I'm very excited that Donté Greene is bringing basketball back to Sacramento. After our community fought so hard to keep the Kings, it will be great to see the players back in town playing the game we love so much! I've already purchased my tickets and am looking forward to the Goon Squad Classic on 12/20. If you haven't gotten yours yet, you can get them at Tickets.com. While Donté is in town, he'll also be hosting a charity poker tournament which will benefit the American Diabetes Association. More details for the event can be found here and below:  www.sacpokertournament.com. When: Friday, November 18, 2011 Where: Roseville Health and Wellness Center 1650 Lead Hill Blvd., Roseville,

The National Basketball Association might still be in a lockout, but the Sacramento region is set to have a celebrity basketball tournament Nov 14. where eight teams representing Rancho Cordova, Folsom, Elk Grove, Roseville, West Sacramento, Rocklin, Citrus Heights and Sacramento are participating for a fundraising event. The Jumpstart 21 Hoops and Alley Oops Regional Celebrity Basketball Tournament is a three-on-three half-court basketball tournament fundraising event held by the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce (SACC). The proceeds will benefit Jumpstart 21, a workforce development and internship placement program by the SACC for young adults recently out of the foster care

While the National Basketball Association is on lockout and preseason and regular season games are canceled, the Heatwave, the Sacramento professional American Basketball Association team, revs up for a full season. The season will open on Nov. 12 with an exciting double-header against the Richmond Rockets, which defeated the Heatwave in the first round of playoffs last season, and the Bay Area Matrix, last year’s Pacific North Division champions. “With the NBA lockout, we have a good opportunity to put on some great basketball for the city. We can entertain the people of Sacramento and get them excited about basketball again. No NBA, no problem,” said assistant coach Brandon Smith. “I

The NBA announced Friday that it would be postponing player training camps "indefinitely" and canceling 43 preseason games for the 2011-12 basketball season in a press release. The text of the press release is below: The NBA announced today that player training camps for the 2011-12 season have been postponed indefinitely because a new collective bargaining agreement has not been reached with the National Basketball Players Association. Training camps were scheduled to open on October 3. In addition, the league canceled all preseason games scheduled from October 9 through October 15. “We have regretfully reached the point on the calendar where we are not able to open training camps on

From Little League to Major League Baseball or punches to knockouts in boxing, it’s important to keep fans and readers up to date on sport results and highlights. Sam Amick, Sports Illustrated columnist for SI.com, shared his personal experiences Tuesday, giving multiple anecdotes to explain lessons learned, experiences gained and answered audience member questions about the craft. The single most important skill that Amick stressed was preparation and research. He compared sports writing to a chef saying that one prepares by having the correct ingredients for a recipe. He encouraged the audience to try to gain as much information about the sports topic, the team, athletes and statistic

Think BIG Sacramento launched an effort Thursday to recruit 1,000 people from Merced to Redding to rally support for a new arena. The arena campaign committee also announced plans to hold a public design contest for a space adjacent to the new facility as part of that effort. The committee is asking regional residents and community leaders to help spread information and gather supporters for the drive to build a new sports and entertainment complex, state Senate staffer Greg Hayes, a member of the arena committee, said in a Thursday morning press conference outside the MARRS Building at 1050 20th St. Later this month, the committee will announce full details of a contest that could enab

A new downtown arena could draw 3.1 million visitors to the central city each year and bring the region more than $7 billion over 30 years, according to a report released Thursday by an arena campaign committee. The 37-page report on an arena’s expected impact to the region was released to reporters at a press conference at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel. "In downtown Sacramento, there's a considerable economic boost, just by the fact that there really isn't a facility like that," said Cathleen Dominico, author of "The Economic Engine Report: An Economic Analysis on the Regional Impact of an Entertainment and Sports Complex," during the press conference. "If you can create a downto

As he made his way down the escalator in the inside Terminal One at Sacramento International Airport Friday afternoon, his eye-catching smile was happily stretched across his face upon seeing the masses awaiting his arrival into the Capitol City. That’s right Kings fans, along with the other two draft picks selected this week, the Jimmer has landed! A couple of hundred of the Kings faithful patiently waited for the slightly delayed flight and they weren’t disappointed when 2011 draft picks Jimmer Fredette, Tyler Honeycutt and Isaiah Thomas made their way through the crowd - high-fiving fans and shaking hands all along the way. The Kings had to do some wheeling and dealing to land Fredet

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson released the names of his regional arena coalition Monday, amid hopes the Here We Build campaign will be able to figure out financing options. But the absence of a representative of Natomas, where Power Balance Pavilion sits, raised protests from the Natomas Chamber of Commerce. Johnson announced the members of a bipartisan, 15-member executive committee Monday morning. The remaining 45 members of the community coalition were expected to be announced Monday evening, according to the mayor’s office. No one from the Natomas Chamber of Commerce, which has led a campaign to keep the arena there, had been asked to be part of the coalition as of 5:30 p.m. No Nat

The Sacramento Metro Chamber is pleased to join The Downtown Sacramento Partnership and The Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau as supporters of RoundRock 3on3 for the first annual three-on-three basketball tournament to be played June 11-12 on the city streets of downtown and Old Sacramento. RoundRock 3on3 will feature players and teams from throughout Northern California, playing on up to 40 blocks throughout Old Sacramento, Downtown and Midtown. The designated streets, including Capitol Mall, will be sectioned off and organized into a series of half-courts, where the various divisions will play their games. The city of Sacramento has approved the street closures. “This is a bask

The first time Kevin Johnson was involved in the National Basketball Association draft, he was passed over by the Sacramento Kings. Now mayor of Sacramento, Johnson will represent the Kings at the NBA draft lottery Tuesday. The lottery will be televised on ESPN during a pregame show just before Tuesday night's playoff game in Dallas, when the Oklahoma City Thunder takes on the Dallas Mavericks in game one of the Western Conference finals. The draft lottery portion of the show, which determines the order for the NBA draft June 23, could begin as early as 5:10 p.m. Pacific time. In 1987, Johnson was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who got the seventh pick in the draft. The Sacramento K

The Sacramento Kings' owners hope to build team fever this week with a ticket sales drive and a rally Tuesday. Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof is expected to join Head Coach Paul Westphal and stars such as Bobby Jackson, Doug Christie and Scot Pollard at a Kings rally at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Cesar Chavez Plaza, Ninth and I streets. Fireworks and a concert by Sacramento rock band Tesla are also planned for the rally, which is co-sponsored by local radio station Sports 1140 KHTK. Maloof Sports and Entertainment also has hired 30 new sales employees to help with ticket sales after the Maloofs announced May 2 the team would stay in Sacramento for at least another year. Most of the new employees st

With just three days to go before the Kings' deadline to file for relocation, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson said Friday he's not sure who has the ball – but Sacramento officials hope a regionally coordinated effort to build an arena will make enough of a difference that the National Basketball Association and the Kings' owners keep the team here another year. Billionaire Henry Samueli, whose company manages Anaheim's Honda Center, upped the ante Wednesday when he offered to personally invest more than $70 million for improvements at the Honda Center and provide a personal loan of at least $75 million to the Maloofs. Samueli, who owns the Anaheim Ducks hockey team, also revealed $30 mill

Sacramentans have heart and they aren't afraid to show it. Thanks to all of the people who sent us their Here We Purple photos today. Below you'll find photos of purple shoes, dogs wearing purple, coworkers wearing purple and even a purple zebra. If you have more photos to share, send them to journalism@sacramentopress.com and we'll add them in here. To read more about the current efforts by city leaders and businesses to keep the Kings in Sacramento, click here.  

Thursday, April 21, The Sacramento Press site will be Sacramento Kings purple instead of its normal green color. We are changing our site's colors to support the #HereWePurple effort. For more information on the NBA visit to Sacramento and the pledges to keep the Kings in Sacramento, read Sacramento Press staff reporter Suzanne Hurt's article here. We encourage you to take photos of the purple you see Thursday or share photos from Kings games or events you've been to in the past. We will put together a splash page for Friday with some of the submissions. If you have any questions about how to post, email support@sacramentopress.com. Dust off your purple clothes, and be on the lookout f

The public will have to wait for information on this week’s meetings in Sacramento involving two NBA officials as the meetings will be closed to media, Mayor Kevin Johnson said at a Tuesday morning press conference. The two NBA executives who will visit Sacramento on Thursday and Friday are Clay Bennett, relocation committee chair for the NBA Board of Governors, and NBA Executive Counsel Harvey Benjamin, said Tim Frank, an NBA spokesman. The closed meetings relating to the Kings’ future were requested by the NBA, Johnson said. “They felt that they didn’t want a lot of fanfare,” Johnson said. However, Johnson said he would meet with the local media to communicate information about the m

Sacramento Kings fans will have to keep holding their breath over a possible team move after a National Basketball Association official on Friday said the league needs time to learn more about the unfolding deal in Anaheim and the viability of keeping the team in the capital. The NBA Board of Governors agreed to extend the deadline for the Maloofs’ request to move until May 2. On Thursday, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and San Francisco investor Darius Anderson told NBA team owners that billionaire Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle is leading a plan to buy the Kings or help bring another pro basketball team here if the Kings leave. Johnson also said he and business leaders have r

  The Kings huddled with excitement before game 41. Check out my raw footage. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgir1JNcFDw    

The Sacramento Kings Dance Team won NBA Best of the West due to social media. Check out my interview with Jennifer & Katie!   Check out my video -  

NBA Commissioner David Stern issued the following statement, "Kobe Bryant's comment during the Spurs game was offensive and inexcusable. While I'm fully aware that basketball is an emotional game, such a distasteful term should never be tolerated. Accordingly, I have fined Kobe $100,000. Kobe and everyone associated with the NBA know that insensitive or derogatory comments are not acceptable and have no place in our game or society."   I attended the Lakers / Kings game and asked fans if they thought $100,00 fine is enough.   Check out my video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNsUPnU3kjU   Order of appearance: Phil Jackson - Lakers Coach Carmichael Dave - Radio Sports Persona