A President for All Seasons...of Sports

President Obama's more of a basketball/college football kind of guy, but that didn't stop him from fulfilling his presidential duty in welcoming the 2009 Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins to the White House Thursday evening.

The Penguins gave him the requisite jersey with the requisite Presidential name and the requisite Presidential number representing Obama's place in history: 44.

There was also the amusing moment when Russian phenom Yevgeny Malkin got busted recording video of the President as Mr. Obama sang Malkin's praises, "the third-youngest player ever to be named playoff MVP".

Malkin become self-aware when the crowd erupted in laughter. But, after pausing a moment, he seemed to feel that cat was out of the bag, so he got in a few more shots.

All seemed standard fare for such events. But just before the whole thing ended, the president thought he'd get a little jab in at the small player with big skills; Pen's star Captain Sidney Crosby.

"Can I just make one more point?" the President asked, approaching the mics again. "Sidney must be really fast because there are some big hockey players -- and he's not one of them," he said to laughter, adding, "But you know he's got some speed and some skill."

Crosby didn't exactly mind being ribbed by the Commander-in-Chief, telling reporters afterward while grinning widely, "I'll take it."

But the President's own skills, those that involve lifting heavy objects, were challenged when he tried to get the whole team around the cup for a photo.

Someone shouted, "Pick it up!"

Mr. Obama cautiously asked, "How heavy is it?"

"Thirty-five pounds."

That seemed to suffice and the President lifted it with ease. But no hoisting.