CHICAGO — President Barack Obama welcomed the WNBA champion Phoenix Mercury to the White House this week but Chicago wasn't far from his mind.
Obama said that before the ceremony there had been a bit of "trash talking" about the Mercury's defeat last year of the Chicago Sky.
"I would be happy to be here, except that the Mercury getting here involved beating the Chicago Sky in the finals," said Obama during the East Room ceremony.
"You have kept yet another Chicago sports team from getting into the White House. But there's always next year," said Obama.
More seriously, the president praised the Arizona team, calling out a number of the players by name, including Candice Dupree, a former Sky player.
"They and women across the WNBA are changing the way that young girls, including my daughters, see themselves," Obama said.
Phoenix swept Chicago in three games.
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