Next stop for the Tar Heels: The White House.

The country’s B-baller-in-chief will host the UNC-Chapel Hill men's team on May 11 at the White House, Barb Barrett reports. The team was invited by President Barack Obama for a ceremony in honor of their NCAA championship this year.

Details about the White House event remain sketchy, but here's some background: Obama practiced with the UNC team during the 2008 presidential campaign.

His personal assistant and body man, Reggie Love, played on a championship Duke basketball team. And Obama picked the Heels to win it all in his NCAA March Madness choices.

The president traditionally honors champions in both collegiate and professional sports. The UNC women's soccer team and the Carolina Hurricanes have previously been honored at the White House.

Raleigh resident Jim Cain, the U.S ambassador to Denmark, received an award from Queen Margarethe.

Her majesty gave Cain the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Dannebrog, the highest order the Danish government can give a foreigner, Rob Christensen reports.

The Queen said she was giving the honor "for making such extraordinary contributions, during difficult times to strengthening the bonds between Denmark and America."

Cain, a Raleigh attorney, is former president of the Carolina Hurricanes. Long active in Republican politics, Cain was a major fund raiser for President Bush.

There had been talk in GOP circles that Jim Cain, the U.S. Ambassador to Denmark, might be interested in running for state Republican Party chairman next year.

But Cain says he is not interested, Rob Christensen reports.

"I do not intend to seek the party chairmanship when I return to North Carolina," Cain said in an email from Copenhagen. "I have had a few calls of encouragement on this, but it is not the direction I plan to go in my next endeavor."

Cain, a Raleigh attorney and former president of the Carolina Hurricanes, has been ambassador to Denmark since 2005. But his tenure is likely to end after Democrat Barack Obama takes office.

Cain, 50, had been talked about as a possible gubernatorial candidate in 2004 and 2008. And by becoming party chairman would have eased his re-entry into Tar Heel politics.

He cut his teeth in politics as a former political operative to the late Sen. Jesse Helms, and more recently was a fund raiser for President Bush.

State GOP Chairwoman Linda Daves is expected to seek another term at the state convention this spring. But because 2008 was a rough year, there has been some opposition. State Sen. Fred Smith of Clayton, who ran unsuccessfully for governor, has been considering seeking the post.

The Carolina Hurricanes head coach gave to Mitt Romney.

Peter Laviolette, the Stanley Cup-winning coach of the Triangle-area hockey team, paid $500 to attend an Aug. 30 fundraiser for the former Massachusetts governor at the Wakefield home of Jim Rutherford, the team's general manager, according to campaign finance reports.

Another sort-of Cane at the event: NAI Carolantic Realty owner Steve Stroud, a board member of the Centennial Authority, which owns the Hurricanes' home, the RBC Center.

Former Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr, who is running for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, also paid $500 to meet Romney.

"He's an exceptionally bright guy, obviously very capable," Orr said, though he noted he has not yet chosen a Republican presidential candidate.

The event's sponsors declined to say the amount raised, though campaign finance reports show Romney raised about $23,000 on Aug. 30 and 31 from about two-dozen Triangle-area residents. If so, that's about a fourth what organizers hoped to raise.

The Hurricanes are dipping their toes in the political waters.

The National Hockey League team's announcer, Chuck Kaiton, has been making recorded phone calls on behalf of a Raleigh City Council candidate who used to be a Hurricanes spokeswoman.

In August, general manager Jim Rutherford hosted a fundraiser at his Raleigh home for Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney.

And last year, forward Cory Stillman appeared in a TV ad for Wake County's $970 million school bonds.

It seems that everyone wants a little of that Stanley Cup magic.

Mitt Romney was in the eye of the Hurricanes Thursday.

The former Massachusetts governor and GOP presidential candidate held a fundraiser last night at the Raleigh home of Jim Rutherford, general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, Rob Christensen reports.

The Romney campaign did not permit news coverage of the event. A spokeswoman said she wouldn't discuss who was there, how many people were there or how much money was raised.

Hill Carrow, a Raleigh sports marketing agent who is the North Carolina coordinator for the former Massachusetts governor, said he had been asked by the campaign not to talk about the fundraiser.

In announcing the fundraiser several weeks ago, Carrow said he hoped to raise $100,000 at the event, which cost $500 per person.

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney will be in Raleigh next week to raise money.

Supporters hope to raise a six-figure sum for Romney at an event at the Wakefield home of Jim Rutherford, general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, and his wife, Leslie, reports Rob Christensen.

This will be Romney’s first appearance in North Carolina since he announced his presidential bid.

"We have a good ways to go in North Carolina,” said Hill Carrow, a Raleigh sports marketer who is Romney’s state coordinator. “A lot of people don’t necessarily know Mitt. He’s been in other parts of the country more.”

The event on Aug. 30 will cost $500 per person, although people will pay more for a photograph and a special reception.