Elections Capsules: Sports world pauses to talk about Obama's win

Donovan McNabb grew up in Chicago never believing he would see a black man become president.

Perhaps that was one reason why the 31-year-old Philadelphia Eagles quarterback didn't register to vote until this election.

McNabb, though, had met Barack Obama, believed in his ideas and supported his policies. Watching Obama deliver his victory speech at Grant Park brought back all sorts of memories.

"It reminded me of, obviously, when Martin Luther King spoke and the messages that he spoke about," McNabb said Wednesday. "As a man, if you teared up, it was acceptable because it was that deep.

"For the first time, I had the opportunity to vote and I can say that I was a part of it," he said.

From the NFL to the PGA Tour to the baseball general managers' meeting to a tennis tournament in the Middle East, sports paused Wednesday to reflect on the election.

Several Eagles hollered Obama's motto, "Yes, we can!" in the locker room. Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter was among several NFL players wearing Obama shirts a day after the win over Sen. John McCain.

"Inspiring and transformational," NBA commissioner David Stern said. "Hooray for the USA."

Moments after Obama closed out McCain, the Boston Celtics finished off their win at Houston.

"I thought it was really interesting right after the game, the guys were celebrating Obama's victory more than we just beat the Rockets on the road. I thought that was really cool," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said.

"Like I told them three or four days ago," he said. "I told them, ‘I don't care who you vote for. That's none of my business. I just want you to vote. I just want you to be involved."'

Oregon State men's basketball coach Craig Robinson had a special rooting interest: His sister, Michelle, is Obama's wife.

Robinson was in Chicago for the celebration Tuesday night and was back in Corvallis, Ore., for practice Wednesday.

"It doesn't get much better than that," he said. "Although I would imagine that winning a Pac-10 championship would feel pretty good right about now."

Several players and golfer Boo Weekley wondered how Obama's tax plan would affect their wallet. Previously, Weekley said he planned to retire once he reached $8 million in career winnings.

"That number went up, as of last night," he said before the Children's Miracle Network Classic at Disney.

Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen also thought about the tax implications.

"It's a sad day for me. I'm a McCain supporter. There is nothing I can do about it now. Our paychecks will be cut in half," he said. "It is what it is and McCain, I still love you, and Obama, you better do what you promised because the whole country is watching."

Not to worry, Saints linebacker Scott Fujita said.

"We heard so much about how he's going to be taxing everybody who makes over $250,000. That's everybody in our business. So everyone's going to be affected by that," he said. "And my argument to them was maybe there's a chance our tax dollars are going to be spent a little more wisely than they have in the past."

New York Jets nose tackle Kris Jenkins thought about his taxes, but, more importantly, his three young children and his half-brother serving in Iraq.

"I can't be selfish enough to think about keeping all of my money and just being in a better tax bracket because I have to be sure that I do my part for the world to be a better place for my kids," he said.

LeBron James campaigned for Obama and arrived at Wednesday night's game wearing a T-shirt with the president-elect's likeness on the front. The Cleveland star contributed $20,000 to a committee supporting Obama, participated in an early-voter registration rally and hosted a free concert at Quicken Loans Arena with rap star Jay-Z to support the Illinois senator.

James recently met Obama when they both were on David Letterman's show. The Cavaliers' franchise player liked that Obama played hoops in the hours leading up to his election.

"They say that's a ritual for him, like me coming in early and getting a massage before the game," James said. "It got him prepared. The speech was, wow. If it takes basketball for him to say things like that, then let him do it."

Grant Hill and the Phoenix Suns kept tabs on the election during their win at New Jersey. The Suns were on the team bus when they found out Obama had won.

"It would have been nice to have been at home with the family, taking it all in, but we were playing and trying to get updates while we were playing, during timeouts. I will always remember playing against Jersey on Nov. 4, 2008," Hill said.

"We talk about the black vote, but white America is the one that makes the difference, and they voted for an African-American. You can have all the black votes you want, but if you don't have the white vote, you ain't going to win. It just shows a lot," he said.

Venus and Serena Williams embraced Obama's victory during the WTA Tour's season-ending tournament in Doha, Qatar.

"America is a wonderful place. I love my country, and I love living there. I love my passport. But also it's a country that almost since its beginning, it was supposed to be a place where people were escaping intolerance. It became a country that was really intolerant of different minorities and skin colors," Venus said.

"My dad grew up in Louisiana, a place where he was called ‘boy' and shown no respect. Where he couldn't say anything. His mother was a poor sharecropper," she said. "So I think it's amazing that America has the opportunity to have someone who is a minority of mixed race or whatever you want to call it."

Sister Serena saw it the same way.

"I was just thinking about everything, thinking about Martin Luther King and Malcolm X and all the pioneers. ... All of these people, Arthur Ashe, who led the way for us. It's amazing," she said."

Kansas City Chiefs coach Herm Edwards woke up daughters Gabrielle, 3, and Vivian, 2, to watch Obama's speech.

"It was about 10 o'clock. They were watching the television and clapping. I said, ‘There's your President.' I wanted them to know our country is great," he said. "When they have children they'll be able to say, ‘I saw him. I didn't have to read a history book."'

As the Broncos packed up for their trip to Cleveland, the music blaring in the locker room was Cocoa Tea's reggae song "Barack Obama."

Wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who had worn Obama shirts for all his interviews this season, was beaming.

"As soon as we found out that he won, my mom called me and she said, ‘When you have your first child, just look them in the eyes and tell them, you know, you can be anything you want to be,"' Marshall said. "It happened for me and it happened for Barak and it happened for the United States."

Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, the first black coach to win a Super Bowl, hoped Obama's victory would have far-reaching effects.

"My wife was talking to my 7-year-old daughter and she was asking a lot of questions about what electoral votes are and how they work and that sort of thing. I think it could be a bring a lot of African-Americans into the process that maybe weren't in it before," he said.

A number of Steelers players were clearly excited by Obama's victory - as was their owner. Dan Rooney was one of Obama's most visible supporters in western Pennsylvania and introduced him before a full-house rally at Mellon Arena on Oct. 27.

Wide receiver Hines Ward went around the Pittsburgh locker room with a camera crew, interviewing players about the election for his weekly TV show.

Dallas wide receiver Terrell Owens said coach Wade Phillips used "change" as a theme in a team meeting. "Hopefully that can trickle on down to our season," Owens said.

Boston College receiver Brandon Robinson recalled hearing Obama speak on campus three years ago, welcoming the class of 2009.

"My grandfather's 92 years old, and was a sharecropper, and he lived to see a black man elected president," Robinson said. "It's a pretty big deal."

Robinson, who is biracial, said he has not read Obama's book "Dreams from My Father", adding, "But it's on my desk right now."

Bears coach Lovie Smith began his news conference Wednesday with these words: "It doesn't get any better than this, a historic day like we have today - the first black president."

Boxer Roy Jones Jr., preparing to fight Saturday night against Joe Calzaghe, followed the election in New York.

"I'm so proud to be an American now, more today than I've ever been in my life, because last night was a true change - last night we were all equal before we're black, white, Haitian, whatever," he said.

New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya watched the results from the GMs meeting in Dana Point, Calif.

"Because he's a first, I think that he gives you the feeling of Jackie Robinson," Minaya said. "In the sports world, you tend to have people that are conservative. Maybe that will change now."

Tyrone Willingham, who is stepping down as football coach at the University of Washington at the end of the season, said it was hard to imagine anyone not having a reaction to Obama's election.

"Mine is that it's a great day for America because now what is written in the Constitution now comes to life," he said.

Sports figures on election night

Winners

-Kevin Johnson, NBA, Sacramento mayor.

-Heath Shuler, NFL, North Carolina congressional seat.

-Sam Wyche, NFL, Pickens County Council in South Carolina.

-Baron Hill, college basketball, Indiana congressional seat.

-Norm Dicks, college football, Washington congressional seat.

-Jason Chaffetz, college football, Utah congressional seat.

-Todd Thomsen, college football, Oklahoma Legislature.

-Tad Jones, college football, Oklahoma Legislature.

-Anton Gunn, college football, South Carolina Legislature.

-Mufi Hannemann, college basketball, Honolulu mayor.

Losers

-Joe Mesi, boxing, New York Legislature.

-Joey Browner, NFL, Eagan (Minn.) City Council.

-Bob Heaton, college basketball, Indiana Legislature.

-Greg Hopkins, Arena Football League, Pennsylvania Legislature.

Race Undecided

-Peter Boulware, NFL, Florida Legislature.

Could Obama election help baseball in Olympics?

DANA POINT, Calif. - With Barack Obama in the White House, baseball officials think their sport could have a better chance of getting back into the Olympics.

"If the perception internationally of the United States improves by virtue of his election, then I think the U.S. stature in international sport of every type will be enhanced," San Diego Padres chief executive officer Sandy Alderson said Wednesday at the general managers' meetings. "I don't think the United States has the international stature in sport that it once had."

Baseball was added as a demonstration sport in 1984 and 1988, then was a medal sport starting in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in July 2005 to drop baseball and softball following the 2008 Beijing Games. When a vote for reinstatement took place the following February, baseball lost 46-42 and softball failed 47-43.

At the time, International Softball Federation president Don Porter said: "I think anti-Americanism was a factor." Softball was added for the 1996 Atlanta Games.

"I think clearly how the world looks at America is going to be different with Barack Obama in the White House," Cleveland Indians general manager Mark Shapiro said. "And that will be initial. And then how he leads and how he governs will determine how they look at us over a sustained period."

The IOC will consider the program for the 2016 Games when it meets next October. Leaders of Chicago's bid to host that Olympics think Obama's election provides a boost.

"I think it's a great opportunity for us to get back in," said Jimmie Lee Solomon, executive vice president for baseball operations in the commissioner's office. "I don't know if the election in and of itself would do that. We've got some big problems."

IOC officials were unhappy major league players were not allowed to compete in the Olympics. Because the Olympics are played during baseball's regular season, Solomon called it "a very difficult thing for us to contemplate."

"I think what will help us get back in the Olympics is to get the IOC to understand that baseball is a global sport with significant appeal and that any other reservation about is a red herring," Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, said in a telephone interview from New York.

International Baseball Federation president Harvey Schiller is to make a presentation to the IOC on Nov. 14 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

"President-elect Obama's interest in sports and specifically in baseball, combined with the efforts of other world leaders, is the kind of thing we need to return baseball to the Olympic program," Schiller said from New York. "It's important that we have his support, but it's also important that we have the support of the many countries that participate in the game. It's clear we have to identify that it's a global sport, and not just a sport in the United States."

Management and the players' association have been pushing for baseball's reinstatement.

"I think Sen. Obama's election is an event of profound significance to a lot of people around the world, and I would be surprised if it was not received that way in Olympic circles, also," union head Donald Fehr said by telephone from Los Angeles.

Obama's election could also impact the ongoing drug investigation of major league players that has been in federal court for more than four years. During the week of Dec. 15, the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals is to meet in Pasadena to hear an appeal by the players' association stemming from the government's seizure of urine samples in 2004. While the government was searching for records of players involved in the BALCO investigation, it seized all samples. If the government wins the case, it could use those records as evidence to question players on how they obtained the drugs.

A three-judge panel ruled largely in favor of the government, but the full circuit set that decision aside and decided the full court will hear the matter. If the union prevails before the circuit court in the case, which could decide the meaning of "plain view" in the computer age, a Solicitor General appointed by the Obama administration could decide whether to take the appellate decision to the Supreme Court.

"I think that baseball to one side, there are important issues in this case. I think that's what caught their attention," said Rob Manfred, MLB's executive vice president of labor relations.

Obama's election was viewed as positive for players by agent Scott Boras.

"Both in the NLRB and the situation of the union's relationship with the federal system, it's going to be greatly improved," Boras said.

Boras, negotiating contracts for Manny Ramirez, Mark Teixeira and several other high-profile free agents, maintained his viewpoint that MLB won't he hurt by the economic downturn.

"Baseball didn't invest in derivatives and sub-primes," he said. "Baseball has long-term contracts with national and local TV networks. ... As I've said all along, the hay is in the barn."

--Ronald Blum

Obama win boosts Chicago's 2016 Olympic bid

LONDON - Barack Obama's election as president could prove crucial in another campaign - the race for the 2016 Olympics.

Obama's victory provides a boost to the bid from Chicago - his hometown - to bring the Summer Games back to the United States for the first time since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

"It's very important," Chicago bid leader Patrick Ryan told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "He's a man who the world is looking to for leadership and I think he's very popular not only in the U.S. but around the world.

"We share his feeling that the Olympics are an opportunity for the U.S. to reach out to the rest of the world, for building bridges of friendship. It's certainly something he's very committed to."

Chicago is competing against Tokyo; Madrid, Spain; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The host will be chosen by the International Olympic Committee in Denmark on Oct. 2, 2009.

Ryan is counting on Obama, schedule permitting, to attend the Copenhagen meeting to speak on behalf of the bid. That would be a first for a U.S. president.

"I can't speak for his calendar," Ryan said. "Who knows what will be happening in the world then, but clearly that would be his goal. I think it's a very important, powerful statement of commitment. It would be very important that he is there."

Chicago grabbed the world spotlight Tuesday when Obama delivered his acceptance speech before a huge crowd in Grant Park, a centerpiece of the city's Olympic bid.

"Clearly the eyes of the world were on Barack Obama and Chicago last night and over the last period of time, and that can't help but be positive," Ryan said by telephone. "It puts a lot of focus on Chicago, which is very positive. But I'm not at all convinced that it changes the race a lot."

Had Sen. John McCain won the election, the Olympic race would look different. The Arizona Republican was one of the most outspoken critics of the IOC during the Salt Lake City bid scandals.

A crowd of about 125,000 saw Obama in Grant Park, which would host Olympic archery in 2016 and is within walking distance of 19 proposed venues. Obama lives in the Hyde Park neighborhood a few blocks from the planned Olympic stadium in Washington Park, Ryan said.

A videotaped message from the Democratic candidate greeted the USOC evaluation team when it visited the city last year, and Obama appeared at a celebration with Mayor Richard M. Daley following Chicago's selection as a bid finalist last June.

Ryan has spoken frequently with IOC members during the bid race and found them captivated by the presidential election and Obama's candidacy in particular.

"I think they'll react to the election very positively," he said. "My discussions over the last 2½ years with IOC members leaves no doubt that the president-elect is very popular around the world and with IOC members. It can't help but reflect positively. But I don't want it to be seen as a sea change in our bid. It's not an assumption anybody should make."

Obama's potential appearance in Copenhagen next year would follow a recent pattern of world leaders.

Tony Blair, then Britain's prime minister, traveled to Singapore in 2005 and lobbied decisively for London's winning bid for the 2012 Olympics. Vladimir Putin, then Russian president, went to the IOC meeting in Guatemala last year and was instrumental in Sochi getting the 2014 Winter Games.

"When you look at this history of world leaders attending meetings, it's an amazing, colossal impact," Irish IOC member Patrick Hickey, who heads the European Olympic Committees, told the AP. "You had Putin in Guatemala and Sochi won. You had Prime Minister Blair in Singapore and London won. Of course, if the president of the United States comes to Copenhagen it has to have a massive impact."

That prospect has some bid rivals worried.

"I wonder how IOC members will react when Mr. Obama appears in a presentation for Chicago," Japanese Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda told Japanese media Wednesday.

Madrid bid leader Mercedes Coghen was more cautious.

"I'm happy for Obama's victory but in this race for the Olympics, every bid has its moments," she said. "I think we're all working towards the same goal and are using what we can to win it.

"I don't know if he's made Chicago the favorite. October 2, 2009, is a long way away, and we just have to focus on doing our jobs until then. I think he'll make a great president for a great country."

If Chicago does get the games, and if Obama wins a second term in office, he could open the Olympics in his home city in the final year of his presidency.

"I would imagine that," Ryan said. "I can visualize that."

Meantime, he rejects any front-runner status for Chicago.

"Not at all," he said, "Maybe some competitors would like that for target practice."

-- Stephen Wilson

James awed by Obama's win

CLEVELAND - His two young sons at his side and surrounded by family members overcome by emotion, LeBron James witnessed history on Tuesday night.

And when Barack Obama walked onto the stage in Chicago's Grant Park as the country's first African-American president, Cleveland's superstar tried to grasp the awe-inspiring moment.

"It was uplifting," he said Wednesday. "It was something that you can tell your kids, you really can become anything now. You don't have to become a basketball player. You can become President of the United States. It was definitely an unbelievable feeling. It was definitely one of those feelings that you say, ‘Wow."'

James, who campaigned for Obama, arrived for Cleveland's game against the Chicago Bulls wearing a T-shirt with the president-elect's likeness on the front.

In the weeks leading up to the election, James, who contributed $20,000 to a committee supporting Obama, took part in an early-voter registration rally and hosted a free concert at Quicken Loans Arena with rap star Jay-Z to support the Illinois senator, who happens to be quite a basketball player himself.

James stayed home to watch the election returns, and when Obama won over Republican nominee John McCain, the 23-year-old stepped back and watched family members in their 50s and 60s break down in tears.

"I asked them, how does it feel for them having gone through what they went through, going through slavery times and segregation times. A lot of people in my family said they would never see a day like this happen. But times have changed. I think it's unbelievable. It's a great day in history."

James recently met Obama when the two appeared on David Letterman's show.

"He's an unbelievable guy," James said. "He's very smart and just very cool and collected. It seems like he would never let any situation get to him. I kind of like that in him."

James also like the fact that Obama got in a hoop game in the hours leading up to his election.

"They say that's a ritual for him, like me coming in early and getting a massage before the game," James said. "It got him prepared. The speech was, wow. If it takes basketball for him to say things like that, then let him do it."

James said he didn't cry during Obama's speech. He isn't sure what effect Obama's election will have on other black athletes or whether they will become more politically involved with an African-American in the White House.

He was asked if he had any future political ambitions. Former NBA All-Star Kevin Johnson won election as Sacramento's first black mayor on Tuesday.

"No, not right now," James said of a future in politics. "I might see myself up there in a navy suit, red tie, nice."

What about mayor of his hometown?

"Mayor of Akron?" he said. "I'm already mayor of Akron. I've been that for about 10 years now."

-- Tom Withers

Magic Johnson cried when Obama won

LOS ANGELES - Former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson said he and his wife "cried all night" after Barack Obama beat John McCain to become the country's first African-American president.

"He can motivate people," Johnson said Wednesday night at halftime of the Clippers-Lakers game at Staples Center. "He crossed all racial lines. One of the smartest men I have ever seen as a political figure, common sense as well.

"It's the right time. We have some big problems in America."

Johnson said not only did he not believe as a kid growing up in Michigan that there wouldn't be an African-American president in his lifetime, he had doubts the country was ready to make such a decision while Obama was running.

The Hall of Famer supported Hillary Clinton for president until Obama won the Democratic nomination.

"I'm loyal to the Clintons," Johnson said. "I'm a loyal person, just like now with Barack. I'll be loyal to him. I told her if she ever ran, I would support her, and I did.

"When he beat Hillary, and Hillary made him work for it, it helped him beat McCain."

Johnson smiled when asked the first thing he did when it was announced Tuesday night just after 8 p.m. in California that Obama had won the presidency.

"Jumped up for joy, we were hollering and screaming," he said. "And then we started crying. As African-Americans we've made great strides. I think what this says is you can really become anything in life you want to become. It's really a wonderful thing that we can be able to witness this."

Johnson said he believes Obama is prepared to do the best possible job.

"He's a motivator. He has a plan," Johnson said. "One thing Barack can do, he can come in a room, command a room. Everyone will listen to every word."

Johnson said he'll do whatever possible to help the president-elect, but only in the private sector.

"That's what I do best," Johnson said. "Ninety-one cities, 22 states, I have businesses. That's where I can help if he asks me to help.

"I'm looking forward to him making drastic changes. I think he will definitely bring changes to America and around the world."

-- John Nadel