An elbow to the lip: The White House says President Barack Obama has received 12 stitches in his lip after being hit during a pick up basketball game.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs says the president was inadvertently struck by someone's elbow Friday. more at LAT
Obama playing last year at Martha's VineyardObama, who turned 49 on Wednesday, took to the court for a game with a stunning list of all-stars, including Grant Hill, Shane Battier, Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Derek Fisher, LeBron James, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Maya Moore, Alonzo Mourning, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Bill Russell, Etan Thomas, Dwyane Wade and David West. The game was closed to the media.
Kobe Bryant was there but didn't play, according to the White House, and aides provided no details about the game, which took place at Fort McNair in the District, where Obama often plays basketball with friends. More at WaPo
Earlier today, President Obama called Phil Jackson, head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, to congratulate him and his team on winning the NBA Finals for the second year in a row and on Jackson’s 11th championship as a head coach. The President said that it was a great series, worthy of the rivalry and noted that in last night’s game, Derek Fisher had yet another huge postseason shot. The President said he looked forward to congratulating the team in person at the White House.
Obama, Love, Duncan“He said, 'I’d like to have you and your daughter out to play basketball this summer,'” Brown said. “So I’m excited about that.”Energy:
Brown said Obama made the invitation at the end of a meeting Wednesday afternoon at which they discussed climate change legislation.
“He did talk about climate and his concerns about the climate, and I basically told him that I’m not in favor nor could I support a national energy tax or a cap-and-trade proposal,” Brown said.
“But I am very excited about working with him in a bipartisan manner to come up with a comprehensive energy plan to address a whole host of issues: wind, solar, hydro, nuclear, geothermal, conservation, incentivizing businesses, providing grants and loans to our businesses,” said Brown.
Brown said he was very concerned about jobs and job creation and making that a focus of energy reform. Read it all at The Hill.
From TNT:TNT’s Marv Albert Interviews
The President shared his thoughts with Albert on what he would do if he were NBA Commissioner for a day, the future of LeBron James and the Phoenix Suns stand against the immigration law in Arizona, among other topics.
TNT play-by-play announcer and Basketball Hall of Fame broadcaster Marv Albert conducted an exclusive interview on the basketball court at the White House with President Barack Obama today to discuss basketball, politics and other topics. The interview will air on Tuesday, May 25, during NBA Tip-Off presented by AutoTrader.com, the network’s pre-game show beginning at 8 p.m. (ET), prior to TNT’s exclusive coverage of Game #4 of the Western Conference Finals between the Phoenix Suns @ Los Angeles Lakers at 9 p.m. (ET).
A sneak peek of the interview will air on NBA TV and NBA.com beginning on Sunday, May 23, and will appear that evening during TNT’s exclusive coverage of Game #3 of the NBA’s Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and Suns at 8:30 p.m. (ET).
The President shared his thoughts with Albert on his history and love of basketball, the future of LeBron James and the Phoenix Suns stand against the immigration law in Arizona, among other topics.
“We are very appreciative the President of the United States took time during the NBA’s Conference Finals to sit with Marv to discuss a variety of topics that relate to basketball, as well as national issues that have recently crossed into the sports landscape,” said David Levy, president of sales, distribution and sports, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
“It is clearly one of the highlights of my broadcasting career, and a great honor and privilege for me personally, to interview the President of the United States at the White House and talk NBA basketball with him,” said Albert.
Albert’s storied career includes more than 40 years of sports broadcasting experience. Currently in his 11th year with TNT, Albert is calling TNT’s exclusive coverage of the Western Conference Finals alongside analyst Doug Collins. In addition to his NBA on TNT duties, Albert also serves as the play-by-play announcer for Westwood One’s Monday Night Football radio coverage and is the voice of the New Jersey Nets on the YES Network. In 1997, Albert was awarded the Curt Gowdy Media Award by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Turner Sports, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., presents some of the best and most popular sporting events worldwide and is a leader in televised and online sports programming. With events airing on TBS ,TNT and truTV, Turner Sports’ line-up includes NASCAR and NASCAR.COM, the NBA, Major League Baseball, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, professional golf, PGATOUR.COM and PGA.com. Turner Sports and the NBA also jointly manage NBA Digital, which includes NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA LEAGUE PASS, NBA LEAGUE PASS Broadband, NBA Mobile, NBADLEAGUE.com and WNBA.com.
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.
President Obama--a basketball player and fan since his boyhood days in Hawaii--on Sunday took daughters Malia and Sasha to a gym to shoot some hoops.
Ths morning visit to the Department of Interior gym came a day after the president attended Sasha's basketball game Saturday at the Jane Lawton Community Center in Chevy Chase. Md., just outside of Washington. More at CST
Game night:In the evening, the President will play basketball with Cabinet Secretaries and Members of Congress on the White House basketball court. Expected attendees include:
Secretary of Housing & Urban Development Shaun Donovan
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar
Representative Mike Arcuri (D-NY)
Representative John Boccieri (D-OH)
Representative Brad Ellsworth (D-IN)
Representative Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
Representative Baron Hill (D-IN)
Representative Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Representative Frank Kratovil (D-MD)
Representative Rick Larsen (D-WA)
Representative Patrick Murphy (D-PA)
Representative John Shimkus (R-IL)
Representative Heath Shuler (D-NC)
Lynn Sweet
SI has the "who's who'' of the incoming administration's starting lineup:Sports Illustrated's Audacity of Hoops:
Arne Duncan Secretary of Education 6'5" Co-captain at Harvard in the mid '80's/played in USBL and Australia
Eric Holder Attorney General 6'2" Columbia freshman team/co-captain of Stuyvesant High (NYC)
Ret. Gen. James Jones Natl. Security Adviser 6'5" Frontcourt reserve at Georgetown 1963-65
Susan Rice Ambassador to U.N. 5'3" Point guard at National Cathedral school (D.C.)/played at Oxford
Timothy Geithner Treasury Secretary Played in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York league
Obama remains something short of the total hoops package. He can't dunk. He doesn't have a nickname. His usual getup of black sweatpants and gray T-shirt (call it the Police Academy Trainee look) isn't likely to set a trend. But he does stick his nose in it. In Kuwait last July he didn't merely visit U.S. troops, he swished a three for them -- first try, no warmup. And as president he'll keep the counsel of a roster's worth of former ballplayers, in and out of his Cabinet, many better at the game than he.