The NBA's struggle
www.sactownroyalty.com

With David Stern's recent announcement that the Maloofs had reached out for help to keep the Kings in Sacramento, it signaled a realization by the league that the city is a real boon for the NBA, that the Kings' fan base is one best preserved.…

In one of the more prescient pieces on Stern's intervention I read, by Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, it was clear that Sacramento was a beacon of hope for cities not named New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. The Kings have proven that a team can both survive and thrive in a city that doesn't yet sport a 7-figure population.…

David Stern and the NBA want to squash any talk of the Kings leaving Sacramento right now. … The league has expanded to 30 teams, and as baseball has been so roundly criticized for in years past, you've seen a dilution of talent across the board, somewhat masked over by the influx of foreign players.

Those who have been anchored to the NBA as their major league of choice should take a look over the sports page and see what has happened in Major League Baseball to gain an idea of how complete mismanagement of mid-market franchises can drive a wedge between rich and poor. …

As Sacramento Kings fans, we are very lucky to have the league, and the Maloofs, understand what a disaster it would be for the team to leave the city. … The NBA needs Sacramento. Don't you think Sacramento needs the NBA?

Repent CA mystery tagger
thebramble.blogspot.com

About seven in the evening tonight, I saw a man standing on the corner of Howe and Arden, holding a sign with the slogan "Repent CA" on it, so I stopped to talked to him. … He waved his sign at the passing cars, and every once in a while someone would honk at him. I told him that I'd seen the slogan written on walls, posts and traffic signs all over Sacramento and that I had blogged about it. He gave me a look that suggested that blog, blogging and blogger were not a part of his vocabulary. I asked him if he was the person responsible for the graffiti, and he acknowledged that he was. He told me that, at the behest of God, he had started leaving it around town last January. …

I asked him to name a few things he thought California needed to repent for. … He explained that "sin was sin," and one could not really judge one sin greater than another. However, California had gone too far," and the day of divine retribution was at hand. In sum, he was a standard-issue religious zealot. However, I didn't find him intolerable to be around. …

Poverty
micahslog2.blogspot.com

I just returned from a visit to Denver with my wife. I went for a sustainable building conference called "Greenbuild." … I was able to listen to Jeffrey Sachs discuss extreme poverty in the world and its ties to sustainability. …

Anyway I think I have started a paradigm shift in my thinking about poverty and the Lord brought me someone to help tonight. Right after dinner there was a knock at the door. … There was a man there with a pleasant but pleading look on his face. He described to me how his youngest child was without formula and the cheapest stuff was $8.99 and he just didn't have the money. … I told him I would be right back knowing that I didn't have any money to give him. I just went inside and stood there for a minute thinking about what he needed. … Then I started to question whether he was even authentic, was he just another homeless guy looking for a handout? … My wife then said we should give him the rest of our dinner in a container for him to take to his family. I bagged up about $12 in change and brought the food back out to him. … I gave him my card and told him to call me because I thought I might be able to help him find work. …

I am very touched right now with how much effect we can have on one another when we look outside ourselves for a moment.

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