Barack-etology: President Obama Goes with Safe Picks for his NCAA Men’s, Women’s Final Fours
EmailABC News’ Karen Travers reports: In perhaps the most critical week of his presidency, with health care reform legislation on the line, President Obama, like millions of Americans, took some time out for March Madness. Today at the White House Obama filled out his NCAA men’s and women’s tournament brackets with ESPN’s Andy Katz and Doris Burke. The hoopster-in-chief has Kansas, Kentucky, Kansas State and Villanova in his men’s Final Four and on the women’s side, predicts the last four teams will be Connecticut, Stanford, Tennessee and Notre Dame. This is the second year Obama has done his brackets with ESPN, but the first time he filled out a women’s tournament bracket. Obama’s full bracket – and his national champions – will be unveiled on ESPN’s SportsCenter on Wednesday. Obama’s men’s and women’s Final Four lineups are full of safe, high-seeded picks rather than upset Cinderellas. The Kansas men’s squad is the top team going into this week’s tournament and Kentucky is also a #1 seed. Kansas State and Villanova come in as #2 seeds. His bracket is likely to match many March Madness participants. Picking the UConn women’s team for his Final Four is a solid and safe bet for Obama. The Huskies have dominated college women’s basketball this season, boast a 72-game winning streak and are the defending national champions. UConn came to the White House last year to be honored for their title and shot hoops with the president on the basketball court there. On the women’s side, Stanford and Tennessee are #1 seeds and Notre Dame is a #2 seed. Last year, Obama correctly picked the North Carolina Tar Heels as the men’s national champion, despite some bumps along the way in his bracket and early losses. Obama took a break from the campaign trail in the spring of 2008 to play some hoops with the Tar Heels so he had inside knowledge of their game. The Tar Heels were also the top ranked team, making them a safe bet for the Final Four and title. Katz said after the interview that it was clear that Obama has been paying attention to college basketball this season, knowing details about injuries, key players and good potential matchups in the tournament field. Obama’s love of basketball is well documented and he frequently plays pick-up games with friends and staff on weekends. He has admitted to being a devoted SportsCenter viewer and avidly follows the college game. Obama sat courtside in January for a matchup between two top teams – the Georgetown Hoyas and the Duke Blue Devils -and even tried his hand at a few minutes of color commentary on the sidelines with the CBS Sports game announcers. -Karen Travers
Sen. DeMint: GOP Race Could Go Until Convention 
Obama Avoids Questions on Contraception Rule
Like everything he does he takes the safe route. If he loses he’ll find someone to blame.
Posted by: david burns | March 16, 2010, 7:55 pm 7:55 pm
He just phones Michelle’s brother and has him fax the stuff to AF1.
Posted by: DontGet818onMeNow | March 16, 2010, 7:59 pm 7:59 pm
I am absolutely thrilled he picked my beloved K-State Wildcats as well as three other wildcat teams. I hope he’s wrong about the mythical bird that flies backwards–the jayhawks from KU.
Posted by: KSUwildcat | March 16, 2010, 8:58 pm 8:58 pm
So did he offer Joe Sestak a job to bribe him to quit his Senate run ? Oh , hoops is more important . That is so racist of you and you can’t even see it . What is it with people like you and Dan Rather ? What is the frequency Kenneth .
Posted by: nat turner | March 16, 2010, 9:42 pm 9:42 pm
hey, if none of the prez final four picks wins the championship, will he fire the university president, take over 60% ownership of the team and force the university into bankruptcy? you know, like he did to GM. just curious.
Posted by: Ira | March 16, 2010, 9:43 pm 9:43 pm
Nice to know Obama still has time to keep up on college basketball players injuries.
Posted by: Oscar | March 16, 2010, 9:46 pm 9:46 pm
How heartwarming… President Jugears McBabbletons can pull himself away from destroying our economy AND constitution in order to make a series of mundane chalk picks in the ncaa brackets.
Say, can he spare a moment to discuss the Brady Quinn trade too?
What about what thinks about baseball spring training so far?
Jeepers is there anything, anything AT ALL that our dreamy president doesn’t know everything about?
Excepting of course simple mathematics, constitutional principles, basic economics, and speaking extemporaneously I mean….
Posted by: 2Brixshy | March 16, 2010, 9:55 pm 9:55 pm
Glad he picked my beloved UK. But i don’t think K State will make it. obama has the midas touch. He picked UNC last year and they won. He picked the steelers and saints and they won super bowls. He picked the Lakers and they won the NBA Finals.
Daaaaamn, he’s good.
Posted by: rizzo | March 16, 2010, 10:06 pm 10:06 pm
Who cares what lefty thinks about a basketball tournament?
Posted by: bobmac | March 16, 2010, 10:47 pm 10:47 pm
Rome is burning and Nero is fiddling!! Who gives a crap what Obama thinks; he is a complete fraud. How about he resigns and goes to work for ESPN, for which he may be qualified for that job.
Posted by: Peter King | March 16, 2010, 10:53 pm 10:53 pm
Posted by: Peter King What’s the matter,
lost a job again! Try getting an education
instead of whining.
Posted by: spacerook1 | March 16, 2010, 10:56 pm 10:56 pm
you know, like he did to GM. just curious.
Posted by: Ira | **************************
Oh you mean like fiasco bush made by forcing
Bank of America to buy out Merrill Lynch. Talk
about hypocrites
Posted by: spacerook1 | March 16, 2010, 11:02 pm 11:02 pm
I don’t think it’s proper for the President to have a preference at all for any team except to keep it private.
Posted by: rightbehind | March 16, 2010, 11:28 pm 11:28 pm
It’s a comfort to know that while
millions of Americans are out of
work and Iran and North Korea
continue their march to acquiring
nuclear weapons that President Obama
had the time to pick the Final Four
for college basketball!
I think the president ought to know that
these are his first and final
four years in the Whitehouse!
You really have your priorities
straight, Mr President!
Posted by: reaganfan | March 17, 2010, 12:02 am 12:02 am
OMG….. I’m glad he doesn’t have national security issues to attend to….. or how about “jobs”!!!!! —- too rude!
Posted by: TheLoyalOpposition | March 17, 2010, 12:03 am 12:03 am
No……. haven’t you heard of “upsets”?? — You HAVE to plan on a few of them Barack!
Posted by: TheLoyalOpposition | March 17, 2010, 12:07 am 12:07 am
peter king said:How about he resigns and goes to work for ESPN, for which he may be qualified for that job.
Peter that would be a good idea
except for the fact that Joe Biden and
Nancy Pelosi are next in line for
the presidency!
If all three of them resigned at once
I’d be all for it!
Posted by: reaganfan | March 17, 2010, 12:08 am 12:08 am
It amazes me that a President who acts like a normal person and not an idiot gets ridiculed for trying to stay in touch.
Posted by: swing-man | March 17, 2010, 12:20 am 12:20 am
Showing the Big 12 some love. I am down with that.
Posted by: Huh | March 17, 2010, 12:31 am 12:31 am
Like yesterday in Ohio when he said insurance premiums would decrease by 3000% if ObamaCare was enacted?Like when he called a Naval Hospitalman “Corpseman”?Like when he visited ” 57 states” Like when he referred to the national language of Austria as “Austrian”?Put down the Kool-Aid and open your eyes.I think he does a pretty god impression of an idiot quite frequently.
Posted by: Nephron | March 17, 2010, 12:37 am 12:37 am
It’s a comfort to know that while
millions of Americans are out of
work and Iran and North Korea
continue their march to acquiring
nuclear weapons …
Posted by: reaganfan
are you speaking for Bush/Cheney..?
sound like it
Posted by: XXX | March 17, 2010, 12:51 am 12:51 am
Fill out the future 2010 and 2012 election brackets.
UPSETS galore!
Posted by: josephbbl | March 17, 2010, 12:59 am 12:59 am
Nephron,
I must disagree. I think he doesn’t do a “god impression” (good impersonation??) of an idiot. Doesn’t remind me of George W. or you.
Posted by: WLB | March 17, 2010, 1:02 am 1:02 am
More fluff to make Obama look kinder and gentler. Good job ABC.
Posted by: Charlie C | March 17, 2010, 1:19 am 1:19 am
I think the government needs to take control of NCAA basketball. We need to spread the wealth and not have some teams with more talent than other teams.
Socialize the NCAA!
Posted by: Charlie C | March 17, 2010, 1:22 am 1:22 am
Wow – it always amazes me that people can be so critical of a president (no matter which one historically or which party he came from) who takes a break from the stress of his job once in a while for personal pursuits and other activities. He’s a human being working in one of this highest-stress-level jobs imaginable, and he’s not allowed to take a few minutes here and there for himself? He can’t shoot a round of golf, go for a jog, take a weekend getaway, go skiing, or (gasp!) watch a ballgame or fill out a bracket??
Amazing.
Posted by: mjw | March 17, 2010, 1:26 am 1:26 am
Further, I’d be willing to bet any amount that there will be dozens/hundreds/thousands of similar critical posts on articles just like this during the work day tomorrow – posted by people who are supposed to be working on THEIR jobs.
Oh, the irony.
Posted by: mjw | March 17, 2010, 1:29 am 1:29 am
mjw:
Further, I’d be willing to bet any amount that there will be dozens/hundreds/thousands of similar critical posts on articles just like this during the work day tomorrow – posted by people who are supposed to be working on THEIR jobs.
Posted by: LweatonNC | March 17, 2010, 5:27 am 5:27 am
Oh my gosh, how much more RACIST could you be? Where’s the uproar? Where’s Al Sharpton? Where’s Jesse Jackson? Front page coverage of a “black” man choosing a basketball team to win the NCAA.
Posted by: Steve C | March 17, 2010, 6:22 am 6:22 am
Basket target, an extra waist-line meat. Cheers from C-Jazz in appearance from the City of London.
Posted by: Emanuwa C-Jazz | March 17, 2010, 7:41 am 7:41 am
He picked the Four K’s..
Kansas, Kentucky
Coach ‘K’, Kuse (Cuse)
Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow | March 17, 2010, 7:49 am 7:49 am
Hopefully this won’t jinx any of the teams. Last time he picked a winner, the team lost. Please don’t support Kentucky.
Posted by: mj | March 17, 2010, 7:56 am 7:56 am
If Obama would actually spend as as much time learning about the economy, geopolitics, etc as he does playing and watching basketball, he wouldn’t be nmaking the stupid policy decisions that he is.
Posted by: Barney | March 17, 2010, 7:59 am 7:59 am
He’s probably handicapping the ‘Whip Count’ as we type.
Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow | March 17, 2010, 7:59 am 7:59 am
Walter ‘Barack’ Mitty is probably practicing his final four championship buzzer beater.. in the White House gym
Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow | March 17, 2010, 8:16 am 8:16 am
His record for campaigning shouldn’t be an indication….Bwahahahah!
Posted by: LongT | March 17, 2010, 8:25 am 8:25 am
Yeah…predicting the outcome of a basketball tourney is “staying in touch”….my God!
Posted by: LongT | March 17, 2010, 8:27 am 8:27 am
My money is on whoever Obama doesn’t pick….
Posted by: LongT | March 17, 2010, 8:35 am 8:35 am
I just read all of these comments. Are these people stupid or just plain old mean?
Posted by: Sandra | March 17, 2010, 8:42 am 8:42 am
WLB- see NY Times “Week in Review” article by Peter Baker.Obviously the pun went over your head.Sorry.So I guess you believe that your premiums will go down 3000%.As for Bush, at least he had the intestinal fortitude to release his college grades,which is more than Corpseman Obama.Maybe if we saw those grades the myth of the brilliant Obama would melt away faster than his approval ratings.
Posted by: Nephron | March 17, 2010, 9:15 am 9:15 am
President is just a favorite target i guess. I dont remember if bush picked a bracket.
Here is an idea to help with the national debt.
Have a lottery, and the winner gets a game of 21, or horse, or at least a shoot-around, with the president.
Posted by: James Jordan | March 17, 2010, 9:16 am 9:16 am
I’m glad he doesn’t have anything really important to do. Is he going to do PGA predictions, too, since he’s such a great golfer?
Posted by: ferd | March 17, 2010, 9:39 am 9:39 am
Are these people stupid or just plain old mean?
Posted by: Sandra | Mar 17, 2010 8:42:35 AM
_______
Good question.
‘“Throwing grenades is easier than catching them,” acknowledged Senator John Thune’ in a piece for the NYT… a piece in which McConnell basically acknowledges that the Republican strategy has been extreme obstructionism in lockstep.
From the same piece by Carl Hulse and Adam Nagourney at the NYT: “Even Mr. McConnell’s fellow Republicans say somewhat admiringly that he can be a secretive and coldly calculating tactician with an eye for political openings, someone more consumed by political strategy than ideology or philosophy.”
Its a pretty sickening thing to be admiring of — scorched earth b.s. during turbulent times– exploiting fear and anger rather than focusing on solutions for a wide range of chronic problems. But their echo chamber eats it up, to the destruction of the country. Remember, these are the people that brought us an unnecessary and, for many years grossly mismanaged, war of aggression funded on borrowed money with several billions of taxpayer money simply “lost” or mismanaged or used for profiteering while also enacting tax cuts without matching spending cuts. They also brought us severe insults to civil liberties– and buried their heads in the sand regarding crumbling infrastructure, alternate renewable energy, a two term income decline, increasing poverty, jobs being shipped overseas, medical inflation, a growing number of uninsureds and so on.
Posted by: progressive mama | March 17, 2010, 9:47 am 9:47 am
Awwww
Obama is just a regular guy afterall.
The MSM is Obama’s doormat.
Posted by: fran | March 17, 2010, 10:13 am 10:13 am
We must ban the sale of junk food at sports events.
Michelle says “cut out the junk”.
Posted by: ollie | March 17, 2010, 10:15 am 10:15 am
Your right swing-man he only
governs like an Idiot!
Obama is a Disaster! Wake up.
Posted by: reaganfan | March 17, 2010, 11:54 am 11:54 am
XXX: That blame Bush crap is old!
Obama wasn’t elected to make excuses.
He was elected to solve problems.
Unfortunately he is Clueless.
That’s why he has to keep blaming Bush!
Pathetic.
Posted by: reaganfan | March 17, 2010, 11:57 am 11:57 am
Will Obama convince the NCAA to increase the number of teams in the tournie since he thinks there are 57 states?
Good thing he’s hiding those college records.
Posted by: ernie | March 17, 2010, 12:45 pm 12:45 pm
c’mon jake who cares.. this jerk is about to fundamentally change America and this is discussed. I am officially done with this blog!
Posted by: kelley | March 17, 2010, 12:57 pm 12:57 pm
“I met a fool i’ the forest,
A motley fool.”
Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow | March 17, 2010, 3:52 pm 3:52 pm
Hard to have fun with this president when you realize he does not like our country–and thinks he is the only one that can fix it.
He seems determined to ruin our country as we know it and turn it into Venezuela.
Racking up $2Trillion in debt in just 421 days.
Adding another trillion dollar entitlement that may screw up everyone’s health care.
Excuse me if I don’t think the president is funny or charming.
Posted by: cal | March 17, 2010, 4:00 pm 4:00 pm