Quick note: Every now and then, instead of some lengthy post telling you why I think some story matters, I'm just going to toss it up here on the Toy Department in a feature I'm calling Recommended Reading. Since I'm not really sure what to use Twitter for other than passing along links that I like, but everyone insists that "Tweeting" is a must, I generally do this about two or three times a day on Twitter, and if you like, you can follow me on @KVanValkenburg.

Today in Recommended Reading, ESPN senior writer Wright Thompson, takes a look inside the new culture of Washington D.C. pick-up basketball in a lengthy, but excellent Outside The Lines piece for ESPN.com. I'm a big fan of stories that use sports as a backdrop for larger issues, so I liked this one for the simple reason that it shows you how shamelessly people will use sports to get face time with important people. With Clinton and Bush, it was golf. With Obama, it's basketball.

One thing I can't help but wonder though every time I read one of these pieces about Obama and his love of hoops is just how much -- or how little -- game the president has. I played a ton of pick-up hoops in high school and college, and all due respect to the President of the United States, but anyone who showed up wearing pants had better have some serious skills, or he was going to be quietly mocked every time up the court. I assume he wears pants because he doesn't like to show off his skinny legs, but I have no idea.

One of my favorite writes working, S.L. Price of Sports Illustrated, played hoops against Obama back when he was still just candidate Obama, and got beat twice by the graceful lefty. So maybe he isn't half bad. But I'm still skeptical about the pants.