Sacramento Kings

Probably the most unknown city in California is the state capital of Sacramento.

When you get to downtown Sacramento, its fairly easy to navigate as nearly every street is designated by a number or a letter



Shopping





Ice skating in 70 degree weather...



Capital building...some guy named Arnold works here





Old Town Sacramento. Shopping that you won't find anywhere else...



Candy













The Sacramento Kings.

Arco Arena is located a few miles outside of the city. Possibly the most obscure location yet. There has been much controversy about getting a new arena and moving the team elsewhere. After my night in Sacramento, I highly recommend that the team stays right there. Below will likely be my longest NBA game recap to date.





We were met early in the evening by our guide Alex Sigua. He immediately handed myself, Jim, and Craig a Sacramento Kings bag. Inside, we found a shirt, Spalding notebook, program, pennant, headband, pen, pom-pom, a mug among other things.



Press room



Pre-game interviews



& then it happened...players started walking right by us. Brad Miller, Mikki Moore, Shareef Abdur-Rahim...all inches away from us. Then we noticed a familiar face in "street" clothes. NCAA Champion & Olympic Gold Medal winner, Mike Bibby:



Me posing with a behind the scenes legend "Del." Del has attended every pre-season, regular-season, and post-season game for the Sacramento Kings. 975 in all (applause).



Heading down the tunnel



Eddy Curry



Kenny Smith in town for the game...I tried and tried to speak to him, but no luck...



Let's record history quick...I wish I had my old signmaker



Stephon Marbury warming up





Me & "Handles" from the Harlem Globetrotters



Best Buy blimp ready to make its season debut



The old Kings' floorboards. Ready if called into action...



Sacramento's finest dance team



Myself and Jaime Morris Mills and Alex Sigua. Can't thank these two enough for an unbelievable time!



The Kings even treated us to a meal. Our view from the restaurant.



Our seats right above the Kings' bench



Gametime









Harlem Globetrotters performing at halftime



Ron Artest playing tough defense on the much taller Eddy Curry



Had a great time chatting with the friendly members of the Kings' team store



A FAN Hall of Fame...I'd love to make the NBA's fan hall of fame



Clever promotion...give a pin, take a pin





Mascot Slamson



In easily the most thrilling game of the season, the Kings pulled out a 123-118 Double Overtime win. Kevin Martin set the new NBA Season of Drew high scoring mark with 43 points. Although the stat board did not show it, I believe Ron Artest was the key player of the game. His defense on Eddy Curry at the end of the game and then fighting through a double team to make a "And 1" pass to Quincy Douby that was likely the deciding factor in the win.

Possibly the most thrilling part of the evening came after the game. I was offered the opportunity to talk about my tour on LIVE TV!!!! The show I appeared on was House Party Live with Jim Kosimore. Needless to say, I was extremely nervous as I've never been on TV and did not know what questions they would ask. As of publishing of this blog, I have not yet seen how the interview went from the perspective of the viewer, but I hope to have a YouTube link and/or DVD copy by the end of next week. Below are some still shots of the interview:







While every franchise has been unforgettable, this was clearly my most memorable. To have a photo with a player, get on live TV to spread word about my tour, to meet everyone in the organization from the team store personnel to the Director of Marketing was just an unforgettable experience. I was close to the action for one of the most competitive/best games I've ever watched. For one night, I felt so great with people coming up to shake my hand and saying "Is this the guy?" The Sacramento Kings clearly look out for their fans, and the fans would be crazy to let this team leave Sacramento.

Thank Yous: Jaime Morris Mills, Alex Sigua, Craig Smith, Jim Albert, Craig Amazeen, Andrew "the blogger," & Del.

Golden State Warriors (Oakland/S.F.)

After 11 hours of traveling, we finally arrived in Oakland. I dropped Dan off at Oakland airport, dropped the rent-a-car off at San Jose airport and went to my friend Craig's house in Santa Clara.

After finally getting a shower, we were off to the Golden State Warriors game at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.



The Warriors were kind enough to provide us with 4 free tickets to the game. Myself, Craig, Erin, and Brian attended the. We took the "BART" (Bay Area Rail Transportation) to the Oakland Coliseum stop. I then took the familiar walk (Oakland A's) over the cement bridge towards McAfee Coliseum, aka the Black Hole, aka the Cement Palace. Oracle arena is located on the opposite side of the football/baseball stadium.

The hallways inside were very tight and congested



We headed up to our seats in the upper bowl. When we arrived to the upper floor, we were greeted with "Welcome to the 200 club" by one of the ushers. I assume they are trying to make these fans get a more upscale feel to the game.



There were many different foods available for the game, none of which I could say I was particularly impressed with. While the California cheesesteak tempted me, I decided to go with the California hot dog. A foot long hot dog with pico de gallo, cheese sauce, and jalepenos.





View from our seats



Title banner





Al Harrington drives to the basket



40 1st quarter points for the Warriors



Dontrelle Willis and C.C. Sabathia on hand for the game.







Coloring and video games for the kids...the video games seemed to be the more popular choice:







After seeing him 3 times this week, I gained a new respect for Rasheed Wallace. Yes, he is a fiery player that often complains and gets ejected, but you may not often see is his ability to make the big basker or the big play away from the ball. Most impressive was his ability to get his team and himself psyched up by leading them in the huddle, slapping his hands together, and throwing his warm-ups high in air before tipoff.



Craig and I document Arena #4



So once the game was over, I had a day or two to kill in the bay area...what tough luck?!

The hills of Oakland



Plain & Simple, one of the best things to see and do in San Francisco, is the historic Alcatraz Island. I think we paid about $20 for the trip.

Just a few seals:



SF in the back



Welcome to Alcatraz Island









Thick glass huh?



Where've you been if you've never heard of these guys



Tourist





The yard



The actual cell used in the only ever escape from Alcatraz. Speculation runs wild as to what happened to the 3 prisoners







The end of Alcatraz



The city



SF engulfed in fog...



The most photographed bridge in the world...aka Golden Gate



Leaving Alcatraz



Can you believe it...Corona in a can?



Any sportsfan must make a stop at the Field of Dreams located on Pier 39, run by John Waterman. The best sports memorabilia anywhere...





They call it the curviest/crookedest street in the world. Lombard Street. For one hour, I would own Lombard street and appear in tourist photo albums forever.



















Transamerica Building by day...


By night and fog



Oh them S.F. Hills!



Trolley time



Chocolate



Another great trip to the bay area. Crazy timing too...Barry Bonds gets indicted and they are still cleaning up the oil spill while I'm there. Can't wait until my next visit.

Thanksgiving weekend - Boston & Philadelphia (hometown).