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"We have a week or two left in the season. I think we should support our team for the next couple of weeks and we need to do that. That's the respectable thing for Sacramento to do." - Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, April 13, 2012

Mad. Upset. Angry. Frustrated. Sad. Depressed. Betrayed. Confused. Hurt. Helpless. Worried.

Those are some of the adjectives I have seen written by so many over the last 24 plus hours since what went down in New York.

It is completely understandable to feel what we are all feeling. It is human nature to do so.

I have also seen so many discuss the idea of boycotting and/or protesting. Really? Really?

What will that accomplish? Use your critical thinking skills and the first person to give me an explanation and tell me why that would work in our favor wins blue prints to the Death Star.

Boycotting and/or protesting is exactly what the Maloofs want you to do just like they wanted you to feel those adjectives I mentioned above. It is all a part of their plan so do not fall for it.

Maybe it is just me but I did not hit the panic button. Instead I came home from work to make a few phone calls to rally the troops. I was going to do this regardless of the outcome but this makes it that much more urgent. Then I watched a comedy movie (American Reunion was a funny movie and highly recommended). That is how I dealt with the situation.

Boycotting and/or protesting would only provide more fuel to the fire for the Maloofs to seek a relocation. Of course I do not see them getting the approval from their fellow NBA owners, but that is another story for another day.

For now the Sacramento Kings are still our Sacramento Kings. I did not see any moving vans. Did you? I admit I am blind to an extent but I never saw one. The team will remain in town for another season. After that? Who knows?

So what should we do?
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Well, we might have been ahead by 20 after three if we just didn't have those Evans/Cousins scrubs throwing the ball all over the gym in epic fashion, but fortunately they came to life (well...kinda) just enough in the 4th to secure us a sloppy but entertaining preseason win.


Honeycutt ( B- ) -- get sthe better grade than the numbers might indicate. Was active and scrappy in the early going, and showed better balhandling abilities than he had in the scrimmage. A little sloppy with the ball, and his effectiveness tailed as the game went along, but he looked like he belonged.

Hickson ( B+ ) --and a nice bounceback game from Hickson showing what he can do. Looked much more solid in the early going, but but took a while for him to heat up. And what keeps his grade out of the A ranges is that the man he was guarding most of the night (Lee) scored at will against him from the early going. Started using his athleticism to good effect in the 2nd and made a number of bu athletic pays over the course of the night, inclduing a tip dunk follow, and a big back breaing rebound that him snatching the ball with his fingertips way back behind his head. Not known as a passer, but was decently wlling to pass it out of the post, at least in give and go situatioins where he was sure to get it back. Effort wasn't terrible defensively, but just not effective on that end or able to defend the rim. In the area, buit ont getting anything done.
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The Good: The Guards
The Bad: Everybody Else

Evans ( B ) -- Reke was back, and then some. Looked good out there, big, athletic and aggressive, critically on both ends of the court. Some great takes to the rim early, and some good help defense, but also forcing a little on the perimeter leading to turnovers. Faced lots of doubles, but looked considerable smoother as a passer and using his drives to set up Fredette and Thornton. Looked like he knew where they were going to be too rather than that jump in the air and look around and awkwardly throw it thing. Form on his jumper looked considerably better too. It was quicker, and much more upright. Unfortunately it did not go in, but they were all on line. Looked much more setteld as a team player as well, taking only 10 shots despite looking physically dominant and moving the ball willingly.

Hickson ( D ) -- began the game determined to attack in the post, which could be handy when Cousins is out of the game. Unfortunately despite our repeatedly feeding him on the block, he wasn't converting any of them. Otherwise invisible out there and looked confused and impotent on defense. Grabbed a few boards early, disappeared entirely after the break.
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Any minute now the Sacramento Kings are announcing they are going "back in black."

Earlier this summer we saw the NBA 2K12 version and today makes it official.

The Kings vs Lakers game will NOT be a winter white out but instead a "black out."

The Kings will wear their new black jerseys and fans who attend will get a free black T-shirt.

The Kings will wear them again at Portland the next night.

This has been two years in the making and it's finally back.

You can purchase their four game "Back in Black" ticket package which is for the first four home games and you will get other T-shirts with that too.

There are 53 exclusive authentic black Kings jerseys with a 6th man shield patch. Make that 52 because I am getting one. :-)

You can purchase the new jerseys at - http://www.kingsteamstore.com ...

No matter what the arguments are on either side of the coin, the bottom line is that we the fans are the ones who are really suffering as the NBA lockout continues to drag on.

I'm sorry but I cannot feel any kind of empathy or pity for an athlete who is being paid millions of dollars to play a game. And yes, while his"earning time" may be short, most NBA players earn more in a single year than a lot of us can expect to earn in 10 or even 20 years. It's hard, therefore, especially with the unemployment rate in California at something in excess of 12%, to feel much pity for those who want us to feel their pain.

I'm tired of the posturing and I'm tired of watching the travesty of "negotiations" between the players and the owners. Are the owners blameless in this whole embraglio? Of course not, but it's much easier to understand their point of view. They want to be able to make a profit. That's pretty easy to grasp, even if you don't accept the whole picture the owners are painting.

I want to be able to watch basketball for the 2011-2012 season. I want to be able to watch NBA basketball. And I want to be able to see my favorite players take the court on Nov. 2 at Power Balance Pavilion.

Wouldn't it be nice if just once the players - and the owners - took a moment to acknowledge the fact that without us, the loyal fans, they wouldn't have anything to argue about? If we weren't willing to pay sometimes exorbitant sums to put our posteriors in the seats to watch the games, who would?

Come on, players. Come on, owners. Get your heads out of your arses and get this lockout settled. You owe it to yourselves but most importantly, you owe it to us. Do it soon, before we decide that there are a lot of other things we could be spending our hard-earned money on than overpriced tickets to watch a bunch of millionaires play a game for an hour or so. ...

I don't know how much of Jimmer everybody was able to watch during the college season aside from his highlights. The mtn and versus aren't the easiest channels to find. I watched a lot of Jimmer so I wanted to give you my take on who he is and how successful he is likely going to be in the league.

He will help sell tickets and generate revenue for the Kings. He'll sell a lot of jerseys (just like Tebow did) and the Kings should anticipate an increase in ticket sales. I think that you'll find the less avid basketball fan more willing to come to games, my wife cried when she found out that Jimmer wouldn't be playing for the Jazz and she declared the Kings her new favorite team : )
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