This Week in Sports: February 15th

NHL:

The Habs have won four straight (not including Monday’s tilt against Carolina)… so what happens now? A run for the playoffs, or a run to 9th place, losing out on a high draft pick and setting the franchise back even further? The next week and a half will be telling as to where the Habs stand as a team currently, and as a franchise overall looking towards the future. For now, the city begins to hope for glory once more; let’s see if this streak was just another tease, or if this team is for real.

The Detroit Red Wings have tied the NHL record for most consecutive home wins in a single season, a remarkable achievement that could not have happened to a classier organization. The sporting world’s best example of consistent excellence, the Red Wings continue to entrench themselves as the best franchise in the National Hockey League; they may just add to that legacy by bringing home yet another championship this June if this torrid pace continues.

NBA:

Only one name comes to the forefront in this week’s NBA news: Jeremy Lin.

But perhaps one word describes it better: Lin-sanity.

The basketball world has been buzzing over the recent success of relatively unknown New York Knicks point-guard Jeremy Lin. Having been ushered out of Golden State and Houston without much fanfare, Lin found a spot within the Knicks franchise, and when he got his first career start last week, he took advantage and hasn’t looked back. Lin has put up the most points by any player in the history of the NBA in his first four starts, and in a story similar to Tebowmania when Tim Tebow was the darling of the NFL this past season, Lin has been able to generate a huge fan-base in a short period of time.

Now the question becomes whether or not Lin can continue to play at such a high level; will Lin-sanity survive?

(The Lin-sanity story was so big that it practically overshadowed the achievements of legends Kobe Bryant and Paul Pierce. Bryant became the 5th leading scorer in NBA history, passing former teammate Shaquille O’Neal, while Paul Pierce passed Larry Bird for 2nd all-time on the Boston Celtics scoring list.)

Around the World of Sports:

Baseball: David Ortiz and the Boston Red Sox have avoided arbitration, as Ortiz signed a one-year, $14.575 million dollar deal. The Oakland Athletics also made a big signing, inking Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes to a four year, $36 million dollar deal. The 26-year-old slugger defected from Cuba last summer and became eligible for Major League free agency on Jan. 25th.

Soccer: Liverpool’s Luis Suarez has apologized for refusing to shake hands with Manchester United captain Patrick Evra before their game last week. Suarez snubbed Evra in the handshake line, this coming after Suarez was suspended for eight games after allegedly making racial remarks directed at Evra earlier in the year.

-Andrew Maggio runs a dedicated Habs blog, check it out here