WASHINGTON – Political plaudits are next for Fresno State's national champion college baseball team.
San Joaquin Valley lawmakers already have praised the team on the House floor and drafted a formal resolution honoring the Bulldogs. The commemorative resolution will be formally introduced when Congress returns after the Fourth of July recess.
And at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, the White House is weighing multiple congressional requests that President Bush schedule a rare private meeting with the Fresno State players.
"This is very special for all of us," Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Tulare, said on the House floor Thursday night. "I can't wait to hopefully greet the team here and invite them to our nation's capital and possibly even get a White House visit."
Nunes joined Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, for what's called a "special order" after the House finished the rest of its business Thursday. For about five minutes, the two Fresno-area congressmen shone a light on the Bulldogs' upset victory over Georgia to win the College World Series.
"They went from the underdogs to the wonder dogs, and they accomplished this after spending over 40 straight days away from home," said Costa, a Fresno State alumnus.
The baseball commentary will be retained for posterity in the June 26 issue of the Congressional Record, alongside the special order comments of other lawmakers praising pharmacists, honoring Maryland's Johns Hopkins University and raising alarms about Zimbabwe.
The next commemorative step probably will come the week of July 7, when Valley lawmakers formally introduce their resolution praising the team. Such resolutions are standard congressional practice.
But the real gleam in the eye is seen among those who hope the White House will invite the Fresno State team.
Usually, only the college football champions merit such a one-on-one, personal audience with the president. Standard White House practice is to invite all other collegiate championship teams to group meetings either in the spring or the fall.
There are always exceptions, though. This year, for instance, Bush has met separately with the Kansas men's basketball team and the winner of the 2008 Women's Bassmaster Tour, among others.
Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, has sent a note to the White House, where he's hoping to strike a chord with the former managing general partner of the Texas Rangers.
"You never know," Radanovich's press secretary, Spencer Pederson, said Friday. "Bush is a baseball man."
