In this mostly straight-up profile of House Majority Leader Paul “Skip” Stam, we learn an interesting factoid about the GOP stalwart — he plays rounds of tennis with Democratic Rep. Marcus Brandon:

Earlier this week, amid the acrimonious debate over the gay marriage amendment, Stam had plans for a set of tennis with Rep. Marcus Brandon, a freshman Democrat from High Point who is openly gay. Their busy schedules canceled the set, but the two have played tennis many times.

“It’s a great stress-reliever,” Brandon said of the game. “He’s an effective leader. I don’t necessarily agree with what he leads on. … I’m concerned about the budget and the social agenda issues. But none of that has to do with me wanting to beat Stam at tennis.”