On the eve of the election, ESPN’s SportsCenter aired interviews with both George W. Bush and John Kerry.

Bush looked much more comfortable discussing sports than he did debating Kerry. Speaking freely, Bush said that after he leaves office he has no desire to be baseball’s commissioner, which has been rumored for years.

Kerry came across unnatural, like someone who had crammed for a test. Though Kerry’s an avid athlete, you didn’t get the sense that he follows sports as closely as Bush does. He seemed to dance around answers.

Interviewer Jim Gray, of course, had to bring up Pete Rose, but Gray, to his credit, did refrain from asking either man about the Kobe case.

The candidates granted ESPN the time, realizing it would find a tough-toreach young voting demographic.

In the end, Bush held onto the presidency. However, that victory is now overshadowed because he has captured his first Matchup.