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 goes to Newark, Delaware & Reading, Pennsylvania for a basketball/hockey doubleheader!

Prince at Bob Carpenter Center - Home of Delaware Blue Hens

Saturday morning I went to Avis and I rented a Chevy Cruze for Martin Luther King weekend.

After I got the car I went home and I picked up the King in Astoria. We then went into Manhattan and we picked up our pal Vincent Ascanio who joined us for the weekend getaway.

We drove to Newark, Delaware which is between Philadelphia and Baltimore. We went to the Bob Carpenter Center, which is the home of the University of Delaware Blue Hens. They were playing a college basketball game against the Northeastern Huskies.

As for the game we saw, the Huskies dominated the Blue Hens right throughout the game. They lead at halftime, 45-33. They extended their lead to as much as 17 early in the second half. The Blue Hens made a comeback but they fell short and they lost, 74-70.

Prince at Sovereign Center - Home of Reading Royals

After the game, we got back into the car and we drove 60 miles mainly on local state roads to downtown Reading, Pennsylvania where we went to the Sovereign Center, which is the home of the Reading Royals of the ECHL.

We parked the car on the street. We were only a few blocks away from the arena. We saw an Italian restaurant called the Italian Garden across the street so we decided to go in and we had dinner. We got a large freshly made pepperoni pie and a two liter bottle of Coke for a whopping $13.78. It was a royal deal and more importantly the pizza tasted really good.

After we ate, we walked over to the box office at the arena where we were planning to buy some tickets for the game. In a matter of seconds, a guy who was standing nearby gave us three free tickets. We were in the right place at the right time. We proceeded to go inside and watch the game between the visiting Elmira Jackals and the hometown Reading Royals.

As for the game we saw, the Royals scored first to take a 1-0 lead. The Jackals answered back later in the period to tie the game at one. Late in the period, the Royals regained the lead, 2-1. In the second period, the Royals added two more goals to extend their lead to 4-1. In the third period, they scored two more to put the game away as they beat the Jackals, 6-1 in front of an announced crowd of 4,513. In years past, the Royals used to draw more people.

After the game, we drove to Lancaster, Pennsylvania where I went to see my parents who live there. Since they didn't have room for all three of us, I arranged to get the King and Vincent a room at Super 8 which was right nearby. I dropped them off there and I picked them up in the morning.

Stay tuned for the special post I'm going to do about the way we spent our Sunday.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Jackals crown the Royals indoors, 3-2!

In the second game of the outdoor/indoor doubleheader, we saw the Elmira Jackals dress up in correction officer uniforms as they took on the prisoners from Reading, PA the Royals. The referee and the linesmen were in warden outfits. It was part of a promotion for this particular game.

It wound up being a SRO crowd. Fortunately for us some local people who were going to the game had some tickets they weren't using and they actually give them to us. That was very nice of them. Once again proving royalty has its privileges and rewards.

As for the game itself, the first place Jackals went on to beat the Royals, 3-2!
It was a good competitive game throughout the contest.

The best part of the visit was when I received a call that a special guest was in the house.

Our good friend and fellow roadtripper, Peter Farrell, who is one of the Buffalo guys we know from the Ultimate Sports Road Trip (USRT).

Their website was linked to a previous post previewing the Wrigley Field upcoming visit in May. Click on that post to get the link.

He grew up in Horseheads which is right outside Elmira so he was coming back to his roots when he decided to make the 2 hour drive right after work from Buffalo where he resides these days. He works for the Post Office as a letter carrier. He even did an hour overtime and he still got to the game on time. He was so proud of himself. Needless to say, so were we.

We appreciate the fact that he went out of his way to join us. That was a very nice gesture. Thanks again Pete for coming down and joining us.

As always, your company was great. Too bad, your partner Andrew couldn't make it. He was missed but he was there in spirit.

We'll be going to Buffalo and Rochester at the end of March so we'll be looking forward to seeing you both again.

Road Trip to Syracuse & Elmira, NY this weekend

Royalty is heading back up NY State this weekend. I still have room to take somebody if anybody wants to join the King and I. Our friend and loyal follower of Royalty, Larry Peim, is leaving his wife to join us for this unique event.

In case you didn't know the AHL(American Hockey League) is having a Minor League version of the NHL Winter Classic which was held on New Year's Day in Fenway Park.

Please see my post regarding the Winter Classic for more details.

As for the Outdoor Classic which will be held at the NY State Fairgrounds in Syracuse Saturday at 1PM. The Binghamton Senators, the Ottawa Senators farm team will be playing the Syracuse Crunch, the Columbus Blue Jackets affiliate.

We will then go to Elmira, NY to see the Jackals play the Reading Royals in an ECHL (East Coast Hockey League) tilt that starts at 7:35PM.

If time allows I'm hoping to stop off at Pudgie's Pizza which is right in the heart of Elmira. We've been there once upon recommendation from the Buffalo Boys as we refer to them. This is, Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell who are known as USRT aka the ultimate sports road trip. They have a great website you can check out. It's www.thesportsroadtrip.com

If you're interested in going and/or want to get a taste of royal treatment in the future I strongly suggest that you get in touch with me ASAP.