September 11, 2001: How Baseball Helped Bring us Back [J. Mark English]

Septemeber 11, 2001: Never Forget [J. Mark English]

Politicians Weigh in on Bonds [J. Mark English]

Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, toasted Barry Bonds with the following statement:

"Tonight, Barry Bonds etched his name into baseball's history books and took his rightful place among sport's immortals," Pelosi said. "It was a great night for baseball and a great night for San Francisco -- the crowd went wild. It was particular exciting to see Willie Mays embrace him on the field and see Hank Aaron congratulate him on the Jumbotron. As a season ticket holder, I am particularly glad it happened on the Giants' Italian night."

After all why shouldn't she toast him? San Francisco is in the district that she represents as a member of Congress. But calling him an immortal may have been going a little too far. And the Hank Aaron video on the jumbotron looked more like a hostage tape then something that Aaron enjoyed doing...

One the flip side, President George W. Bush, a former owner of the Texas Rangers, declined to even call Barry Bonds to offer up congratulations. This is from Reuters:

President George W. Bush didn't watch and didn't call, but the White House offered his congratulations for Barry Bonds' record-breaking home run and also used the opportunity to condemn steroid use in sports.

Bonds hit the 756th home run of his career to set a new Major League mark on Tuesday night, sparking wild celebrations among his hometown San Francisco fans and mixed reaction elsewhere because of past steroid use allegations against him.

White House spokesman Tony Snow offered no explanation on Wednesday for why Bush, a big baseball fan and former part owner of the Texas Rangers, had made no congratulatory call to the San Francisco Giants slugger.

Famed NASCAR Driver Bill France, Jr. Dies [J. Mark English]

From the New York Times:

Bill France Jr., who took over Nascar from his father when it was a regional stock-car racing attraction and transformed it into a multibillion-dollar enterprise with a national presence, died Monday at his home in Daytona Beach, Fla. He was 74.

President Bush even took sometime today to recognize the life of Bill France, Jr. despite being all the way in Prague:

Laura and I are deeply saddened by the death of Bill France Jr. Bill was a legend in the world of NASCAR whose passion and vision for stock-car racing led the sport to the national prominence it enjoys today.

Bill brought racing's excitement to millions of new fans through his steadfast and innovative leadership. Bill also helped ensure that the NASCAR community found many ways to support the men and women of the US Armed Forces. Our thoughts and prayers are with the France family.

Can Sports Make a President? [J. Mark English]

I love sports, but politics are really my true passion. I've followed politics ever since I was a little kid because of the intense rivalry in a race for power. For my money, even the most thrilling sporting event doesn't hold a candle compared to an election night. Especially a presidential election night.

Think back to the 2000 presidential election. Not only did we not find out who would be the next leader of the free world on the actual election night, but it took over a month to finally determine who would be the next Commander in Chief. Imagine if that could be translated into a sporting event? It would be like a Super Bowl going into 18 sudden death over times. Or a baseball game venturing into possibly 50 innings. Except instead of a trophy on the line, and pride you have the weight of the free world. Human lives, jobs, wealth, worldly decision are at stake in a heated election. Can you ask for better competition with more at stake?

Is it any coincidence then that most of our presidents have aspired to be involved in athletics? Even if they are not gifted athletes they want to be involved in some sport that allows them to vent their stress into a healthy arena.

Teddy Roosevelt when he was President asked engineers to allow for the Potomac river to flow right up to the White House, so that every morning he could go for long swims before returning to work.

President Ulysses S. Grant was a champion horseback rider. After his presidency, he went across the world on a two year tour, showing of his skills on a horse.

President Dwight Eisenhower guided us through the beginnings of the Cold War. He managed his stress through golf. He had a handicap of only 14-18, and it is rumored that he only broke 80 three times in his life.

Recently we all learned what kind of athlete President Gerald R. Ford was in his day. He could have been a professional football player, but turned down certain NFL contracts in order to pursue a career in law.

Who can forget when President George W. Bush, himself a former MLB owner of the Texas Rangers, threw a perfect strike at Yankee Stadium a month after September 11, 2001, during the World Series while the New York crowded chanted "USA, USA, USA."

I realize that I may be showing a bias here since every president I mentioned was or is a republican. But this holds true for democrats as well. President Clinton used his daily jog as way to garner support for bills while he was in the White House. President Kennedy was an avid sailor, and would use his vacations to play everything from golf to football.

President Franklin Roosevelt fought against his polio stricken body by going down to Georgia, using intense physical therapy to rise out of his wheel chair.

It is clear just how great the connection is between our presidents and athletics.

Is it any wonder then that as our nation begins its search for new leadership in the year 2008, sports might be a good barometer to judge the character of a leader? Just recently in the New York Times, there was a great article about how basketball can tell us an awful lot about presidential hopeful, Senator Barack Obama:

Last Christmas, Senator Barack Obama flew to Hawaii to contemplate a presidential bid in the peace of his childhood home. But there, on a humid playground near Waikiki Beach, he found himself being roughed up by some of his best friends. It was the third and final game of the group’s annual three-on-three basketball showdown, and with the score nearly tied, things were getting dirty.

“Every time he tried to score, I fouled him,” Martin Nesbitt recalled. “I grabbed him, I’d hit his arm, I’d hold him.” Michael Ramos, another participant, explained, “No blood, no foul.”

Mr. Obama, like everyone else on the court, was laughing. And with a head fake, a bit of contact and a jumper that seemed out of his range, Mr. Obama sank the shot that won the game.

From John F. Kennedy’s sailing to Bill Clinton’s golf mulligans to John Kerry’s windsurfing, sports has been used, correctly or incorrectly, as a personality decoder for presidents and presidential aspirants. So, armchair psychologists and fans of athletic metaphors, take note: Barack Obama is a wily player of pickup basketball, the version of the game with unspoken rules, no referee and lots of elbows. He has been playing since adolescence, on cracked-asphalt playgrounds and at exclusive health clubs, developing a quick offensive style, a left-handed jump shot and relationships that have extended into the political arena...

...It is a theme that runs throughout Mr. Obama’s basketball career: a desire to be perceived as a regular guy despite great advantage and success. As a teenager, he slipped away from his tony school to university courts populated by “gym rats and has-beens” who taught him “that respect came from what you did and not who your daddy was,” Mr. Obama wrote...

...Now, for exercise, Mr. Obama pounds treadmills at hotel gyms. He played a bit last year, with American troops on military bases in Kuwait and Djibouti, and again at Christmas. His staff members laugh when asked if the senator has had any playing time since coming to Washington or hitting the campaign trail. (“I dream of playing basketball,” Mr. Obama said in a television interview on Tuesday.) Before the first Democratic debate in South Carolina, Mr. Robinson reserved a court and a slot on Mr. Obama’s schedule, hoping the candidate could blow off some steam before the big night. It did not happen.

The solution, Mr. Obama’s friends say, is for him to win the presidency, so they can all play together at the White House.

Photos: Dungy and the Colts Visit the White House [J. Mark English]

Virginia Tech: Putting Tragedy into Words [J. Mark English]

As we continue to pray for the victims of yesterday's terrible calamity at Virginia Tech, I have managed to find some of the best words from others to conjure up the feelings being felt at this time:

In such times as this, we look for sources of strength to sustain us. And in this moment of loss, you're finding these sources everywhere around you. These sources of strength are in this community, this college community. You have a compassionate and resilient community here at Virginia Tech. Even as yesterday's events were still unfolding, members of this community found each other; you came together in dorm rooms and dining halls and on blogs. One recent graduate wrote this: "I don't know most of you guys, but we're all Hokies, which means we're family. To all of you who are okay, I'm happy for that. For those of you who are in pain or have lost someone close to you, I'm sure you can call on anyone of us and have help any time you need it." - President George W. Bush
I woke up. I turned on the TV. That's when your heart kind of skips a beat a little bit. But then right away I talked to my little brother. He let me know he talked to my mother, and my mother said everything is okay....He's obviously shaken up...I briefly spoke to my brother. It's tough to get ahold of him because all the cell phones, with the usage, it's tough to get through. I just tried to be brief. He's trying to call and make sure with his friends everybody he thought might be there is okay. - David Wright, who's brother is a senior at Virginia Tech.
I'm numb...This is sickening...It's all been just a blur...All of those kids just sitting in their classrooms, doing what they're supposed to be doing...Seeing the parents coming onto campus now to identify their children ... it's just devastating. - Seth Greenberg, head coach of the Virginia Tech basketball team. His daughter is a freshman.
Derek really enjoyed the experience and the school. That tragedy...it breaks your heart. It's a wonderful campus, and they've got a great administration over there. Boy, that's something that tears you apart when you hear about that situation. - Lou Piniella, who's son played football at Virginia Tech for three years.
How could one person cause so many senseless deaths? I'm in shock...It's hard to say how this will impact our community or our team. What I know is that one person has affected at least 22 families and countless friends. And it's senseless. All so senseless... - Frank Beamer, head coach of Virginia Tech football team.

Bush's Ball Bouncing Blunder [J. Mark English]

Shout out to the Drudge Report for this:

Video: Ball Doesn't Bounce Bush's Way During NBA Champ Photo- Op...

Happy Presidents Day Sport Fans [J. Mark English]

Presidents have long been tapped into the psyche of the sports world. Many of our Presidents demonstrated their greatness early in life in the sports world. President Ronald Reagan developed the great communicator role by being a broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs. President George W. Bush is a former owner of the Texas Rangers. President Gerald Ford was a standout center for the University of Michigan's football team. President Dwight Eisenhower had a tremendous golf game, and claimed a handicap of as low as 14. President Richard Nixon once drew up a play for the Washington Redskins.

One of the more famous athletes to serve in the White House was President Theodore Roosevelt. Water used to come right up to the White House from the Potomac River, and he would swim up and down the river every morning.

The name of this site is "American Legends." An American Legend refers to the great athletes that have played in this country. What is a great athlete? On April 23, 1910, President Roosevelt gave a stirring speech where he came as close to describing the greatness of athletes, and those that dare to participate in sports:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Mutombo Honored During State of the Union [J. Mark English]

President George W. Bush sure does like to surround himself by famous athletes during political events. The former major league baseball owner, who two years ago invited quarterback Tom Brady to sit with First Lady Bush in the gallery of heroes, invited Dikembe Mutombo to be honored during the State of the Union. This is what the President said about Mutombo:

Dikembe Mutombo grew up in Africa, amid great poverty and disease. He came to Georgetown University on a scholarship to study medicine -- but Coach John Thompson got a look at Dikembe and had a different idea. Dikembe became a star in the NBA, and a citizen of the United States. But he never forgot the land of his birth, or the duty to share his blessings with others. He built a brand new hospital in his old hometown. A friend has said of this good-hearted man: "Mutombo believes that God has given him this opportunity to do great things." And we are proud to call this son of the Congo a citizen of the United States of America.

President Bush Remarks about President Ford [J. Mark English]

President Bush:

My fellow Americans, all of us are saddened by the news that former President Gerald R. Ford passed away last night. I spoke with Betty Ford. On behalf of all Americans Laura and I extend to Mrs. Ford and all President Ford's family our prayers and our condolences.

President Ford was a great man who devoted the best years of his life in serving the United States. He was a true gentleman who reflected the best in America's character. Before the world knew his name, he served with distinction in the United States Navy and in the United States Congress.

As a congressman from Michigan, and then as Vice President, he commanded the respect and earned the good will of all who had the privilege of knowing him. On August 9, 1974, he stepped into the presidency without ever having sought the office. He assumed power in a period of great division and turmoil. For a nation that needed healing and for an office that needed a calm and steady hand, Gerald Ford came along when we needed him most.

During his time in office, the American people came to know President Ford as a man of complete integrity who led our country with common sense and kind instincts.

Americans will always admire Gerald Ford's unflinching performance of duty and the honorable conduct of his administration, and the great rectitude of the man himself.

We mourn the loss of such a leader, and our 38th President will always have a special place in our nation's memory.

President Ford lived 93 years, and his life was a blessing to America. And now this fine man will be taken to his rest by a family that will love him always, and by a nation that will be grateful to him forever.

May god bless Gerald Ford.