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2B Daily News – Wednesday, April 17, 2013 SACRAMENTO KINGS Sacramento, Seattle? Fate to be decided soon By ANTONIO GONZALEZ and TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writers Here we go again. For the second time in three years, the Sacramento Kings will host their regularseason finale with the franchise's future uncertain. Hours before the Kings tipoff against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night, NBA owners will gather in a New York boardroom to begin deliberating where the team will be located next season. Sacramento or Seattle? Nobody quite knows for sure. ''Pretty much every year since I've been here, the past five years, the last game of the season has been at home and it's been the same feeling — that uncertainty,'' Kings forward Jason Thompson said. ''It's just a little bit more into the media this year and things have been really going back and forth and stuff like that, so it's a little bit more emotion.'' The Maloof family reached an agreement in January to sell a 65 percent controlling interest of the Kings to a Seattle group led by hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen at a total franchise valuation of $525 million, an NBA record. With pressure mounting from Sacramento's counteroffer to keep the team, Hansen announced last week he would ''voluntarily'' raise the purchase price to $550 million ''as a sign of our commitment to bring basketball back to our city.'' The NBA's joint committee assigned to give a recommendation on the issue will convene again Wednesday. The annual meeting of the league's Board of Governors, consisting of all 30 owners, is Thursday and Friday. NBA Commissioner David Stern said during a preliminary meeting on April 3 in New York that it's possible a decision might not be made during the board's meeting. Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn added to that Tuesday, saying Stern told him earlier this week owners will indeed likely need more time. Whenever a vote is taken, Seattle needs 23 of 30 owners to approve the sale of the team to the Hansen group. If the sale is approved, a second vote will be largely cer- WINS (Continued from page 1B) allowing five baserunners off three hits and two errors. The Cougars capitalized by scoring two. Foothill's woes in the first game turned into timely hitting and strong pitching in the second. The Cougars started the third inning with four consecutive hits and runs batted in by Hannah Jimenez and Sarah Seely to give Foothill a 4-0 lead. The Spartans got one back in the bottom of the third, when pitcher Hailee Nicholls (4 for 4) hit a 1out blooper to center that advanced Jones to scoring position. And in the Spartans' next at bat, Alyssa Hethcoat smacked a single to center to bring Jones across the plate to trail the Cougars 4-1. Foothill's hot hitting continued in the fifth, when pitcher Lindsay Davis smashed a double to right field that bounced off the the top of the wall and back into play. Seely knocked a single to center to advance Davis to third and Jimenez brought her in with a grounder to short. With a 5-1 lead going to the bottom of the fifth, it was the Cougars' game to lose. After Davis started the inning off with a strike out, Nicholls hit a double to center and advanced to third when Hethcoat reached first on a dropped third strike. Bailey Akins then hit a grounder to short that scored Nicholls and Emily Larzabal followed with a 2-out shot that bounced off the third baseman's foot and dribbled into left field, scoring Hethcoat in the process. Now down 5-3, Tayler Zazueta would continue the Spartans' 2-out rally with a single to right and Brittany Clatty would hit an RBI-single to right, scoring Larzabal. On the same play, the Cougars' first baseman threw the ball away toward Red Bluff's bench emonial to decide whether the Kings can move to Seattle. A simple majority — 16 votes — is all that's needed to approve relocation. Led by Mayor Kevin Johnson, Sacramento has fought back over the past three months to make the sale and relocation of the Kings a real debate. Johnson pushed a non-binding financing plan for a $447 million downtown arena through the City Council — complete with a $258 million public subsidy — and lined up an ownership group to compete with the Seattle contingent. The potential Sacramento ownership group is headlined by TIBCO software chairman Vivek Ranadive, also a minority owner of the Golden State Warriors, and 24 Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov. Others who have joined the bid include former Facebook senior executive Chris Kelly and the Jacobs family that owns communications giant Qualcomm. Johnson has touted Sacramento's strong fan support, the exclusivity the NBA has in the city — about 90 miles away from the Bay Area's saturated sports market — and the fact Sacramento has delivered everything the league has asked. Ranadive's reach to his native India, a market where the NBA is trying to increase visibility, could also be a factor. ''Our fingers are crossed,'' Ranadive said at a Tuesday afternoon news conference in Sacramento with the mayor and other investors. They took turns thanking fans and drumming up support at the downtown site of the proposed arena. While the stakes often seem stacked against Sacramento, Johnson has faced long odds before. Most thought the Kings were on their way out two years ago, when the Maloofs prepared to move them to Anaheim, Calif. Everybody from fans to arena workers to the team's broadcasters shed tears on the court after the Kings lost 116-108 in overtime to the Los Angeles Lakers on April 13, 2011, thinking it would be Sacramento's farewell. Instead, Johnson went to New York a day later to lobby owners to give his city more time — and succeeded. Then last April, the Maloofs backed out of a plan approved by the Sacramento City Council — and negoti- and Zazueta capitalized on the error and scored the tying run from third. A Foothill hit by Kodi Stamps and and Spartan error in the top of the sixth would allow the Cougars to threaten with runners on first and second with 1 out, and when Emily Harvey smacked a double to center the Cougars looked poised to regain the lead. As Stamps rounded the bases toward home, the Spartans' Haley Harris cut off a throw from Jones in the outfield and whipped the ball to home, where Hethcoat, playing catcher, met Stamps with a tag. Red Bluff would escape the inning unblemished on the scoreboard and Hethcoat batted Jones in in the bottom of the sixth to give Nicholls a 65 lead in the top of the seventh that she wouldn't give up. "This makes four games in a row that we've lost by one run at the end of a game," Foothill coach Zane Henry said, adding, "We're not a good enough hitting team to go out and make so many mistakes like we're making." The Spartans are still without Bryce Etzler, who has missed Red Bluff's last five games with a knee injury. "We're a better team with Bryce playing than not playing, but once again we keep talking, our focus has gotta be on who's here rather than who's not here." Howell said. "And everybody stepped it up. I thought all 11 of our players played extremely well today. We got contributions from each and every one of them. That's really what it takes to be successful like we are right now." Red Bluff next will compete in the Shasta Tournament Friday and Saturday and will complete its three-game series against Foothill on the road at 4 p.m. Tuesday. ——— Sports Editor Andre Byik can be reached at 5272151, ext. 111 or at sports@redbluffdailynews.c om. Follow him on Twitter: @TehamaSports ated by Stern — for a new arena in downtown Sacramento. Stern has said expansion, as of now, is not an option. ''This ownership transition will remain fluid until the final documents are signed — and even then litigation may follow,'' said David Carter, executive director of the Sports Business Institute at the University of Southern California. ''In the interim, the NBA will be working with team owners to determine their preference, which may boil down to considering whether to accept a higher bid or protect a franchise in an existing market.'' For Seattle, this week could be the conclusion of a two-years-plus effort by Hansen to bring the NBA back and it would come nearly five years to the day after the relocation of the SuperSonics to Oklahoma City was approved by the Board of Governors. Hansen started talks with Seattle city officials in 2011. Hansen and the city of Seattle and King County reached agreement last fall for funding on a new $490 million arena. He also plans upgrades at KeyArena, where the team would play for two or three years until a new home is constructed. Other investors include Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer and two members of the Nordstrom department store family. Construction on the building could start as early as late 2013 — but only if a team is secured. The purchase offer based on a $550 million franchise valuation — which implies selling the 65 percent stake for about $357 million — would be $100 million more than Joe Lacob and Peter Guber paid for the Warriors in 2010. Hansen has banked on fan support, noting the ticket waitlist campaign that saw more than 44,000 season tickets requested. And he has touted Seattle's thriving economy and the market's reach around the Pacific rim. Slowly they've helped heal wounds left when the original Sonics were moved to Oklahoma City. But what happens if the sale is blocked and the Kings remain in Sacramento? Hansen has preached patience from the start. The memorandum of understanding with the city and county lasts for five years. And in an interview with The Associated Press last June, he worried about fans getting overly excited too soon. ''I'm sure there could be some disillusionment if this takes a long time,'' Hansen said. ''That's one of the things that worries me. We live in a society and a culture where everybody wants what they want right now and in this particular case there are a lot of aspects that are out of our control. I don't control when a franchise is available for relocation. All I can do is be ready and be opportunistic when that time comes.'' If anything is certain, it's that Sacramento will not be the last leveraged NBA city. Five teams have changed cities since Stern took over as commissioner in 1984 — six if you count the Nets' move from New Jersey to Brooklyn this season. The Kings have been a particularly welltraveled franchise, too. The team began its first NBA season as the Rochester Royals in 1949, moved to Cincinnati in 1957, was rebranded the Kansas City-Omaha Kings in 1972, then just the Kansas City Kings in 1975 before making the move to Sacramento. If this really is the end for the Kings, they coincidentally lost 108-104 to the Clippers — Wednesday night's opponent — in the first regular-season game in Sacramento on Oct. 25, 1985. But nobody in California's capital city wants to believe this game will be Sacramento's last. While the Lakers loss two years ago felt like a funeral, this season's finale is expected to be more of a pep rally. The possibility still remains: it could once again be goodbye for Sacramento. ''I know there's probably going to be a lot of fans there. It's going to be loud. It's going to be a fun environment,'' said Kings guard Isaiah Thomas, a Tacoma native and former star at the University of Washington who has been torn between Sacramento and Seattle all season. ''It stinks because you just don't know if that will be the last game ever in Sacramento. You just don't know.'' MLB NFL AMERICAN LEAGUE Montana's son to participate in Niners' pro day today SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A person with knowledge of the workout says the son of Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana is set to participate in the San Francisco 49ers' local pro day Wednesday. Nate Montana will take part in the afternoon session for draft-eligible players at team headquarters, the person said Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the list of players hadn't been announced. The 23-year-old Montana played college football for four different schools — Pasadena City College, Notre Dame, Montana and Division II West Virginia Earthquakes' forward Gordon out 3 games SAN JOSE (AP) — San Jose Earthquakes forward Alan Gordon has been suspended for three games and fined an undisclosed amount for what Major League Soccer called ''unacceptable and offensive language'' toward an opponent after using an anti-gay slur. In announcing the penalty Tuesday, MLS Commissioner Don Garber also ordered Gordon to attend diversity and sensitivity training on top of what all teams undergo to start the season. Gordon was ejected in the second half Sunday after receiving a pair of yellow cards for fouls. But minutes before his ejection, he was seen on the television broadcast using a slur toward Portland's Will Johnson. Wesleyan, where he concluded his career. At West Virginia Wesleyan, Montana started nine games last season and completed 225 of 436 passes for 2,480 yards and 19 touchdowns with seven interceptions and 12 sacks. Many draft experts don't expect the 6-foot4, 215-pound Montana to be selected. NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific W L Pct GB y-L.A. Clippers 54 26 .675 — x-Golden State 46 35 .568 8.5 L.A. Lakers 44 37 .543 10.5 WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific GP W x-Anaheim 42 27 Los Angeles42 24 San Jose 42 22 Dallas 42 21 Phoenix 42 18 Northwest GP W Vancouver 43 24 Minnesota 43 24 Edmonton 42 16 Calgary 42 16 Colorado 43 14 Central GP W y-Chicago 42 33 St. Louis 42 24 Detroit 42 20 Columbus 43 20 Nashville 44 15 L OT Pts GF GA 10 5 59 125 105 14 4 52 120 104 13 7 51 106 102 18 3 45 118 126 17 7 43 110 114 L OT Pts GF GA 12 7 55 118 104 16 3 51 114 109 19 7 39 106 120 22 4 36 113 145 22 7 35 103 135 Boston New York Baltimore Toronto Tampa Bay Central Detroit Kansas City Minnesota Chicago Cleveland West Oakland Texas Seattle Houston Los Angeles W 9 7 7 6 4 L 4 5 6 8 9 Pct .692 .583 .538 .429 .308 GB — 1.5 2 3.5 5 W 7 7 6 6 5 L 5 6 7 8 7 Pct .583 .538 .462 .429 .417 GB — .5 1.5 2 2 W 10 9 6 4 4 L 4 5 8 9 10 Pct .714 .643 .429 .308 .286 GB — 1 4 5.5 6 NATIONAL LEAGUE Sacramento 28 53 .346 26.5 East Phoenix 25 56 .309 29.5 Atlanta New York Washington Philadelphia Miami Central Southwest W L Pct GB y-San Antonio 58 23 .716 — x-Memphis 55 26 .679 3 x-Houston NHL East 45 36 .556 13 Dallas 40 41 .494 18 New Orleans 27 54 .333 31 Northwest W L Pct GB z-Thunder 60 21 .741 — x-Denver 56 25 .691 4 Utah 43 38 .531 17 Portland 33 47 .413 26.5 Minnesota 30 51 .370 30 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic W L Pct GB y-New York 53 28 .654 — x-Brooklyn 48 33 .593 5 L OT Pts GF GA 5 4 70 139 87 16 2 50 112 105 15 7 47 106 107 16 7 47 106 110 21 8 38 100 123 x-Boston 41 39 .513 11.5 Philadelphia 33 48 .407 20 Toronto 33 48 .407 20 EASTERN CONFERENCE y-Indiana 49 31 .613 — Atlantic x-Chicago 44 37 .543 5.5 GP W L OT Pts GF GA y-Pittsburgh 42 32 10 0 64 141 102 Islanders 43 22 16 5 49 124 124 Rangers 42 21 17 4 46 102 100 Philadelphia43 19 21 3 41 119 131 New Jersey 42 15 17 10 40 96 115 Northeast GP W L OT Pts GF GA x-Montreal 42 26 11 5 57 131 107 Boston 41 26 11 4 56 116 91 Toronto 43 24 14 5 53 131 118 Ottawa 42 22 14 6 50 104 91 Buffalo 43 18 19 6 42 111 128 Southeast GP W L OT Pts GF GA Washington 43 24 17 2 50 134 119 Winnipeg 43 22 19 2 46 113 126 Tampa Bay 43 17 22 4 38 136 135 Carolina 42 17 23 2 36 109 134 Florida 42 13 23 6 32 101 147 —————————————————— Tuesday's Results Winnipeg 4, Tampa Bay 3, SO St. Louis 2, Vancouver 1, SO N.Y. Islanders 5, Florida 2 Washington 5, Toronto 1 Ottawa 3, Carolina 2 Philadelphia 4, N.Y. Rangers 2 Minnesota 5, Edmonton 3 Los Angeles at San Jose, late Today's Games Montreal at Pittsburgh, 4 p.m. Buffalo at Boston, 4:30 p.m. Detroit at Calgary, 6:30 p.m. Columbus at Anaheim, 7 p.m. Thursday's Games N.Y. Islanders at Toronto, 4 p.m. Florida at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m. Tampa Bay at Montreal, 4:30 p.m. Washington at Ottawa, 4:30 p.m. New Jersey at Philadelphia, 4:30 p.m. Carolina at Winnipeg, 5 p.m. Phoenix at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Vancouver at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Columbus at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. Minnesota at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. x-Milwaukee 37 44 .457 12.5 Detroit 29 52 .358 20.5 Cleveland 24 57 .296 25.5 Central W L Pct GB Southeast W L z-Miami Pct GB 65 16 .802 — x-Atlanta 44 37 .543 21 Washington 29 52 .358 36 Charlotte 20 61 .247 45 Orlando 20 61 .247 45 x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division z-clinched conference —————————————————— Tuesday's Results Toronto 113, Atlanta 96 Indiana at Boston, Cancelled Portland at L.A. Clippers, late Today's Games Phoenix at Denver, 5 p.m. New Orleans at Dallas, 5 p.m. Washington at Chicago, 5 p.m. Utah at Memphis, 5 p.m. Minnesota at San Antonio, 5 p.m. Milwaukee at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m. Atlanta at New York, 5 p.m. Detroit at Brooklyn, 5 p.m. Cleveland at Charlotte, 5 p.m. Boston at Toronto, 5 p.m. Orlando at Miami, 5 p.m. Philadelphia at Indiana, 5 p.m. Houston at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m. Golden State at Portland, 7:30 p.m. L.A. Clippers at Sacramento, 7:30 p.m. St. Louis Cincinnati Pittsburgh Milwaukee Chicago West W 12 7 8 6 3 L 1 5 6 7 11 Pct .923 .583 .571 .462 .214 GB — 4.5 4.5 6 9.5 W 8 6 6 4 4 L 5 7 7 8 9 Pct .615 .462 .462 .333 .308 GB — 2 2 3.5 4 W L Pct GB Colorado 9 4 .692 — San Francisco 9 5 .643 .5 Arizona 8 5 .615 1 Los Angeles 7 6 .538 2 San Diego 3 10 .231 6 —————————————————— Tuesday's Results AL N.Y. Yankees 4, Arizona 2 Boston 7, Cleveland 2 Baltimore 5, Tampa Bay 4 Chicago White Sox 4, Toronto 3 Atlanta 6, Kansas City 3 Texas 4, Chicago Cubs 2 Minnesota 8, L.A. Angels 6 Houston at Oakland, late Detroit at Seattle, late NL Colorado 8, N.Y. Mets 4, 1st game N.Y. Yankees 4, Arizona 2 St. Louis at Pittsburgh, ppd., rain Atlanta 6, Kansas City 3 Miami 8, Washington 2 Cincinnati 0, Philadelphia 0, tie, 10 innings, susp., weather Texas 4, Chicago Cubs 2 Milwaukee 10, San Francisco 8 N.Y. Mets at Colorado, late San Diego at L.A. Dodgers, late Today's Games AL Kansas City (W.Davis 1-0) at Atlanta (Minor 2-0), 9:10 a.m. Houston (B.Norris 2-1) at Oakland (Colon 1-0), 12:35 p.m. Arizona (Miley 2-0) at N.Y. Yankees (Sabathia 2-1), 4:05 p.m. Boston (Aceves 0-0) at Cleveland (Masterson 3-0), 4:05 p.m. Tampa Bay (M.Moore 2-0) at Baltimore (Tillman 0-0), 4:05 p.m. Chicago White Sox (Quintana 0-0) at Toronto (Happ 2-0), 4:07 p.m. Texas (Grimm 0-0) at Chicago Cubs (Villanueva 0-0), 5:05 p.m. L.A. Angels (Hanson 1-1) at Minnesota (Worley 0-2), 5:10 p.m. Detroit (Scherzer 1-0) at Seattle (F.Hernandez 1-2), 7:10 p.m. NL Kansas City (W.Davis 1-0) at Atlanta (Minor 2-0), 9:10 a.m. Arizona (Miley 2-0) at N.Y. Yankees (Sabathia 2-1), 4:05 p.m. St. Louis (S.Miller 2-0) at Pittsburgh (A.Burnett 0-2), 4:05 p.m. Philadelphia (Lannan 0-0) at Cincinnati (Leake 0-0), 4:10 p.m. Washington (Detwiler 0-0) at Miami (Nolasco 0-1), 4:10 p.m. Texas (Grimm 0-0) at Chicago Cubs (Villanueva 0-0), 5:05 p.m. San Francisco (Vogelsong 1-1) at Milwaukee (Lohse 0-1), 5:10 p.m. N.Y. Mets (Hefner 0-2) at Colorado (Garland 1-0), 5:40 p.m. San Diego (T.Ross 0-1) at L.A. Dodgers (Kershaw 2-1), 7:10 p.m.