FanHouse BarackObama

Last week the New York Times reported that President Barack Obama was criticized by women's advocates and liberal bloggers for hosting male-only pick-up basketball games.

The Times continues:

It's not as bad as former President George W. Bush suddenly drawing a blank when he was asked during an April 2004 press conference to describe his biggest post-9/11 mistake ("You know, I just -- I'm sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with an answer, but it hadn't yet..."), but it's more proof that world leaders, unlike most everybody else, have a skewed since of reality.

President Barack Obama is currently in Russia on a week-long diplomatic mission. And in his first interview with the Russian press he talked about ... his golf game.

In case you've never seen the video, the President of the United States can't bowl. He should declare any alley he visits a major disaster area. Then again, after First Brother-In-Law Craig Robinson thought the other day about the pathetic ways of Barack Obama whenever he rolls a ball toward a set of pins, he told me with a playful frown, "I mean, bowling isn't even a sport, so why bring it up?"

Why, indeed? Except for bowling, this President is becoming the Commander In Chief of all things athletic. Just take it from Robinson, the older brother of First Lady Michelle Obama. Robinson also is the miracle worker of a basketball coach at Oregon State when he isn't the unofficial head of the Barack Obama Fan Club.

On July 14, Major League Baseball will hold its annual All-Star Game in St. Louis. Before the actual game begins, though, President Barack Obama will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. It will mark the fourth time in the history of the Midsummer Classic a current president will have the honor of throwing the first pitch in an All-Star Game, and Obama will be the first one to do so since Gerald Ford took aim in 1976.

"Major League Baseball is truly honored that President Obama will be in attendance to throw out the first pitch at the 80th All-Star Game on July 14 in St. Louis," said Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig in a statement. "The central theme of the 2009 All-Star Game is community service, celebrating the extraordinary work being done by ordinary people. We are thrilled that we can come together with President Obama, who has encouraged a renewed spirit of national service, and illustrate a call to action in our communities. President Obama will continue a great tradition that joins our nation's leader and the national pastime."

When the news hit this morning that President Barack Obama was about to nominate Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, sports fans around the country probably thought, "Why do I know that name?"

The answer is because Sotomayor has gained a little bit of fame over the past decade and a half for her involvement in sports-related court decisions.

In 1995, she issued the injunction that ended the Major League Baseball players' strike hours before replacement players were to take the field in official regular-season games. And when Maurice Clarett challenged the NFL's draft-eligibility rules and tried to enter the 2004 draft, Sotomayor was part of a three-judge panel on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals that ruled against Clarett, and upheld the NFL's minimum age requirement.

Steelers linebacker James Harrison doesn't want to go to the White House on Thursday to meet the president.

After the Steelers won the Super Bowl in the 2005 season, Harrison didn't meet President Bush. But this time, with Harrison again saying he'd rather stay home, he's upset a few people.

Here's a main reason why Harrison should meet President Barack Obama: Obama is African-American. The historical significance of that alone should prompt Harrison to get to D.C.

Last week, Steelers linebacker and Super Bowl champion James Harrison told the media that he had no interest in being honored, along with his teammates, at the White House. Not because he's a McCain-Palin guy -- Harrison skipped out on the trip in 2006 when George W. Bush was in office -- but because ... well, I have no idea.

"If you want to see the Pittsburgh Steelers, invite us when we don't win the Super Bowl. As far as I'm concerned, he [Obama] would've invited Arizona if they had won," he said.

So, yeah, I'm not following the logic, but I don't think Harrison was trying to make a larger philosophical point. Instead, he used a lot of words to say: "I don't want to go." And had he just stated as much, that would have been that.

The FanHouse Podcast: Because bloggers are much sexier on the phone.

Kevin Blackistone -- one of FanHouse's featured columnists -- has far too many accolades for me to mention here. The important thing is that he hit up the 'HouseCast this week to talk about, well, everything. And if that's too general for you, then you have problems. But then fortunately, we're not just bloggers, we're therapists, so here you go: we chat about the Redskins' draft, the problems that owners like Dan Snyder, Al Davis and George Shinn (to name a few) are dealing with right now, Michael Jordan's inability to run a basketball team, Mike Tyson's ear-chomping skills, the Ricky Hatton-Manny Pacquiao fight this weekend in Vegas and Barack Obama's first 100 days. Yes, it's awesome.

Every Monday during the PGA Tour season, Monday Pin Placement will run as a wrap-up of the weekend's action. Basically, we'll focus on what you missed while you were out grinding on the putting green.

Ochoa vs. Woods -- When Annika Sorenstam was at the peak of her game, a stretch between 2001-05 that had Annika claim eight major championships in 18 stars, she became buddies with Tiger Woods, text-messaging Woods after majors to compare their big tournament wins.

With Lorena Ochoa continuing to dominate the LPGA, it might be time for Tiger to land Lorena's phone number.

For the first time since having the word "president" precede Barack Obama's name, the leader of the free world went to the golf course to do what we all do ... try to knock a couple of shots off his handicap.