[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 31, Number 14 (Monday, April 10, 1995)]
[Pages 531-532]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Interview With Pat O'Brien, Mike Krzyzewski, and Quinn Buckner of CBS 
Sports

April 3, 1995

    Mr. O'Brien. Good evening, Mr. President. How are you?
    The President. Fine, Pat, how are you?
    Mr. O'Brien. I'm fine. It sounds like you're having a nice time back 
there watching the game.
    Your thoughts, sir, on the first half?
    The President. I can't hear you, I'm sorry.
    Mr. O'Brien. That's okay, that happens.
    Your thoughts, on the first half, sir?
    The President. Well, I think that it's a--I'm glad we're just one 
point behind. We made a lot of unforced errors, and as you were saying, 
UCLA had very quick hands. They played great defense, and I'm looking 
forward to an exciting second half.
    I think that our team and their team--it's a wonderful game so far. 
But you've got to give it to UCLA. They played great defense, and they 
got a lot of very good shots on offense. And I think that's why they're 
a point ahead.
    Mr. O'Brien. I know you've tried to watch a few of Arkansas' games 
this season. Do you have any fingernails left? The games have been such 
nail-biters throughout the tournament.
    The President. Yes, they always give us a lot of thrills. Basketball 
is exciting enough on its own, but they give us a little extra every 
game. We try to have a cardiologist at every watching party that we 
have. [Laughter]
    Mr. Buckner. Mr. President, Quinn Buckner. Did you fill out your 
brackets this year?
    The President. Did I what?
    Mr. Buckner. Did you get a chance to fill out the brackets at the 
beginning of the tournament?
    The President. No, I didn't, and I wish I had. But I would have been 
wrong on all accounts except I expected these two teams to be in the 
finals. Otherwise, there were a lot of surprises along the way.
    Mr. O'Brien. Mr. President, we know you're very athletic and earlier 
this week, on Friday I think, you were in Haiti. And we have some film, 
a tape of you shooting buckets out there on the grass with some of our 
good troops down there. And there you put up a bank shot. I don't know 
if you called it or not. [Laughter]
    The President. You've got to call that one. [Laughter]
    Mr. O'Brien. Then you shot around at Arkansas State with Arthur 
Agee, from the documentary film ``Hoop Dreams.'' And Mike Krzyzewski, 
who you rooted against last year, is going to go over your form on this. 
He's going to telestrate your form.

[[Page 532]]

    Mr. Krzyzewski. Well, if you don't mind----
    The President. This is his chance to get even. [Laughter]
    Mr. Krzyzewski. Mr. President, I'm sure you're accustomed to some 
criticism, so I'm going to critique you. [Laughter]
    Here's Mr. President in the lane. He's not worried about three 
seconds. Good form. But he doesn't want to show that he's just an inside 
player; he goes outside. [Laughter]
    And now he's in the outside. Watch that form. Take a look at his 
hand and the release. [Laughter]
    Mr. O'Brien. Very good, Mr. President.
    Mr. Krzyzewski. It's a very delicate release. And he puts it 
through.
    Mr. O'Brien. What do you think, Mr. President?
    Mr. Krzyzewski. That's not bad. What do you think?
    The President. I think the feet were on the floor. [Laughter]
    Mr. Krzyzewski. You know, quite honestly, sir, what did you take 
away from your visit with Arthur Agee today?
    The President. Well, he's a remarkable young man, you know. And I--
what I took away from it is, here's a young fellow that made up his mind 
he was going to make something of his life and try to live out his 
dream. He's committed to continuing his education until he gets his 
degree. He still wants to play pro basketball. But whatever happens to 
him, he's going to have a good life. And I hope that ``Hoop Dreams'' and 
I hope that Arthur Agee both, serve as a kind of an inspiration to kids 
all across this country who are growing up in very hard circumstances. 
They can make it. They can be something. And I'm very grateful that he 
came down to Arkansas to go to college. He's a terrific young man, and I 
wish him well.

Baseball strike

    Mr. O'Brien. Mr. President, I know you're also very grateful that 
the baseball season will begin here at the end of April. I know you 
followed it very closely.
    The President. You bet.
    Mr. O'Brien. Would you like to throw out the first pitch at the end 
of April?
    The President. I sure hope that I can do that. I'm looking forward 
to it. And I think it's going to be good for the country to get baseball 
back on track. I still hope they can get together and actually work out 
these differences. We don't need a cloud hanging over baseball for 
another whole season. And they ought to be able to do it. They're not 
that many people, and there's lots of money there. They can figure out 
how to divide it and give us the sport back.
    Mr. O'Brien. Well, with the Masters coming up, Mr. President, I have 
to ask you, how many mulligans do you get when you play golf with your 
friends? [Laughter]
    The President. Well, it depends, but I try not to take any anymore--
maybe one off the first tee. [Laughter]
    Mr. O'Brien. Okay, good for you. Good for you.
    Mr. President, thank you. It's always a pleasure to talk hoops with 
you. Thank you for watching. We'll see you down the road.
    The President. Thanks. Keep your fingers crossed. Bye-bye.

Note: The interview began at 8:34 p.m. The President spoke by satellite 
from Juanita's restaurant in Little Rock, AR.