Rule No. 1, Do Not Call Him ‘Ball Hog in Chief’: Basketball comes to the White House

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: Rule No. 1: Do Not Call Him ‘Ball Hog in Chief’
By JEFF ZELENY
Published: January 9, 2009



WASHINGTON

The basketball hoop is coming out of hibernation.

At several junctures during his presidential race, Barack Obama spoke wistfully about the prospect of playing basketball on the White House grounds, where there is a seldom-used backboard on the southwest lawn. In nine days, he will have his chance when he becomes the first president who is just as likely to suit up and head for the court — not the bleachers — when the dribbling starts. And some basketball enthusiasts are waiting with such anticipation you’d think March Madness was arriving two months early.

“The fact that he is a basketball fan and player will be translated around the world,” said John Doleva, president of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., the birthplace of the game. “Basketball is an international language. There is a global American message here.”

It is unlikely, of course, that basketball will do much to simplify the multitude of worldly challenges facing Mr. Obama. But closer to home, could he use the court as a place for some old-fashioned arm twisting? Could concerns over his gigantic economic recovery plan, for example, be settled on the free-throw line? Could discussions over his health care proposals be discussed over a game of N-U-R-S-E? There will, at the very least, be a long line of people across the capital dusting off their sneakers and tripping over themselves for a chance to sweat with Mr. Obama, who has been playing basketball since growing up in Hawaii four decades ago....

***

During his two brief visits to the White House since winning the election, Mr. Obama has toured the living quarters, inspected the Oval Office and sat for lunch in the private presidential dining room. But he has yet to set his eyes on the miniature court that is hidden beneath some towering magnolia trees on the White House grounds. It is a lonely site, far smaller than many suburban driveways where a hoop may be anchored above the garage. The green surface, which measures 26 by 26 feet, has weathered and cracked a bit since it was installed 18 years ago. The court, which sits next to the groundskeeping building, has one hoop....

***

Late last year, he found himself retracting an earlier suggestion of tearing out the White House bowling alley — installed by Richard Nixon in 1969 — to make room for a larger basketball court. Not only is the ceiling far too low for jump shots and free throws, his office received significant criticism from bowling enthusiasts, who were outraged at the notion of removing the bowling lanes from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. So Mr. Obama may want to consider taking a lesson from George H. W. Bush: presidents should add, not subtract, sports....

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/fashion/11basketball.html?8dpc

[Captain Hilts]

1. I've only seen him play golf since the election. nt

[Jennicut]

2. A B-balling president would be a first

Obama tries to play golf but I don't think he is very good at it.

[eridani]

3. OK! Let's get Peja Stojakovic in there for HR 676!

92.86 percent in 2007!