A few hours after the Arkansas House of Representatives voted against renewed funding for Arkansas’ Medicaid expansion, members of the Legislature played a game of bipartisan, bicameral basketball.
Hoops for Kids’ Sake, held Feb. 18 at the Jack Stephens Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, pitted the House against the Senate to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arkansas and the Boys and Girls Club of Saline County. The event raised $30,000, primarily from sponsorships. At $10 a ticket, the paying “crowd” (a generous term) comprised a smattering of lobbyists and legislators.
The underdogs (ahem, the Senate) were guided by former Razorbacks coach Nolan Richardson, who, in 1994, led the Hogs to their only basketball national championship win thus far. The House, reigning victors from last year’s inaugural Hoops game, was coached by Joe Kleine, former Razorbacks and NBA player, and Steve Sullivan, KATV, Channel 7, sports anchor.
The “celebrity” lineup was rounded out with more once-upon-a-time Razorbacks - Pat Bradley for the House, Scotty Thurman and Blake Eddins for the Senate - and more here-and-now TV news people. (KATV’s Janelle Lilley, nearly the youngest player on court at 27, put forth spectacular effort for the Senate.)
The legislators took the court optimistically, their paunches hidden beneath sleek jerseys, their bum knees encased in black elastic. But from the beginning, the match was uneven. The House had the triple boost of youth, more members and former Harlem Globetrotter Fred Smith (the entire legislative Green Party, represent-represent!).
Still, the underdogs had a strong initial showing.
Sen. Jim “Hammer” Hendren - a wiry, middle-aged Air Force vet - scored the first points. And he kept them coming, as announcers Matt DeCample and Bill Vickery - executive spokesman and radio station KABZ-FM, 103.7 The Buzz talk show host, respectively - chided Sen. David Sanders for his distracting wardrobe choices (Sanders recently ’fessed up to paying $150 for custom-tailored shirts) and Sen. Johnny Key for his “awkwardly tucked in” jersey. (That jersey was not as awkward as Sen. Alan Clark’s collapse across a couple of chairs, following a brief but labored trek up-court.)
During a break, Bradley asked his teammates who were Democrats and who were Republicans. But he said the information didn’t affect his game: “I’m a bipartisan passer.”
He termed Speaker of the House Davy Carter “a good hooper,” whom he could count on to “knock down a jump shot” when Bradley “gives it to him on the break.” (Decipher to the best of your athletic ability.)
And he dubbed Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson the master of hard fouls.
Former Globetrotter Smith was in high form, delivering dunks, shimmying the ball along the (extensive) length of his arms, twirling it on a fingertip.
“I call him The X-factor, because he’s in better shape than anybody,” Bradley said.
But there were murmurs in the crowd that Smith was well-rested because he skipped the day’s vote. (He did vote the next day, however.)
Rep. Stephanie Malone, known around the Capitol for the height of her heels and the frequency of her smoke breaks, was a breakout-star. She made a tough shot, despite being fouled, and later absorbed a three-men blow - the nastiest of the game.
Richardson said he sees a roster spot in the WNBA in her future. “She got right up like nothing. I know guys who wouldn’t have gotten up.”
But despite Malone’s best and Thurman’s most equitable efforts, by halftime the Senate was down 17 points, and fans were restless.
“I think we’re focused on the charitable aspect of things, and they’re focused on Pat Bradley scoring all their points,” said Sen. Michael Lamoureux, watching from the stands.
Sen. Joyce Elliott finally arrived, fresh from a constituent event, to score a few rebound shots, and Rep. Andy Mayberry scored a three-pointer.
Meanwhile, Sanders lounged, pin-up style, on the sidelines, cocking one knee to his chest and stretching the other luxuriously in front - the better to admire his purple knee sock (the money’s on Prada) and flame-colored sneaker.
Oh, wait. Apparently this pose counts as stretching among nonyogis.
From the bleachers Rep. Harold Copenhaver shook his head at the action on the court. “I play golf. Golf is a thinking man’s game,” he said.
The most notable post-halftime occurrence was rookie Rep. Richard Womack’s faceplant, which wasn’t attributable to any obvious reason. (He’d actually been pretty solid up until then.) He peeled himself from the floor, shook his limbs and jogged toward his team, red-faced and bewildered.
Rep. John Vines took a hard foul and was later spotted limping out of the arena in a Razorbacks track suit, an ice pack on his neck.
When the final buzzer sounded, the score was House 76, Senate 64.
Gov. Mike Beebe taunted Richardson from center-court: “Nolan, I think they were prejudiced against you. That’s the reason they called that game the way they did!”(According to DeCample, this was not a reference to Richardson’s 2002 dismissal from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, following his allegations that the administration discriminated against black coaches. “Back during his time as a coach, fans often thought he got a bum rap from the referees,” DeCample said.)
Then things got weirder.
Mayberry celebrated by crossing the court on his hands. Really, he crossed half the width of the court. Impressive.
The most impressive feat of the evening: members of disparate political parties came together as teammates.
(True, the Republicans outnumbered the Democrats on the court, much more so than in the House earlier that day.)
In both instances, there was the sting of Republican vs. Republican. But there was also the salve of dual-aisle effort.
Simply put, Democrats and Republicans played ball.
The Players
(a partial roster): For the House: Fred Smith (G-Crawfordville), Davy Carter (R-Cabot), Stephanie Malone (R-Fort Smith), John Vines (D-Hot Springs), Andy Mayberry (R-East End) Richard Womack (R-Arkadelphia) For the Senate: Jim Hendren (R-Sulphur Springs), David Sanders (R-Little Rock), Johnny Key (R-Mountain Home), Alan Clark (R-Lonsdale), Jeremy Hutchinson (R-Little Rock), Joyce Elliot (D-Little Rock) Also mentioned: Sen. Michael Lamoureux (R-Russellville), Rep. Harold Copenhaver (D-Jonesboro)
Style, Pages 27 on 02/25/2014