Royalty Tours USA

Monday, March 17, 2014

Royalty w/o 2/3 in review

Monday February 3rd after work I went out to Newark, NJ to see the Devils host the Colorado Avalanche at the Prudential Center. I got to meet up with my pals, the King & Frank Anichiarico aka Duck who were also in attendance that night.

As for the game we saw, the Devils scored a goal late in the first period to a take a 1-0 lead. It appeared they were going to make that goal stand up for the victory. That was wishful thinking for the home crowd. The Avalanche wound up getting the equalizer with just 1:47 left in regulation time to knot the score at one. The game went into overtime & the Avalanche scored just 28 seconds in to beat the Devils, 2-1 in sudden death. It wasn't a total loss thanks to modern NHL rules. The Devils by getting to overtime still got credited with a point in the standings even though they blew the game late then lost it in the extra session. As the King likes to say & I quote "they reward teams for losing." In addition, he likes to say "when is a loss not a loss." This game is a classic example of that.

Tuesday night after work I came home. I wound up making myself dinner & I took it easy for a change.

Wednesday night after work I went to the Transformed MSG to see the Knicks welcome the Portland Trail Blazers to the Big Apple. I sat up in the West Balcony where I usually do for games there these days. On this night, I wound up being by a group of people who were from Portland, Oregon. They were all decked out in their Trail Blazer gear. 

As for the game I saw, the Knicks did their best to hang with the surprising Trail Blazers most of the night. In the end, the Trail Blazers escaped the area with a 94-90 victory much to the delight of their fans who came all the way across the country to see them play on the road.

Thursday night after work I went to the Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn where I met up with the King. That night the Nets took on the shorthanded San Antonio Spurs who played without their star players, Tony Parker & Manu Ginobili who were hurt as well as Tim Duncan who was given the night off. When I heard that, I was furious. People spend good money to see these guys play. Injuries are part of the game. As for Tim Duncan needing a night off, I thought that was a bunch of nonsense. 

As for the game we saw, the Spurs got off to a fast start despite being without their key players. As the game went on, the Nets came back. Once they took the lead they didn't look back as they cruised to a 103-89 win.

Friday night after work I returned to Newark, NJ to see the Devils battle the Edmonton Oilers with the King who I met at the Rock.

As for the game we saw, it was similar to the Avalanche game except both teams scored 29 seconds apart midway through the first period. It stayed that way as the game wound up going into overtime again. This time however the Devils came away with the two points as defenseman Jon Merrill lit the lamp midway through the extra session to give the Devils & their faithful something to cheer about on their way home, a 2-1 decision over the Oilers.

Saturday the King & I took the Long Island Railroad out to Lindenhurst where we met up with our pal Eddie Pelle who drove us to Stony Brook to see a college basketball game between his alma mater, the Seawolves & the New Hampshire Wildcats at the Pritchard Gymnasium.

Stony Brook Seawolves basketball at Prichard Gymnasium
As for the game we saw, it was a close contested from start to finish. Unfortunately for Eddie, the Seawolves came out on the short end of the scoreboard as they lost to the Wildcats, 73-69.

As a positive note, it was Wolfie their mascot's birthday. As a result, everybody in attendance were treated to cupcakes to celebrate the special occasion during the halftime intermission. 

After the game, Eddie drove us to Smokin' Al's which is a barbecue joint that he's gone to a number of times in the past before Islander games in Massapequa Park for dinner. Ironically we were on our way to the Nassau Coliseum that night too. Luckily we had enough time to do so. Eddie wet my appetite a few weeks beforehand. He painted a picture that couldn't be beat.
Full rack of Monster Bones at Smokin' Al's
As for the meal we had, I was so stuffed when I got done I felt sick to my stomach. Eddie wound up taking a doggie bag home. My stomach devoured the food & then some. I had burnt ends to start along with a full rack of monster bones which were massive sized ribs. They were so good I didn't want them to go to waste. 

After we ate, Eddie drove us to the Nassau Coliseum where we saw the Islanders play the Colorado Avalanche. It was the last game before the NHL shut down due to the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

As for the game we saw, the Avalanche raced out to a 3-0 lead midway through the game. The Islanders broke the shutout midway through the third period but they fell short by a score of 4-2. 

I want to thank Eddie again for taking such good care of the King & I.

Sunday night the King & I went to the Barclays Center to see the Nets play the New Orleans Pelicans. More importantly, I got to see my pal Mark Chesna who flew up from Atlanta to see the game. Mark needed to see the Barclays Center for the first time. I was able to get him a ticket a few months ago. He was joined by an old friend of his, Lars Wigren who lives within walking distance of the arena. 

As for the game we saw, the Nets went up early which set the tone for the rest of the night. They wound up beating the Pelicans, 93-81. 

As for me the real highlight was getting to see Mark again. In addition, I got to meet & greet his friend Lars.

Stay tuned for a few more posts that will recap the rest of my adventurous month of  February.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty schedule w/o 3/17

Here's the game plan:

Monday, March 17th Suns at Nets 7:30PM Happy St. Patrick's Day

Tuesday, March 18th  Bruins at Devils7PM

Wednesday, March 19th Bobcats at Nets 7:30PM

Thursday, March 20th-Saturday, March 29th Going to Australia

http://royaltytours.blogspot.com/2014/03/royalty-is-opening-2014-baseball-season.html

Sunday, March 30th Timberwolves at Nets 6PM

Monday, March 31st Nationals at Mets 1:10PM Opening Day

                                  Panthers at Devils 7:30PM 

Check back to see how it played out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned as I plan to finish recapping my adventurous month of February & March eventually. Please bear with me as I try to find time to catch up when I return from going Down Under. I keep falling further behind. Please be patient. It will be worth the wait.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Friday, March 14, 2014

Royalty w/o 1/27 in review

In between the two Stadium Series games I saw at Yankee Stadium at the end of January, I saw the Nets play the Toronto Raptors at the Barclays Center. Our pal Vincent Ascanio came up with a much more appropriate name for it. He calls it the Darklays Center. The reason being if & when you go there that you feel like you're in dungeon. It's so dark throughout the building. There's no lighting at all around the ceiling that covers the upper level. They barely have lights in the first few rows of the upper level too. They shine the lights they have on the basketball court itself to make those who happen to be there feel like they're at a theater. They call it  theater lighting. People like the King & I who like to keep score of the game come prepared with our little flashlights so we can see what we're trying to write down as the game is being played.

On that note, Monday January 27th I wound up seeing the game with my buddy Sean MacDonald who likes seeing the Canadian teams play since he's originally from Ottawa himself. 

As for the game we saw, it was a real seesaw battle from start to finish. The Raptors wound up out lasting the Nets, 104-103 which put a smile on Sean's face. 

Tuesday night after work I went to the Transformed Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks play the Boston Celtics with the King who attended this game as well. 

As for the game we saw, it wasn't much of a game as the Knicks raced out to a big lead & they never looked back as they beat the Celtics, 114-88.

Thursday night I returned to the Garden. This time the Knicks took on the Cleveland Cavaliers. Just like Tuesday night, the Knicks proved to be much for the opposition as they whipped up on the Cavaliers, 117-86.

Friday night after work I met up with the King at the Darklays Center if you will. This time the Nets hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder. Unlike Monday night, this game reminded me of the two I saw at the Garden. The only difference was the home team in this case, the Nets got their butts kicked. The Thunder tossed them a beating, 120-95 to end the month of January.

Saturday marked the start of February. It started different then I initially thought it would thanks to my pal Eddie Pelle who asked me if I wanted to go somewhere for the day. I told him I would love to. Eddie was off from work & he wanted to getaway. His only concern was the weather. He told me we had a few college basketball games either to our North or to our South. As the week went on, he said that the weather was supposed to be better to our North. With that being said, He went ahead & he rented a car. He picked me up bright & early & away we went. We decided to go to Upstate New York for the day.
 
Lacrosse at Andy Kerr Stadium
We drove to Hamilton, NY which is the home of Colgate University. Since we got there extra early, we were able to check out a Lacrosse scrimmage that was taking place at Andy Kerr Stadium between the Albany Great Danes & the Colgate Raiders. That was located within a short walk of the Reid Athletic Center where Cotterell Court, the home of the Colgate Raiders basketball team is located. They were hosting the Bucknell Bison that afternoon in a Patriot League match up.
 
Cotterell Court
As for the game we saw, the Bucknell Bison raced past the Raiders after a slow start as they defeated them, 79-68.

After the game, Eddie drove us to the University of Albany for another college basketball game. As we were driving there, we ran into some bad weather luckily we had enough time to get there. Eddie weathered the storm & he got us there safely. Upon arrival, I got to meet up with a few guys I've met from going to baseball games. I'm referring to Bob Deal & David Schaffer who happen to be Albany graduates. In matter of fact, it was a reunion of their alumni that particular night. As a result, Bob managed to get me into the special pre game party they had for them. It was called the Ferocious Feast. It was the 17th year they've been doing it. I wound up having some food & soda while I joined them briefly. Since I was hungry it worked out well for me. When we got done, we went into the SEFCU Arena which is the home of the Albany Great Danes. They were playing the Vermont Catamounts in their annual Big Purple Growl game. 

SEFCU Arena
As for the game we saw, Great Danes weren't anything but great. They scored a paltry twelve points in the first half. The Catamounts scored 21 in a low scoring half. In the second half, it was higher scoring but the Catamounts went on to beat the Great Danes, 55-45.

After the game, Eddie drove me home. I got back around 1:15AM. I want to personally thank Eddie for taking me. I had a great time.

That Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday. Even though the game was being played at MetLife Stadium in nearby in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the King & I decided to pass up the opportunity to. First & foremost, it would have cost us a fortune just to get a ticket. When you figure in the hassle & hell we would have had to go through to get to & from there, we knew it wasn't necessary for us to go. We saw Super Bowl 35 in Tampa, Florida back in January 2001. Since we both like the Jets, we always say if they ever get to another Super Bowl we'll go again then.

However our buddy Eddie Pelle did have a ticket for the big game as did some other people we know. I'm talking about Sean MacDonald who saw every NFL stadium this season so it was fitting that he got to go so did Andrew Van Cleve & Larry Peim.

As for the King & I we went to our friend Frank Anichiarico's place to watch it on his HDTV. 

As for the game, as you know the Seahawks destroyed the Broncos, 43-8. It was a nice way to cap off a week of games we saw that were mainly blowouts.

Stay tuned for some posts that we'll go into detail about the rest of my adventurous month of February.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Royalty sees Stadium Series at Yankee Stadium!‏

The NHL started an annual tradition back on January 1, 2008 when they played their first outdoor game in the United States. The Pittsburgh Penguins played the Buffalo Sabres at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, NY. It was an overwhelming success. They called it the Winter Classic. The NHL had played a similar game back in November 2003 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada which they referred to as the Heritage Classic.

As time has gone on, the Winter Classic as become a mainstay on New Year's Day here in the States. As for the Heritage Classic, the NHL had another one in Calgary in February 2011 which the King & I attended.

With that being said, the NHL decided to expand its plans to having more games outdoors this season. As a result, the Stadium Series was born. The league decided to have games in the three largest markets in the States. New York, Chicago & Los Angeles. They also added another game in Vancouver which is part of the Heritage Classic series. 

As for the Stadium Series, the King & I got to go to both of the games they decided to play at Yankee Stadium. The New York Rangers wound up being the visiting team in both games. That way they didn't lose any home games at the Transformed Madison Square Garden. In other words, it was a financial issue. They played against their local rivals, the New Jersey Devils & the New York Islanders.

National Anthem from our seats in section 420B row 5
The first game was on Sunday afternoon, January 26th. Despite the brutal winter we've experienced here in NYC, the game was played. It was delayed an hour at the start due to sun glare on the ice. The game time temperature was a balmy 24 degrees of which an announced crowd of 50,105 people braved the elements to be a part of history. Besides the King & I, a number of people we know we're there as well including Greg Venuto & his pal Paul Bosler who I arranged to get tickets for. They couldn't thank me enough for helping them out. I was more than happy to do so because that's who I am. If I can make a difference, I will. 

As for the game we saw, the Devils scored the game's first goal to take a 1-0 lead. They went up 3-1 late in the first period. The Rangers added a late goal to make it 3-2. In the second period, the Rangers scored four unanswered goals to take a 6-3 lead. They added one more in the third period thanks to Derek Stepan who scored on a penalty shot midway through the period to round out the scoring as the Rangers beat the Devils, 7-3 in front of a mixed crowd of hockey fans. Since the Ranger season ticket holders were forced to buy tickets to both games, there were slightly more Ranger fans at both games.

Wednesday night January 29th the King & I decided to do it again. I met the King there after work. We dressed for the occasion & we survived without a problem despite a game time temperature of 22 degrees. I wound up meeting my pal Eddie Pelle who went to the game too. We had dinner together at the New Sunflower, a Chinese restaurant a few blocks from Yankee Stadium. When I got up to my seat with the King in section 424 row 2 we had an empty seat which was filled by our other buddy Andrew Van Cleve who came up from Philadelphia to see the game.

View from section 424 row 2
 As for the game we saw, the Rangers & Islanders played a scoreless first period. The game remained that way until late in the second period. The Islanders got on the scoreboard first as Brock Nelson got one by Ranger goalie Henrik Lundqvist to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead. It was short lived as the Rangers got the equalizer 40 seconds later to even the score at one with 47 seconds left in the period. In the third period, Dan Carcillo lit the lamp to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead. That's the way it ended as the Rangers won again outdoors. They're now 3-0 when you include the win they had over the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2012 Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

Stay tuned as I plan to do the rest of my w/o 1/27 in review when time allows me too.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Royalty w/o 1/20 in review

On Monday January 20th which was Martin Luther King Day I was off from work. The King & I returned from our North of the Border weekend getaway early in the morning. We got some sleep then I drove us to the Nassau Coliseum with the Toyota Camry I had rented Friday night after work for the weekend from Avis.

We saw the Islanders play the Philadelphia Flyers that afternoon. As for the game we saw, the Islanders who trailed the Flyers, 3-1 after two periods came back to tie the game late at three. After they played a scoreless overtime period, the Islanders won the game, 4-3 in a four round shootout. It was an exciting game.

After the game, I returned the car I rented from Avis which worked out well. I wound up driving 1,220 miles safely over the three day weekend. I then took public transportation back home. The King got a ride home from our friend Dennis Barbera who was also at the game. 

Tuesday after work I went out to Newark, NJ where I met up with my Cousin Andy who joined the King & I for the hockey game at the Prudential Center. The Devils took on the St. Louis Blues that night.

As for the game we saw, it wasn't much of a contest. The Devils scored early & often as they raced out to a 3-1 lead midway through the first period. They padded their lead with two more goals in the second & third periods as they went on to beat the Blues, 7-1. 

The highlight of the night was I got to see my Cousin Andy again. As always, it was great to see him. We enjoyed each other's company so the result of the game was secondary but since my Cousin likes the Devils I'm glad they won for him.

Wednesday night after work I went to the Transformed Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks play the Philadelphia 76ers. I was joined by the King & our pal Frank Anichiarico aka Duck who was there. Duck happens to be a 76er fan. 

As for the game we saw, the 76ers wound up beating the Knicks, 110-106 which made for a happy Duck. The 76ers have had an awful season but they looked on this night.

Thursday night after work I came home. I made myself dinner then I went out & I did my laundry.

Friday night after work I went back to Newark, NJ to see the Devils battle the Washington Capitals at the Rock. I met up with the King there.

As for the  game we saw, the Devils won the game, 2-1. They held the Capitals scoreless until midway into the third period. 

Saturday afternoon the King & I went out to Long Island for a doubleheader. We saw the Islanders host the St. Louis Blues at the Nassau Coliseum.

As for the game we saw, the Islanders blew a 2-0 lead. The Blues tied the game at two before the Islanders regained the lead shortly thereafter. It stayed that way until the Blues tied the game again with just 27 seconds to go in regulation. After a scoreless overtime session, the Blues went on to win, 4-3 in a shootout.

Due to time constraints, we raced across the street & we went to the Mack Sports Complex where we saw the Hofstra Pride play a college basketball game against the Northeastern Huskies with our buddy Michael Abrams. 

As for the game we saw, the Pride who lead, 33-30 after the first half collapsed in the second half as the Huskies pulled away as they ran the Pride off the court, 70-57. 

To cap off the day, we met up with our friend Bryan Gilligan who was out on Long Island watching some high school basketball games. He picked us up & he drove us back to Queens. We wound up going to Donovan's Pub to have dinner together.

Stay tuned for a special post that will go into detail about the Stadium Series games the King & I witnessed at Yankee Stadium.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, March 10, 2014

Royalty schedule w/o 3/10

Here's the game plan:

Monday, March 10th Raptors at Nets 7:30PM 

Saturday, March 15th  Bucks at Knicks 12 Noon

                                     Sabres at Islanders 7PM

Check back to see how it turned out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned as I plan to finish recapping my adventurous month of  January as well as February. Please bear with me as I try to find time to catch up. I keep falling further behind. Please be patient. It will be worth the wait.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Royalty is opening the 2014 baseball season in Australia!

On June 12, 2013, Major League Baseball announced that the 2014 baseball season was opening Down Under. When it became official, I knew I was going. As time went by, I kept that thought in the back of my mind. In October, I requested the necessary time off from work which was approved.  When the New Year came, I took the next step in backing up what I said. On January 8th, I booked flights for the King & I to go to Sydney, Australia. 


Here's the game plan:

Thursday, March 20th we have a flight booked on Virgin Australia Airlines that departs John F. Kennedy Airport at 4:45PM Eastern Time & we're scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles, California at 8:12PM Pacific Time. We then depart LA at 9:10PM Pacific Time & we finally arrive in Sydney, Australia at 6:20AM Saturday morning. This occurs because we cross the international dateline.

Upon arrival, we'll probably be exhausted from all the flying. I hope we can check into our hotel early so we can get some sleep if we need to. In addition, we'll need to get situated & cleaned up. Once we do, the fun will begin.

Saturday March 22nd Dodgers at Diamondbacks 7:15PM Local Time Opening Night at Sydney Cricket Ground
                                                 
Sunday March 23rd Dodgers at Diamondbacks 1:15PM Local Time at Sydney Cricket Ground

Monday-Thursday March 24th-27th We plan to take in the sights which I hear are beyond belief. From the kangaroos to the Outback, we're in for a real treat.  

Friday, March 28th we have a flight booked to fly from Sydney to Melbourne on Virgin Australia. We depart at 6:30AM & we arrive at 8:05AM. We'll spend the day looking around there.

That night we have our first ever rugby match as we plan to see the Melbourne Rebels host the Brumbies at 7:40PM Local Time.

Saturday March 29th We fly home from Melbourne. We leave there at 8AM. We arrive in Sydney at 9:25AM on Virgin Australia. We connect with a flight that leaves at 11:20AM on Delta Airlines that stops in Los Angeles. After a layover there, we finally land at JFK in New York at 4:56PM Saturday night.
                                           
Please feel free to check back for all the details of how this getaway played out. It's going to be an once in a lifetime trip for both of us.

If you want to join and/or meet up with us while we're there, please let me know so I can arrange to make it happen.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, March 3, 2014

Royalty schedule w/o 3/3

Here's the game plan:

Monday, March 3rd Bulls at Nets 7:30PM 

Tuesday, March 4th Red Wings at Devils 7PM

Wednesday, March 5th Grizzlies at Nets 7:30PM

Friday, March 7th Jazz at Knicks 7:30PM

Saturday, March 8th  Hurricanes at Devils 7PM

Sunday, March 9th Kings at Nets 6PM

Check back to see how it played out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned as I plan to finish recapping my adventurous month of  January as well as February. Please bear with me as I try to find time to catch up. I keep falling further behind. Please be patient. It will be worth the wait.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman