It turns out the Wizards didn't need to get frisked before their match-up with the Miami Heat tonight, because the president apparently has decided not to come.
The Washington Wizards had a little wrinkle in their pre-game ritual Saturday when they arrived at the Verizon Center: Secret Service pat-downs.
President Obama was scheduled to attend the meeting tonight between the red-hot Heat and the cellar-dwelling Wizards. But now it looks like that's not the case. Wizards owner Ted Leonsis chimed in on his blog Saturday afternoon:
"The arena will be less frenzied than was previously thought. One of the main dignitaries scheduled to attend has been forced to cancel. He will reschedule. I just wanted to keep it real and honest with everyone. Just got word of this development a few moments ago. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused our employees, fans or members of the media."
The Heat are riding an 11-game winning streak into the nation's capital, coming off of a convincing victory over the resurgent New York Knicks.
The Wizards can breathe a little easier now without the pressure of the leader of the free world watching.
"You don't want to get embarrassed in front of the president," Wizards guard Nick Young said.
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You also don't want Gilbert Arenas or anybody else bringing firearms to the arena when the top executive comes to watch.
Those worries are all gone now, along with the bomb-sniffing dogs and Secret Service agents that abruptly left the arena at noon.
As NBC News White House producer Scott Foster tweeted, "Wh announces we won't see POTUS for remainder of the day, guess he's not planning on seeing #KingJames in person tonight at after all.."
The Verizon Center had previously advised fans to come 45 minutes early because of added security checks. The game will go on as normally scheduled.
