MARCH MADNESS 2009:BRUINS CELTICS EAGLES

Well, being a sports fan in Boston this week was pretty solid. The Celtics went 3-1 this week. The week started off poorly as the team went to Chicago following a pathetic loss to the Bucks. The Celts and Bulls battled but it was the latter that won in the waning seconds. The Celts led late but the Bulls won a high scorer 127-121. The following night the Celts took on the Heat back in beantown. With Powe, Scalabrine, Allen, Garnett and Allen out of action due to injury, Paul Pierce followed up his 37-point effort the previous night and scored 36 in a 112-108 OT win. Good news came the next game as 2 of the Big 3 returned and the Celts won a key game versus the Spurs in Texas 80-77. Big Baby hit a key shot late in the victory. Having KG and his overall presence and enthusiasm back was just what the Dr. ordered. The Celts ended the week with a 105-87 win in Memphis as Big Baby accumulated a career high 24 points.
The Bruins may have saved their season based on a Sunday matinee earlier this evening. But first we must mention how the only other tilt this week was a loss to the lowly Kings. The Bruins blew a late 2-0 lead(in the final minutes) and were forced into OT which ended badly for the Bruins in the shocking loss. With the team in shambles, and unable to find their game or do anything correct, the Bruins were at a loss. Teams around the league gained on them(well almost every team............the Habs have collapsed too) and a padded lead was down to a mere 3 points over the Devils and 4 points over the Caps. The biggest game of the regular season just finished at The Garden. The Devils, with a game at hand, entered Causeway Street looking to pull within one point of the black-and-gold (and win the season series, the key tiebreaker) with 10 games left. The Devils came in smokin' as Brodeur entered the game 9-1 since his return and the club 14-4 overall. Meanwhile, the Bruins have deflated via winning only 6 of the past 19 games! The game was epic as the hits and action ensued in the much anticipated match-up of the 2 best teams in the East. In the end, the Bruins played their first full 60-minute game in a long time and were rewarded in a 4-1 victory. Thomas made 40 saves as Ryder and Savvy had a goal and an assist each. The Bruins won the Northeast Division crown in the process! Furthermore, the 3 goal win gives the Bruins the tiebreaker if it ever comes to that, but that seems highly unlikely. Each team won 2 games but the Bruins goal differential was better! The team is off until next Saturday. The team takes on the Leafs and then the Flyers a week from tonight!
Oh yeah, March Madness is underway. The Eagles, who you have all followed each week on this here blog, did not win a sole game! It's amazingly ironic that a team that beats #1 UNC in Chapel Hill and also knocked off top ranked teams such as the Blue Devils and Seminoles yet could not win a game in the NCAA Tournament. The team blew a 34-30 halftime lead and got smoked by lower seeded but Pac-10 Champs USC.

NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS

Team GP W L T GF GA PTS

1. BOS 73 46 17 10 243 171 102
2. NJD 72 47 22 3 223 177 97
3. WSH 74 45 23 6 238 216 96
4. PHI 71 39 22 10 229 204 88
5. PIT 74 39 27 8 233 222 86
6. CAR 74 39 28 7 213 210 85
7. NYR 72 38 26 8 186 196 84
8. MTL 72 36 27 9 214 220 81
9. FLA 72 35 27 10 198 203 80
10. BUF 72 34 30 8 212 208 76
11. TOR 73 30 30 13 219 257 73
12. OTT 71 31 30 10 191 206 72
13. ATL 73 30 37 6 223 249 66
14. TBL 72 23 33 16 189 240 62
15. NYI 72 24 40 8 182 234 56

NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS

TEAM W-L GB

1. CAVS 56-13 -
2. CELTICS 53-18 4
3. MAGIC 51-18 5
4. HAWKS 41-19 15.5
5. HEAT 37-32 19
6. 76ERS 34-33 21
7. PISTONS 34-34 22
8. BULLS 32-38 24.5
9. BOBCATS 31-39 25.5
10. BUCKS 31-40 26
11. NETS 30-39 26
12. PACERS 29-42 28
13. KNICKS 28-41 28
14. RAPTORS 25-45 31.5
15. WIZARDS 16-55 41