BLACK AND GOLD

No complaints this week. To that end, the Celtics went 5-0 and the Bruins went 3-0. No losses equal a great week. Meanwhile, the Red Sox officially started spring training. I don't plan on thoroughly discussing spring training games though, but I look forward to the regular season opener versus Oakland in Japan. The Patriots are in the news as well. Free agency began this week and the team lost a few players. Asante Samuel left the good guys for the Eagles. He was the only real core player that left this week. Randall Gay went to the Saints, Donte Stallworth to the Browns and Kyle Brady to retirement. The team re-signed Washington, Bruschi and Paxton. Moss continues to be a hot topic but will be signed very soon one would figure. The Pats seem like the best choice. Faulk was cleared of his marijuana arrest too.
Let's talk green. Last week they went 0-3 out West. It was a bit humbling but not shocking. The team wrapped up their 5 game trip with blowout wins over the Blazers and Clippers. They came home and walloped the Cavs, Bobcats and Hawks. And with that, they went 5-0. They sit atop the East, as they have since Day1, at an eye-popping 46-12. The team announced the signing of veteran presence P.J. Brown. Sam Cassell is likely to sign today to bolster a somewhat young club. The goal would be to have Cassell cover Billups on Wednesday and the playoffs. Speaking of Wednesday, the two teams meet in Boston. It's vital for both teams. The 2 game swing will go a long way towards home court advantage. The Pistons are 3 games back of the good guys!
Now, for my club. The black and gold. I blogged on the 12th of February about the home loss I attended in person vs. the Hurricanes. Since then, the team has yet to lose. They went 3-0 this week thanks to a 4-0 win vs. Ottawa(the Sens fired their coach the next day), a 5-1 win vs. Pittsburgh and a 3-2 win vs. Atlanta. All three wins were at home too. Tim Thomas was in net for all 3 wins. The team is playing great, obviously, in all facets of the game. Beating 2 teams above you in the standings was great, especially since it was Hossa's first game since the prized player was acquired for the Pens from Atlanta. Atlanta came in as a desperate club starved for a win. It took a shoot-out win to beat them.
As you'll see from the standings below, it's still a dogfight in the East. The Bruins have at least 2 games at hand over all the other clubs in the race. Though not for long; the team plays Monday and Tuesday, Thursday and Friday plus Sunday. Five games next week! We wish them the best!
1.Montreal 81
2.Pittsburgh 81
3.Carolina 73
4.New Jersey 80
5.Ottawa 80
6.Boston 76
7.NYR 76
8.Philadelphia 74
9.Buffalo 71
10.NYI 69
11.Washington 68
12.Toronto 68
13. Florida 66
14.Atlanta 65
15.Tampa 59