Natomas Girls Softball League began its season today with a parade around the Northgate neighborhood near its homefields at Althea B. Smythe Elementary School. The opening of play also marked a milestone. Natomas Girls Softball League has existed since 1968, making this the league’s 50th anniversary. The future looks bright for the league’s dated homefields with plans for $607,000 of improvements thanks to a partnership between the City of Sacramento and Twin Rivers Unified School District. Softball players come from the north area of Sacramento including South Natomas, North Natomas, North Sacramento, Del Paso Heights, Rio Linda, Robla, Downtown and North Highlands. Visit the Na

Golden State Warrior fans expected their team to prevail when the Sacramento Kings came to Oakland for their final match up of the 2012-13 season. Two nights earlier, the Warriors beat the dangerous Lakers. They have also won the season series against the division-leading Clippers, and are anchored by a current All-Star (David Lee), a should-be All-Star (Stephen Curry). After all, Curry is the seventh leading scorer in the NBA, the highest among point guards. His three-point and free throw percentages are both third, both highest among point guards. And he averages almost seven assists per game. Nevertheless, there is something about Kings - Warriors games that transcends logic. The King

The Philadelphia 76ers arrived at the Sleep Train Arena Sunday night hoping to break their streak of 14 consecutive road losses. In contrast, the Sacramento Kings returned home from a Saturday night game in Denver with hopes of breaking their own streak of four consecutive home losses to the Sixers. Guess whose streak was broken. (Hint: the last time the Kings beat the Sixers in Sacramento is still 2006.) The Kings started well and enjoyed a 13-point lead within the first minute of the second quarter. Sadly, Philadelphia, whose 92-point scoring average ranks last in the NBA, scored 36 points in the second quarter and tied the game. Indeed, before the fourth quarter had even begun, the S

Approximately 86.4 miles southwest of Dooley Field, in the Land Park area, lies the 2012 MLB World Series trophy, cherished and displayed at the home of the San Francisco Giants, AT&T Park. On Saturday, a smaller, but much more personal trophy was on display in Sacramento, as the members of the 1983 Sacramento Pacific Little League’s World Series team gathered in honor of the 30th anniversary of their championship season. Hundreds of wide-eyed young ballplayers helped to celebrate the team that brought national recognition to the Land Park Little League as the former teammates reunited at Dooley Field during Land Park Pacific Little League’s opening day. Though a generation removed from

For the second game in a row, Tyreke Evans was an integral part and the catalyst of two Kings comebacks that resulted in wins. On Thursday evening, March 21, at Sleep Train Arena, the Sacramento Kings toppled the Minnesota Timberwolves 101-98 in front of 12,176 riled up fans. Make no mistake about it. Ever since the Brothers Maloof’s secret sale became uncovered, the attendance at the ole barn has increased and the fans there are getting louder and louder with their collective “Sac-ra-men-to” and “Here we stay” chants at each game. With Evans’ contract running out at the end of the season - the club does have the right to match any offer for next season - there is lots of speculation a

“A Tale of Two Seasons” The Los Angeles Clippers had a comfortable eight-game lead in the Pacific Division when they arrived at Sleep Train Arena to play the Kings on Tuesday night. On the other hand, they were fighting to maintain the No. 3 seeding in the Western Conference. The Clippers lost that fight, lost the game, and dropped down to fourth. It has been a “Tale of Two Seasons” for the Clippers. On January 19, they were 32 - 9 and riding high atop the NBA. Since then, they are just 14 - 13. A source of pride and strength for the Clippers has been their bench. Anchored by Jamal Crawford, who is battling J.R. Smith for the Sixth Man of the Year, the Clipper bench usually outscores (t

McClellan Park was full of color today as over 7,000 runners  joined in the fun of Run or Dye 5K color run. It benefitted United Way California Capital Region’s Fit Kids project. “Run or Dye is a fun way to get some exercise and support a great cause,” said Steve Heath, United Way president and CEO. “Our Fit Kids project is all about helping kids develop a culture of eating right and exercising so they can stay fit their whole lives and avoid the dangerous health issues that come with obesity. We’re grateful to Run or Dye for giving the whole Sacramento area a fun way to get in shape and for recognizing the important work our Fit Kids project is doing. In fact, because United Way recruite

Kings' center DeMarcus Cousins isn’t helping his reputation. The 22-year-old center was ejected from Sunday night’s game as the Kings fell 115-113 to the Milwaukee Bucks. The ejection marks a league-high fourth time the King’s big man has been sent to shower early. Cousins got into an altercation with Milwaukee Bucks forward Mike Dunleavy, resulting in him being disqualified in the third quarter for the remainder of the game. The young big man has built a reputation of being troubled and continues to hurt the Kings with technicals (12 this year) and early showers. But the fact is the Kings need the talented center, and need him to be on the court. With so many holes on the roster, the

He was supposed to be Buster the third. I mean, everyone in the family expected it to happen once they found out Tywanna was having the baby. That is, everyone but Tywanna. “She refused for me to be another Buster,” Patterson said. “The whole family wanted me to be Buster, but they lost the argument.” Patrick Patterson is the cornerstone in the trade that also brought Cole Aldrich and Toney Douglas to the Kings on February 20 of this year in exchange for Thomas Robinson, Francisco Garcia and Tyler Honeycutt. In Patterson, the Kings get a more experienced power forward that can also spread the floor with his outside shooting ability. For “P-Pat” - as he’s known - it was quite a benefi

The Sacramento River Cats hosted a pre-season party at Raley Field on Sunday afternoon. Hundreds of fans were lined up at the entrance prior to the noon opening. The party marked the opening of the ticket office for the 2013 season. Round Table pizza, hot dogs and other refreshments were handed out to those who were willing to stand in line. The nearly all-access afternoon allowed fans to check out the River Cats locker room, sit in the dugout, or explore the sections above and below the regular seating areas. Other activities included jump houses, photo booths and live music. Season-ticket seating was also available for sale. A small number of paper signs marking available seat

The Sacramento Kings returned home after a five-game road trip and defeated the Charlotte Bobcats 119-83 in Sunday, March 3's matinee rout. “I thought we did a good job and did what we were supposed to do,” Kings head coach Keith Smart said of his team’s performance after the game. “We got home, played in front of our fans and played some pretty good basketball from a numbers standpoint.” The trip home marked the first time for the newly acquired Kings to take the court in front of the home crowd. Kings general manager Geoff Petrie completed a controversial trade in late February that sent Thomas Robinson, Francisco Garcia and the Kings second-round pick next year to Houston for Patrick

Kings’ point guard Isaiah Thomas is taking advantage of his increased playing time, after spending much of the season in a three-man point guard rotation. Earlier this month, Sacramento head coach Keith Smart made the decision to use primarily Thomas and Jimmer Fredette as his two point guards, fellow point guard Aaron Brooks to become an observer from the bench for the majority of the time. In fact, Brooks has tallied just 14 minutes of playing time in the last four games including three games where he did not see the floor at all. Thomas has responded by producing the same types of plays that earned him the starting job last season after he was drafted 60th overall out of the Universit

The Sacramento Kings won their second consecutive home game Sunday night, beating the Houston Rockets 117-111. After taking a four-point lead into the halftime break, the Kings quickly fell behind in the third period. The regained their momentum with All Star player Isaiah Thomas scoring 17 of his 23 points in the final quarter. Photos by Ron Nabity

Sacramento Kings fans showed up in full force as their team defeated the Utah Jazz 120-109 for what was dubbed, “Here We Buy” night, by local grassroot campaigns attempting to keep the team in Sacramento. Kings head coach Keith Smart knew the atmosphere would be overwhelming before he even made it into the arena. “To come in this building today and see the fans and the level of appreciation while they were out in the parking lot, that was a huge key for us as myself and everyone else coming into the arena, driving in here ready for a game, saw the fans in the parking lot first,” Smart said. Fans kicked the night off with a planned tailgate in the parking lot prior to the game where fans

  On Feb. 2, 2013, the Memorial Auditorium and the city of Sacramento welcomed the Sacramento Invitational TKD Championship. Dubbed the 11th annual "Sac Invite," this event draws hundreds of competitors, families and spectators each year from around the Sacramento Valley to watch and cheer on their favorite taekwondo champion.   The Sac invitational is a taekwondo skills competition where participants of all ages and skill levels perform specialty skill tests before the judges, who then rank and crown champions after each competition.   Students from Shinsung University were brought in from Korea to show their special board-breaking routine, rarely seen in the United States. High

The Sacramento Sports Hall of Fame inducted its first class at a celebration Saturday night at the Thunder Valley Casino Resort. The inaugural event inducted five local athletes: Kevin Johnson, Bill Cartwright, Summer Sanders, Tony Lopez and Dusty Baker. Hall of Fame founder and Executive Director TC Martin opened the ceremonies by introducing each of the inductees as they stepped onto the stage. Martin said the goal of the organization is to "publicly recognize the great individual talent that we have here in Sacramento." The five inductees were selected from a list of 56 nominees; over 7,300 votes were cast in an online ballot. Northern California comedian Dennis Gaxiola drew plenty of

While another sports homophobia incident erupted at 49ers headquarters yesterday, with the story revolving around ex-49er and Raiders offensive lineman Kwame Harris, it needless to say was very quickly overshadowed by current 49er Chris Culliver‘s “heartfelt” feelings about gays. And the backpedaling by everyone connected with pro football began. In the electronic media age, that includes everyone down to the fans. The bad news about sports homophobia in this day and age is how difficult it is to control these outbreaks of homophobia from ignorant comments by players such as Chris Culliver. The ignorant, often homophobic, response from organizations such as the 49ers continues to magnify

The Memorial aiditorium hosts the 11th annual, Sacramento Invitational Taekwondo Championships. Dubbed as the "Sacramento Invite," according to sacinvitational.com. This will be a unique opportunity to watch championship style taekwondo matches right next to the mat. Then there is the best part of the show. Students of the Shinsung University will bring their "specialty high-flying" board breaking performance. This is a special treat rarely seen in the USA. Like to watch tests of the mind and body. The "Sacramento Invite" is definitly an experience that you would not want to miss. Saturday February 2nd, 2013, Gates open at 9:00 am. Tickets are $15 in the dress circle and $20 for balco

The Sacramento Kings remain winless since Monday when reports came out that the Sacramento Kings owners have entered a “binding agreement” with an equity group from Seattle that would send the team up to the Pacific Northwest. Ironically, the Kings fell to Seattle’s former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder 105-95 at Sleep Train Arena to extend their losing streak to three games. Players were reportedly distracted by the news on Monday as they attempted to practice, and that distraction may have carried over into the games this week. Kings forward Jason Thompson has been with the team for five seasons now and this isn’t the first time he’s dealt with possible relocation, though it is the f