Wednesday Footnotes

by Tom Ziller on Nov 7, 2007 9:44 AM PST in Links

Read section214's recap if you haven't. Hilarious insights from inside ARCO. I, for one, can't wait to see Huge Mike for myself.
Knickerblogger has the advanced statistics page for this season up. It's like a Holy day when that thing makes it first appearance. You'll notice Kevin Martin is #11 in the league in PER, Francisco Garcia is protecting the ball much better than John Salmons or Quincy Douby, the Kings have the #17 offense and the #28 defense (egads!), despite forcing more turnovers per possessions than anyone. Banana bread ain't got nothing on Knickerblogger's stats page.
Fellow former international relations students should enjoy the Matthew Yglesias guest post on Free Darko. !!!
The Basketball Jones turns 200. Every ~~basketball fan~~ human should be listening to that show; gold (or otherwise valuable metal; my Wall Street Journal got ganked by an old homeless lady so I'm not up on my commodities today) every time out.
This looks somewhat familiar. As in nearly every offensive possession of the Kings' young season not controlled by Brad Miller or Kevin Martin.
The Kings are the sixth most expensive ticket, on average. I haven't played more than $10 a seat since 2003. Only the Boston game on Dec. 26 saw the cheap seats sell out in the individual game presale this year (as far as I know). Ah, the benefits of suckitude. (And via Larry Brown Sports by way of BallHype.)
Speaking of BallHype... I gather there are many MMA fans in Sacramento, judging by the existence of The Carmichael Dave Show. BallHype now has a Combat Sports section.

Tweet Comment 26 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Re: Wednesday Footnotes

Are we expecting a Hawes sighting on Friday?

by Kusian on Nov 7, 2007 10:34 AM PST reply actions

Re: Wednesday Footnotes

I believe that he practiced today and will be re-evaluated tomorrow. I was hoping that he might be activated for one of the two games this Friday/Saturday.

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on Nov 7, 2007 4:58 PM PST up reply actions

I am shocked at the home sellout streak ending. I can understand later on in the season if we continue to suck but come on! Sellout for like ten years in a row (where we sucked just as bad) and then miss it by 2000 on the home opener?!? Is this Kings fans losing interest or is it too high of ticket prices? If it is just a ticket price thing the Maloofs fucked it up big time. I, like TZ, do not pay more than $10 for a ticket. If I'm feelin' spicy I might go for the $20 sack, but usually just a dime for me.

by Mityt on Nov 7, 2007 11:16 AM PST reply actions

Re: Wednesday Footnotes

They lost a TON of season ticket holders at the end of last year. The "streak" continued through last year because season ticket holders hadn't bailed in large numbers. Last year's fiasco gave folks the excuse they needed to drop season tickets that are vastly over-priced considering the venue and the product. I can tell you that by the end of the last year, I couldn't give my tickets away let alone sell them.

The days of supporting a bad team with sell-out crowds are long gone.

by Kusian on Nov 7, 2007 11:41 AM PST up reply actions

Re: Wednesday Footnotes

I think the Maloof's pushed hard to sign Mikki Moore to show they're trying to put a winning product on the floor still. I don't think the fans are convinced but that's just a guess.

I am the stone that the builder refused I am the visual, the inspiration That made Lady Sing the Blues..I'm the spark that makes your idea bright...

by pookeyguru on Nov 7, 2007 12:05 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Wednesday Footnotes

Explain how Mikki Moore is an effort for a winning product? I think they should have let Moore play for Jersey, and lowered the collective ticket prices to the tune of... I don't know $5 Million.

Lets do the math...

$5,356,000(Moores salary) / 41 Home games = $130,634 per home game.

$130,634 / 17317 seats = $7.50 discount per seat per game!

Which would you rather have:
a) Mikki Moore on your team.
Or
b) $2.50 nosebleed seats.

I'll take the $2.50 seats.

Which of these options do you think shows more love to the home town crowd?

by tokyo on Nov 7, 2007 9:45 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Wednesday Footnotes

I'll repeat twice that I hope you're kidding and I'm too dense to get it. Otherwise I suggest drinking a vat of bleach.

I am the stone that the builder refused I am the visual, the inspiration That made Lady Sing the Blues..I'm the spark that makes your idea bright...

by pookeyguru on Nov 7, 2007 11:15 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Wednesday Footnotes

I'm not really a fan of Carmichael Dave but...he had a very funny take on this also. He thinks the Kings should have just kept the 5 million and then dropped $130,000 from the celling every home game in hopes of selling the place out. Dave's other idea was to have 13 ten thousand dollar winners per game. I prefer this because I don't want to see Pacman Jones at a Kings game.

We are slipping into the NBA abyss.

by jjham15 @ Sactown Royalty on Nov 8, 2007 10:39 AM PST up reply actions

Re: Wednesday Footnotes

Not a terrible idea at all actually. Even more surprising Dave came up with it.

I am the stone that the builder refused I am the visual, the inspiration That made Lady Sing the Blues..I'm the spark that makes your idea bright...

by pookeyguru on Nov 8, 2007 12:12 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Wednesday Footnotes

"He thinks the Kings should have just kept the 5 million and then dropped $130,000 from the celling every home game in hopes of selling the place out."

Bad idea. I've seen grown men at Arco almost kill themselves trying to catch a cheap rolled up t-shirt! Can you imagine the carnage that ensue from money falling from the rafters?

by KingsFan on Nov 8, 2007 12:24 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Wednesday Footnotes

Besides all the money would magically drop to the front row anyway.

I am the stone that the builder refused I am the visual, the inspiration That made Lady Sing the Blues..I'm the spark that makes your idea bright...

by pookeyguru on Nov 8, 2007 12:50 PM PST up reply actions

Confused.

So you like Moore and that means that I should be the one to drink a vat of bleach? or am I too dense to get it?

re: Mo Taylor - Did you read the title to the post before your comment? Yeah I didn't think so.

by tokyo on Nov 8, 2007 6:56 PM PST up reply actions

I'm confused too

Did I say I ever liked Mikki Moore? (The answer is a resounding no.)

I said I hoped you were joking. It's quite possible you were and weren't. I'm still not sure.

How does Wednesday's footnotes translate to Mo Taylor?

I am the stone that the builder refused I am the visual, the inspiration That made Lady Sing the Blues..I'm the spark that makes your idea bright...

by pookeyguru on Nov 8, 2007 7:05 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Wednesday Footnotes

I wasn't all too surprised. There were several games last year were the arena was only two-thirds full. The sellout streak was definitely in name only going back to the 2005 season. Somehow large groups of tickets were being magically bought up before tipoff for just about all games. I think the team management was just tired of getting flake from the Bee, web, and radio over the last few years for the fake sellout streak and just decided to let it die. A squeaky new floor and a Mikki Moore signing are definitely not going to offset high ticket prices, the mortgage/enconomy crash, a bad team, and fan base apathy from a long run of winning.

Damn you Robert Horry!!!

by chupacabra on Nov 7, 2007 1:56 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Wednesday Footnotes

I think it's mainly the bad team right now and the high ticket prices but one thing I remember from back in the early to late 90's when the team sucked, was there was no Comcast Sports Net or NBA League Pass. Back then maybe 1/3 to a half of the games were on TV. Many of the home games were blacked out. So most fans had to go to the game if they wanted to see them. Not anymore. You can watch every game on a big screen, HD TV.

He can shoot, and he looks great in a suit. Hey, everybody - It's REGGIE TIME!

by dalt99 on Nov 7, 2007 2:38 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Wednesday Footnotes

It's high ticket prices, high parking prices, high beer and hotdog prices, pain in the ass trying to get out of the parking lot after the game. Couple all that with a souring economy and people just stay home.

by KingsFan on Nov 7, 2007 4:16 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Wednesday Footnotes

High prices for a bad product generally equals lower sales. At some point, supply outpaces demand. I'm much less persuaded by the supposed macro-economic link. The economy grew at greater than 4% percent last quarter.

by Kusian on Nov 7, 2007 4:36 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Wednesday Footnotes

good point about the tv saturation dalt

Damn you Robert Horry!!!

by chupacabra on Nov 7, 2007 3:04 PM PST reply actions

Re: Wednesday Footnotes

Thanks.

It probably would actually help ticket sales for the Kings if volume knobs were not allowed to be turned off or down. (That's for the Grant Napear haters)

He can shoot, and he looks great in a suit. Hey, everybody - It's REGGIE TIME!

by dalt99 on Nov 7, 2007 3:26 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Wednesday Footnotes

The TV deal has had an effect but I think that there is two other components to really look at.

The Kings are putting a very bad product on the floor. In the past, before the Adelman era, the Kings were very sub-par so this argument only holds weight when you consider reason #2.
The Kings have brought in players of questionable moral fiber. Yes, the Kings were known for converting bad boys like Vernon Maxwell and Chris Webber into team guys but unfortunately that has not been the case recently. Artest and his myriad of legal issues mixed with the Justin Williams situation (yet to be determined), the Musselman DUI, and the drug suspension of Maurice Taylor have all added another element to the lack of fan support. I do believe that corporate Sacramento is leery to invest money in a product that lacks moral fortitude. The common fan has been out priced for seats and after last seasons debacle, long time season ticket holders who used to be able to sell their tickets at a moments noticed ended up eating hundreds of dollars worth of unused tickets.

This is the identical path that the Portland Trailblazers found themselves on a few years back. The only way to rectify this situation is to start fresh with wholesome young guys like Kevin Martin. The Kings PR team needs to hit the streets and put these players in front of the public at Carls Jr, Arden mall, etc. and let the community reconnect with the players. Artest has to go, even if it for expiring contracts. His baggage is too much for this conservative fan base. Talent will come back to the Kings in a couple of years but in the mean time, the Maloofs need to forget winning and focus on re-establishing a sense of community.

We are slipping into the NBA abyss.

by jjham15 @ Sactown Royalty on Nov 7, 2007 4:15 PM PST reply actions

Rhetorical Question.

Um....

Who the hell is Maurice Taylor?

by tokyo on Nov 7, 2007 9:48 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Rhetorical Question.

Okay you question me on what the Maloof's thought, yet you don't know who Maurice Taylor is? I hope you are kidding and I'm too dense to get it.

I am the stone that the builder refused I am the visual, the inspiration That made Lady Sing the Blues..I'm the spark that makes your idea bright...

by pookeyguru on Nov 7, 2007 11:13 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Rhetorical Question.

It's good to know that Pookey has my back.

We are slipping into the NBA abyss.

by jjham15 @ Sactown Royalty on Nov 8, 2007 10:40 AM PST up reply actions

Re: Rhetorical Question.

Tokyo: I admire your ability to efface all memories of Petrie's personnel mistakes. It must make being a King's fan all the more rosy an experience.

by NYCFan @ Sactown Royalty on Nov 9, 2007 1:37 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Rhetorical Question.

Are you implying we must all have Doug Christie's game 4 performance being the only thing that lingers in our collective conscience?

I am the stone that the builder refused I am the visual, the inspiration That made Lady Sing the Blues..I'm the spark that makes your idea bright...

by pookeyguru on Nov 9, 2007 1:43 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Wednesday Footnotes

I honestly think that if the team were still successful, the fans would still come out and support. If Ron Artest comes back and averages 18 PPG, 9 RPG, 7 APG, and 3 SPG, and the Kings start winning, people will easily forget about the character issues. But when you suck and you got legal problems, what is there to like? This team is definitely trying hard, and you have to appreciate that. If a team is more talented and more athletic, the only thing you can basically do to compete is try harder. I think it's just that the bandwagon fans have went away...for now! Go Kings!

by kingsfaninjapan on Nov 7, 2007 4:37 PM PST reply actions