A day before National Basketball Association representatives arrive in Sacramento, regional leaders gathered in the state capital Wednesday to show their support for what has until now been the city's effort to keep the Kings and build a new arena. Kings fans and business leaders have launched a campaign called "Here We Purple" in anticipation of the NBA's arrival. The movement grew on Facebook and Twitter, where organizers are encouraging everyone in the city to paint the town purple and wear purple clothes Thursday and/or Friday. Elected officials from as far away as Loomis, Yuba City and Yolo County joined Mayor Kevin Johnson for an hour-long meeting and press conference he held to dr

Pre-season purple has been painted all over town and all over this site. All the people that joined the Sacramento Kings conversation were entered to win one of five prize packages courtesy of Sacramento Press and the good folks at Maloof Sports and Entertainment. Here’s how we chose the winners. We had our man genius technology guru Joel “let’s get some Chinese food” Rosenberg run a report of every single participator. Then, we assigned each entry random numbers. We asked a group of 25 people to pick a number within that range, printed those 25, placed them in a bag, and had Melissa Broughton, the SacPress accounting wizard, use her unbiased hand to draw the lucky 5, including the Grand P

From now through all of Saturday, our community and beloved readers of Sacramento Press can get involved with a very cool event called Paint The Town Purple. Through a collaboration with Maloof Sports and Entertainment and Sacramento Press, we've come up with a fun promotion that involves the core of this site: YOU! Friday and Saturday, you can kick it with The Kings! I'm not talking about hanging with the guy who stocks towels, I'm talkin' about starters and stars. The real deal NBA ballers right in the streets of Sacramento. You can see the schedule HERE. So get out there, meet the players, take your kids, get some pictures, ask them the hard questions. Then, join the conversation on S

THE SACRAMENTO PRESS “PAINT THE TOWN PURPLE” OFFICIAL SWEEPSTAKES RULES The Sweepstakes begins on October 6 and closes on October 12, 2009. Participation in the Sweepstakes constitutes full and unconditional agreement and acceptance of these Sweepstakes Rules, which are final on all matters relating to the Sweepstakes. Please note, the majority of the King’s articles will be posted after 10/8/09. (1) How to Enter: No purchase necessary. Entrants can go to SacramentoPress.com, comment on any King’s related article and they will be automatically entered into the contest. Comments MUST coincide with a King’s related article or it will not qualify for the promotion/winnings. Please include

Kings fans, I’m really excited to get out in the community to “Paint the Town Purple” and get to know the people of Sacramento. It’s always special when you know people and they know you. It makes it more exciting for fans to come and watch someone they know on the court, someone they’ve met and someone they can relate to. It’s also fun playing in front of people you know, people you see at Raley’s or people around your neighborhood. My interactions with Kings fans so far have been awesome. They’ve welcomed all of us with open arms and have been very warm. I’ve only been here for three or four weeks now, but it does feel like my home. Sacramento is a great city and a great community. Fa

What’s up Kings fans? JT is back! This Friday and Saturday my teammates and I will be “Painting the Town Purple,” and we want to see you out in the community. I remember Paint the Town last year. It was fun to meet the fans, explore the city and see Old Sac. Old Sac kind of has that New Jersey boardwalk-type feel to it. I had some Salt Water Taffy, relaxed and had a lot of fun being around the people who support us. I met people who hadn’t seen me play, but knew who I was and came out to support the Kings. I had a good time. I took some pictures, signed some autographs and kissed some babies! It’s just good for us to get out and meet the fans, because we know everyone can’t make it to a

This weekend, the Sacramento Kings and the Sacramento Press will "paint the town purple" - and give citizen journalists the opportunity to talk to the players and preview the upcoming season themselves. The Kings will be fanning out across the Sacramento area and making personal appearances to stir up excitement for a new season with a new coach. On Friday, Tyreke Evans, Beno Udrih, Sergio Rodriguez and Kevin Martin will be among the players appearing everywhere from the Wells Fargo Bank on Capitol Mall to ARCO Arena, before the Star Wars in Concert event that same night. On Saturday, Omri Casspi, Francisco Garcia, Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes will be among the players appearing at