Obama wants to replace White House bowling alley with basketball court

Barack Obama sidestepped picking a winner in Sunday's NBA Finals game, but the basketball aficionado is ready to take a firm stand if he makes it to the White House.

Barack Obama sidestepped picking a winner in Sunday’s National Basketball Association Finals game, but the basketball aficionado is ready to take a firm stand if he makes it to the White House.

“I hear there’s a bowling alley and obviously that hasn’t gone too well,” Obama told comic Jimmy Kimmel in a satellite interview from Philadelphia on Sunday. “So we’re getting rid of the bowling alley and replacing it with a basketball court in the White House.”

Obama was referring to his disastrous attempt at bowling a few weeks before Pennsylvania’s Democratic primary in April. The party’s presumptive nominee for president is much more at ease on the basketball court.

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Obama was appearing on Kimmel’s pre-game show before ABC’s broadcast of Game 5 of the NBA Finals. The Illinois senator diplomatically avoided picking a favourite between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics: “I’m a Bulls fan,” said the Chicagoan.

Kimmel also asked Obama to describe a typical Father’s Day in his family’s household.

“There’s usually some experiment with waffles or pancakes. And then we usually go to church,” Obama said. “Usually I get a hall pass, which means that I might be able to play golf or play some basketball and goof off a little bit. And my wife is especially nice to me that day.”