I know the great RLangford already did a playoff scenario preview, but if you'd like a more detailed explanation, please see my article here:

DISCLAIMER: It is a Bleacher Report article, but I promise you it is much better than your standard Bleacher Report article (i.e. total unintelligible crap). If you disagree, you have my blessing to leave hateful comments - but I honestly don't think you'll disagree.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of Raider Nation!

I was just going to respond in the thread for Nico's original post, but it got way too long. So I figured, why not a fanpost of my own? Not as much of a stat guy as many ANers, so go easy on me people. Here we go!

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My fellow StR folks,

I will be venturing to Anaheim this weekend to visit one of my favorite places, Disneyland. To have Disneyland be the sole reason for Anaheim's existence, while Anaheim is currently trying to rip my team and my heart away from me, has been very conflicting. But I will pretend Disneyland is its own little country, like Vatican City, and enjoy Space Mountain while also cursing Anaheim.

Anyway, I will also get to enjoy watching my beloved Oakland A's battle the Santa Ana Angels of Greater Orange County near the City of Los Angeles in California, or whatever the hell their stupid name is. Going into enemy territory wearing my colors is great fun and semi-dangerous - thankfully, it's not Dodger Stadium.

I want to take a couple of signs with me to the game, and I thought at least one of them should be about the Kings. Aside from declaring my own view on the situation, I think it gives me a decent chance of getting on either the A's or Angels broadcast and helping spread the word!

So I decided to solicit ideas for possible signs from the smartest Kings fans I know: the StR people! I want the sign(s) to support our cause, and to have a good chance of being on TV.

Please chime in with your thoughts. I know I will get a few ideas like, "Write ANAHEIM BLOWS DIE MICKEY MOUSE," but any ideas for signs that won't get me kicked out would be appreciated.

Here are some of my current ideas, which I cobbled together just now:

Don't take my Kings away, Anaheim! HERE WE STAY

You can have the Maloofs, but let us keep the Kings! Sincerely, Sacramento

The Kings belong in Sacramento

Would you want your Angels taken from you? Think about the fans (insert Kings logo)

Say no to Capital punishment: Let Sacramento keep the Kings! HERE WE STAY

That's all I got at 3 a.m. Here's hoping you guys can outdo me!

I'm a very-long-time lurker (years), first time ever posting, on what may be the eve of the summer of our discontent. I'm sorry if another emotional, retrospective fanpost is tiring and overdone, but seeing the news that Peja may even return for the final home game inspired me to write this.

If what is rumored is true about Peja, and he shows to the game, and it ends up that they "got the band back together," in a way, to say goodbye, I think I'm gonna finally lose it.

Like many of us, I grew up a Kings fan my entire life. I inherited the Raiders from my family as my NFL team, was given the A's by a family friend, but the Kings I came to all on my own. During the start of the good times in 1999 my fanhood flourished, and I still believe the NBA owes us a championship for 2002 (never forget!).

I learned the screen and roll from watching our players run it so well in the good ole' days. I grew to despise Rick Fox, and Kobe, and Shaq, and [he who shall not be named who hit that damn 3-pointer], but also the other less-publicized King-killers, like Nick Van Exel, and Jason Terry, and Troy Murphy, and David Hoiberg.

Jerry Reynolds came to be seen as my distant, but beloved, surrogate grandfather who taught me about basketball. I was saddened but filled with pride when Kara Lawson made it to the broadcasting big leagues with ESPN after a successful stint breaking down the Kings with our man Koz, who we loved so. I even applauded the G-Man (who I admit irks me for what I think is over-criticism of the Kings) when they honored him at halftime this season, because he is ,as much a part of this franchise as anyone else ever was or could be. And yes, I'd even miss you Peaches. Although your radio show makes me angry and you're a hard man to like most of the time, I have always loved "If you don't like that, you don't like NBA basketball!"

I've tried to stay strong, but it's been so hard. First to see the Kings fans band together to try to save our team, led by StR; then to watch Carmichael Dave become the people's hero and the standard-bearer for "Here We Build"; to see C-Webb promise to stand between the Maloofs and Anaheim on national television; to hear former adversaries and heated rivals pay respect to our ARCO madness, and now to see former Kings return home for the last hurrah?

I don't think my heart can handle it. I may burst into tears tonight, and I hope against hope this will not be the last time I see the Arco faithful cheer on our beloved Kings. But if it is, to the Kings fan community, StR and the boys in purple themselves, I give you my most profound and heartfelt thanks. We have shared with each other what being real fans is all about: passion, dedication and undying love for our team.

I haven't decided what I will do with my NBA fanhood if the team leaves - it would be hard to let go of a franchise that's been my own for so many years... But if they leave, with apologies to Tony Bennett, my heart will be left in Sacramento, the rightful home of the Kings.

In the words of Teddy KGB: DIS SON OF BITCH: Teddy KGB Loses Final Hand

According to Karl Ravech of Baseball Tonight, the Rangers have apparently decided to go after Beltre, which makes perfect sense      <------- Sarcasm

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I'm thinking about going to BeerFest tonight, but I can't find any detailed info about it. Is it worth the 10 bucks, especially considering that beer is only $5 regularly at the coliseum now? Any previous attendees have any advice or stories from it? I'm not really a beer snob where I care that much about sampling, more so about the cost effectiveness of buying beer. Although I do like a nice Hef...

When it comes to overreactions, exclamations of anger or joy, and sarcasm, I feel confident in my abilities to provide responses. But when it comes to deep statistical analysis of prospects, I know about as much as Joe Morgan. Which is to say, not very much.

So can someone please tell me why I shouldn't be concerned about the following stat lines?

Michael Taylor: 105 AB, .229 avg, 2 HR, 9 BB, 21 K, .296 OBP, .429 slugging, .724 OBS

Chris Carter: 95 AB, .253 avg, 6 HR, 15 BB, 27 K, .360 OBP, .484 slugging, .845 OPS

Now don't get me wrong, I know it's early in the season and Carter's OBP and OPS are very encouraging, but shouldn't these guys be tearing the cover off the ball? Perhaps they have been elevated in my mind because they are widely recognized as the power saviors of the A's by hardcore fans, but the average and the Ks are what trouble me. Personally, I'm kind of tired of seeing sub .260 averages on the team, and I've seen enough strikeouts on the A's to last a lifetime already this year.

So I defer to the wisdom of AN to help me understand why I should still be extremely excited about these guys, because I desperately (as most ANers do) want them to be fantastic major leaguers for many years with the green and gold.

Discuss.

So this Thursday is the annual Root Beer Float Day, and I know the great Rickey will be signing autographs for a limited time. I have a few questions for anyone who went to last year's root beer float day and saw Rickey there.

I know the line is going to be very long, but if I get there at 10:35, am I sure to get the chance to buy an autograph ticket? This is my primary objective.

Do you only get one autograph for your min. donation, or can you have a couple of autographs and a photo? I'd assume they wouldn't make you pay twice to get two autographs, but you never know.

Also, this will be the first game I go to solo since everyone I know actually has to work on Thursday (imagine that!). I am considering joining the faithful nutjobs in the LF bleachers for the game - I assume there are quite a few ANers who sit up there regularly? Finally, I have two spare Plaza Level tickets for Wed. night's game (sec. 229) that I would love to trade for one bleacher ticket or even one Plaza Reserved ticket for Thursdays game, if anyone is interested. I'll be at the game tomorrow night.

Thanks in advance for the knowledge, AN!