Senate bill 6583 would require annual game between Gonzaga and UW

A Washington state senator has introduced a bill that would require the University of Washington and Gonzaga University to play at least one game each season, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday.

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State Senator Michael Baumgartner, a republican from Spokane, apparently has been wishing for the once-great rivalry to resume. With Lorenzo Romar and Mark Few not the best of friends, Senator Baumgartner is taking matters into his on hands. He introduced Senate Bill 6583 which would require at least one game a year between the two teams.

Gonzaga and Washington was the state's best rivalry until everything went south. Since then, it hasn't been the most pleasant communications coming between the two schools. The two schools' basketball relationships soured for reasons that don't really matter anymore. It is a game that pretty much every fan on both sides would love to see happen again, and probably one we won't see resumed for awhile.

Gonzaga and Washington last played each other once a year from 1998 to 2007 with Gonzaga winning eight of the 10 games.

In case you don't remember your junior high schooling, this is the simple wording for how a bill becomes a law in the state of Washington.

1) A bill may be introduced in either the Senate or House of Representatives by a member.
2 )It is referred to a committee for a hearing. The committee studies the bill and may hold public hearings on it. It can then pass, reject, or take no action on the bill.
3 )The committee report on the passed bill is read in open session of the House or Senate, and the bill is then referred to the Rules Committee.
4) The Rules Committee can either place the bill on the second reading calendar for debate before the entire body, or take no action.
5) At the second reading, a bill is subject to debate and amendment before being placed on the third reading calendar for final passage.
6) After passing one house, the bill goes through the same procedure in the other house.
7) If amendments are made in the other house, the first house must approve the changes.
8) When the bill is accepted in both houses, it is signed by the respective leaders and sent to the governor.
9) The governor signs the bill into law or may veto all or part of it. If the governor fails to act on the bill, it may become law without a signature.

This obviously isn't going to become a law, and if it did I would be a bit worried about the focus on the state of our legislative system. But in all honestly, I'll give props to Senator Baumgartner on a creative way to remind everyone that something that should be happening every year isn't because britches on both sides of the coin are too big. The Gonzaga athletics office demands a neutral court and on UW's side it seems perfectly fine to have three consecutive years at Key Arena.