What happened on Tuesday, March 31, 2015?

  1. A moral tie: There’s a controversial concept in sports of a “moral victory” when a team loses but, because of something circumstantial — the way they played, the fact that they were expected to lose by a lot and only lost by a little, etc. — it’s seen as a good thing anyway. Yesterday’s game between the United States Men’s National soccer team and Switzerland ended in a 1-1 tie and, in my mind, felt like neither a moral victory, nor a moral defeat. It was a tie and it felt like a tie. The U.S. team went up 1-0 in the first half but then couldn’t defend the lead after striker Jozy Altidore foolishly got kicked out of the game for cursing at the ref.
    Line: We’ve passed the point where I’m excited about the U.S. team earning a draw.
  2. In the land of the blind…: There’s a race going on for the last playoff spot in the Eastern conference of the NBA. It’s not a race that includes any great basketball teams. The Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Boston Celtics, and Indiana Pacers have all lost far more games than they’ve won this season. But, since it is a race, it is exciting to follow. Last night the Nets beat the Pacers 111-106 to stay just ahead of the other three teams.
    Line: The Nets look like a new team in the past couple weeks. They’ve won six of their last seven games!
  3. Not quiet dead yet: The race for the last playoff spot in the Eastern conference of the NHL didn’t mathematically end last night, but it almost did. The Boston Bruins came from down 2-1 and scored two straight goals in the third period to beat the Florida Panthers 3-2. This widened their lead over the Panthers in the standings to six points with only five games left in the season. It’s not impossible for Florida to catch Boston, but it would take a remarkable effort on their part and a laughable one on the Bruins part.
    Line: It’s not really surprising that Boston would be in line to make the playoffs. It would be more surprising if they missed them.

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