Before heading out to the game today I went to Target looking for a gift I could donate to needy children. The Kings are doing this 12 Days of Giving effort, and tonight fans can bring unwrapped gifts to the arena. I found this really cute and soft dog. I personally have a favorite stuffed animal, and I hope this one makes it to a child who will really love and enjoy this guy! (I actually wanted to keep it once I bought it... but I thought better!)
Arnold and I decided to go to Teriyaki Time for dinner before the game. It's a restaurant that he found on Yelp a while back. It's in a plaza very close to the arena. That plaza actually has a bunch of food choices like Bella Bru Cafe, Five Guys Burgers, Jack's Urban Eats, and more... but this teriyaki place is good, cheap, and delicious. That's a pretty good combination. This marks my third trip to this restaurant before a Kings game.
Walking into the arena was great tonight. I love it when the Kings put out shirts onto the seats. The whiteout night made the arena look like it was covered in snow. I also am a fan of getting a free shirt.
Here's my Kings whiteout t-shirt. It's a nice and clean design that I definitely wouldn't mind wearing outside the arena. This is my first mostly white piece of Kings clothing. There was a warm-up jacket that the Kings had at the Team Store last year that I really wanted... but it was a bit too pricey... and then they ran out of my size when they finally went got discounted for the new season.
Check out these pom poms! When I put my stuffed animal donation into the bin at the arena the workers there gave me these Kings pom poms. Arnold took a photo of me shaking them, but what was really funny was Danny, our usher, decided to put the 'ol bunny ears on me.
Danny is a cool usher. He has to deal with a lot of people trying to come down from the upper levels or sneak into a different seat. He keeps a very cool attitude, which I appreciate. Notice that I'm wearing my big jacket in this photo. It was FREEZING in the arena tonight. I have my winter whiteout shirt underneath the jacket, but it wasn't seen the entire night due to the frigid conditions.
Nelson Mandela passed away yesterday. In a sign of respect, the Kings paid tribute to him on the jumbotron screen. A moment of silence was observed by all in attendance.
We played the Lakers tonight. Earlier in the week there was talk of Kobe Bryant possibly making a return during this game. NBA TV even picked up this game... only to drop it when they found out Kobe wouldn't play in it. I would have loved to see Bryant play in this game. He's one of the few remaining players from the last great generation of players. I love his game, his attitude, and his killer instinct.
Demarcus was back tonight after missing last game with a sprained ankle. The Kings utilized him a lot today, but I felt that with him in the line-up the ball movement slows down a lot. The Kings and the Lakers were neck-in-neck for just about the entire game tonight.
Unfortunately for us, the Lakers prevailed in the end. The Kings even had a lead with a few minutes to go... the Lakers just pulled out something extra and overcame our team. I don't mind the loss... but man... the Lakers fans in the arena were going bonkers - and I was not happy about that at all. Argggh! Since the Kings aren't going to make the playoffs this year anyways, the only goal is to piss off the opposing team's fans when they come in substantial numbers to the arena. That didn't happen tonight.
The Hip Hop Crew made an appearance tonight. The kids in black did an admirable job dancing. Slamson rolls out a package and out comes a little girl in purple. She rocks the house and brings the entertainment and cuteness factor to a whole 'nother level.
I HAD to find a hot drink tonight since the arena was so cold. I usually get a soda, but that wasn't what I wanted tonight. This coffee stand on the concourse had hot chocolate, so I went for that. It turns out that the hot chocolate is one of the most inexpensive drink items you can get. A regular is $3.25, and if you want whipped cream it's $.50 extra. That's still under four dollars... and still less than a soda. All the other fancier drinks were $5 and over. Hot chocolate FTW!
The SKD brought holiday cheer in large amounts tonight. Their second performance of the night featured santa outfits. You can see here that they are doing the Rockettes-thing. They were outstanding tonight!
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