Driving into Sacramento for the last opening night at Sleep Train Arena was bittersweet. While I cannot wait for the new arena to open, I have so very many fond memories of Arco/Power Balance/Sleep Train, that's it gonna be hard to say good-bye.
Over the past decade or so, traffic has not been a problem most of the time. Last night was reminiscent of days gone by, with lots of cars entering the parking areas - and this was at about 6:30, when quite a few people were already there tail-gating.
Friendly parking lot personnel were back, just like the old days. Friendly Kings fans, excited to be back, with tons of jerseys from all eras on display worked their way into the arena, going first through the metal detectors. Saw LOTS of cowbells - and the checkpoint went through even said to put cellphones, keys AND cowbells in the basket before going through the detectors.
I didn't see Knightman but then I didn't spend too much time away from my seat. I did run into kennadog (Good to see you, my dear!) and Warhawk came down at half-time to say HI!
I almost feel sorry for the family of Clippers fans who sat in front of us (emphasis on the ALMOST) as between my granddaughters, my daughter and son-in-law, my friends and me they were subjected to an almost unending barrage of anti-Clipper exclamations. Little Princess I (Emily) shrieking "Blake Griffin sucks" was probably the most irritating to them...
The t-shirts that were handed out last night were of better-than-usual quality, as opposed to the thin as paper ones the Maloofs were infamous for. Another bonus was the bracelet they handed out before the game that took on a life of its own inside the arena. No idea how the Kings did it, but they were able to activate all the bracelets and even control the color during the opening blackout portion of the evening. After that, the bracelet lit up whenever I clapped, which means it was on a lot. (And, on the way home, it lit up and glowed an eerie green when we hit a bump in the road. It still works today, BTW.)
The crowd was fantastic, the mood was electric and one of the only bummers was the presence of Lauren Holtkamp (or however you spell her name). She makes Violet Palmer look good. I'm rewatching the game right now, and it's hard to tell just how often she missed calls on the Clippers. I saw them in person, however, and know for a fact she was not even adequate in the performance of her duties. I truly wish the NBA would quit trying so hard to get women into the officiating ranks at the expense of competency. I don't care what gender, color, sexual preference, etc. an official is - I just want them to be competent.
As far as game impression go, I have every reason to be optimistic. I just read the grades for the game and while I agree for the most part, I have no problem with DMC taking the 3 shot when it's available to him. I actually enjoyed seeing him do so and then, late in the game, passing up the 3 to drive inside. My bottom line on the whole game is we have potential and this team is definitely going to be better than what the national media has predicted. I wasn't very happy with Ben McLemore. He just didn't seem invested and he missed several key shots we desperately need for him to make. I know Jerry Reynolds made the point again that he's still young, learning George Karl's system, etc. but I don't see the hunger or passion in him. I hope I'm wrong and that he steps up. If he doesn't, I don't expect to see him start too much longer.
I don't know if they showed it on the broadcast, but DMC's frustration with Ms. Holtkamp was summed up by what he did when he fouled out. As he left the court, he turned and gave her a very demonstrative hand gesture. (I thought at first he had flipped her off, but it turned out he made the thumbs up sign.) While I do not want to see this stuff from him, and am very surprised he didn't get t'd up over it, I can totally understand. Her incompetence was painful.
One word of advice? If you can get to a game, GO TO THE GAME! There is so much potential with this squad.
I LOVE THIS TEAM!!
Over the past decade or so, traffic has not been a problem most of the time. Last night was reminiscent of days gone by, with lots of cars entering the parking areas - and this was at about 6:30, when quite a few people were already there tail-gating.
Friendly parking lot personnel were back, just like the old days. Friendly Kings fans, excited to be back, with tons of jerseys from all eras on display worked their way into the arena, going first through the metal detectors. Saw LOTS of cowbells - and the checkpoint went through even said to put cellphones, keys AND cowbells in the basket before going through the detectors.
I didn't see Knightman but then I didn't spend too much time away from my seat. I did run into kennadog (Good to see you, my dear!) and Warhawk came down at half-time to say HI!
I almost feel sorry for the family of Clippers fans who sat in front of us (emphasis on the ALMOST) as between my granddaughters, my daughter and son-in-law, my friends and me they were subjected to an almost unending barrage of anti-Clipper exclamations. Little Princess I (Emily) shrieking "Blake Griffin sucks" was probably the most irritating to them...
The t-shirts that were handed out last night were of better-than-usual quality, as opposed to the thin as paper ones the Maloofs were infamous for. Another bonus was the bracelet they handed out before the game that took on a life of its own inside the arena. No idea how the Kings did it, but they were able to activate all the bracelets and even control the color during the opening blackout portion of the evening. After that, the bracelet lit up whenever I clapped, which means it was on a lot. (And, on the way home, it lit up and glowed an eerie green when we hit a bump in the road. It still works today, BTW.)
The crowd was fantastic, the mood was electric and one of the only bummers was the presence of Lauren Holtkamp (or however you spell her name). She makes Violet Palmer look good. I'm rewatching the game right now, and it's hard to tell just how often she missed calls on the Clippers. I saw them in person, however, and know for a fact she was not even adequate in the performance of her duties. I truly wish the NBA would quit trying so hard to get women into the officiating ranks at the expense of competency. I don't care what gender, color, sexual preference, etc. an official is - I just want them to be competent.
As far as game impression go, I have every reason to be optimistic. I just read the grades for the game and while I agree for the most part, I have no problem with DMC taking the 3 shot when it's available to him. I actually enjoyed seeing him do so and then, late in the game, passing up the 3 to drive inside. My bottom line on the whole game is we have potential and this team is definitely going to be better than what the national media has predicted. I wasn't very happy with Ben McLemore. He just didn't seem invested and he missed several key shots we desperately need for him to make. I know Jerry Reynolds made the point again that he's still young, learning George Karl's system, etc. but I don't see the hunger or passion in him. I hope I'm wrong and that he steps up. If he doesn't, I don't expect to see him start too much longer.
I don't know if they showed it on the broadcast, but DMC's frustration with Ms. Holtkamp was summed up by what he did when he fouled out. As he left the court, he turned and gave her a very demonstrative hand gesture. (I thought at first he had flipped her off, but it turned out he made the thumbs up sign.) While I do not want to see this stuff from him, and am very surprised he didn't get t'd up over it, I can totally understand. Her incompetence was painful.
One word of advice? If you can get to a game, GO TO THE GAME! There is so much potential with this squad.
I LOVE THIS TEAM!!
