Royalty is going back to the Bay Area in November!

Now that the World Series is over & the San Francisco Giants are World Champions again, the King & I are returning the City by the Bay in November. Better late than never. We missed out on going to the World Series but we have other places to see & do. After all, we're human & we can't do everything.

Here's the game plan:

Thursday November 20th we have a flight booked on Delta Airlines that departs JFK Airport at 7AM Eastern Time we're scheduled to arrive in San Francisco, California at 10:39AM Pacific Time.

Upon arrival, I'll be renting a car from Alamo for the weekend.

Thursday November 20th Chiefs at Raiders 5:25PM Pacific Time
                                              
Friday November 21st Utah Jazz at Golden State Warriors 7:30PM Pacific Time

Saturday November 22nd Stanford Cardinal at California Golden Bears TBA

                                          Bakersfield Condors at Stockton Thunder 7:30PM

Sunday November 23rd Redskins at 49ers 1:25PM  

 

                         
We'll be flying back home Sunday night. Our flight on Delta Airlines departs San Francisco at 9:25PM Pacific Time. We arrive at JFK Airport at 5:44AM Eastern Time.

Please feel free to check back for all the details of how this getaway played out. It's going to be a blast.

If you want to join us, please let me know so I can arrange to make it happen. I already have some meet ups planned but there's always room for more company. Just let me know.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 1/6 in review

Monday night January 6th after work I went to the Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn where I saw the Nets host the Atlanta Hawks with the King. Before the game started I stopped by the press area where the radio announcers sit. I got to say a quick hello to my pal Steve Holman, the legendary broadcaster for the Hawks who has done over 2,000 consecutive Hawk games. It was nice to see him again. As for the game we saw, the Nets beat the Hawks, 91-86.

Tuesday night after work I went out to the Prudential Center in Newark as the Devils played their division rival, the Philadelphia Flyers. I met up with my Cousin Andy who joined the King & I for a rare night out. The Flyers got the game winner in overtime thanks to Brayden Schenn as they defeated the Devils, 3-2. 

Wednesday night after work I returned to the Barclays Center as the Nets entertained the Golden State Warriors. I met up with the King & our pal Sean MacDonald who decided to join us. He wanted to see Stephen Curry play. Last time he saw him in the area was last February when he came to New York on a business trip. That night Curry scorched the Knicks at the Garden as he scored a game high 54 points. This time he lead the way again with 34 points. Unfortunately for the Warriors, it wasn't enough as the Nets outlasted them, 102-98.

Thursday night after work, I returned to the Prudential Center in Newark as the Devils took on the Dallas Stars. This time I was accompanied by the King & fellow roadtripper Paul Derrick who returned to the area for the second time in a month. Paul flew into LaGuardia airport earlier in the day from Houston, Texas for the weekend. Since he missed the Devils the last time he visited, he wanted to return to cross the Rock off his to do list. As for the game we saw, the Devils blanked the Stars, 1-0 as goaltender Corey Schneider recorded the shutout.

After work Friday I came home & I relaxed as I wanted to rest up for the busy weekend I had planned. Paul Derrick wound up going to Madison Square Garden to see the Rangers play the Stars. He saw the Knicks play in December. 

Stay tuned for a special post that will go into detail regarding our getaway to New England for another three sport weekend. 

Thank you for reading & following along. 

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees another basketball doubleheader in the City of Brotherly Love!

Prince at Liacouras Center

Saturday morning I went to Avis & I rented a Dodge Avenger for the weekend.

I went back home to Astoria and I picked up the King and our pal Frank Anichiarico who joined us for the day. We then drove into Manhattan and we picked up our buddy Mike Carroll aka Sabre Mike who decided to join us for the day as well.

We drove down to Philadelphia and we went to The Liacouras Center which is the home of the Temple Owls. They were hosting the Rhode Island Rams.

We met up with our friend Frankie Centola who has season tickets for the Owls. It was nice to see him again.

As for the game we saw, the Rams led the Owls at halftime, 37-36. In the second half, the Owls pulled ahead. They went by 11 midway through. They wound up holding off the Rams, 76-70 on Mascot day.
They announced a crowd of 9,493 which consisted mainly of families who brought their children with them for this afternoon affair. They're were some empty seats in the outer reaches of the second level.

It should be noted that the Owls honored former football player, running back Bernard Pierce who played for the Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens in a ceremony at halftime.

After the game, we drove over to the Oregon Diner for dinner before we headed over to the Wells Fargo Center for the second game of our doubleheader as the Philadelphia 76ers were hosting the Golden State Warriors on Wilt Chamberlain bobblehead doll night.

We were joined by our buddy Andrew Van Cleve who was there with his son Dylan who is getting so big. It was great to see them both again.

Prince at Wells Fargo Center

As for the game we saw, the Warriors got off to a fast start as they led 31-20 after the first quarter as Stephen Curry scored 13 points. In the second quarter, the 76ers closed the gap as they trailed by 3 at halftime, 54-51. Stephen Curry finished the half with 23 points. In the third quarter, the 76ers went ahead as they led, 82-81. They cooled off Curry who only scored 3 points but Klay Thompson picked up the slack as he scored 12. In the fourth quarter, the 76ers out scored the Warriors, 22-16 as they went on to beat the Warriors, 104-97 in front of an announced crowd of 17,929.

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson got shut down as they finished the game with 30 and 29 points respectively. For the 76ers, Jrue Holiday led the way with 27 points including a dozen in the fourth quarter which carried the 76ers down the stretch to the come back victory.

Stay tuned for the special post that will recap the way we spent my special day in Baltimore & Washington DC on Sunday.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 2/25 in review

Gio Gonzalez in his first Spring start

Monday night after work I decided to come home to relax and catch up on things in the house after I made myself dinner. I really wanted to join the King and our pal Sean MacDonald who was visiting on business from Singapore. They wound up going to see Seton Hall Pirates basketball at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ but it didn't start until 9PM. I thought it was better for me to just stay home.

By doing so, I got to see a special treat on television. During the day, I saw on Twitter that the Mets were playing the Washington Nationals at 6:10PM. More importantly, my boy Gio Gonzalez was making his first start of the spring. With the accusations of performance enhancing drugs behind him, he set his sights on getting ready to build on the great season he had last year when he went 21-8. In addition, he was tuning up for the upcoming World Baseball Classic. He'll be pitching for the United States.

When I knew he was starting the game, I made sure I got home in time to see him. He wound up pitching two innings. He got off to a rough start because his shortstop made an error on the first batter he faced. He proceeded to walk the next batter. Luckily he worked out of the jam and he got the Mets out without allowing a run to score. In the second inning, he got the Mets in order. He looked like the Gio I know and love. He finished his brief outing walking one and striking out three. The Nationals scored a few runs for him so he got credited with the win as they held on to win the game, 6-4.

It was great to see him even if it was just on television. I can't wait to see him again in person at Citi Field when the Nationals come to town in April.

Tuesday night after work I went to Charley's Subs for a pre game meal in Penn Station before I headed upstairs to Madison Square Garden to see the Rangers play the Winnipeg Jets. I want to personally thank my pal Alan Gimpel who had an extra ticket and he was kind enough to sell it to me. As a result, I got to see a hockey game at the Garden. Ranger tickets are hard to come by. I wound up sitting upstairs in section 211 row 17 which is right at center ice so I had a great view of the action.

As for the game we saw, the Rangers and Jets played a scoreless first period. In the second period, the Jets broke through as they got a goal from Olli Jokinen with 14:05 left in the period to take a 1-0 lead. A minute and seven seconds later the Jets scored again. This time Evander Kane got the goal to make it 2-0 Jets. The Rangers got on the board with 10:32 to go when Ryan Callahan buried one to slice the Jets' lead in half at 2-1. With 5:12 left in the period, Olli Jokinen lit the lamp again to give the Jets a 3-1 lead. In the third period, with 10:43 to go, the Rangers got within a goal at 3-2 when Taylor Pyatt scored. 20 seconds later, Evander Kane of the Jets answered right back to make it 4-2 with his second goal of the game. The Rangers got back within a goal 53 seconds later when Anton Stralman found the net to get the Rangers within a goal again at 4-3. Despite their hard work the last ten minutes of the game, the Rangers fell short as the Jets held them off, 4-3.

Wednesday after work I went back to the Garden this time to see the Knicks play the Golden State Warriors. Before I went there, I stopped off at Popeye's for dinner.

When I was done I arranged to meet my pal Sean MacDonald outside the Garden so I could give him the ticket I was able to get for him. Since the game was on ESPN, it started at 8PM which gave him more time to get there since he was working. Since I missed seeing him on Monday night, I'm glad he was able to join me again.

We went inside and he got to see the new additions to the Garden since his last visit back in 2008. He was impressed with the new main concourse on the 100 level he said. For his whole take on the transformation please see his blog where he keeps track of his various sports travels. Since he lives abroad, he's done plenty of international traveling. He takes nice pictures and he gives excellent detail on his excursions. Take a look you may learn some things.

As for the game we saw, the Knicks got off to a fast start. They led the Warriors who were playing without former Knick, David Lee who got suspended for a fight that broke out in Indiana the night before. As a result, the Knicks led, 27-18 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Warriors closed the gap to three as the Knicks led, 58-55 at halftime. In the third quarter, both teams scored 26 points so the Knicks continued to lead by three, 84-81. In the fourth quarter, the Knicks held off the Warriors who took a late lead but they collapsed down the stretch as they fell to the Knicks, 109-105.

It was an historic night as the Warriors' Stephen Curry scorched the Knicks for a career high 54 points. He shot 11 for 13 from the behind the three point line to keep the Warriors in the game.

As for the Knicks, they got 35 points from Carmelo Anthony and 16 points from Tyson Chandler who also grabbed a career high 28 rebounds to carry the Knicks to the win.

Friday night after work I went to downtown Brooklyn to see the Nets play the Dallas Mavericks at the Barclays Center.

Before the game, I stopped off at McDonald's for dinner.

After I ate, I went inside the arena and I met up with the King by our seats in section 230 row 13.

As for the game we saw, the Mavericks led the Nets, 22-21 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Nets out scored the Mavericks by two to take a one point lead, 49-48 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Mavericks pulled away as they took a 77-63 lead. In the fourth quarter, the Nets tried to make a comeback but they came up short as the Mavericks won, 98-90.

Dirk Nowitzki and former Net Vince Carter each scored 20 points to lead the Mavericks. Deron Williams added a game high 24 points in the losing effort for the Nets.

Stay tuned for some special posts that I'm going to do about our weekend getaway.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 12/3 in review

Dave Block & I  

Monday night after work I came home and relaxed. I got to watch a rare football game on TV as the Giants were playing the Redskins at FedEx Field on Monday night football. I would loved to have been there in person myself but I can only do so much with the limited time and money I have to work with. I was thinking of my pal Charles Stephenson who has Redskin season tickets.

As for the game, it was a thriller. The Redskins beat the Giants, 17-16. RG3 lead the way. He's so much fun to watch. As long as he can stay healthy, he's going to be a joy to watch for many years to come.

Tuesday night after work I went to downtown Brooklyn to see the Brooklyn Nets host the Oklahoma City Thunder. I got to see my pal Dave Block aka the Gratitude Guy who flew in from San Diego. He told me at the last minute late Monday morning that he was coming in. With such short notice, I wasn't able to find a way to get him a ticket for the game. He decided to come in anyway. I knew he was making a mistake. He wound up not getting in. I helped him look outside for a while but we couldn't even get an offer. I went inside and I met up with the King by our seats in section 230 row 13.

As for the game we saw, the Thunder led, 31-28 after the first quarter. They extended their to 13 at halftime, 61-48. In the third quarter, the Nets woke up and they came back. They cut the Thunder lead down to four, 90-86 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, the Thunder maintained their slim lead as they hung on for a 117-111 win.

The dynamic duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook led the way for the Thunder as they scored 32 and 25 points respectively. As for the Nets, Deron Williams scored a game and season high 33 points in the losing effort.

After the game, we met up with Dave Block who decided to wait for us. He wound up taking the subway with us. We went home and he went to LaGuardia Airport.

It was great to see Dave again but it would have been really nice if he could have gotten into the game too. I told him next time to give me some notice. I can only do so much. I felt bad but it was his fault. He admitted that. He said it won't happen again. He said the trip wasn't a totally waste of time because he got to spend some precious time with the King and I.

Wednesday night after work I went out to Jersey City, NJ on the Path train to see college basketball. I went to the Yanitelli Center which is the home of the St. Peter's Peacocks who play in the MAAC conference. They were hosting the Iona Gaels.

On my way to the gym, I stopped off at Blimpie's and I had my pre game meal. It was a beautiful thing. When I was done, I walked over to the gym where I met up with my pals Manny Morales and Pat Gorman who were also there. I enjoyed their company especially Manny who I sat with for the whole game.
As for the game we saw, the Peacocks of St. Peter's trailed 31-21 at halftime. In the second half, they roared back and they made it a game thanks to guard Desi Washington who knocked down three treys to help stage the comeback. Late in the second half, they tied the game and they took a brief lead. As a result, the game went down to the wire. The Peacocks pulled out an improbable victory when guard Blaise Ffrench hit the eventual game winning basket that broke a 62-62 tie with 4.5 seconds left as the Peacocks escaped with a 64-62 win. Ffrench finished with 17 points. The Gaels made a last gasp effort but they missed badly as time expired.

Thursday night after work I came home and rested up since there were no local games to go to in the area. It worked out well because I was able to prepare for my busy weekend getaway to Florida.

Friday night after work I went back to the Barclays Center to see the Nets host the Golden State Warriors.
I got in early and I met up with my buddy Phil Butleman who was at the game. It was nice to see him again.
As for the game we saw, the Nets got off to a good start as they led by seven after the first quarter, 31-24. They continued to lead at halftime, 63-55. Unfortunately for them, the second half was a different story. The Warriors came back and they led after three quarters, 84-82. In the fourth quarter, they extended their lead and they left Brooklyn victorious, 109-102.

It was a homecoming of sorts for Warriors' head coach and former Knick Mark Jackson who played his college ball at St. John's in Queens which isn't far from where he grew up in St. Albans. He shined many nights as a player at Madison Square Garden back in the 90's. This time he returned to a different borough and his team won the game. In addition, another former Knick David Lee came back to give New Yorkers a glimpse of what they used to see on a regular basis at the Garden. Lee scored a team high 30 points and he ripped down 15 rebounds to pace the Warriors to the victory. Teammate Stephen Curry shot well and he finished the game with 28 points. Furthermore, another local product, Charles Jenkins who was born in Brooklyn, played his college ball at nearby Hofstra had four points in very limited action.

As for the Nets, Joe Johnson led all scorers with 32 points while Andray Blatche clogged the middle pouring in 22 points and snatching 15 boards in the loss in the absence of center Brook Lopez.

Stay tuned for some special posts that will recap the royal weekend getaway that the King and I took down to Florida.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 3/7 in review

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

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

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

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

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

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

We all had a great time together at the game.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The victory sent the near capacity crowd home happy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 11/8 in review

Monday morning upon returning from Detroit on Delta Airlines, I went right into work. After work, I came home to rest up for the busy week ahead.

Tuesday night I went to the Prudential Center to see the Cleveland Cavaliers without LeBron James as they took on the NJ Nets.

The Cavaliers wound up beating the Nets, 93-91. Byron Scott who previously coached the Nets got revenge on his former team. The Cavaliers used a balanced attack to come away with the victory.

J.J. Hickson led the way scoring 18 points and he grabbed 10 rebounds. Antawn Jamison and Ramon Sessions added 15 points each while Daniel Gibson had 14 including a few key 3 pointers to help seal the deal.

The Nets were led by Travis Outlaw who led all scorers with 27 points in the defeat. Devin Harris had 18 and Brook Lopez finished with 16.

Wednesday night I went to Madison Square Garden to see the return of ex-Knick David Lee who traded in the offseason to the Golden State Warriors.

After the first timeout of the game, the Knicks honored David with a video tribute.

After that David continued to be a highlight reel. He scorched the Knicks for 28 points and he pulled down 10 rebounds for a typical D-Lee double-double.

Stephen Curry the second year guard played well and he poured in 25 points. Monta Ellis added 22 points as the Warriors held off the Knicks down the stretch, 122-117.

The Knicks were led by Amaure Stoudemire who led all scorers with 33 points but he missed 2 free throws late in the game that cost the Knicks a chance for a possible comeback in the end. Wilson Chandler had 27 points in the losing effort.

Thursday night I went back to MSG this time to see the Blueshirts play. The Rangers were hosting the Buffalo Sabres.

As for the game, neither starting goaltender played. Hendrik Lundqvist and Ryan Miller were missing. In fact, Miller wasn't even the backup. Despite that I saw a competitive game. The Sabres wound tying the game late in the second period at 2. It stayed that way until overtime when the Rangers Artem Anisimov scored the sudden death game winner with 3:28 left in the extra period.

Friday night I returned to the Prudential Center for NJ Devil hockey. The Devils were still searching for their first home win. They were entertaining the Edmonton Oilers who have the number one draft pick on their team in Taylor Hall.

As for the match, the Devils finally came out victorious at the Rock when Ilya Kovalchuk delivered the game winning goal with 1:33 left in the extra session to win it.

As for the weekend, please stay tuned as I will write a special post with the details of the adventure.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman