Kings v. Nets 11.13.13

The pre-game show was filmed right outside our entrance tonight. These guys are total pros and I love seeing them do their thang! Slamson, Scott Fresh, Scott Moak, and Jenn Santich always provide great entertainment for fans at the game. Tonight there was a toy drive going on. Kings fans were encouraged to donate toys. Looks like it was pretty successful!

Season ticket holders who came in the season ticket holder entrance got these magnetic Kings schedules. It was funny because I was telling my friend when we entered that we could have gone through any door since there was no line at any of them, but we should go through the season ticket holders line just 'cuz. Well... there was an actual incentive this time to enter the arena that way!

Ben Mclemore got his first start tonight. He actually struggled quite a bit throughout the game. I'm just going to chalk it up to rookie starting jitters. He had a few air balls tonight that were quite uncharacteristic. Though he struggled at times, he did provide a huge spark with an amazing alley-oop dunk early in the game.

I'm not sure what's up with the seats in front of us... they always seem to go to people who just come to the game once, and not regular season ticket holders. The people in front of us constantly get up and down and have conversations standing up. It can get pretty annoying at times. The season ticket holder that sits next to us would have heckled them a bit... but he wasn't there. I'm too nice to heckle or say anything!

Corina and Charli came to pay me a visit tonight! It was awesome! I got to know them a little through Instagram. Both Corina and Charli are rookies for SKD, but they are totally kicking @$$ on the court when they dance. It's awesome to see them reaching out to fans like me during the games!

The SKD always do a great job of pumping up the crowd at the games. It's cool how they always have different outfits for their performances. They are total pros. This pic reminds me a little of the Rockettes. I personally prefer SKD to those New York dancers though! Sacramento FTW!!!

The cotton candy guy always walks up and down the aisle next to me. I like cotton candy... but I can't ever bring myself to get one. It's not that I'm too cheap... I actually purchase food at the arena all the time. Well, maybe one day I'll pony up for one of these delectable bags of sweetness.

Dave came with me to see the Kings beat the Nets tonight. It was a great time out watching ball and talking ball. Next game is on Friday versus the Pistons. It will be the only game nationally televised, and the Kings are trying to sell it out and set a noise record! Currently, I don't have anyone to go with! Let me know if you wanna join me!

Kings v. Blazers 11.9.13

Tonight the Kings played the Portland Trailblazers. This was definitely a bittersweet moment for me because I grew up in Portland, and the Blazers were MY team. That was back in the glory days with Clyde 'The Glide' Drexler, Buck Williams, Jerome Kersey, Terry Porter, and the like. One of my fondest childhood memories was when my mom took me to see a Blazer game at the old Memorial Coliseum. That was a long time ago, and I don't know this Blazer team at all. It's all about the Kings!

The night started with a nice rendition of the National Anthem by a young children's choir. They did a good job, and the kids received a nice round of applause as they finished. Actually, there were lots of youth in the arena tonight. Besides the children's choir, high school cheerleaders performed for the halftime entertainment.

This is the sight I saw when I looked to my left. Wow! Crazy how there are just about three completely empty rows. I think these corner seats are reserved for special group pricing and offers. So maybe the promotions that went on for these seats didn't sell out. I remember sitting in this section when I bought discounted tickets through my school/workplace last year.

Fan favorite Jimmer Fredette made his very first appearance of the regular season tonight. He provided some energy and spark to the team. Tonight was yet another poor performance by the team, and now the Kings have lost five games in a row. It's very frustrating to see the team do so poorly on the court! The Kings have a great upper management, awesome relationships with the fans... and amazing supportive fans!!! It's just sad to see the actual team do so badly. I didn't think they'd be this terrible starting off the season. Good thing they got that opening night win... but since then it's been a struggle.

The best moment of the night had to be this guy who had the opportunity to win a free car if he could hit a half court shot in one try. He was interviewed before the shot, and we came to find out he's a basketball coach! Expectations were high and he was pretty confident. Well, as you can tell from the photo, his half court shot was a swish. The crowd went nuts! Amazing moment for that guy, for sure! I saw him a little later walking back to his set... he was in the next section over! Everyone was giving him high-fives.

So tonight wasn't so good. I'm left wondering when the Kings will win another game. Brooklyn is coming up on Wednesday, and that's not an easy team to play. Coach Malone has indicated that the starting line-ups will probably be different when the Kings play again. I'll be very interested to see what he ultimately decides to do about the rotation of players. This season will be a good test of how patient we all can be!

Kings v. Hawks 11.5.13

My fellow season ticket holder couldn't go to the game tonight so he gave the ticket to our mutual friend Larry! This was his first King's game. Larry really enjoys basketball, and I would call him a student of the game. I'm glad we could check out this game versus the Hawks tonight!

Here's the tip off from my seat. It looks like the arena is pretty empty, but a lot of fans were late to this game. I was actually surprised at the amount of fans there tonight. A Tuesday game with a team from the Eastern Conference probably isn't the type of game people flock to. Nice job to the Kings fans for showing up in good numbers tonight.

Yay! I get to go in the exclusive Cap City Kingdom food line. I'm not sure if I saved any time by being in this line though. The reason this particular line went faster today was because three of the four people in front of my just got bottled water! I ended up getting pizza and fries. I'm really getting to like those fries.

We ended up showing up on the big jumbotron tonight! How you ask? Well, The Kings said to take a photo on Instagram or Twitter and use the hashtag #foreverpurple. Pictures with that hashtag would be randomly selected to appear on the screen tonight! So here we are! By the way, notice that the giant screen used for the first two games has now been removed.

Even though the Kings were down by almost 20 points tonight, the fans supported the team and cheered hard. The Kings had a chance to force overtime with a three on the last possession of the game but came up short. The Kings' play wasn't the best tonight (by a long shot), but I'm glad they at least made a game out of it by the end.

This was a really cool surprise! Vivek (the owner of the Kings) walked up our aisle today as he was going around the arena. I didn't get a chance to say 'hi' or anything... but at least I got this quick photo of him as he passed by. I tried calling his name, but he didn't hear me. Maybe next time!

Basketball Card Maildays

Most people know me on Youtube as blacksheep217. I open up a lot of hockey cards on my channel. I've been starting to get more and more basketball cards. Check out my Youtube channel and subscribe to it! I'd love to connect with more basketball fans/collectors on Youtube! Sometimes the hockey folks give me a thumbs down when I do too much basketball content! Here's a link to my Youtube channel: CLICK HERE.

I got this DeMarcus Cousins autographed card today in the mail. Think it'd be a very expensive item to acquire? Think again! The total cost of this card (including shipping) was under ten bucks! I think that's not a bad price to pay for an autograph of DeMarcus! The card is nice and shiny too! But keep in mind not all cards are this cheap. Some cards can be pretty expensive.

Speaking of Expensive, this Isaiah Thomas card was a pretty penny. These babies are going for between $80 and $100 on eBay as of today. You can see that it has his autograph and an actual piece of his jersey embedded in it. If you haven't collected cards in a while... they have come a long way! They're not your daddy's pieces of cardboard!

Here's a typical video that I make when I get cards in the mail. Like I said, I have a lot of these videos (mostly for hockey as I'm a huge San Jose Sharks fan). There are a few great places to find basketball card collectibles in the Sacramento area. Contact me if you want to find out about them!

Kings v. Clippers 11.1.13

The night started off great with Vivek's daughter sining the national anthem. She's beautiful AND has a great singing voice! That's a great combination for sure. Dad's gotta be proud!

Here's a view of tip-off from our season ticket seats. It's not bad. We have a good angle... and it's in the lower bowl. Definitely can't complain about our seats, but closer is always better!

So this happened tonight! We were able to snag King's Row tickets for the second half of the game. HOW UNBELIEVABLE IS THAT? All I have to say is THANK YOU NICK, you made our night!!! The view from King's Row is incredible. You can hear the players talking and see their expressions and interaction with each other. What an experience!

Tonight my friend Dave and I attended the game. As I type this I am still shocked that we got to sit in King's Row. Dave splits the seat next to mine with two other guys. I really hope next year we can get more friends to join us in our season tickets.

This is the kind of photo you can get from King's Row. Such close images! I am totally loving every minute I'm there!

Recognize the gentleman on the left? Yep... that's Mayor Kevin Johnson in front of me! He was cheering for the team the entire time. Way to represent!

Scott Fresh and Slamson pump up the crowd in this very close game.

The SKD put on an awesome display as they always do at the games.

Even though the King's lost this game 110-101, I still had an incredible experience that I'll never forget. I hope to return to King's Row again someday! Or if not there, at least get the chance to get some photos this close to the court once again!

King's Home Opener 10.30.13

My friend Arnold and I sit on the aisle near the top of section 122. Come and say hi! I always love meeting new fans!

The opening ceremonies tonight were flat out amazing.

Cricket was one of the fun attractions outside the arena tonight. Here's Vivek showing us all how it's done. Shaq and Chris Mullin were also on hand to give cricket a try. There was a large amount of people watching the three of them go at it.

Thought the food selection at the arena isn't the greatest, this chicken sandwich was pretty high quality. The chicken is advertised to be locally sourced. There is a price to pay though... this lovely plate of food was over $12!

It's awesome to see parents bring their kids to the game. This lucky guy has an authentic McLemore jersey. I don't even have an authentic jersey! Good on him though!

Here's my view of the Purple Out pre-game opening. Wow, it was a sight to behold.

Vivek got me totally pumped up with what he said tonight.