Royalty catches up with Eric Hasseltine, Memphis radio announcer at FedEx Forum in Memphis!

Eric Hasseltine and I

Back in December 2006 at Madison Square Garden, I met up with Eric Hasseltine who calls the Memphis Grizzlies games on radio. I had asked him if had a Grizzlie pocket schedule. He said in matter of fact I do. I told him about all the traveling I do. He seemed very interested.

Since that night, I've always looked for him whenever the Grizzlies came to play the Knicks and/or the Nets. He would always stop his busy work load to acknowledge my presence. With that being said, I knew he was a good guy.

I've seen him numerous times over the years but I never got to see him in Memphis. I was determined to do so.

I told him I wanted to get back to the FedEx Forum. I was planning to go there last year but then the NBA was locked out and the season started late so I didn't get to back up what I said.

When the NBA schedule came out in late July, I noticed the Grizzlies were home when I was planning to see the Jets play in St. Louis. Ironically the Knicks happened to be playing the Grizzlies the same weekend. Regardless my main goal was to see Eric Hasseltine.

When I entered the building, I searched around to find the broadcast booth where Eric would be calling the game from. Once I found it, I knew I had to sweet talk an usher to let me go to where he was. I tried asking a lady and he refused to let me go down without a ticket for her section. As usual, I didn't accept no for an answer. I went to the next section and I asked the guy who was on guard if I could go down to see the radio announcer. He thankfully said yes. I was so excited.

I waited patiently for a few minutes then Eric got my attention. He told me to wait a few minutes and he came back with a Grizzlies media guide for me. That was so nice of him. He seemed all stressed out. He told me they gave him an unexpected assignment. That what happens when the team is winning he said. He still spoke to me for a few minutes. It was great to see him again. I told him I hope to see him again on New Year's Eve in Indianapolis when the Grizzlies visit the Pacers. If not, I'll see him when they come to Brooklyn in late February and MSG in late March.

I'm so glad to see the Grizzlies are playing so well. Eric's been with the team since they moved to Memphis from Vancouver back in 2001. They've had their share of ups and downs. I'm glad they're in the midst of an up swing these days. I hope they continue to play well.

Eric also hosts his own sports radio show on ESPN radio 92.9 in Memphis M-F 2-4PM Central Time. If you want to listen to him, tune in.

He can be found on Twitter. His handle is @EricHasseltine.

I want to personally thank him for giving me some of his precious time while I was in Memphis.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees the Knicks play the Grizzlies in Memphis!

Me Outside the FedEX Forum

Friday morning the King and I flew to St. Louis for the weekend. Upon arrival, I rented a car from Hertz for the weekend. I didn't like the car they gave in the Hertz Gold stall so I told the young lady I needed a car with a trunk. She told me to take a Toyota Camry or a Chevy Cruze. I decided to go with the Camry which was a nice upgrade to the car they were going to give me.

Once we pulled out of the Hertz lot, I noticed a place to eat called the Golden Pancake Family restaurant. I was hungry so I went in to eat. The King wasn't hungry so he stayed in the car. I had some bacon, sausage, eggs and pancakes for breakfast. It was very good. It set the tone for another great weekend getaway.
After I ate, I got back in to the car and we drove towards Memphis, Tennessee. On the way there, we stopped off at Super 8 in Cape Girardeau and we were able to check in early. It worked out well. We were able to drop off our bags and we relaxed for a short time before we continued on to Memphis.

We finally arrived in Memphis shortly after 6PM local time. We parked the car on the street within walking distance from Beale Street which is where the FedEx Forum home of the Grizzlies is located.

This was our first game there since our only other visit back on November 12, 2004 when we saw the Grizzlies play the Golden State Warriors.

Before we went inside, we took a stroll up and down the legendary strip of restaurants and entertainment on Beale Street. We decided to go into a place called Pig on Beale for a pre game dinner. Their slogan is its pork with an attitude. I had a ribs sampler which consisted of ribs, pulled pork and a smoked chicken thigh. The King had some ribs. It turned out to be a good choice. Once we were done, we went inside the arena so we could refresh our memories about the FedEx Forum.

Before the game, I was able to catch up with my pal Eric Hasseltine, he's the radio announcer for the Grizzlies. Stay tuned for the special post I'm going to do about our latest get together.
As for the game we saw, the Grizzlies came in with a six game winning streak. For that matter so did the Knicks. With that being said, one streak was going to end.

After the first quarter, the Grizzlies took a 29-25 lead. At halftime, they continued to lead, 54-49. In the third quarter, the Grizzlies pulled away from the Knicks as they extended their lead to 18, 85-67 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, the Knicks cut the lead down but they weren't able to overcome the Grizzlies who went on to win their seventh straight game as the Knicks suffered their first loss of the young season.
Marc Gasol of the Grizzlies lead all scorers with 24 points but it was his teammate and former Knick Zach Randolph who was a force throughout the game. He scored 20 and he added 15 rebounds to carry the Grizzlies to the victory.

As for the Knicks, Carmelo Anthony paced them with 20 points in the losing effort after he had only nine the night before in San Antonio.

After the game, we drove back to Cape Girardeau, Missouri where we spent the night.

Stay tuned for the special post I'm going to be as our journey continued in Columbia, Missouri.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman