Arnold brings Sooners together over food
Somewhere between the catfish lobbing, A-list national anthem singers, Carrie Underwood’s forgetfulness, Charles Barkley’s surprise cameo and P.K. Subban’s breath, there’s been another notable development during the Stanley Cup Final:
A series has broken out. Perhaps the seeds of an upset, too.
A week ago, the Nashville Predators headed home down 2-0 to the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Pekka Rinne’s game seemed to be in tatters and the Penguins fan base was musing whether it preferred a clean sweep or just a split of the two games in Nashville so the defending champions could raise the Cup on home ice.
The vibe inside PPG Paints Arena for Game 5 on Thursday night figures to be more anxious than anticipatory after the Predators evened the series at 2-2 with a pair of vintage performances on home ice that sent “Smashville” into a frenzy and delivered a very clear message that the first-timers are a clear threat to become firsttime winners. Through four games, Nashville has more goals, more shots on goal and a bit more swagger than Pittsburgh. What began as a two-month slog to the Cup is now a three-game dash, one that appears to be a coin flip. The Penguins have the experience. The Predators have the momentum. Both are fighting fatigue with adrenaline.
“I know people talk about how we’re tired, but believe me, they’re tired too,” Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Malkin said. “It’s not only us tired. It’s only three games left. We’re not talking about being tired.”
Maybe, but Nashville appeared a step quicker in its home building, pouring in nine goals and handing Penguins goalie Matt Murray the first back-to-back playoff losses of his young career. Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan isn’t concerned about Murray. He’s not really worried about the 190 feet in front of Murray, either. The Penguins have come within two games of the first team to capture consecutive Cups in nearly two decades due in large part to their resiliency.
And while captain Sidney Crosby says the “desperation level” will ramp up, Sullivan was quick to point out the term doesn’t mean what you think it means.
“‘Desperate’ is a funny word for me because it gets thrown around our game a lot,” Sullivan said. “It always has a connotation of hopelessness. I don’t believe that’s the word that we want to use to describe our team. I think we’ve got to play with urgency. I think we’ve got to play determined. I think we have to play with conviction. I think when our team plays that way, we’re at our very best.”
When it was clear that the Oklahoma softball team wasn’t clicking the way that it should, junior Kelsey Arnold knew what she had to do.
The team was months away from winning its fourth title in program history, and at that point, it didn’t look like they’d ever make it there.
The talent was undeniable, but the Sooners needed the X-factor that helped them with the championship in 2016.
So Arnold, who coach Patty Gasso called an unsung hero prior to the WCWS championship series, made dinner plans. A lot of dinner plans.
The team captain made dinner plans with every member of the 2017 OU softball team, going the extra mile to connect with the freshmen and reaffirm her relationship with the more veteran players. “She understood to be a good leader you have to have good relationships with those that you’re leading,” Gasso said.
“Kelsey Arnold wants to go to practice, go eat at Red Lobster and then go home and go to bed. That’s her life.
“And so for her to step away from that and spend time with teammates and make dinner for them and so forth, she is the glue. She was a big part of the glue that brought this team together.”
The extra team bonding helped, pulling the Sooners out of the funk that plagued them through February and March.
That bond nurtured by Arnold and the other captains paid dividends when the team dropped its first regional game to North Dakota State. Instead of falling apart, OU rallied together and won the next 10 straight, including Tuesday night’s national championship-clinching game against Florida.
“It’s an indescribable feeling to win another national championship,” Arnold said. “I just want to let you all know that my teammates are leaders along with me. It’s not just me by myself, and I believe that when we all came together, power of three, that’s what you saw.”