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| Me & Rick Morris at the "Q" |
However, I did go to a number of states on my latest journey. I picked up the car just before 9AM. I got it a little early because I knew the weather forecast could be a problem throughout the day with possible snow falling. It turned out to be a wise decision on my part.
Unfortunately the King couldn't make the trip due to his mother still not feeling well. He didn't want to take a chance and go away with me. Our pal Domish decided the week before that he wanted to get away. When he heard the King wasn't going he said he'll keep me company. He's a big hockey fan and since the NHL is still locked out he's been trying hard to find a way to get his hockey fix. I arranged to meet him in Astoria after I went home to pick up my bags. I got him shortly after 10AM and off we went to Cleveland which was the first stop along the way.
It was an adventurous ride to say the least. Thankfully I was smart and fortunate enough to adapt to the driving conditions that mother nature threw our way. We drove over the Queensborough Bridge that took us to the FDR/Harlem River Drive to the George Washington Bridge. We then got on I-80 which we drove all the way out to Ohio. Along the way, we saw numerous cars ride off the road. In addition, a few 18 wheel trucks jack knifed. They flipped over on their sides. They got destroyed and their cargo was also damaged. Domish referred to it as "demolition derby." It was a very scary sight. Fortunately for us we were able to weather the storm and we finally arrived in downtown Cleveland at 6:40PM. We parked the car in a garage for $5 which had a cover so we were able to gather our belongings without a hassle. When I checked my phone as we started walking, I had a text message from my pal Rick Morris of the FDH Lounge. He said he just got off the highway. He told me he would meet us inside.
With that being said, Domish and I went to the box office at Quicken Loans Arena which is known as the "Q" and we bought tickets for the game. We wound getting seats in the upper deck at center ice for $18. It was a great view of the action.
We saw the hometown Lake Erie Monsters who are the Colorado Avalanche' minor league affiliate play the Hamilton Bulldogs, the Montreal Canadiens' farm club.
As for the game we saw, the Lake Monsters lead only 1-0 after the first period despite out shooting the Bulldogs, 22-4 as defenseman Stefan Elliott lit the lamp. In the second period, neither team found the net. It should be noted that right winger Bill Thomas of the Monsters was awarded a penalty shot but he failed to convert on it. With that being said, the score remained only 1-0. The Bulldogs were lucky it did because they were thoroughly out played. They were out shot 33-12 as well. In the third period, the Monsters finally turned it up a notch as they found the net twice in a 18 second span early in the period to put the game away. Elliott added his second goal of the game and he assisted on the third one scored by left wing Mark Olver as well. They added another goal to make it 4-0 as Bill Thomas got his 10th of the season. That's the way it ended. They wound up out shooting the Bulldogs, 47-17. Once the score became lopsided, tempers flared. There were three different fights that took place in the second half of the third period before the game peacefully ended. Instead of seeing a dreaded shootout, we got to see goaltender Calvin Pickard get a shutout for the Monsters.
More importantly, I got to catch up with my pal Rick Morris who joined us for the game. I want to personally thank him as always for making the time to do so. He also represented other members of his partnership with the 21st Century Media Alliance who weren't able to make it. During the game, we spoke and he told me of the big plans that he and the Alliance have in store for 2013.
I hope to be a big part of their game plan. Rick has been a huge fan of what the King and I are about. With his network constantly expanding and his ability to be a team player I foresee some really big developments for all of us in the very near future. I truly believe it's only matter of time before things really take off for us all.
Time will tell but like Rick said with their foundation in place, the sky's the limit. It's ironic that he said that because I feel the same way about the King and I.
Stay tuned for another special post that will recap the day we spent in Motown with another very special guest.
Thank you for reading and following along.
Yours truly,
Gary Herman
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