Royalty w/o 3/7 in review

After work Monday I went to Madison Square Garden to see the new look Knicks take on the new look Utah Jazz.

The last time I saw the Jazz play in January in Newark they had Deron Williams aka "D-Will". Since then he was traded to the Nets right before the trading deadline for Devin Harris and rookie Derrick Favors. In addition, they picked up Al Jefferson from the Timberwolves.

The Jazz lost to the Nets and on this night they got blown away by the Knicks, 131-109!

The Garden was once again packed with the arrival of Carmelo Anthony. Needless to say, the atmosphere is different these days.

Tuesday after work I went out to Newark to see the red hot NJ Devils play the lowly Ottawa Senators.

The King and I met up with our friend Frank and my cousin Andy who always loves our company.

We all had a great time together at the game.

As for the game we saw, it turned out to be a good one. The King and I thought for sure the Devils weren't going to lose and they did.

The Senators played well and they edged the Devils, 2-1 as Erik Condra scored the game winning goal with 2:13 left in regulation to give the Sens the victory.

Wednesday night I went back to Newark to see the Nets play the Golden State Warriors.

Newly acquired Deron Williams aka "D-Will" was missing due to his wife giving birth to their fourth child.

The Nets managed to win the game without him, 94-90! This was a closely contested game throughout but late in the game the Nets were able to pull through and they emerged victorious.

Despite the absence of "D-Will", his teammates stepped up to their third straight game in a row which included two wins overseas in London.

Since the trade, the Nets have improved. As a result, the crowd was bigger too.

Thursday after work I got a much needed night off to rest and recharge the batteries.

Friday night after work I went back to Newark to see the Nets host Blake Griffin and the LA Clippers.

My cousin Andy joined the King and I again. He had a blast. He couldn't thank us enough for getting him a ticket for this game.

As for the game, it turned out to be an exciting one. The Nets who trailed by 20 points in the third quarter came back and forced overtime as Blake Griffin missed one of two free throws at the end of regulation time.

In the extra session, the Nets behind Jordan Farmar who filled in for Deron Williams who missed a second game scored all 24 of his points in the second half and four in overtime to help secure the victory for the Nets.

The victory sent the near capacity crowd home happy.

Saturday night I went back to Newark to see the Devils play the Islanders again.

Sunday at the Nassau Coliseum the Devils outlasted the Islanders in a shootout.

This time the Devils needed overtime to secure the extra point as their defenseman Annsi Salmela scored his first goal of the season with 1:51 left in the extra period to give the Devils another dramatic win much too the delight of the sellout crowd except for the Islander fans who were on hand.

It should be noted that Devils forward Jacob Josefson scored his first NHL goal that opened the scoring in the first period.

Sunday I went to Madison Square Garden to see the Indiana Pacers play the Knicks.

The crowd was disappointed as the Pacers outshot the Knicks and they beat them, 106-93!

Tyler Hansbrough scored a career high 29 points to lead the way.

I saw him back in December 2007 when he starred at the University of North Carolina. I knew he was going to be a star in the NBA someday.

Hopefully this performance is just one of many memorable games he has in his NBA career.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 2/28 in review

After work Monday I went to Newark to see the home debut of Deron Williams aka "D-Will" in a Net uniform.

The Nets were playing the Phoenix Suns. Thanks to the addition of "D-Will" the attendance was higher than usual.

They gave out t-shirts with his name and number on them as you walked into the building. As a result, many fans put them on and there were plenty of number eights in the house.

As for the game, the Nets hung tough as they wound up forcing overtime before they eventually came up short, 104-103!

In the battle of two of the best point guards in the NBA, "D-Will" finished with 13 points and 18 assists while his counterpart Steve Nash had 10 points and 15 dishes.

The Net basketball experience has been enhanced now and hopefully for many years to come.

Tuesday night I went home after work.

Wednesday night after work I went to Madison Square Garden to see the new look Knicks take on the New Orleans Hornets.

This game started off exciting but it fizzled fast as the Hornets disappeared. The Knicks raced off to an easy 107-88 victory.

It was Carmelo Anthony's second home game as a Knick. Unlike the first one the crowd wasn't as electric but the Melo effect has made a difference. There were plenty of t-shirts and jerseys with his name and number on them. In addition, they occasionally chanted his name.

Thursday night after work I went to Downtown Brooklyn to see the Long Island University (LIU) Blackbirds play the St. Francis (PA) Red Flash in the first round of the Northeast Conference tournament.

The Blackbirds wound up cruising to a 90-75 victory. It was their first step in trying to secure a bid in the NCAA tournament.

We had some company at the gym as our friends Eddie, Phil, Larry, Frank and Mike were on hand for the festivities.

Friday night after work I went back to Madison Square Garden as the Knicks hosted the lowly Cavaliers.

Despite their horrible record the Cavaliers have beaten the Knicks a few times this season already.

Most recently the Friday before in Cleveland.

For the second straight Friday night the Knicks were victimized by the Cavaliers again.

This time the Knicks led the game until the last minute when the pesky Cavaliers took their first lead and they held off the Knicks as they beat them again, 119-115.

Saturday I went to the Nassau Coliseum to see the Islanders play the St. Louis Blues in an afternoon game.

It was a great day for people with families to take their kids to a game.

Our friend Joe Rossi did just that as he brought his three and a half old daughter Grace to the game.

Grace had a great time while she was there. Daddy bought her a Sparky doll. Sparky is the Islanders mascot. I got to sit next to them for a period so I know they had a blast.

The King and I had a good time also as we met up with some other familiar faces at the game as well.

As for the game we saw, the Islanders build a 3-0 lead and they wound up cruising to an easy 5-2 win.

Sunday we went back to the Coliseum, this time the Devils were visiting the Islanders.

Unlike Saturday the crowd was close to a sellout, there were plenty of Devil fans who came across the river to see their Devils play on the road.

Speaking of the Devils, they've been the hottest team in hockey the last few months.

They have managed to get themselves back into the playoff picture.

They've been using the mentality one game at a time. So far it's working wonders as they just keep winning games.

Sunday they continued their winning ways as they won the game 3-2 in a shootout.

With each win they're inching closer to a playoff spot.

It's going to be interesting down the stretch to see if they can actually pull it off.

We'll wait and see.

That puts a wrap on another week in the life of royalty.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman