THE TOP SPORTS STORY LINES OF 2012: Kings finally have their long-awaited crown

The Kings did not merely win the Stanley Cup.

Yes, they hoisted it around the ice at Staples Center after the Game 6 Finals win over New Jersey, and the Cup made its usual caravan to the homes, ancestral grounds and rinks of all the players and team officials, and its saucer certainly was filled with everything from scotch to egg nog.

What the Kings did was share it with the city and its long-suffering fans. If there's a Kings fan in greater Los Angeles who didn't plant a kiss or 200 on the Cup on its grand tour of the city, he or she wouldn't admit it for fear of humiliation.

This city has held parades for the Lakers in front of hundreds of thousands and has championship moments in Dodgers history - "in a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened" - ingrained in its brain forever.

But never has a group of unrequited fans been as ecstatic over a victory. This was Charlie Brown kicking the field goal and getting a kiss from the red-haired girl. It was pure, unadulterated bliss and not a single fan was too proud to wear the team's colors, paint his or her face or act like a 10-year-old when they actually got to cuddle with the Cup.

It's truly one of the most awesome moments in Los Angeles sports history, a kismet moment when a team that has won nothing turns it around so unexpectedly.

We could have expected it. Throughout the playoffs, the Kings were referenced as the last seed (eighth) in its conference, but the

truth was there were scant points separating the teams seeded three to eight. The team had played exceedingly well, too, since changing coaches early and hiring Darryl Sutter.

The Kings dominated the Cup like few NHL champions.

They ran off to a 3-0 lead against Vancouver in the first round and clinched in Game 5 in overtime. They swept St. Louis in the second round and allowed just six goals in four games.

They opened a 3-0 lead on Phoenix in the Conference final and then

Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke, left, shakes hands with co-owner Magic Johnson during a baseball news conference announcing his $147 million, six-year contract. Such a move under previous owner Frank McCourt would have been unheard of. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

clinched in Game 5, again in overtime.

They opened a 3-0 lead on New Jersey before closing it out at home in Game 6, 6-1, barraging the Devils with three first-period goals which began a celebration that, frankly, hasn't ended in some places.

Goalie Jonathan Quick won the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the Stanley Cup after allowing 30 goals in 20 playoff games. The Kings won three postseason games in overtime and were 10-1 on the road.

The only things the Kings didn't accomplish was no fault of their own; the NHL lockout has postponed the raising of the championship banner.

They were without question the biggest story of 2012.

2. Let's be frank, we're glad you're gone.

Frank McCourt did something more astonishing than the Kings: He bankrupted the Dodgers. He pocketed a lot of money in the process, of course, which is what all megalomaniac sports owners do.

His divorce proceedings with Jamie McCourt, a maniac in her own right, pulled the curtain back on the way he sliced and diced the Dodgers empire into shell pieces and took his profit while pushing the team into debt. MLB eventually had to force him out.

Not without a parting gift, a massive $2.1 billion sale to the Guggenheim Group, one of your basic "investment" companies that had the benefit of Magic Johnson as a front man to ease tensions.

Frank-ly, there are as many reasons to distrust the new owners as the old. They've gone on a dubious

Mike Brown was fired after the Lakers began their season 1-4. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Steinbrenner-like trade and free-agent rampage - Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, Zack Grienke - that sent the payroll beyond $200 million for 2013. If this team falls on its wallet, we'll all be reminded there's no guarantee the new owner is better than the old.

Who knows? Maybe Ryu Hyun-jin will be the new Fernando and the Dodgers will add Korean BBQ to the concession stands.

3. "And you thought the Kardashians were drama queens."

Congrats to Jim Buss. With McCourt and Mike Garrett gone and Donald Sterling's Clippers no longer a joke, you've become the biggest management goof in town. The Lakers always have been a soap opera, but never one so messy since Jerry Buss gave the keys to his

USC head coach Lane Kiffin saw his team begin atop The Associated Press poll. The Trojans then went 7-5 and will play Monday in the Sun Bowl, falling far short of their expectations. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

son.

Mike Brown wasn't the right coach for this team, but dumping him after five games of season two? Courting Phil Jackson was smart; stiffing him was absurd. Truth is, this is an old team trying to win a quick title, and it remains to be seen if anyone beyond Dwight Howard can handle Mike D'Antoni's pace.

Right now, the Clippers are better, younger and more exciting.

4. "Not even No. 1 in Los Angeles."

One game never should define a coach, but USC's 2011 win over Oregon changed a lot of minds about Lane Kiffin. The publicity was good enough to make the Trojans the No. 1 team in the preseason AP poll and returning senior quarterback Matt Barkley a Heisman candidate.

Quicker than you can say deflated footballs, the Trojans lost to Stanford and went on a 1-4 bender to close the season, including a loss to UCLA for the first time since 2006. Kiffin was combative with the media, found novel ways to embarrass the program and did Barkley no favors with his sketchy game plans. The 2012 season ends in the Sun Bowl; as far as many USC fans are concerned it's sunset, not sunrise, on the Kiffin era.

5. "Big fish, fishy decisions."

On one hand, the Angels proved they have cornerstone, homegrown talents in A.L. Rookie of the Year Mike Trout and Long Beach State alum Jered Weaver, who took a home team discount signing a new contract and also pitched a no-hitter. On the other, they signed Albert Pujols when they needed bullpen help, and it was a second consecutive year of blown saves that ruined the team's postseason changes. Pujols can hit, and so can new signee Josh Hamilton. But Arte Moreno's moves of late seem more like responses to what the Dodgers are doing than finding the right combination - all at the expense of manager Mike Scioscia.

6. "Eighteen years of freedom are at stake!"

Los Angeles has not been infested with the NFL since the Rams and Raiders left after the 1994 season, meaning no lousy teams or blackouts or oddball owners or, most importantly, a new stadium built at taxpayer expense. Alas, the L.A. City Council in 2012 approved a new downtown football stadium. The good politicians swear it won't cost anyone a penny.

Probably not, because like every other football fantasy floated in town this one still lacks all of the tithing the NFL requires, especially now with prime mover-shaker Philip Anschutz putting his company, AEG (Kings, Staples, Galaxy, a little of the Lakers), up for sale. Hey, every list needs a little pulp fiction.

7. "Never redshirt a talented freshman."

There's one bit of advice Rick Neuheisel should have taken from Pete Carroll - play your freshmen, no matter how crowded a position may be. Neuheisel chose to redshirt quarterback Brett Hundley in 2011; the team won a division title but lost 50-0 to USC, finished 6-8 and Neuheisel lost his job. Neuheisel's loss was new coach Jim Mora's gain.

Hundley was the key to a Bruins revival that produced a 9-4 record, Pac-12 South title, all-time rushing title for Johnathan Franklin and Holiday Bowl date. There's no denying the Bruins regained some swagger with the change; now the question is what Mora can do for an encore and how long before he wants to return to the NFL.

8. "Olympic royalty in London."

It's a given that Southern California will reap a large portion of medals for America at every Olympics and 2012 was no different, with three local women taking home a trio of medals - Allyson Felix (three golds), Carmelita Jeter (gold, silver, bronze) and Rebecca Soni (two gold, silver). The gold-medal winning men's and women's basketball teams, women's soccer and women's water polo teams were SoCal strong, too; Long Beach State's Misty May-Treanor won a third gold medal with partner Kerri Walsh-Jennings in beach volleyball; Monrovia sharpshooter Kim Rhode became the first American to medal in five consecutive games and Bryshon Nellum, four years removed from gunshot wounds that threatened to end his career, won a relay medal and carried the American flag in the closing ceremonies.

9. "OK, so maybe this sport is catching on."

It will be eons before American professional soccer can consider itself on par with the best leagues in Europe and South America, but give the MLS credit for survival and, specifically, the Galaxy for taking a costly chance on David Beckham and winning a second consecutive MLS Cup. It ain't Stanley, but it will do for soccer fans.

Beckham and wife Posh now return to the homeland, where they undoubtedly will push the royal pregnancy off the front page.

10. "Oh me oh my! BINGO!!"

At last, vindication for Ralph Lawler. The long-suffering Clippers announcer now has a team worthy of his enthusiasm and hopes. The Clips took a major step in 2011-12 by going 40-26 and reaching the conference semifinals, and might have gone farther if Chauncey Billups hadn't been hurt. In Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, the Clips have two thoroughbreds, and they're currently on a franchise-record 16-game winning streak. If the Kings can win a Stanley Cup, the Clippers can dream just as big.

Also receiving votes:

UCLA men's basketball: Ben Howland lands star-studded recruiting class, begins season in Top 25, then loses to Cal Poly and two players quit. On a good note, a John Wooden statue is unveiled and a new Pauley Pavilion opens.

Antron Brown: The driver becomes the first African-American to win a major U.S. auto racing title at the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona.

Jamie Bestwick and Bob Burnquist: Skateboarder extraordinaire Bestwick six-peats in the Vert at the X Games to tie a record while Burnquist, competing in his 18 th and perhaps final Games, defeats teen rivals for Skateboard Air title.

Ryan Hunter-Reay: The determined IndyCar driver won the series title by a slender margin over Will Power in the season finale by surviving multiple incidents over a 500-mile night race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. Power won the Long Beach Grand Prix earlier in the season. Also in racing, the IndyCar season ended with its CEO being flushed and Irwindale Speedway filed for bankruptcy and has yet to reopen.

Code of Conduct: L.A. sports teams announce code of conduct for fans.

We're sure Bryan Stow will be pleased to know this.

Breeders' Cup: Horse Racing's best weekend, which is becoming more relevant than the Triple Crown among serious horsemen, returned to Santa Anita in 2012 with Fort Larned taking the Classic (in which favored Game On Dude was seventh).

Sam Querrey: Thousand Oaks tennis star wins the Farmers Classic for third time in four years but L.A. loses the last ATP event, with roots in town dating back to 1927.

Graeme McDowell: Golfer wins Tiger Woods' World Challenge for the second time in three years at Sherwood Country Club. Maybe it's time to rename it the Graeme McDowell World Challenge.

Also, John Huh of Crescenta Valley was named the PGA Tour's Rookie of the Year.

bob.keisser@presstelegram.com

Twitter/@BobKeisser

Source: http://www.sbsun.com/sports/ci_22279647/top-sports-story-lines-2012-kings-finally-have?source=rss

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