Obama pities Cleveland, was rooting for Cavaliers over Magic

President Barack Obama, a Chicago Bulls fan, was rooting for the Cleveland Cavaliers over the Orlando Magic in the NBA Eastern Conference finals series. It had nothing to do with being a LeBron James fan. It had nothing to do with those Kobe-LeBron puppet commercials. Obama just felt bad for the city of Cleveland, according to Nevada Senator Harry Reid.

Las Vegas Review-Journal gossip columnist Norm Clarke writes that when Obama visited Nevada in May, he and Reid were watching the end of game four of the series. They had to stop watching with about 40 seconds left to hit the stage, where Reid was to introduce Obama. Clarke writes:

"They were like a couple buddies watching a great game," said Jon Summers, Reid's communications director.

Reid disclosed that Obama, a passionate basketball fan, was pulling for the Cavs "because Cleveland has had such bad luck, with the auto industry and all. He wanted them to win something for a change," Reid said.

Reid returned to the stage after the president's address and delivered the news: Orlando won 116-114 in overtime for a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

Obama is now predicting the Lakers in six. The Los Angeles Times reports:

If you're scoring at home, Obama has a perfect 2-0 record in presidentially prognosticating major sporting events. He picked the Pittsburgh Steelers to win the Super Bowl and North Carolina to win the NCAA basketball tournament. Then again, the Celtics were a perfect 32-0 when leading a playoff series 3-2 -- until the Magic took care of their unblemished record.

NY Giants' Dave Deihl yuks it up at Brett Favre's expense

New York Giants starting left tackle Dave Diehl tried his hand at comedy in May. Brett Favre and Bill Belichick were among his targets.

According to the Star-Ledger, Diehl ripped on Belichick's cut-off sweatshirts: "Either he's going to Venice Beach or he's going to Suzanne Summers' '80s (workouts). We need to get him in some leggings." That part is not on video, but the shots at Favre are. In the comedy scene, Diehl -- who admits "I might be the largest Brett Favre you have ever seem" -- plays a person who cannot make up his mind -- aka Favre.

Here's his imitation of Brett Favre.


Part one of an interview with Diehl on 12 Angry Mascots.


Part two of an interview with Diehl on 12 Angry Mascots.

Mark Sanchez remembers as "little kid" getting Carson Palmer's autograph

In his interview with Upper Deck at the annual NFL Rookie Premiere Photo Shoot, New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez said: "I remember being that little kid asking Carson Palmer for his autograph."

Ouch. Palmer isn't even 30 years old yet. Sanchez can share those memories with Palmer on Jan. 3, 2010, when the Jets play host to the Bengals. At that point, Palmer will have been 30 years old for just a week.


Other Upper Deck interviews from the photo shoot include: Vikings' wide receiver Percy Harvin, Miami Dolphins receiver Pat White, 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree, Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno and Lions quarterback Matt Stafford.

College football coaches stay at Saddam Hussein's place

Seven college football coaches continue their trek through the Middle East. And according to a ULCA website, the coaches were staying in one of Saddam Hussein's old places. In bunk beds.

Coach Neuheisel called the office for a minute on Monday. He reported to one of the assistant coaches that the head coaches on the tour were currently staying in a place that had belonged to Saddam Hussein. All of the coaches were staying in the same room... in bunk beds.

The seven coaches on the trip are:

Texas' Mack Brown

Ohio State's Jim Tressel

Mississippi's Houston Nutt

UCLA's Rick Neuheisel

Wake Forest's Jim Grobe

Air Force's Troy Calhoun

Former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville

Here's a clip of Brown speaking while on the tour. He responds to why the coaches have decided why they will not release how each coach voted during the college football season. By the way, Brown's father (an Air Force veteran) fought in World War II, which is partly why he felt the need to go to the Middle East to support the troops. In an Austin Statesman story he said:

"He never got in a plane again (after returning from the war)," Brown said. "He would not talk much about it."

ESPN's Lee Corso chases down ref in USFL thriller

Lee Corso suffered a minor stroke last week. ESPN announced that he is expected to make a full recovery and is expected back this fall for the college football season.

"This is just a small bump in the road," Corso said in a statement issued by ESPN. "A 'not so fast, my friend' in my game of life. I look forward to making a full recovery and returning to ESPN for my 23rd season analyzing the greatest sport in the world -- college football."

Every story, it seemed, that was written about Corso's stroke mentioned his work in Indiana, which I remember most about his coaching career. I didn't know that he also had stops at Louisville and Northern Illinois. He also played at Florida State. I assume, it wasn't under Bobby Bowden. (By the way, at FSU, he roomed with one Burt Reynolds.) What I didn't know, or maybe forgot, was that Corso spent one season, his final year of coaching, in the United States Football League with the Orlando Renegades in 1985. It was also the final year of the league. The Renegades were 5-13. (That's right, they played 18 games a season. Hmmm, isn't that what Roger Goodall is considering for the NFL?)

Anyway, here is the fleet-footed Corso, when the Renegades faced the Jacksonville Bulls. And I mean fleet-footed. Watch Corso (at about the 55 second mark of this clip) chase down the referee after a loss, his fifth in a row to start his USFL coaching career. The Renegades lost six to open the season before finally winning. In fact, today (June 1, 2009) marks the 24th anniversary of his penultimate win of his coaching career.

Enjoy the clip, and to Corso: Get well, my friend.

Mark Schlereth-Daniel Schlereth making NFL-MLB history

ESPN football analyst Mark Schlereth, the winner of three Super Bowl rings, might be making Major League Baseball history within the next few days. That's if his son Daniel Schlereth pitches for the Arizona Diamondbacks. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, if the younger Schlereth, a lefty, pitches for the D'backs, he and his father will become the sixth father-son combination to either played in the NFL or the MLB. If he pitches, it is expected to be in relief. Schlereth was the 26th overall pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks last June. In the Double-A ball this season, Schlereth has three saves with a 1.42 ERA. He also has 21 strikeouts in 19 innings.

The elder Schlereth, a lineman, won two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos and one with the Washington Redskins. The other tandems include the likes of Baseball Hall of Famers Lou Brock and Yogi Berra. Here are the other father-son tandems:

Father - Son
Yogi Berra (MLB) - Tim Berra (NFL)
Lou Brock (MLB) - Lou Brock (NFL)
Jack Snow (NFL) - J.T. Snow (MLB)
Lee Gross (NFL) - Gabe Gross (MLB)
Don Patterson (NFL) - Corey Patterson (MLB)
Mark Schlereth (NFL) - Daniel Schlereth (MLB)

Schlereth's first game in an Arizona uniform was Friday. He did not play in the team's loss. The D'backs play the Atlanta Braves this weekend. Sports Arizona reports that Mark Schlereth was Twittering at the game Friday. Among the Tweets, "Daniel is getting warm in the pen and i’m about sick! nervous daddy!"

Where amazing happens in Cuckoo's Nest, Teen Wolf, Hoosiers and more

This is getting out of hand. Every person in the continental United States apparently has posted at least one athletic feat on YouTube with the NBA's theme music for "Where Amazing Happens." Now even Hollywood movies are getting the same treatment on YouTube.

Here are a few. Our favorites are the first five.

1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest



2. Hoosiers



3. Teen Wolf



4. The Karate Kid



5. Rocky IV



6. Semi-Pro



7. Space Jam



8. White Men Can't Jump



9. He Got Game



10. The Simpsons (Not sure if this is from the movie, but it was a struggle finding that tenth one.)

QB stuff: Michael Vick, Tom Brady and Tony Romo (via T.O.)

TMZ.com has photos of former NFL quarterback Michael Vick's home confinement. TMZ also has a photo of New England quarterback Tom Brady riding a bike with his son on board.

And then here is video of Buffalo Bills wide out Terrell Owens acknowledging that Dallas QB Tony Romo failed to mention his name.

Knowshon Moreno wins Upper Deck's dance celebration contest

Upper Deck had its 2009 NFL Rookie Premiere Photo Shoot at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on May 16. And it appears its touchdown dance contest was the hit of the event.

According to Upperdeckblog.com, new New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez was one of the show stealers.

When I informed USC QB Mark Sanchez the night before about Upper Deck’s TD Dance competition, he just looked at me and said, “I don’t dance. What am I gonna do?” I told him he’d dance on Saturday and that a Michael Jordan signed jersey was at stake. “Hmmm, maybe,” he said.

When Sanchez’s two-man group came around on Saturday, which included New York Jets teammate Shonn Greene (RB, Iowa), he remembered our conversation and seemed genuinely excited. When he finished his interview, where he mentioned former Jets QB Brett Favre has always been one of his idols, he hurried over to the end zone and went right to work. He even incorporated Greene to help him perform an end zone “football birth” for the competition. With Greene lying flat on his back with a towel strewn over his legs, Sanchez served as delivery doctor and - calling out QB-like signals - pulled a football from between Greene’s legs. The crowd went wild, right up until Sachez spiked the newly born baby football!

If it wasn't for helping out his teammate, Sanchez would have received an F for his dunk celebration, which was so very 1980. Of course, maybe he was going for the retro look. The winner? Denver Broncos rookie running back Knowshon Moreno, from Georgia. Moreno's winning prize? A Michael Jordan-signed red Chicago Bulls jersey (with a rumored retail price of $1,699.99). Moreno is wearing his winnings (backwards) at the end of the four-minute video.

Competing were Mark Sanchez, Matt Stafford, Mohamed Massaquoi, Michael Crabtree, Nate Davis, Glen Coffee, Ramses Barden, Knowshon Moreno, Andre Brown, Donald Brown, Aaron Curry, Josh Freeman, Shonn Greene, Percy Harvin, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Tyson Jackson, LeSean McCoy, Stephen McGee, Hakeem Nicks, Brandon Pettigrew, Javon Ringer, Jason Smith and Chris Wells (with help from Brian Robiskie).



In order to compare these rookies with other NFL players, here's a link to ESPN's top 10 celebrations. Looks like a few of the rookies borrowed their dances from the pros.

Also occurring at the same event were interviews (sponsored by Panini Bread):

Patrick Turner's interview with Mark Sanchez.

Interview with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Stephen McGee.

Interview with Cleveland Browns wide receiver Brian Robiskie.

Seattle Seahawks' Aaron Curry interview of St. Louis Rams' Jason Smith.

Interview with Detroit Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew.

Larry Fitzgerald runs into teammate on Super Bowl sideline

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald nearly brought down Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison in time at the end of the first half during Super Bowl XLIII. Running into a teammate may have slowed Fitzgerald, who, along with teammate Steve Breaston, tackled Harrison at the goal line.

Watch at the 17 second mark of this video of the return, you see Fitzgerald (No. 11) enter the frame at the bottom left. He continues running, apparently out of bounds. At the 19 second mark, Fitzgerald runs into a helmetless teammate (No. 21, who we assume is cornerback Antrel Rolle).

There are so many little things in this game that can tilt victory one way or another, but no one has mentioned Fitzgerald's remarkable chase and collision with a teammate on the sideline.

If Fitzgerald tackles Harrison short of the end zone, who knows what happens in this game.

Pearl Jam's Last Kiss

You gotta love Maria Bartiromo's CNBC commercial

The CNBC commercials featuring its anchors and reporters are great. The best is Maria Bartiromo's commercial. Check it out. The commercials are called "I am CNBC." Bartiromo, the ever-popular "Money Honey," in the commercial says, among other things, "I am a reporter, a magazine columnist, a journalist, a best-selling author, the first person to report live from the New York Stock Exchange. I am an accordion player." There's more. But Bartiromo playing the accordion? Interesting. Love to see that video on You Tube. Can't find that or her CNBC commercial. For now, you have to go to the CNBC site.

The site also includes video clips (not included in the commercial) of Bartiromo talking about her days as a "coat check girl." The site also provides links to other CNBC commercials, including Mark Haines, Charlie Gasparino, David Faber, Joe Kernan and Rebecca Jarvis. The site also includes Bartiromo's CNBC nemesis, Erin Burnett.

I'd take Bartiromo's commercial over Burnett. I think Haines' commercial is funny, just like he is. I must say, I like Charlie Gasparino's commercial the best. You can tell he loves the job. He says: "I am a writer, son of an ironworker, son of New York. ... in love with my wife. ... My mother called me Chucky, but no one else better try it. ... And if I were to die on the job, I would be very honored."

There are also "I am CNBC" endorsements by others in the business and entertainment world. These commercials with non-CNBC people have been running for more than a year. The commercials with the CNBC personalities appear to have been running since September.

Joe the Plumber gets book deal, skips Vegas event

The Las Vegas Review-Journal Norm Clarke reports that Joe the Plumber (aka Joe Wurzelbacher) backed out of being among the celebrities to headline the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas. The event is the world's largest gaming trade show. Clarke said Joe the Plumber is busy working on his second 15 minutes of fame. Wurzelbacher missed the Las Vegas event to attend another event in Los Angeles. Clark also reported that Wurzelbacher was working on a book. Clarke wrote: "He settled on Austin, Texas, writer and publisher Tom Tabback to help him write 'Joe the Plumber -- Fighting for the American Dream.' It is to be released Dec. 1."

Stiles Points looks at Tressel's close wins against Michigan

Stiles Points, a Michigan man in the mold of Bo Schembechler, stays in attack mode and looks at Jim Tressel's close wins against Michigan. Stiles Points says Tressel could easily be 4-3 or worse against Michigan and not 6-1.

The old Los Angeles Rams liked to "Ram it"

This video is from the mid-1980s when Eric Dickerson played for the Los Angeles Rams. This has to be a music video each player deeply regrets. And the phrase "Ram it" is repeated and repeated and repeated. We get it: They like to ram it. Didn't anybody have a dirty mind back in the 1980s to realize that maybe this might be taken another way? It's a five-minute music video that starts about 25 seconds in.

The official Washington Redskins blogger answers a few questions about the blogging life

Matt Terl runs The Official Washington Redskins Blog. He's been blogging as a paid member of the Redskins staff since the beginning of training camp. He admits he was a part-time blogger (which means he had a real job and enjoyed blogging on the side like most if us) before landing with the Redskins. In another interview (which is definitely worth listening to) about his position with the Redskins, he describes his job as a "fan let loose in Redskins Park." For more about Terl, check out his explanation of what his blog is all about.

Anyway, Terl was kind enough to take part in our "Third and Five" question and answer series. The "Third" part is three questions for Terl. The "And Five" part is five quick personal interest questions about the web. Here goes:

THIRD
1. When did you start with the Redskins and what's the biggest difference from being an unpaid blogger (who was doing it for the love of the game) and one who is being paid (and now has more time to dedicate to the blog)?
I started with the Redskins on the first day of training camp this year. The differences between doing this on my own and doing it for the team are more or less infinite, but the main one is that it's much different writing about people – players, media, coaches – when you actually see them every day. One of the hardest parts of my first few weeks here was meeting people face-to-face that I'd written about less-than-kindly, and having to own up to things I'd casually written back in the day after a few drinks.

2. What are your plans for this blog -- this season and beyond?
My goal has always been to try to show some things that we fans don't usually get to see. Sometimes these are at least a little glamorous (the Welcome Home Luncheon, or players' cars and houses), other times they're pretty mundane (the equipment room, other behind-the-scenes at Redskins Park kind of things). I pretty much intend to keep doing all those things, only moreso.

I'm doing more with players away from the team's facility – which is going to be a necessity for the offseason, I suspect – and I've been trying to do more with the coaches as well. In many ways, it's the sort of thing that grows itself: the more I'm here, the better I get to know people, and the more possibilities present themselves.

3. I know you have been on the job for only a short time, but any advice for us part-time bloggers (aka guys like you who were working 9 to 5 and blogging as their hobby)?
The only advice I can give from my experience is not to hesitate if an opportunity seems to present itself. The chain of events that got my name in front of the Redskins was a series of longshots, but clearly it paid off in the end. If you're doing good work, people will respond to it; you just have to do everything you can to make sure that they see it.

AND FIVE
Terl not only offers his selections, but he provides us with some insight into his answers, which is always greatly appreciated.
1. Favorite football web site?
Football Outsiders. I'm a big fan of people taking new approaches to old statistics, and they're pretty much the gold standard of that in football writing.

2. Favorite non-sports web site?
I'm a food nerd, so probably something in the food category. Maybe chow.com, which has also been useful finding restaurants on the road in the new job.

3. Favorite sports web site?
God help me, I mainly use ESPN.com as my quick check for general sports stuff, just out of years of habit. I think Yahoo Sports does really good work, and I think FOXSports.com is vastly underrated, but I've been looking things up on ESPN for more than a decade now and it's a tough habit to break. Does that count as favorite?

4. Favorite blog?
I've been particularly loving Shutdown Corner at Yahoo Sports lately. MJD has done fantastic stuff wherever he's been, and the addition of Chris Chase (Player Hater's Ball) has only improved an already good blog. Also, Dan Steinberg's DC Sports Blog is as good as a mainstream full-time sports blog could possibly be, and I'd be deeply stupid not to mention it.

5. Old school question (aka not an Internet-related question): Any book you have read recently that you are recommending?

This is one of those paralyzing questions for me, where I immediately forget everything I've read for the last twenty years.

Let's see… sportswise, I loved Stefan Fatsis's A Few Seconds of Panic. His book on Scrabble, Word Freak, is one of my favorite pieces of non-fiction from the last decade.

It's a presidential election year, so I did my quadrennial re-read of Hunter S. Thompson's Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72, which remains frighteningly relevant 36 years on.

And as far as fiction goes, I've been struggling to get through Neal Stephenson's Anathem. His Cryptonomicon is one of my favorite books ever, and I have a lot of time for his stuff, but so far this one isn't clicking for me.

Thank you, Matt Terl, for your time. Check out his blog.

Mel Kiper and Todd McShay battle over Texas-Texas Tech

More of ESPN's Mel Kiper and Todd McShay. This time to pair discuss the Texas-Texas Tech game on Saturday. After Kiper picks Texas Tech, McShay slips in a shot at Kiper. "Very interesting, Mel. I think you are way off, but I think it's very interesting," said McShay. Kiper counters with, "It's not the first time you said that." McShay follows with, "And probably not the last." These two are getting like John Clayton and ex-ESPNer Sean Salisbury.

When McShay and Kiper speak, we listen: Ga. vs Fla.

ESPN's Todd McShay and Mel Kiper share their thoughts on the Georgia-Florida game this weekend. Interestingly, they exchange a few words about the quarterbacks Tim Tebow of Florida and Matthew Stafford of Georgia. When they move on to different topics, the moderator jokingly tells them to feel free to disagree. They get into about the 2:45 mark for about 20 seconds or so. And then McShay gives Kiper a shot at the end when they make their picks for the game.

E:60 reports on competitive eating

E:60 features the story behind competitive eating contests. It's 15-minute report on eating. Eat your heart out, folks.

Dan Patrick only MSM member not on Favre's side?

I don't watch enough TV and listen to enough radio, but it seems like Dan Patrick is the lone member of the mainstream media to rip Brett Favre for sharing information with the Detroit Lions. A few sort of questioned Favre's action, but most (Peter King, Mike Golic, etc.) wanted to sweep this under the rug.

And when I say mainstream media, I guess I mean the big dawgs in the business. I am sure some of the local newspaper/radio/TV guys in New York, Detroit and Green Bay, didn't ride to Favre's rescue. Heck, they were the ones asking Favre the tough questions during his press conference.

Anyway, this leads me to Dan Patrick, who actually ripped Favre on his radio program Thursday. Here are Patrick's words, after he was told he was getting mail from listeners who were saying he was a Favre hater as well as a Favre apologist:

How did I become a Favre apologist? I don't hate Brett Favre. But I don't think he is being totally honest here that it was total B.S. that he contacted the Lions. "Okay, I did contact the Lions. Okay, I didn't tell them anything. All right, we only talked for a couple minutes. Okay?" It's wrong if there was any conversation about the Packers and anything to do with the game plan. So for the NFL players, former NFL players, analysts, apologists, who keep saying, "There's nothing wrong with this. That is happens all the time." Please don't take the broad brush to this. It is Favre, Packers, Lions. You don't play for the Lions. If you played for the Lions and you told them every play in the playbook, I don't have a problem with that. But don't make it seem like guys do this all the time. This is Favre, Green Bay and the Lions. That doesn't happen. We will never get to the true core of this, but I believe Jay Glazer is telling the truth when he says this is how it came out. If you heard Glazer on the show, he said, "I am a million percent positive on this."

By the way, if you go to Patrick's web site, there's a photo of him with Favre at last year's Sports Illustrated ceremony to award Favre as the magazine's Sportsmen of the Year.

As always, when Mel Kiper and Todd McShay talk, we listen

Draft experts Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay talk about the weekend college football games and some of the players involved in these game.

ESPN's Outside the Lines focuses on Palin, Obama & basketball

On Sunday's version of Outside the Lines, ESPN focuses on the basketball talent of Barack Obama and Sarah Palin. Obama, whose brother-in-law is the head basketball coach at Oregon State, is known to play basketball while on the campaign trail. Palin, who is known for her looks, was a member of her hometown high school team that won a state title. Palin (No. 22 in photo) sank a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left as her team posted a five-point win over a team from Anchorage. The Alaska Governor of her high school championship victory said:

"It absolutely changed my life. It may sound hokey -- that state championship really was a very significant time in my life because we knew that our team, together we had overcome such adversity… I can relate so much of the principles of the lessons learned then to what we are going through right now.”

The show airs 9 a.m. Sunday on ESPN.

If you love colors, you'll love this NFL story

Colourlovers.com has broken each NFL team down by the colors. After all these years, you would think you know your favorite team inside and out, right? Ok, well let's see. New York Jets fans, what are you team colors?

If you answered green and white, you get half a point. The real answer is hunter green and white.

Let's try again. The Dallas Cowboys? Answer: royal blue, metallic silver-green, Navy blue, silver, and white.

Philadelphia Eagles? Answer: Midnight green, black, white and silver.

Detroit Lions? Answer: Honolulu blue, silver, black, white.

Of course, the Oakland Raiders colors are black, silver and white. Yes, the Pittsburgh Steelers are black and gold. But all is not what it appears with all the teams.

The site also posts each team's color uniform, white uniform and alternative uniform (if they have one).

ESPN's McShay on Ohio St., Penn St., Pryor and Clark

As always, when ESPN's Todd McShay (or Mel Kiper) talks, we listen. Today's topics: Ohio State, Penn State, Terrelle Pryor, Daryll Clark.

Some guy named Donald Brown leads country in rushing

Check out ESPN.com's interview by Brian Bennett's with Donald Brown (right), who leads the nation in rushing. Brown's average of 167.7 yards per game is 20 yards more than his closest competitor. One question thrown Brown's way is the possibly of a Heisman. Here's the UConn back's answer:

To be honest, as long as we keep winning, that's all I care about. We let the last two games slip away, and hopefully the outcome will be different Saturday. You know, the offensive line has been making it easy for me, making my job a lot easier. [The attention] is great, but you've just got to worry about one week at a time and stay focused and that stuff will take care of itself. I'm not worried about any of that stuff.