Are You a McDonald’s All-American? Hold for POTUS
EmailBy Karen Travers
In the competitive world of college basketball recruiting, coaches will use any edge they can to land a blue-chip high school athlete. Roy Williams can use the Tar Heel history at North Carolina. UCLA’s Ben Howland can point to his school’s 11 national championship banners.
But no college coach has what Oregon State’s Craig Robinson has: access to his brother-in-law, basketball fanatic President Obama.
Could a call from the Oval Office make a difference in Robinson’s recruiting?
He did not seem to rule out using his presidential connections in a radio interview with Steve Mason and John Ireland on ESPN L.A. on Tuesday, according to the blog SportsRadioInterviews.com.
Q: Are you even allowed to use your sister and brother-in-law by rule, can you get them to help you if you want to?
Robinson: I haven’t tested the rule yet. But what I’ve been telling people is I think the president has the right to call any citizen that he feels like calling any time he wants. I haven’t had to use him yet, but I think I ought to petition the NCAA to see what the ruling will be on that before I do it.
Robinson played for legendary coach Pete Carrill at Princeton from 1980 to 1983 and was a two-time Ivy League Player of the Year.
The Obamas and Robinson frequently told the story of how Robinson brought Barack Obama into a basketball game in Chicago after he and Michelle Obama first started dating –- a classic older-brother move, testing his younger sister’s new suitor. Obama skills on the court served him well and he and Robinson still play the occasional pick-up game.
Robinson was brought in to turn around a struggling Oregon State program that didn’t win a single game in the Pac-10 last season and went 6-25 overall.
In his first season, the Beavers are 7-9 in the conference and 13-14 overall, and there is talk of Pac-10 coach of the year honors for Robinson.
Asked by ESPN L.A. if this season’s success is a stimulus package, Robinson said it was more like a bailout plan.
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This is great reporting.
Posted by: Peace Train | March 4, 2009, 10:25 pm 10:25 pm
Yep…we’re keeping our eye on that all important ball…we love EVERYTHING about O. I love my taxes going higher. I love his divide and conquer attitude. I love his diversions that keep MSM more stories to keep reporting..Good job. Yeah for honest, integrity-filled journalism!
Posted by: Hope | March 4, 2009, 10:36 pm 10:36 pm
That’s hilarious. Think of the thrill for some 17 year-old boy in rural Oregon getting a personal call from the president of the United States, and for the purpose of selling him on where to go to college. Um, I think it might have a little bit of impact.
Posted by: Thank God for Karma | March 4, 2009, 10:41 pm 10:41 pm
You expect news stories from blogs? It’s like drinking rotten milk – if it smelled bad, why did you bother drinking it? Seems to me it’s just an excuse to whine and complain. If you want real news, you’re looking in the wrong place.
Posted by: MIguy | March 4, 2009, 10:44 pm 10:44 pm
Connections are an edge. DC is all about connections. The president wants to change the Washington DC way. He won’t make the calls.
Posted by: mad | March 4, 2009, 10:56 pm 10:56 pm
President Obama, are you listenting? You, or your minions, must not call out individual political reporters. That is their job….the job to protect all Americans. Joe, the plumber, suffered unlrelenting scutiniy just because he asked you a question. Do not threaten them. They are our lifeline! Do we not have the right to ask questions? I, personally, want LESS government. I want to control my own destity. I have a small business and employ 20 people and feel that is responsibility enough. I feel as if my country and my personal , livelihood has been HIGHJACKED!. I want the free enconomy that the Constitution proivides. If companies fail, others will rise to takeover. If individuals fail, they will find a way to resurrect or not. No one guaranteess that my company will succeed, excecpt ME! Please stop this madness!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Mary Jo Stvan | March 4, 2009, 11:27 pm 11:27 pm
You folks should really geta life. The interview was clearly tongue in cheek. You have seen Sports Center, right? As for those of you worried about your taxes going up, are you telling us that you’re 1 of the people who is making over $200,000 a year? So then you would have to pay a higher rate on all the money you earn above $250,000. So tell us all why the hell we should give a dam?
Posted by: roxsteady | March 5, 2009, 12:26 am 12:26 am
Im mainly upset as a Duke fan that the President sat down with Roy Williams and Carolina in a workout this past summer to get votes its all pandering and people on the left and right are wrong!
Posted by: JG | March 5, 2009, 1:36 am 1:36 am
if your point is half of the people have been in the white house before and clearly not serious about it and the other half dont know what they are doing then you are right!
Posted by: JG | March 5, 2009, 1:39 am 1:39 am
He is not doing a great job for our country. Hmmmm! And this article??? Too funny!
Posted by: Anonymous | March 5, 2009, 4:33 am 4:33 am
“So tell us all why the hell we should give a dam?”
Take all the money in the world and give it evenly to everyone. In a very short time, their would be those who are rich and those who are poor.
Being rich almost implies a temporary state. Building wealth, however, takes any number of admirable traits such as courage, discipline, thrift and foresight to name a few, to sustain it. A perfect example is lotter winners. More than half of all lottery winners end up spending their winnings and going far into debt. Think about that. Easy come easy go.
Posted by: Think | March 5, 2009, 12:51 pm 12:51 pm
Think, I also know a number of wealthy individuals who got their money from underpaying their workers and not providing benefits in the landscape, construction business and even owners of factories. My brother-in-law, a plumber has had more than a few wealthy customers who wouldn’t pay the last installment of their bill for a major renovation, hoping he wouldn’t want the bother of small claims court, as a few admitted they had got away with doing that numerous times with tradesmen working on their homes.
Just because someone is wealthy, doesn’t mean they came by their money honestly.
Posted by: Lydia | March 5, 2009, 5:08 pm 5:08 pm