The Carolina Hurricanes summer hockey camps will be back for their 10th year.

The camp will have two instructional camps on either side of a one-week, three-on-three, pond-hockey-style tournament. The first week, from July 28 through Aug. 1, will be a developmental (skill development) camp intended for players with three or fewer years of hockey experience.

The second week, Aug. 4 through Aug. 8, will feature the third-annual Hurricanes Three-on-Three Summer Classic. The event, which sold out last year, allows participants freedom in pond-hockey-style games.

The third week, Aug. 11 through Aug. 15, features the elite-level camp, targeted at more advanced players looking to take their games to the next level. With intense on-ice instruction, the elite week should help any travel hockey player prepare for the upcoming season.

The USA Olympic Baseball team announced today that they will play four exhibition games against Canada, in the Triangle, just before heading to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. On August 1, the team will play at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary. On August 2, 3, and 4 they will play at the Durham Bills Athletic Park.

The Beijing Olympic games begin August 8, 2008.

For tickets and more info, see usabaseball.com.

Charlie Goodnights will host Dave Attell on July 18 and 19 for 4 shows only. Tickets are on sale now.

From 10am to 2pm tomorrow, Triangle Mom2Mom will be sponsoring a party at Marbles Museum ($5 admission applies). There will be music by Trish Miller, Sandbox Band, Cotton the Clown, Food, and the site’s bloggers.

August 21 is the day when supreme coolness hits Cary’s Booth Amphitheater. G. Love and Special Sauce will be playing along with The John Butler Trio. Tickets are $27.50 advance, $29 day of show, and go on sale May 17 at 10am at Ticketmaster outlets. Lawn chairs and blankets are allowed.

The Booth Amphitheater will bring in three of the biggest acts of the 90’s. Collective Soul, Blues Traveler, and Live are coming on August 16.  Tickets are $60 reserved, $30 lawn, and go on sale May 9 at 10am. Lawn chairs and blankets are allowed, but the crowd will likely be SRO.

The Arbitron ratings for radio in the area during the winter have been released and WQDR has once again finished first. This time, though, they beat Foxy by just 0.1 points (1%). Most stations improved their ratings while others took small dips. WRAL took the biggest plunge since the last ratings period, 17%. One thing is for sure, the ratings don’t appear to offer any motive for changing the state of Raleigh radio.

After two seasons as the coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, former Cane coach Paul Maurice was relieved of his coaching duties in Toronto today.

Red’s will be hosting David Allan Coe on October 13, darlin’.

He’s free from The Wallflowers, and he’s coming to see us. On Friday, June 6, Jakob Dylan will play at the Lincoln Theatre.

Clay Aiken’s “On My Way Here” gets released in music stores today. It is Aiken’s first release since “A Thousand Different Ways”, released September 19, 2006. His agents have set up a nice little media blitz with the following appearances on major TV shows:

• May 7 - Good Morning America
• May 8 - The View
• May 9 - ABC Nightline, The Today Show
• May 12 - Tonight Show with Jay Leno
• May 16 - Rachel Ray, Jimmy Kimmel Live
• May 20 - Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson

During the past two summers, Dave Rose, Andy Martin, and the gang at Deep South Entertainment have put together bang-up series of free concerts in Moore Square known as Bud Light Downtown Live. This summer, seven concerts comprise the schedule:

• May 31 - The Wailers with Saunter, Pete and J, and Jive Mother Mary
• June 14 - Cravin Melon with Pete Francis (of Dispatch)
• June 28 - Carbon Leaf with Colourslide, Bill West & the Sunshine Kids
• July 12 - Alter Bridge with Tantric, The Ts, Kennebec, and Cori Yarckin
• July 26 - Old 97s
• August 9 - Brian Howe [of Bad Company (gen II)] with Jim Bianco
• August 23 - Puddle of Mudd with Eve 6, and Saving Abel

A rumor I’ve heard from a few reliable sources is that Yancy’s will move its live music operations to the former Hideaway BBQ location on Capital Blvd (map it). Word is that the loud, live music is a problem for people living in some of The Hudson’s condo units.

If this is true, it’s sad because the Yancy’s people put a lot of money and energy into sound dampening and audio-visual gearing for the Hudson site. We’ll see how this one turns out.

Tomorrow marks the May edition of First Friday in downtown Raleigh. The event is really catching some momentum as more people realize how great it is to get out and poke around looking at art. To be honest, I want list all of the galleries’ showings here, but a full listing is already at downtownraleigh.com, so check theirs out and have a great First Friday!

Wilco is coming to Cary’s Booth Amphitheatre on August 8. The presale for tickets begins at 10:00am this morning. General public tickets go on sale Friday.

The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, raising funds and awareness for the fight against breast cancer, is coming June 14. A part of the largest series of 5K runs/fitness walks in the world, the Komen Race for the Cure Series has grown from one local Race with 800 participants in Dallas in 1983 to a series of more than 120 Races with more than 1.5 million participants this year alone.

Up to 75 percent of the net income from each Race stays in the community to fund local breast health education and breast cancer screening and treatment projects. A minimum of 25 percent of the net income from each Race supports the Komen Award and Research Grant Program, which funds groundbreaking breast cancer research, meritorious awards and educational and scientific programs around the world.

The 5K teardrop-shaped race route begins in front of Meredith College, proceeds to Brooks Avenue, and returns to Meredith. Five different races proceed with  a staggered starts beginning at 7am on race day. Registration is now open.

Today marks the 15th anniversary of Jim Valvano’s death. A few heavy moments from 1993 still weigh heavily in my mind.

For instance, Valvano’s final game announcing (for ABC) in the Dean Dome came in March when #1 UNC hosted Duke. Brian Reese had just made the cover of Sports Illustrated and the Heels, on their way to a National Championship, handled Duke easily that Saturday afternoon. A neighbor scored 4 seats two rows behind the UNC bench for us. While they painted their chests and faces, I took my “Don’t Give Up Don’t Ever Give Up” bumper sticker, hoping to attract the sights of Jimmy V, who sat across the court, 50 feet away. Valvano didn’t seem to notice me, but Phil Ford did, and gave me a thumbs up. Afterward, the thousands of people who descended toward Valvano’s seat, as well as the ovation he received when leaving the court, were both tearjerkers.

Even heavier was Valvano’s final speech at NCSU (YouTube). He spoke in Reynolds Coliseum to a standing room only house. Without a dry eye in the house, Valvano preached his message of optimism and perseverance. Laettner took it to heart and was unstoppable that afternoon, but the State fans knew they had witnessed a far greater display before the game.

Then there was the funeral. (Oakwood Cemetary site) Many of ESPN’s people from both sides of the camera, and numerous big names in basketball were on hand to say goodbye to a good friend with a big heart. To this day no moment stands as gut wrenching as the moment that one of Bo Roberts’ (Triangle Area YMCA) sons, a friend of Valvano’s youngest daughter, placed a bouquet of flowers on Valvano’s casket. Even the always-bubbly Dick Vitale was in shambles; to the point of not being able to be a pallbearer.

Valvano is long gone, but not forgotten. Somewhere in heaven, he is telling a tale and making friends (but only when my father takes a break:) ) His simple, uplifting message has never given up.

Anyone want to jump into the AM market? Now is your chance (via):

NORTH CAROLINA… mid size market near Raliegh,NC. 10,000 watts day, some small power at night. Doing new talk format. Doing GREAT business. Very nice equipment. New owner will have to relocate tower site. Owner wants to retire, asking $500,000 cash and you move tower, or $600,000 and the present owner will move tower. Call Ted Gray for more information (336) 570-9133. This is a very good market with lots of potential. If you are looking for a good radio station to buy, this would be one to consider.

Gavin DeGraw will perform at The Red Room Tapas Lounge on Wednesday, April 30 as part of the G105 Listener Lounge Series. This event will be held on West Johnson Street. Tickets are given to listeners exclusively through G105. For more information, visit www.g105.com

Sorry, but I love the subject of weather, so this is an important event for those of us fixated on local forecasting. WRAL, Channel 5, has dropped its long-held tradition (what? 30 years) of giving a 5-day forecast. While other stations have given longer forecasts, WRAL stayed true to its “5″ theme and avoided adding two unpredictable days to the forecast; until now.

One of my favorite tips from Chris (at Raleighing) is to add this dynamically-updated jpg to the Windows Active Desktop (versions thru XP, only). To add the WRAL 7-Day Forecast to your desktop, right-click on your Desktop and select Properties | Desktop | Customize Desktop | Web (tab) | New…  Then copy this URL into the window. Hit OK | OK | OK. The graphic will appear on your desktop and can be resized and moved by dragging corners and the title bar. The graphic will update daily and whenever Windows is restarted. To make this graphic appear in the Vista Sidebar, install Eye On The Web and point it to the 7-day forecast URL. Since adding this icon to my desktop, I found myself always prepared for the weather. 

For more weather geekiness, add the WRAL Weather Blog to your reader!