From the ice and the diamond

You could see this coming ... the Carolina Hurricanes are still hung over from bringing the Stanley Cup to the Tar Heel State.

After losing their season opener in a shootout on Thursday, Carolina was overmatched in a 4-0 defeat to New Jersey on Friday. Conn Smythe Trophy-winning goaltender Cam Ward looked bad in giving up three first-period goals.

Both losses have come at home, where Carolina enjoyed a decided advantage in going 31-8-2 last season at the RBC Center ...

Congratulations to Martin Brodeur. The future Hall of Famer made 29 saves for his 81st career shutout and 447th win tying him with Terry Sawchuk for third on the all-time list.

It will take a couple, three more years, but Brodeur will pass Patrick Roy to become the NHL's leading winner among among goaltenders. Roy, headed to the Hall of Fame next month, recorded 551 wins with Montreal, Quebec and Colorado ...

Confidence-breaker of the night? Columbus' Pascal LeClaire gives up two third-period goals and OT tally in 3-2 loss to Vancouver. LeClaire became the Jackets' starter after Marc Denis was shipped to Tampa Bay, and the newbie will need a short memory.

Columbus travels to Chicago to meet the Blackhawks on Saturday. Chicago, opening its home slate, recorded its best offensive output in 3 1/2 years with an 8-6 win over Nashville on Thursday ...

Farewell, Buck. Whenever an APNewsAlert comes across the wire, it's almost certainly bad news.

CORE ^^*2080< ^AP-APNewsAlert<,0024<¶ KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ Buck O'Neil, former Negro League star, has died at 94.

I met O'Neil nine years ago at a journalism workshop in Kansas City. Soft-spoken, but a very powerful man.

What was the bigger injustice, though -- not being able to play in the majors for being black or falling one vote short of enshrinement to the Hall of Fame?