Kings need another Adelman

It's difficult to look at the state of the Sacramento Kings and not wonder if the Maloof brothers know what they're doing.

Maybe because they made so many right moves early as the Kings' owners, the Maloofs probably believed any decision would work out. But the firing of coach Rick Adelman three years ago began the downward spiral.

It didn't make sense then, and it makes even less now. Adelman made the once-joke-of-a-franchise a contender, going to the playoffs all eight years, including the Western Conference finals in 2002.

After trying replacement Eric Musselman for a season, the Maloofs hired the inexperienced Reggie Theus in 2007. It wouldn't have been so bad if Theus, a former UNLV star, hadn't been given a scrap heap of a team. He was fired during the season when -- shockingly! -- the talent-less Kings didn't win.

The Kings had the NBA's worst record this season, and now they're looking for a new coach again.

Good luck with that. Rick Pitino has let it be known he's not interested. UNLV's Lon Kruger has been tied to the opening, but why would he go to that coaching black hole?

The Maloofs, extraordinary Las Vegas casino owners, need to find another Adelman, give him talent and keep it and stick with the coach.

The emergence of the Kings gave the Los Angeles Lakers a terrific in-state rival. It would be fun to see that happen again. One day.

* JUST LET IT GO -- The fallout from Manny Ramirez's positive drug test prompted the predictable talk about his Hall of Fame possibilities, his future with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the league-wide ramifications from the latest revelation.

Deadspin.com founder Will Leitch, writing on Sporting News.com, said hand-wringing over baseball's endless scandal needs to end.

"We're all tired of it," he wrote. "We'll never really know what happened during the 'Steroid Era,' who was using, who wasn't.

"Some of you -- most of you will be media members -- will be driven mad by this fact. Most of you will not. Most of you will recognize that baseball is a sport. It's entertainment. It's something that can move us, touch our hearts, inspire us, connect generations.

"But it's still just a bunch of guys wearing funny outfits swinging a stick and running around a square."

A good argument, but bad deeds should not be ignored. Otherwise, they will continue.

* DANICA ON MOVE? -- Speculation again has arisen that Danica Patrick could leave the Indy Racing League for NASCAR, something she didn't dismiss in an interview with The New York Times.

"It's all about evaluating options, and I think that's something any good business person does," she said. "One of the things I think of is the exposure level that you get in NASCAR with the ratings and viewership. Their numbers are so much larger than ours, and with that comes a bigger following, comes more popularity, comes more demand for you to endorse other products."

Patrick might be posturing for a better deal from the IRL. If nothing else, this Leftovers item is an excuse to run a photo of her.

COMPILED BY MARK ANDERSON LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL