I’ll start with the Celtics.
After a win Friday night in New York, Doc quickly came out and indicated that Shaq wouldn’t be available for Sunday’s game. Since he hasn’t played yet this postseason, I wasn’t shocked. But you really hoped that the Celtics would step on the Knicks’ throats and end it on Sunday.
Well, there was a few skips of the heart as the third quarter turned into the fourth but they held on and knocked New York out of the playoffs.
But I have to say, a team that lets a 23 point lead drop down to four doesn’t evoke a ton of confidence. Next up for the Celtics is the Heat. It’s not official as the Sixers stole a game yesterday against Miami but I think the Celtics and Heat is an inevitability in the next round. The Celtics can only hope that this extra time will get them a healthy Shaq for the next round.
Speaking of playoffs, there’s another Boston team playing right now in the postseason.
Your Boston Bruins played an intense playoff game on Saturday night. We had enjoyed a few hoppy, delicious beers and didn’t realize the game was on until the third period. We tuned in to see the Bruins up 1-0 but that lead didn’t stay as the Canadiens managed to tie the game with about seven minutes left in regulation.
What followed was a scoreless overtime period that had us on the edge of our seats. While there was an intermission we tuned over to NESN+ to see the Sox winning but more importantly seeing Dice-K pitch his second one hitter in his last two starts.
About nine minutes into the second overtime Nathan Horton scored to give the B’s the win 2-1 and the series lead 3-2. I had to feel bad for fans at the game. The beer is typically shut off an hour before the scheduled end time. So that means that the fans weren’t able to drink for almost two full periods of hockey (unless they kept the taps on, I wasn’t there to verify).
Finally as referenced before we tuned over to NESN+ on Saturday night and watched the Red Sox win their fourth straight game. Dice-K again didn’t look like Matzucrappa. He actually looked really good and as the local sports shows showed us on Sunday morning, it’s likely because Dice-K had Varitek behind the plate calling his game. His ERA is about two points higher when someone not named Varitek is calling his game.
The Sox split in Oakland and then yesterday completed the sweep of the Angels. The important thing to note in this stretch is that they’ve had awesome pitching. Following a 2-10 start they’ve won eight of nine and are only one game under .500. They’ve climbed out of the cellar and are only 3.5 games out of first.
Tonight the Sox and Bruins are off, but both get back at it tomorrow night. The B’s head to Montreal and the Sox are back on the east coast in Baltimore. Meanwhile the Celtics wait around for the Heat to finish off the 76ers. Here’s hoping it goes seven and the C’s will be nice and rested for their second round match-up.
