Goes to a package of anti-gang measures that legislators have been working on for years. Lawmakers agreed to create new felonies for those who commit drive-by shootings, solicit others to join gangs or threaten gang members who try to leave.

THE NOSE-CLIP FOR SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING ...

Goes to Sen. Charlie Albertson, a Duplin County Democrat who, in lock step with Smithfield Foods, pushed a bill to relax the rules regarding how far hog operations must be from churches, schools and homes. House leaders apparently didn't like the smell of it, though, and declined to bring it up for a vote.

ON THE WRESTLING MAT ...

Lawmakers quickly pinned an effort to get North Carolina to pull out of the presidential Electoral College.

EVEN THE FAVORITES CAN'T WIN THEM ALL ...

In a rare setback, Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand's proposal to require that all college students spend 20 hours a semester tutoring or mentoring elementary, middle or high school students fell with a resounding thud.

A GOLD MEDAL IN THE 100-METER DASH ...

Goes to the state Department of Health and Human Services, which, thanks to some last-minute tweaks in the state budget, can speedily move patients from Dorothea Dix and John Umstead hospitals to the new Central Regional mental hospital.

THE MANY EVENTS OF THE DECATHLON ...

Seeking to repair a mental health system damaged on many fronts, legislators required that all state hospital deaths be reported to a local medical examiner, that more community care be provided by experienced workers with college or advanced degrees and that local crisis services be expanded.

NOTHING HORIZONTAL ABOUT THESE BARS ...

Legislators cleared the way for a new vertical driver's license for people under the age of 21 to help those who sell beer and liquor more easily identify people who are underage.

THE GOLD MEDAL FOR HIGH HURDLES ...

Goes to Gov. Mike Easley, who got $1.4 million for one of his pet education projects, Learn and Earn, after the budget was approved without the money in it. Easley threatened to veto the state budget, prompting legislators to pass another bill with the money for Learn and Earn.

A GOLD MEDAL IN ARCHERY ...

Goes to House Speaker Joe Hackney, who shot a fatal arrow into a bill that would have made it easier for citizens who file public records lawsuits to collect legal fees.

AND NOW TO OUR CORPORATE SPONSORS ...

Legislators extended a research-and-development tax credit intended to encourage investment in new ideas that could lead to jobs, a health-care tax credit to encourage businesses to offer health benefits to full-time employees, and a tax credit to encourage exporters to use state-owned port.

SETTLING FOR THE BRONZE ...

Easley urged legislators to give governors more water-conservation powers in droughts. The legislature approved a watered-down measure that did not go as far as Easley wanted. But it requires local governments to have approved conservation plans and to use the plans in droughts. In emergencies, the governor could require water-rich systems to share with their dry neighbors.

CAN AN OLYMPIC STADIUM BE FAR BEHIND?

The 16-campus UNC system received the go-ahead for $401 million in borrowing for construction projects that will be backed by user fees, ticket sales and private donations. High on the list of projects were sports facilities -- a $50 million expansion at Kenan Stadium and $9.5 million for Carmichael Auditorium at UNC-Chapel Hill, $24 million for Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium at East Carolina University and $8.3 million for Kidd Brewer Stadium at Appalachian State.

AND OVER AT THE OLYMPIC VILLAGE ...

Legislators approved a new law requiring that homeowners receive at least 45 days' notice before foreclosure proceedings begin. They also required licenses for mortgage servicers, who act as intermediaries between homeowners and the investment trusts that often own mortgage loans.

OVER ON THE VOLLEYBALL COURT ...

Democratic legislative leaders spiked efforts by Republicans to establish a temporary moratorium on involuntary annexation.

ONE TO MAKE MICHAEL PHELPS PROUD ...

In the Senate pool, a bill that would allow Durham voters to approve a meals tax did an impressive flip. The bill seemed to slam into a wall until Sen. Floyd McKissick Jr., a Durham Democrat, persuaded an opponent to put it back in motion. Voters can decide on the tax in November.

NOW WE CAN BRING YACHTING BACK ...

Sen. Clark Jenkins, a Tarboro Democrat, and Rep. Arthur Williams, a Washington Democrat, got lawmakers to allow boats 10 feet wide (or 9.5 feet wide at night) to be towed without permits on state roads -- up from the old limit of 8.5 feet. That's a tricky feat, given that 35 percent of state highway lanes are only 9.5 feet wide or less.

THE GOLD MEDAL FOR LEGISLATIVE GYMNASTICS ...

Goes to Rep. Russell Tucker, a Duplin County Democrat who managed to get $500,000 slipped into the $21 billion state budget for a Museum of the Marine in Jacksonville after spending plans had been approved by the House and Senate.

IF YOU THINK THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE HAS CONNECTIONS ...

The lobbyists who prowl the halls at the legislature added a new member to their team this year. Monsignor Michael Clay, pastor of St. Ann Catholic Church in Clayton, became the first lobbyist for Catholics at the legislature.

ON THE SOCCER FIELD ...

Lawmakers sent a goalie to social-networking Web sites in the form of a bill that keeps sex offenders from sites where they could interact with children.

NEVER LEFT THE STARTING BLOCKS ...

Easley's proposal to raise the so-called sin taxes on beer and cigarettes was quickly snuffed out by lawmakers.

A FALSE START ...

A proposal from the Department of Correction to allow the use of state dollars to house just-released sex offenders in motels never reached the finish line.

MORE REFEREES AND JUDGES, PLEASE ...

Lawmakers provided more money to help tackle problems with the state probation system that were exposed in the lax oversight of the two suspects charged in the Eve Carson homicide case.

WAIT UNTIL 2012 ...

Easley proposed spending $40 million for a new capital visitors center. Lawmakers provided $2.6 million in planning money.

THE MEDAL IS IN THE MAIL ...

State employees got a raise of 2.75 percent or $1,100, whichever is greater. But some will have to wait another month to get the money because Easley didn't sign the budget until after many agencies had prepared their July paychecks.

Lawmakers agreed to allow the state to grant early releases to prisoners who are geriatric, terminally ill or are permanently and totally disabled, a way to get some of the most expensive inmates out of crowded state prisons.

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