Royalty had a November to Remember!‏

The month of November started off with Opening night in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center as the Nets played the Heat on Friday night, the first. It continued on Saturday with a college football game at Wagner College on Staten Island which was followed by a NJ Devil game against their division rival, the Philadelphia Flyers. The first Sunday of the month consisted of a football/basketball doubleheader as the Jets hosted the Saints at MetLife Stadium. That was followed by the Knicks taking on the Minnesota Timberwolves at the newly completed transformation of Madison Square Garden.

View from Chase Bridge

The week of 11/4 I went to see the Nets host the Jazz on Tuesday night. I wound up going to see another soccer game as the Red Bulls hosted leg two of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Houston Dynamo that Wednesday night. Unfortunately for our pal Mike Carroll they lost & their great season came to a close. Friday night I took a ride up to the Bronx where I met up with the King as we saw the Fordham Rams play the Red Flash of St. Francis of Pennsylvania. Over the weekend, thanks to our pal Eddie Pelle, the King & I took a ride out to Long Island. We rode out to Lindenhurst on LIRR where we met up with Eddie who drove us out to Stony Brook where we saw the Seawolves battle the Richmond Spiders. Ironically a new co-worker of mine, Daniel Zagoria was at the game too. He told me his roommate's Cousin played for the Spiders. Little did I know when I saw them play in Rhode Island in October. His roommate Nick's Cousin is Evan Kelly who plays on the defensive line & he wears #90. After the game, the King & I took the LIRR to the Barclays Center where we saw the Nets host the Pacers. That Sunday we did another two sport doubleheader as we went to MetLife Stadium in the afternoon as the Giants & the Oakland Raiders played. That was followed by a hockey game as the Devils took on the Nashville Predators at the Rock in Newark.

The week of 11/11 I was able to get out of work a little early on Tuesday night which allowed me to meet up with our pal Larry Peim in Astoria who drove me to the Nassau Coliseum as the Islanders hosted the Predators. Thursday night I went back to the Transformed Madison Square Garden to watch the return of Linsanity as the Houston Rockets visited the area. Friday night I returned to the Prudential Center as the Devils & the Los Angeles Kings met up for the first time since the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals. Over that weekend, I rented a car from Avis. I wound up driving the King & I to Binghamton, NY for an afternoon college basketball game as the Binghamton Bearcats welcomed the Navy Midshipmen to the Empire State. After that game, we continued our tour of New York State as we drove to Utica to see a minor league hockey game as the Utica Comets hosted the Texas Stars in an American Hockey League game. After the game, we drove to the Buffalo area where we spent the night at Super 8. Sunday morning we were joined by our pals, Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell aka USRT. These guys live in Buffalo. They brought along a special guest, Peter's father. He came up to visit from Horseheads, NY which is just outside of Elmira. It was great to see them all again. We wound up having a royal breakfast together at the Royal Family Restaurant in Kenmore which is up the street from Super 8. When we finished eating, Andrew went home but Peter, his father as well as the King & I went out to Orchard Park, which is a suburb of Buffalo where the Bills play. We saw them embarrass the Jets that day. At least it was a great day for the Farrells who were in disbelief.

The week of 11/18 I went to Barclays Center on Monday night as the Nets played the Portland Trailblazers. Wednesday night I returned to the Transformed Garden as the Knicks hosted the Indiana Pacers who were off to a fast start on the young season. Over the weekend, I rented another car from Avis. This time for a week. I drove the King & I down to Washington DC as we saw the Knicks on the road against the Wizards. We wound up meeting our pal Tolu Robertson there. He joined for the game. It was nice to see him again. That Sunday morning we went to Baltimore & we met up with our friends Peter & Carmen Agnew at the Eichenkranz Restaurant. Peter had been sick all week but he was feeling better so he decided to join us. It was the King's birthday so I was really glad they were able to help start the day off right for him. As always, it was a pleasure to see them. The King & I went to see the Ravens host the Jets at M&T Bank Stadium. The Jets once again came up short. In addition, I got to see my pal Harry "Nib" Pirrung who hasn't missed a Raven home game since they moved to Baltimore back in 1996. He was there with his daughter Shannon. After the game, we drove back to Bensalem, Pennsylvania which is about 20 miles north of Philadelphia where we had a great dinner at the Texas Roadhouse.

The week of 11/25 I went to work for a half a day on Monday then I went back to the car I rented which I left in Astoria & I drove the King & I to Landover, Maryland where we saw the Redskins play the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football. I got to meet up with my pal Charles Stephenson who has Redskin season tickets. He was there with some friends of his who were amazed with my sports travel accomplishments. Tuesday afternoon I went back to work. That night the King, Frank Anichiarico & Al Linderman met up at the Draddy Gymnasium where we saw the Manhattan Jaspers host the Fordham Rams in the Battle of the Boroughs. I want to personally thank our pal Bryan Gilligan who bought us all tickets for the game. He was supposed to join us but he had to work late that day. He graduated from there. Wednesday night after work Bryan joined the King, Frank & I for the Devil game against the Carolina Hurricanes. It was his birthday so after the game he drove us all to Donovan's Pub in Queens where we all celebrated. The King's brother Charlie & his sister Susie came too. It was a memorable night out. Thursday was Thanksgiving. The King & I drove to Lancaster, Pennsylvania where we got to spend some time with my family before we went back to Baltimore to see the Ravens take on the Steelers that night on Thursday night football. I also got to see "Nib"again. He told me he almost missed the game because he was feeling well. Glad he decided to go. After the game, we stayed at Super 8 in Aberdeen, Maryland. We got up early in the morning on Black Friday so we could get to the Wells Fargo Center where we saw the Philadelphia Flyers host the Winnipeg Jets at 11:30AM. We met up with our pal Andrew Van Cleve who was there with his son Micah. After the game, the King & I went to the Landmark Americana which is located at Drexel University. We were joined there by our buddy Frankie Centola. After we ate, we all went back to the Wells Fargo Center to see the 76ers take on the New Orleans Pelicans. Saturday morning I went to Avis & I returned the car I rented. Later that day, the King & I went to see the Hofstra Pride play the Manhattan Jaspers in a college basketball game which was followed by the Islanders who were home too. They played the Washington Capitals.

Stay tuned for another special post that will recap the month of December.

Thank you for reading & 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