University of North Carolina men's basketball coach Roy Williams is more popular among state voters than Duke University basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, according to politically irrelevant but still interesting polls conducted by Democratic polling firm Public Policy Polling.

The firm did a poll on the statewide popularity of Williams last month and found that 61 percent of voters have a favorable opinion of the coach, who led his team to a national championship earlier this year.

Perhaps to take a break from running hypothetical candidates against Sen. Richard Burr, PPP asked a similar question about Coach K. The result: 52 percent of voters have a favorable opinion. PPP's Tom Jensen also concludes that fans for each school don't hate the other side as much as you might think.

While 68% of Duke fans last month said they had a favorable opinion of Williams, only 53% of Carolina fans say they view Krzyzewski positively. Among State fans 60% had a favorable opinion of Williams, while 51% have one of Krzyzewski. And among supporters of the Demon Deacons 59% like Roy and 53% like Coach K.

Of course the numbers may just serve to make some politicians jealous.

HEALTHY CHOICE? The State Health Plan will stay afloat. After much deliberation, the state House and Senate agreed to fixes that will keep the health insurance plan for state workers and teachers in the black. No one was really happy about the final plan, but both chambers agreed it was only a short-term solution.

BLEAKER NEWS: Former Gov. Mike Easley revealed a new defense in the case of his son's SUV. In filings with the State Board of Elections, Easley's lawyer argued that the SUV was a campaign vehicle in 2003. Meantime, it was revealed that the Robert Bleecker's car dealership paid taxes on the car during that time.

VERN MALONE: Four-term Democratic state Sen. Vern Malone died last weekend. A school board member and county commissioner, he had played a key role in merging the Wake County and Raleigh school systems. A funeral was held Thursday, by which time jockeying had already begun to fill his seat in the state Senate.

IN OTHER NEWS: Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski gave President Obama leadership advice, but admitted he was right about the NCAA championship. ... Former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole will join her husband Bob for a speech in Kansas. ... U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan's husband, meantime, is suing the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority. ... Forget about offshore drilling. The new talk in energy circles is offshore wind farms, and North Carolina could see some under new federal rules.

Coach K had some advice for President Obama.

Promoting his new book on MSNBC this morning, Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski said he admires the president but hopes he'll do more.

"President Obama has a very unique thing for a leader, and that is that he has the ability to inspire," he said. "I would like to see him inspire even more and not get beaten down by the day-to-day ... negativity that's involved."

He added, in basketball terms, that Obama should "run a fast break, not hold the ball." 

At first, Kryzyzewski demurred when asked about Obama, recalling his initial reaction to the president's pick of rival UNC-Chapel Hill in his NCAA tournament bracket. (Coach K took some heat for saying Obama should focus on the economy.)

"I get in trouble whenever I say anything," he said.

But he also seemed to be over the squabble, especially since Carolina ended up winning the tournament.

"He picked the right one," he said. "He knows what he's doing."

Hat Tip: The Fix 

Duke basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski spoke about President Obama's leadership style on an appearance on MSNBC this morning.

President Obama may be identifying with Coach K.

At a roundtable of regional reporters in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, the president came close to predicting a rebound for Duke basketball's Coach Mike Krzyzewski at tonight's highly anticipated Carolina-Duke game.

He said Duke is "coming off one of the worst losses it has had in several years," but noted that Coach K had been working the team pretty hard this week.

"They might be fired up," he said. "I hope it's a close game."

Obama, of course, has been similarly pushing Congressional Democrats to pass an economic stimulus package tonight after getting rebuffed by Republicans and losing a Cabinet pick to tax trouble.

Still, the president avoided taking sides in the famous rivalry, although he played a pickup game with many of the Tar Heel standouts before the May primary.

Pointing to his body man, former Duke basketballer Reggie Love, he said he has to remain on the sidelines, as it were.

"If I said anything contrary to Duke, I might not be able to find my Blackberry," he said.