The Royal Rapscallion 03/01 Edition http://www.nba.com/kings/news/The_Royal_Rapscallion_0301_Ed-101508-58.html Hello again Kings fans. Thanks for logging on to Kings.com and clicking your favorite insider. This week's scoop focuses on a familiar but heartwarming theme: team unity. If R2 has written it once, he's written it a thousand times—the Kings lead the NBA in the most underrated, intangible statistic : Camaraderie. Camaraderie: (法) 同志間的友愛和忠誠 After winning two of three on the road last week, the team dispatched New York and traveled to tinsel town for a battle with a Lakers club frothing at the mouth to avenge their loss at ARCO on January 16, a game without two thirds of L.A.'s Big-4 (Kobe, Shaq, and Karl Malone). Round two found the Kings in dire straights, hobbled sans Bobby Jackson, Brad Miller, and CWebb. But Bibby and Co. checked excuses at the Staples Center door, gutting out a 103-101 victory before a flabbergasted home crowd. R2 hasn't seen Jack Nicholson so befuddled since gangly Adrian Brody topped him for the 2002 Best Actor Award. And Mike Bibby’s three-pointer with Gary Payton's hand in his grill is the biggest bomb Jack has lived through since viewing the meager box office take from his 2001 thriller "The Pledge." And there was Bibby's boogie back to the bench after drilling the dagger trifecta. You know, that side-step swagger Mike displays when coolly hitting crucial shots. The same dance that prompted Phillopian Jackson to comment: "Bibby acted out on the court like an A#$%^&*." Gee, thanks Phil for your two senseless. Anybody tune in to TNT's pre or post-game shows, err, the Laker apology hours ? Rapscallion is clearly biased, but since when does a panel comprised of Magic Johnson (still vested in the Lake Show), and anti-SacTownic Charles Barkley equal journalism? According to Barkley in the pre-game show: "If the Kings and Lakers played 100 playoff series, the Lakers would win 100 of them. " Oh, and don't forget this nugget of brilliance from Sur-ly Charles at halftime when Sacramento trailed 49-57. "The Kings have no chance to win this game.”"Just keep telling yourself that Charles. Moving on, the Kings weren't making any excuses for losing to Andrei Kirilenko , rather, the Utah Jazz on Friday night. But R2 will. The team plane sat on the tarmac for 3 ½ hours following their win vs. L.A. and instead of arriving in Sac at 12:00 a.m., a weary Kings club finally touched down at 4:00 a.m. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whistle while you work It's a good sign everybody is getting along when guys chug down the court with nothing but gleaming smiles on their faces. The deal between Coach Adelman and his squad is basic. You miss a free throw, you run. After every practice, players take turns hitting freebies. On Monday, several missed their charity shots and were sentenced to several wind sprints. Instead of the grimaces typically accompanying such punishment, CWebb, Vlade, and Darius Songaila seemed to enjoy their calisthenics, laughing it up all the way. I don't know about you, but running sprints elicits anything but a grin from R2. Maybe it was the impending return of CWebb, but the Kings are a very happy bunch right now. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Happy Birthday CWebb Darius Songaila has fit in swimmingly since Geoff Petrie robbed Boston of the Lithuanian forward during the offseason. Over the weekend, several of the Kings realized that in six months with Sacramento, Songaila has lived more like a veteran than a kid in his first pro campaign. So, per the suggestion of vets Mike Bibby, Tony Massenburg, and Anthony Peeler, the team treated Darius to a bit of good-natured rookie initiation. And while they were at it, their plans included birthday-boy CWebb, who turned 31 on Monday. At the conclusion of practice, a chair was placed at center court where Webber was instructed to sit with his back to the locker room. What happened next was perhaps the most hilarious stunt pulled in recent Kings history. Decked in a pair of snug black spandex that made tighty-whities look fashionable, Songaila was given a birthday cake and led in a choke chain by Tony Massenburg towards an unsuspecting Webber. Once music was played, Songaila sashayed in front of CWebb with the cake, holding it out while dancing a little jig. Webber jumped out of his chair howling and teammates witnessing the caper laughed uncontrollably. With tears of hilarity, Doug Christie ran from the scene shouting, "I love this team, I love this team!" Two thumbs up to Songaila for being a good sport. Team-building moments like these are more common than not in Sacramento, giving the Kings cohesiveness other teams never acquire. See ya next time! --

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