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Video & Photos of Barack Obama At College Game

admin — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 02:41:06 +0000

Barack Obama attended today’s college basketball matchup between No. 7 Georgetown and No. 8 Duke. Among his companions were Joe Biden, David Axelrod, Robert Gibbs and Reggie Love.

The president also offered commentary during part of the CBS broadcast of the game. He said that he typically does not have time to watch entire college basketball games, but stays up to date by watching SportsCenter. He’ll make an exception for the Final Four and watch all of the games.

The home team prevailed, as Georgetown beat Duke, 89-77. Scroll down for video and photos, and to read the pool reports from the game.

POTUS attends a basketball game at the Verizon Center between Georgetown University and Duke University. Seated in a cushioned folding chair mere feet from the basketball court, POTUS studiously remained dispassionate and impartial even as fans of the Georgetown University team all around him went absolutely berserk. Just to his left was a line of shirtless students smeared with gray and blue body paint, some wearing frenzied blue wigs and screaming like they were possessed. In response to a call that was apparently unfavorable to the Georgetown University team, one of the shirtless fans tried starting a cheer unfit for a family newspaper. But just as it started to get off the ground, a second shirtless student — no doubt a nerd — scolded, “Dude, the President of the United States is right there!” Which effectively killed that cheer. Anyway, POTUS did not appear to have noticed the offending cheer. He remain hunched forward, elbows on his knees, watching intently but carefully avoiding any hint about which team he might wish to see prevail. POTUS perked up for the first time a few minutes into the contest during some kind of break in play when the Georgetown University Women’s Rowing Team was introduced, standing on the big blue “G” painted in the middle of the court. At least they got a polite applause from POTUS. During another break in play as both basketball teams huddled about something, a referee sauntered beneath the basket nearest POTUS. Holding the ball in one hand, he shouted toward POTUS, “Sir. Sir!” When POTUS looked up, the referee nodded his head toward the ball in his hand and then the basket, gesturing POTUS might want to take a shot. POTUS smiled broadly and then both men laughed heartily. Apparently, it was also bring-your-son-to-the-office-outing day. Both Robert Gibbs and Rahm Emanuel showed up with their sons. Shortly after kick-off, VPOTUS appeared from behind the stands. He strode right up to the court and sat beside POTUS. He wore the collar of his sports coat up, giving him a decidedly European look. His son, Hunter, was also in tow. Also seated with POTUS was David Axelrod. Reggie Love was in attendance but not sitting with POTUS. At halftime, POTUS got up from his seat and shook hands with some of the fans seated around him and VPOTUS posed for pictures.

During second half of the basketball game, POTUS moved halfway down the court to sit with the announcers for a little commentary on the game. He was welcomed and asked about his love of the game. POTUS lamented that with all his other duties, he “can’t watch a full game, unfortunately.” During the playoffs, however, he watches all the games. Asked his opinion of the contest between Georgetown University and Duke University, POTUS remained studiously impartial. “Obviously, two great teams,” he said. The guards from Georgetown were particularly noteworthy, he said, especially during the first half. In the second half, he said, the guards were getting a bit “sloppy” and the Duke team was “picking up its ‘D’.” Then they started talking about some other basketball teams when POTUS seemed to take a shot at East Coast liberal elitism. “If the Buckeyes are bragging about beating an Ivy League team, then that tells you something,” he said. Asked if he wanted to call a play, POTUS looked up in time to see a player running down the court, jumping up right as he approached the basket and throwing the ball up. “This was a turnaround and he didn’t get any spinback,” POTUS said. This analysis was admired by the professional announcers, who said POTUS could have a career in announcing if, you know, things didn’t work out. Realizing they had really stepped in it, they backed up and said that, of course, POTUS has a job and will for as long as he wishes. Exhibiting his trademark modesty, POTUS acknowledged he could easily do their jobs and joked that he would be coming after them as soon as he wrapped up his current gig. “You have either three more years or seven,” clearly suggesting he might CHOOSE not to pursue a second term. On a roll, one of the announcers decided to talk a little more politics. “You are obviously a left hander,” he said to POTUS. “Any problem going to the right?” Unclear what exactly that meant. But POTUS replied that just yesterday he went to Baltimore to speak to Republicans at their annual retreat. And then he said indeed he is stronger on the left. Before signing off, POTUS said people’s thoughts should be with the troops in the field and with those helping victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

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Runner Ignores Gender Scandal, Gets a Glam Makeover

admin — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:12:11 +0000

Now this is what they call moxy. What a strong minded young woman…. Story by Emerald Catron. In a perfect world, you’d know Caster Semenya as the teenage woman who can run half a mile in under two minutes. What you probably know her as is the athlete whose muscular physique prompted officials to order a test to verify her gender. But her femininity isn’t a question at all in the “after” shots of her makeover from South African magazine You.

Smiling Despite a Scandal
The makeover proved to be a learning experience for Semenya, 18, who admits she doesn’t know how to put on makeup. The photo shoots also gave her the rare opportunity to get dressed up, something a girl who’s in school and race training doesn’t get the chance to do very often. Says Semenya, “I didn’t do this to prove a point but rather to have fun. I don’t give a damn what people say about me. I like me the way I am, and who cares what other people say?”

Regardless of the controversy, South Africa has embraced its daughter since she took gold in the 800-meter race at the World Championships in Germany last month, She even met with Nelson Mandela, who praised her.

Testing Comes Under Fire
Presently the results of the gender test required by the International Association of Athletics Federation are still being analyzed, so an independent panel of experts has been called in to decipher the results. Her coach quit this week, admitting that he didn’t tell Semenya that her gender was being tested — he told her she was being screened for steroids and other illicit substances.

Semenya may suffer from a rare chromosomal disorder that causes her body to produce too much testosterone. This isn’t the first time an athlete’s gender has been questioned or a genetic condition has wreaked havoc on qualifying tests. Whether or not that extra dose of testosterone gives her an edge over her competitors will have to be decided.

The results of the medical test will not be made public, since they warrant patient confidentiality. Regardless of what the results say, there’s at least one teenage girl out there who likes herself just the way she is — and we love that.

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Steve McNair’s wife blindsided by affair and murder

admin — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 19:03:45 +0000

The jilted wife:Steve McNair married Mechelle Cartwright in Vicksburg, Miss., on June 21, 1997.

Man , I am feeling worse for Steve McNair’s poor wife than I do for him right now. What is it with these men who follow every predictable route that a woman assumes a man will take and end up cheating with a woman who is 16 years younger than him? Forget about the fact that this girl Sahel Kazemi is not black, to be honest I am shocked that Steve McNair’s wife is even black because a black athlete marrying an actual black woman is almost unheard of, no joke…it’s the CHEATING and planning to marry another woman half your age, going on exotic vacations with the 20 year old waitress you met from Dave & Busters while your wife and 4 kids are at home with no clue is what’s real shady. Now it’s looking like this is a murder suicide possibly by the hands of Kazemi?

Sahel Kazemi, 20, was found dead of gunshot wounds along with the former NFL quarterback on July 4.

This is a clear lesson in why you should keep your house in order at all times, and if you want to dump your loyal wife of 12 years for a 20 year old waitress, then be honest and tell the woman, and not let her find out in the newspapers. I still feel bad that the guy is dead, no one deserves to die, especially for cheating..but just imagine..Steve McNair would be alive today if he wasn’t cheating on his wife and kids. Oh well…here’s the story:

The wife of slain quarterback Steve McNair may have only learned about the gridiron star’s affair with a gorgeous young woman after the clandestine couple’s grisly deaths, sources close to the football player said Sunday.

“She’s blindsided by this,” one source said of Mechelle McNair, who was holed up in her family’s home just 6 miles from the condo her husband used to bed his mistress. “She’s crushed. Her whole world is shattered.”

Nashville cops confirmed that Steve McNair, 36, was killed by four bullets fired at close range, two of which hit him in the head, and ruled his death a homicide.

His lover, Sahel Kazemi, 20, died of a single gunshot from the same semiautomatic found on the floor under her body, police also said.

They stopped short of calling the slayings a murder-suicide carried out by Kazemi, but said they are not looking for any suspects.

Cops ruled McNair’s death a homicide and have not ruled on Kazemi’s death, citing the need for more tests.

Kazemi and McNair, a dad of four boys, were dating for several months, friends told cops; McNair apparently kept the affair a secret from his wife.

Photos obtained by TMZ.com show a smiling McNair parasailing on a recent tropical vacation with the curvy Kazemi, whom he met as she waitressed at a Dave & Buster’s sports bar.

“He started to talk to her a little,” Kazemi’s aunt Sepideh Salmani told The Tennessean newspaper. “They exchanged phone numbers, and started dating from there.”

Salmani said her beautiful, raven-haired niece believed that McNair was in the process of getting a divorce.

Kazemi’s sister told The Florida Times-Union of Jacksonville that Kazemi had expected to wed McNair.

“She said they were planning to get married,” Soheyla Kazemi told the paper.”

County records do not indicate that a divorce is pending, but the McNair family home is up for sale for $3 million.

Investigators said McNair had been drinking at a pair of Nashville bars – Blue Moon Lagoon Bar and Loser’s Bar – into the early-morning hours of Saturday and then returned to the downtown condo he shared with a pal.

Although neighbors have not reported hearing gunshots, cops believe McNair and Kazemi died about 2 a.m., nearly 12 hours before their bodies were found.

There was no sign of forced entry at the condo, and investigators are checking whether the couple had been having a “lovers’ quarrel,” cops said.

It was not immediately known whom the pistol belonged to, although McNair did have a permit to carry a gun, police said.

Kazemi, who was raised by an aunt in Florida after her parents were killed in Iran, moved to Nashville with her ex-boyfriend, Keith Norfleet.

Norfleet, whom investigators want to interview, had a “volatile” relationship with Kazemi but was trying to win her back from McNair, Norfleet’s stepmother said.

“They had a lot of jealousy in their relationship and they’d fight and break up a lot,” said Trudie Norfleet. “He loved her. … He’s awful torn up about it.”

The quarterback, renowned in Nashville for his extensive work in the community, rented the condo overlooking the Titans stadium with sporting goods dealer Wayne Neeley, who called McNair’s best friend after seeing the bodies sprawled on a couch.

“It’s a picture I’ll never get out of my head,” a weeping Robert Gaddy told the Daily News. “It’s the most terrible sight I’ve ever seen.”

“This was a great man, a man who’d do anything for you,” said Gaddy, who had been friends with the Heisman finalist since meeting him at Alcorn State University.

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Another black football player is shot dead: Steve McNair killed

admin — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 23:02:35 +0000

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)—Former NFL quarterback Steve McNair(notes) and a woman were found shot to death Saturday inside a residence in Nashville, police said.

Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron confirmed that authorities were called to a condominium and found McNair and a woman shot to death inside. Aaron said police don’t yet know the circumstances of the shootings.

“I don’t have any answers for you now as to what’s happened, who’s responsible,” Aaron said.

Aaron said police tentatively have identified the woman but did not release her name.

“There are persons who were around the complex today, visitors, who have been taken to headquarters for questioning, just to see what they know, what they may have seen,” Aaron said. “No one is in custody right now.”

The condominium where the bodies were found is one that McNair was known to frequent, but police spokeswoman Kristin Mumford could not say whether he was the owner.

Detectives from the police department’s centralized homicide unit were on the scene.

McNair played 13 seasons in the NFL and led the Titans within a yard of forcing overtime in the 2000 Super Bowl, which they lost 23-16 to the St. Louis Rams. He also played for the Baltimore Ravens before retiring in April 2008.

“We don’t know the details, but it is a terrible tragedy and our hearts go out to the families involved,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.

“We are saddened and shocked to hear the news of Steve McNair’s passing today,” Titans owner Bud Adams said in a statement. “He was one of the finest players to play for our organization and one of the most beloved players by our fans. He played with unquestioned heart and leadership and led us to places that we had never reached, including our only Super Bowl.”

About 50 people crowded just beyond police tape outside the complex in the upscale Rutledge Hill neighborhood, some wearing Titans hats. The condominium is located within walking distance of an area filled with restaurants and nightspots, just a few blocks from the Cumberland River and within view of the Titans’ stadium.

McNair began his career in 1995 with the Houston Oilers, who eventually became the Titans, and finished with 31,304 yards passing and 174 touchdowns. McNair played with pain for several years, and the injuries ultimately forced him to retire.

The highlight of his playing time might have been a five-game stretch at the end of the 2002 season when he was so banged up he couldn’t practice. McNair started all five games and won them all, leading the Titans to an 11-5 finish and a berth in the AFC championship game for the second time in four seasons.

McNair played all 16 games in 2006, his first season in Baltimore, and guided the Ravens to a 13-3 record. But he injured his groin during the season opener last season and never regained the form that enabled him to earn a berth in four Pro Bowls.

“I am deeply saddened to learn of today’s tragic news regarding the death of Steve McNair. He was a player who I admired a great deal,” said New England Patriots senior football adviser Floyd Reese, who was GM of the Titans when McNair played there. “He was a tremendous leader and an absolute warrior. He felt like it was his responsibility to lead by working hard every day, no matter what.

“I don’t think there was a player who played with him or against him that didn’t look up to him and respect him,” Reese said. “My heartfelt condolences go out to his family, his friends and the many teammates who loved and admired him.”

Titans coach Jeff Fisher was out of the country, taking part in the first NFL-USO coaches tour to Iraq.

AP Sports Writer Teresa Walker and Associated Press Writer Randall Paul Dickerson contributed to this report.

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Clinton: Push for racial equality far from over

admin — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 13:03:42 +0000

CINCINNATI – The push for racial equality is far from over, in sports and in everyday life, former President Bill Clinton told a crowd at Major League Baseball’s Beacon Awards on Saturday, part of its Civil Rights Game.

Clinton, who as president took part in MLB’s ceremony retiring Jackie Robinson’s No. 42 uniform number in 1997, spoke at a luncheon honoring Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, Muhammad Ali and entertainer Bill Cosby for the trio’s contributions to civil rights and charitable works.

The former president told a crowd of about 1,400 at the Duke Energy Convention Center that despite such racial progress as the election of Barack Obama as president, problems remain that disproportionately hit minorities. Clinton cited unemployment, the mortgage crisis, high cost of college, and access to health care among continuing issues.

“A lot of people might be tempted to believe that the struggle — which both produced these three giants of sports and comedy and gave them the power to help so many others — that struggle for racial equality is over,” Clinton said.

“But I really came here to say if you want to honor Hank Aaron and Muhammad Ali and Bill Cosby, you must first recognize that this struggle is nowhere near over,” he said.

The luncheon was among events leading to Saturday night’s first regular-season Civil Rights Game, between the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds.

Ali, whose long battle with Parkinson’s disease has limited his physical activity, remained seated as fellow former boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard presented him his award. Ali looked it over as his wife, Lonnie, spoke on his behalf.

Cosby had the crowd roaring during his acceptance speech, and urged the audience to make sure new generations know what Ali, Aaron and others had to overcome to be successful, and that there is more to be overcome.

“This is not a time to rest,” Cosby said.

Aaron, Ali and Cosby were driven onto the field on carts before the Reds played the Chicago White Sox in the Civil Rights Game, which was held in Memphis, Tenn., the last two years. This was the first time it was held in conjunction with a major league game.

Teams wore throwback jerseys from 1964, the year that the Civil Rights Act was passed outlawing racial segregation. Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, who became a star in Cincinnati before being traded to Baltimore after the 1965 season, threw a ceremonial first pitch to Reds Hall of Famer Tony Perez.

Ali wore a Reds jersey and raised his right hand slightly, acknowledging the crowd, as he was driven along the warning track for his grand entrance to Great American Ball Park. He was helped to a chair along the first base line to watch the pregame ceremonies, which included videoboard tributes to all three.

Aaron was particularly touched by the events. He told reporters before the game that Cincinnati has always been special to him.

“My connection with Cincinnati goes back a long, long ways,” said Aaron, who tied Babe Ruth’s previous home run record of 714 at now-demolished Riverfront Stadium in 1974. “This is a tremendous day for me, not only to get the Beacon Award but to be back in Cincinnati.”

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said Aaron was deeply touched by the award.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him as emotional as he was today,” Selig said.

Major League Baseball was pleased with the weekend, which took the Civil Rights Game onto a much bigger stage for the first time.

“We’re very proud of this event,” Selig said. “It’s come a long, long way in a short period of time.”

___

AP Sports Writer Joe Kay in Cincinnati contributed to this report.

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Humiliated sprinter Marion Jones released from prison

admin — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:59:02 +0000

SAN ANTONIO (AP)—Disgraced sprinter Marion Jones was released Friday from federal prison after completing most of her six-month sentence for lying about her steroid use.

Jones left a halfway house in San Antonio around 8 a.m., said LaTanya Robinson, a community corrections manager for the federal Bureau of Prisons. Jones, who has a house in Austin, will remain on probation.

Jones’ attorney did not immediately respond to a call or e-mail from The Associated Press requesting comment.

The sprinter admitted last October that she used a designer steroid known as “the clear” from September 2000 to July 2001. The drug was linked to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, the lab that became the center of a steroids scandal that touched numerous professional athletes, including baseball star Barry Bonds.

Her admission of drug use in 2007 came after years of denials.

In 2004, she sued the founder of BALCO for defamation after he said she used steroids. The lawsuit was settled the following year, long before she told the truth in a federal courtroom.

Jones gave back the three gold medals and two bronze medals she won at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney before the International Olympic Committee officially wiped her name from the record books in December.

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