Obama optimistic about Bulls, vents about Bears

Barack Obama made an appearance on ESPN radio Friday with Colin Cowherd and spoke at some length about the Chicago Bulls.

The president said in no uncertain terms that he likes the Bulls’ chances in the Eastern Conference over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“The Cavs are starting to jell but I like Tom Thibodeau as a coach,” Obama said. “The guy is tough. They play hard. [Joakim] Noah is a fighter. If [Derrick] Rose, even if he doesn’t come back to MVP levels, if he’s playing at an All-Star level, I think the Bulls can beat the Cavs this year.

“Remember what happened with Miami when LeBron [James] went down there the first time? There’s something to be said for team chemistry. You look at San Antonio the way they’ve performed, part of that is … they know each other, the system and people are selfless. That takes time.”

Obama said he doesn’t have time to watch full games much, but he’ll occasionally sneak in some sports while working out or late at night.

“SportsCenter when I work out in the morning gives me a pretty good sense of what’s going on,” Obama said. “There are times that I will admit at night, when I’ve got a really fat briefing book, where I might have the game on with the sound off. But I have to say this year the Bears haven’t given me that much reason to want to watch the game. The Bulls I’m feeling more optimistic about.”

You can watch the interview here.

Obama also addressed the Ray Rice case.

[h/t USA Today]