Robert Small's Portfolio Blog

Kings Share Insider's View of NBA with Elk Grove Fans

2011-08-25T16:38:00.000-07:00

Sacramento Kings staff and other basketball experts spent some time with Elk Grove fans Wednesday night breaking down the intricacies of college and professional hoops.

The 'Basketball 101' class, held at California Family Fitness on Bond Road, was one of a series the Kings are offering at six different CalFit locations in the Sacramento area. While the classes were originally limited to season ticket holders and CalFit members, the team recently opened them to members of the public as well.

Continue reading on Elk Grove Patch

(Note: Collaboration with editor Felicia Mello)

La Sierra Skate Park to Stay Open

2011-07-01T00:33:00.000-07:00

It was widely anticipated that the Carmichael Recreation and Park District was going to shut down the La Sierra Skate Park because of “extreme budget constraints.” For now, that’s not happening.

“As far as I can tell, we’ve raised enough money to keep us open until the end of the summer,” skate park manager Bob Kerr said. “Now we’re just buying more time to hopefully buy more time.

Kerr, who’s a longtime skater, said they raised “around $5,000” to keep the skate park open for the summer. Built in 2002, the skate park has been a place for skaters to ride for free at a designated area and off the streets. He said he thinks it would be a bad idea if the park ever shut down.

Continue reading on Carmichael Patch

Kings trade Casspi for Hickson

2011-07-01T00:13:00.000-07:00

After drafting Tyler Honeycutt and re-acquiring John Salmons, it was only a matter of time until the Sacramento Kings cleared the logjam at small forward and it was done just before the lockout.

The Kings traded fan-favorite Omri Casspi and a future first-round pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for power forward J.J. Hickson.

Hickson, a 6-foot-9-inch, 242 pound player who averaged 13.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game for the Cavs. After a slow start to the season, the 22-year-old turned into a double-double machine at the turn of the new year averaging 16.1 points from January to the end of the season.

The Cavs drafted Tristian Thomas with the No.4 pick, making Hickson expendable with their logjam at power forward. A player that says he gives everything he has, Hickson is ready for a fresh start.

“I’m looking forward to meeting my new teammates and getting out and playing some basketball,” Hickson said in a conference call. “I think we have a lot of good pieces on this team. We’re young, athletic and it’s going to be fun to see how it plays out this year.”

Read full story on Examiner.com

Lance Briggs Hosts Youth Football Camp at ARC

2011-06-12T19:13:00.000-07:00

Hundreds of kids took the field for the Lance Briggs Nor-Cal All Star Football Camp in Beaver Stadium at American River College on a sunny Saturday.

Briggs, a Sacramento native and offensive linebacker for the Chicago Bears, and Seneca Wallace, another Sacramento native and Cleveland Browns quarterback were on deck with other players to teach kids the fundamentals of football. Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher was scheduled to join in but did not attend.

The kids that participated in the camp took part in drills in passing, receiving and blocking among other techniques. The camp even featured a doctor from the University of California, Davis, who talked about sports injuries, emphasizing on concussions.

View full article on Carmichael Patch

Memorial Day Ceremony Held in Carmichael

2011-05-30T00:44:00.000-07:00

Dozens of spectators gathered for a Memorial Day ceremony at the Earl J. Koobs Nature Area at the La Sierra Community Center, formerly La Sierra High School.

Spectators and war veterans gathered at the La Sierra Vietnam Veterans Memorial for a short ceremony. Koobs, a 91-year-old World War II veteran who prefers to be called Jack, was also in attendance.

When the memorial was dedicated in 1973, it was one of the first Vietnam War memorials in California and one of the first in the country.

“This is one Memorial Day that we decided to do it a little bit different than the past,” Koobs said. “And that was to have people in the audience come out.”

A few audience members did stand up to announce veterans who recently passed away.

Continue reading on Carmichael Patch

Jesuit Baseball Blows Out Oak Ridge

2011-05-25T00:48:00.000-07:00

Photo Credit: Aldalto Nascimento

For much of the game, Jesuit and Oak Ridge we're locked into a grind-it-out high school baseball playoff battle at American River College on Tuesday evening.

In a game that remained scoreless through nearly five innings, the Marauders broke through when the opposing team made a pitching change in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Jesuit senior Brian Celsi scored the first two runs of the game with a hit that would be the start of a seven run inning.

As Oak Ridge's pitching staff suffered a meltdown after the pitching change, Jesuit ran away with an 8-0 win, sending them to the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I North Regional Championship. The Marauders will go for their sixth North title since 1994, according to The Sacramento Bee.

Continue reading on Carmichael Patch

Kings staying in Sacramento

2011-05-02T18:26:00.000-07:00

Over two months after NBA Commissioner David Stern announced that the Maloof family was in serious talks about moving the Sacramento Kings to Anaheim, the Kings will be staying in Sacramento.

Maloof Sports & Entertainment, the company the Maloofs own, released this statement, announcing that the team will not file for relocation and will play in Sacramento for the 2011-12 season.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson says that keeping the Kings in town was one of the proudest moments of his life.

"We've always felt it was bigger than basketball," the mayor said. "The Kings, they relate to a thousand jobs ‒ both full time and part time. If we go forward and build a new entertainment and sports complex, it's going to prove to all of us that we can find a way to make these things happen."

If the Kings were to leave Sacramento, it would have affected not only the city, but the surrounding regions as well.

Continue reading on Examiner.com

Kings lose to Lakers in overtime, possibly Sacramento's last game

2011-04-14T08:39:00.000-07:00

In what could be the last NBA game played in Sacramento‘s Power Balance Pavilion, the Kings saw faced the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers.

The Kings and Lakers were heated Pacific Division rivals in the early 2000’s, game and since then, the rivalry, at least for the Lakers, faded.

The Lakers remained a perennial playoff team while Sacramento had not appeared in the playoffs since 2006. In front of a sellout crowd of 17,641 these two teams would take a step back in time for perhaps one last time.

Continue reading on Examiner.com

Kings fans gather for Here We Build rally

2011-04-06T09:12:00.000-07:00

Sacramento Kings fans came out yesterday to attend the Here We Build rally at Cesar Chavez Plaza.

Fans from all over the Sacramento region came out not only to support their team to stay in town, but also to find a way to get a new sports and entertainment complex built.

Spawned from a tweet of frustration from local radio personality Carmichael Dave, the Here We Build movement has gathered over $500,000 in pledge money toward a new complex through Here We Stay on Twitter, Facebook and its website.

Continue reading on Examiner.com

Kings owner outraged by city's letter to Anaheim

2011-03-28T09:53:00.000-07:00

The City of Sacramento took another step in trying to keep the Maloofs from moving the Sacramento Kings to Anaheim. City Assistant Manager John Dangberg sent this letter to Anaheim City Manager Thomas Wood making three requests:

"Do not authorize issuance of ($75 million) in lease revenue bonds..."

"Cease negotiating with the Kings."

"However, if Anaheim insists on continuing the negotiations...Anaheim must contractually require and condition bond issuance...to the Kings honoring their approximately $77 million financial obligations to the City of Sacramento..."

Continue reading on Examiner.com

Good vibe at practice after consecutive wins

2011-01-31T16:50:00.000-08:00

The Sacramento Kings are feeling good about their play as of late.

In back-to-back games they have beaten the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers and ended the New Orleans Hornets’ 10-game winning streak.

The Kings lost several games prior, failing to keep fourth quarter leads. As of late, they’ve kept leads, beat playoff-caliber teams and it has increased their morale.

Continue reading on Bleed Black and Purple

Notes from practice: preparing for Lakers, Tyreke's All-Star appearance

2011-01-27T16:54:00.000-08:00

The Sacramento Kings flew out to Los Angeles today in preparation to play the Lakers tomorrow.

Tyreke Evans is hoping his team is up to the challenge of beating the defending champions.

"They're the best team in the league," Evans said. "They won the championship so we got to get out there and beat the world champs - that will be a good feeling."

Continue reading on Bleed Purple and Black

Breaking Down the Kings' New Roster

2010-08-04T12:49:00.000-07:00

What a difference one off-season makes. In a span of three months, the Sacramento Kings lost six players from last season’s roster and gained seven new players.

It’s a welcome change for a team that’s trying to climb back into the NBA playoffs after being absent the last four years.

Continue reading on Sactown Royalty

Kings-Bucks trade in the works

2010-07-19T18:39:00.000-07:00

First reported by Dave "Softy" Mahler of Sports Radio 950 KJR-Seattle, the Kings are on the verge of trading undersized power forward Jon Brockman to the Milwaukee Bucks.

According to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, the Kings would receive forward Darnell Jackson and a future second-round pick in return.

Continue reading on Sacramento Press

Kings trade Nocioni, Hawes for Sixers' Dalembert

2010-06-17T14:14:00.000-07:00

The Sacramento Kings have traded disgruntled forward Andres Nocioni and third-year center Spencer Hawes to the Philadelphia 76ers for center Samuel Dalembert.

Dalembert, an athletic center known for his rebounding and shot blocking, made NBA headlines this season after his native country of Haiti was struck by a catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake in January.

He briefly left the Sixers to visit the country and donated $100,000 to UNICEF to aid relief efforts but he played all 82 games of the season as well as the previous three seasons.

Continue reading on Sacramento Press

Peterson witnesses Evans' growth

2010-04-13T12:57:00.000-07:00

Tyreke Evans has been an impact player for the Sacramento Kings. The rookie guard from the University of Memphis has gained national attention for the whole season.

Like all NBA players, Evans had to start somewhere, and LaMont Peterson, part of Team Tyreke, helped him grow into the player he is today.

He joined Team Tyreke along with Evans' older brothers Reggie, Doc and Pooh and cousin Temetrius, along with Evans' best friend, Dwayne Davis.

Continue reading on Sacramento Press

Throwing the distance

2010-04-09T18:13:00.000-07:00

Photo Credit: Windee Dawson

Last season, freshman Cody Allen was the starting quarterback for the City College football team.

In a game at American River College, he helped lead the Panthers to a comeback win over the Beavers by throwing the game-winning touchdown with 16 seconds left in the game.

This semester, Allen is still throwing, but instead of a football he’s throwing a javelin for the men’s track and field team. Before this semester, Allen had never competed in javelin throwing.

Continue reading on SacCityExpress.com

The history of the NBA Rookie of the Year

2010-04-09T17:22:00.000-07:00

Photo Credit: Anthony Bento

At the end of every season, the NBA Rookie of the Year (ROY) Award is awarded to the best rookie of the season.

Don Meineke was the first to win the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy in the 1952-53 season. Of the 56 ROYs, 21 basketball hall-of-famers, from Oscar Robertson to Michael Jordan, have emerged.

More than 53 percent of retired ROYs were voted into the hall of fame.

Continue reading on Sacramento Press

Panthers football win thriller at ARC

2009-12-16T16:14:00.000-08:00

Phot Credit: Cecilio Padilla

It was an unlikely comeback with a fantastic finish.

City College overcame a 19-point deficit in the third quarter Saturday at American River College to beat the Beavers, 54-51.

The Panthers got off to a hot start in the first quarter but were held scoreless in the second quarter, blowing an 18-0 lead.

Continue reading on SacCityExpress.com

(Note: Story appears as a teaser on the cover of the Express print newspaper on Nov. 24)

Kings rookie Evans among the best in the NBA

2009-12-15T17:51:00.000-08:00

He’s one of the quietest players on the team, yet he’s a vocal leader on the basketball court. He’s only played 21 games in the NBA, yet he’s being treated like a star around the league. He’s only played point guard for less than a year, yet he’s performed well against the elite of that position. That player is Sacramento Kings guard Tyreke Evans.

Evans has become one of the best players in the NBA in a short amount of time and even the league’s superstars are taking notice of the rookie from the University of Memphis.

Continue reading on Sacramento Press