California voters approve gay-marriage ban
Voters put a stop to same-sex marriage in California, dealing a crushing defeat to gay-rights activists in a state they hoped would be a vanguard, and putting in doubt as many as 18,000 same-sex marriages conducted since a court ruling made them legal this year.
Dems gain at least 1 Va. seat
Democrats gained at least one seat in Virginia’s U.S. House of Representatives delegation Tuesday when Gerald Connolly won the seat of retiring Republican incumbent Tom Davis.
Two GOP incumbents – Thelma Drake and Virgil Goode – were locked in tight races late Tuesday.
Split tickets help Warner win Senate
About a quarter of voters who said in exit polling they consider themselves Republican voted for Mark Warner for the U.S. Senate seat left open by retiring Republican John Warner. The two Warners are not related.
Nearly 30 percent of those who said they voted for Republican Sen.
Jones wins 4-way Richmond mayor’s race
Del. Dwight Jones won a four-way race Tuesday to replace Mayor L. Douglas Wilder, a grandson of slaves who was elected the nation’s first black governor.
Jones’ leading rival, City Council President William J. Pantele, conceded the contest and pledged to support Jones.
Sports briefs
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
The Rams finished their season at the CAA Championships Saturday afternoon with a fifth-place finish in the contest. Senior Jay Wyss (Richmond/J.R. Tucker) concluded his career with a time of 25:09, good enough for a 12th-place finish and a spot on the All-CAA team.
UEFA Champions League Pick’em Matchday Four
Stephanie Power is still clear of Roberto Curtis and Marcelo Lopez thanks to savvy picks, which resulted in all three coming away with ten points in Matchday Three. This week’s matches will be riddled with benchwarmers as injuries are affecting performance throughout the domestic and international play.
Rams fall to Towson on Senior Night
After an easy victory over Delaware Friday night, the VCU Rams were looking for a repeat on Saturday in their final conference home game. The Towson Tigers had other plans.
Towson used timely rallies and 38 VCU errors to defeat the Rams 3-1 (25-20, 27-25, 18-25, 25-14) on senior night at the Siegel Center.
The Rome report
Everyone will be talking about Graham Harrell’s game-winning touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree with one second left in Texas Tech’s 39-33 win over Texas this past Saturday. Even though it was a great play, I believe the biggest play of the game was a drop.
This week
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Fri., Nov. 7, vs. Virginia Union (exhibition), Siegel Center, 7 p.m.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Fri., Nov. 7, vs. Virginia Union (exhibition), Siegel Center, TBA
MEN’S SOCCER
Thu., Nov. 6, vs. Northeastern, Sports Backers Stadium, 7 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Tue.
Rams snap 12-match losing streak to end season
The Rams defeated Northeastern 2-0 on Senior Day Sunday to break a 12-match losing streak. The win was the first for VCU since Sept. 14 when the Rams beat Penn 3-1. The two goals were the first goals VCU has scored since an Oct. 15 loss to Richmond.
In the first half, both defenses shut down scoring opportunities by the opposition.