Kings v. Jazz 12.11.13

I went to tonight's game versus the Jazz with my friend Richard. I actually put this game up for auction at my church's fund raising event for the Philippines and he won it! I personally think he got a great deal for these tickets... I just wished the game could have been a better one. Things started off well enough though! The Kings were filming their pre-game show right outside our section again tonight. Here's a photo of us with one of the people who put the night together and make it run smoothly.

Hey look! It's Katie from the Kings Community events! The Kings have been doing a lot of giving back activities recently, so she was featured in the pre-game show. The framed document that Scott Fresh is holding is our indoor noise setting record from the Guinness Book of Records. Why would he bring that out this game? Well, it turns out that the New Orleans Saints tried to break the record a few days ago. They couldn't beat us. Oh yea, We still hold the record!

I bring photos to the game in hopes of getting them signed. Since I've been able to get photos with some of the Kings' personalities, I've been really wanting to get them autographed... and hopefully personalized. Since I saw Scott Fresh before the game, I went and got him to sign this photo I took with him at the Dome Printing.

A choral group sang the national anthem tonight. They did a nice job, but I just really wanted to point out the really cool girl in the front row with the blue hair. She really stood out! I'm not sure vocally, but that hair is stunning.

Here are the Jazz being introduced. They look pretty hyped and happy here. Well, I'm sure they got progressively happier as the game went on. Though the Jazz are near the bottom of the conference like the Kings, they seemed like world beaters in this game. Every time they put a shot it seemingly went in. Their field goal percentage was around 60% for much of the game.

As good as the Jazz were, the Kings were the opposite. The shots just weren't going in for the Kings. It started early and continued throughout the game. Some of the shots they took looked good, but they ended up coming back out. 

It got pretty frustrating for the Kings. I was surprised at the total lack of energy in this game from the team. They had two very nice wins, but to have that little streak end like this was disappointing. I wonder if it would have been better if we had our new acquisitions play in this game. Grievous Vasquez did not make it in a timely enough fashion to Toronto so his physical was held up. Because of this, the guys we traded for were not able to play tonight.

The bright spot in the game had to be the SKD. They continued to bring energy and excitement to the crowd. The next home game will be this coming Sunday versus the Rockets. I hope we play a better game that day, and hopefully our new guys will shine!

Kings v. Mavs 12.9.13

Today was a pretty big day for the Kings as they pulled off a huge trade. Gone are Vasquez, Salmons, Hayes, and Patterson - they all went to Toronto. The Kings received Quincy Acy, Aaron Gray, and Rudy Gay. Wow. Huge move by the Kings front office. The new players arrived in Sacramento today, but they didn't dress for the game. This move definitely made waves around the city though, I listened to sports radio today and fans were abuzz talking about the trade.

Now that Vasquez is gone, Isaiah Thomas gets the starting role. He had been amazing coming off the bench to spark the team, but with the numbers that he has had this season, he was definitely worthy of getting the starting job. Too bad for Vasquez though, he seemed to genuinely want to be in Sacramento. And we just got him too! I'm also a bit sad to see Vasquez go because he just started following me on Instagram... the first Kings player to do so.

The Mavs came to town with a decent record. They are a team that definitely has some strong players, with the strongest being Dirk Nowitzki. With the Kings undermanned tonight, it could have been really bad for the home team. Well, it wasn't. The Kings played amazing tonight!

Jimmer came in to play some point guard. He struggled when he got into the game. I can't blame him for that as this was his first time back in a game in a while. I think he just needs to get more minutes to acclimate himself to NBA speed once again. 

DeMarcus Cousins had a very strong game tonight. He scored over 30 and was dominating on offense. There were a few errors, but nothing that cost the team big. One of my favorite moments in the game was at the end during garbage time. DeMarcus was standing and cheering for his fellow teammates. That's the kind of stuff we as Kings fans want to see from the big guy.

Derrick Williams had his biggest game as a King tonight... and perhaps of his entire career. He scored 30 in an impressive showing of athleticism. He was all over the court shooting threes and pulling off highlight reel dunks. I hope this is the kind of stuff we get to see from him in conjunction with Rudy Gay in the very near future.

Ray McCallum made it into the game at the end. I met Ray a little while back when he did a signing in El Dorado Hills. He's a really nice guy. I could tell that Ray must have been a little apprehensive tonight, but he did get his first points of his NBA career. Here's the shot that he took to get those two points. Welcome to the league!

Thunder swords rained from the skies tonight. Free throw distraction tools haven't been used much at Kings games this season. They are a fun part of the game that I would to see at every Kings game. Arnold went with me to the game tonight, and I know he wanted to get one. Our section is just outside the area where they came down. Too bad!

There was a lot of cheering going on at Sleeptrain tonight. The Kings blew out the Mavs in spectacular fashion. With all the recent close losses to good teams, getting a decisive win gives a little hope and happiness to a very patient fan base. Well, I can say I'm patient... not sure about others.

Here are our three new Kings! They watched the game from a suite tonight. Near the end of the game they all came down to the court. People were cheering and chanting for them. I heard that people were saying "Rudy, Rudy!" They should be available to play on Wednesday versus the Jazz. I'm very excited for that game.

Tonight I decided to snack on a pretzel during the game. I've been buying less and less food at the arena as of late... but I was hungry during the game so I went to the concourse looking for the perfect thing to get. As you can see, my pretzel had an uneven distribution of salt. Still good though. See you on Wednesday Sleeptrain!

Kings v. Lakers 12.6.13

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!

Kings v. Thunder 12.3.13

My friend Dave and I made it out to the OKC Thunder game tonight. As a give-away the Kings provided thunder swords to the first 10,000 fans in attendance. These were pretty cool, when you shake them they glow brightly. I think this is the first thunder sword sighting of the season. Last year the Kings used to drop them each game down from the rafters for people to distract opposing team players when they shot free throws.

Here's the national anthem tonight. Tonight was different in that the huge flag was not out on display. Instead, there was an honor guard with the flags. It was a very classy and simple way of honoring our country. On a side note, I actually hear this guy sing the national anthem twice. The first time was at 3PM at the start of the Grant Napear show on KHTK1140. He was practicing the anthem as Grant went through his intro. I can say that he was very consistent in his anthem renderings.

Here's a shot of the tip. Why is it that most games the Kings are the team that loses the tip? I guess it isn't that big of a deal, but it's something. I always feel that winning the tip gives a little bit of good mojo at the beginning of the game. Notice that tonight there is no number 15 on the court. Demarcus didn't dress for the game tonight due to a sprained ankle. Without our best player... were we gonna get throttled?

The answer is NO. The Kings actually had a great start to the game. Check out this very early stat!!! Wow, if only that lasted the entire game. OKC started off extremely cold, and the Kings built up a good lead. Unfortunately, the tides turned quite a bit with the Thunder getting a double digit lead late in the game.

Thankfully the Kings have Isaiah Thomas. No. 22 has been so clutch for us. He's the spark off the bench... and one of our best players. He had a monster 4th quarter to get us within two points of pushing the game into overtime. Like the past couple games, the Kings came up just a touch short. It was a valiant effort by the Kings tonight, and I am not too upset about the loss. I was happy to see the Kings fight and claw and hold their own against one of the NBA's top clubs.

There was a definite lack of 'energy' in the building tonight. I noticed that there was very little music during the game. The crowd being quieter tonight only made the lack of music stand out even more. I tweeted the Kings about it and got a response that they were testing audio for customer satisfaction. I'm not sure what that means, but hey... they responded at least! I hope we're back up to full music onslaught by Friday's game versus the Lakers.

Here's a shot of the SKD I got tonight. I really like this one. I added a lighting effect in the middle of the photo for a little artistic touch. The SKD outfits weren't as bling-ed out tonight, they definitely kept things on the subtler side.

Halftime entertainment came from the TNT dunkers. They did a variety of tricks, and even got the SKD and Slamson involved in a couple of their routines. These gentlemen looked to be a bit older... some maybe even in their high 30's or low 40's? They did a nice job... I'd like to be as agile and spring-y at that age.

I had no idea that Derek Fisher was on the Thunder. Fisher got a good amount of boos when he hit the floor and every time he got the ball. Here's a funny picture of the ref putting his hand on Fish's butt. Not sure what's going on with those two! Get a room!

My trip to the Kings store made me want to get this jacket. I tried finding it at the Folsom and El Dorado Hills stores, but they don't have this particular one. One day maybe I'll get this one. I have a hat that would go great with this jacket! Next game will be this Friday... can't wait!

Kings v. Warriors 12.1.13

Today's tilt versus the Golden State Warriors was an early afternoon affair. I got to the arena at about 2PM for this game. I really do like these early starts as it leaves the night free to do other things! 

Here I am with my friend Arnold at the game. Notice I'm sporting my new Kings retro track jacket that I got at the Ben McLemore signing in Folsom. Arnold is wearing the shirt he got at the home opener 'Purple Out'. Arnold is from the Bay Area (as I am... sort of... long story), and he was telling me he had a yellow Warriors shirt he got when he saw them at Oracle. Good choice on going with Kings purple today, buddy. Don't worry guys... Arnold is going hardcore into the Kings, none of this Warriors BS!

Fans got these 'nose-makers' once again at the doors. We've gotten these things before... I actually don't think they make too much noise. Most people at the arena can yell and scream much louder than the sound these things can make. I like the graphics on it though, very nicely done... makes me not want to fold it up.

OH WELL... might as well use it for its intended purpose, right? Here's me looking like a goof making sounds with my noisemaker.

The Warriors are a very good team, and are projected to make a deep run in the playoffs. Here they are as they entered the court. I lived in the Bay Area for a few years, and I enjoy many of the Bay Area teams still... like the Giants, Sharks, and 49ers. But since I'm now in Sacramento, when it comes to basketball, it's all about Sacramento. There is no way I'm having any affiliation with the Warriors!

You know what? There were waaaaay too many Warriors fans in the building this afternoon. Everywhere I looked there were Golden State colors. To be honest, I was getting annoyed at them. A couple were sitting behind me, and they were cheering for their team. I can't begrudge someone for being loyal to their team, but I don't have to like it!

Right after the Warriors were introduced all the lights went out. At first I thought it was part of the dimming of the lights before the Kings were introduced, but that wasn't the case. It took a while to get power back. The players had gotten cold so they were giving a few minutes to warm back up before starting the game. Sacramento fans were very cool about it when the lights when out. I heard several chants of 'Sac-ra-men-to' break out during the outage.

Power was slowly restored, but not before I got this crazy shot of the scoreboard. Looks like the numbers went haywire a bit. When the lights turned back on, all the Kings' players introductions were skipped and we got right to basketball.

Much of the first period was played without any music or PA announcements. It was actually very cool to be a part of. All you were able to hear were the whistles and fans cheering and chanting. Of course, there were pieces of information missing that you could have only gotten with power to the sound system, but for these brief minutes at the beginning of the game, it felt like old school basketball.

Half-time entertainment today showed off some ultimate frisbee players. These past few years I have really gotten to enjoy playing ultimate frisbee. We usually play ultimate frisbee on a big grass field, but these guys did a demo of the game at center court. It was a bit small, but I thought it was neat to see some ultimate frisbee being showcased.

The SKD were once again in full effect tonight. They definitely heated up the court. In the end, though, the Kings lost a very close game to the Warriors. I usually don't mind the team losing just because I realize our team is in big-time rebuilding mode... but it would have been nice to get this win with all those Warrior fans in attendance. Arg! Next time!