Just a couple of regular guys wandering into a bar on a Friday night -- sort of.

Sens. Barrack Obama and Bob Casey last night strolled into Sharky's Cafe in Latrobe as their campaign entourage made its way from Greensburg to Johnstown. The stop was about as impromptu as the Normandy invasion.

The Wisconsin-Davidson game halftime was just over as the two senators made their way around a large U-shaped bar. Amid cameras and boom mikes, Mr. Obama, in shirtsleeves, grabbed a handful of popcorn with one hand as he greeted patrons with the other and posed for pictures.

Speaking of his NCAA pool picks, the Illinois senator noted he was rooting for Davidson. "I had Pitt; it had nothing to do with campaigning in Pennsylvania," said the ardent basketball fan, contradicting conspiracy theorists who have suggested his brackets have been influenced by his ambition.

With difficulty, Mr. Casey managed to take a cell-phone picture of Mr. Obama and a couple at the bar. Turning to a table, Mr. Obama had a brief discussion with Tom Mueseler of Latrobe. "We talked gas prices; that's what we'd been doing all evening," Mr. Mueseler said.

Laid off more than a year ago from a marketing firm, he said gas prices were so high that it was tough to pay for round trips to job interviews. An Obama fan, he would have liked to hear more of the senator's ideas for easing the rising gas prices.

Mr. Mueseler, a guard for the Duquesne University basketball team from 1969 to 1973, said they also discussed basketball.

After about 15 minutes of meet-and-greet, Mr. Obama called it a night, saying, "I gotta get Casey back to the hotel."