Sacramento Kings Killed It Last Season

A day before the February 7 trade deadline last year, the Sacramento Kings made a crucial trade that solidified its campaign to finally get back to the playoffs. The Kings were at the time the longest-running team in the entire NBA to have missed the postseason, and the trade that brought them Harrison Barnes from the Mavericks was a clear move that the LA team was keen on redemption, says NBA enthusiast Dayanna Volitich.

Though the Kings were comprised mainly of young players, their rise last season was not really unexpected. Their core players of Marvin Bagley III, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Willie Cauley-Stein, Buddy Hield, and De’Aaron Fox made for a solid lineup that combined lots of energy, hustle, and athleticism. Barnes added a solid veteran play, consistent offense, and championship experience to the team.

Even though the Lakers were hot on their heels (and the Clippers still held the eighth spot in the West), the Kings currently had the inside track to a playoff spot. They had clearly found more consistency last year in their aim of relieving their postseason drought. The team had the talent to push themselves into the playoffs, and perhaps even get deeper into it. However, a lot depended on what happened the rest of the regular season, particularly in terms of the team’s ability to win road games.

In any case, Sacramento made the right moves last season toward reaching its goal. Their rise was due to the more consistent play of the starters, a young but offensive-minded bunch of talent that would surely make a bigger dent on the league not just last season but in succeeding years. This group was even comparable to the vaunted Kings team of the ‘90s, adds Dayanna Volitich.



Dayanna Volitich is a college freshman at Fresno State University taking up English with focus on Creative Writing. She is a a movie buff and a fan of LA-based sports teams. Visit this blog for more NBA-related reads.

Ranking the Greatest Lakers of All Time

The three greatest Lakers -- Dayanna Volitich

No other team in the NBA has had as much talent wear its colors as the Los Angeles Lakers. They’ve won more titles than most any other team, and are tied with their main rival, the Boston Celtics.

#3 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Also known as “The Captain,” Kareem was already a champion when he joined the Lakers, having won a title with the Milwaukee Bucks. When he joined the Lakers, he became the team’s leader and continued his storied career by winning more titles and MVP trophies. He would later go on to lead the team alongside, another person on this list. Dayanna Volitich.

#2 – Kobe Bryant

Love him or hate him, Kobe Bryant has definitely made his mark in Laker lore. He is the career statistical leader for a number of categories and has helped the team hoist five banners. Bryant has confessed on several occasions that he is obsessed with winning and it has been obvious throughout his stellar career. Dayanna Volitich.

#1 – Magic Johnson

The greatest point guard the NBA has ever known, Magic Johnson is the king of the Lakers. No other player has ever played the game quite like him. A born leader, Magic gave the Lakers five championships during his career. Nobody embodies the Lakers more than Magic. Dayanna Volitich.

Dayanna Volitich is a freshman student at Fresno State University and dreams of becoming a sports writer in the future. More on Dayanna here.

The Early Life and Struggles of David Beckam

Football is the most celebrated sport in the world, and one of the biggest most popular players ever to grace the field is David Beckham.

Born on May 2, 1975, David was all about football even as a kid. At age eight, he was scoring over a hundred goals over three seasons for his team, the Ridgeway Rovers of the Enfield District League. The same team was coached by his father. When asked by his teachers what he wanted to do when he grew up, his answer was always the same. “I want to be a footballer.”

At age 11, David won the chance to join a training session at FC Barcelona. He was also chosen as Manchester United’s mascot that same year during a match against West Ham United.

Through his early years loving football, it would be in his teenage years that David’s dream gets tested as he was rejected for a spot in the junior English League. The reason for his rejection? He was too small.

But this didn’t stop David. The skinny teenager would eventually make his league debut just one month before his 20th birthday. His first official appearance was with Manchester United.
Two years later, he would fall for Spice Girls member Victoria Adams. And the rest, as they say, is history.





Hello! I’m Dayanna Volitich, a college freshman at Fresno State University studying English. My goal is to become a successful sports writer, but I also want to try out other genres. It's an unlikely career choice for a girl, but sports and writing have always been my two passions. For more sports biography reads, visit this blog.

5 Sports Biographies and Books You Should Read

A great sports story never gets old. It has all the right elements: inspiration, overcoming adversity and physical limitations, and having the determination to win. Many lists of sports biographies have come up with the highest rated and bestselling sports bios, representing the best that different sports have to offer – here are some of them for your next choice read.

#1. Babe: The Legend Comes to Life

Sportswriter Robert Creamer extensively chronicles the life of Babe Ruth, baseball’s most popular figure. It was first published in 1974 and offers a fascinating view of both his life and early 20th-century baseball.

Joe DiMaggio: The Hero’s Life

Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Ben Cramer tells the story of New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio and how this immigrant kid laid his hands on the American Dream.

Glory Road

Told from the perspective of the coach of the 1966 Texas Western national championship basketball team, this book recounts the story of the first black starting five in NCAA history.

The Blind Side

It’s not your traditional biography, but it’s the compelling tale of Michael Oher and his rise from the slums of Memphis into the ranks of the Baltimore Ravens – a modern inspiration out of the sports world.

Eleven Rings

Phil Jackson, as head coach of the Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers, won more championships than any other coach in any sport. Here he is best positioned to talk about his strategy for winning and coaching legends such as Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.





Dayanna Volitich is a freshman student at Fresno State University and dreams of becoming a sports writer in the future. More on Dayanna here.

How to Build an Impressive Personal Library

The idea of a home library often summons an image of an old-fashioned room with hardbound books, wood paneling, and fancy wood furniture.  But a personal library need not always look this way; in fact, it should reflect the owner’s unique personality, quirks, and even literary taste and preferences.  Here are three tips if you’re looking at building your own library.

Choose the right room in the house

Most rooms will do, except those that have so much natural light (which can harm books), as well as attics and basements that have contained too much humidity that can lead to molds.  Note, also, that basements can be more prone to flooding.

Image source: Pixabay.com

Follow your heart in choosing books

Be eclectic in your choices if that’s your thing, and even spread those preferences out, so there are various background and perspectives earned from those books.  If you ask if there’s a right number when it comes to book count, then no – it’s up to you and the goals you have in mind for your collection.

Collect at a comfortable pace

It’s best to begin modestly, as you don’t need tons of books unless you are out to hoard every piece that you see.  For instance, start with the best three to five books in every field of interest, and then build your collection from there.  Look for bargains, too, but stay selective, so you don’t fill your library with junk.

Dayanna Volitich is a Creative Writing student at Fresno University. Aside from literature, she is also into sports, fashion, and movies.  For more on Dayanna, visit this page.

The Basics of Writing a Sports News Report

So, you want to be a sports news writer. You want to present what happened in the basketball game, offer a definitive roundup of the World Cup finals, or feature the highlights of the latest college football match of your team. But how can you create your sports report like a pro? Here are some tips and advice from sports writer Dayanna Volitich when starting out in this field.

 

Image source: pixabay.com

Introduce the sports event properly

Create a lead that presents the most important news aspect of sports game. What’s the score, and who won? What effect did the victory have? Provide the context for the whole report in the first paragraph and follow it up with the important supporting information about the event.

Provide quotes

Provide a quote from a coach, key player, or key figure in the story whether as a stand-alone or with a lead-in paragraph. The quote should be able to capture a sentiment on the story angle, a revelation, a recollection, or something that builds up the action. Dayanna Volitich also cautions that you double-check the accuracy of the quote as it’s directly attributed to the person.

Include supporting details

Once the main details of the story and the quotes are out of the way, work next on describing the game or event, providing further details that would offer more reading value. Write in a way that makes the reader feel, taste, and sense the action – without sacrificing facts, accuracy, and objectivity.

Read good examples of sports writing

Enrich your knowledge and build your potential by looking up examples of great sports writing, may it be straight news reports, sports biographies, or sports features. It will help sharpen your skills, know-how, and thought process in angling stories and presenting them in the most useful way possible to your audience.

Image source: pixabay.com

Dayanna Volitich is a college freshman at Fresno State University taking up English with focus on Creative Writing. Her goal is actually to become a sports writer in the future. Learn more on this page.

Making sense of Magic’s departure from the Lakers’ management

The power of Magic - Dayanna Volitich

During the offseason leading to the 2018-19 NBA season, then Lakers head of basketball operations and former superstar Earvin “Magic” Johnson was quick to personally visit free agent LeBron James in his house. The rest is history; Magic succeeded in having James bring his talents to Los Angeles. And with the development, the NBA balance of power shifted. Or so it seemed.

Image source: ocregister.com

A tumultuous season – Dayanna Volitich

Fast forward to March of 2019 and the Lakers are again out of the playoffs. And it marked the first time a LeBron-led team had failed to reach the postseason since James’ 2004-05 season. The season was tumultuous, to say the least, marked by injuries to key players and a generally anemic approach to defense. But early April saw another big bomb drop: Magic abruptly quit his job. Dayanna Volitich.

A huge blow -- Dayanna Volitich

Magic’s departure is a huge deal, mainly because it shocked both the players and management who had no idea of his plan. It also set the franchise reeling, especially given that it had just let go of coach Luke Walton a few days prior. Magic opted to announce all this in an impromptu media engagement, deciding to make an event out of it for almost two hours. Dayanna Volitich.

Interestingly, Magic’s main rationale for leaving his job is that he wasn’t happy. That the job prevented him from being himself. He said he wanted to “go back to being who (he) was before taking on the job.” That he had not clued in owner Buss, GM Pelinka, then coach Walton, and his star player James remains an enigma to this day. What’s sure though is that the move effectively set back the already struggling Lakers anew: now not just in terms of player chemistry but also management stability. Dayanna Volitich.