Like much of this season, the Kings follow a good game with a bad game. And while the memory of Saturday night's stinker still lingers, I find my thoughts wandering to other things. Like Panda Express's Orange Chicken, robotic vacuum cleaners, and Drew Doughty.

Last season, when the Kings were muddling through that forgettable 82-game stretch, there really wasn't any real reason to keep watching games. To say it was brutal would be an insult to electric shocks and mock executions. But it was pretty harsh.

This season, the Kings are playing at a .500 clip, and they are in almost every game. (Except last night, of course). And as I've stated several times, they are more entertaining to watch this season. And while there are plenty of guys that have been playing well, I keep settling on Doughty. When was the last Kings' first-round pick get so much placed upon his shoulders, and actually carry it?

I find myself clamoring to see if Doughty is on the ice, and watch how he handles certain situations. It's a completely different mindset to actually just watch what a defense does, rather than just watch the ebb and flow of a normal game on TV, which focuses solely on offense. His poise is remarkable, and his ability to come back from mistakes is his strong suit. He's going to be a great NHL defenseman at this rate.

Which brings me back to the Calder trophy. As you remember from the Doughty Manifesto, I'd like to see Drew receive the trophy on behalf of the entire franchise and how far we've come in the past three seasons. But several other factors are in the way, such as the exisiting East Coast bias. He simply plays past most hockey writers' bedtimes. Factor in an impressive group of rookies, and it's gonna be a horse race the entire season.

But I still feel that there's got to be something we can do as Kings fans, if at the very least to bring more attention to Doughty. Hell, if Vancouver can almost get Rory Fitzpatrick voted into the All-Star game last season, then why couldn't we try and do the same for Drew, even if it's just to get him and the Kings some press. And guess what? I have a plan...

It's funny where some ideas come from. I've gotten lots of positive response to the Manifesto, but one I got earlier today from someone named ToePick4Life that sparked an idea:

I'm on board with you propping up my boy, DD. He's the best defenseman to be drafted so high in ages.

Something needs to be done, something drastic. Maybe a huge poster on the hotels across the way from Staples Center or something like that.

Too bad you didn't write this sooner, we could've tried to build a huge Kings float for the Rose Parade on Jan. 1!

As much as I think a huge billboard for Doughty on the side of Hotel Figueroa is a great idea, seeing how L.A. Live and the Nokia Theater was erected right across the street, I doubt it would get much visibility from Staples.

The Rose Parade got me thinking... why not get a bunch of Kings fans en masse and march in a parade? And guess what? The 2009 Pasadena Doo Dah Parade is right around the corner! It's this Sunday, actually. Last minute I know, but hear me out...

Think about it, we get 20-30 Kings fans, all wearing Kings jerseys and skate/walk down the 5-block parade route, passing out doughnuts to the people! It makes perfect sense: a niche sport team with manic fans in the biggest niche parade in the world marching in support of a rookie defenseman to win some trophy the average person has never heard of. Perfect fit! How can we go wrong? I'm sure we'd get some sort of coverage, whether it's TV, radio or this blog...

The only bad thing is each parade participant is asked to donate 10 bucks to the Parade committee. So I started bouncing ideas of some people, and I think I could score some freebies, Kings swag, tickets, etc. from friends that might make it worth people's while should they decide to come down and march on Sunday. The parade starts at 11:30 and there's no Kings game Sunday, so what do you have going on? Spending time with the family? Bring 'em along! Watch football? Please, like it matters at this point. How many times can you say you've been in a parade? After the parade, we can all go get a bite to eat and some beer and laugh about it.

So, I'm going to start a concurrent thread over on LetsGoKings, the site where fans rule, as well as some of our other feeder groups and see if there's enough interest in marching in this week's Doo Dah Parade!

Let's do this! DOUGHTY FOR CALDER!!!