President Obama’s speechwriter is Chicago Bears fan

President Obama’s speech at the Tucson memorial service — hailed for striking large themes while keeping focus on the individual victims — was written in collaboration with staffer Cody Keenan. At 30, Keenan is a little older than most of our nation’s Codys. (The name came out of nowhere to rank among the top 30 of boys’ names of the ’90s). A Chicago native and Bears fan, he graduated from Northwestern in 2002, then worked in the Senate for Sen. Ted Kennedy for 3 1/2 years.  — Washington Post

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January 14, 2011, 8:14 am

President Obama spends $1.5 mil of taxpayers money on Hawaiian vacation

President Obama has splashed out more than $1.5million on a sunshine break in Hawaii while many Americans are still struggling in the aftermath of the economic meltdown. Continue reading →

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December 31, 2010, 7:44 am

Governor rips NFL for Tuesday Night Football

Tuesday Night Football? “Terrible idea,” Gov. Rendell said moments before the kickoff of Tuesday night’s game between the Eagles and Minnesota Vikings. Continue reading →

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December 29, 2010, 9:19 am

NY Gov. working to bring NASCAR

Gov. Paterson at lunch Monday at the Four Seasons restaurant with taxi tycoon Andrew Murstein, presumably to discuss the Medallion Financial Corp. president’s plan for a NASCAR track in New York. — NY Post

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December 16, 2010, 7:50 am

Governor asks fans to buy NBA tickets

Flanked by business and community leaders from the New Orleans area, Gov. Bobby Jindal and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said Hornets fans will play a key role in the first step toward securing the NBA franchise’s long-term future in New Orleans. “Really, their future is in our hands, ” Jindal said during Monday’s news conference at Gallier Hall. “One of the things we can do in the short term is for our people to show up. We are asking the people in south Louisiana and the region to buy those tickets.” The Hornets can opt out of their lease agreement with the state if an attendance benchmark is not met by Jan. 31, 2011. — New Orleans Times-Picayune

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December 14, 2010, 9:59 am

David Stern: Middle East buyers want NBA franchises

Investment groups in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Qatar are in separate discussions to buy the Detroit Pistons basketball team, which has been valued at close to US$500 million (Dh1.83 billion). Negotiations are “ongoing” for a potential Middle East buyout of the franchise, said David Stern, the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA). “The interest and discussions have taken place in reference to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar. There is more than one discussion,” Mr Stern said. “That is a team that has been, and is having negotiations with different potential investors,” he added, declining to name the parties involved. Mikhail Prokhorov, the Russian billionaire, recently bought the New Jersey Nets franchise, marking the first foreign ownership of an NBA team. This purchase “ignited and catalysed” foreign interest in ownership of the teams, said Mr Stern. “We are either in direct or indirect discussions with at least three buyers in the Middle East over their interest in acquiring NBA franchises,” he said. “We are mindful that of the 20 teams in [English Premier League football], 10 are owned by investors outside the UK.” — The National

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December 2, 2010, 10:27 am

President Obama part of NBA Video Game

Barack Obama is part of NBA Jam for the Wii. The President and VP Joe Biden are matched up against John McCain and Sarah Palin in this clip of game action. – YouTube

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December 2, 2010, 8:18 am

Senator seeks Federal Investigation of Football Helmet Standards

Senator Tom Udall asked the Consumer Product Safety Commission on Tuesday to investigate the adequacy of football helmet safety standards, beginning a process that could lead to governmental oversight of what has been a self-monitoring industry. Udall, Democrat of New Mexico, wrote in a letter to the C.P.S.C.’s chairwoman, Inez Tenenbaum, that the current “voluntary industry standard does not specifically address preventing concussions,” which have become the most pressing health concern among youth athletes in all sports, especially football. Udall plans to discuss football helmet safety Thursday at a Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing that will include testimony from Tenenbaum and the C.P.S.C. commissioner, Anne Northup. Football helmets are tested for only the extremely high forces that may otherwise cause a skull fracture, not the less severe forces believed to cause concussions. — NY Times

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November 30, 2010, 7:51 pm

U.S. Senator thinks caring about sports a lot is “just plain stupid”

A segment of an article written by Sen. Al Franken, who planned to attend yesterday’s Vikings-Redskins game, in the Washington Post: “… I often wonder if caring so much about sports franchises is just plain stupid. I like sports, but I don’t wax philosophic about the power and grace of athleticism or find any real deep meaning in football or baseball. I just root like crazy for the Vikings and the Twins.” – Pioneer Press

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November 29, 2010, 5:43 am

NFL owner backing Mitt Romney for 2010 presidential election

New York Jets owner Woody Johnson is backing Team Romney for the 2012 presidential election. Johnson, who supported John McCain last time around, hosted a meet-and-greet for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney upstairs at ’21′ on Wednesday. Romney, looking like the GOP front-runner for 2012 (should he declare his candidacy), fired up a VIP field that included Carl Icahn, Georgette Mosbacher, Lally Weymouth and Cristyne Nicholas. — NY Daily News

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November 19, 2010, 8:37 am

Utah congressman explains why he voted against honoring Joe Paterno

Congress has better things to do with its time than vote on sports resolutions, so says a Utah official who was one of only three members of the U.S. House of Representatives to vote against honoring Penn State coach Joe Paterno for his 400th victory. The House voted 417-to-3 Wednesday night in favor of honoring JoePa’s recent milestone. The three who voted against the resolution have nothing personal against Paterno, but instead stood on principle. “Look, I took a vow that I was just no longer gonna vote in favor of these sports resolutions,” Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said. “As much as we might admire Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions and everything Penn State represents, this Congress has got to do some serious business. “Time after time after time after time, we’ve been working on sports resolutions – [such as] recognizing the Saratoga racetrack for its 142nd anniversary – instead of dealing with jobs and taxes and things that are gonna make a difference in people’s lives. So as ugly as it may sound to vote against Joe Paterno, who we love and admire, I decided to vote against it. It’s just the principle.” — Altoona Mirror

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November 19, 2010, 2:29 am

Oklahoma City Mayor blocking Lingerie Football team

Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett confirmed Thursday that he does not plan to allow a Lingerie Football League team to come to the city.  The LFL announced Tuesday that Oklahoma City would be one of four cities to receive an expansion team in 2011. Those expansion franchises would have expanded the league to 14 teams.  Cornett has the power to grant or deny a team’s access to a public arena for its games, and he said he will not allow that access to any Lingerie Football League team. — OK Blitz (HT Darren Rovell)

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November 12, 2010, 11:07 am

U.S. State Department uses sports memorabilia as gifts for foreign dignitaries

“Inside the State Department,” airing Monday night on the National Geographic Channel, is a serious, behind-the-scenes look at Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her inner circle as they wage peace in New York, Pakistan, Abu Dhabi, Jerusalem, Morocco, Egypt and Afghanistan. But there are a fun couple of minutes when the cameras go into the inner sanctum of State’s “gift vault.” Tucked behind a nondescript door in Washington headquarters, the room, lined with metal shelving, holds hundreds of gifts that Clinton hands out to foreign dignitaries. “We always want a gift to make sense,” says Protocol Gift Officer David Solomon. “It’s basically coming as a representation of the American people, so we always try to try and display our culture.” Most of the goodies are boxed and wrapped in gold paper, but Solomon shows off a couple of selections: a painting by Arab American artist Helen Zughaib intended for the king of Morocco, a set of gold earrings selected for the country’s princess. Then Solomon pulls a giant white sneaker off the shelf (size 23 shoes autographed by Shaquille O’Neal), a baseball bat autographed by Derek Jeter and a signed basketball just like the one given to the president of Tanzania. “American sports memorabilia is really popular,” he explains. And, lucky for taxpayers, donated by the teams and athletes. — Washington Post

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November 8, 2010, 4:26 pm

Bill Clinton to help U.S. host major sporting event

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton will make a pitch to soccer’s governing body a day before the vote on the hosts of the World Cup in 2018 and 2022. Clinton, honorary chairman of the USA bid committee, will travel to Zurich to speak with the 24 FIFA delegates, who’ll decide on World Cup hosts on Dec. 2. “I’m pleased to stand on behalf of our nation for something as important and meaningful to the American people and citizens throughout the world as the FIFA World Cup,” Clinton said in a statement. — Bloomberg

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November 8, 2010, 4:01 pm

Ala sheriff: GOP would have beaten Nick Saban

How bad did Democrats in Alabama get beaten on Tuesday? To quote Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely: “Alabama Coach Nick Saban running on the Democratic ticket could not have beaten a one-legged child molester running as a Republican.” — Gadsden Times

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November 5, 2010, 5:27 am

NBA commissioner donates to California Senators campaign

NBA commissioner David Stern, who lives in New York, donated $4,800 to the victorious reelection campaign for California Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer. — BenMaller.com

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November 4, 2010, 7:29 am

Manny Pacquiao: ‘I helped’ Jerry Brown and Nevada’s Harry Reid win elections

Manny Pacquiao didn’t make his boxing trainer, Freddie Roach, too happy last week when he announced he’d be leaving after a workout Friday to board a flight to Las Vegas. Pacquiao, a congressman in the Philippines, had some important political work to tend to: campaigning for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). “[Reid] was behind 4% in the polls before I got out there,” Pacquiao told The Times on Wednesday before a workout at Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, where he’s preparing for his Nov. 13 junior-middleweight title fight against Mexico’s Antonio Margarito. “There’s a lot of Filipinos in Las Vegas.”

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November 4, 2010, 6:30 am

Utah Attorney General presses BCS probe with feds

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has a hard time envisioning a scenario where the government doesn’t sue the leaders of college football’s championship system for being an “illegal monopoly.” The question is whether the states have to go it alone or whether the U.S. Attorney General will join in the legal fight. Shurtleff made his pitch to Justice Department officials during a meeting early Wednesday in Washington, D.C., and left optimistic. “I was blown away,” he said. “What I was very pleased to see is they are doing their due diligence on this thing. I didn’t get that feeling initially.” No formal investigation or lawsuit is expected for some time, if Justice decided to participate at all. But the meeting marked a major milestone in Shurlteff’s effort to put a case together against the Bowl Championship Series, which determines what teams play in the national championship using a combination of human polls and computer rankings. Shurtleff is convinced the BCS is violating anti-trust laws by making it “impossible” for teams from conferences such as the Mountain West Conference and Western Athletic Conference to play for the national title and split the proceeds equally. — Salt Lake Tribune

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November 4, 2010, 5:49 am

36-year-old former NFL player becomes U.S. Congressman

Former Eagle Jon Runyan, riding a national wave of voter frustration, defeated freshman Democratic U.S. Rep. John Adler on Tuesday, according to unofficial returns. “I’ll give you everything I have to really get this country back on track,” Runyan, a Republican, said at his headquarters at the Westin Hotel in Mount Laurel. Gov. Christie had stumped across the country for Republican candidates, but said this Third District race was the most important to him. He introduced Runyan to a roaring crowd of supporters Tuesday night. “No candidate around the state has worked harder than Jon,” Christie said. “Jon is going to go down to Washington as part of a Republican majority to take our country back.” Analysts said if the governor were to keep his star power with the national party, his candidate – Runyan – had to win the toughest House race on Christie’s turf. Though the main combatants were Adler, 51, of Cherry Hill, and Runyan, 36, of Mount Laurel, the race became a proxy fight for the nation. Donors from around the country sent in more than $5 million in contributions because they wanted their side to win. Control of the House was up for grabs, and it went to the GOP. — Philadelphia Inquirer

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November 3, 2010, 6:00 am

7’6″ former NBA player is political loser

Rep. Tim Cosgrove, who has represented the Murray House District 44 since 2004 in the Utah Legislatur, was challenged by Utah’s highest-profile House candidate: former NBA center Shawn Bradley. Cosgrove, the Democrat, defeated Bradley. — Salt Lake Tribune

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November 3, 2010, 5:05 am

Five former pro athletes running for political office today

There are five former pro athletes running for office. Shawn Bradley, the 7-foot-6 former NBA center, is running for a seat in Utah’s state House of Representatives. Backup NBA center Chris Dudley is running for governor of Oregon, and NFLers Jon Runyan and Keith Fimian are challenging for U.S. House seats. All are Republicans; the fifth, Democratic Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina, is in a tight race for re-election. Two former NFL tight ends—Jay Riemersma and Clint Didier—lost in August GOP primaries for, respectively, House and Senate seats. Former NBA stars Kevin Johnson and Dave Bing, both Democrats, are still in their first terms as mayors of Sacramento and Detroit. The retired jock enjoys obvious advantages of name recognition and is trained to perform under the public gaze. Moreover, the roster of pros-turned-politicos is likely to expand as more athletes retire as multimillionaires with long lists of wealthy friends. “As a professional entertainer in sports, you get a lot of real-world experience in a world that’s not very real—which is a lot of what politics are,” Mr. Bradley says. — Wall Street Journal

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November 2, 2010, 7:29 am

Lakers coach Phil Jax slams election

Lakers coach Phil Jackson, a relatively avid consumer of political news, didn’t seem enthralled with the run-up to Tuesday’s election. “I think most of our population is so sick and tired of the election,” he said. “It’s just been awful, the ads. The substance has just been awful. I don’t know anybody that doesn’t put a mute on their TV when the ads come on. It’s not been very pretty.” — LA Times

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November 2, 2010, 7:11 am

Red Sox celebrity fan promises to wear Yankees cap depending on election

Red Sox diehard Matt Damon promises to wear a Yankees cap (Gasp!) if 200,000 New Yorkers vote with the Working Families Party in tomorrow’s election. Taking to YouTube to promote the progressive — some might say Commie — initiative, Damon, who just turned 40, said fans can “really cheer me up” by voting for the WFP. – Boston Herald

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November 1, 2010, 7:25 am

WWE giving away merchandise at Connecticut polls

To celebrate the victory of restoring voters’ right to wear WWE clothing at the polls, World Wrestling Entertainment will be giving away WWE merchandise near select Connecticut poll locations on Election Day. Out of respect for voters from all political parties, WWE will not be handing out merchandise within 75 feet of polling locations, and merchandise will be available on a first come, first served basis. — WWE

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October 29, 2010, 4:18 am

Orlando Magic player has future in politics?

In the November 2010 edition of Maxim magazine, Howard said J.J. Redick is the most likely NBA player to become an elected official one day. Coincidentally, Redick said he spent part of the weekend hanging out with two of his friends from high school, and those friends suggested that Redick go into politics when his playing career ends. — Orlando Sentinel

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October 27, 2010, 7:29 am

Congress World Series bet: chocolate vs. pecan pie

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congressman Joe Barton (R-Texas)  announced the details of a friendly wager over the upcoming World Series. As the Members of Congress who represent the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers, and as passionate fans of their hometown teams, they are competing for bragging rights. If the Rangers win, Speaker Pelosi will supply Barton with some of San Francisco’s famous Ghirardelli Chocolates. If the Giants win, Barton will provide the Speaker with a delicious deep-dish pecan pie from the historic Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana, Texas. — Office of the Speaker of the House

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October 27, 2010, 2:26 am

Condoleeza Rice addresses NFL team

Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, a life-long Browns fan, addressed the team Thursday. Rice has ties to Browns security personnel who formerly worked in the U.S. Secret Service. “It’s my favorite team in the NFL. I’ve been a fan since I was a little girl in Birmingham, Ala.,” said Rice. She explained that Birmingham had no team and her father was a big fan of Browns legend Jim Brown. “I was a big fan of Paul Brown,” she said. “The day (Art) Modell fired Paul Brown — I was about 8 — I went into my room and tore all my Browns posters off the wall.” Rice said the Browns are “headed in the right direction.” “I have enormous respect for Mike Holmgren,” Rice said. “He’s what my father would have called a football man. “With his direction and winning attitude, I can hardly wait to see what he’s going to do the next few years for this franchise.” — Canton Repository

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October 22, 2010, 10:11 am

President Obama ignoring Senators hoops challenge?

Sen. Scott Brown, who took the opportunity to dish about how President Obama continues to dash his hoop hopes. “I did challenge the president,’’ said Brown. “I challenge him regularly. . . I told him, ‘Listen, it would be me and my daughter, Ayla, against you and any other woman you pick.’ He’s been ignoring me.’’ Brown said his most recent Obama brush-off was at the glitzy glam White House Correspondents Dinner last spring, when he and Ayla approached the commander in chief, who was the guest of honor. “I said, ‘Excuse me, Mr. President.’ ’’ No response. “EXCUSE ME, MR. PRESIDENT,’’ yelled the junior senator, finally getting Barry’s attention. Obama greeted Brown with a Scott-how-are-ya, but when the senator pointed to Ayla and mimed shooting a basket, the Leader of the Free World just rolled his eyes! — Boston Herald

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October 22, 2010, 7:22 am

NBA stars wife honored by Congress gala

Eva Longoria and Tony Parker all cuddly at Hank’s Oyster Bar late Wednesday — after similarly cuddling through the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute gala at the Washington Convention Center, which honored the “Desperate Housewives” star. She and her San Antonio Spur husband decamped to Dupont Circle for a second dinner (mussels, crab cake) around 9:30; black cocktail dress for her, dark suit and carefully groomed stubble on him. — Washington Post

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September 17, 2010, 7:15 am

Politicians upset Mike Tyson allowed to visit Scotland

Controversial former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson is set to appear in Edinburgh later this year. The retired boxer has agreed to hold a question-and-answer session with local boxing fans in a dinner event at the Sheraton Hotel on November 4. The event has been organised by Kevin Maree, who coaches Edinburgh-based super middleweight title contender Kenny Anderson. He said: “The visit is a done deal. After dinner, before a paying audience which we hope will include ex-Edinburgh world titleholders like Ken Buchanan and Alex Arthur, Tyson will discuss his career and answer questions. “Although Tyson fought in Scotland at Hampden Park in June 2000, he has never visited Edinburgh before so this will be a unique chance for Edinburgh boxing fans and local boxers to meet the man himself.” A host of local boxing coaches will be lining up to welcome Tyson to Edinburgh, including Queensferry Amateur Boxing Club coach Mark Geraghty. He said: “Mike Tyson is a boxing icon and this is great news. Loads of my boxers will want to see him.” However, the visit has already attracted condemnation from local politicians, some of whom are incensed that a convicted rapist should be invited as a guest of honour to the city. Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Bill Aitken, who was a vocal opponent of the decision to let Tyson into the country in 2000, said: “I think Mike Tyson’s visit is one that we could well do without.” — Scotsman

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September 10, 2010, 8:35 am

Pat Tillman’s mom upset with Yale University

The mother of Pat Tillman and filmmaker Michael Moore have something to say about Yale University’s hiring of Gen. Stanley McChrystal. Mary Tillman, whose discovery that McChrystal orchestrated the cover-up of her son’s death by friendly fire in Afghanistan, is depicted in Amir Bar-Lev’s documentary “The Tillman Story” tells us the Ivy League institution’s hiring of the general that President Obama fired is “insulting.” And Moore wonders if university administrators would re-think their offer after seeing some of the jaw-dropping information in the film. This week, Yale announced that McChrystal had been appointed a Senior Fellow at Yale’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs and will be teaching a graduate course on the complexity of leadership at the university this fall. — NY Daily News

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August 20, 2010, 8:04 am

Mike Tyson credits U.S. Senate hopeful with saving his life

Former boxing champ Mike Tyson said in an exclusive interview with POLITICO that he never did drugs aboard Florida U.S. Senate hopeful Jeff Greene’s yacht as they traveled together on the Summerwind in August 2005. “Jeff had nothing to do with it,” Tyson said Tuesday. “I didn’t do drugs on the boat. I had a problem. I had just lost a fight. I was depressed. I was fighting for 20 years, I was finding out after 20 years I was broke. Jeff said, ‘Come with me on the Summerwind.’” And he credited Greene, who says he drove Tyson personally to a rehab center two years ago and then paid “tens of thousands of dollars” toward his recovery, with saving his life. — Politico

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August 18, 2010, 8:28 am

President Obama was saved from Tiger Woods round of golf

President Obama has been working tirelessly on his golf skills – he’s reportedly played some 41 rounds since taking office 18 months ago. Last summer his game was in serious need of an upgrade, but the Leader of the Free World managed to avoid one potentially disastrous hazard on the links. Rumor had it that Obama was going to play golf at the aforementioned Vineyard Golf Club with none other than Tiger Woods! This was, of course, pre-bimbo eruptions. The buzz on The Rock was that the Leader of the Free World and the World’s Greatest Golfer would play 18 sometime toward the end of Barack’s 2009 island break when Woods was in the neighborhood for the Deutsche Bank tournament down at TPC Boston in Norton. But before it could happen, Sen. Kennedy succumbed to brain cancer and the presidential vacation went south. Which, come to think of it, may have been Teddy’s final political favor to the guy he helped catapult into the White House. — Boston Herald

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August 18, 2010, 8:25 am

NY Gov. pays $96k for World Series tickets

That could be one of the most expensive baseball games ever. The state’s top ethics watchdog wants to slug Gov. Paterson with a $96,375 fine for allegedly shaking down the Yankees for free tickets to Game 1 of last year’s World Series. The Public Integrity Commission requested the historic penalty — the first of its kind sought against a governor — after a lightning-quick hearing in the agency’s Albany office yesterday. The recommendation will be passed along to an administrative law judge who will decide the matter, which could take months to resolve.

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August 18, 2010, 8:08 am

WWE’s matriarch open to spending $50 mil Connecticut Senate race

Linda McMahon is best known as the matriarch of the World Wrestling Entertainment empire. So it may come as a shock to see her shaking hands and kissing babies at wholesome state fairs and upscale coffee klatches in her quest to become Connecticut’s next U.S. senator. McMahon’s campaign had spent $18 million as of June 30, saturating the airwaves with ads re-introducing her to the public — not as the woman who once chugged a beer in the ring with Steve “Stone Cold” Austin, but rather a tough-as-nails CEO who transformed a haphazard wrestling circuit into a publicly traded corporation. And so far, it’s worked. McMahon is the front-runner in the Republican primary being held tomorrow. McMahon has said she is willing to spend $50 million of her own fortune on her campaign.  — ABC Nightline

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August 10, 2010, 8:17 am

Jesse Jackson Jr. has late meal with NBA star

Andre Iguodala of the 76ers taking in a late meal with friends, including Jesse Jackson Jr., at Hub 51.  — Chicago Tribune

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August 10, 2010, 7:56 am