Free Republic

Tony Sanchez called Republican Gov. Rick Perry "a petty person" Thursday after Perry criticized Sanchez with words that sounded like a reference to the Democrat's height. The exchange opened when reporters in Aldine asked Perry to respond to Sanchez's call for a criminal inquiry into the state's homeowners insurance crisis. Perry said Attorney General John Cornyn and Insurance Commissioner Jose Montemayor already are investigating. "Again, Mr. Sanchez is a little late. He's short," Perry said, pausing as if he were at the end of a sentence. "He's short on ideas. He's short on solutions. He's long on criticism. That's about...

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) -- A new form of volleyball aimed at allowing shorter players to succeed was approved Friday by the sport's governing body. The new game, with the provisional name of Challenge Volleyball, will be open to men below 6 feet and women below 5-6. ``According to demographic studies, some 97 percent of men and 95 percent of women in the world's population are under these height limits,'' said Anne Peytavin, president of the medical commission of the International Volleyball Federation. Volleyball with a height limit already has been introduced in Brazil. On the final day of its meeting,...