MSNBC is raising the stakes:

GOP Sen. Richard Burr, who, if he wins re-election in 2010, could end up becoming a rising national star, is taking the lead for the Senate GOP on the issue of health care.

Washington types felt the same way about Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory. If he'd won the governor's mansion last year in spite of the Obama blue wave, he would be in the spotlight right now as the new face of the GOP.

On a somewhat related note, Reynolds High is inducting Burr into its sports hall of fame.

A standout high school football player who played in the 1973 Shrine Bowl, Burr went on to play defensive back at Wake Forest University.

Former GOP gubernatorial candidate Fred Smith also played in the Shrine Bowl and went on to Wake Forest.

State Sen. Fred Smith is stoic in defeat.

In a Dec. 6, 1959, story in the Charlotte Observer, the then-high school football player made clear his feelings after North Carolina lost to South Carolina in the Shrine Bowl.

Though he was chosen as the game's outstanding lineman, Smith was not happy:

Smith riveted his eyes on the horizon with a grim expression. "Come on, Fred," called a buddy, "smile for the man."

"The losers don't smile," sighed Smith, finally breaking into a faint grin.

All was not lost, however. The story goes on to note that college coaches from both Carolinas descended on Smith "with outstretched palms, eyes gleaming with congeniality."

Smith went on to attend Wake Forest University on a football scholarship.

Hat Tip: Maria Wygand

The N&O endorsed Fred Smith — in 1959.

The future state senator and Republican gubernatorial candidate was chosen by sports reporters and league coaches for the 4-A state football team.

Smith, then a 200-pound, 5'11" tackle at Broughton High in Raleigh, was an "almost unanimous" choice with six votes, noted an article in the Dec. 14 newspaper.

The article notes that during the season Smith and his teammate, Bob Baird, "figured in almost every kind of play possible" — intercepting passes and setting up touchdowns.

"Smith and Baird were chosen as members of the Shrine Bowl this year for their play during the season. Smith, afterwards, was named outstanding lineman of the game for his efforts."

After high school, Smith went to Wake Forest University on a football scholarship.

Fred Smith is having a homecoming of sorts.

The state senator, who is running for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, is holding a barbecue at Raleigh's Broughton High School from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. tonight.

Smith graduated from the school in 1960 and grew up almost across the street.

According to his senior year yearbook, Smith was a football standout for the Broughton Capitols.

The yearbook's 11 pages of football lore note that he led a 22-13 victory over the Fayetteville Bulldogs with an intercepted pass at the 30-yard-line and kicked two extra points in a 26-0 blowout over Garner.

A 200-pound, crew-cut tackle, Smith was chosen to play for Raleigh in the prestigious Shrine Bowl against South Carolina and the East West Game his senior year. He was also chosen by N&O sports reporters for the all-state team.

He was also a member of the Monogram Club, a social club for boys who had lettered.