhon, a guard for the New York Knicks): "The form looks good, but he doesn't always make the shot."...

***

The biggest date on the political calendar is Nov. 4, election day. (Alan S. King, a Chicago attorney and a regular in Obama's movable basketball games) expects Obama will play even on that most white-knuckle of days. And after that? Obama has joked that if he wins, he may put a basketball court in the White House, using the space now occupied by the bowling alley....

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-basketball4-2008oct04,0,4519964,full.story