Royalty Tours USA

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Royalty w/o 11/22 in review

After a wild weekend, another crazy week followed. Here's how it went:

Monday night after going to work tired I still saved up enough energy to go to Newark, NJ to see the Devils play the Capitals at the Prudential Center. The Capitals failed to show up literally. The Devils scored early and often as they shut down Alex Ovechkin and the Caps, 5-0! Johan Hedberg playing for the injured Martin Brodeur recorded the shutout.

Tuesday night after work I went to Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks host the Charlotte Bobcats. The Knicks played well on their West Coast road trip. On this night they were trying to continue their winning ways. It appeared for most of the game that the Knicks were in control until late in the game when the Bobcats tried their best to overtake the Knicks but their attempt came up short as the Knicks hung on for a 110-107 victory.

Toney Douglas lead the Knicks with 22 points but it was a balanced attack as six players finished with double figure point totals.

D.J. Augustin had 24 points and Gerald Wallace added 20 in the losing effort for the Bobcats.

Wednesday night after getting out of work early at 3PM I went to see the Devils entertain the Calgary Flames.

The Devils outlasted the Flames as they beat them in a shootout, 2-1!

Ilya Kovalchuk of the Devils scored the only goal in the shootout which gave the Devils the extra point in the standings in this one.

Thursday after spending the day with the family for Thanksgiving, I went to see the Jets play the Bengals in prime time at the New Meadowlands Stadium.

The Jets came out slow in this one. They struggled in the first half. After returning from the locker room to start the second half, they played like a team that was ready to take over. On their first drive, Brad Smith ran a reverse for a 53 yard touchdown to set the tone for the rest of the game.

Later in the third quarter he ran a kick back for 89 yards for a touchdown which helped seal the deal as the Jets wound up winning 26-10!

Friday morning I rented a car from Avis for a few days so I could drive to Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
I proceeded to pick the King up from work at the Post Office at Grand Central Station. After that, I drove by Madison Square Garden where I picked up our friend Lloyd Ramsland who joined us for this excursion.

We continued through the Lincoln Tunnel as we made our way to Philadelphia to see the Flyers play the Calgary Flames in a Black Friday traditional matinee game at 1PM at the Wells Fargo Center as it's now called.

The Flames beat the Flyers, 3-2 in a shootout.

After the game, we went to Reading, PA to see a minor league hockey game between the Reading Royals and the Cincinnati Cyclones.

The hometown Royals were trailing 3-1 after two periods but they managed to tie the game at three and they forced overtime. They wound up winning the game 4-3 with a goal in the extra session.

After the game I drove to Somerset, PA so we could get some sleep before we continued on to Pittsburgh.
We arrived at the Consol Energy Center, the new home of the Pittsburgh Penguins around Noon for a 1PM start.

We were all there for the first time as we needed to catch up to say we've been to every current NHL rink once again.

In addition, we got to visit our friends Mike & Alicia Irr who live in Pittsburgh. They have half season tickets for the Penguins. They helped us with advice in order for us to get our tickets so we could see their new hockey home. It's located right next to their old one, the Igloo as it was known in downtown Pittsburgh.

As for the game we saw, the Penguins beat the Flames, 4-1! Sidney Crosby lead the Pens as he scored a hat trick. It was the first one in the new building. Early in the game, he was awarded a penalty shot but he failed to score. He did have an even strength goal, a power play goal and a shorthanded empty net goal to finish his hat trick though. Needless to say, he was the star of the game.

After the game, we drove 60 miles to Wheeling, West Virginia to see another minor league hockey game between the Wheeling Nailers and the Kalamazoo K-Wings.

More importantly, our friend Lloyd had never seen a game there so we made sure we got him there.

The King and I were there one time back in January 1998 after a Penguin game at the Igloo.

The Nailers wound up winning the game, 3-1!

After the game, I drove us all home overnight. I dropped off Lloyd at his house in Oradell, NJ at 5:10AM after driving 422 miles.

Lloyd said and I quote "you did a terrific job driving".

I proceeded to take the King home then I finally went home. I arrived at my house at 6:15AM.

I laid down for a few hours then I went to Avis and I returned the car I rented. I drove 977 miles in 2 days.

I went back to my car which was parked across the street from the car rental and I drove to the subway. I then took the train to the Port Authority Bus Terminal where I caught the bus to go the New Meadowlands Stadium to see the Giants play the Jacksonville Jaguars at 1PM.

The Giants like the Jets started slow. They trailed 17-6 at halftime. After getting a wake up call and a pep talk in the locker room, the Giants went to work for real.

It culminated when Eli Manning threw a 32 yard touchdown pass to Kevin Boss with 3:15 left in the game to give the Giants a 24-20 victory.

After the game, despite being exhausted the King and I took the NJ Transit train to Secaucus where we connected for the train to Newark so we could see the Nets play the Portland Trailblazers at 7PM at the Prudential Center.

The Nets beat a struggling Trailblazer team 98-96! This was a closely contested game throughout.
Devin Harris lead the Nets with 25 points.

Wesley Matthews paced the Trailblazers with 25, Brandon Roy had 21 while LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 in the loss.

That sums up another crazy and tiresome week in the life of Royalty.

Thank you for reading and following along my adventurous path.

If you want to experience a sample for yourself all you have to do is let me know.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, November 29, 2010

Royalty schedule w/o 11/29

Here's the game plan:

Tuesday, November 30th Nets at Knicks 7:30PM

Wednesday, December 1st Thunder at Nets 7PM

Thursday, December 2nd Texans at Eagles 8:20PM

Saturday, December 4th Pittsburgh Panthers at Cincinnati Bearcats 12 Noon

                                      Florida Everblades at Cincinnati Cyclones 7:30PM

Sunday, December 5th Saints at Bengals 1PM

Please feel free to check back to see how it played out.

I hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

On the other hand, please bear with me as I try to play catch up with all my recent adventures home and away. I greatly appreciate your patience and understanding. I'm sure it will be worth the wait. If you're tired of waiting then I think you should contact me so you can wisely make better use of your free time.

Thank you for all your support.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman     

Royalty is going to the Queen City of Cincinnati this weekend!

It's going to be December in a few days, Royalty will be spending the first weekend of the month in the Queen City of Cincinnati.

The game plan is as follows:

The King and I are going to the 'Nati.The primary purpose is to see Nippert Stadium home of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and former and original home of the Cincinnati Bengals.We also have a few other games while we're there.

Saturday, December 4th we have a flight booked on Delta Airlines that departs NY LaGuardia Airport at 8:05AM Eastern Time and it's scheduled to land in Covington, Kentucky which is 12 miles from Cincinnat at 10:19AM Eastern Time.

Upon arrival, I'll be renting a car and we're going to drive right to Nippert Stadium to see the Cincinnati Bearcats play the Pitt Panthers in a college football game that will kick off at Noon local time. They finally set the official time yesterday.

After the college football game, we have a minor league hockey game in downtown at the US Bank Arena where the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL host the Florida Everblades at 7:30PM.. That makes for a convenient doubleheader right in the Queen City.

Sunday, December 5th, we'll be back at Paul Brown Stadium to see the Cincinnati Bengals take on the defending Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints. Kickoff is scheduled for 1PM local time.

After the game, I'll be driving the King to the airport so he can catch his 7PM flight home since he has to go into work at 2AM and he couldn't get off. I wanted to play it safe just in case with the flex schedule since I booked my flight back in August before the season started.

 I'll be flying back home on Monday, December 6th. My flight on Delta Airlines departs Covington at 9:45AM Eastern Time and lands at LaGuardia at 11:47AM Eastern Time.

Upon arrival, I'm going home fast then I'm going to Avis to rent a car and pick up the King as we head up North to Foxboro, Massachusetts for the AFC East showdown on MNF at 8:30PM  as the Jets and the Patriots meet to probably decide the division title.

Please feel free to check back for all the details of how this adventure turned out.

If you want to join us, please let me know so I can arrange to make it happen.

Thank you for reading.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Royalty w/o 11/15 in review

This week started off slow as I was able to catch up on needed rest on Monday and Tuesday after going to work following another great weekend getaway in Buffalo and Cleveland.

Wednesday night after work I went out to the Nassau Coliseum for the first time this season to see the Islanders try to break their losing streak against the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Islanders fell behind 2-0 in this game until they finally scored late in the second period to get back into the game at 2-1. It stayed that way until late in the third period when the Lightning struck again to make it 3-1. 21 seconds later the Islanders answered to make it a one goal game again with a minute and 8 seconds to go in regulation time. The Lightning added an empty net goal with 16 seconds left to seal the Islanders fate. Hence their losing streak continued.

After another night off Thursday night I was able to rest up for another busy weekend in the Northeast.

After working a half a day, I went to Avis to rent a car for the weekend. I proceeded to pick up the King and off to Boston we went.

We had to dodge the brutal Friday traffic as we headed North to Beantown as we were going to the TD Garden to see the Boston Celtics host the Oklahoma City Thunder at 7PM. I did my very best to get us there on time but given the circumstances we had to work with that was humanly impossible.

We wound up arriving in the second quarter. Thanks to our good friend and long time buddy James Gabriele who arranged to provide royal treatment for the King and I. He was able to score us a pair of incredible seats 16 rows up from the court near the free throw line. What a view we had.

As for the game, we were listening to the beginning of it as we were driving there. It was disappointing to hear that the Thunder were playing without their top superstar Kevin Durant. That just made a bad rough ride rougher.

We did our best to enjoy the game regardless. The Thunder even without Durant managed to beat the hometown Celtics, 89-84! It was tightly contested game right throughout but in the end the Celtics couldn't make enough shots as the Thunder hung on to win.

Saturday we went to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts to see the Boston College Eagles take on the Virginia Cavaliers at Noon.

We wound up meeting up with a fellow road tripper by the name of Matt Veitas. Matt is a partner of my buddy, Paul Swaney who runs the website Stadium Journey. Stadium Journey is the place to go if you need to find out information beforehand of what to expect when you attend a live sporting event at a particular venue. Their site has in depth analysis so you can get a taste of what goes on ahead of time. Matt told me they're in the midst of revamping their site to make it more interactive and better. As far as I'm concerned they do a great job. Please feel free to check it out at http://www.stadiumjourney.com/.

As for the game we saw at Alumni Stadium, Boston College squeaked past the Cavaliers, 17-13! With the victory, the Eagles become bowl eligible for the 12th straight season. Way to go, BC.

After the game, the King and I went back to the TD Garden in Boston to see the Boston Bruins take on the LA Kings at 7PM. The bruins fell behind early in this one. They gave up three goals and they trailed the Kings 3-0 early in the second period. They fought back and they eventually tied the game at three. It stayed that way in overtime. In order to break the tie, they went to a shootout to declare a winner. A shootout normally goes three rounds to decide a winner unless neither team outscores the other then they continue until they do.

In this case, the shootout lasted six rounds with the King's Michael Handzus scoring the only goal but it was the decisive one that gave the Kings the 4-3 victory.

After the game we drove home to get some sleep as we got ready for a rare NFL doubleheader. The rarity was that we got to see the Jets and the Giants play in the same day in two different Stadiums.

Stay tuned because I'm going to do a special post recapping this amazing day.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

                       

Monday, November 22, 2010

Royalty schedule w/o 11/22

Here's the game plan:

Monday, November 22nd Capitals at Devils 7PM

Tuesday, November 23rd Bobcats at Knicks 7:30PM

Wednesday, November 24th Flames at Devils 7:30PM

Thursday, November 25th Bengals at Jets 8:20PM

Friday, November 26th Flames at Flyers 1PM

                                    Cincinnati Cyclones at Reading Royals 7:05PM

Saturday, November 27th Flames at Penguins 1PM
 
                                         Kalamazoo K-Wings at Wheeling Nailers 7:35PM  

Sunday, November 28th Giants at Jaguars 1PM

                                      Trailblazers at Nets 7PM

It's going to be a crazy and eventful week. Please bear with me as I try to find time to catch up on the 11/15 week in review.

I hope everybody has a great week and more importantly a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING  to you and yours.

We all have plenty to be thankful for. 

Thank you for reading and following along.


Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Royalty attracts attention at Cleveland Browns Stadium as Jets stun Browns in OT!

Prince at Cleveland Browns Stadium















 

After an eventful Saturday night in Buffalo, the King and I continued our road trip to Cleveland, Ohio to see the Jets play the Browns Sunday afternoon.

We were supposed to be joined by our friend from Cleveland, Bessanne Hustosky but unfortunately she told us she couldn't make it due to not feeling well. Her company was missed.

Even though Bessanne wasn't up to the test, the King and I weren't alone. We wound up seeing Ira from Staten Island who sees every Jet game home and away. In addition, he's a regular caller on sports radio shows home and away also.

Speaking of out of town sports radio, Ira introduced the King and I to a guy named Rick Morris who runs a sports talk show on the internet. He instantly wants to put the King and I on a future show.

His website has been added to my blog list so I strongly suggest that you check it out.

We were privileged and honored that Rick was so willing to hear about our past and future adventures.
He said and I quote "you guys are living the dream". He was left in awe of the overview we briefly gave him.

As for the game we saw, it was a thriller indeed. In the end, it turned out right for Ira, the King and I.

The Jets once again found a way to win the game. The Browns with their quarterback of the future now in place in Colt "the real" McCoy who gave the Jets everything they could handle.

We were willing to accept a tie then all of a sudden Santonio Holmes deked and slipped through a tackle and he found his way into the end zone for the winning touchdown with just 16 seconds left in the extra session to give the Jets an incredible 26-20 victory.

It was another stunning ending on the road for Gang Green.

Mark Sanchez was amazing as he alluded would be tackles for sacks and on numerous occasions he completed passes to sustain drives with his ability to buy himself extra time.

As a result, Jerricho Cotchery wound up catching a touchdown pass and a huge pass on third and nine to get a first down in overtime.

What a performance it was for Sanchez and company.

Royalty can proudly say we we're there.

Thank you for reading and following along.

If you're tired of reading about it, then you should do something about it. Talk to me so I can make it happen for you.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Road Trippers Meet Up in Buffalo!

Prince, King, Andrew Kulyk, Jim Vigeant, Peter Farrell & Bob Kelly

















Saturday morning I rented a car from Avis for the weekend.

I went to Astoria, Queens and I picked up the King and we made our way to Western New York.

We made a pitstop in Elmira to have some lunch at Pudgie's Pizza.

We continued on our way to downtown Buffalo where we were meeting up with Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell of the Ultimate Sports Road Trip aka USRT as they refer to themselves for the Buffalo Sabres game against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals at 7PM.

We had great lower level seats thanks to the Buffalo Boys as we like to call them.

In addition, thanks to them we were joined by a few other road trippers from Detroit who were also in town for the hockey game.

They were Jim Vigeant and Bob Kelly.

We wound up hanging out together after the game at the Washington Square Lounge.

As for the game we saw, the Buffalo Sabres were still looking for their first home win of the young season. Royalty and company from Motown brought the karma as the Sabres finally won their first home game.
The game wound up being decided in overtime as Thomas Vanek of the Sabres lit the lamp with a minute to go in sudden death.

As we made our way out to the street after the game we thought the Sabres won a playoff game it was that festive of an occasion for the local faithfuls who were on hand.

It was great to see a small market team's fan base get to celebrate something even it was just a regular season game.

As for celebrating, we all went to have some wings, burgers and beers at the Washington Square Lounge which is located within a short walk of the HSBC Arena.

As for can see in the picture above we all had a great time exchanging stories of our road trips from the past.

Jim and Bob stayed over in the area as they were going to see their beloved Detroit Lions play the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

Why would they want to see that you must be saying to yourself. Well these guys are true sports fans and they looked at it that one way or another they were going to see history. Will the Bills win their first game of the season or would the Lions finally win a road game.

Jim and Bob wound up seeing their Lions lose again for the 25th consecutive time on the road which set a new NFL record.

Andrew and Peter got to see their Bills get their first W of the season.

As for the King and I we were heading towards Cleveland to see the Jets play the Browns on Sunday.

Stay tuned as I go into detail about our adventurous Sunday.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Royalty will be in the Keystone State and Wheeling, West Virginia over Thanksgiving weekend!

Here's the game plan:

I'm renting a car on Black Friday morning from Avis for the weekend.

I'm going to pick up The King and our friend Lloyd Ramsland who will we'll be joining us as we visit the Keystone State and we're taking a ride to Wheeling, West Virginia too before returning home very early Sunday morning.

Friday, November 26th Flames at Flyers 1PM

                                    Cincinnati Cylcones at Reading Royals 7:05PM

Saturday, November 27th Flames at Penguins 1PM

We're be seeing the new Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. That will mean all three of us we'll have every current NHL arena once again.


                                       Kalamazoo K-Wings at Wheeling Nailers 7:35PM

If you're interested in going on this getaway royalty style just let me know so I can arrange to have you join us.

It's going to be a blast so why not come for a "royal" ride.

Thank you for reading.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Royalty w/o 11/8 in review

Monday morning upon returning from Detroit on Delta Airlines, I went right into work. After work, I came home to rest up for the busy week ahead.

Tuesday night I went to the Prudential Center to see the Cleveland Cavaliers without LeBron James as they took on the NJ Nets.

The Cavaliers wound up beating the Nets, 93-91. Byron Scott who previously coached the Nets got revenge on his former team. The Cavaliers used a balanced attack to come away with the victory.

J.J. Hickson led the way scoring 18 points and he grabbed 10 rebounds. Antawn Jamison and Ramon Sessions added 15 points each while Daniel Gibson had 14 including a few key 3 pointers to help seal the deal.

The Nets were led by Travis Outlaw who led all scorers with 27 points in the defeat. Devin Harris had 18 and Brook Lopez finished with 16.

Wednesday night I went to Madison Square Garden to see the return of ex-Knick David Lee who traded in the offseason to the Golden State Warriors.

After the first timeout of the game, the Knicks honored David with a video tribute.

After that David continued to be a highlight reel. He scorched the Knicks for 28 points and he pulled down 10 rebounds for a typical D-Lee double-double.

Stephen Curry the second year guard played well and he poured in 25 points. Monta Ellis added 22 points as the Warriors held off the Knicks down the stretch, 122-117.

The Knicks were led by Amaure Stoudemire who led all scorers with 33 points but he missed 2 free throws late in the game that cost the Knicks a chance for a possible comeback in the end. Wilson Chandler had 27 points in the losing effort.

Thursday night I went back to MSG this time to see the Blueshirts play. The Rangers were hosting the Buffalo Sabres.

As for the game, neither starting goaltender played. Hendrik Lundqvist and Ryan Miller were missing. In fact, Miller wasn't even the backup. Despite that I saw a competitive game. The Sabres wound tying the game late in the second period at 2. It stayed that way until overtime when the Rangers Artem Anisimov scored the sudden death game winner with 3:28 left in the extra period.

Friday night I returned to the Prudential Center for NJ Devil hockey. The Devils were still searching for their first home win. They were entertaining the Edmonton Oilers who have the number one draft pick on their team in Taylor Hall.

As for the match, the Devils finally came out victorious at the Rock when Ilya Kovalchuk delivered the game winning goal with 1:33 left in the extra session to win it.

As for the weekend, please stay tuned as I will write a special post with the details of the adventure.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, November 15, 2010

Royalty schedule w/o 11/15

Here's the game plan:

Wednesday, November 17th Lightning at Islanders 7PM

Friday, November 19th Thunder at Celtics 7PM

Saturday, November 20th Virginia at Boston College 12 Noon

                                        Kings at Bruins 7PM

Sunday, November 21st Texans at Jets 1PM

                                      Giants at Eagles 8:20PM

Please check for my week in review for the w/o 11/8.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Friday, November 12, 2010

Royalty is going to Beantown and City of Brotherly Love next weekend!

Here's the game plan:

I'm renting a car Friday afternoon after I work a half day from Avis for the weekend.

I'm going to pick up The King and we'll be heading up to Boston for Friday night and Saturday all day and night. Sunday I'll be in Philadelphia after the Jet game.

Friday, November 19th Thunder at Celtics 7PM

Saturday, November 20th Virginia at Boston College 12 Noon

                                         Kings at Bruins 7PM

Sunday, November 21st  Texans at Jets 1PM

Our roadtrip buddies from Buffalo, Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell of the Ultimate Sports Road Trip aka USRT will be visiting the New Meadowlands Stadium for the first time.

                                      Giants at Eagles 8:20PM

If you're interested in going on this getaway royalty style just let me know so I can arrange to have you join us.

It's going to be a blast so why not come for a "royal" ride.

Thank you for reading.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Royalty fittingly closes out the weekend at the Palace!


Prince at the Palace

















After departing downtown Detroit, Royalty drove up I-75 North 30 miles to get to the Palace of Auburn Hills for some NBA basketball. The Detroit Pistons were hosting the Golden State Warriors at 6PM.

I wound up parking the car in the parking lot at 5:35PM.

As for the game we saw, the Pistons unlike the Lions found a way to win as they beat the Warriors, 102-97.

Another great weekend was officially in the books. Monday morning we flew back home and I went right into work upon arrival.

Thank you for reading.

Don't forgot if you want to see this operation firsthand then you should let me know so I can arrange to make it happen for you.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty leaves Ford Field in disbelief!


Prince at Ford Field


















Sunday in downtown Detroit was a memorable one. Christmas came early for Jet fans like the King and I. Unfortunately for our friend Frank his Lions literally gave this game away.

The Jets who didn't show up until late in the fourth quarter left the Motor City with a W thanks to the Lions blowing a 10 point lead with 4:26 left in regulation.

Mark Sanchez led the way running the no huddle offense to perfection getting the Jets in position to go into overtime.

In the extra session, the Jets won the coin toss and they proceeded to march right down the field as Sanchez hit Santonio Holmes over the middle and he ran into the red zone which set up the game winning 30 yard field goal by Nick Folk with 12:42 left in overtime to snatch the victory from the claws of defeat.

The key play was just after the two minute warning when the Lions had the ball with 6 yards to go on third down. Instead of running the ball which would have killed another 30 seconds of precious time, they decided to pass and they wound up throwing an incomplete pass which gave the Jets more time to stage their comeback.

Wisely the Jets were fortunate and they took advantage.

We walked out of the building in stunned disbelief. The Jets found a way to win again. That's what championship teams do.

In this case, I'll gladly take the W.

Stay tuned as the last leg of this adventurous weekend is still to come.

Thank you for reading.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Royalty goes to Toledo, Ohio to see Walleye hockey!


Huntington Center - Home of the Toledo Walleye


















After we departed East Lansing, I drove 120 miles to downtown Toledo, Ohio to see some minor league hockey, ECHL style.

The last time the King and I saw a minor league hockey game in Toledo was back in 2006. That was when the team was called the Storm. They played in an old barn near Maumee which is a suburb of Toledo.

After suspending operations for a few years, they made the move to downtown Toledo.

Last year they opened their new arena which is called the Huntington Center.

When I saw the schedule I noticed the Walleye as they are now known were home so it wound up being a perfect opportunity to see this new venue.

It's conveniently located a few blocks from Fifth Third Field which is the home of the Toledo Mud Hens, the Triple A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. This is a great venue to watch a minor league baseball game.

As for the Huntington Center, it was also a great place to take in a live sporting event.

We wound up getting free tickets outside from people who had extras they weren't using. The best part was they were in the Club level which made the experience really enjoyable.

As for the game we saw, the hometown Toledo Walleye fell behind 2-0 after two periods to the visiting Kalamazoo K-Wings. In the third period, they rallied to tie the game with a few power play goals.

The game went into overtime and the Walleye cashed in on another power play as they scored the game winner in the extra session to win the game, 3-2!

Stay tuned as I continue to wrap up our Motown weekend.

Thank you for reading.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty goes to Michigan State to see the Spartans play Minnesota!

Michigan State University

















Upon arrival into Detroit on Delta Airlines, I rented a car for the weekend from Alamo to get us around.

I proceeded to drive 85 miles northwest to East Lansing, home of the Michigan State Spartans.

We could have went to the "Big House" which is in Ann Arbor, Michigan home of the blue and maize. They were playing at the same time. Royalty's been there done that on a few occasions so we decided we needed to do something different.

We wound up seeing the Spartans beat the Minnesota Golden Gophers, 31-8!

It was a cool day to say the least but Royalty came prepared for the elements.

It turned out to be a great experience despite the fact the security going into the building was a bit ridiculous stopping me with a clear plastic bag. I had to go back and hide the bag and carry my paperwork and camera in. Needless to say, I wasn't too happy.

Thanks to USRT, Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell I was forewarned about the horrible security in this venue.

It's sad to think that common sense doesn't exist when you go to a live sporting event on any level in this day and age.

In this case, they had young kids giving their customers like myself a hard time.

It's unnecessary and uncalled for. Everything today is overkill especially when it comes to security. The airport is one thing, attending a live sporting event is another.

After I finally got to settle in I was able to enjoy the college atmosphere.

In the end, it turned out to a good time.

Stay tuned as I recap the next leg of the journey as we drove 120 miles to Toledo, Ohio to see a minor league hockey game.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Royalty w/o 11/1 in review

After resting up Monday night, I was planning to go to see the Knicks play the Magic at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night but the game was postponed due to an asbestos scare due to the on going construction of the latest renovation.

Wednesday night I went to the Prudential Center to see the Nets take on the Charlotte Bobcats.

The Nets appeared to be headed to another home victory but they blew a 10 point lead midway through the fourth quarter and they lost 85-83.

Boris Diaw lead all scorers with 24 points and Gerard Wallace poured in 20 to pace the Bobcats.

Devin Harris had 19 points while Brook Lopez added 17 in the losing effort. Rookie Derek Favors had 11 points.

After another night off Thursday, I went to the Garden Friday night where they deemed it safe to play.

The Knicks hosted the Washington Wizards who have John Wall, the number one pick in the draft who was making his NBA debut at the Garden.

As for the game, the Knicks won easily, 112-91.

The Knicks were lead by Toney Douglas who had 19 points. Amaure Stoudemire contributed 18 of his own in the win.

As for the Wizards, Andray Blatche lead them with 22 points and Gilbert Arenas had 19.

As for John Wall, he was erratic in his debut. He wound up scoring 13 points and he dished out 7 assists but he committed costly turnovers as the Wizards tried to back in the game. He's got a bright future. He's only 19 so in time he'll learn from his mistakes.

Saturday morning the King and I and our friend Frank went to Motown for the weekend.

Please stay tuned as I go into further detail regarding the getaway.

Thank you for reading.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, November 8, 2010

Royalty schedule w/o 11/8

Here's the game plan:

Tuesday November 9th Cavaliers at Nets 7PM

Wednesday November 10th Warriors at Knicks 7:30PM

Thursday November 11th Sabres at Rangers 7PM

Friday November 12th Oilers at Devils 7PM

Saturday November 13th Capitals at Sabres 7PM

Sunday November 14th Jets at Browns 1PM

Please check back to see how it turned out.

I hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Royalty will be in Buffalo and Cleveland in the middle of the month!

Here's the game plan:

I'm renting a car Saturday morning from Avis for the weekend.

I'm going to pick up The King and we'll be heading up to Western New York and then we'll be continuing West through Erie, Pennsylvania en route to Cleveland, Ohio before returning home late Sunday night.

Saturday, November 13th Capitals at Sabres 7PM

We'll be meeting up with our roadtrip buddies from B-lo, Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell of the Ultimate Sports Road Trip aka USRT.

Sunday, November 14th Jets at Browns 1PM

I plan to see the Jets deliver another roadkill against their former coach Eric Mangini.

More importantly, I look forward to seeing our friend Bessanne who lives in Cleveland. She's planning to join us for the game.

If you're interested in going on this getaway royalty style just let me know so I can arrange to have you join us.

It's going to be a blast so why not come for a "royal" ride.

Thank you for reading.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, November 1, 2010

Royalty schedule w/o 11/1

Here's the game plan:

Tuesday, November 2nd Magic at Knicks 7:30PM

Wednesday, November 3rd Bobcats at Nets 7PM

Friday, November 5th Wizards at Knicks 7:30PM

Saturday, November 6th Minnesota at Michigan State 12 Noon

                                       Kalamazoo K-Wings at Toledo Walleye 7PM

Sunday, November 7th Jets at Lions 1PM

                                    Warriors at Pistons 6PM

I hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 10/25 in review

After catching up on rest Monday and Tuesday night after work, I was ready for basketball to start.

Wednesday night after work I went out to Newark, NJ to see the Nets play their first game at their new temporary home, the Prudential Center. It was the 56th NBA arena that I've seen a game in.

As for the game, the Detroit Pistons were playing the Nets on Opening Night.

This was a closely contested game throughout. In the end, Anthony Morrow hit the winning shot as the Nets came from behind to get into the win column first with a 101-98 win.

Last season the Nets didn't win their first game for a few months.

Brook Lopez led all scorers with 25 points and Devin Harris added 22. For the Pistons, Tayshaun Prince, Rodney Stuckey and Charlie Villanueva each had 14 points in the loss.

After another night off Thursday, I returned to the Prudential Center Friday night after work.

The Sacramento Kings were in town to play the Nets. This game was similar to Wednesday night.

The Net hung tough and came back to win again. This time they won 106-100.

Brook Lopez had 29 points and Devin Harris poured in 21 to lead the way. For the Kings, Francisco Garcia and Tyreke Evans added 18 points each in the losing effort.

Stop the season, the Nets are 2-0!

Saturday I drove up to New Haven, Connecticut to see the Columbia Lions play the Yale Bulldogs at the Yale Bowl with the King.

It was a perfect opportunity for us to see the Yale Bowl for the first time.

We've previously seen games in the Ivy League at Princeton and Penn.

Speaking of Princeton, when we arrived in the seating area we heard a few people get our attention. We weren't alone.

We saw a few members of our crew in the house, they were Steve Tepperman aka "Princeton Steve" and Pat Gorman.

They were sitting near midfield so we went up and joined them.

As for the game, Yale raced out to a 31-7 lead at halftime. In the second half, Columbia came roaring back to cut the lead to 3, 31-28. Unfortunately for them, that's the way it remained as the Bulldogs hung on for the narrow victory.

Saturday night we drove back to NYC to see the new look New York Knicks play the Portland Trailblazers in their home opener at Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks with a revamped roster which included newcomers Amaure Stoudemire, Raymond Felton, Timofey Mozgov and Landry Fields still weren't able to hold an eight point lead with 5 minutes to go.

They wound up losing the opener 100-95 in front of a sellout crowd.

The fan base seemed to be back at least on this night.

Brandon Roy lead the way for the Trailblazers with 29 points, LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 points and Andre Miller chipped with 19 to blaze the trail to victory.

For the Knicks, Wilson Chandler scored 22 points off the bench. Amaure Stoudemire had 18 points in his home debut.

Sunday I went to the New Meadowlands Stadium looking a treat on Halloween. I would had been better off staying home. I could have knocked on some doors and looked for candy instead.

The Jets thought it was Easter as they laid an egg. After having an off week, the Jets should have came out ready to play but they didn't.

The weather conditions were brutal. The wind was gusting and whipping up throughout the game. The Jets game plan left a lot to be desired in this one. They should have been running the ball more especially against the Packers defense who's not good against stopping the run.

The Jets wound up throwing the ball a lot more than expected. Mark Sanchez didn't have a good game. The Jet defense played well but the offense got shut out by the Packers who won the game, 9-0!

Thank you for reading.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman