Kings v. Rockets 2.25.14

Yes, this photo is from inside Sleep Train Arena! Located at the top of the arena is this bar area. It was Asian Pacific Islander Night tonight, so fans who bought a special ticket had the opportunity to come in early for a mixer and a fun raffle for various autographed items. This is the first time I've been in this part of the arena - you really wouldn't know it was here unless you really explore around! I think most fans just stick to the concourse area, it's cool to find out about places like this!

The Kings provided some nice free food at the Asian Pacific Islander mixer. We were treated to rice, stir-fried vegetables and pot stickers. We were given free drinks too. Last time I checked, free is a pretty good price. This was a pretty nice pre-game snack to munch on.

As I mentioned, the Kings also raffled off a few autographed items to the fans who came out to the mixer. The final raffle prize was this basketball signed by Jimmer Fredette. It's too bad I didn't win this basketball, that would have been a nice little item to have for my modest collection of Kings autographed items.

After the mixer I went down to court-level to watch some of the players warming up. Both Jeremy Lin and James Harden were out getting some work in. Little did I know that James Harden would have a monster game tonight. I guess that extra work really paid off... either that or he's just that good. He really took it to the Kings in this game.

This is Danny. He's the usher in our area, and he's awesome! It's been really good getting to know him as I've gone to the games this season. He's always fun to talk to and get help from when needed - he's got a great sense of humor too. He has to do some hard things, like deal with fans in the wrong area and the like... but he does it the right way. The Kings should give Danny a raise or something, he's the best!

At court-side before the game I got to get this up-close picture of Grant and Jerry doing some pre-game activities. I'm going to have to get a picture of Grant or Jerry before they do a game one of these days. I have met both of them before at various events - both are really great with fans.

The tickets that I bought through the special ticket opportunity were inexpensive, but the seats were pretty high up. We were in section 201 row P. The seats really weren't bad as the view was good and we had a nice angle to see the game. The experience is definitely different than that of the lower bowl... but not in a bad way. I really enjoy getting the chance to see the game from different aspects.

One thing that I really enjoyed seeing was the special lighting that the Kings had on the floor during the player introductions. You really can't see this well from my regular season seat in 122. Maybe it's the angle that we see the court from, but from up above, the effect looks spectacular. Great job to whoever came up with this idea!

One of the things that hampered my enjoyment of this game was the way the Kings played against the Rockets. The Rockets completely dominated the Kings, and it started early. The Rockets put up 42 points in the first quarter alone! James Harden scored more than the entire Kings team by himself during the first 12 minutes. I really couldn't believe what I was seeing on the court.

Though the Kings struggled with their game, the Kings Dancers still did their thing. The SKD kept the atmosphere lively and entertained the fans. I really think the fans appreciated the dancers efforts as the energy in the arena definitely changed a bit for the better during their performance.

Hah! Definitely an Asian invasion of sorts during Asian Pacific Islander night! I brought five of my best friends to this game. Three of these guys share season seats with me, and the other two are good friends that enjoy basketball. I love getting together with as many friends as I can to go to the game, more friends is 'more better'!

Reggie Evans was recently acquired in the deal that sent Marcus Thornton to the Nets. This was the first game that i saw some real minutes from him. He definitely showed some energy and spirit during the game, even though it was a blowout by the Rockets. I think some fans may mistake Evans with Acy. Both are big guys with a headband and a beard. Yup, it can get confusing.

The Big Cuz was having trouble keeping the emotions in check tonight, so much so that he was ejected from the game. His time of ejection was especially unfortunate because it came at a time when the Kings were actually making a fairly good chip into Houston's lead. The Kings halved the lead from 30 to 15, but after Cousins left, the Kings couldn't really pull that much closer. DeMarcus tweeted out an apology for his actions after the game.

The this game must have been demoralizing for the Kings, I appreciated seeing Coach Malone continue to encourage his players during time-outs. It is never fun to take a blow out, but the job of a coach is to keep their cool and just try to right the ship. Rudy Gay was one of the few bright spots for the Kings in terms of offensive output. He worked hard to put up numbers tonight.

I'll finish off this post with this final pic. It's the Kings Drum Corps. At first I thought the Kings had found an Asian drum troop to perform, but it turns out it was the Drum Corps that we've seen... just with Asian themed drums. It was a nice performance, but I would have loved to see a Lion dancing on the court! When you see these types of Asian-style drums out, you just expect to see that! Oh well! Next home game is on Saturday versus the T-Wolves. See you then!

Featured on Kings.com 2.24.14

Wow, landmark day for me! I had the opportunity to share some of my photos with the Kings, and the good people there created a feature/gallery of my stuff on the official team website! I really got a kick out of seeing myself on the front page of Kings.com. I know it's only going to be there for a short time before the next Kings news story is up, but I'm going to enjoy it while it's there. And I have this photo of it to remember my time on the main page! My hugest thanks go out to Andrew over at the Kings for making this happen! I'm looking forward to taking more photos at the games and during CCK events. Find me at the games and who knows, one of my photos of you may show up in a future Kings.com posting! And if not there, on my site here or on my Instagram.

Here's a link to my gallery and article on Kings.com: CLICK HERE.

Kings v. Celtics 2.22.14

Today was a special day at the arena... Slamson's birthday! To celebrate his his birthday a bunch of mascots from around the league came to party with Slamson. All the mascots were near the front of the arena tonight before the game giving fans an opportunity to get a photo with them. I remember being at the arena last year for Slamon's birthday too. It's always a wild time on this day!

This is me, Arnold, and Andrew. Andrew (middle) works for the Kings and coordinates their social media functions. I've gotten to know him a bit these past few weeks as we have discussed some possible collaborations! He, like many of the good people who work for the Kings, is super nice and approachable. Keep an eye out for an announcement soon from me regarding news in this area.

DeMarcus Cousins is back in the line-up tonight! The Kings really need their star center in each game if they want a chance to win. It was great to see him warming up before the game and knowing that he would be a difference maker in the game.

Uh oh. Check out this family that sat a few rows in front of us tonight. Half for the Celtics and half for the Kings? That's a family divided if I ever saw one! Speaking of Celtics fans, there were actually quite a few of them at the arena this evening. I know Boston sports are pretty big, but wow, tonight's Celtic fan presence was beyond my expectations.

Notice anything different about Rudy Gay? Yep, it's the headband! He has joined DeMarcus and Isaiah as well as some other teammates in wearing a headband tonight. I personally think a headband is very useful when playing basketball. It totally keeps the sweat out of your eyes. It's functional and a nice fashion statement!

One of the special Slamson related events was stilt boxing. Slamson took on the mascot of the San Antonio Spurs in this event. The fight was a riot! I think all the fans thoroughly enjoyed seeing the two of them go at it at center court. If you look closely, even one of the Celtic players is keeping an eye on the fight rather than paying attention in the huddle!

Though it was Slamon's birthday, he lost the fight to his rival from San Antonio. Booo! It was a pretty sketchy loss though as I personally think there was some foul play going on in this match. Slamson had to be ingloriously carried off the court. It was a TKO.

The halftime entertainment featured Slamson participating in a roller derby musical chairs game involving him, the other mascots, and some roller derby girls. There was some pretty fast-paced action going on with all the contestants giving each other a tough time.

In the end, Slamson won, but he claimed his victory by taking out the eyes of his final mascot competitor. Wow, pretty brutal stuff here! Well, I guess since Slamson lost his stilt boxing to some iffy tactics, he can win with one too. Here he is proudly walking around with his 'trophy'.

The basketball game tonight was pretty chippy too. There were technical fouls and some very physical play from both teams. In the end, the Kings prevailed and got a nice win against the Celtics. Isaiah Thomas played a great game while some of the other Kings couldn't get it going fully tonight. It was nice to see the rookies play as well as seeing some other players who haven't gotten as much time on the court get some time too. The next home game will be on Tuesday versus the Rockets. I'll be there in a different seat location - hello upper level! Though it's higher up, I'm interested to see what kind of photos I get from that perspective.

Kings v. Warriors 2.19.14

It's been a while since the last game at Sleeptrain Arena! The Kings had a road trip as well as took a break from the action during the All-Star Weekend, but they were back in action tonight against the Golden State Warriors. I love seeing this battle of I-80 game. We don't have a huge rivalry against the Warriors, but I think if both teams were good, it could be quite a heated one as the two teams are so close to each other geographically. Lots of Warriors fans in the house tonight. Boo.

Like Aaron Gray in the other game, Rudy Gay took some time before official warm-ups to sign autographs for fans. I love seeing this kind of stuff from players. It really shows that they care about the fans. I don't have a Gay autograph in my collection as of yet, but hopefully I will get his signature on something soon!

DeMarcus Cousins was on the floor getting some shots in before the game, but he did not play tonight. Word was that he was still bothered by a hip injury suffered in New York before the All-Star game. Not having him in the game was a big blow to the Kings, as I think they are win-less without him in the line-up this year.

Marcus Thornton was traded before the game so he was not at the arena. The Kings were definitely understaffed with Cousins out and Thornton now gone. Ben McLemore got the start and Ray McCallum got some boosted minutes as the Kings had to rely on their younger players in this game.

Tonight I sat in a different location away from my regular season ticket holder seats. I was in section 124 row K - pretty decent seats actually, but I felt a bit closed in as I was in the very center seat of the row. I did, however, have the advantage of getting a good view of the Goon Squad as they were jumping before the game.

Hmm, interesting balloon color choice... pink?!?! The Kings gave these balloons out to the fans sitting at the ends of the area to distract the Warriors during their free throws. I'm all for having these types of things out, but I wonder why they chose this color. Purple would have been good, but hard to see. White would probably be the most obvious choice.

Fans got the chance to snag some t-shirts from Scott Fresh and the SKD during tonight's game. There were multiple opportunities for free stuff this evening. If you're a AAA card member, they actually have a special give-away just for you. Wave your AAA card in the air and it might net you a little souvenir to take home with you.

Of course you don't have to be AAA to get something to take home. Here's Isela tossing out some free mini basketballs to fans at the game. I almost got one of them as the ball sailed very close to me, but I was too busy taking photos to notice it!

I decided to get a bunch of shots of tonight's game in black and white. I think it definitely give a different feel to the photographs. The action shots from the game are all done in this way. I have a few posted here, but for more go to my Instagram (blacksheep217) and check them out there!

Isaiah was definitely the main guy during tonight's game. But he was also, like other Kings tonight, struggling with some physical issues. He played through it though and ended up scoring 26 points. I love seeing IT play each and every night - he always gives it all on the court.

Jason Thompson has been whining a lot this year after foul calls, and in this game it cost him a technical. Rudy Gay had to come over and calm him down a bit. Gotta love the Rudy trying to help a guy out on the court, that shows leadership on his part. Tonight Rudy only had 16 points and struggled a bit offensively, but times like this don't show up on the stat sheet.

The Kings definitely had their chances tonight, even taking a lead into the 4th quarter, but Golden State proved to be too much and pulled away for the win. If there is any team I want to see the Kings beat, it's the Warriors. Too many of their fans come into our house. We need to show them that it's the King's house and not theirs!

Kings v. Raptors 2.5.14

Got another media credential for this game. I definitely feel weird having one of these things on me, but I do feel pretty official with it! I was all set to go and take a bunch of photos today, which I did, but as you'll see in the upcoming pictures, this game was one that had me distracted as I ran into people I knew all over the arena.

Here's Danger19 from Instagram. I had  picture of him earlier this season with his full beard. He's almost unrecognizable without it! I gotta say I do like this 'cleaned-up' look he has going on. He cleans up pretty well!

Here's yet another couple from Instagram! They stopped me to say hi and to take a photo. I'm really diggin' how Instagram has the ability to connect people with each other. And same with the internet too. Hey, if you see me at the Kings game... don't hesitate to say hi to me! I'd love to meet you.

Roxy wasn't dancing tonight, but she was being honored for her selection to participate in the NBA All-Star Weekend. She's a great dancer for the SKD and I'm glad she was picked to go. Roxy asked me to take a photo of her on the court as she was recognized for her achievement... but I wasn't in position at the time. I was super bummed about that! Well, at least I got this one with her!

My friend Calvin, a teacher, has gone with me to a few Kings games. This time he came with his school as a group. It was great to see him with many of his students. He told me that many of these students had not been to an NBA game before. How awesome is it that they get to experience a live NBA game at the arena? That is too cool!

This was a big surprise! I worked with Kristen (pictured) a few years back in my fifth grade classroom. Those were some really good times - I miss them. We had the chance to catch up a bit and get this photo. Such a small world!

Here's me and Scott Fresh hanging out at the season ticket renewal table at the arena. The Kings have been giving away a bunch of awesome prizes to some fans who renew their tickets. From what I saw, there were quite a few people lined up for renewals tonight. Let's do this Sacramento!

New NBA commissioner Adam Silver was at the arena tonight. The Kings fans welcomed him with a very warm reception. I didn't get any good shots of him from where I was at, but this photo of fans holding up a sign with his head on it should suffice. Fun stuff!

This is one of my favorite pictures of the night. After the third quarter I went out to the concourse to take some photos. SKD dancer Isela told me that she had a special pizza to deliver during the pizza give-aways. This particular pizza had a special note inside it, and it was from the girl pictured here. She wanted to ask this young gentleman to the prom by surprising him with the note in the pizza box. From what I saw, he was very happy. I think they'll be going to the prom together!

The SKD performed twice as they always do. Both performances featured black. I was especially impressed by the first performance when a few members of the dance team took to the air. Great job as always!

Oh yea, there was a pretty good game going on tonight. The Raptors were in town, and that was a big deal because it was the first game back for quite a few players that were traded relatively recently. 

The Kings played very well and had a large lead for much of the game. The Raptors did not go down easy though as they cut it to well under 10 points late in the fourth quarter. Thankfully, the Kings got the victory. And all of us fans who stayed until the end got free tacos! The next Kings game will not be until February 19th. It's quite a ways away. I'm going to miss going to the arena until then!