The Sac Rag

Kings players to blame for Kings failures?

I know it’s a bit out of left field, but is it possible that the Kings poor play of late is to blame for their recent spate of playing poorly? And not friction with the coach?

I’m being facetious of course. I get that a coaching change is partly aimed at getting someone who can click with the players and lead them to better play. The team is 1-2 since the coaching change and I can’t see them going better than 2-5 in their first 7 games under Smart. But the rush to boot a coach in midseason (which seems to happen much more in the NBA than in other major sports, though I don’t know anything about hockey) seems premature when everyone looking at this roster knows that it has some major holes. And those holes are management’s fault. Continue reading “Kings players to blame for Kings failures?”

KXJZ Getting Out of the Jazz Business

I opened a letter today from KXJZ, 90.9, Capital Public Radio that is, letting me know that the last vestiges of jazz being played on 90.9 will be disappearing from the station as of January 17. Ok, disappearing might be too strong a word. Jazz programming is moving to 88.9 KXPR, and will be heard from 7-11, Sun-Fri.

Color me pissed. I’ve contributed to KXJZ for years, and never once been asked for feedback on programming. Not once have I been asked for my tastes or preferences or likes or dislikes. Instead, over the last two decades, KXJZ has gone from a 24-hour jazz station (and a damned good one) to a watered down jazz station (so much so that in 1999 it was featured in Downbeat (the only real jazz magazine left) as following the tide of stations more interested in “playing it safe” than playing jazz) to a jazz and news station, to most recently a news and “jazz” station (the “jazz” in question being a mashup of Brazilian bubblegum and adult contemporary detritus salted with a pinch of straight-ahead jazz for the apparently dying breed that actually like instrumental, improvised music), to, now, a 24 news station. Continue reading “KXJZ Getting Out of the Jazz Business”

Dine Downtown Week and the Newest Noshy Neighborhood

ourchefs_ridgeway — New Grange chef Oliver Ridgeway

Dine Downtown Restaurant Week begins today and runs through next Wednesday, the 18th (I guess it’s a metric week). It’s an opportunity for the majority of downtown restaurants to come up with a (typically basic and uninspired) three course menu available for $30. I get why DDRW is a thing. It’s a take off on similar events in Chicago and NYC and a few other cities. It’s an opportunity to shine a spotlight on downtown restaurants and a reason for people to try a place they might have not otherwise tried. The sad part, I guess, is that coming up with a (relatively) affordable 3-course meal in bulk tends to sap a bit of the energy out of the typical creativity with which most of the chefs involved imbue their food.

Nevertheless, if I was going to sample the restaurant week fare, I’d probably head over to The Porch, the new Southern cookin’ enterprise on K Street (did someone say bacon bourbon?), and probably Restaurant THIR13EN, the ridiculously named enterprise (was probably easy though to get the domain name) from Tuli owner Adam Pechal on 13th and H.

What I’m actually excited about, however, is the emergence of Caesar Chavez park and environs as the new destination for eats. Places are popping up with regularity within a block of the park. Whether they’re laying down new roots, or taking over for old guard places that had lost their edge, these places will make CC park the place to be in 2012. Why? Continue reading “Dine Downtown Week and the Newest Noshy Neighborhood”

Perspective on the Kings coaching situation

As RonTopOfIt pointed out in a great comment, the Kings won a scrappy victory against Milkwaukee last night under interim head coach Keith Smart. But clearly fans’ and players’ relief after one victory is premature; shouldn’t the new coach get at least seven games before we decide that we made the right call?

On the flipside, it wasn’t just seven games, it was 2+ seasons of misery under Westphal. I’m just asking for a little perspective: clearly it’s not just the coach’s fault. After all, as Paul Wright (@HKronin) said after @JimCrandell wondered whether there would be a coaching change, the coach doesn’t tell his players to turn the ball over, not get back on defense, to ignore the extra pass. Like RTOI said, how much actual coaching should a group of grown men actually need? Maybe some of these players are just not fundamentally sound at this point in their careers. Continue reading “Perspective on the Kings coaching situation”

Dedeveloping K Street and the Railyards?

Sacramentoâ€™s quest to revive downtown K Street and develop its northerly neighboring railyards may be facing a setback suddenly, now that millions in redevelopment money is at risk. The Bee published a collage of reactions yesterday from developers and city officials commenting on last weekâ€™s Supreme Court ruling that eliminates redevelopment and, possibly, subsidies that were counted on to redevelop the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street, and provide infrastructure, utility hookups, and affordable housing to support the Railyard project.

Sandwiched between the State Capitol building and thousands of yearly hotel visitors, and linking, by what seems an awkward geographical accident, a destination Convention Center on 13th Street to the tumbleweed-strewn Westfield mall on 7th, K Street remains Sacramentoâ€™s breakout on prom night. I wish we could do something to at least fix the desolate 700 and 800 blocks. Continue reading “Dedeveloping K Street and the Railyards?”

Kings fans need to lighten up! UPDATE: Westphal fired

From Kings.com

UPDATED 1:22 PM While I was typing my original post, the Kings were busy firing Westphal. I will still never understand how fast some teams move when there are problems. I’d love to do a thorough examination of situations where sports organizations left pieces in place that weren’t very successful and allowed them to come to fruition vs. markets that throw tantrums when things don’t go their way for a single calendar week. Anyway, my original post follows.

So yeah, at this point the Kings are 2-5 and at the bottom of the Western Division. There are reports of DeMarcus Cousins impetulantly asking to be traded, a rumor that both Cousins and the Kings appear to deny, though that hasn’t kept it from becoming a thing that other teams are talking about. The consensus appears to be that Westphal is to blame for the recent woes, and should be run out of town on a rail.

I’d like to see the Kings win too. I guess it’s the nature of sports to demand heads roll one week into a season that starts poorly, but it seems a bit premature to me. Continue reading “Kings fans need to lighten up! UPDATE: Westphal fired”

Sac Press contest awards local writers

photo credit: jimmiehomeschoolmom

The Sacramento Press recently announced its third annual Journalism Open, a unique contest for local amateur journalists:

Holding true to its strong belief in community engagement, The Sacramento Press accepts writers of all skill levels to enter the Journalism Open. This pro-am approach allows the community to report on a wide range of issues that are most important to and affect local neighborhoods. Stories can range from insight on an upcoming City Council election to a favorite landmark in the Sacramento region. The Journalism Open encourages participants to report on stories that they are passionate about â€“ reiterating that no story is too small.

2011 grand prize winner Isaac Gonzalez parlayed his success into the launch of ranSACkedmedia.com. Continue reading “Sac Press contest awards local writers”

Didn’t need no welfare state

Opening to All in the Family — Everybody pulled their weight.

The Associated Press released this article yesterday about California making deep cuts to its welfare programs and I couldn’t help but notice how each new agency picked it up and spun it a bit differently. News10.net, for example, only gave it four paragraphs and with little statistical information or specifics. The Contra Costa County Times, on the the other hand, provided over 30 paragraphs with many statistics and specifics about the cuts.

At any rate, here are some numbers that caught my eye…

The state has one-eighth of the nation’s population but one-third of all welfare recipients. California is one of the few states that send welfare checks for children when their parents are no longer eligible. About three-quarters of California’s 1.5 million welfare recipients are children 18 and younger.

Gulp.

California will spend $6 billion… Continue reading “Didn’t need no welfare state”

Bowling in the New Year

Here’s a guide to family-friendly New Year’s Eve events in Sacramento from CBS Sacramento.

If youâ€™re looking for an active way to ring in the New Year, look no further than Country Club Lanes, where you and your family can bowl the night away, as well as play laser tag, enjoy the arcade and billiards, and grab something to eat or drink in the cafÃ©. New Yearâ€™s Eve prices are $36 per hour per lane from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and $42 per hour per lane from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Prices are per hour, per lane and pro rated to the minute, and thereâ€™s a maximum of eight people per lane. Shoe rentals are $1 per pair.

Man, $36 per hour and then $42 to bowl? Have I been out of the game for that long? At least shoe rentals are still reasonable.

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