Royalty w/o 3/18 in review

Monday night after work I came home. I made myself dinner, I relaxed and I got to catch up on things at home. It's always nice to have a night off from time to time.

Tuesday night after work I went out to the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. The Devils were hosting their cross town rivals, the NY Rangers which made for a very festive night. I was joined by my pal Vincent Ascanio who bought the King's ticket. The King decided to go out to the Nassau Coliseum to see the Islanders play the Montreal Canadiens instead.

Before the game started, I got a pastrami sandwich for dinner at the arena. I took it to my seat and I ate it just before the opening puck was dropped.

As for the game we saw, the Rangers got on the scoreboard first as defenseman Michael Del Zotto scored while the Rangers were killing a penalty with 8:11 to go in the first period. With 4:45 to go in the period, the Devils cashed in on the power play this time as Travis Zajac got the equalizer to even it at one. Shortly thereafter, the Rangers regained the lead, 2-1 when Carl Hagelin lit the lamp with 3:10 to go. The rapid fire continued as the Devils answered back just 23 seconds later when defenseman Anton Volchenkov found the net to knot the score again at two. In the second period, the Rangers went back ahead this time for good as Rick Nash buried the biscuit 7:25 into the period to make it a 3-2 game. Quite amazingly, there was no more scoring the rest of the game. The Rangers left the building with a victory much to the delight of the Ranger fans who came across the river to see the Blueshirts play. It should be noted there were a good number of them among the sellout crowd of 17,625. Regardless of the outcome, it was an exciting game to be at especially for the first half of it. It was a playoff like atmosphere.

Wednesday night after work I went to Charley's Subs in Penn Station for dinner where I had a Philly cheese steak sandwich before I went upstairs to Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks take on the Orlando Magic.

As for the game I saw, the Knicks got off to a fast start as they led, 26-15 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Magic made a comeback as they sliced the Knick lead down to 5, 51-46 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Knicks played like they did in the first quarter. They out scored the Magic by 13 to break it open as they led, 83-65 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, they slacked off like they did in the second as the Magic out scored the Knicks by six again. It was too little too late as the Knicks beat the Magic, 106-94.

It should be noted that Carmelo Anthony returned after missing some games due to a knee injury. He scored 21 points and he grabbed 8 rebounds in his return.

Thursday night and Friday night I wound up coming home after work. It was nice to have more time to catch up on things at home.

Saturday morning I went out and I did my laundry. In the afternoon, I arranged to meet up with my parents who came to visit. It was nice to see them again. At night, I went with the King to Newark, NJ as the Devils were playing the Florida Panthers. We were joined by our pals Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich and Vincent Ascanio we were also in attendance.

As for the game we saw, the Devils and Panthers played a scoreless first period. In the second period, the Devils scored the first goal of the game as Patrik Elias broke through 1:24 into the period. The Devils went up 2-0 with 8:57 left in the period when David Clarkson scored. The Panthers finally broke the shutout with 10 seconds left in the period to slice the Devils' lead to 2-1. In the third period, neither team scored as the Devils held on to beat the Panthers before another sellout crowd at the Rock.

Sunday afternoon the King and I went to the Nassau Coliseum with our friend Frank Anichiarico to see the Islanders play the Florida Panthers. We got a visit from our buddy Joe Rossi who was there with his adorable daughter, Grace. They were there with a group from school. As always, it was a pleasure to see them again.

As for us, we wound up taking public transportation there and back. It was an like a road trip since it took us close to two hours each way. As the saying goes, you have to do what you have to do. It's always worth going there especially now that their days are numbered at that old barn since the Islanders plan to move into the Barclays Center in October 2015 if not sooner.

As for the game we saw, the Islanders drew first blood as defenseman Andrew MacDonald scored a power play goal 6:05 into the game to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead. After a scoreless second period, the Islanders got two late empty net goals in the third period as they beat the Panthers, 3-0. Evgeni Nabokov, the Islanders' goaltender recorded the shutout, the 55th of his NHL career in front of a nice crowd of 14,512 on Marvel Comics day. The young fans on hand were treated as Thor and Spiderman were there to entertain them in the stands during the game.

Thank you for reading and following.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty goes to Opening Night at MSG to see the Knicks host the World Champion Miami Heat!

MSG Transformation Phase 2

After their game at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn was postponed Thursday night due to Hurricane Sandy, the Knicks got to officially open their new season at home at Madison Square Garden on Friday night instead.

They were hosting the World Champion Miami Heat at the newly transformed Madison Square Garden phase two of three.

As for the latest phase in the transformation process, the Garden has taken on a different look especially in the seating bowl. In 1991, they added luxury suites around the very top of the arena. In phase two of the transformation, they've taken many of them out. In their place, they've added seats that extend all the way to the top of the building on the sides and the corners. The luxury suites have been moved to the middle level which is between the 100 level and the 200 level as it's now comprised. It should be noted that not all the luxury boxes are finished yet. Half of them are not. This is a work in progress as they continue to transform the Garden. Next year will be phase three. Once they finish that, the Garden will have a totally different look than it did in years past. It's taking shape as they've also moved the seats closer to the action so the sightlines are improved to see an event there. Furthermore, they've added nice cushioned seats throughout the seating bowl which makes the experience more comfortable for its patrons. The seats are all black except for the ones on the 400 level just below the West Balcony. Those are colored blue in honor of the iconic blue seats that the Garden was known for. That's where the working class people were notorious for sitting. Hopefully you'll get a chance to go to see the latest phase as progress continues to be made at the World's Most Famous Arena.

As for the game I saw, the Knicks came ready to play. With all the distractions from the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the Knicks put on a clinic to help ease people's minds for a few hours in the wake of the disaster we had. It's going to be a long healing process but for one night was a nice relief.

The Knicks played inspired basketball from start to finish as they made the champs look like chumps on this night. The Knicks lead 33-17 after the first quarter which set the tone for the rest of the evening. They were a team on a mission and it showed. The last time they played the Miami Heat, they got knocked out of the first round of the playoffs. This was a little bit of a payback for them. Carmelo Anthony lead the way as he scored 30 points and he grabbed 10 rebounds. His teammates contributed as five other players pitched in. They scored in double figures to give the new look Knicks a balanced attack. The Knicks lead 55-44 at halftime. In the third quarter, they held their biggest lead of the game at 75-52 with 3:11 left. When it was all said and done, they came away with an easy 104-84 victory. With that being said, basketball was back at the mecca.

Stay tuned as I recap the wild weekend I had thanks to Sandy's destruction to the Northeast.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty enjoys the return of the NBA at MSG on Christmas Day!

Andrew and Dylan Van Cleve with the King and I

Like the NFL, the NBA decided to finally return to business as usual. The only difference is the NBA season didn't start on time.

With that being said, the NBA season started on Christmas Day with five games on tap.

The first one being at Madison Square Garden at Noon as the Knicks were hosting the Boston Celtics.
The last time I saw the Knicks play the Celtics on Christmas Day was back in 1985 when the Knicks trailed the Celtics by 25 points in the third quarter before they miraculously came back to win the game in double overtime. I remember it being called the "Miracle on 34th Street."

On this day, the King and I were joined by the Ultimate Sports fan Andrew Van Cleve and his son Dylan aka the Ultimate Sports Baby.

It was great to see them again as the Knicks wound up winning a thriller as Kevin Garnett missed the last shot as the Knicks won the game, 106-104.

The Knicks were lead by Carmelo Anthony who led the way with 37 points.

The Garden is once again the place to be to see NBA basketball.

These days tickets are hard to come by. Hopefully royalty can work some magic so you can experience it for yourself when the time comes.

If so, please let me know and I'll see what I can do for you.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Knicks Acquire Four-Time All-Star Carmelo Anthony‏ Number 7

KNICKS ACQUIRE FOUR-TIME ALL-STAR CARMELO ANTHONY


New York also adds five-time All-Star Chauncey Billups in a three-team trade



New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh announced today that the team has acquired four-time All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony, who was signed to a contract extension prior to the trade, and five-time All-Star guard Chauncey Billups in a three-team, 13-player trade with the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves. The trade also sent guard Anthony Carter and forwards Renaldo Balkman and Shelden Williams from Denver and swingman Corey Brewer from Minnesota to New York. New York has traded forwards Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari, guard Raymond Felton, center Timofey Mozgov, a future first-round draft selection and two future second-round draft selections (originally acquired from Golden State on Jul. 9, 2010), the right to exchange 2016 first-round draft selections and cash considerations to Denver and has sent center Eddy Curry, forward Anthony Randolph and cash considerations to Minnesota. Minnesota acquired a future second round draft selection from Denver and Denver acquired Kosta Koufos from Minnesota.



"At 26 years old, Carmelo is in the prime of his NBA career having already established himself as a one of the game's elite players and the opportunity to add him to our roster was one we could not pass up," Walsh said. "I feel we now have a great frontcourt tandem in Amar'e and Carmelo and this is an exciting day for the New York Knicks and all our fans. It is extremely difficult to trade away players, but we feel like the team is in better position to win and we have excellent players to build around for years to come."



Anthony, 6-8, 230-pounds, has career averages of 24.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 564 career games (564 starts) in seven seasons with the Denver Nuggets. The Brooklyn, NY-native was selected by the Nuggets with the third overall selection in the 2003 NBA Draft following his freshman season at Syracuse University, where he led the Orangemen to their first national championship in 2003 and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. A four-time All-NBA selection and four-time NBA All Star, Anthony has averaged at least 20 points in each of his seven NBA seasons and earned an Olympic Gold Medal with Team USA in the 2008 games in Beijing. Anthony has averages of 25.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 50 games with Denver this season.



"Carmelo is one of the top pure scorers in the league and like Amar'e, I believe he will really embrace the opportunity to play back home in New York and help us continue our goal of building towards a championship," said Knicks Head Coach Mike D'Antoni. "Chauncey is a winner and having a veteran point guard of his caliber will be extremely valuable in helping us win games, especially in the playoffs."



Billups, 6-3, 202-pounds has career averages of 15.5 points, 5.6 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 961 games (867 starts) in 14 NBA seasons with Toronto, Boston, Denver, Minnesota and Detroit. Originally selected by Boston with the third overall selection of the 1997 NBA Draft following his sophomore season at the University of Colorado, Billups has been named an NBA All-Star five times and is a three-time All-NBA selection. The Denver, CO-native has led his team to the playoffs in each of his last 10 seasons and was named the 2004 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player after leading the Detroit Pistons to the NBA title. In 51 games with Denver during the 2010-11 campaign, Billups has averages of 16.5 points and 5.3 assists per game.



Carter, 6-2, 195-pounds has career averages of 5.0 points and 3.9 assists in 580 games (181 starts) in 12 NBA seasons with Miami, San Antonio, Minnesota and Denver. Undrafted out of the University of Hawaii, the Atlanta, GA-native has six years of playoff experience. Carter has averaged 1.9 points, 1.9 assists and 10.9 minutes in 14 games with Denver this season.



Balkman, 6-8, 208-pounds, returns to New York with career averages of 4.2 points and 3.6 rebounds in 204 career games (12 starts) with the Knicks and Denver. Originally selected by New York with the 20th overall selection in the 2006 NBA Draft out of the University of South Carolina, Balkman was born on Staten Island, NY. He was traded by New York to Denver on July 28, 2008 and has appeared in five games this season with Denver.



Williams, 6-9, 250-pounds, has career averages of 4.5 points and 4.1 rebounds in 286 games (63 starts) in five NBA seasons with Atlanta, Sacramento, Minnesota, Boston and Denver. The Oklahoma City, OK-native was originally selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the fifth overall selection in the 2006 NBA Draft following a standout career at Duke. Williams left Duke as the school's all-time leader in rebounds and blocked shots and had his number retired by the school in 2007. Williams is averaging 4.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in 42 games with Denver this season.



Brewer, 6-9, 188-pounds, has career averages 9.1 points and 3.3 rebounds in 232 games (147 starts) in four NBA seasons with Minnesota. The Portland, TN-native was drafted by Minnesota with the seventh overall selection in the 2007 NBA Draft out of the University of Florida where he helped lead the Gators to back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007. Brewer started all 82 games for Minnesota last season in 2009-10 and averaged a career-high 13.0 points per game. Brewer is averaging 8.6 points and 2.7 rebounds in 56 games this season with the Timberwolves.

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