House represents, Senate goes by for the day

The Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia State Senate headed to court Tuesday evening, March 7, not to decide laws but to determine who had the superior basketball prowess.

The down-to-the-wire showdown took place on the basketball court at the Franklin Street Gymnasium at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Monroe Park Campus.

Tuesday’s game was the culmination of a series the legislators played throughout the session. Everyone from senators, delegates, legislative assistants, aids, staff members to occasionally the governor participates in the weekly competitions.

The General Assembly Championship Basketball Game is an annual event sponsored by VCU, which provides the legislators with a basketball court to play on every Tuesday evening.

Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Mount Solon, played an especially spirited game.

“It’s a competition actually,” Hanger said. “I was fortunate enough to be in the starting five tonight. It was something I trained for, for a couple of months. But actually there were only five senators so I had to start, because that’s all we had.”

Sen. Nick Rerras, R – Norfolk, got a taste of this competitive spirit when he was knocked to the ground during the game, though the senator appeared to hold no ill will against his opponents.

He was also quick to praise the efforts of his teammates.

“Ken Cuccinelli played very, very well,” Rerras said. “He had good ball-handling ability and a good shot. Emmett Hanger played well, and I think some of the governor’s people that played on our team did well too.”

The bleachers were filled with a mix of members of the Capital Press Corps, fellow senators, delegates and General Assembly enthusiasts.

The game has been a yearly tradition for over a decade.

“This is my seventh year as a senator out of Norfolk,” Rerras said. “I typically play in this game. Tuesday night is legislative basketball night. So all season we’ve been doing this.”

This year the championship served as a nice break in the midst of the recent tension at Capital Square. The House and Senate are still battling over transportation funding and the House Republican’s blocked the confirmation of Danny LeBlanc, the governor’s choice for secretary of the commonwealth. Many were expecting Gov. Tim Kaine to show up, though he was unavailable and it was up to his staffers to represent the office.

Sen. Hanger was disappointed by the governor’s absence.

“We were hoping he would show up tonight so we could knock him around a little bit,” Hanger quipped.

Del. Glen Oder, R – Newport News, spent his time on the sidelines encouraging the spectators to start the wave.

In the end, the House won 30-28, though Hanger said the championship title is still up for debate.

“It appeared that we lost but we actually won,” Hanger explained. “They were disqualified because they didn’t have enough House members on the floor.”

Wednesday on the House floor, Del. David Toscano, D – Charlottesville, announced the House team’s victory but said that their win came at a cost, Del. Christopher Saxman, R – Staunton, bruised his hand.

After the initial game, the senators and delegates teamed up for a second game, this time against Kaine’s staff.