"The Stack" 6-6-17

The Stack is back on this Tuesday and there isn’t a whole lot to talk about outside of the Stanley Cup Final. What a game last night in Nashville and what a scene on Broadway. Reaction to that plus another headline or two so let’s get right to “the stack” for today, Tuesday, June 6th:

Predators even Stanley Cup Final

Ladies and gentleman, we have a series. Another raucous scene in Nashville both before, during and after the game was just one of the many storylines that transpired yesterday as the Nashville Predators beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 to even the Stanley Cup Final up 2-2.

The game started off very slow and choppy. There were a lot of whistles and neither team could really get anything going offensively so shots were low. Eventually though, the Predators would strike first with just under five minutes left in the period when Calle Jarnkrok put home a rebound just before Penguins goalie Matt Murray was crashed into. The Penguins challenged the goal saying there was goalie interference, but it was determined that the puck was already past Murray before he was crashed into. The Penguins would answer though a minute and change later giving a taste of the Predators own medicine with a long stretch pass to Sidney Crosby who inexplicably had no one by him and was left on a breakaway. He made a move and beat Predators goalie Pekka Rinne to tie the game 1-1. It would not be the last breakaway the Penguins would have in this game.

The Penguins had multiple scoring chances in the second period and Rinne stood strong including making the save of the series and perhaps of the playoffs. He stoned a breakaway that led to the Predators scoring on a Frederick Gaudreau wrap around that Murray made an incredible effort to stop the shot and initially the officials said to keep playing, but the NHL implemented a rule within the last couple of years that the NHL replay center could have the horn sound if there is reason to believe that the puck crossed the crease and a goal occurred. That happened here and the Gaudreau's wraparound did entirely cross the line and the Predators were up 2-1. Bridgestone Arena was loud. Moments later they got louder when Rinne stopped Crosby on a breakaway, denied the second chance and after a Predators player stopped the puck, Jake Guentzel had a chance at a wide open net and Rinne sprawled out and dove to stop the puck. It was an absolutely unbelievable play to keep the score 2-1. The Predators would later add to the lead in the second period when Viktor Arvidsson scored on a breakaway and got the puck past Murray on the glove side. 3-1 Predators and they would go on to win 4-1. Outside, Broadway was loving it. Inside Bridgestone Arena, the fans were going nuts. They'll have another game Saturday night for game six and with the way they have dominated this series thus far and with the momentum they have, they certainly could win game five on the road with game six being the cup clincher. It's a best of three series now.

Kudos to NBC for landing Carrier Underwood (Mike Fisher’s wife) in the first intermission for an interview and Charles Barkley in the second. Barkley also crashed a press conference Wayne Gretzky was having earlier in the day. Very good to get both of them on there. Highly entertaining.

Thad Matta out at Ohio State

Ohio State Buckeyes men’s basketball head coach Thad Matta was fired stunningly from the university Monday. Athletic Director Gene Smith deemed that now a change had to be made and it seems to be in large part because of the recruiting Matta and his staff was doing or lack thereof. They haven’t made it to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last two years. Matta’s health is also a factor. He has dealt with numerous issues during his tenure in Columbus including emergency back surgery in 2007. The basketball court, rest assured will be free of any gum coming out of Matta’s mouth, but this is not a good look for Ohio State. Who are they possibly going to get at this point? Texas’ Shaka Smart? Doubtful. Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall? Maybe. Butler’s Chris Holtmann? More likely. Dayton’s Archie Miller? Just kidding, he is now the head coach at Indiana. I don’t know who Ohio State will get, but they should be able to get someone good. It’s just not going to help them and recruiting this season. They did not do themselves any favors. This was certainly not their best move and they will pay the price this year.

Oklahoma outlasts Florida in Women’s College Softball World Series in 17 innings

Quite the marathon game last night in game one of the Women’s College Softball National Championship Monday night in Oklahoma City. The ten seed Oklahoma from nearby Norman took down #1 Florida 7-5 last night in a 17 inning marathon. Oklahoma finally broke a 4-4 stalemate in the 17th with a three run homerun and though Florida threatened in the bottom half of the inning and scored one, they could not bring in the tying or winning runs with runners on. Game two is tonight on ESPN. Didn’t think we would be talking about college softball today, but that is the beauty of sports.

Headlines from Tuesday

As I was not anticipating on doing a blog today and should have had the above headlines posted yesterday, here are some of the big things that happened on Tuesday:

The New York Jets are going to be absolutely awful this season and don't appear to be trying to win at all. They released veteran linebacker David Harris with the timing being very odd as offseason OTAs have begun. He could have gotten injured and now what team is going to sign him? The Jets don't look good in this situation. They have also announced that they will release or trade wide receiver Eric Decker by the end of the week. This team is going to be so bad the Cleveland Browns look better at this point. What the heck is going on?

For the 17th time in MLB history a player hit four home runs in a game Tuesday night. Ever heard of Scooter Gennett? Yeah I hadn't either. He is a second baseman for the Cincinnati Reds. He had three homeruns coming into the game on the season. He hit four in Tuesday night's game against the St. Louis Cardinals obviously since I said at the beginning that a player hit four home runs in a game. It was quite remarkable. He hit a grand slam and the fans went crazy when he hit the homerun in the 8th inning knowing that they just saw history. He is the first Reds player ever to do it. Quite the night in Cincinnati for a Reds team that while they aren't great has been much better than many originally thought they would this year.

Coming up Thursday: NBA Finals reaction plus Stanley Cup Final game five pick and more.