Royalty w/o 3/18 in review

Monday night after work I came home. I made myself dinner, I relaxed and I got to catch up on things at home. It's always nice to have a night off from time to time.

Tuesday night after work I went out to the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. The Devils were hosting their cross town rivals, the NY Rangers which made for a very festive night. I was joined by my pal Vincent Ascanio who bought the King's ticket. The King decided to go out to the Nassau Coliseum to see the Islanders play the Montreal Canadiens instead.

Before the game started, I got a pastrami sandwich for dinner at the arena. I took it to my seat and I ate it just before the opening puck was dropped.

As for the game we saw, the Rangers got on the scoreboard first as defenseman Michael Del Zotto scored while the Rangers were killing a penalty with 8:11 to go in the first period. With 4:45 to go in the period, the Devils cashed in on the power play this time as Travis Zajac got the equalizer to even it at one. Shortly thereafter, the Rangers regained the lead, 2-1 when Carl Hagelin lit the lamp with 3:10 to go. The rapid fire continued as the Devils answered back just 23 seconds later when defenseman Anton Volchenkov found the net to knot the score again at two. In the second period, the Rangers went back ahead this time for good as Rick Nash buried the biscuit 7:25 into the period to make it a 3-2 game. Quite amazingly, there was no more scoring the rest of the game. The Rangers left the building with a victory much to the delight of the Ranger fans who came across the river to see the Blueshirts play. It should be noted there were a good number of them among the sellout crowd of 17,625. Regardless of the outcome, it was an exciting game to be at especially for the first half of it. It was a playoff like atmosphere.

Wednesday night after work I went to Charley's Subs in Penn Station for dinner where I had a Philly cheese steak sandwich before I went upstairs to Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks take on the Orlando Magic.

As for the game I saw, the Knicks got off to a fast start as they led, 26-15 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Magic made a comeback as they sliced the Knick lead down to 5, 51-46 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Knicks played like they did in the first quarter. They out scored the Magic by 13 to break it open as they led, 83-65 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, they slacked off like they did in the second as the Magic out scored the Knicks by six again. It was too little too late as the Knicks beat the Magic, 106-94.

It should be noted that Carmelo Anthony returned after missing some games due to a knee injury. He scored 21 points and he grabbed 8 rebounds in his return.

Thursday night and Friday night I wound up coming home after work. It was nice to have more time to catch up on things at home.

Saturday morning I went out and I did my laundry. In the afternoon, I arranged to meet up with my parents who came to visit. It was nice to see them again. At night, I went with the King to Newark, NJ as the Devils were playing the Florida Panthers. We were joined by our pals Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich and Vincent Ascanio we were also in attendance.

As for the game we saw, the Devils and Panthers played a scoreless first period. In the second period, the Devils scored the first goal of the game as Patrik Elias broke through 1:24 into the period. The Devils went up 2-0 with 8:57 left in the period when David Clarkson scored. The Panthers finally broke the shutout with 10 seconds left in the period to slice the Devils' lead to 2-1. In the third period, neither team scored as the Devils held on to beat the Panthers before another sellout crowd at the Rock.

Sunday afternoon the King and I went to the Nassau Coliseum with our friend Frank Anichiarico to see the Islanders play the Florida Panthers. We got a visit from our buddy Joe Rossi who was there with his adorable daughter, Grace. They were there with a group from school. As always, it was a pleasure to see them again.

As for us, we wound up taking public transportation there and back. It was an like a road trip since it took us close to two hours each way. As the saying goes, you have to do what you have to do. It's always worth going there especially now that their days are numbered at that old barn since the Islanders plan to move into the Barclays Center in October 2015 if not sooner.

As for the game we saw, the Islanders drew first blood as defenseman Andrew MacDonald scored a power play goal 6:05 into the game to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead. After a scoreless second period, the Islanders got two late empty net goals in the third period as they beat the Panthers, 3-0. Evgeni Nabokov, the Islanders' goaltender recorded the shutout, the 55th of his NHL career in front of a nice crowd of 14,512 on Marvel Comics day. The young fans on hand were treated as Thor and Spiderman were there to entertain them in the stands during the game.

Thank you for reading and following.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 3/4 in review

Monday morning before I went to work I woke up bright and early after getting a little less than three hours sleep because I had to go to Avis to return the Dodge Avenger I rented for the weekend. I drove 549 miles safely.

After work I came home and I made dinner. After I ate, I went out and I did my laundry. It was a long tiring day to say the least.

Tuesday night after work I went out to the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. The King decided to go to the Nassau Coliseum to see the Islanders with our friend Frank Anichiarico instead. With that being said, I wound up meeting up with our pal Vincent Ascanio who took the King's place. The Devils were hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning. I wound up getting a pulled pork sandwich at the arena for dinner.

As for the game we saw, the Lightning scored the first four goals of the game as they lead, 4-0 midway into the third period. The Devils made a late comeback attempt as they scored a shorthanded goal and a power play goal to slice the deficit in half at 4-2 with 4:45 to go. They couldn't get any closer as the Lightning added a late empty net goal to escape with a 5-2 victory. As a result, the crowd of 15,229 went home unhappy.

Wednesday after work I went to downtown Brooklyn to see the quarterfinals of the Northeast Conference Tournament as the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds were hosting the Quinnipiac Bobcats at the Wellness Recreation. Athletic Center aka the WRAC.

Before the game I went to 2 Bros Pizza and I had a few slices. While I was there I ran into my pal David Sack who was there with his friend Andrew who he introduced me to. They had a few slices too. Once we were done we all walked down a few blocks to go to the game. When I got inside I met up with the King, Vincent Ascanio and our friend Larry Peim who was there to see his alma mater play again.

As for the game we saw, the Blackbirds got off to a slow start. They trailed the Bobcats, 47-43 at halftime. In the second half, the Blackbirds fought back as they hung tough. Late in the game, they went ahead for good as they went on to defeat the Bobcats, 91-83 to advance to the next round.

After the game, we all celebrated the victory with a post game meal at Junior's Restaurant which is only a few blocks away. Larry treated me for my birthday. I was very grateful & thankful for his kindness. I wound up have a corned beef and pastrami combo with steak fries. He did the same while the King and Vincent had steak burgers. It capped off a great night.

Thursday night after work I went back to the Prudential Center to see the Devils take on the Buffalo Sabres. This time I met up with the King and our pal Mike Carroll aka Sabre Mike. Our road trip buddies, Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell from Buffalo were there with us in spirit. As for dinner, I wound getting chicken tenders and fries at the Rock.

As for the game we saw, after a scoreless first period, the Sabres took the lead 7:56 into the second period as Thomas Vanek lit the lamp to make it 1-0 Buffalo. Two minutes later, the Sabres went up 2-0 as Brian Flynn put one in the net. It stayed that way until there was six and a half minutes left in regulation time when Adam Henrique of the Devils broke the shutout to make it 2-1 with a power play goal. The Devils pulled goalie Johan Hedberg to have an extra attacker in hopes of tying the game. Shortly thereafter, the Devils got the equalizer as Patrik Elias scored to tie the game at two with 1:06 left in regulation. The game went into overtime but since neither team was able to score, so the game was decided by a shootout. The Devils wound up prevailing in the skills competition which sent the sellout crowd of 17,625 happy except for the number of Sabre fans who were there to see their team play.

Friday night after work I went to downtown Brooklyn. This time I went to the Barclays Center to see the Nets play the Washington Wizards.

Before the game, I went to McDonald's in the Atlantic Center Mall to have my pre game meal. When I got done I walked back over to the arena and I went inside. I met up with the King and our pal Al Linderman who was there as well.

As for the game we saw, the Nets raced out to a 22-2 lead & they lead 38-14 after the first quarter. Deron Williams lead the way as he was on fire from beyond the three point line. In the second quarter, the Nets added a few points to their lead as they went into the locker room up, 59-33. In the third quarter, the Wizards made a comeback attempt as they cut the Nets' lead to 16, 74-58. In the fourth quarter, the Nets maintained their lead as they went to beat the Wizards, 95-78.

As for Deron Williams, he hit 9 three pointers in the first half to set an NBA record. He wound up finishing the game with 42 points. His teammate Reggie Evans had a triple double if you will. He scored 11 points, he missed 11 free throws and he grabbed a career high 24 rebounds.

Saturday late in the morning the King and I took public transportation to the Nassau Coliseum to see the Islanders play the Capitals in an afternoon affair.

We wound up meeting up with our pals Mike Carroll, Manny Morales and Joe Rossi who was at the game with his adorable daughter Grace who was all dressed up in Islander gear. It was great to see them again.
As for the game we saw, the Islanders scored first midway through the first period as Josh Bailey buried the puck to make it 1-0. In the second period, the Capitals evened the score at one 1:26 into the period when Mathieu Perreault scored a power play goal. The Islanders went back ahead, 2-1 midway through when Casey Cizikas scored. In the third period, the Capitals got the equalizer as Nicklas Backstrom found the net 7:09 into the period. Shortly thereafter, the Islanders got a break as the Capitals committed penalties that gave the Islanders a golden opportunity to take the lead and they took full advantage of it. They got two power play goals from John Tavares who scored twice in a 30 second span to put the game away. Frans Nielsen added a shorthanded goal later in the period to give the Islanders a 5-2 victory.

After the game, the King & I went to Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks play the Utah Jazz.

As for the game we saw, the Knicks were missing Amar'e Stoudemire who hurt his knee and he's going to miss six weeks. In addition, Carmelo Anthony didn't play. Regardless the rest of the Knicks came to play and they wound up blowing away the Jazz, 113-84.

After the game, we went to Donovan's Pub in Woodside which is now under new management. We met up with our pal Bryan Gilligan who joined us for a post game meal.

Sunday I got to relax and catch up on things around the house during the day. Once I got done, I made dinner then the King and I went to Newark, NJ to see the Devils play the Winnipeg Jets at the Prudential Center.

As for the game we saw, the Devils took a 2-0 lead midway through the first period then the Jets scored a late goal to cut the lead to 2-1. In the second period, the Jets tied it up late at two. The two teams failed to score in the third period and in the extra session. As a result, the game was decided in a shootout again. This time Patrik Elias of the Devils scored in the skills competition to gave the Devils the 3-2 win as the sellout crowd went home happy.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 2/20 in review

Mike Emrick Night

Thanks to having my priorities in order this past week, I fell just short of another royal week of Stadium Travel.

If you don't have your health, you can't live and enjoy life properly.

With that being said, here's how my week turned out:

Monday thanks to it being President's Day I had the day off from work. As a result, I got to go to the Nassau Coliseum with the King and our friend Frank Anichiarico to see the Islanders play the Ottawa Senators in a matinee affair. There were plenty of young kids in attendance including Grace Rossi who was there with her Daddy, Joe Rossi. It was great to see them again. We also had our friend Dennis Barbera there. After the game, he drove us back to Citi Field in Queens. It was very nice of him to do so. That way we didn't have to deal with public transportation in Nassau County which is a pain in the butt.

As for the game we saw, I think the Islanders forgot to get the memo that the game was starting early. They fell behind 1:08 into the game as defenseman Erik Karlsson of the Senators lit the lamp for the first of his two goals in the game to make it 1-0. 27 seconds his teammate Jason Spezza scored to make it 2-0. You knew it's wasn't going to be the Islanders' day. As the game wore on, it definitely wasn't. They trailed 3-0 after the first period. They went on to lose the game, 6-0.

After Dennis dropped us off by Citi Field, the King and I went home and we ate dinner before we went back out to Madison Square Garden for game two of our doubleheader. The Knicks were hosting their cross town rivals, the New Jersey Nets.

This game included the return of Carmelo Anthony who missed the last two weeks with a groin injury. It also was the first time since "Linsanity" took over as the starting point guard that Melo was playing with him.
Anthony only managed to score 11 points in his return. Jeremy Lin finished with 21 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds but he couldn't contain Deron Williams aka D-Will this time around. D-Will after getting burned a few weeks earlier at the Garden by Lin, made sure he got his revenge this time. He scored a game high 38 points to pace the Nets past the Knicks, 100-92.

Tuesday night after work I had a night off since there were no games to attend in the area. After running around all weekend long, it was just what the doctor ordered.

Wednesday night after work I went back to the Garden for more "Linsanity". The Knicks were playing the Atlanta Hawks. I got to say hello to their longtime radio announcer, Steve Holman.

As for the game I saw, the Knicks redeemed themselves after suffering a brutal loss to the Nets. The Knicks came to play on this night as they blew away the Hawks, 99-82 and it wasn't that close.

Thursday night after work I came home and I did my laundry.

Friday after work I met up with the King in Newark, NJ at the Prudential Center where we saw the Devils play the Vancouver Canucks on Mike Emrick Night.

Mike Emrick aka "Doc" as he's called was the long time TV play by play announcer of the Devils. He called their games for 21 years. He's one of the best voices when it comes to watching the game of hockey. He's a class act who loves the game and his job if you will. He knows how to relate well to his audience. He's a paid professional but he's truly a real hockey fan deep down in his heart. The sport of hockey is blessed to have him. He still calls games on the NBC Sports Network for the National Hockey League.

After the Devils honored him in a pre game ceremony, it was time to play hockey as Mike said when he finished his thank you speech.

As for the game we saw, the Devils lost to the Canucks, 2-1. The Canucks came from Detroit the night before where they snapped the Red Wings' record breaking 23 game home winning streak as they beat them in a shootout.

Saturday afternoon the King and I went to Madison Square Garden to see the Red Storm of St. John's play the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.

We were joined by our friends Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich, Pat Gorman and Ralph and Vincent Ascanio. Since they were there with us it helped enhance the royal experience. We all enjoyed each other's company.

As for the game we saw, the Red Storm of St. John's knocked off the Fighting Irish who came in ranked in the Top 25 by a score of 61-58. The Irish had chances to win the game but they missed too many wide open shots.

After the game, the King and I came home to eat before we went back to the Garden to see the Rangers play the Buffalo Sabres that night.

I needed to get a head start in my preparation for a colonoscopy that I was getting done on Monday morning. So I ate lightly.

After we got done, the King and I went back to the Garden.

As for the game we saw, the Sabres took leads of 1-0 and 2-1 but the game was tied after regulation at two. Sabres' goaltender Ryan Miller played well but with 2:01 left in overtime the Rangers' Ryan Callahan made a beautiful move as he faked out the Sabres' defense as he split them which allowed him to put the biscuit in the basket to win the game for the Rangers, 3-2. The goal was the 100th goal of Callahan's young career.

It was a tough loss for the visiting Sabres and their fans who were there. I was up in the West Balcony where there were plenty of people dressed in their Sabre gear.

Sunday I was forced to miss the Devil game against the Tampa Bay Lightning so I could stay home all day and night so I could finish getting ready for my colonoscopy. It was a difficult day for me to say the least since I could only have liquids.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman