Royalty is going back to the Bay Area over Labor Day weekend!

Here's the game plan:

The King & I are flying to San Francisco on American Airlines. We leave New York JFK Airport on Thursday, August 30th at 7AM Eastern Time, we arrive in the City by the Bay at 10:19AM Pacific Time if all goes well. Upon arrival, I'm renting a car for the long weekend from Payless Car Rental. I plan to drive right to San Jose upon arrival. Due to a change in plans, we're going to Oakland that night instead. Thanks to our pal & fellow sports traveler Tike Narry we'll be sleeping at his new house while we're there. Friday morning I plan to drive to Stockton so we can spend some quality time visiting the King's sister who lives there. We'll be returning to San Francisco that night to see the Giants play. Saturday we get to see a Bay Area baseball doubleheader with the Giants playing that afternoon & the Athletics home that night. Sunday afternoon we're going back to AT&T Park then we're going to Tike's house warming party that night. Labor Day Monday we'll be in Oakland that afternoon. We should have enough time for a farewell dinner before we head back to the airport in San Francisco to catch our red eye flight back home. We're scheduled to leave there at 10:16PM Pacific Time & if we don't get delayed for any reason we should land back at New York JFK Airport at 7AM Eastern Time Tuesday morning.       
   
Thursday August 30th Stockton Ports at San Jose Giants 12:30PM Pacific Time

                                       Mariners at Athletics 7:05PM Pacific Time

Friday August 31st Mets at Giants 7:15PM Pacific Time
                            
Saturday September 1st Mets at Giants 1:05PM Pacific Time                                                            

                                          Mariners at Athletics 6:05PM Pacific Time

Sunday September 2nd Mets at Giants 1:05PM

Monday September 3rd Yankees at Athletics 1:05PM Pacific Time 

If you're interested in going on this exclusive getaway royalty style just let me know so I can arrange to have you join us & many other people we plan to meet out there.

It's going to be a blast so why not come for a "royal" ride.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty is heading to out to the Midwest to start the new baseball season!

Here's the game plan:

I'm renting a car from Avis for the first week of April.

I'll be driving out to Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Cleveland, Cincinnati & Columbus, Ohio to see some major league & minor league baseball to start the baseball season before returning to NYC early Friday morning in time to be at Opening Day at Citi Field that afternoon.

Sunday April 3rd Cardinals at Pirates 1:05PM Opening Day

Monday April 4th Giants at Brewers 1:10PM Central Time Opening Day

Tuesday April 5th Mets at Royals 3:15PM Central Time

Wednesday April 6th Red Sox at Indians 6:10PM 

Thursday April 7th Phillies at Reds 12:35PM

                                 Indianapolis Indians at Columbus Clippers 6:35PM Opening Night

Friday April 8th Phillies at Mets 1:10PM Home Opener

                           Erie Seawolves at Trenton Thunder 7PM
                
If you're interested in going on this exclusive getaway royalty style just let me know so I can arrange to have you join the King & I.

It's going to be a blast so why not come for a "royal" ride.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees the Giants play the Vikings on MNF at MetLife Stadium!

After work on Monday night October 21st I went to New York Penn Station where I met up with my pal Eddie Pelle for dinner at Subway. He told me just before I left work that his brother got him a ticket for the Giant game. I told him I was going so we arranged to meet up.

After we ate, we took NJ Transit out to MetLife Stadium as the Giants were hosting the Minnesota Vikings in search of their first win of the season as they started off 0-6. We wound up meeting the King & my pal Sean MacDonald who Eddie met up with when he was on the road a few weeks prior to that game. We all needed tickets except for Eddie who was waiting to meet his brother to get his.

Sean decided to get one for $40 outside shortly after we all met up because he wanted to get in early so he could take pictures & notes for his NFL Stadium Journey  blog as he continues his quest to see all the different gridiron across the country.

As for the King & I, we wound up getting tickets for $20 each just before kick off. Since we've been to MetLife Stadium numerous times, we weren't in a rush to spend more money if we didn't have to. Thankfully we came across a few people who were willing to meet our demands price wise. We wound up staying downstairs on the lower level in section 146 row 48 which is the last row in corner of the end zone.

As for the game we saw, the Giants found a team that was worse than them on this night. They finally got in the win column as they defeated the Vikings, 23-7 in a sloppy played game.

After the game, I took the bus back to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. I got home at 1:14AM. That wasn't bad all things considered. 

Stay tuned as I try my best to continue to play catch up.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 11/19 in review

After returning from St. Louis late Sunday night, I got a few much needed nights off after work Monday and Tuesday night. Thankfully it was a short work week but I still had plenty of work to do before the long Thanksgiving weekend kicked in.

Wednesday after work I went up to Manhattan College to see some college basketball. I met up with the King and we took the subway up to Riverdale, NY. It's the last stop on the number one train which is 242nd Street. When we got there, we met up with our pal Al Linderman. We walked over to the Draddy Gymnasium which is where the Manhattan Jaspers play. When we got inside, we had more company. Our friends Frank Anichiarico and Bryan Gilligan who went to school there joined us. In addition, our pal Eddie Pelle was also in attendance. He got out of work early and he knew we were going to be there so he decided to come. It was great to see everybody again. We were one big happy family.

As for the game we saw, the Jaspers played the Hofstra Pride. The game was close in the first half as the Jaspers lead by one, 29-28 at halftime. In the second half, the Jaspers pulled away thanks to guard Michael Alvarado who hit three treys during a stretch to help his team earn their first victory of the young season, 67-56.

After the game, Bryan who drove there, gave us a ride back to Queens. We wound up going to Donovan's Pub where we were celebrating some birthdays. Frank's was on the 16th, the King's is on the 24th and Bryan's is on the 27th. Charlie Casiano, the King's brother met us there too. It turned out to be a very festive occasion for all of us. Eddie also took part in the festivities. In preparation for Thanksgiving, I enjoyed my Turkey dinner early. I knew on Thanksgiving day, I may not have any so I made sure I indulged. We all had a great time gathering together. It was really nice of Charlie to take part. We don't see him too often but it's always a pleasure when we do.

Thanksgiving day the King and I watched football on TV until it was time to go out to MetLife Stadium for the Jets and Patriots game in prime time.

We sat up in section 312 with Ira Lieberfarb aka Ira from Staten Island who was there with his son Robby.
As for the game we saw, it started off slow as it was scoreless after the first quarter. The Patriots got on the board just six seconds into the second quarter as wide receiver Wes Welker caught a 3 yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady to give the Patriots' a 7-0 lead.

With 9:43 left in the second quarter, the Patriots took a 14-0 lead on the first play of the drive as Tom Brady connected with Shane Vereen on a pass that turned into a 83 yard touchdown. Shortly thereafter, things started to turn for the worst for the Jets. They got the ball back but they fumbled and it was recovered by free safety Steve Gregory who ran it in for a touchdown from 32 yards out with 9 minutes to go in the half to give the Patriots a 21-0 lead.

The Jets fumbled again on the ensuing kickoff and they lost the ball again as Julian Edelman ran it back for a touchdown from 22 yards out to extend the Patriots lead to 28-0 with 8:51 left.

To recap the Patriots scored 21 unanswered points in a 52 second span. What a turn of events it was.
With 3:08 left until halftime, the Patriots scored another touchdown as Tom Brady and Julian Edelman hooked up on a 56 yard touchdown pass to make it 35-0.

The Jets finally broke the shutout with 2 seconds left in the half as kicker Nick Folk booted a 32 yard field goal to make it 35-3 at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Jets added two points when Stevan Ridley of the Patriots was called for a penalty in the end zone which resulted in a safety that made it a 35-5 game with 6:47 left in the quarter.
The Jets continued to make a comeback as running back Bilal Powell scored on a four yard touchdown run to get the Jets within 23 at 35-12 with 4:41 left in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, with 12:02 left in the game, Tom Brady ran in from a yard out to extend the Patriots lead to 42-12. The Patriots added to their lead with 11:07 left as Stevan Ridley scored on a 9 yard touchdown run to make it 49-12. The Jets finished the scoring for the night with 2:21 left when Dustin Keller capped off an 80 yard drive with a 1 yard touchdown pass from Mark Sanchez to make it 49-19 which is how it mercifully ended.

Friday during the day I relaxed and caught up on things around the house. At night, the King and I went to downtown Brooklyn to see the Nets host the Los Angeles Clippers.

We met up with our friend Phil Butleman who was there too.

As for the game we saw, the game was tied at 25 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Clippers outscored the Nets by seven to lead, 47-40 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Nets came back and they evened the score at 63. In the fourth quarter, the Nets pulled away as they went on to beat the Clippers, 86-76.

Brook Lopez lead all scorers with 26 points. Joe Johnson finished with 19 to carry the Nets to the victory. As for the Clippers, Blake Griffin and Chris Paul had 14 points each in the losing effort.

Saturday was the King's 60th birthday. We went to Philadelphia with Vincent Ascanio on Megabus to see the Philadelphia 76ers as they hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Upon arrival, the King decided he wanted to have a gourmet meal at Popeye's. So that's where we went. After we got done, we took the subway over to the Sports Complex.

We got to the Wells Fargo Center home of the 76ers when the gates opened. We walked around the building before the game started.

As for the game we saw, the Thunder got off to a fast start. They lead, 29-21 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the 76ers came back to cut the lead to one, 50-49 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Thunder padded their lead to six, 85-79. In the fourth quarter, the 76ers came back and they tied the game at 98 after regulation time. In overtime, the Thunder pulled away to beat the 76ers, 116-109.

Kevin Durant of the Thunder lead the way with 37 points including many down the stretch with the game on the line. He's a special player and a joy to watch play live. His teammate Russell Westbrook added 30 points. The Thunders' dynamic duo outscored the 76ers' tandem of Thaddeus Young who had 29 points and he grabbed 15 rebounds while his teammate Evan Turner contributed 26 points in the losing performance.

Sunday afternoon the King and I went back to downtown Brooklyn to see the Nets play the Portland Trailblazers at the Barclays Center.

As for the game we saw, the Trailblazers lead 27-25 after the first quarter. They extended their lead to four, 50-46 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Nets came back to even the score at 70 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, the Nets turned it up a notch as they pulled away from the Trailblazers as they escaped with a 98-85 victory. Joe Johnson scored 21 points to pace the Nets to the win. Deron Williams had 15 points and he handed a dozen assists to help the cause. Wesley Matthews had 20 points for the Trailblazers in the defeat.

After the game, the King and I went to Penn Station where we got the NJ Transit train to Secaucus and then we changed for the train to MetLife Stadium so we could go out to see the Giants play the Packers in Sunday night football.

We didn't have tickets yet. Shortly after we got out there, we ran into a few young guys who had an extra pair of tickets. We wound up giving them $70 for the pair. It worked out well as we were able to go right inside and we saw the end of the late games.

It was a cold, windy night. We decided to stay downstairs instead of going up to our seats in the upper level.
As for the game we saw, the Giants scored on their first drive of the game which set the tone. Running back Andre Brown ran in from two yards out to give the Giants a 7-0 lead with 12:38 to go. The Packers came right back as they got a 61 yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers who found wide receiver Jordy Nelson with 10:44 left to tie the game at 7. With 2:38 left, wide receiver Rueben Randle caught his first career touchdown pass from 16 yards out to give the Giants a 14-7 lead. With 23 seconds left, Lawrence Tynes extended the Giants' lead to 17-7.

In the second quarter, the Giants added to their lead as Eli Manning hit Victor Cruz for a 9 yard touchdown pass to make it a 24-7 game. The Packers got a 28 yard field goal from kicker Mason Crosby with 3:37 left to make the score 24-10. The Giants found the end zone again with 44 seconds left as running back Ahmad Bradshaw scored on a 13 yard touchdown run to make it 31-10 at the half.

In the third quarter, the Giants' Eli Manning entered the record books as he threw his 200th touchdown pass as a Giant to Hakeem Nicks, a 13 yard pass with 3:36 to go to make it 38-10. Manning passed Phil Simms in the process. That's the way it ended as the Giants dominated.

With that, another week of sports travel was in the books.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty continues our Labor Day Weekend getaway by going to Wrigley Field and Kane County on Sunday!

Harry Canary doing Take Me Out To The Ballgame

After we got a good night sleep at Super 8 in Elk Grove Village, we went to the Pine Grove Family Restaurant in nearby Rosemont on our way to Wrigley Field to see the Cubs and Giants wrap up their three game set.

As for the Pine Grove, the King and I have gone there for the last 15-20 years when we make our annual visit to Chicagoland. That place still serves good food despite under going some renovations and ownership changes.

This time we had a hearty breakfast which set the tone for another great day in the Midwest.

After we finished eating, we drove to Wrigleyville and we found a parking spot on the street again.

Since we had our tickets for the game already, we were able to go right in. It worked out well we enjoyed one last visit to baseball heaven for this year.

As for the game we saw, the Giants and Cubs battled from start to finish. The Giants lead early, 3-0. The Cubs came roaring back as they took a 5-3 lead partly due to Alfonso Soriano who hit a three run homer. In the 6th inning, the Giants came back and they tied the game at five. It stayed that way until the ninth inning when the Cubs called on their closer Carlos Marmol to keep the game tied. He failed to do so. The Giants scored twice in the frame as two former Mets came through with big hits. I'm referring to Angel Pagan and Marco Scutaro who both delivered run scoring singles to ultimately lead the Giants to a 7-5 victory on the North Side. With that being said, the Giants left Chicago taking two out of three from the baby bears. That was much to the delight of the many Giant fans who spent their weekend like we did at Wrigley Field.

After the game, we sadly said goodbye until next year. We proceeded to walk to the car and off to Kane County we went to see the Cougars play. Kane County is the home of the Midwest League Single A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They play at Fifth Third Ballpark which is located in Geneva, Illinois. That's 40 miles West of Chicago. We took the impressive Lake Shore Drive which runs along Lake Erie and through the Loop which is how they refer to the downtown area in Chicago. We then got on I-290 to I-88 which is a toll road that goes out to Kane County. We dodged some traffic and we arrived in the parking lot at the ballpark around 6:10PM for the 6:30PM start.

They had a sold out crowd on hand and we needed tickets. Luckily as we got near the entrance to the ballpark, a few people had some extra tickets and they said we could have them. We were so grateful. We thanked them and we headed inside for our second game of the day.

We wound up getting more than we bargained for. We got free tickets to see the game plus we got some special added in house entertainment too. First of all, we had the pleasure of seeing Nancy Faust who played the organ at Old Comiskey Park back in the day as well as New Comiskey Park which is now called U.S. Cellular Field. The King and I used to visit her when we went to see the White Sox play from 1988-2005.

We told her many years ago we were from New York. She no longer does the White Sox games. She's been doing the Cougar games this year on Sundays from May on. We had no idea. What a pleasant surprise it was to see and hear her. We went over to say hello and she remembered that we're from New York. We both lit up like a Christmas tree. Her presence made our night.

We settled in seats right behind home plate and we enjoyed the game between the Kane County Cougars and the Peoria Chiefs who are the Cubs' farm club.

Shortly after the game started, we got to take in the Zooperstars who we've seen perform a number of times over the years at different minor league ballparks. We got to see a Michael Jordan impersonator swallow an umpire whole. He did so to the song "Eat It." I told some young kids next to us that they were in for a treat. They couldn't stop laughing. The same could be said for many others of all ages who obviously have never seen the act. In addition, Harry Canary was on hand and during the seventh inning stretch he did "Take Me Out To The Ballgame". It was fun to sing along to it.

As for the game we saw in between, the Cougars won, 5-4 in ten innings as Alex Llanos got the game winning hit.

After the game, we headed to the car to beat the traffic as many stayed in the ballpark to watch the post game fireworks they had. The King and I enjoyed the display on the way to the car. It was a very nice show.
Since we were hungry, we drove up the road to the Country House to have a post game meal. They're known for having the best burgers in Chicagoland. I remember having one in a past visit a few years ago. This time I decided to have salmon which was excellent along with an Old Style beer which is the local beer that's been served in Chicago since 1902. The King went with a Bison burger and he was a satisfied customer.

After we finished our meals, we took a ride to nearby Elgin, Illinois where we spent some time pressing our luck at the Grand Victoria Casino. We wound up killing some time and losing some money but we had a good time doing so.

When we decided enough was enough we went back to the hotel to get some sleep as the week came to a close.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

The Prince sets a record for football games attended during the 2011 season!

After having a monster 2010 season of seeing 36 total football games (27 NFL and 9 College), I managed to surpass that in total in 2011. After all, living in the Northeast has its privileges.

In 2010, I saw more quality if you will and almost as much quantity.

I went to more venues and other parts of the country in 2010 which in some ways is much more impressive in my eyes.

In 2011, once the NFL lockout was officially over, I was able to follow through on my game plan. I knew I could see as many as 25 regular season NFL games. I usually shoot for 20 depending on how the schedule works out.

Thanks to many of the Northeast teams getting prime time exposure, I was able to take full advantage of the opportunity. I saw four NFL doubleheaders and I went to ten prime time games five on Sunday, four on Monday and one Thursday night during my recording shattering season.

In addition, I got to see four playoff games as well. One Wild Card, two Divisional Playoffs and the AFC Championship Game.

By doing so, I was able to keep my playoff streak of attending at least one every year since 1997 alive. I now have seen 38 total.

14 WC/15 DP/7 Championship Games/1 Super Bowl (Giants/Ravens) and 1 Pro Bowl.

Furthermore, I tied my 2010 record total of nine college football games too.

Here's the breakdown by home team and/or school:

NFL (29)
8 Jets
6 Eagles
5 Giants (Wild Card Game)
4 Ravens (Divisional Playoff)
3 Patriots (Divisional Playoff and AFC Championship Game)
1 Redskins
1 Browns
1 Vikings

College (9)
Kansas State
Temple
Columbia
Penn
Towson
Navy
Princeton
Buffalo
Pinstripe Bowl

Based on the NFL opponents for 2012, it looks like a tall order for me to break it again. I'll wait and see what happens.

When it comes to football, I'm the King.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty witnesses history at MetLife Stadium!

1st Ever Playoff Game at MetLife Stadium

Sunday afternoon the NY Giants who won the NFC East Division got to host a playoff game at MetLife Stadium. It was the first ever playoff game played there as the Giants played the fifth seeded Atlanta Falcons in the Wild Card game.

This time the King and I avoided any hassles by buying tickets which were available during the week on Ticketmaster. Our friend Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich was there as well. I arranged to get all the tickets for us.

Our friend Andrew Van Cleve came up from Philadelphia so he could be part of history too. Since he moved to the Northeast at the beginning of December, we've seen each numerous times. It's always a pleasure to see him.

As for the game we saw, the Giants fell behind 2-0 as the Falcons forced Giant quarterback Eli Manning into an intentional grounding in the end zone as he was trying to avoid the sack which gave the Falcons a safety. That's the only points the Falcons got the rest of the afternoon as the Giants defense totally shut them down.

The Giants' offense was slow to get started as they led by a score of  7-2 at halftime. In the second half, the offense got into high gear as they ran the ball well with their running backs Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. In addition, their three wide receivers emerged. Victor Cruz was double covered most of the time so that gave his teammates Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham a chance to shine and they did.
Nicks scored a touchdown that covered 86 yards in the third quarter that for all intent and purposes put the game away. As a result, the crowd went crazy. The building felt like it was shaking literally. What a moment it was to be a Giant fan.

The Giants went on to win the game, 24-2. They go to Green Bay this weekend to play the Packers in the Divisional Round at Lambeau Field. It won't be an easy task but they won there on their way to winning the Super Bowl back in 2007. We'll wait and see what happens this time.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty starts the New Year with a bang!

After finishing 2011 strong, 2012 got off to a flying start for me.

The King and I took a bus from Chinatown to Philadelphia early Sunday morning to get the New Year started.
We went to Lincoln Financial Field where we met up with Andrew Van Cleve and his son Dylan aka the Ultimate Sports Baby. We rounded up cheap tickets outside the stadium and we went in to see the Eagles close out their season with the Washington Redskins.

When we got inside we met up with our friend Frankie Centola who was with his son, Frank the third. Frankie gave the King and I a nice upgrade to the club level. Andrew couldn't join us because he had the baby in a stroller. He decided to watch the game from the ramps instead. It worked out well for all of us.
As for the game we saw, the Eagles dismantled the Redskins, 34-10.

After the game, the King took the bus back to Chinatown. We then took the subway to the Port Authority Bus Terminal when we got back to NYC just after seven o'clock.

We decided to brave the weather since it was raining to try and get into the Giants game against the Cowboys at 8:20PM.

We got out to MetLife Stadium with no problem. The problem we had was we didn't have tickets for the game. We knew it wasn't going to be easy.

As expected, a number of people were looking too. There were scalpers with tickets but they were too pricey for our liking.

We waited awhile. The game started and the prices were still too high. Shortly thereafter, we were wandering around the stadium and I found a ticket on the floor. The King told me to go ahead and try it. I did and I got in. He continued to look but he couldn't get anything so he decided to go home.

I walked into the stadium with 5:54 left in the first quarter. The game was still scoreless.

Less than a minute later, Victor Cruz turned a short gain for a first down into a 74 yard touchdown pass to give the Giants a 7-0 lead.

They continued to build their lead to 21-0 before the Cowboys came back to get within a touchdown at 21-14. The Giants managed to extend their lead. They eventually won the game, 31-14. As a result, they won the NFC East division.

Stay tuned for my latest visit to the Winter Classic. I will do a special post recapping the whole experience which will include the past ones I've been to.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees the latest Battle of New York on Christmas Eve!

Jets and Giants in Battle of NY

The one and only time I saw the Jets play the Giants in a regular season game was way back on November 1, 1981. On that day, the Jets tossed the Giants a beating as they sacked Phil Simms nine times as they won the game, 26-7.

This time things were different in more ways than one.

First and foremost, this time the game was played in a different stadium that being MetLife Stadium which is shared by both teams. This game was a designated "home" game for the Jets.

In 1981, the Giants were the home team. The game was played at old Giants Stadium that day. The Jets were still playing their home games at Shea Stadium then.

This time the result was different as well. The Jets with their coach Rex Ryan opening his big mouth early in the week got beat on the field as the Giants showed Rex who owns this town and it's not his Jets. The Giants whipped the Jets, 29-14 as they made life miserable for Jet quarterback Mark Sanchez who wound up throwing 59 passes in the defeat. Thanks to the Giant defense that was led by Jason Pierre Paul and Justin Tuck who made Sanchez feel very uncomfortable most of the afternoon.

The win set the Giants up to possibly win their division if they beat the Dallas Cowboys in their season finale Sunday night in prime time.

The Jets on the other hand, have to beat the Miami Dolphins and they'll need three other teams to lose just to get in the playoffs as a wild card team.

On the bright side, the King and I did get a special visit from Steve Cirvello who's from the FDH Lounge. Steve is Rick Morris' business partner. It was great to see him again.

It was frustrating to watch the Jets lose a game they really needed to win but being able to see Steve softened the blow.

In reality, both teams don't deserve to make the playoffs but the bottom line is the Giants have the bragging rights in the area for the time being.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty returns to Wrigley Field and Miller Park in the middle of May!

Here's the game plan:

Friday, May 13th

The King and I are flying into Chicago O'Hare airport in the morning. We leave NY LaGuardia airport at 8AM Eastern Time. We arrive on American Airlines in the Second City at 9:40AM Central Time. Upon arrival, I'll be renting a car for the weekend.

We plan to spend some quality time with fellow roadtripper Andrew Van Cleve and his family while we're there. Andrew has arranged to get us tickets for the three Cub games we'll be seeing there. In addition, we'll be driving up to Milwaukee to see the Brewers play at Miller Park.

Andrew has a great website and blog, here's the link, it's also on my blog list:

http://www.anygame-anywhere.com/

As for the games we're planning to see, they are as follows:

Giants at Cubs 1:20PM

Pirates at Brewers 7:10PM

It should be noted we're planning to meet up with another road tripper Bob DeVries and his fiance Charlie Cahill too. I had the privilege of meeting these great people over Christmas weekend when I was there for the Jets/Bears and Blue Jackets/Blackhawks doubleheader. Bob said he wanted to join us as we make our way to Milwaukee to see Miller Park again. It will be a treat to have him along with us.

Saturday, May 14th

Giants at Cubs 6:10PM (a rare night on a Saturday night no less)

Sunday, May 15th

Giants at Cubs 1:20PM

After the game we're flying home.

Our flight leaves O'Hare Airport at 8:15PM Central Time and arrives at NY LaGuardia at 11:25PM Eastern Time.

This will be another blast courtesy of Royalty.

When you're ready for a sample you know who to contact.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 11/22 in review

After a wild weekend, another crazy week followed. Here's how it went:

Monday night after going to work tired I still saved up enough energy to go to Newark, NJ to see the Devils play the Capitals at the Prudential Center. The Capitals failed to show up literally. The Devils scored early and often as they shut down Alex Ovechkin and the Caps, 5-0! Johan Hedberg playing for the injured Martin Brodeur recorded the shutout.

Tuesday night after work I went to Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks host the Charlotte Bobcats. The Knicks played well on their West Coast road trip. On this night they were trying to continue their winning ways. It appeared for most of the game that the Knicks were in control until late in the game when the Bobcats tried their best to overtake the Knicks but their attempt came up short as the Knicks hung on for a 110-107 victory.

Toney Douglas lead the Knicks with 22 points but it was a balanced attack as six players finished with double figure point totals.

D.J. Augustin had 24 points and Gerald Wallace added 20 in the losing effort for the Bobcats.

Wednesday night after getting out of work early at 3PM I went to see the Devils entertain the Calgary Flames.

The Devils outlasted the Flames as they beat them in a shootout, 2-1!

Ilya Kovalchuk of the Devils scored the only goal in the shootout which gave the Devils the extra point in the standings in this one.

Thursday after spending the day with the family for Thanksgiving, I went to see the Jets play the Bengals in prime time at the New Meadowlands Stadium.

The Jets came out slow in this one. They struggled in the first half. After returning from the locker room to start the second half, they played like a team that was ready to take over. On their first drive, Brad Smith ran a reverse for a 53 yard touchdown to set the tone for the rest of the game.

Later in the third quarter he ran a kick back for 89 yards for a touchdown which helped seal the deal as the Jets wound up winning 26-10!

Friday morning I rented a car from Avis for a few days so I could drive to Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
I proceeded to pick the King up from work at the Post Office at Grand Central Station. After that, I drove by Madison Square Garden where I picked up our friend Lloyd Ramsland who joined us for this excursion.

We continued through the Lincoln Tunnel as we made our way to Philadelphia to see the Flyers play the Calgary Flames in a Black Friday traditional matinee game at 1PM at the Wells Fargo Center as it's now called.

The Flames beat the Flyers, 3-2 in a shootout.

After the game, we went to Reading, PA to see a minor league hockey game between the Reading Royals and the Cincinnati Cyclones.

The hometown Royals were trailing 3-1 after two periods but they managed to tie the game at three and they forced overtime. They wound up winning the game 4-3 with a goal in the extra session.

After the game I drove to Somerset, PA so we could get some sleep before we continued on to Pittsburgh.
We arrived at the Consol Energy Center, the new home of the Pittsburgh Penguins around Noon for a 1PM start.

We were all there for the first time as we needed to catch up to say we've been to every current NHL rink once again.

In addition, we got to visit our friends Mike & Alicia Irr who live in Pittsburgh. They have half season tickets for the Penguins. They helped us with advice in order for us to get our tickets so we could see their new hockey home. It's located right next to their old one, the Igloo as it was known in downtown Pittsburgh.

As for the game we saw, the Penguins beat the Flames, 4-1! Sidney Crosby lead the Pens as he scored a hat trick. It was the first one in the new building. Early in the game, he was awarded a penalty shot but he failed to score. He did have an even strength goal, a power play goal and a shorthanded empty net goal to finish his hat trick though. Needless to say, he was the star of the game.

After the game, we drove 60 miles to Wheeling, West Virginia to see another minor league hockey game between the Wheeling Nailers and the Kalamazoo K-Wings.

More importantly, our friend Lloyd had never seen a game there so we made sure we got him there.

The King and I were there one time back in January 1998 after a Penguin game at the Igloo.

The Nailers wound up winning the game, 3-1!

After the game, I drove us all home overnight. I dropped off Lloyd at his house in Oradell, NJ at 5:10AM after driving 422 miles.

Lloyd said and I quote "you did a terrific job driving".

I proceeded to take the King home then I finally went home. I arrived at my house at 6:15AM.

I laid down for a few hours then I went to Avis and I returned the car I rented. I drove 977 miles in 2 days.

I went back to my car which was parked across the street from the car rental and I drove to the subway. I then took the train to the Port Authority Bus Terminal where I caught the bus to go the New Meadowlands Stadium to see the Giants play the Jacksonville Jaguars at 1PM.

The Giants like the Jets started slow. They trailed 17-6 at halftime. After getting a wake up call and a pep talk in the locker room, the Giants went to work for real.

It culminated when Eli Manning threw a 32 yard touchdown pass to Kevin Boss with 3:15 left in the game to give the Giants a 24-20 victory.

After the game, despite being exhausted the King and I took the NJ Transit train to Secaucus where we connected for the train to Newark so we could see the Nets play the Portland Trailblazers at 7PM at the Prudential Center.

The Nets beat a struggling Trailblazer team 98-96! This was a closely contested game throughout.
Devin Harris lead the Nets with 25 points.

Wesley Matthews paced the Trailblazers with 25, Brandon Roy had 21 while LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 in the loss.

That sums up another crazy and tiresome week in the life of Royalty.

Thank you for reading and following along my adventurous path.

If you want to experience a sample for yourself all you have to do is let me know.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Deja Blue: Royalty relives Giant Sackfest on 9/30/07

If you saw and read my post regarding the Giants/Bears game on Sunday night then you'll understand and appreciate this follow up post.

I was tipped off by false reporting on a sports radio station yesterday.

I forgot who said it but in passing I heard a comment that the Giants/Bears game Sunday night reminded them of a "Monday night" Giants/Eagles game in the past.

I thought to myself I was probably there. Sure enough it hit me, I was.

Unlike the paid professionals, I knew they didn't play on a Monday night against the Eagles at Giants Stadium.

Being an astute observer of the game of football, I realized they meant a Sunday night game back in 2007.

Ironically, I was right and they were paid to be wrong. As the song goes, "that's just the way it is, some things will never change". The paid media always makes blatant mistakes. Who edits their work?

I'm human too but Royalty doesn't post false information. I do my best to research the facts if necessary to give you the right detail when I write a post.

With that being said, I decided to check back on week four in 2007.

As I thought, the Philadelphia Eagles played the Giants in primetime that night. The Giants wound up sacking Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb 12 times that night which tied an NFL record. The Giants won, 16-3!

Quite amazingly, Osi Umenyiora had half of them. In addition, he forced two fumbles.

Go to my post from this past Sunday night in week 4 and you'll read about Osi Umenyiora who had a mere 3 sacks and two forced fumbles.

How's that for a flashback? Here's some interesting notes from week 4 in 2007 & 2010.

They are as follows:

The Jets were in Buffalo both times too. In 2007, the Bills won that one, 17-14! This time the Jets won, 38-14!

The Monday night football game in 2007 that week was between the New England Patriots and the Cincinnati Bengals. The Pats won, 34-13! Last night on MNF, the Patriots squished the Fish, 41-14!

Donovan McNabb is still playing these days but he has a new team, the Washington Redskins who went to Philadelphia to haunt the Eagles, 17-12!

Combine those with the Giants "sackdown" and you have some amazing stories to tell on paper and on the field.

Is there anybody in the media getting paid to tell you that?

When you want the best service and information sources you know where to go.

Royalty is always here waiting for you when you're ready to react.

I just wanted to share this sports knowledge with the football fans who read my blog.

Even if you don't like sports, you can still appreciate the kind of effort and know how I bring to the table.

I write and speak from my unique experiences. I love to take trips that go back down memory lane.

Going forward, I think you should consult me so you can look back in time at the memories I helped provide.

Word to the wise, start saving up your money now so in the future you can get a taste of Royalty firsthand.

Thank you for reading.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Giants sack the Bears, 17-3!

I'm in the house

Royalty was in the house at the New Meadowlands Stadium on Sunday night for the Giant "sackdown" of the Chicago Bears.

The King was there for the first time.

As for his thoughts of the new digs, he liked it but he said and I quote "there was no need for them to build this stadium." I couldn't agree more but this is life in the 21st century. It's a money first society nowadays and it won't change for the rest of our lives so just accept it and adjust accordingly.

As for the game if you will, the Giants came out swarming. The Bears, known as the Monsters of the Midway, were cut down to size instantly.

The Bears came into the game with a 3-0 record. The King and I were trying to figure out how.
After the Giants treated quarterback Jay Cutler like a rag doll the Bears are now 3-1.

The Giant defense came to play. They set a record in the first half by sacking Cutler 9 times. They wound with 10 sacks for the game and they forced the Bears to use three different quarterbacks.

The Giants were led by Osi Umenyiora who had 3 of the sacks. In addition, he forced fumbles on two of them.Justin Tuck also had 3 sacks and a forced fumble too. Barry Cofield had one and a half, Chris Canty and Aaron Ross each had one and Jonathan Goff had the other half.

What a defensive effort it was. Furthermore, the Bears threw two interceptions and the lost the ball three times on fumbles.

On the offensive side of the ball, for the first time in 14 games the Giants had a running back run for over 100 yards. Ahmad Bradshaw ran for 129 and a touchdown.

Hakeem Nicks had a big night receiving, he caught 8 passes for 110 yards.

The only bright spot for the Bears was former Carolina Panther Julius Peppers who signed as a free agent. Peppers has been notorious for single handedly beating up the Giants in the past when he played for the Panthers. He had a sack and a forced fumble in this one but it was no where near enough to contain the Giants on this night.

The Giants went on to win, 17-3!

It should be noted that the King and I got to sit by my buddy Jess Geller and his son David in section 319 row 19. Jess has had season tickets for the Giants for 35 years. Fortunately for him and his family they were totally priced out.

Despite the annoying rain that was falling for most of the game from the second quarter on it was a fun experience watching the Bears get cut down to size.

The King and I took the bus to and from the game and it worked out very well this time both ways.

If you're looking to see a game at the new Stadium let me know so I can do my best to help make that a reality.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 9/27 in Review

Monday night after a rough day at work thanks to a lack of sleep I got a blessing in disguise thanks to mother nature. I was on my way to Citi Field when the King called me to tell me the Met game was postponed and rescheduled for a 4:10PM doubleheader Wednesday.

With that being said, I went home to catch up on some much needed rest.

Tuesday night I went to Citi Field to see the Mets play the Brewers who were making their first visit to Citi Field since April 2009 when the ballpark opened.

The Brewers like the Mets were wrapping up a disappointing season.

As for the game I saw, the starting pitchers Randy Wolf of the Brewers threw 7 good innings giving up just 2 runs. For the Mets, Mike Pelfrey pitched well giving up 3 runs in 7 and a third innings of work.
Neither starter got a decision in this one though as the bullpens took over and they wound up deciding the outcome.

The Mets were trailing 3-2 going to the bottom of the ninth inning when they made a rare dramatic comeback at Citi Field. Ike Davis led off with a double, after Nick Evans struck out, Josh Thole singled hard to left field advancing Ike Davis to third base. Second baseman Ruben Tejada wound up being the hero when he delivered a game winning double to left center field as Davis and pinch runner Luis Castillo scored all the way from first base with the winning run.

The Mets won, 4-3!

Wednesday night I arrived at Citi Field in time for the second game of the doubleheader since I was working until 5:30PM.

After a wild and long first game which the Brewers won, 8-7, I had plenty of time to relax for a change and I had dinner before arriving at Citi Field for the 8:16PM first pitch.

In the nightcap, the Brewers wound up winning again. This time by a 3-1 score.

The Brewers starter Dave Bush pitched six shutout innings to earn the victory. For the Mets, R.A. Dickey pitched well allowing one run over seven innings when Mets moronic manager Jerry Manuel decided to pinch hit for him.

In the end, the all time saves leader, Trevor Hoffman, came in to get the last three outs in the ninth inning to notch his 601st career save. Royalty doesn't put much stock in saves.

Astute baseball observers like myself know that as long as you need a "closer" these days, the best in the business is Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees.

Thursday night with mother nature potentially causing havoc again, I went back to Citi Field hoping she would cooperate and this time she did.

The Mets continuing to play out the string of their disappointing season, they secured another losing season when as they lost to the Brewers, 9-2!

Friday night which marked the start of the final weekend at Citi Field was a memorable one as the Mets once again won in their final at bat.

This time catcher Josh Thole was the man in the spotlight as he hit a game winning home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Mets a thrilling 2-1 victory over the visiting Washington Nationals.

Saturday afternoon I was back at Citi Field for a short visit knowing that our friend Bryan Gilligan was going to drive the King and I 200 miles south to Baltimore, Maryland afterwards so we could see another baseball game at Camden Yards at 7:05PM.

With that being said, we wound up leaving Citi Field at 3:33PM after the Nationals batted in the top of the seventh inning. The game was tied at 2 when we left the building.

When we got into the car and started to make our way down south, the Mets took the lead 5-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning when David Wright hit a three run homer.

In the eighth inning, pinch hitter Chris Carter hit a two run home run to extend the lead to 7-2 and that's the way it ended.

Thanks to Bryan's great driving we arrived in Camden Yards just in time for the 7:06PM first pitch.

We decided to sit downstairs to get a "birds eye" view of this one. I've been to Camden Yards at least once every year since it opened back in 1992. It was the original retro ballpark model. It's like a modern day Wrigley Field. If you haven't had the privilege of going there yet to see a baseball game I strongly suggest that you do so in 2011. Needless to say, if you need any assistance in order to make it happen, Royalty is here for you when you're ready to do so. Just say the word.

As for the game, we saw a nice fast well pitched one between the visiting Detroit Tigers and the hometown Baltimore Orioles.

Both teams were playing out the string and we still saw a good crisp ballgame which I thoroughly enjoyed.

The Tigers took an early 1-0 lead when third baseman Brandon Inge hit a solo home run.
The Orioles tied it up when right fielder Nick Markakis blasted a solo shot of his own.
Catcher Matt Wieters added a long sacrifice fly to give the Orioles the lead which they didn't relinquish.
The Orioles won, 2-1! The game ended two hours after it started at 9:06PM.

On the other hand, we only saw 6 and a half innings in two hours and 22 minutes at Citi Field.

Sunday I went back to Citi Field for the last time in 2010 as the Mets and Nationals took 4 hours and 14 minutes before they decided enough was enough.

Mets manager Jerry Manuel who was managing his last game waited until the 14th inning to make his smartest decision of the day. He decided to get the game over with. He brought in seldom used and highly overpaid pitcher Oliver Perez who hopefully has seen his last game as a Met despite the fact they owe him 12 million dollars for next year.

With the game tied at 1, Ollie proceeded to hit a batter and walk three others to eventually force in the winning run to give the Nationals the 2-1 victory in 14 innings.

Thank you Ollie for all the fond memories!

After spending a long windy day at Citi Field, the King and I were finally off to the New Meadowlands Stadium to see the Giants smother the Bears, 17-3 in primetime!

For all the details of that game, please check back. I'll be doing a special post.

As always, thank you for reading and following along.

I hope in the future you'll be part of the story. If you want to be, you just need to let me know and I'll make it happen.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Titans take advantage of Giants miscues & lack of discipline, pull away and roll on the road, 29-10!

Sunday afternoon at the New Meadowlands Stadium, the Tennessee Titans took advantage of some sloppy plays by the Giants as well as some stupid costly penalties to cruise to victory, 29-10!

The Giants started this game well they were able to move the ball against stingy Titan defense. But Eli Manning had threw a few bad passes that killed the drives. The first was wasn't totally Eli's fault as the ball was deflected on the opening series of the game. The second one was absolutely inexcusable. On third and goal from the 6 yard line, Eli was scrambling to find a receiver, instead he had a brain fart if you will. He made an ill advised decision as he flipped the ball towards the end zone, Will Witherspoon of the Titans tipped the ball and his teammate Jason McCourty who played his college ball at nearby Rutgers intercepted the ball in the end zone for a touchback. So instead of a field goal attempt from a short distance, the Giants came away with no points.

As a result, the Titans jumped out to a early 10-0 lead. Rob Bironas kicked a 48 yard field goal to open the scoring. Chris Johnson who finished the game with 125 yards rushing scored the first of his two touchdowns from a yard out.

The Giants came back to eventually tie the game at the half at 10. Their place kicker, Lawrence Tynes connected on a 50 yard field goal to get them on the board after he missed one from 53 yards out. Ahmad Bradshaw added a 10 yard touchdown run to get the Giants even on the scoreboard despite the almost 2 to 1 margin in total offense.

The second half was the difference in this one. The Titans special teams set them up near midfield to open the third quarter which put them in position to succeed. That drive stalled but it set the stage for the Giant debacle to take place.

The Giants were pinned in at their own 1 yard line thanks to the great Titans special teams play. It appeared that the Giants got a big first down on third and long on a 44 yard pass to Mario Manningham but Ahmad Bradshaw got called for a chop block in the end zone which resulted in a safety for the Titans. The Titans took the lead for good, 12-10!

They got the ball back on the free kick and once again their special teams set them up in great field position at the their 49 yard line. That drive ended with a 13 yard touchdown pass to another former Rutgers player, Kenny Britt which gave the Titans a 19-10 lead.   

The Giants were attempting to get back into the game late in the third quarter but Ahmad Bradshaw fumbled and lost the ball at the 5 yard line killing their golden oppportunity to do so. To add insult to injury, David Diehl was called for a personal foul for unnecessary roughness which brought the ball out to the 20 yard line.

In addition, in the fourth quarter, Kareem McKenzie was whistled for two personal fouls for unnecessary roughness. The Giants had five of them for the game. As professionals, that's totally unacceptable behavior.

Furthermore, the Giants' Lawrence Tynes missed two field goals and Eli Manning threw two interceptions despite his 386 yards passing which proves that statistics don't always tell the true story. These days statistics are a fantasy football fan's dream.

Overall, it was a nightmare of a day  for the hometown Giants.

They play the Bears in prime time Sunday night. For their sake, they better get their act together. The Bears are 3-0. Royalty will be there again so check back for the details of that outcome.

Thank you for reading.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty meets & greets a few Giant fans at the game on 9/26!

Tom Ziemba & Jen

After I escorted my clients to their seats and I stopped to visit a fellow roadtripper, it was time for me to go to my seat in the upper deck so I could get ready to watch and keep the play by play of the game.

I decided to sit a little lower than my assigned seat. By doing so I lucked out in more ways than one.

First of all, I got a slightly better view that way.

Secondly and more importantly, I wound up sitting next to some really nice young people. They were Tom Ziemba and his girlfriend Jen as you can see in the picture above.

Early in the game I overheard Tom talking about the Ravens as he was watching the out of town scoreboard and I took note of his football knowledge. I was saying to myself this guy knows his football.

Shortly thereafter, I decided to talk to him. He told me he's a big football fan. He said he likes the Giants but he watches all different teams play. I was impressed.

In addition, he told me he played football for a number of years until he blew out his knee.

As the game went on, we kept talking. We exchanged contact information as well. When he heard my name was Gary he said wow my friend who I usually watch football with is also named Gary but he's stationed in Afghanistan now. He said he'll be coming home in a few months and he plans to go to the Giants/Eagles game on December 19th with him.

An interesting note about this game on a personal level for Tom and his girlfriend Jen was that it was their first live football game they've attended in person.

By talking to them, it made for a more memorable experience despite the fact their Giants didn't play well to say the least.

For all the details about the game itself, please stay tuned for my special post regarding that.

I look forward to staying in touch with Tom and Jen. I hope I can arrange to meet them again down the road.

Thank you for reading and following my whereabouts.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty meets up with fellow road tripper, Sean Rowland at the New Meadowlands Stadium on 9/26!

After escorting my clients Joe & Sam to their lower level seats in the second row, I proceeded to make my way towards my seat in the upper level.

On my way there, I arranged to hook up with a fellow road tripper, Sean Rowland on the lower level concourse.

Sean is a nice young man who I had met back at Citi Field on August 1st when he came to see the new stadium for the first time. He wrote his take on his site too. For more details, please see the link below.

Today he was at the New Meadowlands Stadium for the first time. He told me he had read my blog post so he could have an idea of what to expect before he arrived.

I was so happy to hear that. I helped make a difference in another person's life by giving him a preview. That's an example of someone like myself who wants to know before they go so they can find to the road to success easier than others.

I look forward to getting his views on the building too.

He has a great website as well. It's on my blog list. It's called Stadium and Arena Visits.

Here's the link so you can check it and follow his whereabouts if you choose to do so:

http://www.stadiumandarenavisits.com/

Part of the royalty experience includes running into different people that I know or ones I introduce myself to while I'm attending a live sporting event.

With being said, stay tuned for the next post I do which will be an example of that.

I hope you're enjoying the posts as much as I enjoy writing them.

Thank you for following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royal treatment was given to clients at New Meadowlands Stadium on Sunday 9/26!



Sam Kumar & Joe Climenti



The royalty experience was in full effect on Sunday afternoon.

I had the privilege and honor of entertaining a few clients who wanted to see a Giant football game at the New Meadowlands Stadium.

I was able to secure a few tickets that included a parking pass for the Giants/Titans game.

I contacted Joe Climenti late Saturday night and we arranged to work out a deal to make this happen.
I wound up meeting Joe along with his friend Sam Kumar who lives in Queens. As a result, I was very fortunate and grateful to have gotten a ride to the game with them. In addition, on the way back they dropped me off by Yankee Stadium where I was going to see the Yankee/Red Sox game.

With royalty in charge, everything worked to perfection.

Joe & Sam had a great time despite the outcome of the game. They loved the seats they had in section 103 row 2 in the end zone. They were right on top on the action as you can see in the picture I took of them.
They can't wait to go back. That's an example of what happens when you deal with royalty.

If and when you do so, you're always left thirsting for more. Once you get a taste of royal treatment, you realize that it's the only way to go. You've tried the rest now you finally found the best. Why would you settle for less?

Since I was able to get a ride to and from the game with them, I was able to show them some of my tricks of the trade on how to avoid traffic both ways.

When Joe asked Sam who was driving would you remember the way we went. Sam responded no! That's why Gary's here to show us the way.

I was so happy to share my extensive travel knowledge with these guys especially since they were so appreciative and grateful for the opportunity to see the game. As a result, I saved myself a lot of time and aggravation not having to take a bus and/or train either way this time. It was a win-win situation for all of us.

I hope to have many more great times like this to share but I need to be given the opportunity to show you what royalty can and will do for you.

If you need to get a sample for yourself, please feel free to consult me because if you don't you'll be insulting me.

I don't make promises I can't keep, if I say something then you should take me serious because I know for a fact I will deliver for you.

I hope to have many more success stories in the future to write about.

You could be next. Like the lottery, you never know until you try. The worst I can say is no.

Thank you for reading.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 9/20 in review

For the second week in a row I had no nights off between work and play. This past week I spend most of my free time after work in the Bronx in the House that George built.

Speaking of George, the late great owner of the Yankees, George Steinbrenner was honored with a larger than life size plaque in Monument Park in a special ceremony before the Yankees/Rays game on Monday night.

It was a typical Yankee first class production. They had the current team as well as many former players who had the privilege of wearing pinstripes during the George Steinbrenner era which was from 1973 until he passed away on July 13th on hand as well as family members to honor the "Boss". Those included former manager Joe Torre, Don Mattingly, Reggie Jackson, Roy White, Gene Michael, David Cone, David Wells and Tino Martinez to name a few.

George was always remembered for charity work and his relentlessness to have to win at all cost. George symbolized capitalism. He was referred to as the greatest owner in professional team sports. It's hard to dispute that fact.

After the touching ceremony, the Yankees in a George like fashion went on to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays, 8-6!

The Yankees roughed up Rays starter Matt Garza in the process. Curtis Granderson led the way by hitting two home runs including a three run blast that hit high off the foul pole in rightfield that give the Yankees a 8-4 lead at the time.

Tuesday night it was game 2 of this crucial series for first place. The Yankees stormed out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning. They went on to cruise to an easy 8-3 victory as they opened a 2 and a half lead over the Rays for first place.

Wednesday night the game started and the Rays lead 1-0 in the bottom of the third inning when the sky opened up and the game was delayed for 2 hours and 11 minutes due to rain. they finally resumed playing at 10:11PM. The Rays tacked on a few runs to take a 3-1 lead going to the bottom of the sixth inning. It was 11:15PM and I needed to get home at a somewhat reasonable hour so I decided to leave. It was a case of deseperate times since I very rarely leave a game early unless it's a special situation like this.

The Rays hit back to back solo home runs courtesy of Carl Crawford & Evan Longoria in the seventh inning to extend their lead and they eventually won the game, 7-2! It should be noted the game ended at 12:34AM. I got home a minute earlier so if I would have stayed until the end I wouldn't have gotten home until around 2AM assuming I made the necessary train connections.

In retospect, I made the right decision. Thankfully I did. I was tired at work Thursday.

Thursday night after work as tired as I was it was time to go back to the Bronx for more punishment. Actually the Yankees were the ones who got beat up. This was suppose to be a marquee pitching matchup on paper between two Cy Young award candidates in the Rays' David Price and the Yankees' CC Sabathia. Neddless to say, it didn't live up to the hype. In matter of fact, CC took a bath if you will in this one on the mound. He got lit up for 10 hits and he gave up 7 runs as the Rays pulled back within a half game of first place with a 10-3 win!

Friday night the hated Boston Red Sox came back to the Bronx to see if they could keep their slim playoff hopes alive. They got to Yankee starter Andy Pettitte in the second and fourth inning and they knocked him out of the game after they touched him up for 7 runs to take a 7-1 lead after 4 innings. They added 3 more in the fifth inning to go up 10-1. The Yankees thanks to Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez who both hit two home runs got within 2 runs but they couldn't finish the comeback as they fell short, 10-8! Please note that A-Rod hit his 609th and 610th career home runs.

Saturday afternoon it was game 2 of the series against the Red Sox. The Red Sox behind 7 strong innings by starter and  Cy Young award candidate Jon Lester shut down the Yankee offense as they won again, this time by a score of 7-3! A-Rod hit his 611th home run in the loss.

Sunday afternoon I went to see the Giants play the Tennessee Titans at the New Meadowlands Stadium. The Titans took total of a Giants team that couldn't help themselves from self-destructing time and time again.

For all the details of this Giant debacle, please stay tuned for my special posts regarding the game and more importantly the Royalty experience. Trust me it will be worth the wait.

After the Giant game, it was time for me to attend Sunday night baseball in the Bronx as the Yankees were looking to salvage a game in this three series and put a dagger towards the Red Sox slim playoff hopes.

This was a well pitched game for 7 innings between starters Daisuke Matsusaka aka "Dice-K" and Phil Hughes. Then as usual the bullpens took over and they prolonged the agony.

A-Rod hit his 612th career home run to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead in the seventh inning. The Red Sox rallied against Mariano Rivera of all people to tie the game again.The game wound up going into extra innings and the Yankees eventually won in the 10th inning  after Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon blew the game and relief pitcher Hideki Okajima walked Juan Miranda with the bases loaded with one out to give them the victory.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman                   

Video of change over from Giants to Jets at New Meadowlands Stadium!

Here's an interesting video of how they change the field setup from the Giants to the Jets at the New Meadowlands Stadium.

Here's the link:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Time-lapse-video-of-Giants-to-Jets-change-at-New?urn=nfl-270269

Enjoy!

Yours truly,

Gary Herman