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2B Daily News – Wednesday, February 15, 2012 Johnson a key player as Kings' arena drama plays out SACRAMENTO (MCT)— Kevin Johnson knows what it was like in Seattle. The former NBA point guard remembers the stream of sellout crowds and electric days and nights at the Seattle Center Coliseum and KeyArena. Last week, when he was in Seattle for meetings at the Gates Foundation on Education, Johnson forgot for a moment that the Sonics no longer exist. "I honestly was looking through the newspaper trying to figure out if I was going to go to a Seattle SuperSonics game, and it just hit me that they don't have a team anymore," said Johnson, who played in the NBA from 1987 to 2000. "I was out talking to people, and the community hasn't recovered from that. I don't wish that on anybody." Johnson hopes Seattle someday gets an NBA team, but he's adamant it won't be the Sacramento Kings. As mayor of Sacramento since 2009, Johnson has made a priority of keeping the Kings in town. He is one of the central characters in a strange drama playing out in Northern Califor- nia that includes a multimillionaire from the Bay Area and two brothers who lost millions in Vegas. The drama is playing out in an outdated arena on the outskirts of a city hit hard by the recession. Put in basketball terms, the 6-foot-1 point guard known as K.J. during his playing days wants the ball in his hands as the final seconds tick down. Can he hit the last-second game-win- ner or pull off the biggest assist of his career? "This is his signature issue," said Marcos Breton, a columnist for The Sacramento Bee. "The only reason the Kings are still in Sacramento is Kevin Johnson. I'm convinced if the previous mayor were in place now, they'd be in Anaheim already, or going up (to Seat- tle). He has a personal relationship with (NBA commissioner) David Stern that he is able to trade on." If Johnson can't secure a financing plan to keep the Kings in Sacramento, the franchise would be the prime can- didate to move to Seattle. Adding another twist, the hopes of the city that lost the Sonics in 2008 are pinned on whether Chris Hansen, a Bay Area hedge-fund manager, can finalize a plan to build a new arena south of Safe- co Field. Sacramento's NBA future figures to be determined in the next few weeks as the city approaches a series of key deadlines for constructing a $400 mil- lion arena in the downtown rail yards. The city hopes to raise roughly $200 million by leasing the rights to parking fees downtown for 50 years. On Tuesday, the city is expected to ask the City Council for the OK to begin negotiating with 10 companies that have submitted proposals to lease parking. That money will be the centerpiece of a financing proposal the Kings must submit to the NBA by March 1 (the City Council is expected to be asked to approve the plan on Feb. 28). If the financing proposal is not accepted, the NBA could give the Kings the right to relocate. The rest of the financing is expected to be made up of money from the pro- posed builder of the arena ($50 mil- lion) and from team owners and the NBA ($80 million) as an upfront 30- year lease payment. "I'm very confident," Johnson told The Seattle Times. He made those remarks while the Kings rallied to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night, a pairing of the once and perhaps future Sonics. While Johnson has his detrac- tors (though he may run unopposed for re-election this fall), few were found in a sellout crowd at Power Balance Pavilion. He received a loud ovation when he was introduced early in the game. Homemade signs praising John- son were evident, including one that read: "Mayor K.J. leads the way, our MVP for Kings to stay." Less clear is how the owners of the Kings — brothers Gavin and Joe Mal- oof —feel about the proposal. The brothers aren't talking about the arena situation. The team issued a statement to The Seattle Times that said, "The organization will await the city of Sacramento's financing plan due out in early March, at which time the team, along with the NBA, will review the information." Johnson acknowledges that once the city makes its proposal, it's up to the Maloofs, the NBA and the developer (AEG, which built Los Angeles' Sta- ples Center) to finalize matters. The Maloofs have repeatedly said they don't want to sell the team. Those working on the deal say they are confi- dent that if the NBA approves the arena deal, the Maloofs will keep the team in Sacramento. "The NBA has been heavily involved in the negotiations, and they keep the Maloof family up to date," said Jeremiah Jackson, a project man- ager for Think Big Sacramento, a task force put together by Johnson to focus on the arena deal. "People have always speculated that they are going to sell the team, but they have always said they don't have an interest in selling. So they have been good partners in this, but they have been kind of waiting for the NBA to really negotiate the best deal on their behalf." Yet the owners' situation is far from clear. The Maloofs ran into well-docu- mented financial problems due in part to their investment in the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, and their popularity in Sacramento has plummeted. The brothers, who have had con- trolling ownership of the team since 1999, once were fan favorites who sat courtside cheering on one of the most entertaining teams in the NBA. In 2001, the Kings fell a game short of the NBA Finals — the high-water mark for the franchise since it moved from Kansas City in 1985. But since 2006 the Maloofs have pushed for a new arena to replace Power Balance Pavilion, which opened W.Va. (AP) — West Vir- ginia University announced Tuesday it has settled a law- suit with the Big East for an unspecified amount, clear- ing the way for the confer- ence power Mountaineers to join the Big 12 in July in time for the fall football sea- son. Athletic Director Oliver Luck said the terms of the deal were confidential and WVU wouldn't release details. But Luck said no state, taxpayer, tuition or other academic dollars will be used in the settlement. A person familiar with the agreement said the settle- ment totaled $20 million but did not know how much money would come from the university and how much the Big 12 may con- tribute. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because financial terms were not announced with the agreement. Luck said the funding will come only from private sources and money that ath- letics raised independently. WVU has already paid half of the required $5 million exit fee. Luck said the new rela- tionship puts WVU among peers that are also large, public, flagship institutions for their states and have strong academic and research programs. Athleti- cally, it's a ''challenging and competitive'' group, he said, populated by schools with ''tremendous legacies, pas- sionate fan bases.'' It's also lucrative: Luck said WVU should get about $18 million to $19 million a year in television payouts, about double what it gets from the Big East. Payments are being prorated for the first three years at 50 per- cent, 67 percent and 87 per- cent, he said, reaching 100 percent in the fourth year. ''It's a very healthy tele- vision payout, and it's important we maintain our self-sufficient status,'' Luck said. ''With this move, we'll be in an excellent position to do so.'' A spokesman for the Big 12 didn't immediately com- ment, but the conference released its football schedule about an hour after the announcement. West Vir- ginia makes its Big 12 debut Sept. 29 at home against Baylor. The Mountaineers and their explosive offense went 10-3 last season and finished ranked in the Top 25. West Virginia capped off the sea- son with a record-setting 70- 33 victory over Clemson in the Orange Bowl. West Vir- ginia's traditional rivalry game with Pittsburgh will be put on hold. ''It's pretty obvious there will be no Backyard Brawl'' in 2012, Luck said. He didn't rule out the possibility of a nonconfer- ence game against Pitt after in 1988 as Arco Arena and was built outside of town for just $40 million. At 17,317 capacity, it is the smallest arena in the NBA and one of the oldest. It also lacks many of the revenue-gen- erating amenities, such as suites and club seating, of new NBA arenas. The Maloofs tried to help push through a ballot measure in 2006 that would have added a one-quarter-cent sales tax in Sacramento County to pro- vide $470 million in taxpayer dollars for a new arena. That measure failed decisively, and some say the Maloofs haven't seemed as invested in the team since. The Kings haven't bid for big- time free agents in recent years and have had one of the lowest payrolls in the league the past two seasons. Last year, the Maloofs announced at the NBA All-Star Game that they were considering moving the Kings to Ana- heim, closer to the family's home base of Las Vegas and also in a more finan- cially advantageous arena. The team appeared gone when it finished last season, creating a scene eerily reminiscent of the Sonics' final game in Seattle on April 13, 2008. Most fans expected it to be the last time they'd be able to cheer for the Kings. But a Johnson meeting with the NBA Board of Governors last April is gener- ally credited for Stern deciding to halt the move to Anaheim and give Sacra- mento one more year to get a deal done. Supporters of a new arena say last year's close call has helped to align forces for getting it done. "Previously, I don't think we ever had a plan," Jackson said. "I think it's different when you come really to the brink and thought the team was gone and come back from that to have another shot at it. I do think that changed things quite a bit." A proposal Tuesday from a council member to put the arena deal up for a public vote in June — tantamount to saying goodbye to the team_was voted down but only by a 5-4 margin. That was portrayed ominously in some media reports. Johnson and Jack- son, though, say all that matters is that it didn't pass. "Ultimately, a win is a win," Jack- son said. Breton agrees last year's near-miss only reinforced what the team means to Sacramento. The Kings are the only major-league sports franchise in Cali- fornia's capital city, and even in down years provided a shot of civic pride to a city that has been hard hit by the eco- nomic downturn. The city, dependent on government jobs, has an unemploy- ment rate of 11 percent. "A lot of people have lost a lot of things," Breton said. "That makes peo- ple realize we don't want to lose this team." Johnson insists that won't happen on his watch. "I certainly wish Seattle well," said the mayor who played 14 years in the NBA. "With that said, we can control our own destiny in Sacramento. We are going to do our part. And I think we are going to figure out a way to pull it off." WVU settles Big East lawsuit, will join Big 12 MORGANTOWN, 2012 but said it could be ''difficult to schedule'' with West Virginia playing nine conference games in the Big 12. WVU sued the Big East in Monongalia County Cir- cuit Court in Morgantown in November, challenging its bylaws in a bid to join the Big 12 in time for the 2012 season. The Big East counter- sued in Rhode Island four days later, arguing that WVU had breached its con- tract with the conference and should remain in the Big East for another two years as required in the bylaws. In late December, the judge there denied WVU's motion to dismiss. Big East Com- missioner John Marinatto had repeatedly said West Virginia would not be allowed to leave until the 2014 football season. But in a statement Tues- day, Marinatto said the board of directors voted to terminate WVU's member- ship in the conference as of June 30. The board agreed to the deal because WVU was willing to drop its law- suit and pay an exit fee ''well in excess of that required by the bylaws,'' he said. But the Big East still has work to do to figure out how next season will play out. Pittsburgh and Syracuse announced in September they are leaving for the Atlantic Coast Conference, all but have said they will not challenge the Big East's notification rules. Boise State, Central Florida, Houston, Memphis, San Diego State University, Southern Methodist Univer- sity and Navy have recently joined the Big East. NCAA Top 25 Schedule Tuesday's results No. 6 Ohio State 78, Minnesota 68 TCU 102, No. 11 UNLV 97, OT No. 14 Florida 61, Alabama 52 Clemson 60, No. 22 Virginia 48 Today's games No. 3 Missouri vs. Oklahoma St., 6p.m. No. 8 North Carolina at Miami, 5 p.m. No. 13 S. Diego St. vs. N.Mexico, 7 p.m. No. 16 Murray St. at SE Missou St., 5 p.m. No. 18 Indiana vs. N'western, 3:30 p.m. No.21 St.Mary's vs.Loyola Marymount, 7:30 p.m. No. 23 Notre Dame vs. Rutgers, 4 p.m. No. 24 Wichita St. vs. Missouri St., 5:05 p.m. Thursday's games No. 5 Duke vs. NC State, 6 p.m. No. 7 Mich. St. vs.No. 15 Wisconsin, 4 p.m. No. 20 Florida St. vs. Virginia Tech, 4 p.m. No. 24 Gonzaga at Santa Clara, 8 p.m. Friday's games No games scheduled Saturday's games No. 1 Kentucky vs. Mississippi, 1 p.m. No. 3 Missouri at Texas A&M, 11 a.m. No. 4 Kansas vs. Texas Tech, 5 p.m. No. 6 Ohio St. at No. 17 Michigan, 6 p.m. No. 8 North Carolina vs. Clemson, 1 p.m. No. 9 Baylor vs. Kansas State, 10:45 a.m. No. 10 Georgetown at Providence, 4 p.m. No. 11 UNLV at New Mexico, 10 a.m. No. 12 Marquette vs. UConn at the XL Center, Hartford, Conn., 9 a.m. No. 13 San Diego St. at Air Force, 1 p.m. No. 14 Florida at Arkansas, 3 p.m. No.16 Murray St.vs.No.21 St.Mary's, 3 p.m. No. 19 Louisville at DePaul, 9 a.m. No. 20 Florida State at NC State, 10 a.m. No. 22 Virginia vs. Maryland, 10 a.m. No. 23 Notre Dame at Villanova, 6 p.m. No. 24 Gonzaga at San Francisco, 5 p.m. No. 24 Wichita State at Davidson, 9 a.m. Sunday's games No. 2 Syracuse at Rutgers, 10 a.m. No. 5 Duke at Boston College, 3 p.m. No. 7 Michigan State at Purdue, 10 a.m. No. 15 Wisconsin vs. Penn State, 1 p.m. No. 18 Indiana at Iowa, 3 p.m. NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. —————————————————— Tuesday's results Anaheim 2, Minnesota 1 Columbus 2, St. Louis 1 Detroit 3, Dallas 1 Nashville 3, Chicago 2 New Jersey 4, Buffalo 1 N.Y. Islanders 3, Winnipeg 1 N.Y. Rangers 3, Boston 0 Ottawa 4, Tampa Bay 0 Toronto at Calgary, late Today's games Anaheim at Pittsburgh, 4 p.m. Boston at Montreal, 4:30 p.m. Ottawa at Florida, 4:30 p.m. Colorado at Vancouver, 7 p.m. Toronto at Edmonton, 7 p.m. Thursday's games San Jose at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m. Buffalo at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Chicago at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m. N.Y. Islanders at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Winnipeg at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Calgary at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Phoenix at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. Golf notebook LOS ANGELES (AP) — Adam Scott was on the range at Riviera on Tuesday and had every reason to feel like a stranger. He is the only player from the top 10 in the world who has yet to play a tournament this year. ''I may have to introduce myself to a fair bit of people,'' Scott said. Waiting until the Northern Trust Open to begin his 2012 season was only partially by design. Scott had planned to be at Kapalua for the PGA Tour opener, but he had his tonsils taken out in December. He said the recovery time for an adult is about three weeks. Scott said he had tonsillitis at least five times a year for the last couple of seasons, and when it happened at the Deutsche Bank Championships — he was tied for the lead through 36 holes — that was the last straw. ''It was the first time I had it during a tournament,'' he said. ''I figured if I had it during a major, it would be one less chance of getting one.'' The three-month break was the longest of his career, and it was the first time in 10 years Scott has spent so much time at home in Australia. It allowed him to get his mind off golf, and it made him eager to return. ''I'm really ready to play, and that's important, too,'' Scott said. ''I've been starved of tournament golf at the moment.'' The majors were also behind his late start to the year. Scott has not performed well in the biggest events throughout his career as he tried to find the right schedule leading up to the majors. He might have found something a year ago, when he was runner-up at the Masters and finished seventh in the PGA Championship. It was only the second time he had two top 10s in the majors in one year. Scott will play the Match Play Championship, Doral and then take part in the Tavistock Cup. That means he will play three tournaments and a 36-hole made-for-TV exhibition before going to the first major. But it worked last year. ''Look, I've tried so many different things trying to get myself in the best shape for the biggest events, and until last year, I didn't play very good in the biggest events,'' he said. ''Last year I changed it up and took my time getting ready properly, and I had a good result. It worked last year. I have to try to do something similar.'' Scott also hopes the late start will keep him fresh at the end. Despite a solid season, he felt flat when the FedEx Cup playoffs began. NO RESPECT: Riviera is getting a reputation of not showing much respect to its past champions. Players were stunned last week to learn that the Northern Trust Open rejected Mike Weir's request for a sponsor's exemption. Not only is Weir a former Masters champion, he won back-to-back in Riviera within the last decade. Weir ral- lied from seven shots behind on the last day to win in 2003, then won in 2004 to become only the sixth repeat champion. The exemptions instead went to Fred Couples, K.T. Kim, Jason Gore, UCLA sophomore Patrick Cantlay and Texas freshman Jordan Spieth. It was the exemption to Spieth that raised eyebrows. He has made the cut in the Byron Nelson Championship (a hometown course) the last two years, but has no connection to Los Angeles. Weir, trying to make his way back from elbow surgery, said he was surprised by the decision, but chose to leave it at that. It's reminiscent of the time Robert Allenby was trying to register in 2002 as the defending champion. He hit a 3-wood in a cold, driving rain to 5 feet to win a six-man playoff, a shot worthy of a plaque that isn't there. He was asked for his credentials. Allenby showed them, and the person registering still couldn't find his name. Exas- perated, Allenby turned to a large photo on the wall showing him posing with the trophy and said, ''That's me.'' RANKING SEPARATION: Yani Tseng is the defending champion for the first of six times on the LPGA Tour this year (State Farm is no longer on the schedule) at the Honda LPGA Thailand. And while wins are the best barometer, the women's world ranking also shows what kind of season Tseng had in 2011. At this time a year ago, Tseng was No. 1 in the world with an average of 10.34 points. It was so close at the top that four players — Jiyai Shin, Suzann Pettersen, Cristie Kerr and Na Yeon Choi — were within one point of replacing her. NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL OT Pts GF GA SHARKS 31 17 6 68 158 130 Kings Phoenix 27 21 9 63 149 146 Dallas 28 25 3 59 146 160 Ducks 23 24 9 55 146 164 Central Division WL OT Pts GF GA Detroit 39 17 2 80 185 136 St. Louis 34 15 7 75 140 113 Nashville 33 18 6 72 161 150 Chicago 29 21 7 65 176 174 Columbus 17 34 6 40 133 186 Northwest Division WL OT Pts GF GA Vancouver 35 15 6 76 180 139 Calgary 26 22 8 60 134 151 Colorado 28 25 4 60 146 159 Minnesota 25 23 8 58 126 146 Edmonton 22 28 5 49 147 165 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL OT Pts GF GA N.Y.Rangers 37 13 5 79 156 110 Philadelphia31 18 7 69 182 169 Pittsburgh 32 19 5 69 175 148 New Jersey 32 20 4 68 158 156 N.Y. Islanders24 24 8 56 134 160 Northeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Boston 34 18 2 70 184 123 Ottawa 29 22 8 66 173 181 Toronto 28 22 6 62 171 166 Montreal 23 25 9 55 152 154 Buffalo 24 26 6 54 137 162 Southeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Florida 27 17 11 65 141 152 Washington 28 23 5 61 156 160 Winnipeg 26 26 6 58 140 164 Tampa Bay 24 26 6 54 155 189 Carolina 21 25 11 53 147 175 27 19 11 65 124 124 Clippers Lakers NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL Pct GB 17 9 .654 — 16 12 .571 2 WARRIORS 11 14 .440 5.5 Phoenix KINGS 12 16 .429 6 10 18 .357 8 Southwest Division WL Pct GB San Antonio 20 9 .690 — Dallas Houston Memphis 18 11 .621 2 16 13 .552 4 15 14 .517 5 New Orleans 5 23 .179 14.5 Northwest Division WL Pct GB Oklahoma City 22 6 .786 — Denver Portland Utah 16 12 .571 6 15 13 .536 7 14 14 .500 8 Minnesota 13 16 .448 9.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division Philadelphia 20 9 .690 — Boston New York Toronto Miami Atlanta Orlando WL Pct GB 15 12 .556 4 14 15 .483 6 9 21 .300 11.5 New Jersey 8 21 .276 12 Southeast Division WL Pct GB 23 7 .767 — 18 10 .643 4 18 11 .621 4.5 Washington 6 22 .214 16 Charlotte Central Division Chicago Indiana 3 25 .107 19 WL Pct GB 24 7 .774 — 17 11 .607 5.5 Milwaukee 12 16 .429 10.5 Cleveland 10 16 .385 11.5 Detroit 8 22 .267 15.5 —————————————————— Tuesday's results Chicago 121, Sacramento 115 Memphis 93, Houston 83 Miami 105, Indiana 90 New York 90, Toronto 87 Oklahoma City 111, Utah 85 San Antonio 99, Detroit 95 Atlanta at L.A. Lakers, late Phoenix at Denver, late Washington at Portland, late Today's games Sacramento at New York, 4:30 p.m. Portland at Golden State, 7 p.m. Philadelphia at Orlando, 4 p.m. San Antonio at Toronto, 4 p.m. Detroit at Boston, 4:30 p.m. Indiana at Cleveland, 4:30 p.m. Memphis at New Jersey, 4:30 p.m. Charlotte at Minnesota, 5 p.m. New Orleans at Milwaukee, 5 p.m. Oklahoma City at Houston, 5 p.m. Denver at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Atlanta at Phoenix, 6 p.m. Washington at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m. Thursday's games New Jersey at Indiana, 4 p.m. Boston at Chicago, 5 p.m. L.A. Clippers at Portland, 7:30 p.m.