Insult to Injury- A Very, Very Low Moment for the Kings
By Brian Kamenetzky | Los Angeles Kings, What I See, Column
Fair to say it’s been tough sledding lately for the Kings. Despite ripping off three wins in their last four games, L.A. is still the worst team in hockey. That means a mere game past the halfway point in the ‘07-’08 season, hope, that mystical, wonderful thing Kings fans cling to each fall in the same way fans of Cuba Gooding Jr. pray that, despite all evidence to the contrary, he’ll stop crapping on his Oscar, has gone the way of the dodo. But nothing, not their 25 losses, not their bottom-feeding penalty kill or goal differential, could be worse than the indignity handed down to them Thursday by Press-Enterprise columnist Jim Alexander, in his now annual State of SoCal Sports report, in which he ranks the local teams and franchises based on “a mixture of competitive success, widespread interest and passion, and organizational stability.”
Not surprisingly, the Lakers are top dog. Keep scrolling and you see the SC Football, the Dodgers, Angels, and Bruins hoops. Hey, there are the Ducks at #6! Chivas USA? Ninth. UCLA football, at 10 and moving up. Still no Kings. The Clippers? 11th. Uh oh. We’re running out of squads. Galaxy? 12th, despite the BeckhaMania. Still no sign of the purple and black.
Cue crushing indignity:
The Kings are officially lower on the local totem pole than the Sparks.
Yes, those Sparks, who, by the way, are coming off a 10-24 season of their very own, are 13th on Alexander’s list, one spot ahead of the Kings. In fact, the only local team Marc Crawford’s bunch can mock are the Avengers. Kudos to AFL for making themselves a profitable, long lasting member of the sports landscape, but folks, it’s still Arena Football. Of course, a lot of people make the same argument about the WNBA, yet there the Kings are, nestled behind the Sparks.
That is more embarrassing than any blown third period lead. (Maybe not as embarrassing as Snow Dogs or Boat Trip or those Hanes commercials he’s doing with M.J., but close, and really that’s DEFCON 5 territory the Kings just don’t want to mess with.) When anyone can credibly claim that the Sparks are a more relevant, healthy, productive, needle-moving member of the local sports landscape, it’s as good a sign as any that it might be stock-taking time for Phil Anschutz and the gang.
Brian Kamenetzky hosts the Lakers Blog and Blue Notes: A Dodgers Blog for the LA Times.com. He’s a contributing writer to ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com, and can be heard regularly on the Steve Mason Show, on 710 ESPN radio in LA. Write him at bk@sportshubla.com.
Discuss:
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If you don’t follow hockey and you don’t cover hockey, it’s probably best not to attempt to discuss it at all. Thank you on behalf of one of the most die-hard fan bases in all of sports. Don’t mean to snap at you, but I get tired of reading articles about my team that say absolutely nothing.
Matt-
Hey. Actually, I do follow hockey (though you’re correct, I don’t cover it) and I do know the sport, having spent about 15 years playing, from pee wee through college. But I wasn’t trying to do an analysis of what’s wrong with the team. I was reacting to a column that actually put the freakin’ Sparks ahead of the Kings in terms of competitive success, stability, local interest, etc. I don’t necessarily agree with every slot in Alexander’s rankings, but the very notion that you can plausably make the argument- and I think you can-is bad news for the Kings. You have to admit, it indicates how low things have gotten for the franchise.
That’s what prompted the article. Thanks for the comment.
Hey Brian, thanks for writing back. I guess I’m a little cranky and jumped to conclusions. I just think that competitive success is the only area where there’s any justification to this argument. The interest and passion, while not widespread, are and always have been undeniable. Organizational stability is probably the area of the most marked improvement. Lombardi has done a remarkable job of restocking the cupboards already, and Luc Robitaille is doing a lot of great things to build the team recognition in the community. Things have indeed gotten low, however this is still a proud franchise which has outlasted many other sports teams in the region, and which should soon reclaim it’s rightful position in the hierarchy of SoCal sports. Again thank you and much respect for responding to me.
Matt
Matt-
No worries. This season could make any Kings fan cranky for sure (just a little gallows humor there…). I think the perception Alexander is working on is a) on a relative scale- you expect more from a Big Four sport, and b) indicative of how the last few years have really helped pull the Kings from the day to day consciousness of LA sports fans. The die hards are definitely there- hockey fans may be the most dedicated group of sports fans this country has- but beyond them, it’s been tough sledding. I think that’s reflected in attendance, which has slipped over the last few seasons. There really is no buzz around the team, and what little they had at the beginning of the season (there’s a lot to be excited about with all their young talent) evaporated quickly.
I like the direction they’re going in terms of stockpiling young talent, but they haven’t been able to make “the move” over the last few years. A goalie would come in handy, for sure. And I don’t think the success Andy Murray has had in St. Louis has helped, either. Not a huge issue, but just another little thing that digs, you know?
The good news is that hockey is probably the easiest sport for a team to turn it around quickly… but it looks like “quickly” will be ‘08-’09 for the Kings. Hopefully the second half brings a nice bunch of games to build a little buzz.
Incidentally, we’re really going to try and kick up our hockey coverage, in one form or another, on SHLA. Thanks for checking us out, and keep checking back.
Thanks.
Brian
Brian: First of all, thanks for the plug.
Part of the low ranking was directly lrelated to this season’s performance. But I guess my main issue with the Kings is that AEG doesn’t even pretend to care any more. Ownership essentially dropped the keys in Dean Lombardi’s lap and washed its hands of the whole thing to concentrate on the Galaxy(except for when it comes time to cash the season ticket deposits).
In contrast — and I mentioned this in the column — the Sparks’ new owners have provided some much-needed energy. For instance, they led a posse of their season ticket holders out to the UCLA-Tennessee women’s game a few weeks ago, primarily to let Tennessee’s Candace Parker know (subtly?) that she’d be welcomed warmly here if she turned pro. Could you imagine Tim Leiweke, much less Phil Anschutz, doing anything even remotely similar? I can’t. I just don’t see that sort of commitment.
The pity of it is that people who have suffered with the Kings for four decades — who I have described in print before as the most passionate, most committed, and most dumped-on fans in this market — deserve much, much better, especially when they see how the franchise down the freeway has been transformed. Say what you want about Bruce McNall and his, uh, creative financing, but at least he gave a damn about what happened on the ice.
Competitively? Well, if Jonathan Bernier turns out to be the real deal when he gets back here, that will be a start. Lombardi does have a plan and a commitment to the youngsters, and if these guys are that good then the five-year plan may start to bear some fruit next year. If so, it’ll be reflected in next January’s rankings.
Thanks again.