Confirmation: Edward R. Berman has connected with Obama, McCain; no nicknames distributed

ESPN has confirmed that Chris Berman has successfully conducted limited-access interviews today with presidental candidates Barack Obama and John McCain, upping the "SportsCenter" bloated anchor's presitege factor when it comes to picking up chicks.

The network sent out a few quotes from each interview, before they air at halftime of tonight's Steelers-Redskins' contest from FedEx Field (5:30 p.m. kickoff, 7:15 p.m.-ish halftime viewing required).

Berman: On one thing you would change in sports:

Obama: "I think it is about time that we had playoffs in college football. I'm fed up with these computer rankings and this and that and the other. Get eight teams - the top eight teams right at the end. You got a playoff. Decide on a National Champion."

McCain: "I'd take significant action to prevent the spread and use of performance-enhancing substances. I think it's a game we're going to be in for a long time. What I mean by that is there is somebody in a laboratory right now trying to develop some type of substance that can't be detected and we've got to stay ahead of it. It's not good for the athletes. It's not good for the sports. It's very bad for those who don't do it and I think it can attack the very integrity of all sports going all the way down to high school."

Point goes to Obama. This proves he's in touch with the fans. McCain is merely repeating a story he read in the New York Times three years ago.

Berman: On what you learned about yourself over the campaign:

Obama: "What I learned about that I think was positive was that I don't get too high when things are going well and I don't get too low when things are going tough. I think that has helped me and the organization stay steady."

Apparently this question wasn't asked of McCain, or it wasn't memorable enough to include in this press release. Or he couldn't remember what he learned about himself.

Berman: On the best piece of advice from the sports world:

McCain: "I have to go all the way back to high school. I had a football coach who was a football star himself...The most important lesson he taught me was you've always got to do the honorable thing, even when nobody's looking because maybe nobody will know, but you'll know."

According to McCain's Wikipedia entry: In 1951, ... McCain attended Episcopal High School, a private preparatory boarding school in Alexandria, Va. He excelled at wrestling and graduated in 1954. Maybe when no one was looking, he also was a football player.