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

Royalty w/o 4/8 in review

Monday night after work I came home I ate dinner and relaxed for a change. Thanks to the baseball schedule makers, the Mets and Yankees were both on the road this week after they both opened the season together at home during opening week. As a result, I got an early break from baseball. The King on the other hand, rented a Toyota Corolla from Avis for 15 days so he could drive around the Northeast to see as many baseball games as possible.

Tuesday night after work I went to the Barclays Center for the last time this season since I didn't get the playoff tickets because the King & I prefer to go to see baseball instead. In addition, the prices for the playoff tickets were too pricey for our liking so we passed up the opportunity to get them.

I wound up going to McDonald's at the Atlantic Center Mall for dinner before the game. I ran into my pals Harry Schwartz and Dennis Barbera who were eating there too. Once we got done, we all walked across the street and we went into the arena to see the Nets host the Philadelphia 76ers. When I got to my seat in section 230 row 13 I met up with my friend Frank Anichiarico who was using the King's ticket. Frank is a 76er observer if you will.

As for the game we saw, the Nets made fast work of the 76ers as they built a big lead early and they never looked back as they defeated the 76ers, 104-83 much to Frank's chagrin.

Reggie Evans scored 17 points and he grabbed 24 rebounds while his teammate Brook Lopez added a game high 29 points and he pulled down 11 rebounds as the Nets cruised past the 76ers who had a disappointing season.

Wednesday night after work I went out to Newark, NJ to see the Devils take on the Boston Bruins at the Prudential Center for the last time this season. I was joined by Vincent Ascanio and Frank Anichiarico who were also there. I decided to get an Angus burger that came with Nathan's fries for dinner at the arena per Vincent's recommendation. It tasted really good.

As for the game we saw, the Bruins raced out to an early 4-0 lead 3:06 into the second period. I was thinking of my pal Eric Hasseltine who happens to be a big Bruin fan. I updated him throughout the game. It appeared that it was going to be an easy win for his Bruins. It turned out not to be the case as the Devils finally awoke as they scored three unanswered goals to get within a goal 4-3 with 14:02 left in the third period. The Bruins responded right back as they added an insurance goal with 12:27 to go up 5-3. It turned out to be a huge goal because the Devils fought back and finally cut the lead to 5-4 with 37 seconds to go. Fortunately for Eric and the number of Bruin fans that were part of the sellout crowd of 17,625, the Bruins were able to hang on as they escaped the swamp land with a win. As a result, it hurt the Devils slim playoff hopes.

Thursday night after work I came home and I made myself dinner. Once I got done I went out and I did my laundry around the block.

Stay tuned as I'm going to do some special posts that we'll recap the memorable weekend I had. Please bear with me as I try to continue to find time to catch up.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty spends my special day in Baltimore/Washington DC seeing an another basketball doubleheader!

After saying goodbye to Frank Anichiarico and Mike Carroll who went back home to NYC, the King and I drove to Aberdeen, Maryland where we spent the night at Super 8.

In the morning we got up and we drove 30 miles to Baltimore and we met up with our friends Peter & Carmen Agnew at the Eichenkranz Restaurant for breakfast to start my special day.

We got to see Rose who waited on us. As always it was a pleasure to see her again. We got to enjoy breakfast and each other's company. After we ate, Rose surprised me when she brought out an ice cream sundae with a candle in it to celebrate my birthday. It was an unexpected thoughtful touch. As a result, I felt extra special. She caught me off guard.

After we finished eating, we said goodbye to Peter & Carmen. I want to thank them for making the time to join us while we were in the area.

Prince at Reitz Arena

The King and I got back in the car and we drove over to Loyola University of Maryland. We went to the Reitz Arena which is the home of the Loyola (MD) Greyhounds of the MAAC Conference. They were playing the Manhattan Jaspers.

As for the game we saw, the Jaspers took an early lead but that was short lived as the Greyhounds raced past them to take a 39-35 lead at halftime. In the second half, the Greyhounds extended their lead to 13 with 13:19 to go in the game. The Jaspers made a comeback but it fell short as the Greyhounds held on to win the game, 63-61 before a crowd of 1,324 who were in attendance.

Erik Etherly of the Greyhounds led the way as he scored a game high 30 points.

After the game, we drove towards Washington DC. We stopped off at Walmart to do some shopping since we had some time on our hands.

When we were done we drove to the Verizon Center in downtown DC where we went to see the Washington Wizards host the Philadelphia 76ers. Thanks to Peter Agnew who gave us a parking pass we got to park the car in the garage that's connected to the arena. As a result, we got in and out of the area fast.
After we parked the car, we took a walk over to Burger King which was a few blocks away for a pre game meal. Since we weren't that hungry, we decided that would suffice to hold us over. It would have been nice to gone somewhere better but given the circumstances, it wasn't that important.

Once we were done we went back to the Verizon Center to see the game.

Prince at Verizon Center

As for the game we saw, the Wizards got off to a good start as they led the 76ers, 26-22 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the 76ers sliced into the lead as the Wizards led by just one at the intermission, 50-49. In the third quarter, the Wizards regained their four point lead as they led, 72-68. In the fourth quarter, the 76ers took a late lead at 87-84 but they failed to score in the last few minutes as the Wizards scored the last six points of the game to beat them, 90-87.

After the game, we drove back home and we got back at 1:33AM.

Overall I had a great day and I want to personally thank everybody who acknowledged my special day via e-mail, text messages, Twitter and/or Facebook. I was bombarded all day and I felt overwhelmed but I was grateful for all the love I was shown throughout the day. I know I'm truly blessed.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees a hockey/basketball doubleheader on Martin Luther King Day!

Prince at Sovereign Center

On the day we remembered the man behind the Civil Rights movement, the King & I and our pal Vincent Ascanio spent the day watching hockey and basketball.

After I spent another night with my parents in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, I went to Super 8 and I picked up the King & Vincent. We drove to Reading, PA aka Baseball town and we stopped off at First Energy Stadium which is the home of the newly named Reading Fightin Phils of the Eastern League to show Vincent the ballpark which we think is one of the best in the minor leagues.

We wound up going to Zabala's Sports Diner for breakfast which was located right across the street from the ballpark in right field. We had a very nice meal there which consisted of bacon, eggs, home fries and toast for $2.25 each. What a deal that was.

After we ate, we drove to downtown Reading to the Sovereign Center, home of the Reading Royals. We got to see a rematch of the teams we saw play there Saturday night. I'm referring to the Elmira Jackals who were visiting the Royals again for a special holiday matinee affair.

As for the game we saw, the Royals scored first late in the first period to take a 1-0 lead. A minute and two seconds later the Jackals tied it up at one with just 26 seconds to go in the period. In the second period, the Royals went back ahead midway through the period to take a 2-1 lead. In the third period, the Jackals score four unanswered goals including an empty netter with 2:15 to go to beat the Royals this time, 5-2 in front of a crowd of 4,253 which was slightly smaller then the one they had Saturday night..

Prince at Wells Fargo Center

After the game, we drove to Philadelphia for game two of our two sport doubleheader as we saw the Philadelphia 76ers host the San Antonio Spurs at the Wells Fargo Center.

Before the game, we stopped off at the Oregon Diner for a great pre game meal since our pal Vincent wanted to see it for himself. He had trouble finishing the two massive breaded pork chops he ordered. With that being said, he was a very satisfied customer. As for me, I had the broiled fillet of flounder that was stuffed with crab meat again. It was delicious. When we were done, we drove over to the sports complex area and I parked the car.

We proceeded to walk over to the Wells Fargo Center. Upon arrival, we headed inside to our seats in section 221A that our pal Frankie Centola arranged to get for us. Shortly thereafter, we were joined by our buddy Andrew Van Cleve and his new born son Micah. It was great to see him again.

As for the game we saw, the Spurs led the 76ers, 25-17 after the first quarter. They extended their lead to 14, 49-35 at halftime. In the third quarter, the 76ers cut the lead in half to seven, 71-64 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, the 76ers ran out of gas as they fell short in their comeback attempt as they lost, 90-85 in front of a crowd of 15,346. I was surprised they didn't have a bigger crowd on hand. I guess since the 76ers have been struggling lately, people decided to stay home.

After the game, we drove back home as the holiday weekend getaway came to a close.

Stay tuned for the rest of my w/o 1/21 in review.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees an unexpected basketball doubleheader in Philadelphia!

Michael Spatz & I

As I wrote on my schedule for the w/o 1/7, I was planning to see just the 76ers play the Houston Rockets on Saturday, January 12th. The main reason for that was the King & I were hoping to go to pay our respects to one of the old time baseball fans that we knew. Our friend John Oriole as we called him had passed away in early December. We were informed that there was going to be a Memorial service for him in North Philadelphia that morning. Unfortunately I couldn't rent a car from Avis until 9AM that day. I did my best to drive to the funeral home in hopes of getting there for it anyway. Much to our chagrin, it didn't work out. Before we even got there, the service was over. Our friend Frankie Centola who was there kept calling to let us know what was going on.

John was a good man. He loved the game of baseball but he hated how much it had changed from when he grew up. As a result, John never stepped foot in Citizens Bank Park not even one time. He was from the Philadelphia area but he always hated the Phillies. He was a big Oriole fan back in the 60's & 70's when they had great teams and we're a real joy to watch at old Memorial Stadium. Their starting pitchers went nine innings almost every time out. In addition, home runs were rare to see not like they are today. That was the main reason he never went to a game at Citizens Bank Park. He said it was too easy to hit a home run there. That totally turned him off from going there. It's a shame that we lost him. He was only 62. He will be missed.

When I was at the car rental, I got a call from our friend Manny Morales who was wondering why we weren't going to see a college basketball game during the day. He told me LaSalle was home at 2PM. In addition, our pal Andrew Van Cleve text me & he said he was going there too. Once our original plan didn't work out we altered it with plan B. With that being said, we wound up driving to Tom Gola Arena which is the home of the University of LaSalle Explorers. They were playing the University of Richmond Spiders that day.

With that being said, we wound up seeing an unexpected basketball game that afternoon. Furthermore, we got to meet up with Andrew who couldn't make the 76er game that night. We made the best of the situation. It turned out to be a great day for us after all.

As for the game we saw, the LaSalle Explorers beat the visiting Richmond Spiders rather easily, 71-59 before an announced crowd of 2,282. That figure was about right for the people who showed up and they were into the game right throughout.

After the game, we went to meet up with Kurt Smith, the author of Ballpark E-Guides, for dinner. Stay tuned for the special post that I'm going to do regarding that.

After we ate, the King & I went over to the Wells Fargo Center to see the 76ers play the Rockets like we originally planned to do.

During the week, I got in touch with Michael Spatz, who covers the Mid-Atlantic region for Stadium Journey which does reviews of all the different venues around the country and the world. Michael told me he was going to the 76er game and he was going to do an updated review for the website. With that being said, I told him I would love to meet & greet him at the game.

We had exchanged contact information and we got in touch when we were at the arena. He told me he got a complimentary ticket from the 76ers in section 103 downstairs. As for me, I was sitting with the King in section 221A. We got hooked by our friend Frankie Centola who has season tickets there. I asked Michael if he could come upstairs at halftime so we could meet up. I told him I would come down but they will give me a hard time because I didn't have a ticket for downstairs. With that being said, Michael told me he'll gladly come up. True to his word, he did. I was very grateful and I told him so. He wound up watching the rest of the game with me.

Michael & I spoke and we watched the game together. He was taking notes and I was scoring the game. I gave him some helpful hints so he can enhance the reviews he writes. He's done a great job so far and I told him to keep up the good work. I hope to see him again at another game in the near future.

As for the game we saw, the 76ers beat the Rockets, 107-100. Jrue Holiday of the 76ers scored a game high 30 points and he handed out 9 assists to lead the way. As for the Rockets, James Harden scored 29 points and 9 rebounds while former Knick Jeremy Lin had a rough night as the 76ers bottled him up throughout the game. He scored only 7 points on just 2 for 13 shooting in the losing effort.

After the game, the King & I drove back home to NYC.

Stay tuned for the special post I'm going to do regarding a very special and memorable visit to NYC by our fellow roadtripper buddies from Buffalo, Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell that Sunday.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 11/19 in review

After returning from St. Louis late Sunday night, I got a few much needed nights off after work Monday and Tuesday night. Thankfully it was a short work week but I still had plenty of work to do before the long Thanksgiving weekend kicked in.

Wednesday after work I went up to Manhattan College to see some college basketball. I met up with the King and we took the subway up to Riverdale, NY. It's the last stop on the number one train which is 242nd Street. When we got there, we met up with our pal Al Linderman. We walked over to the Draddy Gymnasium which is where the Manhattan Jaspers play. When we got inside, we had more company. Our friends Frank Anichiarico and Bryan Gilligan who went to school there joined us. In addition, our pal Eddie Pelle was also in attendance. He got out of work early and he knew we were going to be there so he decided to come. It was great to see everybody again. We were one big happy family.

As for the game we saw, the Jaspers played the Hofstra Pride. The game was close in the first half as the Jaspers lead by one, 29-28 at halftime. In the second half, the Jaspers pulled away thanks to guard Michael Alvarado who hit three treys during a stretch to help his team earn their first victory of the young season, 67-56.

After the game, Bryan who drove there, gave us a ride back to Queens. We wound up going to Donovan's Pub where we were celebrating some birthdays. Frank's was on the 16th, the King's is on the 24th and Bryan's is on the 27th. Charlie Casiano, the King's brother met us there too. It turned out to be a very festive occasion for all of us. Eddie also took part in the festivities. In preparation for Thanksgiving, I enjoyed my Turkey dinner early. I knew on Thanksgiving day, I may not have any so I made sure I indulged. We all had a great time gathering together. It was really nice of Charlie to take part. We don't see him too often but it's always a pleasure when we do.

Thanksgiving day the King and I watched football on TV until it was time to go out to MetLife Stadium for the Jets and Patriots game in prime time.

We sat up in section 312 with Ira Lieberfarb aka Ira from Staten Island who was there with his son Robby.
As for the game we saw, it started off slow as it was scoreless after the first quarter. The Patriots got on the board just six seconds into the second quarter as wide receiver Wes Welker caught a 3 yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady to give the Patriots' a 7-0 lead.

With 9:43 left in the second quarter, the Patriots took a 14-0 lead on the first play of the drive as Tom Brady connected with Shane Vereen on a pass that turned into a 83 yard touchdown. Shortly thereafter, things started to turn for the worst for the Jets. They got the ball back but they fumbled and it was recovered by free safety Steve Gregory who ran it in for a touchdown from 32 yards out with 9 minutes to go in the half to give the Patriots a 21-0 lead.

The Jets fumbled again on the ensuing kickoff and they lost the ball again as Julian Edelman ran it back for a touchdown from 22 yards out to extend the Patriots lead to 28-0 with 8:51 left.

To recap the Patriots scored 21 unanswered points in a 52 second span. What a turn of events it was.
With 3:08 left until halftime, the Patriots scored another touchdown as Tom Brady and Julian Edelman hooked up on a 56 yard touchdown pass to make it 35-0.

The Jets finally broke the shutout with 2 seconds left in the half as kicker Nick Folk booted a 32 yard field goal to make it 35-3 at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Jets added two points when Stevan Ridley of the Patriots was called for a penalty in the end zone which resulted in a safety that made it a 35-5 game with 6:47 left in the quarter.
The Jets continued to make a comeback as running back Bilal Powell scored on a four yard touchdown run to get the Jets within 23 at 35-12 with 4:41 left in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, with 12:02 left in the game, Tom Brady ran in from a yard out to extend the Patriots lead to 42-12. The Patriots added to their lead with 11:07 left as Stevan Ridley scored on a 9 yard touchdown run to make it 49-12. The Jets finished the scoring for the night with 2:21 left when Dustin Keller capped off an 80 yard drive with a 1 yard touchdown pass from Mark Sanchez to make it 49-19 which is how it mercifully ended.

Friday during the day I relaxed and caught up on things around the house. At night, the King and I went to downtown Brooklyn to see the Nets host the Los Angeles Clippers.

We met up with our friend Phil Butleman who was there too.

As for the game we saw, the game was tied at 25 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Clippers outscored the Nets by seven to lead, 47-40 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Nets came back and they evened the score at 63. In the fourth quarter, the Nets pulled away as they went on to beat the Clippers, 86-76.

Brook Lopez lead all scorers with 26 points. Joe Johnson finished with 19 to carry the Nets to the victory. As for the Clippers, Blake Griffin and Chris Paul had 14 points each in the losing effort.

Saturday was the King's 60th birthday. We went to Philadelphia with Vincent Ascanio on Megabus to see the Philadelphia 76ers as they hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Upon arrival, the King decided he wanted to have a gourmet meal at Popeye's. So that's where we went. After we got done, we took the subway over to the Sports Complex.

We got to the Wells Fargo Center home of the 76ers when the gates opened. We walked around the building before the game started.

As for the game we saw, the Thunder got off to a fast start. They lead, 29-21 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the 76ers came back to cut the lead to one, 50-49 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Thunder padded their lead to six, 85-79. In the fourth quarter, the 76ers came back and they tied the game at 98 after regulation time. In overtime, the Thunder pulled away to beat the 76ers, 116-109.

Kevin Durant of the Thunder lead the way with 37 points including many down the stretch with the game on the line. He's a special player and a joy to watch play live. His teammate Russell Westbrook added 30 points. The Thunders' dynamic duo outscored the 76ers' tandem of Thaddeus Young who had 29 points and he grabbed 15 rebounds while his teammate Evan Turner contributed 26 points in the losing performance.

Sunday afternoon the King and I went back to downtown Brooklyn to see the Nets play the Portland Trailblazers at the Barclays Center.

As for the game we saw, the Trailblazers lead 27-25 after the first quarter. They extended their lead to four, 50-46 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Nets came back to even the score at 70 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, the Nets turned it up a notch as they pulled away from the Trailblazers as they escaped with a 98-85 victory. Joe Johnson scored 21 points to pace the Nets to the win. Deron Williams had 15 points and he handed a dozen assists to help the cause. Wesley Matthews had 20 points for the Trailblazers in the defeat.

After the game, the King and I went to Penn Station where we got the NJ Transit train to Secaucus and then we changed for the train to MetLife Stadium so we could go out to see the Giants play the Packers in Sunday night football.

We didn't have tickets yet. Shortly after we got out there, we ran into a few young guys who had an extra pair of tickets. We wound up giving them $70 for the pair. It worked out well as we were able to go right inside and we saw the end of the late games.

It was a cold, windy night. We decided to stay downstairs instead of going up to our seats in the upper level.
As for the game we saw, the Giants scored on their first drive of the game which set the tone. Running back Andre Brown ran in from two yards out to give the Giants a 7-0 lead with 12:38 to go. The Packers came right back as they got a 61 yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers who found wide receiver Jordy Nelson with 10:44 left to tie the game at 7. With 2:38 left, wide receiver Rueben Randle caught his first career touchdown pass from 16 yards out to give the Giants a 14-7 lead. With 23 seconds left, Lawrence Tynes extended the Giants' lead to 17-7.

In the second quarter, the Giants added to their lead as Eli Manning hit Victor Cruz for a 9 yard touchdown pass to make it a 24-7 game. The Packers got a 28 yard field goal from kicker Mason Crosby with 3:37 left to make the score 24-10. The Giants found the end zone again with 44 seconds left as running back Ahmad Bradshaw scored on a 13 yard touchdown run to make it 31-10 at the half.

In the third quarter, the Giants' Eli Manning entered the record books as he threw his 200th touchdown pass as a Giant to Hakeem Nicks, a 13 yard pass with 3:36 to go to make it 38-10. Manning passed Phil Simms in the process. That's the way it ended as the Giants dominated.

With that, another week of sports travel was in the books.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 3/5 in review

1,000 NHL games for Petr Sykora

Monday morning before I went to work I went back to Avis to return the car I rented for the weekend. I wound up driving 637 miles safely over the two days.

After work, I came home and I did my laundry even though I was tired from having to get up an hour earlier than normal since I had to return the car.

Tuesday night after work I went out to Newark, NJ to see the Devils host their cross town rival, the NY Rangers.

In a pregame ceremony, the Devils honored their winger Petr Sykora who played his 1,000th NHL game on Sunday March 4th.

The Devils came in on a losing skid. On this night, Ilya Kovalchuk of the Devils set the tone early in this one as he lit the lamp just 49 seconds into the game. The Rangers tied the game later at one. It stayed that way as they headed into the third period. The Devils turned it up a notch as they crashed the net and they beat goaltender Henrik Lundqvist a few times to break the tie. They added an empty net goal late to wrap up a 4-1 decision.

Wednesday night after work I went back out to the Prudential Center. This time I went to see the Nets play the new and improved LA Clippers who traded for Chris Paul right after the lockout ended.

As for the game I saw, the Nets led big most of the game. The Clippers hung around late as it appeared like they were going to win the game. They took a brief lead in the closing minutes but Jordan Farmar of the Nets hit the game winning shot from beyond the three point arc with just .2 seconds left to win it in dramatic fashion for the Nets, 101-100.

The game featured two of the best point guards in the game today. Deron Williams of the Nets who had 21 points and 10 assists and Chris Paul of the Clippers who came on late to finish with 22 points and 10 assists.
The other battle in this game was between Kris Humphries of the Nets who had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Blake Griffin the young rising star of the Clippers who finished with a game high 28 points to go along with 17 rebounds. He worked very hard to get his stats up. Throughout the game, they gave each other a physical beating. In the end, Humphries got the last laugh because his team won the game.

Thursday night after work, I went back to Newark for more Devil hockey. This time they played the other NY team from Long Island, the Islanders.

The Devils took an early 2-0 lead as Ilya Kovalchuk scored again. When he scores the Devils win. The Islanders cut the lead in half at 2-1 then Kovalchuk scored again. In the third period, Kovalchuk added his third goal which gave him a hat trick. The Devils cruised to a 5-1 victory.

Friday night after work I went home since there were no games to attend in the area. Thankfully it worked out that way since I was running on fumes. I needed to rest up and recharge my batteries.

Saturday during the day I got to catch up on sleep and I cleaned up around the house. At night I went back to Newark, NJ to see the Nets play the Houston Rockets.

This was a very well played game. The Rockets wound up outlasting the Nets in a good competitive affair as they beat the Nets, 112-106.

Sunday after turning the clocks ahead, I went to Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks who returned home after a brutal 0-4 road trip to take on the surprising Philadelphia 76ers at Noon.

The King and I were there along with our friends Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich and Al Linderman who were also in the building hoping to see some more Linsanity.

As for the game we saw, Jeremy Lin is starting to come down to earth it seems. He did manage to score 14 points and he dished out 7 assists but it wasn't enough as the 76ers who were lead by Lou Williams who scored 28 points off the bench and Evan Turner their second year pro from Kentucky who added 24 points and 15 rebounds which proved to be too much for the Knicks to handle as they fell to the 76ers, 106-94.

After the game, the King and I met up with our pal Manny Bonilla who contacted me during the game and he asked me if I could get him a ticket for the Devil game against the Flyers out in Newark. He said he never went to a hockey game. With that being said, I found a way to make it happen for him.

Manny's a good kid. It was a pleasure to accomodate him.

As for the game we saw, the Devils continued their hot streak at home as they knocked off the Flyers, 4-1. Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and two assists to lead the way again.

What a week it was for the Devils and Kovalchuk as they continue their playoff push up the standings.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

A Royal Birthday Celebration for the Prince!

Prince at the Pavilion

After I got out of work Friday night it was time to start the royal celebration.

I met my parents in Astoria where I now live and we went out for dinner at Romano's Famous Pizza and Gyro. They serve Greek cuisine. It was a great way to reunite with my parents and I got to have a nice meal too.

Afterwards I went home to rest up for the busy weekend I had lined up.

I got up Saturday morning which was my birthday and I took public transportation out to where I used to live so I could go to Avis to pick up a car for the weekend. I did get treated to some royal treatment as the MTA didn't let me wait too long for the buses and trains I needed to take in order to get there.

I wound up renting a Crown Victoria which had plenty of room. I got in touch with my pal Eddie Pelle who was on his way to the Philadelphia area via public transportation from Long Island. He was also going to Villanova, Pennsylvania to see the Wildcats play the Cincinnati Bearcats in a college basketball game. The King and I were doing the same.

I called Eddie when I got into the car. He said he was in Queens so I arranged to meet him after I went back home to pick up the King. It worked out well as we got him by the entrance to the Queensboro Bridge and away we went.

We arrived in Villanova around 1:40PM which gave us enough time to get ready for the 2PM tip off.
We also met up with Andrew Van Cleve aka the Ultimate Sports Fan and his son Dylan aka the Ultimate Sports Baby.

I love seeing the "USB" if you will. He's adorable and he's getting so big.

Ironically we were all visiting the Pavilion, which is the home of the Villanova Wildcats' basketball team on campus for the first time. They play a handful of games there. They play the rest at the Wells Fargo Center where the Flyers and 76ers play.

It was a thrill to finally see a game there. It was very intimate since it only holds 6,500 people. The seating area is comprised of mainly benches that are very close to the action.

As for the game we saw, it was a competitive one right throughout. The Wildcats who are having a bad season wound up coming up short as the Bearcats of Cincinnati beat them, 72-68.

After the game, we said goodbye to Andrew and Dylan. They went home. Eddie, the King and I continued on to Washington DC where we went to see the Wizards play the Cavaliers at 7PM.

We stopped off in Baltimore first so we could pick up our friends Peter and Carmen Agnew. We got them just after 6PM. Thankfully Peter had a parking pass for the garage that's connected to the Verizon Center since we had no margin for error as we arrived right at game time. In addition, Peter arranged to get us all free tickets for the game. He always asks us to come down so I looked at the schedule once the lockout ended and this was the perfect time to go there.

As for the game we saw, the Wizards they've had a horrible season so far but on this night they found a way to win, 101-98. It worked out well for our friend Eddie who said this was the first time he had ever seen the Wizards win live. I was glad to help arrange for him to join us.

After the game, we drove Peter and Carmen back home. They live right near Looney's Pub, where we went to get a late dinner since we were all very hungry. The burger and chicken wings we had we tremendous as usual.

After we ate we dropped Eddie off at the Amtrak station because he wanted to get back home to see some college basketball in NYC on Sunday.

The King and I drove 30 miles to Aberdeen to Super 8 where we spent the night. We arrived there around 2:30AM.

We got some sleep then we got up in the morning and we drove back to Baltimore to have breakfast with Peter and Carmen at another of our favorite eateries in the area, Eichenkranz Restaurant which is located in a local neighborhood.

We were served by Rose, who loved my accent. Needless to say, the food, the service and the company were priceless and well worth driving the extra miles for.

After we parted ways with Peter and Carmen, we headed towards Philadelphia where we were seeing the 76ers play the Bulls at 7PM.

Since we had plenty of time to kill, we decided to stop off at the Hollywood Casino which was conveniently on the way in Perryville, Maryland off exit 93 on I-95.

We spent a few hours there pressing our luck on the slot machines. I had some luck but the King didn't. Regardless it was entertaining experience.

We got back in the car and we drove to the City of Brotherly Love. We arrived there around 4:30PM. It worked out well because we got to meet up with our friend Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich who took a Chinese bus from NYC to join us for the 76er game. We went to the bus terminal and we picked him up.

On the way to the Wells Fargo Center, we stopped off at the Oregon Diner to have dinner before the game.
I thoroughly enjoyed my meal there. You can't beat the value you get there. I had broiled flounder with crab meat stuffing which came with two sides and a small cup of soup along with rolls and cornbread for a mere $9.99. They have a nice variety of food items for that price that they offer everyday.

After I stuffed my belly, we drove over to the arena which is right nearby.

We met up with our friend Frankie Centola who got us tickets for the 76er game. We also were joined by Andrew Van Cleve who got a ticket outside on the lower level from a buddy of Joakim Noah, who plays center for the Bulls.

At halftime, I got a royal upgrade as I went down to sit with Andrew who had a few empty seats by him.
As for the game we saw, the 76ers led into the fourth quarter but the Bulls led by their superstar guard Derrick Rose who had 35 points and 8 assists held off a late 76er push to win 96-91. Joakim Noah had 11 points and 18 rebounds to help the cause.

After the game, I drove Rich back home to Staten Island. I got him back just before midnight. I proceeded to drive the King to work at the Post Office at Grand Central Station. I got him there at 12:40AM so he had plenty of time to relax and unwind since he starts at 2AM.

I finally arrived home just before 1AM. I went to sleep and I returned the car in the morning.

I want to thank everybody who remembered my special day. I had a blast all weekend long.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 1/23 in review

This past week started slow which was just what the doctor ordered after a three week rampage of running around to see live sporting events to start the New Year.

Monday, Wednesday and Thursday night I went home after work to rest and catch up on things at home like normally people do on a regular basis.

Monday night I did my laundry.

Wednesday night I took it easy since I was worn out.

Thursday night I met my parents along with my niece Taylor and nephew Jeremy for dinner. We had a really nice time together. It was great to see them all again.

Tuesday night after work I went to the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ to see the Devils play the Buffalo Sabres who were in a horrible slump.

Since our pals Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell from Buffalo are big Sabre fans, the King and I needed to deliver some royal karma for them. Those poor guys went to Chicago and Winnipeg to see them play and they were awful. They braved the elements to see some lousy Sabre hockey. Regardless they had a blast. Check out their website which is on my blog list for all the details on their latest getaway.

On this night, the Sabres didn't play great but they managed to get the game to a shootout where they were able to beat the Devils in the skills competition, 2-1. A win's a win and I'm glad that we were able to get the Sabres the two points that they so desperately needed.

Friday night after work, the King, his half brother Charlie Casiano and our pal Vincent Ascanio trekked out to Stony Brook, Long Island to see some college basketball as the Seawolves of Stony Brook played their arch rival, the Terriers of Boston University. It should be noted that Charlie got his undergraduate degree from Stony Brook.

I want to personally thank my buddy Eddie Pelle who also graduated from there. He went out of his way to arrange to accomodate all of us. He was going to join us but he wound up taking advantage of an opportunity to make a trip to Hawaii to see the Pro Bowl at the last minute.

Eddie not only got us tickets for the game which was sold out but he also provided us with round trip transportation on LIRR from Penn Station which is a hour and a half ride there and back.

We were all very grateful for his generosity. Too bad he couldn't join us as the Seawolves beat the Terriers, 66-57 in a seesaw battle. The Seawolves started slow but finished strong to win. It was a great experience as the gym was jam packed. There was a sea of red throughout the building since both teams wear red. The crowd was predominantly Stony Brook fans though. The student section was jumping all night long.

It was nice to spend some quality time with Charlie. He's a really good guy. I hope we get to see him more often in the future.

Saturday morning the King and I took a Chinese bus from Chinatown to Philadelphia for the day. We went to see three more basketball games in the City of Brotherly Love.

We arrived in Philadelphia shortly after 12 Noon which gave us plenty of time to get to the first game we were attending at Drexel University, home of the Dragons at 2PM. They were playing the Blue Hens from the University of Delaware. We met our friend Mike Carroll there.

As for the game, it was a great atmosphere. Unfortunately we had to leave early with 6:28 left in the second half with the Dragons winning, 56-38 so we could get to our next game on time. The Dragons went on to win the game easily, 71-55. While we were there we got to say hello to Josh Verlin who writes for Stadium Journey. He's a young man who's taking a class at Temple so he can graduate he said.

He left the game early as well. We all went to Temple to see the Owls play the Hawks of St. Joseph's at 4PM.

We met our friend Andrew Van Cleve who was with his son, Dylan aka the Ultimate Sports Baby. Andrew's wife Nicole is a professor at Temple. She was working while he was at the game.

Andrew helped the King and I out by getting us tickets while we were taking the subway over from Drexel.
As a result, we barely got in on time. As I like to say, teamwork makes the dream work. Needless to say, it was a pleasure to see Andrew and Dylan again.

As for the game we saw, Temple wound up blowing away St. Joseph's, 78-60. I expected to see a more competitive game. Regardless of the outcome, it was still nice to finally see a game there.

After the game, Andrew met up with Nicole for dinner. The King and I went to Wendy's which was right next to the arena so it was very convenient for us to have a quick dinner before we got back on the train to go to the Wells Fargo Center for our third basketball game of the day. We saw the 76ers play the Detroit Pistons.

As for the game we saw, the 76ers won rather easily, 95-74. By doing so, we got to see all three home teams win.

After the game, we caught the 10PM Chinese bus which got us back to lower Manhattan just before midnight.

Sunday the King and I rested up during the day before we headed back out to Newark, NJ to see the Nets host the Toronto Raptors. We were joined by our friends Frank Anichiarico and Vincent Ascanio.
As for the game we saw, it wasn't much of a game. The Nets hung around into the third quarter but then the Raptors started to pull away as they went on to win, 94-73.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty meets up with roadtrippers to start the new baseball season!

I took off from work Friday so I could be part of the reunion.

I was originally planning to spend the Opening weekend in sunny Florida but I knew in the back of my mind, the Buffalo Boys, Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell were planning to be in Philadelphia and Washington D.C. so I decided I'll go there instead.

The weather wasn't great but the company was so it was well worth doing what I did.

As a result, we all got to see the Phillies open the season at Citizens Bank Park in the afternoon with Cy Young winner Roy "Doc" Halladay pitching. He didn't pitch great but he managed to keep the Phillies in striking distance. He went only 6 innings.

The Astros lead the game 4-2 going to the bottom of the 9th inning. The Phillies did what they do best. They got 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th to comeback to win the game 5-4. Pinch hitter John Mayberry Jr. delivered the game winning hit. USRT karma worked their magic again.

Thankfully the game didn't go into extra innings. With that being said, we had enough time to take a walk to the Oregon Diner for a full course dinner. The Buffalo Boys got to experience the way Royalty rolls on the road.

After we ate we all walked back to the Wells Fargo Center for game two of our doubleheader. We saw the Nets play the 76ers.

As for the game, it was a blow out from the start. The 76ers got off to a fast start and they never looked back as they cruised to an easy 115-90 victory. With the win, the Sixers clinched a playoff berth.

After the game we drove to Elkton, Maryland which is 90 miles from Washington D.C. and we got a good night's sleep.

Saturday morning we went to the Waffle House that was conveniently located right across from the hotel. It should be noted there was a Cracker Barrel nearby as well.

After eating a hearty breakfast, we hit the road to get to Nationals Park for the afternoon game between the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals at 1:05PM.

We were in contact with the Buffalo Boys since they were going to join us too. They got off to a late start so they said they would meet us at the ballpark. They wanted to park their car by the Verizon Center where they were going after the baseball game to see their Sabres play the Capitals. They proceeded to take
the Metro, which is the subway in our Nation's Capitol right to the ballpark.

I told them we'll get tickets for them. There was six of us all together which included our friend Bryan Gilligan who drove the King and I. As for Andrew and Peter, they were meeting a friend of theirs, Mark Byrnes who used to live in Buffalo but now resides in Baltimore. He joined them for the game too.

Upon arrival at Nationals Park, we decided to go to the box office since we got there early. We were hoping they still had some $5 tickets available. When we got to the window they said they do but it's one per person for those. So we each bought one then we went to a different window and bought three more so everybody was covered. We were able to upgrade ourselves once we got inside the park too.

We got our money's worth and then some. Unfortunately we had to suffer through two rain delays.

However they did manage to get the whole game in. Royalty reluctantly left in the bottom of the 7th inning due to time constraints. The Nationals went on to beat the Braves, 6-3.

We went back to Philadelphia to see the Phillies play the Astros again.

We wound up missing the first inning in Philadelphia too. Mother nature made it impossible for us to follow the game plan that we had drawn up. That's the way it goes sometimes. We can't control the weather.

Once we got settled in, we did see Cliff Lee dominate on the mound for the Phillies as he struck 11 Astros in 7 innings.

Despite the cool weather, the ballpark was still mobbed with people standing everywhere. They announced a crowd of 45,000 plus but I would like to believe they had 50,000 in there.

After the game we came back home.

Stay tuned as I recap the interesting day the King and I had on Sunday in a special post.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees a convenient doubleheader in Philadelphia!

As many people know the City of Philadelphia is not known for having the nicest people or fans in the country. They have a reputation for a reason.

With that being said, the King and I are very fortunate to know some good people that live there.

On the other hand, they do have the best sports complex. That won't change anytime soon either.

In the past, they had Veterans Stadium which has been replaced by Citizens Bank Park as the home of the Phillies.

Years ago, they had the Spectrum which has now been demolished but it was replaced by the Well's Fargo Center as it's called these days. It's the home of the Flyers and 76ers.

Furthermore, back in the day they had JFK Stadium which hosted Live Aid back in 1985.

That has been replaced by Lincoln Financial Field aka "The Linc", home of the Eagles.

Most importantly, the complex is very easy to get to either by car or train.

On this past Sunday the King and I as well as our friends Rich Wolber & Mike Carroll had the privilege of seeing a nice easy same building doubleheader.

However, Rich decided he didn't want to stay for the Flyer game so he wound up taking a bus back to NYC instead. That was his prerogative.

We saw the 76ers play the Sacramento Kings at Noon and the Flyers hosted the Boston Bruins at 7PM.

In between games we got to go to the Oregon Diner for a nice full course meal too.

What a way to spend a day in Philadelphia if you're a sports fan.

The King and I have done many doubleheaders here over the years.

As for the games we saw, the home teams lost both of them.

First, the 76ers got crowned by the Kings as royal treatment was delivered in more ways than one in the matinee.

The Sixers tied the game at the buzzer in regulation as Lou Williams hit a three pointer from just inside half court.

In the overtime, the Kings managed to overcome the Sixers as they went on to win, 114-111.

As for the nightcap, the Flyers were tied at one late in the third period but the they got called for an untiming penalty.

As a result, the visiting Bruins took advantage and capitalized on the power play as Brad Marchand found the net with just 3:43 left in regulation to win it for the Bruins, 2-1.

In the future, if you want to experience a live sporting event or two in the City of Brotherly Love you should make sure you talk to me.

I've seen hundreds of games down there over the years.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 1/31 in review

Monday night after work I went to Newark, NJ to see the Nets play the Denver Nuggets.

For some reason, when I see the Nuggets play in person they usually don't play well. This was yet another example. They fell to the Nets, 115-99.

The lone bright spot for the Nuggets was Carmelo Anthony who was showcasing his talent.

Melo as he's known was rumored to be possibly coming to New Jersey in a trade until a few weeks ago when the Nets decided to stop pursuing him.

He scorched them for 37 points and he pulled down 9 rebounds in his cameo appearance.

Needless to say, he heard the boos from the announced crowd of 14,039 which didn't seem nearly that big. Despite the Nets trying their best to discount their more expensive tickets in hope of attracting more people.

The NBA in particular has a propensity to fudge their attendance figures.

As for Melo, the latest rumors have him coming to the Knicks instead. If that happens, I'll see him play regularly at the Garden where the atmosphere is second to none when the team plays well.

Tuesday night after work I went back to the Prudential Center to see the Devils host the Ottawa Senators.

It was a nice peaceful evening at the "Rock" as the Devils came away with a 2-1 win.

Wednesday night I was at the Garden as the Knicks played host to the visiting Dallas Mavericks.

The Knicks hung around for the first half. In the second half, the Mavericks went on to pull away and they cruised to a 113-97 victory.

The result was much to the delight of my former co-worker, Justin Huff, who I arranged to get tickets for. I know Justin was a big Jason Kidd fan so I made sure I accommodated his need to see him play live. He was grateful for the opportunity to do so.

That's just another example of how Royalty satisfies others needs and wants.

After having a night off on Thursday, I wound up back in Newark on Friday night as the Devils entertained the Florida Panthers.

Unlike Tuesday's game against the Senators, this game featured more scoring and some unusual breaks.

The Devils got an early goal as the puck took an odd bounce off the side board and they took advantage as Panthers goalie Tomas Vokoun was out of position. They  lead 3-2 in the third period when the Panthers got the equalizer with just over 7 minutes left in regulation as Mike Santorelli lit the lamp with a shorthanded goal. The score remained tied at the end of regulation time.

Rostislav Olesz of the Panthers got the game winning goal exactly two minutes into overtime to give the Panthers the extra point as they left Newark with a 4-3 come from behind win.

Saturday I wound up getting an unexpected night off due to the fact I needed to dig my car out of the snow and ice. By the time I finally got it out I was exhausted and sore. I decided to use my brain for a change and I passed up on the Islanders/Senators game at the Nassau Coliseum.

Sunday the King and I had given our Knick tickets to our friend Frankie Centola from Philadelphia who wanted to see his 76ers play at the Garden.

We were going to go to Newark to see the Nets and Pacers instead.

At the last minute, Frankie called us and he said he couldn't make it so he mailed the tickets back to us and we wound up going there.

After the Knicks lost a heartbreaker in Philadelphia on Friday night, they came home and returned the favor in front of a sellout crowd as they went on to beat the 76ers convincingly, 117-103!

Amar'e Stoudemire tied his season high as he poured in 41 points while rookie of the year candidate Landry Fields added a career high 25 points to go along with 10 boards.

As a result, it turned out to be another exciting afternoon at the mecca of basketball.

After the game, the King and I went to our good friend Frank Anichiarico's place to watch the Super Bowl. Frank's lovely wife, Tina did the cooking and provided the hospitality as we watched the Green Bay Packers do what our Jets couldn't do. They beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Big D, 31-25!

With that being said, another eventful week was in the books.

Just so you know I expanded my followings on Twitter so please feel free to follow @royaltytoursusa. 

As always, thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Phillies hold off Pirates, 4-3!

Royalty went to Citizens Bank Park to tune up for the official start of the 2010 season.

We saw the last exhibition game between the 2009 National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Both teams used almost all their players in this game in preparation for the season that starts Monday for most teams.

The Phillies did all their damage on offense mainly with their starters in the first 4 innings.

They scored all their runs and hits during that time.

Jayson Werth hit the lone home run in the game for the Phillies.

As for the Pirates, they wrapped up a dreadful spring.

They fought to the end but fell a run short. They had the tying run on 3rd base with 2 outs in the 9th inning but first basemen Steve Pearce got called on strikes after hitting numerous foul balls to end the game.

We had a few friends/royalty regulars join us for the trek to the City of Brotherly Love.

We had Bryan Gilligan and Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich.

Bryan joined the King and I at the baseball game while Rich went to the Philadelphia 76er game against the Toronto Raptors instead.

Rich wound up seeing a good one. He said the Raptors blew a 17 point lead early in that game. In the end, Chris Bosh missed the last shot in regulation. The Raptors did eventually survive and they won in OT, 128-123!

In addition, we saw some familar faces at the ballpark as well.

First we saw our buddy, Jim Lowry who took us up on the elevator. Jim and I exchanged goodies that were had for each other.

Secondly, when we were exiting the right field gate we got to say a quick hello and goodbye to our lady friend, Lisa Wilson who's a supervisor at the that gate. She always so happy to see us. She knows we're real fans and we usually bring the Phillies luck.

We bought $10 tickets when we got to the ballpark.

When we told Lisa that she said and I quote "somebody gave me 5 tickets I wish I would have knew I would have gave them to you guys".

In this day and age, thoughtful and caring people are hard to find but royalty has the knack to find them.

Knicks top the 76ers, 92-88!

The Knicks found a way to win even without arguably their best players, David Lee who hurt his right knee and Wilson Chandler.

Both teams came into play with identical 24-44 records. Based on that I expected a competitive game.

As for the game, the 76ers had an eleven point lead after the first quarter, 26-15.

In the second quarter, the Knicks came back fast. With 9:11 left in the quarter, they trailed by only 3 points, 28-25.

A minute later the 76ers were back up by 9, 36-27 with 8:04 left. They built the lead to a dozen with 6:27 left to go. The Knicks came all the way back to tie the score at 48-48.

The 76ers had the last possession before the half and rookie Jrue Holiday from UCLA hit a basket with just 2 tenths of a second to go to give the Sixers a 50-48 lead at the half.

In the 3rd quarter, the game remained close as the 76ers were up by one, 64-63 at the end of 3.

It should be noted that the Knicks rookie guard Toney Douglas picked up 2 quick fouls giving him 5 with 7:21 still left in the 3rd quarter.

In the 4th quarter, the 76ers were able to build their lead back up to 9, 76-67 with 8:26 left in the game.

The Knicks once again came back when Toney Douglas who was in foul trouble all night was able to get back in the game.

He scored 14 of his 22 points down the stretch which was pivotal in the Knicks coming away with the W.

Douglas hit 3 big treys. In addition, he forced the 76ers to turn the ball over on numerous occasions.

With 55.8 seconds to go, he got an easy lay up after he picked off a pass just past mid court to give the Knicks a 89-86 lead.

The 76ers had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds but their sharpshooter Jason Kapono missed badly on a 3 point attempt. The Knicks keyed on him.

For the Knicks, Danillo Gallanari lead the way with 25 points. But Toney Douglas was the hero adding 22 points in a limited role because of the fouls he got early in the first half and in the 3rd quarter.

The 76ers were paced by Elton Brand who finished with a team high 19 points. He did the majority of his damage in the first half when he scored 17 of them.