Seattle group matches bid for Sacramento Kings; Former Facebook Exec reportedly joins local bid

Kings fans will not go down quietly in order to keep their Kings in Sacramento

By Sports in the Bay!

A full-press court continues in the bid to keep the Kings in Sacramento.

The Seattle group instrumental in moving the Kings has turned the heat up raising the bid to buy the Kings from $525 to $550 MILLION according to the Sacramento Bee.

The move was announced by Chris Hansen, the Seattle front man who wants to move the Kings from Sacramento to the Emerald City. Hansen says the extra $25 million was a show of ‘good faith’ and his Seattle group still has a binding agreement to buy the team.

Currently owned by the Maloof family, it was also reported Friday that former Facebook Executive Chris Kelly had joined the Sacramento ‘Dream Team’ investor group led by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson to keep the team in the states capital.

Now known as the Oklahoma City Thunder, the City of Seattle, who once represented the team formerly known as the Seattle Supersonics, is thirsty for another NBA team. After all, where would they hang 2013 NBA Hall of Fame nominee Gary Payton’s jersey? That’s nothing in comparison to the Webber, Christie and Divac rivarly versus the Lakers or the dedicated fan base that has surpassed for decades, even in these lean years.

Although the Maloofs, are humming the baseline to the song 'Should I Stay or Should I Go?' Kings fans are screaming back: "You just got to let me know!' as we descend on the final days of the west coast version of ‘The Decision'.

Stay tuned next week for more info!

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Curry’s 47 wouldn’t be enough for Kobe-less Lakers down the stretch 118-116

Lakers center Dwight Howard proved too much for Carl Landry and Golden State in the final minutes of Fridays matchup at Staples.

Photo courtesy of Yahoo Images

By Felicia D. McDaniel

Sports in the Bay!

After going down to the 1^st place Thunder the previous night, the Golden State Warriors lost their second in a down-to-the-wire game against the Los Angeles Lakers, 118-116.

It’s a game that Golden State should have won but the Kobe-less Lakers would step up in the final minutes. With Andrew Bogut out and players in foul trouble the Warriors couldn't contend with center Dwight Howard who made clutch free throws in the final 1.5 seconds of the game.

Warriors guard Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 47 points, scoring 32 points in the first half and finishing the game with nine 3’s. However, the Lakers defense would step up after Kobe Bryant left the game with a probably torn achilles tendon with 3:00 left in the game. Despite this horrible outcome, Bryant must be proud of the way his guys finished the game.

Although they have already clinched a playoff berth, Golden State currently holds the 6th place spot in the Western Conference Standings with a 1/2 game over Houston. If Houston wins their final games they will face Golden State in the playoffs; if Golden State loses their remainding games they will have a matchup against either OKC or the Spurs.

The (45-35) Warriors play their final home game of the season against the (58-21) San Antonio Spurs on Monday. San Antonio leads the series 2-1.

Golden State will finish their regular season on the road against (33-46) Portland on Wednesday. Golden State leads the series 2-0.

GAME NOTES: Warriors: Curry: 47, Thompson 25. Lakers: Bryant 34, Howard 28, Gasol 26. Lakers shoot 50 from the free throw line to Warriors 16.

NOTABLE INJURIES FOR MONDAY: Bogut (GS): Bruised ankle bone; Ginobili (SA): Sprained ankle.

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Mayor Kevin Johnson Believes In His Bid For The Kings

Kings fan holds up photo of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson in hopes of keeping team in Sacramento.

Photo courtesy of Yahoo

By Logan Murdock, Sports In the Bay Contributor
Sacramento, CA

On Wednesday, the Sacramento Kings owners gave the local ownership groups a Friday deadline to come up with a "back-up" offer to keep the team in the city. The local group, brought together by Mayor and former NBA player Kevin Johnson are led by heavyweight investors Mark Mastrov, owner of 24 Hour Fitness and Vivek Ranadivé, CEO of TIBCO Software. Johnson was on hand at the Kings-Hornets game and did not seem worried. "I feel very comfortable with how strong our bid is and how competitive it will be."

Johnson also stated that the Maloof Family, who currently own the Kings, already knows the bid. "They know the number, trust me," Johnson said. This is part of an ongoing saga between the Maloof Family and the City of Sacramento.

In January, The Maloofs agreed to a deal with Seattle businessman Chris Hanson. When the deal was done Johnson quickly gathered a group of investors to keep the team in Sacramento. On April 3rd, Johnson and his group of investors traveled to New York to present their bid to NBA Commissioner David Stern. The NBA expects to come up with a decision by April 18th.

Follow Logan Murdock on Twitter: @logan_murdock