Giving Thanks

I know this is sort of late to do this, but I've been really busy. Here are the sports things I'm thankful for this season:

1. The Kings being 7-8
2. My football team went 6-0 this year
3. Running the 5K for Run to Feed the Hungry
4. Basketball season starting at my school and my dad coaching my team
5. My new, cool basketball shoes

What are you thankful for?

Kings First win in 09-10

On Monday night, the Kings beat the Grizzlies in over time 127-116. Now they are 1-3. Kevin Martin led them to that win by scoring 48 points.

At the beginning of the game J.T. came to center court and at first I thought he was going to sing the national anthem, which would have been really funny. But instead he got us pumped up.

In the first quarter, they got themselves in a slump, but in the second quarter they really came alive. They tied it and then they led the Grizzlies, and then the Grizzlies tied it again, and that was pretty much the story of the game -- well, in regulation, of course.

During the timeouts, I really liked watching the break dance crew. I also liked the "Mystery Karaoke" with Jon Brockman and Spencer Hawes. It was really funny! And I saw some of the Grizzlies watching it, too, and they liked it.

Then in overtime, in the first two to three minutes, nobody really scored, but in the last two minutes, they Kings really came alive. Once the Kings had the game pretty much wrapped up, the Grizzlies hit two shots. In the last two minutes you could feel the vibration of people clapping and cheering. There was not one person sitting -- everyone was on their feet. In fact, I had to cover my ears, it was so loud!

It was a wonderful game and I was glad I was there to see it. Now let's get the next win on Wednesday v. Atlanta at home.

Goooo Kings!

Kings vs. Warriors

On Saturday night, I went to the Kings v. Warriors game. Our seats were in a suite, which was pretty sweet. It was a great experience because I've never been in a suite before. The Kings had the lead for almost of the whole game and they beat the Warriors, 101-94.

I was really impressed with how good Tyreke Evans did, passing-wise and shooting-wise. He had a lot of assists, and he scored 16 points. Jason Thompson had a double-double, scoring 20 points and a WHOPPING 20 rebounds. Kevin Martin also did exceptionally well, scoring lots of threes and faking out guys.

The highlight of the whole night for me was when Spencer Hawes hit a three-pointer in the first quarter. Usually the big guys are in the paint, so it was cool to see Spencer hit one from the outside.

I'm also posting a couple more photos from my interviews from media day. Enjoy these photos of Tyreke and JT.

I'm looking forward to going to the season opener at ARCO on November 2. Gooooo Kings!

Kings Media Day, Part 2

So this is part two of my first post, which had two interviews from Kings Media Day. Visit The Sacramento Bee's website to see a short and long video of my interviews with the Kings players and Coach Westphal.

Kevin Martin

Q: What did you do this summer?

A: I went to Hawaii with my fiance.

Q: I heard you play video games. What's your favorite?

A: I have PlayStation 3 and my favorite game is Madden NFL 10.

Q: Did you like hosting a kids basketball camp this past summer?

A: Yes.

Q: In high school, besides basketball, what other sports were you good at?

A: In high school, I only played basketball. Before that, I played football, baseball and basketball.

Q: What do you like most about the new guys?

A: Their work ethic. They're all working really hard.

Spencer Hawes

Q: What is it like being 7 feet tall?

A: It's inconvenient most of the time. But it helps me do what I do on the court.

Q: What do you like to do when the team is on the road.

A: I like to sight see in the cities we visit.

Q: Besides center, what is your favorite position?

A: Center is my favorite position.

Q: Who is the toughest player you play against in the NBA?

A: There are a lot of tough players, like Yao Ming, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard and others. Yao is the toughest.

I was at the Kings Open Practice last night. They scrimmaged each other, and it was really fun. It was so interesting how they practiced. Everyone watching was so excited when they dunked! I got to see the new Kings players play, like Tyreke Evans, Jon Brockman, Sean May, Desmond Mason, Sergio Rodgriguez, Omri Casspi, Lenny Smith and Melvin Ely. Look for my upcoming posts for interviews with the new players and the rest of the team.

I think we'll have a great team this year! Gooooooo Kings!

Kings Media Day, Part 1

Yesterday was Kings Media Day, and I got to interveiw all the Kings players for http://www.sacbee.com/! The video of my interviews will run on Sunday, October 4, so check it out. All of the players were so nice. I was pretty nervous at first and was actually sweating! But then it got to be really fun because after I'd done a few interviews, I realized the players would be really nice.

Over the next week, I will be doing seperate posts containing a few players interviews every post. Since I was interviewing the guys in front of a video camera and not taking notes, the answers below are from memory and not exactly how the players said it.

Francisco Garcia

Q:What did you do this summer?

A: I played for the Dominican team and relaxed.

Q:What do you think about the new guys on the team?

A: They've been working really hard.

Q: What do you like to drink during the games -- water or sports drinks?

A: Water

Q: What is your typical pre-game meal?

A: Chicken

Q: What do you like to do on your off days?

A: Relax and swim in his pool.

Q: Will you be hosting a kids basketball camp this summer?

A: Yes

Q: I'm a big St. Louis Cardinals fan, and I know that both you and Albert Pujols are from the Dominican Republic. Do you know him?

A: I do know Albert. I talked with him over the summer; he's humble and hardworking.

Donte Green

Q: What are you mist excited about for the upcoming season?

A: I'm excited to play basketball.

Q: What do you have planned for the Donte Green Show?

A: I'm going to maybe show up on a farm with Kevin.

Q: What did you do in the off-season?

A: I worked out pretty hard to get ready for the season.

Then I told Donte that I follow him on Twitter, and he laughed. He told me to send him a message, but I follow him through my mom's twitter account.

So, these are the first two interviews I'm posting. I'll post the rest of the interviews over the next week, so keep visiting. And before I sign off, I want to do a shout-out to Sam Amick, the Sacramento Bee's Kings reporter for making it possible for me to go to the Kings Media Day. Thanks, Sam!

I'm really excited for the new season. After interviewing the players, I think we're going to do really well! Goooooo Kings!

Harold Pressley's Basketball Camp

My friend Jack and I had the chance to go to a basketball camp this summer hosted by former Sacramento Kings player, Harold Pressley. He let me interview him for my blog, and here are the questions I asked him:

When did you first know that you were going to be an NBA basketball player?
I first knew in June 1986 when the Sacramento Kings drafted me.

Did you practice basketball every day?
I practiced every day, eight hours per day.

How many seasons did you play NBA basketball?
I played in the NBA for four years with the Kings, and I played for five years in Europe, mainly in Spain.

What advice would you give to kids who want to be NBA players?
Work as hard as you can and believe you can, and you will do anything.

I would really recommend this camp because it is really fun, and it builds your basketball skills. We worked on shooting, rebounding, passing and ball handling. We did a lot of drills and also played games. We worked really hard all week and had a lot of fun.

My favorite part of the week was when I won two hot shot contests. For the contest, there were three places you could shoot from -- the block was worth one point, the free throw line was worth 2 and the three-point line was worth three -- and you had to make as many shots as you could in a certain amount of time. In the first contest, I finished in two minutes with 33 points; in the second one, I shot 13 points in thirty seconds. I won a really cool water bottle that came with free soda refills for the rest of the day!

In addition to Harold coaching, there were two other coaches named Zach and Randy. All the coaches were nice and helpful. They had awesome basketball skills! And they could dunk, too.

I hope you liked my interview with Harold Pressley. Until next time, goooo Kings!

Sam the Man

Yesterday I did an interview with Sam Amick. He's really nice and approachable! For people who don't know, Sam is the top reporter who covers the Kings in the sports section of The Sacramento Bee. Before we met, I thought of six questions I really wanted to ask Sam - -and here are his answers for you to read:

Q: Did you always know that you were going to be a writer?
A: I first knew I wanted to be a writer when I was in college.

Q: Do you go on the road with the Kings?
A: I go on the road with them but on a different flight.

Q: Who do you think the Kings should draft?

A: Rubio, if he's available.

Q: When you were a kid did you play sports?

A: Yes, I played basketball, baseball, soccer, wrestling and football. Baseball was my favorite and basketball my second favorite.

Q: What NBA player would most help the Kings?

A: Hedo Turkoglu

Q: Did you like that the Kings got Paul Westphal?

A: Yes because he's had a lot of success in the past.

Sam also gave me some advice, which is "Write what you believe." I think this is really cool advice because it means I should always write the truth the way I see it.

Some of you might remember my post about the Kings grades that Sam wrote. Well, Sam and I disagreed about the grades, but what was great was that Sam didn't get mad about it. This goes back to his advice for me -- write what you believe.

This upcoming season both Sam and I are looking forward to exciting games, like a game that's tied with 10 seconds left and then the Kings hit a big shot to win it. I'm looking forward to the fun King events, meeting more players, seeing how Paul Westphal coaches, and I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing who we get in the draft!

Thank you, Sam, for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet with me. If you ever want to meet with somebody and eat ice cream and talk Kings again, I'll do it!

Until October, gooooo Kings!

Cardinals Baseball

I've spent the past few days watching the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinal's record is 15-7, which is the best record in all of Major League Baseball. Yes, that is very exciting, but what is cool is their bullpen only has 2 or 3 blown saves so far. For example, the Cardinals had a 1-o lead over the Braves, then the Braves scored 2 runs to win the game 2-1.

The Cardinals have been strong in 1 run games; their record is 4 and 3. The Cardinals' Albert Pujols has already blasted 7 homeruns and 26 RBIs so far this season. He's not alone. Ryan Ludwick has 5 homeruns and 19 RBIs so far. These guys have both battled some sicknesses this year, but they've been able to play and give a great performance each night. This inspires me, and is why I'll be a Cardinals fan through thick and thin.

Are you wondering how I'm catching all of these games? Well, my dad found out how to watch games online. It's really fun. I pull up the web site (mlb.tv) and log on using my e-mail address and a password. Not only do you get to see the game in HD, they give you live commentary and team stats. For example, when they have a new pitcher come in, they show you the pitcher's stats. And when a batter comes up to bat, they show the batter's stats. When there's a score change, they put it on the side of the screen to let you know that some team in another game has scored. So, I can keep track of my Cardinals, plus all of the other MLB games going on at that time. It's so cool, and it's been an interesting experience. Do you watch games on mlb.tv, too?

Gooooo Cardinals!

How the Kings Ended the Season

Tonight the Kings played the Minnesota Timberwolves. Even though I did not get to see the whole game (I was at basketball practice), I can say that the Kings stayed with it in the fourth quarter, which is usually when they lose games, and they won 97-90. But tonight they played like they were in an NBA championship game! They played like they cared, which they could have just said, "We're done. This season's a failure. Who cares if we win?" That's what I love about them. They never quit. I like how my team just doesn't give up when times are bad. That inspires me.

The Kings played fantastic at times during the season, but their record did not show it. I can't even count how many times they should have won games this season. Here's a wild guess: 4o. Let's go through some of them. They played Portland and should have won (92-91). They played Golden State and lost 143-141. What about San Antonio on Monday? Terrible call at the end of the game, and they got burned 95-92. (By the way, a rule they need to make in the off-season is they should be able to review plays that could change an entire game.) What about the game v. the Lakers? Or what about the Cavs? The list goes on and on.

I think overall the Kings played great. As I said before, their record didn't show how hard they played. My player of the year is probably JT or 'Cisco. JT because he's played in every single game this season and gave a lot of effort. 'Cisco because -- there's so many things! One is he played even though he was injured. In my mind, he's the heart of the team. His scoring has gotten even better than before, and so has his great defense. Also, 'Cisco was awarded the triple-double award, so whoever decided that is on the same page as me.

Can't wait to see the Kings next season. Most of my blogs now will be about baseball, and I'll also talk about the spring basketball team I'm playing on.

Until October, gooooo Kings!

The Kings Dominated the Suns

I watched the Kings last night v. the Suns, and I saw a different team than what I usually see. The Kings came out with energy and attacked the inside. But best of all, Spencer and Jason did a good job guarding Shaq. They defended really hard and didn't let up at all.

Last night, seven players were in double figures. Jason was the leading scorer, with 21 points. Spencer had a good night too, with 20 points, tying his career high. 'Cisco and Andres Nocioni had 19 points a piece.

The Kings did well on rebounding, which is the key to getting baskets because if you get rebounds you get to set up your offense. JT had eight rebounds, and Spencer had a double double with 10 rebounds. Together that's 18 rebounds, and that's about half of the team rebounds!

The final score was 126 to 118. I knew the Kings would win from the end of the first quarter on because they came out in the first quarter and started scoring well and playing good defense. And they kept doing that throughout the game which led to a win.

My favorite play of the game was when Beno penetrated into the paint, did a behind-the-back pass to Spencer, and Spencer dunked it. This was my favorite play of the game because it looked really cool.

Now that we're done talking about last night's Kings game, I want to talk about Vlade Divac's jersey retirement. I think it will be a really special night, and it will get everybody very excited about Tuesday's game against the Hornets. I wish I could go, but I already got to go one jersey retirement this year, so I doubt another miracle will happen.

I'm also having a lot of fun following Jason Thompson, the Kings and Sac Bee reporter, Sam Amick, on Twitter. It's really cool getting to know what they're doing and getting the inside scoop on what's happening off the court. I would recommend it to all of my readers -- it's really fun to check and see what they're doing. For example, a few days ago JT ate at Subway, which is my favorite lunch place. That's what you do on Twitter -- you "tweet" and tell people about what you're doing.

I'll be watching the game tomorrow night against the Hornets and cheering for the Kings. Until next time, gooooo Kings!

How We Feel about Mikki

Two weeks ago, I went to the Kings game v. the New Orleans Hornets. Before the game, we watched the players warm up. We waited to see if any of the players would sign autographs. What was special about this night was we got an autograph from Mikki Moore, and it was the last chance to get it. He was waived the next day. My little sister is Mikki's biggest fan, and she's sad, so I thought I would interview her.

Q: How did you feel when they waived Mikki?

A: Sad.

Q: Were you happy that you got to see Mikki play his last game as a King?

A: Yes.

Q: How do you think Mikki was helping the Kings play?

A: I saw him doing great.

Q: What was it about Mikki that you liked so much?

A: He shooted hoops. His long hair. He had snakes. That's all.

Q: What do you think were Mikki's strengths on the court?

A: He had a lot of energy. He had a lot of strength, too.

Q: What did you first think when Mikki picked you up to take a picture?

A: It was fun!

Q: What did you say to Mikki when you first saw him?

A: I said I was his biggest fan! And he said I was his biggest littlest fan.

Q: Do you like being Mikki's biggest littlest fan?

A: Yes.

I feel good for Mikki that he gets to be on a really good team like the Celtics.

Gotta go downstairs and watch my favorite college basketball team Mizzou play Kansas. Until next times, goooooo Kings!

College Basketball

Today I was thinking about what I would blog about, and I thought about something pretty good that I haven't written about EVER. I'm going to write about my favorite college basketball team, the Missouri Tigers aka Mizzou.

They won a game on Saturday against Nebraska. The final score was 70 - 47 with Mizzou on top. I thought Mizzou owned most of the game because they had very consistent shooting, accurate passing, and they valued the ball. The stand-out players were DeMarre Carroll, Leo Lyons, Keith Ramsey and Matt Lawrence. Mizzou's record is now 22-4 and they are ranked #10 out of the 25 best teams in the COUNTRY. When I heard the news about the ranking, I was so shocked that I couldn't even finish my sentence.

Another college team I like is the Duke Blue Devils, who are 20 and 5. Their record is not as good as Mizzou's but I enjoy watching their games. I like Gerald Henderson. I think he's NBA material. Another player I like is Kyle Singler because he hits so many threes.

My mom hooked me up with great seats to watch the Kings take on a former King, Mike Bibby, and the Atlanta Hawks. I'm looking forward to the game on Wednesday!

Gotta go downstairs to watch "24" and Jack Bauer.

Gooooooo Kings!

The Donte and Kenny Show

Last night, I went to a meet and greet event with two Kings players -- Donte Greene and Kenny Thomas. My parents gave me a six-game-pack of Kings tickets for Christmas, and it came with this meet and greet.

It was a cool experience! First, we got to make a tunnel for Donte and Kenny to walk through, and they gave us high-fives as they were coming through. Then we sat back down, and we got to ask them questions for about 30 minutes or so. I asked two questions. One was, "What is it like being on a show like 'The Donte Greene Show'"? I can't remember the second question I asked because I was so nervous!

I also interviewed Donte after the event, and here are his answers to my questions:

Q: What or who inspired you to be an NBA player?

A: My mom and Dominique Wilkins.

Q: What's your pre-game routine?

A: I like to get to the gym three hours early, listen to music and shoot the ball around.

Q: What is the best part of being an NBA player?

A: The traveling. I like seeing different places.

Q: What's on your playlist? (My mom asked this question, but I gave her the idea.)

A: Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy.

I really enjoyed learning more about both of these players. For example, I learned that Donte loves kids and thinks education is really important. In fact, he's still taking some college classes. Some things I learned about Kenny Thomas is that he has a nine-year-old boy just like me, as well as a baby. Kenny's favorite show is "The Unit," just like my mom and dad. He also said how important your education is, and I learned that he is helping kids in New Mexico who are less fortunate.

Those aren't the only great things that happened last night. My mom and dad got tickets to see the Kings game tonight where Chris Webber's jersey will be retired. With these tickets, we get to meet Chris Webber before the game!! I'm so excited that I'm twitching!

I can't wait to post tomorrow about tonight's game -- and it's going to be a win.

Goooooooo KKIINNGGSS!!!!!!!!!!!

Bring it!

I was watching the Kings game tonight, and I was not pleased with what was going on. For example, the Kings were not guarding Eddie House and he hit 8 three's, which was really disappointing. I mean, that's 24 points given away just in three's!

When they were playing the Cavs yesterday, they did a good job of shutting down LeBron James, but Mo Williams was the problem. He had 43 points! On the bright side, Kevin Martin did have 35 points in that game. I'm trying to say that when you're comparing the games, I think the Kings gave more effort against the Cavs than they did with the Celtics. I don't think it had anything to do with the fact that they've played a lot of games in a few nights. I think it was a mismatch with the Celtics.

I'm looking forward to Friday's game against the Bulls. I'll be there cheering on the Kings. It won't be easy with Derek Rose, so the Kings need to bring it!

I'm pretty tired, and I still have to work on my useless book report. It's useless because there is no reason I should be forced to read nonfiction that's not a biography. I had planned to read a biography on Michael Jordan until I heard we couldn't read biographies for this book report. So now I'm stuck reading about ships.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO KINGS!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks, Sam!

I was reading all of the comments on my last post, and someone sent my mom a link to Sam Amick's blog post and to the Rise Guys show that Sam was on. Sam said he disagreed with what I wrote in my last post, but he really liked my spirit. I think that's really thoughtful and cool of him. I still stick by what I said in my last post, but that doesn't mean I won't read Sam's articles every morning.

So, anyway, I watched today's early game v. the Raptors, and I thought the Kings played really good in the first half. But the problem was the second half because in the third quarter the Kings were outscored 31 to 21. By the end of the quarter, they were down by 14. I still had faith that they could win. But then when the Kings started playing in the 4th, Toronto kept getting on good runs, and we could only score like on every three possessions. I was really happy that even when the game was over with only a minute left, the Kings still played like they had a lot more time. To me, that took real focus and hope. I felt heartbroken when they lost. I felt like they did such a good job in the first two quarters, but down the stretch they lost by sixteen. The highlight of the game for me was Cisco getting a technical. I know that sounds weird, but I really felt like he wanted to scare the Rapters to get something going. And I thought it kind of worked for a little bit, but Chris Bosh gave 31 points, which really hurt us.

In my basketball game yesterday, we won 46-34. I scored a season high of 14 points, and I know it sounds low, but it was really hard to get those points because we were playing a great team. We're now 3-0. And now here are some highlights from the game: (1) At the buzzer of the 3rd quarter, I hit a hook shot, and that got my whole team on their feet. I was taking high fives and celebrating. I was like, "Yeah!" I think I jumped four feet in the air I was so happy. And then I hit another one off the backboard in the last quarter. (2) My friend Troy hit a 3-pointer and swished it. (3) My other friend Chase hit a driving lay-up with two seconds left on the clock in the 2nd quarter. (4) And another one of my friends Logan got a lot of offensive rebounds which led to more points. The whole team had great passing. One of the problems in the first two games was that we didn't pass enough.

Gotta go get my sister in trouble. Until next time, gooooo Kings!

Sac Bee Doesn't Make the Grade

When I woke up this morning, I thought I had my blog all planned out. But when I picked up the Sunday paper, I had different thoughts completely! In today's sports section, Sam Amick graded all of the Kings players. He graded the players' efforts, and his grades are totally bad and unfair.

For example, he gave Kevin Martin a C+, even though he's been averaging over 20 points for the last nine games. Another example, Francisco Garcia's grade was a C-, even though he's been saving us defensively and from my perspective he's the most aggressive player on the team. Plus, his scoring just gets better and better. Personally, I think Sam Amick's writing about the team gets an F because it's the most negative and just plain wrong. His perspective is more than off. His perspective is so bad I can't think of a bad enough word for it.

If I had been graded in the paper like the Kings have, I would feel terrible. If we want to see some more wins, the guys need to see more positive things. When I get off the court and my coach comes over to me, he tells me how I played great and also tells me how I can play better. If he said to me, "You played terrible, I could see better playing from a donkey, your grade is an F," I would want to just quit.

Enough negative stuff. This past week, I saw the Kings that I've dreamed of seeing for the last 41 games. They won two of four this week which is better than they've done in a long time. I was at the Mavs game, and they creamed them. The beat Golden State in triple overtime!!! They almost came back during the Bucks game. What can make a fan happier than that?

I gotta go get ready to watch some NFL football games today, like the Steelers (I got a lot of comments about that in my last post), and then the Eagles v. the Cardinals. I'm rooting for the Steelers and the Eagles.

One last note to my Kings: Don't let this Sac Bee article get you down. He's just one person. Think about all of the fans that love you guys.

Gooooooooo KINGS!!!!!!!

Finally...Third Grade Basketball!

Yesterday was the season opener for my school basketball team, and we won by a lot. The final score was 46 to 16. I started as a point guard, and in the first quarter I managed 4 steals, 3 assists and 2 points. By the end of the game, I had 8 points, 7 steals and 5 assists. It was fun, until I cramped up at the end of the game and couldn't play the last five minutes.

My teammates played fantastic! They hit a lot of outside shots and good lay-ups, and we had at least 30 rebounds. Chase had a lot of fast-break points, a few assists and he did some great passing. Troy played really well, too; he had 5 assists and passed really well. Logan had a great rebounding game, with at least 5 offensive rebounds and probably 10 defensive rebounds. Jack F. did an amazing job with assists, and hit two key shots at both the beginning and end of the game. Lenny hit a lot of far shots and had 3 steals and a pair of assists. We are now 1-0, with another 11 games to go.

Tonight, I can't wait to get to ARCO to see the Kings take on the Dallas Mavs. If you're headed to ARCO, check out my mom's blog (www.sacfoodies.com) for some good eats at Kings games.

Now, I'm headed downstairs to watch what's probably the best football game that TV has to offer today: the New York Giants v. the Philadelphia Eagles. Just in case you're wondering, I'm rooting for the Eagles.

Until next time, goooooo Kings!

How the Kings Are Improving

When I watched last night's game against the Pacers, I knew from the beginning of the first quarter that the Kings were going to have some great stats by the end of the game. Kevin Martin had 20 points in the first half of play, and in the second half he had 25 points -- 45 points by the end of the game, almost breaking his career high of 48 points. He tied his career high of most 3-pointers scored in a single game (7). Plus, I was impressed that the Kings scored 117 points, playing away from home -- 69 of those points were bench points.

That's why I was disappointed when I picked up the Sac Bee today and saw all the negative coverage again. I mean, I know they're losing a lot right now, but I'd like to see coverage of some of the positive stuff the Kings are doing right now. Like, how Kevin Martin scored 20 points in the first half alone. Like how the Kings held the Pacers to scoring only 39 bench points. Like, how Bobby Jackson scored some sensational three-point swishers.

If I were the Sac Bee reporter, I'd focus on the improving stats. I'm sure Kings fans -- not to mention the team -- would appreciate that.

Well, I'm headed downstairs to make it look like my sister , not me, made the big mess in the TV room! Looking forward to the game tomorrow against the Nets (even though I have to Tivo it because I won't be home yet from school).

Gooooo Kings!