An advice column for people who live with people who live for sports
What happened on April 1, 2015?
Playoff hopefuls winnowing: It’s starting to look like, of the four teams fighting for the last playoff spot in the NBA’s Eastern conference, two of them are emerging and two are falling behind. Last night, the two that are emerging, the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics, each won the games they were playing, of the two that are falling just a little behind, the Indiana Pacers lost and the Charlotte Hornets won. In a new development, the Miami Heat, who had been ahead of the fray, a few games ahead in seventh place, have dropped far enough back that they’re now tied with Brooklyn for eighth place. Add them to the mix and there are five teams fighting for two playoff spots now. Line: With the Heat swooning, now there are two spots open for five teams to fight over.
California hockey hopes: The San Jose Sharks beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-1 last night, so California hockey fans can still hope to get all three of their teams into the playoffs. If the Sharks and Los Angeles Kings do make it, it would come at the expense of Canadian hockey fans whose Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets would really have to fall apart. Line: Choosing who to pull for between California and Canada for the casual fan is usually pretty easy.
Pennsylvania hockey hatred: I don’t think there’s a more petulant rivalry out there today than the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers are by all accounts the worse team this year but that didn’t stop them from doing their normal act against the Penguins and beating the snot out of them on and off the scoreboard. The game ended with the Flyers up, 4-1. Line: The Penguins are soft.
