An advice column for people who live with people who live for sports
What happened on Thursday, January 29, 2015?
All the goals went to the West: NBC Sports Network had a good NHL ice hockey double-header last night. In the first game, the Montreal Canadiens beat the New York Rangers 1-0 thanks to some great goaltending by Carey Price (given the score, the Rangers also had great goaltending from Henrik Lundquist) and a third period goal from Max Pacioretty. The late game between the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks was a higher scoring affair and ended 6-3 in favor of the Ducks. Line: Goals are fun, but if I had to choose, I’d rather watch a 1-0 game than a 6-3 game.
Overpowered by the Grizzlies: The Memphis Grizzlies buck the current trend for NBA teams. They have two big men who like to play with their backs to the basket, a style more common in the 1980s than in the 2010s. It’s working for them. Last night they beat the Denver Nuggets 99-69. Line: Whether or not you like the Grizzlies, you’re probably glad there’s some variation of play in the NBA.
No Kobe, No Problem: The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Chicago Bulls 123-118 in double overtime last night. It was the first win for the Lakers since Kobe Bryant assented to having surgery to fix his torn rotator cuff, instead of just playing the rest of the season with one arm, which is what you get the sense he wanted to do. The Bulls have now lost six of their last ten games but as troubling as that is, they’re likely to be more puzzled than frightened by this loss. Line: No Kobe, no problem for the Lakers!
Djokovic to the finals: Novak Djokovic beat Stan Wawrinka to advance to the finals of the Australian open where he’ll face Andy Murray. Djokovic needed five sets to beat Wawrinka although the fifth was so one-sided (Wawrinka didn’t win a game) it seems retrospectively ceremonial. Line: No surprises in this year’s Australian Open finalists: Djokovic, Murray, Williams, Sharapova — all big names.
