David Wright dines with Dubya

The New York Post had a story today about New York Mets all-star David Wright eating dinner with George W. Bush at the White House this past Monday, along with San Diego's Trevor Hoffman, Toronto's Vernon Wells, Cubs manager Lou Piniella, broadcaster Tim McCarver and journalist/baseball nut George Will.

Here's Wright's take on the meal:

"The president was so approachable and knew everything that's going on with the Mets," he said. "The man definitely knows his baseball."

Bush certainly knows his hardball. His past career with the Texas Rangers has been well documented. In fact, I think that Bush's ties to baseball played a role in his election as president in 2000.

In many other situations, this would be a cool experience. It would be endearing to see a president take a break from dining with heads of state to meet with a bunch of baseball players from humble roots. But at this moment in US history, with the nation in two bloody wars, I think this type of meeting hurts the president's image.

Whereas most times a politician associates himself with sports it makes him seem like a man of the people, here it just makes Bush look silly. It seems like he should have bigger things on his plate.

Dikembe Mutombo gets a presidential shoutout

Who was that giant of a man sitting next to Laura Bush at the State of the Union tonight? Why, it was none other than NBA player Dikembe Mutombo (yes, he's still playing).

But Mutombo wasn't at the Capitol to throw 'bows, block shots and wag his finger. Rather, the 7-footer was in our nation's capitol to get a shoutout from George W. Bush for building a hospital in his native Democratic Republic of Congo.

Here's the president's exact words:

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 has built a brand new hospital in his 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 our fellow American.

One question remains, however. At what point did he whisper to Laura, "Who wants to sex Mutombo?"