Kings v. Warriors (Season Opener) 10.29.14

It was a beautiful day in Sacramento to have the Kings season opener. The sun was out, but it wasn't hot - some very comfortable fall weather. My wife and I got to the arena a bit early to see all the early festivities that were happening.

Plenty of Kings fans arrived early for this opening game. There was a whole section in the parking lot dedicated for a fans tailgate party. Tables were set up and there was plenty of food. It was a great casual atmosphere to celebrate everyone's favorite team.

Closer to the arena were some food trucks and monitor set-ups to keep track of the World Series. I would never miss a Kings home opener, but game seven of the World Series was something that I wanted to see. It was great that the Kings organization put these monitors out to let us watch that game as it happened.

I had a really nice spot on the floor to take photos today. I have to really thank Andrew over at Kings.com for having me in this area of the court taking photos for the Kings! I'm not sure there is a spot any closer.

Anjali Randive, Vivek's daughter, sang a great rendition of the national anthem. I wanted to get a photo with her and the honor guard in the background, but this side profile shot I was able to capture was pretty good. It's always great having Anjali come out and perform, I hope she does so more often this season.

The crowd was definitely hyped up as the players were introduced for the first time this season by Scott Moak. Sacramento has definitely missed having Kings basketball around. 

Here's a shot from my spot on the floor. It was a great location to be at. The only way it could have been better is if I was located at the other end of the floor where the Kings bench was at. Still, this was an ideal spot to capture images from.

I sat pretty much right next to the Golden State Warriors. I was a bit of a Warriors fan when I went to high school in San Francisco, but my attachment is 100% Kings now! The Warriors are a good team though, and I'm sure they will have a very successful season.

It was great seeing some of the new Kings players on the court. I miss having Isaiah Thomas at point guard, but Daren Collison played a good game for the Kings - he was definitely solid. I'm sure Kings fans will see a lot of him handling the ball this year at point.

Nik Stauskas was one of the players I was really eager to see enter the game, and he made a difference! He showed Kings fans that he can put the ball in the hoop from long range. Here's a shot of Nik getting congrats on his first NBA regular season basket!

The Big Cuz had a pretty good all around game, but he was hampered by fouls and turn-overs. Though there were some struggles, he still managed to score 20 points and get 11 rebounds tonight.

A lot continues to happen on the court when the players take a time-out. On-court host Scott Fresh and Slamson were in mid-season form getting the crowd pumped up for their team. These guys don't skip a beat!

The Sacramento Kings Dunk Team also thrilled the crowd with their high flying antics. There were trick dunks galore in this aerial acrobatic show.

The Kings were celebrating their 30th year here and the SKD decided to go retro with their first performance. I got to say that they did an amazing job. The retro outfits looked great! I'm always a sucker for the old school.

The entire night celebrated important Kings personalities. Here's Vivek shaking the hands of some of the honorees at center court. The next home game will be on Friday versus my other former favorite team - the Portland Trailblazers! See you then!

Community Court Dedication Event 10.26.14

Today the Kings came out into the community at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Sacramento to open up a couple of brand new basketball courts. This event was free for the entire public to come and join in the festivities. It's awesome to see the Kings working with the local community to help neighborhoods improve.

The entire Sacramento Kings Dancer team was out in full force for the event. When I came in I was greeted by every single dancer... now I've gotta say that was quite a welcome! I'm really looking forward to seeing these girls perform their routines this coming season.

The folks in attendance today got a chance to see a routine on the new court. The SKD definitely brought a high level of energy to kick off this afternoon's event. If today's performance was any indication, this year will be amazing to see on the court.

The SKD were not the only ones to perform. Members of the public got to take part in dancing competitions. Winners even got to win tickets to upcoming Kings games. It was all great fun - a really positive experience for all who came out.

Scott Fresh and Jenn Santich were back again to keep things flowing on the court. They always do a great job of getting the crowd pumped up and informed as to what's going on. All smiles!

King's on-court PA announcer Scott Moak was also in attendance. I'm so used to hearing Scott's voice at Sleeptrain Arena. It was amazing to have him host the event with Scott and Jenn.

You can't have a Kings event without Slamson! Slamson was doing all sorts of things with the fans in attendance. He took the time to take photos as well as show off some of his basketball skills on the court. Slamson can definitely make some pretty difficult shots!

Rather than having a tape cutting ceremony, the new courts were dedicated with an opening tip off. DeMarcus Cousins tossed the ceremonial ball up and the courts were officially opened up. I thought this was a unique way of christening this new area.

The Kings players interacted with all the members of the community. I was happy to see how much fun the players had with the people of Sacramento. It is hard to get an entire NBA team out to do something like his. Full credit goes out to the Kings for making this happen.

Players and fans got to compete in different skills competitions. It was a ton of fun to watch. I've got to say that the Sacramento community has some pretty skilled ballers. We had some fans making more baskets than their King partners!

One of the things I appreciated the most was seeing the players just having a good time out there. They were smiling and joking around a lot. You could tell that they were having fun, and that totally spread to everyone who came.

At the end of the event players signed basketballs and tossed them into the crowd. Those in attendance also had the chance to get free sun glasses, t-shirts, mini balls, and foam fingers. There was a lot of giving going on this afternoon. Thanks Kings for being so generous with your time and things! See you Wednesday for the first game of the season!!!

Farm-to-Fork Experience 10.9.14

Tonight the Kings Season Ticket Holders were invited down to the arena to try some of the new Farm-to-Fork offerings that will be available at games on the concourse this year. We went into the Capital Club located just inside the security entrance at Sleep Train and were greeted by tables of delicious food!

I've been to these types of events before... and I've got to say that the Kings spare no expense when it comes to giving their season ticket members a good meal. I was pretty hungry going in, so I went straight for... well... everything.

There were three different locally sourced meats at a carving station. I ended up choosing the tri-tip steak. I'm sure whatever I chose would have been great, butif I wanted to, I could have gone back to give another meat a try. 

I was really impressed with the presentation of the food. It looks like the food options available at the arena are getting quite an upgrade. At the pre-season game I went to a few days ago I settled for a slice of pizza from Pizza Guys. It was decent, but this would have been really good.

Even the bread choices were top notch and of quality - this isn't the stuff you can get for 99 cents at the grocery store. I was invited to build a sandwich with this, some lettuce, herb spread, and the meat I chose.

And here it is in all its glory... my tri-tip sandwich! And I've got to say it was delicious! It really hit the spot tonight and filled me up. I sort of wish it didn't because it would have allowed me to try some more of the meats, but I can't complain.

Soup and salad were also available. The Kings set out clam chowder and bread bowls alongside salad with walnuts, blue cheese, and crispy fried onions. See what I mean by not sparing any expense? And not pictured were the desserts, other sides, and open bar with sodas, beer and wine.

I'm pretty sure all the season ticket holders who came to this event really enjoyed the meal they had this evening. The Capital Club is always a classy place to hold and event. I definitely wouldn't ever pass up a opportunity to visit it in the future.

After the meal we were given a presentation on how to use our season ticket membership. It was great to learn all the details of the benefits we have as season ticket holders. I'm definitely excited to start this next season of Sacramento Kings basketball!

Kings v. Raptors (Pre-Season) 10.7.14

Tonight was the first pre-season game at the arena. The Kings hosted the Toronto Raptors, and I was excited to get back to watching some NBA action! It was extra fun tonight because I was able to bring my wife along to the game. She's been to a few Kings games, but not nearly enough in my opinion!

I renewed my season tickets so I'm back in the same section as last year... 122! I really like the seats I am in and am glad to be right back in them this coming year. Walking into the arena felt really nice and comfortable. It's like a second home!

We ran into a lot of familiar faces around the arena tonight. It was especially cool to run into Andrew, head of Kings social media. I've collaborated with him a few times last season and he has been a real encouragement to me. Congrats to him on his recent marriage. I was keeping up on Instagram and it looked EPIC.

Since the Raptors were in town, the Canadian anthem was sung before the game. It was awesome to see Sacramento Kings Dancer Isela come out to sing it. She's done the American anthem a few times already, but this is the first I've seen her do the Canadian one. Great job as always - Isela is multi-talented to the max.

I was very interested to see new Kings rookie Nik Stauskas play tonight. I was very surprised to see him in the starting line-up. He showed he has what it takes to play in the NBA as he hit shot after shot that he took. I'm impressed at what I've seen so far.

Former King Omri Casspi saw a good deal of action tonight. He has rejoined the team after leaving a few years ago. He was another player that I was impressed with as he was definitely working hard and showing effort.

Long time King Jason Thompson surprised me a bit with his play tonight. I heard on the radio that he had really upped his game. I was a bit skeptical, but from what I saw tonight he has really gotten better. I hope this translates and is able to be continued during the regular season.

The Kings lost fan favorite point guard Isaiah Thomas in the summer and replaced him with Darren Collison. I thought Collison did a solid job, but I wonder how the Kings will replace Isaiah's leadership that he brought to the team. Only time will tell.

Well, there wasn't much new in the arena food area, but we were able to get some of our old favorite standby's to snack on. Jenn had a soft pretzel and I went for a slice of Pizza Guy's pizza. It may not be the most gourmet of selections, but they both hit the spot.

The Sacramento Kings Dancers performed great on this first pre-season game. I was wondering what routines they would do! They look to already be in mid-season form as they were totally on-point. The next pre-season game in Sacramento will be next Saturday. I won't be able to attend that one, but I'm looking forward to the home opener at the end of the month!