SACRAMENTO, CALIF., Dec. 13 , 2007 � The Sacramento Monarchs will play 12 home weekend games in 2008. The Monarchs view these home weekend dates as the best opportunities for Northern California sports enthusiasts to experience women�s basketball at its highest level. The 34-game regular season schedule features the Monarchs playing four home games on Fridays, six home games on Saturdays and two home games on Sundays during the 2008 season.

�We have received feedback from our fans that they prefer weekend dates for Monarchs games,� said Danette Leighton, vice president of Monarchs business operations. �As their advocates, Maloof Sports & Entertainment has communicated this need for more weekend dates and we are extremely pleased with our 2008 schedule.�

The 2008 Monarchs season will feature six Special Event Games. Along with great basketball, these six games will include unique elements to provide fans with an enhanced experience at ARCO Arena. Elements may include outdoor fun zones with bounce houses, hand printing and card making stations, carnival games and activities and special surprise guests.

Monarchs Special Event Games include:

• Opening Night - Saturday, May 17, versus the San Antonio Silver Stars
  • Be a part of the Monarchs tip-off to their 12th WNBA Season and collect your commemorative Opening Night Lapel Pin
• Dads and Daughters - Saturday, June 14, versus the Los Angeles Sparks
  • Celebrate Father�s Day with the Monarchs at the special game for fathers and daughters
• Women of Inspiration - Saturday, July 12, versus the 2007 WNBA Champion Phoenix Mercury
  • Be in attendance to hear from one of today�s most influential women like Good Morning America�s Robin Roberts, the Monarchs 2007 featured guest
• Breast Health Awareness Night - Friday, July 18, versus Atlanta (team name to be determined)
  • Honor breast cancer survivors at this special Monarchs game versus the newest team in the WNBA
• Camp Day - Thursday, July 24, versus the Phoenix Mercury
  • Celebrate Monarchs Mascot Monty�s birthday at this special 11:30 a.m. matinee game
• The MONTYS/Fan Appreciation Night - Tuesday, September 9, versus the Seattle Storm
  • The Monarchs salute you, the fans at their final regular season home game for 2008>

Additional key weekend match-ups include: Friday, June 6, vs. the 2007 Eastern Conference Champion Detroit Shock; Saturday, July 26, vs. the Indiana Fever; and Saturday, August 30, vs. the Houston Comets.

Sacramento will be featured on national television twice during the 2008 season. The first game will be on Tuesday, May 20, at the Seattle Storm, at 7:30 p.m. and the second game will be on Thursday, July 10, vs. the Los Angeles Sparks, at 6p.m. Both games will be televised on ESPN2.

The League has not scheduled any games between July 28-August 27, 2008, to allow for WNBA players to compete for their respective national teams at the 2008 Olympic Games. During this time, the Monarchs will stay in Sacramento and take part in a variety of community-based events and activities. As the season draws near please visit SacramentoMonarchs.com for more information on Monarchs activities during the Olympic break.

With the release of the 2008 WNBA Schedule, it�s a great time to purchase Monarchs tickets. Give the gift of Monarchs tickets this Holiday season with the purchase of flexible and affordable ticket plans as gift certificates.

Following is the 2008 Monarchs regular season schedule, including key facts:

KEY FACTS ABOUT THE SACRAMENTO MONARCHS 2008 SCHEDULE

• By month, the schedule breaks down as follows: May (2 home, 3 away = 5 total), June (5 home, 5 away = 10 total), July (7 home, 5 away = 12 total), August (1 home, 1 away = 2 total) and September (2 home, 3 away = 5 total).
• By day, the schedule breaks down as follows: Tuesday (3 home, 3 away = 6 total), Wednesday (0 home, 1 away = 1 total), Thursday (2 home, 5 away = 7 total), Friday (4 home, 2 away = 6 total), Saturday (6 home, 3 away = 9 total) and Sunday (2 home, 3 away = 5 total).
• The Monarchs longest homestand is four games, which includes contests against Seattle (July 8), Los Angeles (July 10), Phoenix (July 12) and Atlanta (July 18).
• Sacramento embarks on six road trips of two or more games in length. The longest are two, three-game outings: Seattle (May 20), Chicago (May 22) and Connecticut (May 24); New York (June 8), Washington (June 11) and Minnesota (June 12).
• The Monarchs will play 27 games (14 home, 13 away) before the Olympic break and 7 games (3 home, 4 away) after the break.
• Sacramento will play all teams in the Eastern Conference twice and all teams in the Western Conference three times, except for Houston and Seattle, which will be four games each.

Download the 2008 Sacramento Monarchs Regular Season Schedule.