So N.C. State took 35 days to hire Herb Sendek's replacement, and they ended up with Sidney Lowe. By all accounts, Lowe is a good guy, and of course he was the point guard on the 1983 NCAA Championship team for Jim Valvano. I don't have much to stay about N.C. State, but I think Lowe should have been much higher on the list. Above guys like Beilein and Lavin with no tangible connection to the school, for sure. A guy like Lowe with NBA connections, who konws how to get kids into the league, will surely help recruiting.

Some thought State's requirement of a four-year degree was silly, and I do think it's silly that it's taken Lowe until this summer to get his degree. But do you think a coach can really expect his players to go to class if he doesn't have a degree himself?

Lots of people (non-State fans) said Sendek should not have been run off. I like Herb Sendek, but I think Carolina fans would have done the same thing. So good luck to Sidney Lowe, just not against Carolina.

Just my thoughts. I'm working on the 2005-06 Top Ten for early June.

Okay, so I know this isn't 'CanesBlog,' but let's face it, other than the baseball team's run toward Omaha, there's not a whole lot going on with Carolina athletics. And I've got thoughts on the State coaching hire, but I'll get to those later.

How about them Canes? In case you missed it, on Saturday, they defeated the New Jersey Devils and goalie legend Martin Brodeur 6-0 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at RBC. Tonight, they were tied with 25 seconds left, 1-1, in Game 2. The Devils scored with 20 ticks to go, and it looked like they'd go back to New Jersey with a series knotted at a game apiece. But no. Eric Staal scored with three seconds left to send the game to OT. Then, Niclas Wallin scored three minutes in to give the Hurricanes the sudden-death win. Raleigh is buzzed with hockey fever, much like 2002, when the Canes made their improbable run to the Stanley Cup Finals.

About two months ago, I couldn't stand hockey. Didn't get it. Didn't see the attraction in the game. But HBG and I went to a game in March, and I was hooked. The Canes sputtered down the stretch in the regular season, but they have been on fire ever since dropping the first two games of the opening playoff series to Montreal. On fire as in won six in a row. With a rookie goalie.

They say about hockey, 'You'll know when you go.' Well, we went, and now we know. We've got tickets for Sunday night's game 5, but it may not even come to that (knock on wood), if the Canes take care of business in New Jersey.

Next game is on OLN Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Here's to the Carolina team that we can all pull for.