As a student at Georgetown University, Alonzo Mourning interned for two summers on Capitol Hill. Nearly two decades later, he looks back in amazement that he never put that experience to use.

Until now.

While recovering from a knee injury, the NBA center has spent part of the 2008 offseason at rallies and colleges across Florida, registering voters along with former Georgetown teammate Patrick Ewing and encouraging them to elect Barack Obama.

"I felt like I needed to be a part of this, because I do have a voice in the community, I do have a presence, and people do listen to me, so I felt like it was beneficial for me to get a little more actively involved," Mourning said.

He isn't the only athlete showing increased interest, and activism, during this election season.

Generally, modern athletes have stayed away from the political fray. That was best exemplified by Michael Jordan's explanation for why he didn't support civil rights leader Harvey Gantt against Jesse Helms in a North Carolina senatorial election, "Republicans buy sneakers, too."

"Unfortunately, people are afraid of memorabilia sales, endorsements, political biases, things of that nature," Mourning said. "They are afraid of that. I'm not concerned about that. I'm not afraid to stand up to what I believe in. We live in a country where we have that God-given right. It's up to us as adults to educate our younger people on that right, and to remind them of the people that lost their lives for them to have that right, to make a decision that will dictate their futures. I'm not ashamed to bring up the past, and helping people understand what their future will be."

Curt Schilling has been doing the same, but with a different goal:

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The Red Sox pitcher wants to see his friend John McCain in the White House.

Schilling opened a December 2007 entry on his blog 38pitches.com with the sentence, "OK, this is (a) political opinion. If you aren't interested or don't care what I think, don't read any further."

Schilling had participated in a Town Hall meeting with McCain the night before in New Hampshire, and then had taken questions together. They had gotten to know each other in Arizona, where former Diamondbacks and current Marlins outfielder Luis Gonzalez also became a strong supporter.

"I guess what I am saying, or asking, is that if you are undecided about who to cast your vote for, don't vote for someone a celebrity tells you to vote for. That's lame, lazy and disrespectful of the rights you've been given," Schilling wrote. "Take the time to listen and see these people. I don't doubt for a second that if you listen to these men and women, if you hear what they are saying, if you look at what kind of people they are, I don't think you can come to any other conclusion than John McCain is far and away the best human being alive to be the next President of the United States of America."

David Livingston / Getty Images Baron Davis attends the "Every Woman For Obama" voter registration rally Oct. 12, in Westwood, Calif.

Mourning and Schilling are both 38 years old. Mourning injured his knee last season, and is deciding in December whether to continue playing or retire. Schilling injured his throwing shoulder and is leaning toward retirement, though he has left open the possibility of reconsidering come spring training. Each man has established credibility in his particular sport, though individual excellence and team championships, and each would seem to have less to lose than someone who is just getting started as a professional athlete and is trying to court fans and sponsors.

Retired athletes Patrick Ewing, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Muhammad Ali and Charles Barkley are supporting Obama. Retired athletes John Elway, Troy Aikman, Nolan Ryan and Jack Nicklaus are backing McCain.

It's more notable that some promising young pros have supported a candidate, by word, by donation or even by appearance at a rally.

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They include Greg Oden, the 20-year-old Portland Trailblazers center who made his long-awaited debut Tuesday after sitting out last season with a knee injury, only to suffer another injury, this time to his foot.

Oden has received a phone call from Obama, and he has endorsed the candidate on his blog: "There are things he is doing that I really support like his plan with education, civil rights, and health care."

They include Brady Quinn, the 24-year-old Cleveland Browns quarterback who has yet to start an NFL game, but has hugged McCain after introducing the candidate at a rally in the swing state. Quinn, on stage with Browns second-year left tackle Joe Thomas, thanked McCain for his heroism and service to the country. After that appearance, Browns coach Romeo Crennel told his team that while he respected everyone's political views, all of his players should be careful not to allow those views to divide the locker room.

Boxer Bernard Hopkins' cornermen recently wore "Obama" wristbands during the middleweight's bout against Kelly Pavlik.

Still, while many athletes might keep their opinions to themselves, more are sharing their cash with candidates than in past presidential cycles. An ESPN analysis of data through July from the Center for Responsive Politics found a spike in sports figure contributions to presidential candidates compared to 2000 and 2004. It also found a closing of the previously sizable gap between donations to Republicans as compared to Democrats, even though sports executives and owners tend to heavily favor the GOP.

"This election, there has been something of a sea change, both in terms of athletes speaking out and athletes giving money, and I think it all has to do with Barack Obama," said Peter Dreier, a professor of politics at Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. "The Obama campaign has really shattered a lot of the reluctance of athletes to get involved. It's mostly been black athletes, but not only black athletes."

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Yes, it's been black NBA players such as Baron Davis, who introduced Obama at a fundraiser, and Chauncey Billups, who introduced him at a rally. It's been LeBron James, who donated $20,000 to a pro-Obama committee and led a Last Chance Rally for Change in Cleveland along with entertainer Jay-Z on Thursday.

But it's also been the white Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson who, while not old enough to vote, led the Pledge of Alliance at the Democratic National Convention in Denver before Obama spoke.

Even the famously apolitical Jordan has contributed the maximum $2,300 to the Obama Victory Fund.

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