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Highs and lows

HIGHS

CAROLINA HURRICANES: A Canadian hockey fan had to like his chances of seeing a home country team in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1994 when Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa all made the Eastern Conference semifinals. But with pluck and outstanding defense, the team from hoops-mad Raleigh, N.C., stood tall at the end. Woe, Canada.

STATE COLLEGE BASEBALL: Florida once again showed its depth of talent as a record nine teams from the state were invited to the NCAA Tournament; so many that two four-team regions, in Gainesville and Tallahassee, have nothing but state teams.

LOWS

WNBA: Val Ackerman, commissioner of the women's pro basketball league, was "infuriated" by comments made by Los Angeles president Johnny Buss and might fine him. He didn't talk bad about the league nor insult the officials. He said he would like to see salaries increase by 50 percent or even double. High crime, indeed, unless you favor free markets.

KEVIN MITCHELL: The manager of the Western Baseball League's Sonoma County Crushers accused the Solano Steelheads third-base coach of stealing signs and threw a punch at him. Sign-stealing has been a (disreputable) part of baseball since the throwing of the first spitball. Mitchell would better serve his team by coming up with better signs and telling his catcher to hide them better.

NFL AND MLB OWNERS: Here's a suggestion for those threatening to move their team if they don't get a new stadium. Relocate to Japan or South Korea, where 16 of them have been built in the past year for the World Cup. A little renovating here and there and voila! Welcome to the East, Far East and Very Far East divisions.

-- Aaron Greenfield, Bruce Lowitt, Mike Stephenson, Jim Tomlin

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