Royalty had a December to Remember!

The month of December got started with a two sport doubleheader as the King & I went to MetLife Stadium on the 1st to see the Jets play their division rival, the Miami Dolphins. The Jets continued their downward spiral as they lost for the third week in a row. After that debacle, we went to the Transformed Garden to see the Knicks take on the New Orleans Pelicans. After a night off on Monday night, I had a busy week. Tuesday night I went to the Barclays Center to see the Nets host the Denver Nuggets. Wednesday night I went to Newark, NJ to see the Devils do battle with the Montreal Canadiens at the Prudential Center. Earlier in the day, our pal & fellow roadtripper Paul Derrick who recently got back in touch with me came to visit the King & I for the weekend. He wound up meeting up with our pal Eddie Pelle who arranged to meet him & they both went out to Stony Brook for a college basketball game that night. Thursday night after work I met up with Paul & the King at the Barclays Center as the Nets hosted the Knicks in their first meeting of the season. It should be noted that many Knick fans who are priced out of the Garden made their presence felt in Brooklyn. Friday night the King & I went back to the Rock as the King's favorite hockey team, the Detroit Red Wings came to the area to play the Devils. Paul wanted to see Madison Square Garden for the first time so I sold him my ticket for the Knick game. They played the Orlando Magic. Saturday morning Paul joined the King & I as well as our friend Frank Anichiarico aka Duck as we all took Megabus to Philadelphia for the day. We all saw three basketball games. The first one was at the Wells Fargo Center where the Temple Owls were playing the Texas Longhorns at Noon. We wound up meeting up with some friends of ours there. We had Manny Morales & Andrew Van Cleve who brought his son Micah with him. After that game, we went to the Landmark Americana for a late lunch/early dinner. We met up with our pal Frankie Centola who practically lives there when he's not working. It worked out well since we had our second game at Drexel which is right there. The Drexel Dragons played the Tennessee State Tigers at 4PM. After that game, Paul Derrick decided to go to the Palestra to see the University of Penn play Wagner College while the King, Frank & I went back to the Wells Fargo Center to see the 76ers play the Denver Nuggets. After the games, we all met up near Drexel because Megabus is located a few blocks from there. It worked out well as we all got to do what we set out to do. Sunday afternoon Paul joined the King & I as we went into Midtown Manhattan & we met up with our friend Larry Peim who drove us all out to MetLife Stadium where we saw the Jets play the Oakland Raiders. Our pal Eddie Pelle joined us too. After the game, I went back into Manhattan so I could go to see the Rangers play the Washington Capitals that night. The King wound up going with Eddie & Paul to see Rutgers play basketball against the Pirates of Seton Hall instead. 

The week of 12/9 started with a night off. It should be noted that Paul who stayed with the King & I while he visited got up very early so he could catch his flight back to Houston, Texas where he lives. Tuesday night the King & I went to the Barclays Center to see the Nets host the Boston Celtics who they made the big off season trade with that brought Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce & Jason Terry to Brooklyn. Wednesday night we went to the Transformed Garden to see the Knicks play the Chicago Bulls who lost their star guard Derrick Rose again for the season thanks to another knee injury. Thursday night we went back to the Barclays Center as the Nets took on the Los Angeles Clippers. After having a rare Friday night off, I went to the Hynes Athletic Center in New Rochelle Saturday afternoon where I saw my first game at Iona. The Gaels as they're called played the Bonnies of St. Bonaventure which is located in Upstate NY near Buffalo in Olean, New York. After that game, I went out to Newark, NJ & I saw the Devils host the Tampa Bay Lightning that night at the Prudential Center. Sunday afternoon the King & I went to MetLife Stadium for a possible Super Bowl preview as the Seattle Seahawks came to play the Giants. They wound up shutting them out, 23-0. After that game, the King & I took NJ Transit back into Penn Station. We went to Brother Jimmy's BBQ for dinner before we went to the Garden to see the Rangers play the Calgary Flames that night. We were joined by my pal Greg Venuto who came down from Norwalk, Connecticut with his buddy Paul Bosler. They were also going to the Ranger game. We all got to enjoy each others company as well as a great southern style meal. 

The week of 12/16 started off well as I wound up meeting up with my friends Peter & Carmen Agnew from Baltimore who came to NYC to visit for a week. They had bought tickets for the Knick game that Monday night through the Manhattan Club where they stay when they come to visit. Ironically the Washington Wizards were playing the Knicks that night so it was an added bonus for them. We wound up meeting up for dinner at the La Parisienne Restaurant then we all went to the Garden together. It was great to see them again. Tuesday night I returned to the Garden this time for the Jimmy V Classic as the Pittsburgh Panthers played the Cincinnati Bearcats in the first game of the doubleheader which was followed by the Florida Gators who took on the Memphis Tigers. I was joined my pal, Frank Anichiarico. Wednesday night my boss took my co-workers & I out for a holiday dinner after work at il vagabondo. Thursday night after work I had a company Christmas party in the building where we work. Friday night I went out to Newark, NJ to see the Devils play the Anaheim Ducks at the Prudential Center.

Eric Hasseltine

Saturday the King & I went to the Transformed Garden as the Knicks hosted the Memphis Grizzlies at Noon. I got to see my pal Eric Hasseltine who called the game along with my other pal Elliot Perry aka Socks. It was great to see them again. We got to catch up before they went on the air. I listen online to Eric on ESPN Radio 929 when I'm at work. He has a sports talk show that airs 2-4PM Central Time Monday-Friday. He's a great listen. The Grizzlies wound up beating the Knicks. I was so happy for these guys. It's been a rough start for them since the Grizzlies lost their star player Marc Gasol. After the game, the Grizzlies went back home while the King & I went out to the Nassau Coliseum to see the Islanders play the Anaheim Ducks. Sunday we went to MetLife Stadium to see the Jets play the Cleveland Browns in their final home game. After the game, I went to see the Rangers take on the Minnesota Wild that night.

Sojka Pavilion 

Prince at Giant Center

Heinz Field

BMO Harris Bank Center

Wings Stadium

 The week of 12/23 the King & I went to the Barclays Center as the Nets played the Indiana Pacers. After spending Christmas Eve at Donovan's Pub, we returned to Brooklyn where we saw the Nets & Chicago Bulls play on Christmas Day. I did my laundry Thursday night as I prepared for the busy weekend getaway we had. Friday night after work, I went to the Prudential Center to see the Devils & Columbus Blue Jackets with the King. Saturday morning I went to Avis & I rented a car for a week. The King & I wound up driving to see a college basketball game in Bucknell, Pennsylvania. We saw the Bucknell Bison play the Fairfield Stags that afternoon at the Sojka Pavilion. That night we went to Hershey, PA where we saw the Hershey Bears play the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at the Giant Center. After spending the night at Knights Inn in Somerset, PA we drove to Pittsburgh to see the Steelers attempt to keep their slim playoff hopes alive against the Cleveland Browns at Heinz Field. The Steelers won but they didn't make the playoffs since the San Diego Chargers won their game. Monday the King & I drove 550 miles to Rockford, Illinois where we saw a minor league hockey game as the Rockford IceHogs hosted the Charlotte Checkers. When we arrived in downtown Rockford, it was barely above zero degrees. We walked over to a local restaurant called the District Bar & Grill. We ate dinner there then we walked a few blocks to the BMO Harris Bank Center, home of the IceHogs. Tuesday we drove to Kalamazoo, Michigan as we closed out 2013 at Wings Stadium, home of the Kalamazoo Wings. They played the Cincinnati Cyclones. With that being said, I finished 2013 with 350 live sporting events. I only had 100 less than the King who ended up with 450.

Stay tuned for a special post that will recap how we spent our New Year's Day to start 2014. In addition, I'll try my best to catch up on my recent whereabouts.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 3/25 in review

Prince at MSG for Knicks & Grizzlies

Monday night after work I went home since they were no local games going on in the area. It was nice to be home so I could make myself dinner and relax.

Tuesday night after work I wound up meeting up with the King, his mother, Bryan Gilligan, Frank Anichiarico, Phil Butleman and Al Linderman for dinner at Donovan's Pub. Since there were no games again in the area we all decided to meet up so we could do our annual baseball picks. We all took turns reading off our division winners for all of the six different divisions, three in each league. In addition, we all ranked how we thought the American League East and National League East divisions would finish at the end of the season. Furthermore, we all picked the team we thought will win the World Series.

As for me, I showed off my Natitude. With Stephen Strasburg ready to go the full season this year with no restrictions, I firmly believe the Nationals have a realistic chance of getting back to the post season in October. In addition, I expect my boy Gio Gonzalez to continue his climb to stardom like he did last year. He finished his first season as a National with a league leading 21 wins. I don't think he'll duplicate that this year but he should win his fair share to help the team reach their ultimate goal. We'll see how it plays itself out over the next six months.

Wednesday night after work I went to Charley's Subs in Penn Station for dinner before I headed upstairs to Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks host the Memphis Grizzlies who were making their only appearance at the World's Most Famous Arena this season.

With that being said, I got to catch up with my pal Eric Hasseltine who is the play by play announcer for the Grizzlies and he has been for every game since they moved to Memphis back in 2001. He was joined by former NBA player Elliot Perry who was does some of the games as the color commentator. Ironically it was the night before Elliot's birthday. I told him I hope the Grizzlies win so he gets an early birthday present. He said that would be nice. Socks as he was known during his playing days, is a great guy. I got to speak to both of them for a short time before they went on the air to call the game back in Memphis on 92.9 ESPN Radio. That station is also the home of the Eric Hasseltine Show which airs M-F 2-4PM Central time. In the Eastern time zone I tune in online from 3-5PM. I've become a regular listener since the beginning of January once I figured out that I could tune in and listen to him online at work. Eric does a tremendous job. He has me hooked every afternoon in the office. It truly is the best two hours of my work day. I try my best to pay close attention to the show hoping that my work load isn't too distracting for me because Eric really knows his stuff. I'm not just trying to toot his horn. I'm a tough critic. When I really like something, I like to give credit where it's due. I sincerely love his show. When I spoke to him I told him how much I enjoy it from his opening introduction with his producer Ben Hogan aka @notthegolfer on Twitter, the Analyst Tuesday segment each week to the rapid fire that he does in the last segment to end each show. In between, he usually has a number of guests that come on and when time allows he takes calls and he reads off tweets from his followers on Twitter. To follow him, go to @EricHasseltine. As for Socks, he can be found at @ElliotPerry34. Tune in for yourself and I think you'll become an avid listener like me.

As for the game we saw, the Grizzlies played with Marc Gasol who was a late addition to the line up. Unfortunately he didn't inspire his teammates who got off to a 3-0 lead but it was all down hill from there as the Knicks shot the lights out from all over the court especially from behind the three point arc where they made 13 treys for the game. Most of them came in the first half when they scored 69 points to go into halftime up by 28, 69-41. The Grizzlies were literally blown out of the building. Their grit grind style of basketball didn't exist in the first 24 minutes. In the second half, they finally woke up but by then it was too little too late as the Knicks escaped with a 108-101 victory. The Grizzlies cut the lead to 5 late in the game but they just couldn't overcome the hole they dug for themselves as they split the season series with the Knicks. The King and I were at the FedEx Forum back in November for that Grizzlie win. This was payback time for the Knicks.

J.R. Smith led the scoring assault as he lead all scorers with 35 points. Carmelo Anthony added 22 of his own. It should be noted that Iman Shumpert was the real difference maker especially early in the game as he hit six treys as he finished with 16 points that was pivotal in setting the tone for the night for the Knicks. It helped that the Grizzlies' defense couldn't keep up with the Knicks who had one open shot after another.

As for the Grizzlies, Mike Conley had a team high 26 points while Jerryd Bayless had 24. It should be noted Tony Allen played well in the lackluster team performance. Marc Gasol playing due being hurt finished with 13 points.

Eric Hasseltine & Elliot Perry doing post game show

After the game, I said my farewell to Eric & Elliot after the disheartening loss. Eric said they have trouble playing well on the road.

Thursday night after work I came home again. The timing was good because I needed to get ready for my weekend getaway.

Friday night after work I went back to the Garden to see the Knicks take on the Charlotte Bobcats. The King and our pal Bryan Gilligan drove down to Philadelphia. They went to see the Phillies play the Blue Jays in an exhibition game at Citizens Bank Park.

Bryan said and I quote "this was probably the best game I'll see all year." It's funny since the regular season hadn't even started yet. It's hard to argue with him. They saw a 1-0 Blue Jay win that took a mere 2 hours and 5 minutes to play even with numerous changes.

As for the game I saw, the Knicks played a game that was eerily similar to the game they played against the Grizzlies. This time they put up 69 points again in the first half as they lead by 22 at halftime, 69-47. They only made nine shots from beyond the arc for the game this time. In the second half, the Knicks slacked off as they knew they had the game in hand since the Bobcats aren't nearly as good as the Grizzlies. They were right as it turned out. The Knicks went on to beat the Bobcats, 111-102.

Once again J.R. Smith led all scorers. This time he poured in 37 points. Carmelo Anthony contributed 32.
As for the Bobcats, Gerald Henderson led the way with 35 points. Kemba Walker who's from the Bronx had 16 points in his homecoming.

Stay tuned for the special posts I'm going to do regarding our Easter weekend getaway. Please bear with me as I try to find time to do them.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty catches up with Eric Hasseltine & Elliot Perry of the Memphis Grizzlies at the Barclays Center!

Eric Hasseltine, me & Elliot Perry 

Royalty always shows loyalty to special people. Back on December 4, 2006 I met up with Eric Hasseltine who is the radio announcer of the Memphis Grizzlies. He's done every Grizzlie game since they moved to the Bluff City in 2001. I've met up with him on a number of occasions since then. He's always treated me like royalty when he sees me. He's given me media guides and pocket schedules which I like to collect. They're educational & I get to follow up on the Grizzlies who have had their share of bad teams over the years. Nowadays they have arguably their best team in franchise history.

Since the Grizzlies play in such a small market they barely get noticed in the media which is a shame.
They recently made a trade that forced them to get rid of one of their best players in Rudy Gay. They needed to do so because they need to be fiscally responsible going forward to sustain long term success. In the NBA, there's a salary cap and you can't be successful spending freely especially in a small market like Memphis.

As a result, the Grizzlies made a trade to put them in position to succeed for many years to come. Since the move, they've played together as a team which is what they need to do to compete on a daily & nightly basis. With that being said, the team is reaping the rewards and it shows. They're in the midst of an eight game winning streak right now. They use their grit grind style which is their formula for success. It may not be the most entertaining style of basketball but all that matters is the bottom line. As long as they win, people will take a liking to it.

With that being said, Eric who has his own sports talk show in Memphis on 929 ESPN radio weekdays M-F 2-4PM central time has told his listening audience he has become a fan of their style. He said you usually prefers to see a high powered offense but he loves the way this team plays defense. He sees every minute of every game so he knows that their style can be successful when they play as a team. As long as they keep doing what they've been doing, the Grizzlies can be a force in the playoffs. Hard work pays off.

Speaking of hard work, Elliot Perry aka Socks who played in the NBA from 1991-2002 with a number of different teams including the Suns, Bucks and Nets made a living on his sharp shooting and his heart and hustle. He started in the old CBA back in the day which as he said was true grit and grind.

I had the privilege of meeting him a few years ago when he was doing a game on the radio with Eric at Madison Square Garden when the Grizzlies came to play the Knicks.

He's such a good guy & a true class act. He took a picture of Eric & I after we talked for a little while.
I got to see these guys together again on New Year's Eve when I went to Indianapolis to see the Grizzlies play the Pacers. He told me that he will be in Brooklyn with Eric to call the Grizzlies game against the Nets.
With that being said, Sunday night we all reunited at the Barclays Center. It was great to see these guys again. As usual, they made time to talk to me and we were able to catch up. In addition, I got to take a picture with both of them.

I told Eric that I've become a regular listener to his show which is appropriately titled the Eric Hasseltine Show online. He's a great host and I love hearing his opinions and takes on sports. He usually talks about basketball but he sprinkles in other sports from time to time.

When I heard his show on Monday he caught me off guard when he mentioned my name on the air. Like Eric, I prefer high scoring basketball games. I told him it was painful to watch but he made some great points on the show which has me believing in their style too. Like I say, teamwork makes the dream work. The Grizzlies have been following that mind set lately. Hope that trend continues so they can go deep in the playoffs. We'll have to wait and see as it unfolds the rest of the way.

I plan to see them again at the end of March when the Grizzlies make their only visit to the Garden.

In the meantime, I strongly suggest that you tune in and listen to him. I promise you won't be wasting your time.

In addition, you can follow and tweet him on Twitter. His handle is @EricHasseltine. The same goes for Elliot. His handle is @ElliotPerry34.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty goes to Indianapolis again to see the Pacers play the Memphis Grizzlies!

View of new scoreboard from club level

After getting a good night sleep, Domish and I went to Cracker Barrel again for breakfast to start the last day of 2012 off right.

After we ate, we stopped at the Allen War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana to pick up tickets for the minor hockey game that night we were planning to see as the Fort Wayne Komets were hosting the Toledo Walleye in an ECHL battle at 7:30PM. We knew we were going to get there near game time so we wanted to have our tickets so we could go right inside without wasting more time when we arrived.

After we bought the tickets, we drove 130 miles to Indianapolis to see the Pacers play the Memphis Grizzlies in an afternoon game that started at 3PM local time. I knew I was cutting it close to possibly see the whole game. With that being said, I wisely bought some cheap tickets on Stub Hub so I could have a hard ticket stub for my collection just in case we had to bolt out early so we could get back to Fort Wayne as soon as possible.

As we approached the vicinity of Indianapolis, it started snowing lightly. Thankfully it wasn't really sticking to the ground. We wound up parking for $5 in a parking lot that was right near Bankers Life Fieldhouse formerly known as Conseco Fieldhouse which is the home of the Indiana Pacers. We dodged the snow flakes as we walked over to the arena around 2:15PM. Once we got into the arena, I went over to the radio broadcast booth which was located on the club level. Quite amazingly, I got to that area with relative ease. I was in a state of shock. I know people in the Midwest are a lot nicer than most parts of the country but I was still somewhat surprised that I didn't get a hard time like I usually do in other parts of the country.
I went to the visiting side where I patiently waited to see my pal Eric Hasseltine who does the play by play on the radio for the Grizzlies. While I waited for him, I got to talk to former NBA player and part time color commentator Elliot Perry who ironically took a picture of Eric and I at Madison Square Garden a few years ago. He did indeed remember me. Shortly thereafter, Eric showed up. We spoke briefly. He said to come back at halftime since he had to get ready to call the game. With that being said, I decided since it didn't look like they were going to have a huge crowd, I decided to sit near them. I lucked out big time as I turned out to be right. They announced a crowd of 14,979. As a result, I got to see the game from a great vantage point. I originally told Domish I would meet him upstairs where our seats were. I wrote him and I told him to come down to join me. He said he was content staying upstairs. So I stayed where I was and I enjoyed the game. I was very impressed with the huge scoreboard they installed before the season started.

As for the game we saw, the Pacers and Grizzlies we're tied at 19 after the first quarter. The Grizzlies went ahead 41-38 at the half.

During the intermission, fans who were selected from the crowd were hypnotized as part of the in house entertainment while the players were in their respective locker rooms.

I wound up seeing Eric Hasseltine and Elliot Perry aka "Socks" as we spoke about the first halftime which I thought was a horrible display of basketball. The shooting overall was awful. I told Elliot he should go out there and play. He told me he can't, his knees are shot. He was a 47% career shooter. He was humble about it, he said he shot a lot of lay ups. I remember him having a nice outside shot. Furthermore, I told him I hope the Grizzlies pull away and blow out the Pacers. He was in total agreement with me. I wanted to see the Grizzlies win and I knew I may have to leave early so that would have been a perfect scenario.

As for Eric, we got to catch since I saw him in the middle of November at the FedEx Forum when the King and I were in Memphis. He's been enjoying the good start the Grizzlies have gotten off to. For his sake, I hope they can keep it up. I told them I'll see them again when they come to NYC at the end of February. The Grizzlies play the Nets at the Barclays Center and the end of March when the Grizzlies play the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

I want to personally thank Eric and Elliot for taking some of their precious time to talk with me. They appreciated my continued support for the Grizzlies who I've taken a liking to back in December 2006 when I first met Eric. He's such a great guy. He's been working for the Grizzlies since they moved to Memphis back in 2001.

As for the second half of the game, the Grizzlies padded their lead to double figures but they slacked off at the end of the third quarter which allowed the Pacers to get within seven, 67-60 after three quarters. I sensed the Grizzlies were in trouble. In the fourth quarter, the Pacers continued their comeback much to my chagrin. As the game wore on, the Pacers took the lead. I knew Domish who's a big hockey fan wanted to leave so with 1:04 left in the game and a time out was called we decided it was time to go. The Pacers led, 82-79 at that time. The Pacers wound up beating the Grizzlies, 88-83. I felt bad for Eric and Elliot as the Grizzlies let this one get away.

Stay tuned for the special post that I'm going to do that will recap our return to Fort Wayne as time was running out on 2012.

Thank you for reading and following.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty catches up with Memphis Grizzlies radio announcer, Eric Hasseltine at MSG!



Eric Hasseltine and I

On December 4, 2006 when the Memphis Grizzlies came to Madison Square Garden I got to meet and greet their radio announcer, Eric Hasseltine.

Eric is a great guy who I always say hello to when I see the Grizzlies play.

Over the years, I've seen him in a number of times at the IZOD Center when the Nets played there and at the Garden when the Grizzlies come to town.

He has been working for the Grizzlies since they moved from Vancouver to Memphis back in 2001. This is his 10th season with the team behind the mic. It's his 6th season doing their play by play on the radio.

Prior to that he served as their radio host on the pre game, halftime and post game shows.

He's originally from the Bay Area. In addition, he went to college at UC-Davis which is near Sacramento.

That's the same school former Jet quarterback Ken O'Brien went to.

Ironically when I met Eric I told him about my trip that was coming up in January 2007. That one I referred to as the "Bay Area Blast".

The King and I flew out to the Bay area and we saw a bunch of games over Martin Luther King weekend. We went to Cal-Berkeley for a college basketball game upon arrival that Saturday afternoon at the Haas Pavilion followed by the Sacramento Kings that night.

After the game we drove to Reno, Nevada to sleep and we hung out at a casino before returning to Stockton to see a minor league hockey game.

On Martin Luther King Day, we went to Oakland to see the Warriors play in the afternoon and then we went to San Jose that night to see the Sharks.

After the double dip, we caught the red eye flight home.

What a blast that was.

As for the Grizzlies, they've had their share of ups and downs since they moved to Memphis back in 2001.
This season they're playing better than in the past. They came to the Garden on St. Patrick's Day night with a 37-31 record. I told Eric they should make the playoffs. He had his doubts that they would. We'll have to wait and see.

When I asked him his thoughts about the Carmelo Anthony trade he said it was a good trade for both teams.
Time will tell who ultimately got the better of the deal.

While I got to see Eric, I had the privilege of seeing his partner on this night too. I'm referring to former NBA player and part owner of the Grizzlies, Elliot Perry aka "Socks" as Eric calls him. He works some of the games. Fortunately for me, this was one of them.

Eliot was an excellent shooter when he played back in the day. He was known for his knee high socks hence the nickname.

I got to speak to him too. He seemed like a real class act and gentleman. He's the one who took our picture.

I hope someday the Grizzlies can find a way to improve dramatically and win a championship so Eric can have the privilege and honor of calling it.

Keep up the great work, Eric. I'll see you again somewhere when I see the Grizzlies play again.

Hopefully the next time we'll be in Memphis in November barring a lockout and assuming the schedule works out right.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman