The Sports Informant

With 2009 ending tonight, I thought we’d reflect on some of the bigger sports stories to hit the area over the course of the year. This list could have been much longer, but I focused on events that had huge impacts on the entire area, and stories that made national news.

Some are of success, some of failure, but all intrigued us throughout 2009. Here are the top five sports stories in Sacramento for the year.

5. Kings finish as worst team in NBA

Yes the Sacramento Kings will be on this list for more than just this horrific memory, but not all top stories are positive ones, and the fact the once-proud franchise finished with the worst record in the entire league at 17-65 is not only noteworthy, but historic.

Now former Kings Brad Miller, left, and Mike Bibby share a laugh last season. Both were part of Kings' greatness and escaped when the going got bad. (Photo courtesy Greg Ashman)

It was a gradual decline for the Kings, going from the Western Conference’s elite to its dumpster in less than a decade. The Kings finished the 2001-2002 season first in the Pacific Division with a record of 61-21, eventually losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. It was as close as the Kings would come.

The next two years the Kings finished 59-23 and 55-27, respectively, twice losing in the Western Conference Semifinals. The following two years the Kings finished 50-32 and 44-38, respectively, twice losing in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. Then things got bad.

In 2006-2007, the Kings finished 33-49, missing the playoffs. In 2007-2008, they finished 38-44, missing the playoffs. And, of course, in 2008-2009, the Kings finished 17-65 and missed the playoffs and any form of dignity.

The dismal finish last season gave fans reason to give up hope, but also pushed management to make radical changes in personnel, which now seems to have the Kings back on track to success.

4. Economy rocks local sports media

Granted, this is only a sports story because I was a sports reporter at one of the media outlets affected by the sudden downturn in the national economy, but it would be irresponsible to not mention as we recall the biggest stories of the year.

The Sacramento Bee laid off a big percentage of its staff, while the Sacramento Union, the publication I once proudly called home as its sports editor, called it quits completely due to financial hardship. Those were the top two outlets covering sports in Sacramento at the time. That put a whole lot of us sports reporters out on the street.

But the sad story has a silver lining. Trying to adapt to the struggles of a dying profession, myself and several of my colleagues have found alternative sources to continue bringing our local readers the Sacramento sports news.

I launched TheSportsInformant.com in March, while a colleague of mine Mike Finnerty spearheaded the SureWest Sports Show in February after helping create PlacerSports.com prior to that. Interest in joining both teams has been rampant as sports reporters look for avenues to gain experience in the field, and with no papers really hiring in the area, journalism is having to adapt to the Internet.

While the future will hold great tools for readers in the form of local sports coverage by media outlets, the struggle began this year and will continue until advertisers jump back on board or the media embraces a new business structure.

Only time will tell, but until then, The Sports Informant is here for you.

3. Austin Collie breaks out in rookie season

El Dorado Hills native and Oak Ridge High School graduate Austin Collie celebrated 2009 with a coming out party. After finishing the 2008 college season at BYU as the nation’s leading receiver, Collie was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts earlier this year in the fourth round.

When Colts’ receiver Anthony Gonzalez went down early with a season-ending injury, Collie’s role went from learning on the sidelines to contributing on the field. He was thrown into the game on crucial third downs caught his first career touchdown reception against Seattle on Oct. 4.

Ultimately, due to more injuries, Collie finally earned a starting position at receiver, starting four times this season. There he shown brilliantly, leading all NFL rookies this year in receptions (59) and touchdowns (7).

He’s an integral part of the Colts’ offense now, and in his rookie season, could very well be on his way to a Super Bowl.

2. Faber fights five championship rounds with two broken hands

Hometown hero and former World Extreme Cagefighting Featherweight champion Urijah Faber was in one of the better fights of the year in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts when he tried to regain his belt against Mike Brown at WEC Brown vs. Faber 2 on June 7 in Sacramento.

In front of his rocking Sacramento home crowd, Faber looked to avenge a Nov. 5, 2008 loss to Brown in which Faber relinquished the belt for the first time in his career. After a round of back and forth action that left judges puzzled as to call who won the round, Faber broke one of his hands in the second round with a punch to the head of Brown. Refusing to give up in front of his friends, family and friends in the audience, Faber pushed through for three more championship rounds, ultimately breaking his other hand along the way.

By the fifth and final round, Faber could only strike with his elbows, completely eliminating his effectiveness. Still, he persevered, darting in and out avoiding Brown’s knockout punches while throwing elbow strikes hoping to land a devastating blow to the champ’s head.

Ultimately, Brown was able to outscore Faber on the judges’ cards, but amidst the adversity Faber only became an even bigger hero to Sacramento, and gained worldwide attention for the attempt.

Faber tries to climb the ladder to the belt again with a fight in January 2010 in ARCO Arena in the WEC live of the Versus channel.

1. Maloofs dump Monarchs, focus on Kings

This is a top story because it’s two very important stories in one. While other stories may be more interesting, this one ultimately will have the biggest impact on the city of Sacramento for several reasons.

When the Maloofs relinquished control of the Sacramento Monarchs after the 2009 season to “focus on the Kings,” they pulled an excellent move in saving the bigger of the two franchises, but completely eliminated the other in the process. While the WNBA claimed it would move the Monarchs to the Bay Area to continue play with the team under new ownership, the idea went south fast and the league decided instead to break the team up in a Dispersal Draft, allowing the rest of the league to pick and choose which players and contracts they’d like to steal from the once WNBA champion Monarchs.

The move shocked Sacramento and Monarchs fans, but worse, it hurt players very loyal to the city. Stars like Ticha Penicheiro and Kara Lawson had transformed the view of the WNBA with exciting play and a loyalty to the team and city they called home. When Lawson helped lead Team USA to a gold medal in the Olympics in 2008, she helped revolutionize the sport in the eyes of American fans, bringing a lot more press the way of the Sacramento Monarchs in the process. It wasn’t enough.

Ticha Penicheiro was a fan favorite in Sacramento. Then the Maloofs dumped the team completely. (Photo courtesy Greg Ashman)

The Maloofs, trying to secure a deal to build a new arena for the Kings in Sacramento, dumped the Monarchs, thus ending their stay in the city and eventually in the WNBA. It was tragic for any Monarchs and their fans, but on the flip side, it has shown Sacramento the commitment the owners have to the Kings.

Since then, promotions for the Kings this season to build fan following have been tremendous and the response from the community has been overwhelming. The arena talks continue to heat up and the Kings continue to get better each week. The Kings, who tanked last season and alienated a good portion of its fans, are getting their fans back into the stands, and suddenly, dropping the Monarchs seems like the smartest move the Maloofs could have made.

Sacramento will miss the former WNBA champions, but the sacrifice the team made for the betterment of the city through the Kings’ success will be looked upon as a turning point for the growth of California’s capital city.

Know better 2009 Sacramento sports stories that should have made this list? Let us know with your comments!