Obama no lay-up on the court

DES MOINES -- Close followers of Barack Obama know that he loves a game of basketball and always has. He even sneaks in early-morning games before long days on the campaign trail.

S.L. Price of Sports Illustrated got a little one-on-one time with the Illinois senator recently at a YMCA in Spencer, Iowa. It sounds like Obama got the best of him. "At 6' 1 1/2", Obama is all lefty, quick with long arms," Price writes. (See photos here.)

After a particularly egregious foul, Price says, Obama, his Secret Service detail never far away, tells him, "Believe me, you can get shot for doing that."

The piece reminds us that we were supposed to get Obama on the court in New Hampshire a few months back. We were all laced up and, to borrow a phrase from his campaign, ready to go. But Obama backed out at the last minute. We never got a reason, which left us with just one conclusion: He must have been scared.