The 44th President of the United States LOVES his sports. He is an unapologetic Chicago White Sox fan. He fills out March Madness brackets for both Men and Women’s tournaments on SportsCenter each year. He also has no problem mixing it up on the White House basketball court.
So on his 54th birthday, lets put the partisan blah blah blah on the back-burner and appreciate something we all enjoy…Sports.
I look forward to the President’s annual segment on ESPN where he joins the rest of the nation in the Madness. Since he was elected, President Obama is interviewed by college basketball reporter Andy Katz from the White House to talk out each of his picks. Last year he took regular season undefeated favorite Kentucky to win it all (like many of you did) over Nova, and was obviously incorrect as Duke beat Wisconsin in the National Championship.
President Obama finished in ESPN’s 72.9 percentile in 2014 and was most successful in 2011 with a bracket in the 87.4%. Both years, UConn won the National Championship and he didn’t pick them. The President did choose a National Champion for his first year in office, North Carolina in 2009.
ESPN isn’t the only network who gets to share air-time with the Commander in Chief as one of CBS’s best color analysts, Clark Kellogg, took him on in a game of HORSE…err POTUS.
I don’t even want to know what would’ve happen if the President got skunked.
Despite referring to his White Sox’s home stadium as “Kaminskey Field” early in his first term, the President has never wavered as a Chicago die hard. When the Bulls re-signed All-Star Jimmy Butler to a longterm deal, he was on it…
(Props to my old teammate Matt Rodewald for getting that tweet picked up)
Before the Blackhawks hit the ice for Game 6, President Obama was leading the chants from Twitter…
And wore his lucky hockey sweater while doing so.
While touring Cooperstown a year ago, the President asked to try on the White Sox World Series ring.
…and then donated the Sox jacket he wore to throw out the first pitch at the 2009 All-Star Game to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The President even hosted a White House visit for the Super Bowl winning 1985 Bears team, because they never got the chance to do so before.
(Ironic that it was Mike Ditka handing the President his jersey since he also wanted to run against him for a Senate seat in 2004)
The ’85 Bears and the Blackhawks may be the only Chicago teams that the President has hosted at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but he always seems to get a quick shoutout in for his favorite squads when he hosts other teams.
What an honor! Thanks for the #selfie, @BarackObama http://t.co/y5Ww74sEID—
David Ortiz (@davidortiz) April 01, 2014
We all remember the drama surrounding Red Sox DH David Ortiz’s selfie with the President and the handful of athletes who make a thing out of not going to visit the White House, despite it being a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (looking at you, Tim Thomas)…
But damn, do those photo ops turn out great.
As we waited to see what would happen when Y2K hit…
And here’s what happened in the worlds of Movies, Music, and Sports…
American Pie, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, 10 Things I Hate About You, Notting Hill, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Being John Malkovich, She’s All That, Big Daddy, Galaxy Quest, South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, Never Been Kissed, Dogma, Stuart Little, Blue Streak, Analyze This, Jawbreaker, Bowfinger, Dick, Idle Hands, Mystery Men, Life, Drive Me Crazy, EDtv, Detroit Rock City, The Bachelor, Superstar, AND…
The Sixth Sense, The Matrix, Three Kings, The Boondock Saints, End of Days, Deep Blue Sea, The Insider, Universal Soldier: The Return, A Murder of Crows, 8mm, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Double Jeopardy, Instinct, The Bone Collector, The World is Not Enough, The Ninth Gate, Arlington Road, Chill Factor, True Crime, Payback, Resurrection, Stigmata, The Mod Squad, Entrapment, The Astronaut’s Wife, The Rage: Carrie 2, AND…
Fight Club, American Beauty, Eyes Wide Shut, Bicentennial Man, Boys Don’t Cry, Anna and the King, Girl Interrupted, Animal Farm, 200 Cigarettes, The Virgin Suicides, October Sky, Great Expectations, Onegin, Flawless, The Hurricane, Brokedown Palace, Magnolia, Cruel Intentions, Random Hearts, All About My Mother, The Winslow Boy, Varsity Blues, The Cider House Rules, The Deep End of the Ocean, Tuesdays with Morrie, Black and White, AND…
(Spacey’s 2nd Oscar. First was Best Supporting Actor in 1996 for The Usual Suspects)
(Caine’s 2nd win out of 6 nominations.)
(This was Swank’s first of two Oscar nominations and awards.)
(Jolie has also won the Humanitarian Academy Award in 2014)
(American Beauty won 5 of the 8 Oscars it was nominated for.)
01. “Believe” – Cher
02. “No Scrubs” – TLC
03. “Angel of Mine” – Monica
04. “Heartbreak Hotel” – Whitney Houston featuring Faith Evans and Kelly Price
05. “…Baby One More Time” – Britney Spears
06. “Kiss Me” – Sixpence None the Richer
07. “Genie in a Bottle” – Christina Aguilera
08. “Every Morning” – Sugar Ray
09. “Nobody’s Supposed to Be Here” – Deborah Cox
10. “Livin’ la Vida Loca” – Ricky Martin
11. “Where My Girls At?” – 702
12. “If You Had My Love” – Jennifer Lopez
13. “Slide” – Goo Goo Dolls
14. “Have You Ever?” – Brandy
15. “I Want It That Way” – Backstreet Boys
16. “I’m Your Angel” – Celine Dion and R. Kelly
17. “All Star” – Smash Mouth
18. “Angel” – Sarah McLachlan
19. “Smooth” – Santana featuring Rob Thomas
20. “Unpretty” – TLC
21. “Bills, Bills, Bills” – Destiny’s Child
22. “Save Tonight” – Eagle-Eye Cherry
23. “Last Kiss” – Pearl Jam
24. “Fortunate” – Maxwell
25. “All I Have to Give” – Backstreet Boys
Average: Larry Walker (COL) – .379
Hits: Derek Jeter (NYY) – 219
Home Runs: Mark McGwire (STL) – 65
RBI: Manny Ramirez (CLE) – 165
OPS: Larry Walker (COL) – 1.168
Stolen Bases: Tony Womack (AZ)
Wins: Pedro Martinez (BOS) – 23
ERA: Pedro Martinez (BOS) – 2.07
Strikeouts: Randy Johnson (AZ) – 364
Complete Games: Randy Johnson (AZ) – 12
Shutouts: Scott Erickson (BAL) & Andy Ashby (SD) – 3
Saves: Mariano Rivera (NYY) – 45
AL – Ivan Rodriguez (TEX)
NL – Chipper Jones (ATL)
AL – Pedro Martinez (BOS)
NL – Randy Johnson (AZ)
AL – Carlos Beltran (KC)
NL – Scott Williamson (CIN)
(1) Duke, (1) Michigan State, (4) Ohio State and (1) UConn
(1) UConn over (1) Duke 77-74
Points Per Game: Allen Iverson (PHI) – 26.8
Rebounds Per Game: Chris Webber (SAC) – 13.0
Assists Per Game: Jason Kidd (PHX) – 10.8
Tim Duncan (SA)
Allen Iverson (PHI)
Jason Kidd (PHX)
Karl Malone (UTAH)
Alonzo Mourning (MIA)
Passing Yards: Steve Beuerlein (CAR) – 4,436
Passing Touchdowns: Kurt Warner (STL) – 41
Passer Rating: Kurt Warner (STL) – 109.2
Rushing Yards: Edgerrin James (IND) – 1,553
Rushing Touchdowns: Stephen Davis (WAS) – 17
Receiving Yards: Marvin Harrison (IND) – 1,663
Receiving Touchdowns: Cris Carter (MIN) – 13
Receptions: Jimmy Smith (JAX) – 116
Goals: Teemu Selanne (ANA) – 47
Assists: Jaromir Jagr (PIT) – 83
Points: Jaromir Jagr (PIT) – 127
michaelpiff 