After winning their third Major League Soccer title, the members of the Los Angeles Galaxy visited the White House and President Obama, as is tradition with professional sports team champions.  The Galaxy captured the title last November with a 1-0 win over the Houston Dynamo.  The team is led by soccer superstar Landon Donovan and the sexiest father of four - David Beckham.

President Obama loosened up during the visit joking with Beckham claiming that “he is holding up better than me.”  Obama may be running the most important country in the world, but he was impressed with Beckham’s ability to succeed on and off the field claiming he is “[a] rare man that can do all that and have his own line of underwear.”

Since the 2012 NBA playoffs are getting a bit more manageable with only eight teams left in the mix, here is a breakdown of the remaining four series:

• Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics: The ’80s are back and not just in the fluorescent fashions we are currently sporting.  The 76ers and Celtics had history way back when Michael Jackson was at the top of the charts and now the 76ers have finally found their way back into the mix.  The Celtics have the big names with Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce, but the 76ers may just know how to “Beat It.” 
• Indiana Pacers v. Miami Heat: The Pacers and the Heat resemble the matchup between Globo-Gym and the Average Joe’s.  Will the experiment in Miami (one  cup Lebron James, on teaspoon Dwayne Wade, and a pinch of Chris Bosh) finally be able to earn a ring or will the underdogs take them down?
•  Los Angeles Lakers v. Oklahoma City Thunder: Angelenos are spoiled with three teams currently in the playoffs (Lakers, Clippers, and NHL Kings), while Oklahoma City only has the Thunder to cheer for.  Hopefully, the youthful Thunder, led by Kevin Durant, can take down the arrogant Lakers.  Note that the Lakers recently traded longtime leader Derek Fisher to the Thunder – a true sign of their disloyal character – and this is the first time the Lakers have played the Thunder since Lakers starter Metta World Peace knocked the lights out of Thunder’s James Harden. (Metta World Peace was subsequently suspended for seven games.)  Metta will not be offering a peace pipe on the court as he has already said he would abstain from shaking Harden’s hand. 
• Los Angeles Clippers v. San Antonio Spurs:  Many teams can complain that they are always a bridesmaid and never a bride, but the Clippers are still sitting at the kids’ table.  Not only are the Clippers a young team with Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, but the  franchise has only advanced to the second round of the playoffs two other times in its 41 year history!  Hopefully this is the year for the Clippers to mature beyond the kids’ menu.

FOX never stops to amaze me with the quality television it puts in primetime.  The network’s newest reality concoction is a dating show with famous bachelors and bachelorettes.  The celebrities will audition “sexy singles” who will pitch themselves while the celebrities backs are turned so that they cannot see the faces of the contestants.  The lucky winners will then go on a date with the celebrity bachelor/bachelorette who has chosen them.

The celebrity guests have been revealed and a handful of athletes made the cut:

•  Warren Sapp (a former NFL defensive tackle who played primarily for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
• Seth Wescott (an American professional snowboarder who is a two-time Olympic champion in snowboard cross)
• Jeremy Bloom (a record breaking freestyle mogul skier who has also played in the NFL as a wide receiver, worked as a sports broadcaster, and started an award winning Internet company — what a catch!) 
• Ndamukong Suh (an NFL defensive tackle currently playing for the Detroit Lions)
• Rob Gronkowski (an NFL tight end currently playing for the New England Patriots)

Josh Hamilton has tried to stay out of the public light due to a history of drug/alcohol addiction that has hampered his professional baseball career.  But Hamilton could not escape the press today after becoming the 16th MLB player to hit four home runs in one game.

In last night’s Texas Rangers 10-3 win against the Baltimore Orioles, Hamilton led his team to victory with not only four home runs, but also bringing in eight runs and earning a record 18 bases!  To give you an idea of how impressive this feat is, Hamilton had the hometown Orioles fans cheering him on with a standing ovation as their team got slaughtered. 

Usually when a Russian President “wins” reelection he decides to give a speech, throw a big inaugural ball, and maybe shoot at a few people.  Putin did none of the above (that we know of) and instead decided to play an amateur hockey game.  Yes, a hockey game, where even his buddy ex-Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi came out to cheer him on.

Putin, wearing number 11, is receiving a ton of praise today from Russian hockey fans for scoring a goal, having an assist, and winning the game with a simply miraculous shootout goal.  Somehow Putin singlehandedly managed to lead his team of amateurs to a win against a team of Soviet and Russian hockey legends.

Fortunately, the opposing players did not guard the President and the goalie knew how to move out of the way of the puck , otherwise there would be a different headline to this story.