Royalty is going back to the Bay Area for a Roadtripping Reunion in December!

Here's the game plan:

The King & I are flying to San Jose on American Airlines. We leave New York LaGuardia Airport on Friday, December 9th at 6:59AM Eastern Time, we have an hour layover in Dallas. We're then scheduled to leave there at 11:10AM Central Time if we're not delayed for any reason. We're supposed to land in San Jose at 1PM Pacific Time if we're on time. Upon arrival, we're meeting up with fellow roadtripper & a good friend of ours, Tike Narry who's going to drive us around while we're in the Bay area for the weekend. We're also planning to meet up with our pal Scott Bultman who's planning to arrive on Thursday & he'll be with us all weekend long. In addition, we're going to see our good people from Buffalo as well, they being Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell aka USRT if you will. Due to scheduling conflicts, we'll only see them in Sacramento that Friday night. Furthermore, we're going to see a very special guest & fellow roadtripper who normally just focuses on seeing as many baseball games on the road in the shortest time possible. I'm referring to Chuck Booth who will be flying to the Bay area on Sunday for the day to join us in Santa Clara for some football. Before the King & I escape that night on a red eye back home, we're all going to have a farewell dinner to cap off another memorable weekend of road tripping. Our flight leaves San Jose at 11:05PM on Jet Blue & we land in Boston at 7:31AM Eastern Time where we have a connecting flight that departs Beantown at 8:50AM & is scheduled to land at 10:03AM Eastern Time at LaGuardia Airport if all goes according to plan.    
   
Friday December 9th Knicks at Kings 7:30PM Pacific Time

Saturday December 10th San Diego Gulls at San Jose Barracuda 1:15PM Pacific Time

                                           Hurricanes at Sharks 7:30PM Pacific Time
                   
Sunday December 11th Jets at 49ers 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. If you live in the area and/or happen to be around that weekend & you want to meet up let me know. As I like to say, teamwork makes the dream work. No doubt about that. This weekend getaway is a total team effort.

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

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 2/3 in review

Monday February 3rd after work I went out to Newark, NJ to see the Devils host the Colorado Avalanche at the Prudential Center. I got to meet up with my pals, the King & Frank Anichiarico aka Duck who were also in attendance that night.

As for the game we saw, the Devils scored a goal late in the first period to a take a 1-0 lead. It appeared they were going to make that goal stand up for the victory. That was wishful thinking for the home crowd. The Avalanche wound up getting the equalizer with just 1:47 left in regulation time to knot the score at one. The game went into overtime & the Avalanche scored just 28 seconds in to beat the Devils, 2-1 in sudden death. It wasn't a total loss thanks to modern NHL rules. The Devils by getting to overtime still got credited with a point in the standings even though they blew the game late then lost it in the extra session. As the King likes to say & I quote "they reward teams for losing." In addition, he likes to say "when is a loss not a loss." This game is a classic example of that.

Tuesday night after work I came home. I wound up making myself dinner & I took it easy for a change.

Wednesday night after work I went to the Transformed MSG to see the Knicks welcome the Portland Trail Blazers to the Big Apple. I sat up in the West Balcony where I usually do for games there these days. On this night, I wound up being by a group of people who were from Portland, Oregon. They were all decked out in their Trail Blazer gear. 

As for the game I saw, the Knicks did their best to hang with the surprising Trail Blazers most of the night. In the end, the Trail Blazers escaped the area with a 94-90 victory much to the delight of their fans who came all the way across the country to see them play on the road.

Thursday night after work I went to the Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn where I met up with the King. That night the Nets took on the shorthanded San Antonio Spurs who played without their star players, Tony Parker & Manu Ginobili who were hurt as well as Tim Duncan who was given the night off. When I heard that, I was furious. People spend good money to see these guys play. Injuries are part of the game. As for Tim Duncan needing a night off, I thought that was a bunch of nonsense. 

As for the game we saw, the Spurs got off to a fast start despite being without their key players. As the game went on, the Nets came back. Once they took the lead they didn't look back as they cruised to a 103-89 win.

Friday night after work I returned to Newark, NJ to see the Devils battle the Edmonton Oilers with the King who I met at the Rock.

As for the game we saw, it was similar to the Avalanche game except both teams scored 29 seconds apart midway through the first period. It stayed that way as the game wound up going into overtime again. This time however the Devils came away with the two points as defenseman Jon Merrill lit the lamp midway through the extra session to give the Devils & their faithful something to cheer about on their way home, a 2-1 decision over the Oilers.

Saturday the King & I took the Long Island Railroad out to Lindenhurst where we met up with our pal Eddie Pelle who drove us to Stony Brook to see a college basketball game between his alma mater, the Seawolves & the New Hampshire Wildcats at the Pritchard Gymnasium.

Stony Brook Seawolves basketball at Prichard Gymnasium

As for the game we saw, it was a close contested from start to finish. Unfortunately for Eddie, the Seawolves came out on the short end of the scoreboard as they lost to the Wildcats, 73-69.

As a positive note, it was Wolfie their mascot's birthday. As a result, everybody in attendance were treated to cupcakes to celebrate the special occasion during the halftime intermission. 

After the game, Eddie drove us to Smokin' Al's which is a barbecue joint that he's gone to a number of times in the past before Islander games in Massapequa Park for dinner. Ironically we were on our way to the Nassau Coliseum that night too. Luckily we had enough time to do so. Eddie wet my appetite a few weeks beforehand. He painted a picture that couldn't be beat.

Full rack of Monster Bones at Smokin' Al's

As for the meal we had, I was so stuffed when I got done I felt sick to my stomach. Eddie wound up taking a doggie bag home. My stomach devoured the food & then some. I had burnt ends to start along with a full rack of monster bones which were massive sized ribs. They were so good I didn't want them to go to waste. 

After we ate, Eddie drove us to the Nassau Coliseum where we saw the Islanders play the Colorado Avalanche. It was the last game before the NHL shut down due to the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

As for the game we saw, the Avalanche raced out to a 3-0 lead midway through the game. The Islanders broke the shutout midway through the third period but they fell short by a score of 4-2. 

I want to thank Eddie again for taking such good care of the King & I.

Sunday night the King & I went to the Barclays Center to see the Nets play the New Orleans Pelicans. More importantly, I got to see my pal Mark Chesna who flew up from Atlanta to see the game. Mark needed to see the Barclays Center for the first time. I was able to get him a ticket a few months ago. He was joined by an old friend of his, Lars Wigren who lives within walking distance of the arena. 

As for the game we saw, the Nets went up early which set the tone for the rest of the night. They wound up beating the Pelicans, 93-81. 

As for me the real highlight was getting to see Mark again. In addition, I got to meet & greet his friend Lars.

Stay tuned for a few more posts that will recap the rest of my adventurous month of  February.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 1/27 in review

In between the two Stadium Series games I saw at Yankee Stadium at the end of January, I saw the Nets play the Toronto Raptors at the Barclays Center. Our pal Vincent Ascanio came up with a much more appropriate name for it. He calls it the Darklays Center. The reason being if & when you go there that you feel like you're in dungeon. It's so dark throughout the building. There's no lighting at all around the ceiling that covers the upper level. They barely have lights in the first few rows of the upper level too. They shine the lights they have on the basketball court itself to make those who happen to be there feel like they're at a theater. They call it  theater lighting. People like the King & I who like to keep score of the game come prepared with our little flashlights so we can see what we're trying to write down as the game is being played.

On that note, Monday January 27th I wound up seeing the game with my buddy Sean MacDonald who likes seeing the Canadian teams play since he's originally from Ottawa himself. 

As for the game we saw, it was a real seesaw battle from start to finish. The Raptors wound up out lasting the Nets, 104-103 which put a smile on Sean's face. 

Tuesday night after work I went to the Transformed Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks play the Boston Celtics with the King who attended this game as well. 

As for the game we saw, it wasn't much of a game as the Knicks raced out to a big lead & they never looked back as they beat the Celtics, 114-88.

Thursday night I returned to the Garden. This time the Knicks took on the Cleveland Cavaliers. Just like Tuesday night, the Knicks proved to be much for the opposition as they whipped up on the Cavaliers, 117-86.

Friday night after work I met up with the King at the Darklays Center if you will. This time the Nets hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder. Unlike Monday night, this game reminded me of the two I saw at the Garden. The only difference was the home team in this case, the Nets got their butts kicked. The Thunder tossed them a beating, 120-95 to end the month of January.

Saturday marked the start of February. It started different then I initially thought it would thanks to my pal Eddie Pelle who asked me if I wanted to go somewhere for the day. I told him I would love to. Eddie was off from work & he wanted to getaway. His only concern was the weather. He told me we had a few college basketball games either to our North or to our South. As the week went on, he said that the weather was supposed to be better to our North. With that being said, He went ahead & he rented a car. He picked me up bright & early & away we went. We decided to go to Upstate New York for the day.

 

Lacrosse at Andy Kerr Stadium

We drove to Hamilton, NY which is the home of Colgate University. Since we got there extra early, we were able to check out a Lacrosse scrimmage that was taking place at Andy Kerr Stadium between the Albany Great Danes & the Colgate Raiders. That was located within a short walk of the Reid Athletic Center where Cotterell Court, the home of the Colgate Raiders basketball team is located. They were hosting the Bucknell Bison that afternoon in a Patriot League match up.

 

Cotterell Court

As for the game we saw, the Bucknell Bison raced past the Raiders after a slow start as they defeated them, 79-68.

After the game, Eddie drove us to the University of Albany for another college basketball game. As we were driving there, we ran into some bad weather luckily we had enough time to get there. Eddie weathered the storm & he got us there safely. Upon arrival, I got to meet up with a few guys I've met from going to baseball games. I'm referring to Bob Deal & David Schaffer who happen to be Albany graduates. In matter of fact, it was a reunion of their alumni that particular night. As a result, Bob managed to get me into the special pre game party they had for them. It was called the Ferocious Feast. It was the 17th year they've been doing it. I wound up having some food & soda while I joined them briefly. Since I was hungry it worked out well for me. When we got done, we went into the SEFCU Arena which is the home of the Albany Great Danes. They were playing the Vermont Catamounts in their annual Big Purple Growl game. 

SEFCU Arena

As for the game we saw, Great Danes weren't anything but great. They scored a paltry twelve points in the first half. The Catamounts scored 21 in a low scoring half. In the second half, it was higher scoring but the Catamounts went on to beat the Great Danes, 55-45.

After the game, Eddie drove me home. I got back around 1:15AM. I want to personally thank Eddie for taking me. I had a great time.

That Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday. Even though the game was being played at MetLife Stadium in nearby in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the King & I decided to pass up the opportunity to. First & foremost, it would have cost us a fortune just to get a ticket. When you figure in the hassle & hell we would have had to go through to get to & from there, we knew it wasn't necessary for us to go. We saw Super Bowl 35 in Tampa, Florida back in January 2001. Since we both like the Jets, we always say if they ever get to another Super Bowl we'll go again then.

However our buddy Eddie Pelle did have a ticket for the big game as did some other people we know. I'm talking about Sean MacDonald who saw every NFL stadium this season so it was fitting that he got to go so did Andrew Van Cleve & Larry Peim.

As for the King & I we went to our friend Frank Anichiarico's place to watch it on his HDTV. 

As for the game, as you know the Seahawks destroyed the Broncos, 43-8. It was a nice way to cap off a week of games we saw that were mainly blowouts.

Stay tuned for some posts that we'll go into detail about the rest of my adventurous month of February.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 1/20 in review

On Monday January 20th which was Martin Luther King Day I was off from work. The King & I returned from our North of the Border weekend getaway early in the morning. We got some sleep then I drove us to the Nassau Coliseum with the Toyota Camry I had rented Friday night after work for the weekend from Avis.

We saw the Islanders play the Philadelphia Flyers that afternoon. As for the game we saw, the Islanders who trailed the Flyers, 3-1 after two periods came back to tie the game late at three. After they played a scoreless overtime period, the Islanders won the game, 4-3 in a four round shootout. It was an exciting game.

After the game, I returned the car I rented from Avis which worked out well. I wound up driving 1,220 miles safely over the three day weekend. I then took public transportation back home. The King got a ride home from our friend Dennis Barbera who was also at the game. 

Tuesday after work I went out to Newark, NJ where I met up with my Cousin Andy who joined the King & I for the hockey game at the Prudential Center. The Devils took on the St. Louis Blues that night.

As for the game we saw, it wasn't much of a contest. The Devils scored early & often as they raced out to a 3-1 lead midway through the first period. They padded their lead with two more goals in the second & third periods as they went on to beat the Blues, 7-1. 

The highlight of the night was I got to see my Cousin Andy again. As always, it was great to see him. We enjoyed each other's company so the result of the game was secondary but since my Cousin likes the Devils I'm glad they won for him.

Wednesday night after work I went to the Transformed Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks play the Philadelphia 76ers. I was joined by the King & our pal Frank Anichiarico aka Duck who was there. Duck happens to be a 76er fan. 

As for the game we saw, the 76ers wound up beating the Knicks, 110-106 which made for a happy Duck. The 76ers have had an awful season but they looked on this night.

Thursday night after work I came home. I made myself dinner then I went out & I did my laundry.

Friday night after work I went back to Newark, NJ to see the Devils battle the Washington Capitals at the Rock. I met up with the King there.

As for the  game we saw, the Devils won the game, 2-1. They held the Capitals scoreless until midway into the third period. 

Saturday afternoon the King & I went out to Long Island for a doubleheader. We saw the Islanders host the St. Louis Blues at the Nassau Coliseum.

As for the game we saw, the Islanders blew a 2-0 lead. The Blues tied the game at two before the Islanders regained the lead shortly thereafter. It stayed that way until the Blues tied the game again with just 27 seconds to go in regulation. After a scoreless overtime session, the Blues went on to win, 4-3 in a shootout.

Due to time constraints, we raced across the street & we went to the Mack Sports Complex where we saw the Hofstra Pride play a college basketball game against the Northeastern Huskies with our buddy Michael Abrams. 

As for the game we saw, the Pride who lead, 33-30 after the first half collapsed in the second half as the Huskies pulled away as they ran the Pride off the court, 70-57. 

To cap off the day, we met up with our friend Bryan Gilligan who was out on Long Island watching some high school basketball games. He picked us up & he drove us back to Queens. We wound up going to Donovan's Pub to have dinner together.

Stay tuned for a special post that will go into detail about the Stadium Series games the King & I witnessed at Yankee Stadium.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 1/13 in review

Back on Monday January 13th after work I met up with the King & we went to the Transformed Madison Square Garden where we saw the Knicks take on the Phoenix Suns who have been a pleasant surprise so far this season. The Knicks who lead the Suns by seven after three quarters were forced to play an extra session as the Suns tied the game after regulation time. The Knicks were  lead by Carmelo Anthony who scored four of his game high 29 points in overtime to lead the Knicks to a 98-96 victory over the Suns. 

Tuesday night after work I returned to the Garden thanks to my pal Alan Gimpel who sold me a ticket for the Ranger game as they hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning. As for the game we saw, the Rangers scored first to take a 1-0 lead in the first period but early in the second period the Lightning struck not once but twice in a nine second span which stood up as the Lightning prevailed on this night, 2-1.

Wednesday night after work I came home. I ate dinner then I went out & I did my laundry.

Thursday night after work I went to downtown Brooklyn to see the Long Island University Blackbirds play the Fairleigh Dickinson University Knights at the Steinberg Wellness Center. I was joined by my pals Larry Peim, Phil Butleman & David Sack who were also there. As for the game we saw, the Blackbirds proved to be no match for the Knights who beat them soundly, 89-67.

Stay tuned for a special post that will go into detail about the adventurous weekend getaway the King & I took over Martin Luther King weekend. 

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 10/28 in review

After work on Monday I came home to rest up from the exhausting weekend I wound up taking to the Buckeye State. 

Tuesday night after work I met up with my Cousin Andy at Newark Penn Station. We walked through the Gateway Center & we stopped off at Subway to have dinner together. After we ate, we continued walking over to the Prudential Center where we saw the Devils play the Tampa Bay Lightning. We were joined by the King when we got up to our seats in section 226 row 6.  My Cousin was so happy to see us. Unlike us, he doesn't get to go out that often so it's a real treat for him when he meets up with us. We always have a great time together.

As for the game we saw, the Devils beat the Lightning, 2-1. As a result, my Cousin was thrilled. He couldn't thank me enough for getting him the ticket for the game.

Wednesday night after work I went to the completely Transformed Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks open their new season against the Milwaukee Bucks. 

First & foremost, I want to mention all the additions in the final phase of the three year transformation process. Upon entry to the building, you'll notic the newly designed lobby & box office area which is more spacious than it was in the past. They've also added a team store so you can pick up souvenirs before and/or after the game. When you go inside I strongly suggest that you take a ride up to the tenth floor. That way you can check out the new Chase bridges that they've added which are connected to the West Balcony on the 8th avenue end of the building. The seating on the bridges is like the West Balcony. In other words, they have a few rows of seats that are protected by very thick glass as well as a row of bar stool seats behind them that have a ledge for you to put food and/or paperwork like I do when I sit at one of them. As long as you're not afraid of heights, you'll love the aerial view these seats have to offer. The Bridges are made so you feel like you're right on top of the action. They overlook the court for basketball & the ice for hockey. These seats are pricey & they're not sold on a season ticket basis. I recommend that if you have some money to burn that you try to get a seat up there. By doing so, you'll appreciate what they did to transform the building. The other change they made that stands out was they added a new massive HD scoreboard which hangs over the court and/or the ice. If you happen to be sitting on the side on the 200 level in the higher rows, the scoreboard is partially blocked. But they wisely added big screens on the side of the Bridges so you can see whatever you miss. Overall, I think they did a nice job in transforming the building. This may be a short lived process though since I've heard that in ten years they may be forced out of Penn Station which is built below the Garden. If you want to see the building as it is now, you should get there sooner than later.

As for the game I saw that night, the Knicks got off to a fast start. They lead by 25 points at halftime, 56-31. The Bucks fought back in the second half but the Knicks were able to hold them off as they went on to win their first game of the season, 90-83. Carmelo Anthony lead the way as he scored a game high 19 points & he grabbed 10 rebounds. Raymond Felton added 18 points.

Thursday night after work I spent my Halloween night doing my laundry after I made myself dinner.

Friday night after work I met up with the King at the Barclays Center where we saw the new look Brooklyn Nets open their home slate with a nationally televised game against the defending two time World Champion Miami Heat.

As for the game we saw, the Nets wound up beating the Heat in a drawn out game that took nearly three hours to play. The Nets won, 101-100. The Nets got 19 points from former Celtic Paul Pierce while Kevin Garnett aka KG who was also acquired in the same deal had just 6 points. Joe Johnson helped the Nets' cause by scoring 19 points as well. As for the Heat, LeBron James lead the way with 26 points but he didn't do anything exciting on this night as his team came up short.

Saturday afternoon the King & I took a ride via subway, Ferry & bus to see a college football game on Staten Island as the Wagner Seahawks were hosting the Blue Devils of Central Connecticut at Hameline Field. We were joined by our pal Eddie Pelle who met us there.

As for the game we saw, the Blue Devils beat the Seahawks, 52-17. The game actually was 24-17 with 13:09 to go but the Seahawks fell apart as they gave up four unanswered touchdowns as running back Rob Hollomon lead the charge for the Blue Devils. He finished the game with 147 yards rushing & he scored four touchdowns.

After the game, the King & I went out to the Prudential Center to see the Devils take on the Flyers. Eddie couldn't join us since he needed to take care of things at home. It was nice to see him again. 

As for the game we saw, the Flyers scored the only goal of the game in the first period. They held on to beat the Devils, 1-0.

Sunday the King & I went into Midtown Manhattan where we met up with our pal Larry Peim who drove us out to MetLife Stadium where we saw the Jets host the New Orleans Saints.

As for the game we saw, the Jets surprised the Saints as they beat them, 26-20. They were lead by former Saint Chris Ivory who ran for a game high 139 yards on the ground.

After the game, Larry drove us back to into Midtown. I went to see the Knicks play the Timberwolves at the Transformed Garden while the King decided to go home. 

As for the game I saw, the Timberwolves  played well & they beat the Knicks, 109-100. They got a monster performance out of Kevin Love who scored 34 points & he pulled down 15 rebounds. Kevin Martin added 30 points to help lead the charge for the Wolves. As for the Knicks, Carmelo Anthony poured in 22 points & he grabbed 17 boards while Metta World Peace finished with 17 points in the losing effort.

Stay tuned as I continue to attempt to play catch up.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty goes to the Lone Star State to see baseball & hockey over Easter weekend!

After I went to see the Knicks beat up the Bobcats at Madison Square Garden Friday night, I came home to get some sleep. By the time I got myself packed and ready for our getaway to the Lone Star State, the King came home from Philadelphia just before midnight. Our friend Bryan Gilligan drove him there & back. Luckily they saw a very fast game which allowed them to get back so quickly. Despite that, the King decided he wasn't going to go to sleep. While he stayed up, I went to my room to get a few hours. He woke me up shortly after 3AM so we could get to LaGuardia Airport to catch our 5:30AM Eastern time flight to Houston, Texas on United Airlines.

We walked over to the bus stop which is about a mile or so from where we live in Astoria. We didn't want to risk waiting a while for the N train to go two stops to Astoria Blvd. Shortly thereafter, we caught the M60 bus that took us to the airport. It worked out well as we got to the gate after going through security with plenty of time to spare. We met up with our pal Bryan Gilligan who joined us for this royal roadie. He wound up leaving his car at Newark Airport in New Jersey because he was flying back there on Monday morning. Stay tuned for further details in a later post as I recap the rest of our adventurous weekend.

Thanks to United Airlines we got in earlier than scheduled. We arrived around 20 minutes early at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston around 8:10AM Central time. With that being said, we had some margin for error. Based on the tight game plan I made, we needed any break we could get in order for this journey to be a complete success.

Once we got off the plane and into the terminal we walked around for a while following the signs to ground transportation, we finally got the shuttle bus to the car rental center which is located just outside the airport area. Upon arrival, I proceeded to go to Alamo to pick up the car I reserved for the weekend. I went right to the kiosk so I could serve myself because there were a few people on line waiting to see an agent for assistance. I didn't want to waste the time we made so I took matters into my own hands. A few minutes later, we walked out to the area where the cars were and I got to pick out a mid size car. I decided to take a Chrysler 200 that was available. It worked out well since it only had 898 miles on it. In addition, it was equipped with a Sirius satellite radio which was a royal treat.

Once we left the airport area, we proceeded to drive just over 200 miles to San Antonio where we were going to see an exhibition baseball game at the Alamodome. The Texas Rangers were hosting what they called Big League weekend as they were playing the San Diego Padres in a few preseason games. They played Friday night and Saturday afternoon. By doing so, it gave us a reason to take a three hour ride to see a baseball game even if it was indoors. We arrived within walking distance of the Alamodome around Noon. We proceeded to drive around the vicinity to see if we could find a place to park for free. After riding around a short time, we achieved our goal. We passed a number of parking areas that were charging $20 to park. Thankfully we lucked out on the street.

After we parked the car, we walked over to the Northwest gate area and we wound up meeting up with our pal Steve Fekete aka the Padre Punk. Steve was already in San Antonio because he flew in from his home in Anaheim, California earlier in the week so he could see a slew of sporting events all week long in the Lone Star State.

Derek Holland delivers first pitch at Alamodome

As always it was great to see him again. We all got tickets outside and then we proceeded to inside to see the game and the first pitch which was delivered by Derek Holland of the Rangers at 1:07PM local time.

Ironically the last time the King and I went to the Alamodome was back on April 3,1999 when the Spurs played the Clippers while they were waiting for their new arena to be built. Quite amazingly, it was part of Easter weekend that year too. After that game, we drove back to Dallas so we could catch a flight to Monterrey, Mexico Sunday morning where the King & I started the baseball season as the San Diego Padres opened up playing the Colorado Rockies who had the late Darryl Kile on the mound that night. Unfortunately we didn't know Bryan or Steve at the time. We also flew back to Dallas that Monday morning so we could go to Arlington to see the Texas Rangers play the Detroit Tigers on Opening Day. By doing so, we saw the first National League and first American League game of the season. That was a very memorable weekend to say the least.

This time around was memorable as well. You'll see how it unfolded as I continue to write a few more special posts that will sum it up.

As for the game we saw in San Antonio, the Rangers wound up beating the Padres much to Steve's chagrin, 5-2. Like Steve said it doesn't count, it's exhibition. Third baseman Jeff Baker gave the Rangers an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with a two run double to right center. The Rangers extended their lead to 5-0 in the fourth inning when second baseman Leury Garcia hit a three run home run to right field which was only 285 feet away down the line due to the configuration of the building. Outside of that, the dimensions were very major league like. The Padres broke the shutout in the top of the fifth inning when lead off hitter Chris Denorfia hit a solo home run to right center with two out to make it a 5-1 game. He also lead off the eighth inning with a solo shot this time to right to round out the scoring in front of an impressive crowd of 40,569 which was slightly more than the 34,000 plus they announced Friday night for the first game. With that being said, this Big League weekend idea turned out to be a huge success.

Stay tuned for the next segment of our excursion as we drove another 100 miles to see a minor league hockey game in Cedar Park, Texas.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 3/25 in review

Prince at MSG for Knicks & Grizzlies

Monday night after work I went home since they were no local games going on in the area. It was nice to be home so I could make myself dinner and relax.

Tuesday night after work I wound up meeting up with the King, his mother, Bryan Gilligan, Frank Anichiarico, Phil Butleman and Al Linderman for dinner at Donovan's Pub. Since there were no games again in the area we all decided to meet up so we could do our annual baseball picks. We all took turns reading off our division winners for all of the six different divisions, three in each league. In addition, we all ranked how we thought the American League East and National League East divisions would finish at the end of the season. Furthermore, we all picked the team we thought will win the World Series.

As for me, I showed off my Natitude. With Stephen Strasburg ready to go the full season this year with no restrictions, I firmly believe the Nationals have a realistic chance of getting back to the post season in October. In addition, I expect my boy Gio Gonzalez to continue his climb to stardom like he did last year. He finished his first season as a National with a league leading 21 wins. I don't think he'll duplicate that this year but he should win his fair share to help the team reach their ultimate goal. We'll see how it plays itself out over the next six months.

Wednesday night after work I went to Charley's Subs in Penn Station for dinner before I headed upstairs to Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks host the Memphis Grizzlies who were making their only appearance at the World's Most Famous Arena this season.

With that being said, I got to catch up with my pal Eric Hasseltine who is the play by play announcer for the Grizzlies and he has been for every game since they moved to Memphis back in 2001. He was joined by former NBA player Elliot Perry who was does some of the games as the color commentator. Ironically it was the night before Elliot's birthday. I told him I hope the Grizzlies win so he gets an early birthday present. He said that would be nice. Socks as he was known during his playing days, is a great guy. I got to speak to both of them for a short time before they went on the air to call the game back in Memphis on 92.9 ESPN Radio. That station is also the home of the Eric Hasseltine Show which airs M-F 2-4PM Central time. In the Eastern time zone I tune in online from 3-5PM. I've become a regular listener since the beginning of January once I figured out that I could tune in and listen to him online at work. Eric does a tremendous job. He has me hooked every afternoon in the office. It truly is the best two hours of my work day. I try my best to pay close attention to the show hoping that my work load isn't too distracting for me because Eric really knows his stuff. I'm not just trying to toot his horn. I'm a tough critic. When I really like something, I like to give credit where it's due. I sincerely love his show. When I spoke to him I told him how much I enjoy it from his opening introduction with his producer Ben Hogan aka @notthegolfer on Twitter, the Analyst Tuesday segment each week to the rapid fire that he does in the last segment to end each show. In between, he usually has a number of guests that come on and when time allows he takes calls and he reads off tweets from his followers on Twitter. To follow him, go to @EricHasseltine. As for Socks, he can be found at @ElliotPerry34. Tune in for yourself and I think you'll become an avid listener like me.

As for the game we saw, the Grizzlies played with Marc Gasol who was a late addition to the line up. Unfortunately he didn't inspire his teammates who got off to a 3-0 lead but it was all down hill from there as the Knicks shot the lights out from all over the court especially from behind the three point arc where they made 13 treys for the game. Most of them came in the first half when they scored 69 points to go into halftime up by 28, 69-41. The Grizzlies were literally blown out of the building. Their grit grind style of basketball didn't exist in the first 24 minutes. In the second half, they finally woke up but by then it was too little too late as the Knicks escaped with a 108-101 victory. The Grizzlies cut the lead to 5 late in the game but they just couldn't overcome the hole they dug for themselves as they split the season series with the Knicks. The King and I were at the FedEx Forum back in November for that Grizzlie win. This was payback time for the Knicks.

J.R. Smith led the scoring assault as he lead all scorers with 35 points. Carmelo Anthony added 22 of his own. It should be noted that Iman Shumpert was the real difference maker especially early in the game as he hit six treys as he finished with 16 points that was pivotal in setting the tone for the night for the Knicks. It helped that the Grizzlies' defense couldn't keep up with the Knicks who had one open shot after another.

As for the Grizzlies, Mike Conley had a team high 26 points while Jerryd Bayless had 24. It should be noted Tony Allen played well in the lackluster team performance. Marc Gasol playing due being hurt finished with 13 points.

Eric Hasseltine & Elliot Perry doing post game show

After the game, I said my farewell to Eric & Elliot after the disheartening loss. Eric said they have trouble playing well on the road.

Thursday night after work I came home again. The timing was good because I needed to get ready for my weekend getaway.

Friday night after work I went back to the Garden to see the Knicks take on the Charlotte Bobcats. The King and our pal Bryan Gilligan drove down to Philadelphia. They went to see the Phillies play the Blue Jays in an exhibition game at Citizens Bank Park.

Bryan said and I quote "this was probably the best game I'll see all year." It's funny since the regular season hadn't even started yet. It's hard to argue with him. They saw a 1-0 Blue Jay win that took a mere 2 hours and 5 minutes to play even with numerous changes.

As for the game I saw, the Knicks played a game that was eerily similar to the game they played against the Grizzlies. This time they put up 69 points again in the first half as they lead by 22 at halftime, 69-47. They only made nine shots from beyond the arc for the game this time. In the second half, the Knicks slacked off as they knew they had the game in hand since the Bobcats aren't nearly as good as the Grizzlies. They were right as it turned out. The Knicks went on to beat the Bobcats, 111-102.

Once again J.R. Smith led all scorers. This time he poured in 37 points. Carmelo Anthony contributed 32.
As for the Bobcats, Gerald Henderson led the way with 35 points. Kemba Walker who's from the Bronx had 16 points in his homecoming.

Stay tuned for the special posts I'm going to do regarding our Easter weekend getaway. Please bear with me as I try to find time to do them.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

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 2/25 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 sees a local NBA doubleheader after Nemo!

Prince at Madison Square Garden

Sunday morning I got up and I went to Madison Square Garden where the Knicks were playing an afternoon game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Unlike Saturday I counted on public transportation to get to and from the Garden in Midtown Manhattan. The MTA was running with minimal delays which made it really easy to get where I wanted to go without a hassle.

As for the game I saw, the Knicks got off to a slow start. They trailed the Clippers, 22-17 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, they continued to fall further behind as they went into the locker room down by eight, 52-44. In the third quarter, the Knicks looked more energized as they got within one, 71-70 after three quarters.

Since the game was televised on ABC the commercial time outs are longer than normal. With that being said, the crowd was treated to a fast edition of an act called "Quick Change." Even when you see it, you can't believe it. These people change outfits within the blink of an eye. It was an unexpected surprise. Normally when they perform it's during halftime.

Quick Change

In the fourth quarter, apparently the Knicks decided their quick change was over too. They took a very brief one point lead at the beginning of the quarter then they disappeared down the stretch as the Clippers emerged victorious, 102-88. The Clippers pulled away as former Knick Jamal Crawford scored 11 of his team high 27 points. Teammate Chris Paul added 7 of his 25 points down the stretch to help seal the deal. As for the Knicks, Carmelo Anthony lead all scorers with 42 points but he had only 4 points in the fourth quarter as the Knicks let this one slip away.

Prince at Barclays Center

After the game, I was able to go home and I made dinner before I went back out to downtown Brooklyn where I saw the Nets take on the San Antonio Spurs at the Barclays Center in the night cap of my NBA doubleheader.

I was joined by the King who wound up going to St. Peter's in the afternoon for a college basketball game in Jersey City. In addition, our pal Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich and Dennis Barbera were at the Net game too.

As for the game we saw, the Spurs were playing without superstars Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. I was disappointed when I heard that. I was looking forward to seeing them play.

In the first quarter, the Nets took advantage as they out scored the Spurs, 35-25. In the second quarter, the Spurs closed the gap to six as they trailed the Nets, 57-51 at halftime.

During the intermission, I got to meet up with a fellow tweep, Jon Presser, who's twitter handle is @metsjetsnets88. He was visiting the Barclays Center for the first time with his friend Adam. We all thought the Nets had a good chance to beat the Spurs.

In the third quarter, the Spurs despite playing shorthanded, they still out scored the Nets 30-14 to take a 81-71 lead. In the fourth quarter, the Spurs continued to pull further away as they blew away the Nets, 111-86. It was an incredible display of basketball by the Spurs in the second half. Tony Parker led the way as he scored 29 points and he handed 11 assists.

With that being said, we were all proven wrong as the Spurs came away with an easy win. They're an amazing team with a Hall of Fame coach in Gregg Popovich.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,


Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 2/4 in review

Prince at Barclays Center 

Monday night after work I went to Charley's Subs for my pre game meal in Penn Station before I went upstairs to Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks host the Detroit Pistons.

I met up with the King and our pals Al Linderman and Alan Gimpel when I got inside the building. I wound up sitting with them in section 221 row 18 which is towards the corner on the press box side of the court. I usually sit in section 416 row 2 behind the basket below the West Balcony. I decided to see the game from a different vantage point on this night. In addition, I was able to enjoy their company too.

As for the game we saw, the Knicks got off to a fast start as they led the Pistons, 28-13 after the first quarter. They extended their lead to 21, 57-36 at halftime. They led by as many as 26 before the Pistons made a comeback to make the score look more respectable. The Pistons trailed, 76-58 after three quarters. They sliced into the lead some more in the fourth quarter but the Knicks won rather easily, 99-85. Carmelo Anthony led the way with 27 points. Tyson Chandler added 8 points and he grabbed 20 rebounds for the third consecutive game to tie a Knick record that was set back in the 1960's by Willis Reed who did it twice.

Tuesday night after work I went to downtown Brooklyn to the Barclays Center to see the Nets take on Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers who were playing in Brooklyn for the first time.

Before I went into the arena, I walked across the street and I ate dinner at McDonald's in the Atlantic Center Mall. After I ate, I went inside the arena and I stopped by where the radio announcers call the game. I got to say hello to Nets broadcaster Tim Capstraw. He's always so friendly. It was great to see him again.
When I got done, I went up to my seat in section 230 row 13 where I met up with the King who was already up there.

As for the game we saw, the Lakers were playing without Dwight Howard who was hurt and Metta World Peace formerly known as Ron Artest who played his college ball at St. John's. He was suspended by the league for a game. As a result, the Nets led, 24-18 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the shorthanded Lakers roared back as they out scored the Nets, 31-16 to take a 49-40 lead at halftime much to the delight of the numerous Laker fans that were among those in the sellout crowd of 17,732. In the third quarter, the Nets cut into the Laker lead as they trailed by only three points after three quarters, 67-64. In the fourth quarter, the Lakers turned it up a notch late as they scored the last ten points of the game to beat the Nets, 92-83.

Kobe Bryant lead the way for the Lakers as he scored a team high 21 points including a number of clutch shots down the stretch to seal the deal. Brook Lopez of the Nets led all scorers with a game high 30 points and he grabbed 11 rebounds in the losing effort.

Wednesday night after work I came home and I got to have dinner then I caught up on the things around the house. It turned out to be a very productive night to stay home.

Thursday night after work I went out to Newark, NJ where I met up with my Cousin Andy who joined me for the Devil game at the Prudential Center. The Devils were playing the Tampa Bay Lightning. I also met up with my pals Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich, Frank Anichiarico and the King. We were one big happy family among the announced crowd of 14,802.

As for the game we saw, the game was scoreless after the first period. In the second period, the Devils got the game's first goal when Adam Henrique lit the lamp 3:28 into the first period. The Lightning tied it up later in the period as former Islander Nate Thompson scored to even the score at one with 6:41 to go in the period. The Devils regained the lead, 2-1 as Ilya Kovalchuk got a shorthanded goal with 2:26 left. In the third period, the Devils put the game away as they scored two power play goals 14 seconds apart just over five minutes into the period to take a 4-1 lead. The Lightning added a late goal with 2:15 to go to make it 4-2 which is how it ended.

Friday with a potential snow storm called Nemo approaching the area, I got out of work early. With being said, I was able to get a much needed haircut on my way home. In addition, I was able to catch up on some things at home before the King and I decided to take a subway ride to Upper Manhattan since the Columbia Lions college basketball game against the Big Green of Dartmouth was scheduled to be played at Levien Gymnasium. Our pal Frank Anichiarico decided to meet us there.

As for the game we saw, the Big Green lead the Lions, 29-26 at halftime. In the second half, the Big Green extended its lead to 11, 40-29 five minutes into the second half. The Lions came roaring back to make it close but the Big Green wound up holding them off as they won, 60-57 before a crowd of 1,016. There were a good number of people there considering the weather conditions.

After the game, we all got back home safely as the snow was coming down.

Stay tuned for a few special posts I'm going to do that will recap the exciting weekend I had despite the bad weather.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees a rare basketball tripleheader!

Prince at Prudential Center for Seton Hall Pirates

Saturday morning I went to the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ which is also the home of the Seton Hall Pirates who play their home games at the Rock. On this day they were hosting the Cincinnati Bearcats at 11AM. It was also the 20th anniversary of the Seton Hall team that won the Big East Championship during the 1992-1993 season. As a result, they had a ceremony at halftime to celebrate the reunion before an announced crowd of 6,961.

I was joined by the King and our pals Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich and Dennis Barbera.

As for the game we saw, the game was tied at 28 late in the first half. The Bearcats went on a 20-0 run that carried over into the second half. As a result, the Bearcats were able to hold off a late surge by the Pirates as they went on to win the game, 65-59.

Prince at WRAC - Home of LIU Blackbirds

After the game, we all took the Path train back to midtown Manhattan where we caught the Q train to downtown Brooklyn for game two of the day at LIU where the Blackbirds were hosting the Robert Morris Colonials at 3PM at the Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center aka the WRAC.

We were also joined by our pals Larry Peim, Michael Abrams, Phil Butleman, David Sack and Vincent Ascanio.

As for the game we saw, the Colonials led the Blackbirds, 32-29 at halftime. In the second half, the Colonials held off the Blackbirds in a closely contested affair, 60-57.

Prince at Madison Square Garden 

After the game, I went to Popeye's for dinner before I went to Madison Square Garden for game three at 7:30PM as the Knicks were taking on the Sacramento Kings.

As for the game I saw, the Knicks wound up blowing out the Kings who raced out to an early 18-6 lead. It went down hill from there for the Kings as the Knicks rolled to an easy 120-81 victory.

The Knicks got monster performances from Tyson Chandler who scored 11 points and he grabbed 20 rebounds. In addition, Amar'e Stoudemire came off the bench and he shot 10 for 10 from the field as he finished with 21 points while J.R. Smith added a team high 25 points off the bench which enabled the Knicks to win the game easily.

Stay tuned for the recap of how I spent Super Bowl Sunday.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees a local basketball doubleheader at Madison Square Garden!

Prince at MSG for St. John's Red Storm

On Sunday January 27th, the King and I saw went to Madison Square Garden , the mecca for basketball, to see the St. John's Red Storm host the Seton Hall Pirates at Noon.

As for tickets for the game, we didn't get them in advance. We decided to wait until the day of the game. With that being said, while I was waiting on line at the box office, a gentleman approached me and he gave me two free tickets. I was very grateful. I shook his hand and I thanked him. As a result, the King and I saved some money that we planned to spend. We lucked as I was in the right place at the right time.

As for the game we saw, the Red Storm lead at halftime, 38-33 after they trailed by 8 midway through the first half. In the second half, they added to their lead as they built a 16 point lead early on. The Pirates wound up coming back but they fell short as they lost to the Red Storm, 71-67 before a crowd of 7,641. As a result, they closed off the upper level and the West Balcony. With that being said, we got to sit on the lower level which we can't afford to do for the Knicks. I must say the seating down there is rather snug. In other words, the leg room is tight.

Forward D'Angelo Harrison lead the way for the Red Storm as he played the whole game and he scored a game high 24 points to carry the Johnnies to the victory. For the Pirates, center Eugene Teague had 22 points in the losing effort.

Prince at MSG for Knicks basketball

After the game, the King and I went home for dinner before we returned to the Garden for game two of our convenient doubleheader. The Knicks were playing the Hawks at 6:30PM which was televised on ESPN.
Before the game, I was able to say a quick hello to my pal broadcasting legend, Steve Holman, who's the radio voice of the Hawks. He's now done over 2,000 consecutive Hawk games and counting. That's an incredible accomplishment. It was great to see him again. If you want to follow him on Twitter, his handle is @RealVoiceofHawk.

As for the game we saw, it was eerily similar to the game we saw at the Barclays Center nine days earlier when the Hawks were in town to play the Nets in Brooklyn. This one was tightly contested especially in the first half as the Knicks out scored the Hawks, 27-25 in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Hawks returned the favor as they did the same to the Knicks. As a result, the game was tied at 52 at the half. In the third quarter, the Knicks pulled away to lead by 8, 82-74 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, the Hawks roared back. Josh Smith threw down a thunderous slam late just he did in Brooklyn to keep the Hawks within striking distance. Ironically the game came down to the last shot that would have won it for the Hawks but Josh Smith couldn't drain a three pointer at the buzzer as the Knicks held off the Hawks, 106-104.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty goes to Philadelphia for a basketball doubleheader!

Prince at Drexel Dragons basketball

Saturday morning the King & I went to Avis and I rented a Ford Fusion for the day just before 9AM.
I went to Brooklyn and we picked up our pal Vincent Ascanio. We then drove to Staten Island and we picked up our buddy Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich.

We drove down to Philadelphia to see college basketball at Daskalakis Athletic Center, home of the Drexel Dragons. They were hosting the Georgia State Panthers at Noon. We parked the car on the street a few blocks away at 11:30AM.

We wound up meeting up with our friend Eddie Pelle there. He took Amtrak down from NYC. I was planning to give him a ride but he overslept and he didn't see my text message in time.

As for the game we saw, the Dragons led the Panthers, 27-22 at halftime. In the second half, they pulled away and they cruised to a 68-57 victory before a crowd of 2,532 people who came out to see their Dragons play.

After the game we had some time to kill so we dropped the King off at Sugar House Casino so he could entertain himself for a little while. The rest of us decided to go shopping at Walmart to pass the time. When we were done we went back to the Casino and we picked the King up. After that we went to pick up our pal Andrew Van Cleve who lives in Philadelphia and he joined us for the 76er game.

Before we went to the game, we stopped off at the Oregon Diner for dinner. It was Andrew's first time there. He was impressed to say the least. He enjoyed the broiled stuffed fillet of flounder he decided to have. As for me, I decided to go with a different choice. I saw someone at the table next to us having a sizzling steak. It looked & sounded really good so I was inspired to do the same. I wound up having a sizzling charbroiled New York Strip which was excellent and it only cost $14.99.

Prince at 76er game 

After we ate, we drove over to the sports complex and we parked the car within walking distance.
We walked over to the Wells Fargo Center to see the Philadelphia 76ers host the New York Knicks.
As for the game we saw, the 76ers built a big lead early then the Knicks closed the gap as they trailed by five, 24-19 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the 76ers extended their lead to 12, 53-41 at halftime. In the third quarter, the 76ers broke the game open as they lead by 26 points, 84-58 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, the 76ers slacked off as the Knicks out scored the 76ers by nine to make the final score, 97-80 look more respectable than it should have been. In other words, this game was a blowout from start to finish.

After the game, we met up with our pal Eddie Pelle who decided to go to another college basketball game at St. Joseph's which started at 6PM. He met us where I parked the car and I gave him a ride back to Brooklyn where he works.

Stay tuned for another special post that we'll go into detail about the basketball doubleheader we saw at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman