Playing to Win Movie Premier 4.29.15

Last night I had the opportunity to cover the world premier of the movie Playing to Win. It's a documentary about how the Sacramento Kings community fought to save the team from being relocated to a different city.

The film was made by Franklin Pictures. They are a group in Sacramento, and I've worked alongside some of the guys from Franklin during Kings games. In fact, I was invited to photograph this event because of a connection I have with cameraman Dave who's a big part of Franklin.

Here's Dave (middle) with his brother Rusty and the rest of their family as well as Kyle and his wife on the right side.We were able to take this shot on the purple carpet before everyone else got there. 

It was a who's who of Sacramento and the Kings in attendance tonight. Of course we had to have Mr. and Mrs. Sign Lady in the house for this event! They are two people who are deeply connected to the Kings - probably the biggest Kings fans alongside Carmichael Dave.

Standing from the crowd was Vlade Divac. He was chatting it up at the pre-party with quite a few guests. You couldn't miss him because he was so much taller than everybody else. 

Morgan from KHTK and Kayte from CSN were having fun times as they waited for the movie to begin. Both of these women play a huge part in radio and television in the Sacramento area. They are both so awesome!

Speaking of awesome... Carmichael Dave and Grant. These guys were instrumental in keeping the Kings in Sacramento. If you see Playing to Win, you'll understand just how much Carmichael Dave did for this city.

So sweet to see Scott Fresh again! He was hanging out with everyone spreading the positive energy that he always does. 

And of course... Mayor Kevin Johnson. It was an honor to have him at the premier tonight. He was also instrumental in keeping the Kings here in Sac. I'm so glad he's our mayor!

It was a great night in downtown. Covering the event was awesome... but the cherry on top was seeing myself on the big screen! Yes! I was able to see myself in the movie during a couple of scenes. I definitely got a kick out of that. If you are at all a Sacramento Kings fan... you must watch Playing to Win. Get your tickets NOW.

Season Finale Viewing Party in EDH 4.15.15

There have been many Kings viewing parties in El Dorado Hills this season. Tonight's viewing party was at Pete's restaurant. Just like the other parties, Slamson and a couple of SKD came out to support the Kings and have some fun.

I've been very impressed with all the restaurants that have hosted the Kings viewing parties this season. Each restaurant is a place that I would definitely return to for a meal. Who knew that being a Kings fan would open up dining experiences like this!?!?

I've gotta thank my friend Sasha for coming with me to this event. She's been a lot of fun to hang out with this season, and I'm extra excited that she won one of the raffle prizes the Kings were giving away tonight. After dinner we hit up the gelato place just down the street. What a sweet ending!

Kings v. Lakers 4.13.15 (Season Finale)

I've finally gotten to post about last week's home finale here. It's been extremely busy for me, but I'm glad to get to this post now. It seems like this game was so long ago! Home finales are definitely a bittersweet time. It's awesome to be at the arena, but knowing that there won't be another game for months is definitely sad. It's also sad to know that some of the people and players you're used to seeing won't be back next year. These finales are definitely emotional roller coasters!

I've met a lot of Kings personnel the past year, and I've got to say that everyone has been a class person - and I'm privileged to know them. This is a photo of Chris Gilbert, one of the scouts for the Kings. He travels a lot looking at different players for the team.

And of course this crew was always a joy to be around. Scott Moak, Jenn Santich, and Scott Fresh were all great to me. Each of them bring unique personalities to the game, and all three of them work marvelously together. Together they provide the best in-game experience in the entire NBA!

It was cool to see Darren Collison getting some work in before this game. He's been out for a long time now, and the Kings miss his play. He was taking shots and getting some coaching in. It'd be awesome to see him make a full recovery next year.

Rudy and DeMarcus both didn't suite up for this game either. Both players were resting injuries but were on the court to receive their rings from the summer's championship game. Coach Karl presented the rings to the two of them during team warm-ups.

The singer of the national anthem asked me to get a few shots of him as he sang the song. This has happened a few times this season, and I'm always happy to oblige.

The Kings took on the Lakers tonight. It's always a fun time when the Lakers come to town - despite the poor records of both teams. There were plenty of Laker fans on-hand at the arena, so I'm glad the Kings did well. Nothing's worse than when the Lakers win and their fans go home happy.

Omri played especially well in this game... in fact, he has been playing exceptionally as the season winds down. He has adapted well to Coach Karl's system and has taken advantage of the minutes he's been getting. His hard work has made him a favorite among Sacramento fans.

The Kings handled the Lakers in this game and gave the fans something to be happy going home with. This was not the last game of the season though, the Kings would play the Lakers again at Staples in a couple of days.

Ben McLemore was honored by the NBA for his work in the community this season. He was given a special trophy on the court during the game. I definitely think Ben was deserving of it this year. He did so much!

The Kings Dancers performed twice tonight in their season finale. It was awesome seeing them on the floor one last time before the long summer break. The routines were excellent, and it was a joy to see every member of the team on the court at the same time.

Though I loved seeing the SKD perform, I was sad knowing that for some of them this would be their last time out. Many of the current SKD will be leaving the team for various reasons after tonight. I will miss them dearly!

This season wasn't the best by any means. The Kings started off scorching hot, but then went into a tailspin. A lot of fans were upset by this, but I still have hope that the organization will turn things around.

It was an honor and a privilege to sit on the baseline this year for many of the games. I have to thank Andrew Nicholson as well as Katie and Jason for being awesome folks to work with. The King's social media team is one of the unsung heroes of the organization. I would happily work with them again!

So this is so-long for now. It was a long season, but now we settle in for a long summer. I'll be watching the finale at Pete's in El Dorado Hills. Let's get a win to end this season!

Kings v. Timberwolves 4.7.15

It was a strange day in Sacramento weather-wise. At times we had rain, hail, lightning, and sunshine - but it made for a nice photo! Even though I arrived a bit later to the game tonight, it's that time in the year when it doesn't get dark until later. I like this shot of the arena as people arrive with the sun behind the trees.

I sat in section 108 of the arena today. It's a place that I haven't been. I was able to get these tickets compliments of the Kings for being a group leader this season. It's one of the cool benefits of getting folks to the game!

It was a pleasure to invite Semaj, a former SKD dancer, to watch the game with me. She was great last year on the court and a lot of fun to watch the game with!

I took a picture of my season ticket seats from where I was in 108. It was funny to see my two friends Dave and Arnold sitting there. This would make for a funny profile picture I think - sort of Where's Waldo-ish.

Section 108 is behind the basket, so I didn't get a great angle to shoot photos from. I did the best that I could and still ended up with a few SKD shots that I liked. Tonight's routine was very fun to watch - I was glad to be able to capture some of it.

Rudy has been out with a concussion for a week. I think that's standard NBA procedure for that type of injury. It was great seeing him back on the court as the Kings needed him with DeMarcus out with a sore foot. Rudy was awesome and scored over 30 points tonight.

Speaking of awesome, that's exactly what Omri was. He had a career night against the Wolves scoring over 30 points himself. He was doing it all on the court!

With just a few seconds left in the game, coach put Sim in. It was a nice surprise to see him on the court. With so little time left he didn't really get to get on the stat sheet, but I was happy to capture this special moment of his first NBA court appearance.

Ben McLemore at Pizza Guys in Rocklin 4.6.15

Pizza Guys was having another Ben McLemore Meet and Greet event tonight. This event happened at the Rocklin location. It was a bit of a drive for me... my first time in Rocklin actually!

When I arrived there was already a line forming. I wonder how early the fans actually got there. Fans took the time to chat and get to know each other as the time passed. I remember doing the same thing at past Kings signings. Sometimes you get to meet some really cool folks!

The Kings fans came ready for this signing with all their gear. You may recognize Daniel on the left... he was at the viewing party in El Dorado Hills the other day. It's always good to see familiar faces at these things.

Inside the Pizza Guys Ben arrived and began signing mini cowbells for charity. He also signed a few of my prints that were going to charity as well.

When Ben got out to the table, fans took the opportunity to get photos with him. One of the most popular things to do was get a selfie with Ben!

Ben signed photos, cards, jerseys, and shirts today for those who came out. Actually, he signed whatever the fans wanted! Believe it or not, a fan asked Ben to sign her new Jeep!

A huge thanks to Ben for coming out again to meet the fans. He's given a lot of his time this season to connect with the community and it has been awesome to see.

Another huge thanks goes out to Pizza Guys! They ran a very smooth event. Shar, Jen, and Valerie did an amazing job tonight. Check out these lucky winners above! They got free pizza for a year! If you'd like to see more from this event, you can do so on my photography blog HERE.

Kings v. Jazz 4.5.15

Tonight was Sauce Castillo night out at he arena. For those who don't know, Sauce Castillo is Nik Stauskas' new nickname. He got it when someone noticed the closed captioning during a broadcast messed up Nik's name with Sauce Castillo. The internet blew up with it and since then the name has caught fire.

Slamson celebrated the night by dressing up as a bottle of hot sauce. He was really funny in the outfit. Kings fans were able to get a taste of Sauce Castillo with a bottle of hot sauce too! I, unfortunately, didn't get my hands on any of it. I was curious about it though!

Here's Jenn as she proudly wears her Sauce Castillo shirt. They were the item of the game at the Kings store tonight. I'm sure it made for a fun and unique purchase for the fans that were able to get one.

The Kings would take on the Jazz tonight. The Jazz have been on a tear since the All Star break winning many, many games. It would be a tough challenge as Sacramento has struggled the past few games.

Check out the shoes that Ben McLemore was wearing! Today was also Easter Sunday so some of the players wore some special things to commemorate this special day.

The Kings played the Jazz tough, but it was a difficult game. The Kings were inconsistent in their play while Utah stayed within their game.

The Kings definitely had their moments in this game though. There were signs that things with the Kings will only be getting better. It was great to see the effort put forth by the team.

I had a very close view of the action. I tried to capture shots tonight that showed just how close the players I was. A few times during the game the ball came straight at me. Good thing I was paying attention!

In the end the Jazz were able to pull away from the Kings and take this game. It was close for much of the game though. Hopefully next season it will be the Kings finding ways to win instead of their opponents.

It's always fun when the SKD do a pizza run, and tonight they did just that. Though the Kings didn't win, many fans were able to still enjoy a free pizza delivered to them via a dancer!

Speaking of dancers, the Reno Big Horn dancers performed on the court tonight. The Big Horns are the Kings D-League affiliate. The dancers and their mascot came out to this game.

My friends Joe and Alex were in the house for this match up. It's always great to see my buddies out to the Kings games. I'm sure they enjoyed their time at the arena!