eted, of a premiership window.Ulti | Forum

Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive has apologized to Geoff Petrie, saying that he meant no disrespect by his recent comments about the former general manager and acknowledging that all the mistakes are my mistakes. Jerome Brown Eagles Jersey .Ranadive issued his apology to the Sacramento Bee as part of a column published Saturday, four days after the unconventional owner criticized Petrie and former Kings coach Keith Smart during an interview with USA Today Sports.I wanted to sincerely apologize to Geoff Petrie and his team, Ranadive told the Bee. I meant no disrespect. I have the utmost respect for what they have done for the franchise and what they have accomplished. I fully understand that its a huge privilege to own a basketball team, and as chairman of the ownership, the buck stops with me. I accept responsibility for everything. All the mistakes are my mistakes.Ranadive purchased a majority ownership of the Kings in May 2013 and replaced Petrie, who had been Sacramentos GM for 20 years, with Pete DAlessandro a month later.As part of his conversation with USA Today Sports, which was published last Tuesday, Ranadive said that Petrie and Smart did not want to be part of the Kings rebuilding process at the end of the 2012-13 season.I had the draft was going to start, and players were going to come in for tryouts, Ranadive told USA Today Sports. There was nobody there. I needed somebody to go and actually work out the players. Nobody wanted to there. Geoff didnt want to be there. The coach didnt want to be there. There was nobody there.Those comments prompted sharp criticism from Petrie, a two-time NBA Executive of the Year who told Deadspin that Ranadives account was a sophomoric attempt at revisionist history.The Kings have gone 90-156 in three seasons since Ranadive purchased the team. The Kings fired DAlessandro after the 2014-15 season, replacing him with Vlade Divac, and are on their third head coach -- Dave Joerger -- in the last four seasons. Carson Wentz Jersey . -- Ryan Getzlaf grabbed the three pucks wrapped in tape and held them up to his chest in the Anaheim Ducks dressing room for a celebration nine seasons in the making. Brian Dawkins Jersey . -- PGA TOUR Canada member Steve Saunders took a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Web. http://www.eaglesrookiestore.com/Eagles-Chuck-Bednarik-Jersey/ . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. After 23 rounds of footy -- and a controversial pre-finals bye -- what are the key issues facing the AFL ahead of this years finals series?1. Have Hawthorn been foxing?Its possible, actually. In 2014 and 2015, when the Hawks won the second and third of their hat-trick of flags, they did not finish on top of the ladder, running second in 2014 and third last year.There is a lot of the 2001-2003 Brisbane Lions about the way they have done it, rolling along and making sure that they are top four, and then launching to a new level in September. Most importantly, they know how to get it done at crunch time.On the best guide to how you are playing footy, they are a poorly sixth in scoring and seventh in defence this year - well off the pace.But there is no epidemic of injuries, albeit Jarryd Roughead is a big loss. And we all know that with a bit of history on the line in matching Collingwoods remarkable four flags on end from 1927-1930, they have the motivation.2. Who is the most important single player this week?This comes from left-field, but Phil Davis, co-captain of Greater Western Sydney, has claims to be the man. That is because he will have the job of playing on Lance Franklin in the qualifying final against Sydney on Saturday, and the result of their individual duel could be a tipping point.The Swans great strength is in the midfield; it is the start of their method. But Franklin does the finishing. He loves big games, and he is in form.Davis is a fine player, and he has played well on Franklin before. As match-ups go, Leon Cameron will be happy with it. But an on-song Franklin can help win the match and set up a flag for the Swans, and everyone knows it, not least Davis. He might sleep restlessly on Friday.3. Can a flag be won from fifth position?If anyone can, Adelaide can. The Crows won 16 games in the regular season, enough to go top-four in any other year.First-year coach Don Pyke introduced a devil-may-care game plan which amounts to running at the forward presses that are so poppular nowadays, and scything through so Adelaide kicks more easy, over-the-back goals than anyone, jogging into the goalsquare. Andre Dillard Youth Jersey. It is brave coaching and it has shown others the way forward. Adelaide is by far the No. 1 scoring team in the competition, averaging close to 17 goals with their bunch of options headed by Taylor Walker, Eddie Betts, Josh Jenkins and Co. So to beat the Crows, the opposition know they need to score quite heavily.Its a hard road for Pykes team. A win over North Melbourne on Saturday night means the Crows confront GWS or Sydney then Geelong or Hawthorn, all on the road. But dont forget, this is a very good footy team, better than we would usually expect of a side finishing fifth.4. Why are we playing on Thursday night?Outside of the broadcasters, it is hard to see who wins out of the first Thursday night final between West Coast and the Bulldogs in Perth. Aside from anything else it leaves this Sunday wide open, which does not make sense.The AFL can bin this idea along with last weekends nonsensical pre-finals bye that was so unpopular.5. Why do the same teams always end up on top?Hawthorn, Geelong and Sydney have won nine of the past 11 premierships and all three have a chance again. It makes a nonsense of the idea, popular five years ago, of having to bottom out for draft picks. It also calls into question the idea, much-trumpeted, of a premiership window.Ultimately they are just great clubs who do it better by nurturing their own. Draft selection order is the most overhyped idea in footy and, in terms of importance, runs a distant second to development, teaching and leadership of the players you actually get into your club, and to astute, sensible trading to find readymade players for specific jobs.Those are by far the most important ways of rising up the ladder. All three of those clubs have worked this out on their own. ' ' '