Text 386, 101 rader
Skriven 2005-01-31 23:44:18 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (050131b) for Mon, 2005 Jan 31
====================================================
===========================================================================
President Congratulates 2004 World Champions the Detroit Pistons
===========================================================================

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 31, 2005

President Congratulates 2004 World Champions the Detroit Pistons
Remarks by the President in Photo Opportunity with 2004 NBA Champion
Detroit Pistons
The East Room

President's Remarks
"); //--> view
listen


3:05 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all, please be seated. Gosh, what an honor it is
to welcome the mighty Detroit Pistons to the White House. (Applause.) With
all the fans here and the players, I guess you'd expect to hear somebody
ringing the gong. (Laughter.)

I love to welcome champs to the people's home. I also am glad to welcome
members of the Michigan delegation. Senator Levin, thank you for coming.
Congressman Kildee. Congressman Levin -- that would be Senator Levin's
brother. (Laughter.) Joe Knollenberg is here; thanks for coming, Joe, it's
great to see you. Congressman Carolyn Kilpatrick -- that would be the mom
of the Mayor. (Laughter.) I'm sure the Mayor was there during the
celebration. Candice Miller is with us. Thank you all for coming; I'm
honored that you're here to welcome your favorite team.

I'm proud to be on the -- sharing the stage with Coach Larry Brown. The guy
must know what he's doing, you know? (Laughter and applause.) He's NCAA
champs with the Kansas Jayhawks and now is a professional basketball coach
that won the NBA crown. Bill Davidson. I've known Bill Davidson in the
past, he is a true gentleman, a great civic leader in the Detroit area. Mr.
Davidson, thank you for being here; congratulations on the championship.
(Applause.) Oscar Feldman, part owner of the Pistons is with us; thank you
for coming, Oscar. Joe Dumars and Bill Laimbeer, both of them came to the
White House as champs. (Applause.) As I recall, you came here in '89 and
'90 -- I'm aware of who was living here then. (Laughter.) Welcome back.

Congratulations to Joe as the President of Basketball Operations -- Mr.
President. And Bill, of course, is the coach of the Shock, who we welcomed
here to the Rose Garden last -- two years ago. Tom Wilson, the President of
Palace Sports and Entertainment. I want to thank all the players and your
families who've come. Welcome. I hope you've gotten a tour of this majestic
place. It's a special place to work and live.

I want to congratulate Chauncey Billups for being the NBA Championship
Series MVP. (Applause.) So nobody expected you to win -- I know how you
feel. (Laughter.) You won because you put a team together. You had people
willing to serve something greater than yourself, and it's a wonderful
example for kids on playgrounds or people in all walks of life. I guess you
kind of just played it the right way. I think that's what the coach says,
play it the right way. That's how we should live life. That's what champs
do. They set an example.

As you know, a lot of kids look at you. They see you as the big star. They
wonder what life should be like, and every time you set an example for a
kid to make a right choice in life, you're helping save a life. And I want
to thank you for the extent that you do that.

I also appreciate the fact that you've been involved in great causes like
teaching children how to read. I can't think of a more important cause than
lending a gift of knowledge to a child. I remember the time in Houston,
Texas, when a woman walked up to me and she said, reading is the new civil
right. I thought that was such a powerful phrase. If you believe that, if
you believe you liberate people by teaching them to read, consider yourself
liberators as a result of being in the program, "Read to Achieve."

I want to thank you for setting an example for the tsunami relief effort.
As you might remember, I tapped two former Presidents, 41 and 42 -- that
would be my dad and President Clinton -- to join together to help raise
money. I suspect basketball players probably have a little more pull than
they do. And so I want to thank you for setting an example of serving
people who hurt. In other words, you have taken your great championship
status and converted it to good. And that's good.

And so we're here to congratulate you for being the great champs that you
are. And by the way, I also want to thank you for providing entertainment
for our troops overseas. I don't know if you know this or not, but a lot of
people overseas support professional basketball; professional basketball
provides great relief from their duty and entertainment, a reminder of what
life is like back home, and I suspect a lot of them are Detroit Pistons
fans, as well.

So thank you for what you're doing, supporting those who have helped make
this world a more peaceful and free place. In other words, welcome to the
White House, and congratulations for being called "champs." Thanks for
coming. (Applause.)

END 3:10 P.M. EST
===========================================================================
Return to this article at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/01/20050131-11.html

 * Origin: (1:3634/12)