Stopped on the goalline

In the race for the 50th district in the Pennsylvania state House of Representatives, L.A. Avengers receiver/linebacker/Republican Greg Hopkins appears to have come up a couple yards short of his goal.
In Greene County, where both Hopkins and Democratic incumbent William DeWeese live, Hopkins came out on top. But DeWeese pulled in more votes from the other two counties to defeat Hopkins by about 900 votes -- 9,586 (52.6 percent) to 8,633 (47.4 percent) -- according to unofficial tabulations.
The victory could lead to DeWeese becoming Speaker of the House if Democrats win enough seats to wrest the majority from the Republican Party, according to the Uniontown, Penn., Herald Standard.
DeWeese has been a House member since 1976 and has held various leadership positions in his 30-year tenure -- the perfect reason why Hopkins' supporters thought it was time for him to challenge the professional politician.
No official word yet on either Hopkins' website or the Avengers' site if this political defeat means Hopkins, who turns 35 next week, will return for his 13th season. Named last year to the Arena Football League's 20th greatest players list, Hopkins ranks fourth all time (10,105) on AFL receiving yards.
For what it's worth, in the largely Democratic state of Pennsylvania, it was Republican Raj Peter Bhakta, a former contestant on NBC's "The Apprentice," lost his bid to oust Democratic Rep. Allyson Schwartz in suburban Philadelphia.
And here's the final scorecard for the former athletes who ran for political office Tuesday:
Winners:
- Heath Shuler, pro football, House of Representatives, North Carolina.
- Baron Hill, college basketball, House of Representatives, Indiana.
- Rick Renzi, college football, House of Representatives, Arizona.
- Joe DeNucci, boxing, state auditor, Massachusetts.
Losers:
- Jim Ryun, track, House of Representatives, Kansas.
- Lynn Swann, pro football, Pennsylvania governor.
- Italo Zanzi, team handball, House of Representatives, New York.