Royalty sees the Washington Wizards play their Home Opener against the Boston Celtics at the Verizon Center!

Prince at Verizon Center

I got up early Saturday morning so I could call Avis up to see if they had any cars available to rent. They said they did on a first come first served basis. I wound up getting a Crown Victoria for the weekend. I took a few buses and a train to get there. I arrived there just after 9AM. On my way there, I saw so many trees that got knocked down as a result of Hurricane Sandy. When I finally arrived at Avis which is located at a gas station, they still had no power and no gas. Despite that, cars were lined up all the way down the block waiting for them to get a supply of fuel. It was unbelievable. Once again, I counted my blessings.

I wound up getting the car with a quarter of a tank of gas. Thankfully I went to pick up the King and away we went. We drove into New Jersey as the remaining gas was dwindling away. We wisely decided to get on the NJ Turnpike for a little while. By doing so, we were able to luckily get gas. It wasn't easy but once again we were blessed. We had a car with a Pennsylvania license plate that ended in an odd number. At Noon in Northern New Jersey that day, they started allowing people to get gas with odd license plates only. We patiently waited on a line on the shoulder of the exit to the rest area for an hour and sixteen minutes starting at 12:07PM before we got our chance to get some gas. While we were waiting a state trooper looked at everybody's plates to make sure they were odd. The car behind me apparently wasn't so they were kicked off the line. We were so fortunate. Five minutes later at 1:28PM we finally got enough to get us to Laurel, Maryland which is located between Baltimore and Washington DC. I knew the gas was a lot cheaper there so we filled up before we continued on to DC.

We originally planned to go to see the University of Delaware play football on the way to DC but Hurricane Sandy spoiled that idea. We ironically past by the stadium area after we stopped off at McDonald's for an early dinner. We saw people heading back to their cars so the King yelled out and asked them who won. A few ladies responded it wasn't us. In other words, the Delaware Blue Hens lost to the visiting Towson Tigers. The King looked it up on his phone and we found out that they lost 34-27 in overtime. It was a long game. It seemed like a blessing in disguise that we couldn't make it.

We continued on as we finally got to DC just before 6PM. We went to see the Wizards play their home opener against the Boston Celtics at the Verizon Center.

Our friend Peter Agnew has season tickets for the Wizards was able to get us a pair of tickets at his season ticket price which worked out well for us. Unfortunately he was away so he couldn't join us. We were grateful for his kindness as always.

As for the game we saw, the Celtics raced out to a 17-2 lead. It appeared that the Wizards were going to get blown away. Surprisingly, the Wizards managed to hang around most of the game. They trailed 26-12 after the first quarter. They got within seven points at halftime, 49-42. After three quarters, they pulled within four at 71-67. In the fourth quarter with three and a half minutes to go, they tied the game at 84 as Jannero Pargo hit a basket. Moments later teammate Kevin Seraphin gave the Wizards their first lead of the game, 86-84. They didn't score again as Paul Pierce buried a three pointer to give the Celtics an 87-86 lead. They added a few throws late as they emerged victorious, 89-86 to spoil the Wizards' home opener.

After the game we drove to Somerset, PA where we spent the night before we continued onward to Cleveland, Ohio on Sunday.

Stay tuned for the special post that will recap the rest of this adventurous getaway.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty goes to Opening Night at MSG to see the Knicks host the World Champion Miami Heat!

MSG Transformation Phase 2

After their game at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn was postponed Thursday night due to Hurricane Sandy, the Knicks got to officially open their new season at home at Madison Square Garden on Friday night instead.

They were hosting the World Champion Miami Heat at the newly transformed Madison Square Garden phase two of three.

As for the latest phase in the transformation process, the Garden has taken on a different look especially in the seating bowl. In 1991, they added luxury suites around the very top of the arena. In phase two of the transformation, they've taken many of them out. In their place, they've added seats that extend all the way to the top of the building on the sides and the corners. The luxury suites have been moved to the middle level which is between the 100 level and the 200 level as it's now comprised. It should be noted that not all the luxury boxes are finished yet. Half of them are not. This is a work in progress as they continue to transform the Garden. Next year will be phase three. Once they finish that, the Garden will have a totally different look than it did in years past. It's taking shape as they've also moved the seats closer to the action so the sightlines are improved to see an event there. Furthermore, they've added nice cushioned seats throughout the seating bowl which makes the experience more comfortable for its patrons. The seats are all black except for the ones on the 400 level just below the West Balcony. Those are colored blue in honor of the iconic blue seats that the Garden was known for. That's where the working class people were notorious for sitting. Hopefully you'll get a chance to go to see the latest phase as progress continues to be made at the World's Most Famous Arena.

As for the game I saw, the Knicks came ready to play. With all the distractions from the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the Knicks put on a clinic to help ease people's minds for a few hours in the wake of the disaster we had. It's going to be a long healing process but for one night was a nice relief.

The Knicks played inspired basketball from start to finish as they made the champs look like chumps on this night. The Knicks lead 33-17 after the first quarter which set the tone for the rest of the evening. They were a team on a mission and it showed. The last time they played the Miami Heat, they got knocked out of the first round of the playoffs. This was a little bit of a payback for them. Carmelo Anthony lead the way as he scored 30 points and he grabbed 10 rebounds. His teammates contributed as five other players pitched in. They scored in double figures to give the new look Knicks a balanced attack. The Knicks lead 55-44 at halftime. In the third quarter, they held their biggest lead of the game at 75-52 with 3:11 left. When it was all said and done, they came away with an easy 104-84 victory. With that being said, basketball was back at the mecca.

Stay tuned as I recap the wild weekend I had thanks to Sandy's destruction to the Northeast.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 10/29 in review

After I got home from MetLife Stadium Sunday night after the Jet game, I wound up staying home for two days thanks to Hurricane Sandy who was on her way up to NYC. While in the house I kept hearing howling sounds as the wind was whipping against the windows. It was very scary to say the least.

As a result, I couldn't go to work for two days. I would have gladly preferred to be at work. It wasn't easy having to stay home. I did get to catch up on things in the house so it wasn't a total waste of time.

Sandy finally calmed down but when she was done, she did plenty of damage. She destroyed lots of property and she inconvenienced many people in the process.

As for the King and I, we were extremely lucky. We didn't have any problems in the aftermath of this horrific storm.

I wish everybody could say the same. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. Many people lost power, some lost property and the City of New York was shut down. The subway which was suspended Sunday night as a precautionary measure at 7PM by the MTA and it didn't start running again until Thursday morning. When it finally did, it had limited service. The King and I were able to get from home to Midtown Manhattan without too much difficulty. For those who live and/or needed to get to Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn it was a nightmare. Those areas were hit very hard by Sandy. There was an incredible amount of flooding in those areas that made matters worse. Tunnels for the subway and the Path train that runs into New Jersey were clogged which is going to take lots of time to be repaired.

Wednesday I finally went back to work but I couldn't take the train to get there. I was forced to take a few buses to get into Manhattan. Then I had to walk the rest of the way. It took me two hours from when I left the house. Normally when I take the subway to work it takes me a half hour from the time I leave the house.
After seeing and hearing what many people went through and are still going through, I count my blessings. Besides the flooding, there was a fire that demolished people's property. This has been a very rough time for those of us who live in the Northeast. There seems to be no end in sight. Some people are still without power. This will take lots of time until things return to normal. In the meantime, we all have to help each other out so we can pull through and get back to living the way we're accustomed to.

With that being said, Thursday night after work I was originally planning to go to the Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn but the basketball game between the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Knicks was postponed due to Hurricane Sandy. Instead I came home after work and I relaxed and got ready for the busy weekend I had planned.

Friday I went to work. After I got back from lunch, I decided to call Avis to see if they would have a car for me to rent on Saturday morning. They told me they didn't have power and at that time they had no cars to rent. I was caught off guard. I didn't realize that this storm was going to affect me as far as going away was concerned. They told me to call them back early Saturday morning.

Stay tuned for the special posts that I'm going to do that will recap the adventurous weekend I had.

More importantly, if you were affected by Hurricane Sandy, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your families. I hope I can make a difference for you in your healing process. If so, let me know. I'll do my best to lift up your spirits.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman