Good morning, Pittsburgh

Good morning, Pittsburgh, where winter certainly hasn’t loosened its grip. Late into a snowy Tuesday in the nation’s capital, the Kings flew 35 minutes towards Western PA and disembarked down a frozen set of jetway stairs amidst a stiff wind and some stinging, though light, horizontally blown snow. By the time the team traveled east through the Fort Pitt Tunnel across the Monongahela River and was greeted by the spectacular Pittsburgh skyline, it was nearing 1:00 a.m. and there wasn’t much of a stir downtown as the team checked into its hotel.

Upon waking, those in the Los Angeles traveling party were greeted with this remarkable view:

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As long as you’re not trying to hail a cab, Pittsburgh is a wonderful American city. It’s one of the country’s most passionate sports cities and contains one of the best urban locations to shoot wide, sweeping panoramic views. I didn’t even have to ascend the Duquesne Incline to come away with this shot:

And, hey, since this space is becoming increasingly YouTube-driven, here’s a video of the team’s landing. It’s awfully similar to landing at night in Philadelphia, or Calgary, or Phoenix.

HIGHLIGHTED LOCAL ARTIST. So there are quite a few to choose from. Jeff Goldblum is a Pittsburgh native, but we’ve all seen the chaos theory scene from Jurassic Park so many times. Rusted Root is a local band, but no thanks. Michael Keaton grew up near Pittsburgh, and Frances McDormand graduated from high school in the area. Instead, here’s pianist Ahmad Jamal performing Poinciana at the Olympia Theater in Paris in June, 2012:

The Kings are scheduled to practice at the Consol Energy Center early this afternoon, though it’s unclear how many players will take the ice after completing the recent back-to-back set. I’ll be working on Waking up with the Kings and my LAKings.com piece throughout the morning, so stay tuned for more coverage on a road non-game day 24 hours in advance of the Kings’ final game against the Eastern Conference this season. More to come…

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