Royalty welcomes back a fellow roadtripper to NYC to start 2014!‏

After the King & I returned from Ann Arbor, Michigan to begin 2014, we got a visit from our pal Steve Fekete aka the Padre Punk who was back in the Northeast. He came to see some more venues he needed as he continues he quest to join Club 122. He spent his New Year's Day in Upstate New York. He went to Utica with our other buddies from Buffalo, Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell who met him there. They went to see the Comets play at the Utica Memorial Auditorium which the guys from Buffalo gave a rave review. The King & I went there in November. We enjoyed our visit. 

While the King & I drove back from the Midwest, Steve drove down to NYC. We wound up meeting up with Steve who returned the car he rented in New Jersey. He wound up getting a ride to the Nassau Coliseum from me. He met up with the King, our friend Frank Anichiarico aka Duck & I. He took public transportation to Queens. Since I was off from work, we were able to leave extra early which allowed us to get out there with plenty of time to spare. We stopped off at Popeye's in Hempstead for a pre game meal. We then drove over to the Nassau Coliseum to see the Islanders host the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks who Steve likes & follows around. They were the main reason he came to visit us. After the game, I drove him back into Queens where he took public transportation back to New Jersey where he was staying while he was in the area. The weather was getting bad as it started snowing as we drove back. Luckily I was able to park the car on the street near the house that the King & I live in. 

Friday morning I went back to work. After work, I took the subway to the World Trade Center where I picked up the Path train to Newark. The Devils were playing the Blackhawks on this night at the Prudential Center. Steve once again joined us as did our new neighbor Sean MacDonald who had just returned from his NFL Stadium Journey. He saw all 32 NFL Stadiums during the 2013 season. He started in Denver on Opening night in September & he finished the regular season in Seattle on Sunday December 29th. A few days later he returned to NYC which is where he calls home for the time being. 

After the game, Sean & I said goodbye to Steve since that Saturday we went in different directions. Steve met up with the King as they both went back to the Nassau Coliseum to see the Islanders play the Carolina Hurricanes. Sean & I wanted to see more football so I extended the car I rented for a week for an additional day. Thankfully I was able to dig the car out of the parking spot Friday night. As a result, I was able to pick up Sean around 11AM so we could drive down to Philadelphia earlier because there was a college basketball game at 2PM in the area. St. Joseph's Hawks were hosting the Denver Pioneers at the Michael J. Hagan Arena. We were also joined by our buddy Andrew Van Cleve who showed up with his son Dylan. It was great to see them again.

St. Joseph's Hawks basketball at Michael J. Hagan Arena

After the game, Andrew went back home to drop off Dylan. Sean & I went to the Landmark Americana where we picked up our pal Frankie Centola who had my ticket for the Eagles NFC Wild Card game with the New Orleans Saints that night. I drove Frankie to Lincoln Financial Field then I dropped Sean off at the Holiday Inn which is walking distance from the Sports Complex since he wanted to watch as much of the early football game between the Chiefs & the Colts as he could. In the meantime, I went to park the car on the street. After I did so, I met up with Sean at Holiday Inn where we both ate a pre game meal together. Shortly thereafter, Andrew Van Cleve joined us there as well.

Prince at Lincoln Financial Field for Saints & Eagles NFC Wild Card Game 

As for the game we saw, the Eagles put up a good fight but they wound up falling short to the Saints who beat them, 26-24 to end their season which turned out better than expected.

After the game, I drove Sean back to Astoria with me. That Sunday I wound up staying home after I returned the car I rented to Avis in the morning. Since there were no local games in the area to go to, I watched the other football games on TV. In addition, I got to catch up on some much needed rest since I was ran around all week. As a result, I went to sleep early that night.

Stay tuned for my w/o 1/6 in review. In addition, I plan to do some special posts that will highlight some more of the adventures we experienced during the month of January.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 9/16 in review

Monday night after work I came home I made myself dinner then I went around the corner & I did my laundry.

Tuesday night after work I went out to Citi Field to see the Mets open up a three game series with 2012 World Champion San Francisco Giants who were making their first & only appearance in Queens. As an added bonus for their fans the Giants went to the Bronx to play the Yankees over the weekend too. As a result, the Giants got to spend six straight days in the area. With that being said, there were a good number of Giant fans at all of the games. At Citi Field, they was a large group of fans that took over the last two or three sections out in left center field behind the Party City Party Deck. There was a sea of black & orange for the Giants not blue & orange for the Mets. Thanks to the Giant fans who made the trek across the country plus the ones who remember when the Giants played here in NYC way back in the day for helping to enhance the attendance so the announced crowd could look more legitimate.

As for me, I went straight to ballpark. I was greeted by my pal Sam Citron when I arrived at the Rotunda gate. After we exchanged pleasantries, I went inside I decided to have Two Boots pizza for dinner. Since it was another Citi Tuesday I was able to get my $10 gift card just for showing my Citi Card at the special booth out behind the Apple in center field. By doing so, I was able to enjoy some of the great food choices Citi Field has to offer. When I finally got upstairs to section 516, I was joined by Pat Gorman, Michael Abrams, Mike Jaffee who made a rare appearance, Al Linderman & Frank Anichiarico who happen to be Giant fans from way back when they were very young. That was their team. It should also be noted that on this night it was the King's 7,400th lifetime baseball he's seen live in person. It was also his 245th baseball game in 2013 for those who were wondering.

As for the game we saw, it was a marathon time wise as it lasted three hours & 55 minutes. The Giants went on to outlast the Mets, 8-5.

Wednesday night after work I returned to Citi Field for game two of the three game set between the Mets & Giants. This time I had chicken tenders & Nathan's fries for dinner at the ballpark. They were really good. I wound up sitting in section 515 that night with Manny Morales, Phil Butleman, Charlie O'Reilly, Al Linderman, Frank Anichiarico, Alan Gimpel & Pat Gorman who were present & accounted for.

As for the game we saw, the Mets' rookie catcher Juan Centeno who was called up from the minor leagues got his first major league hit. The Mets went on to win this game in dramatic fashion. They entered the bottom of the ninth inning trailing by a score of 4-1. The Mets rallied to come all the way back as Josh Satin delivered the game winning hit to cap off the four run rally to give the Mets a 5-4 victory.

Thursday I took the day off from work knowing the Mets were playing an afternoon game at 1:10PM to wrap up their series with the Giants. In addition, the Philadelphia Eagles were also home against the Kansas City Chiefs at Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday Night football. When I saw that on the NFL schedule back in April I decided that would be a perfect day to take off so I could see both games.

In the morning, the King went to Dollar Rent a Car by LaGuardia airport & he picked up a car for a week since he decided to make one last road trip before the regular season came to a close. By doing so, he drove Vincent Ascanio & I down to Philadelphia for the Eagle game. He came back home & he picked me up & we drove over to Citi Field for the afternoon game.

When we got to the Promenade level in section 515 we were joined by Mike & Sharon Jaffee who usually like to attend the mid week afternoon games that I normally don't get to go to. It was nice to see both of them again. In addition, Michael Abrams, Phil Butleman, Al Linderman & Alan Gimpel came back for more as well.

As for the game we saw, it was a rare fast one as the Giants went on to beat the Mets, 2-1 in two hours & 37 minutes. By doing so, the Giants took two out of three from the Mets before they headed to the Bronx for the weekend.

Thankfully the game went fast. It turned out that we needed it to do so because getting down to Philadelphia during rush hour is no bargain. In addition, we ran into some pockets of traffic that delayed us even further. We did manage to stop of at McDonald's fast off I-95 in Pennsylvania. I was able to get myself chicken nuggets and a few grilled onion cheddar burgers to go along with an order of fries, a drink and three chocolate chip cookies which I ate in the car. It definitely hit the spot.

Me at Lincoln Financial Field

When we got closer to the City of Brotherly Love, we found out that the Eagles were retiring Donovan McNabb's #5 jersey at halftime. I wound up sitting with our pal Frankie Centola on the Club level. The King & Vincent Ascanio bought tickets at the box office since they had a limited number available. We also met up with our buddy Andrew Van Cleve who went to the game too. Furthermore, at halftime I got to see our pal Sean MacDonald who is in the midst of seeing all 32 NFL teams play a home game this season. As always, it was great to see him again.

Donovan McNabb #5

As for the game we saw, the Eagles wound up losing to the visiting Kansas City Chiefs, 26-16. The Eagles committed numerous turnovers throughout the game & the Chiefs took total advantage of their opportunities. It was also the return of former Eagles' coach Andy Reid to Philadelphia where he brought plenty of success during his tenure there. On this night he wound up getting the last laugh as his Chiefs beat his former team.
After the game, the King decided to drive Frankie home. He lives in the Philadelphia area. Then he drove Vincent Ascanio back to Brooklyn before he finally took us both home. As a result, we arrived back in Astoria at 4:35AM. I laid down for a few hours then I got up and I went to work.

Friday I was exhausted but I still went back to work. After work, I went up to the Bronx to see the San Francisco Giants continue their road trip as they spent the weekend at Yankee Stadium taking on the Yankees. This was their first visit to the new Stadium. They came to the old one back in June 2002.

I stopped off at U.S. Fried Chicken before I went into the Stadium. I had a few slices of pizza there. When I finally got up to my seat in section 420B row 7 I was greeted by Frank Anichiarico, Pat Gorman, Phil Butleman & William Frank Guthrie who were also in the building.

As for the game we saw, it was a pitcher's duel until the seventh inning between Tim Lincecum of the Giants & CC Sabathia of the Yankees. With the bases loaded & two outs, Alex Rodriguez aka A-Roid hit a grand slam to right field that cleared the bases and it gave the Yankees a 5-1 lead. For what it's worth, A-Roid passed legendary Yankee Lou Gehrig for the most grand slams in MLB history by hitting his 24th of his career. Speaking of legendary Yankees, Mariano Rivera came on to pitch a scoreless ninth inning as the Yankees beat the Giants, 5-1.

After the game, our pal Bryan Gilligan drove the King, Frank Anichiarico & I to Donovan's Pub for a post game meal. We were joined by the King's brother Charlie Casiano who met us there. It was a good time as it always seems to be when we get to go there. It was nice to see Charlie again.

Saturday afternoon the King & I went back to Yankee Stadium for game two of the series with the Giants. Al Linderman & Frank Anichiarico were there to see their Giants play again. We also had Bryan Gilligan & Vincent Ascanio on hand as usual.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees silenced the Giants, 6-0 as Ivan Nova threw a six hit shutout.
After the game, the King drove Bryan, Vincent & I to Philadelphia where we saw the Mets play the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park that night. We once again stopped off at McDonald's and we took out some food & we ate it in the car since we were pressed for time.

We got to the game just before it started. We wound up sitting up in section 421 under the overhang because there was a threat of rain for most of the night. Shortly after we sat down, we got a visit from our pal Andrew Van Cleve who came up to say hello. He was sitting downstairs with his father who came to visit from the Bay area. As always it was great to catch up with Andrew.

As for the game we saw, the Mets built a 5-1 lead by scoring four runs in the top of the sixth inning. The Phillies answered back by scoring three in their half to make it a 5-4 game. With one out in the top of the seventh inning, David Wright walked then the umpires decided to put the tarp on the field as the rain picked up. We all wisely decided to leave knowing that the game probably wasn't going to be resumed based on the weather forecast. It turned out we were right. As a result, the Mets won the game, 5-4.

Sunday afternoon the King went back to Philadelphia to see the Mets play the Phillies again. As for me, I passed up the opportunity to go to Yankee Stadium for what turned out to be Mariano Rivera Day. I stayed home watching the ceremony on television while I waited to leave the house to go out to MetLife Stadium to see the Jets play the Buffalo Bills in a battle of young rookie quarterbacks. I'm referring to E.J. Manuel who was drafted in the first round surprisingly by the Bills and Geno Smith who surprisingly fell to the Jets in the second round.

As for the game I saw, it was the second rounder who lead his team to victory. Geno Smith made a few mistakes that resulted in turnovers but when he needed to shine, he did. He lead the way as the Jets beat the Bills, 27-20. It should be noted that running back Bilal Powell ran for 149 yards on the ground which helped the Jets hold off the Bills.

Stay tuned as I will continue to play catch up. Please bear with me as I try my best to do so.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 12/10 in review

Upon returning from Jacksonville late Sunday night, I wisely took off Monday from work so I could rent a car and drive to Foxboro, Massachusetts to see Monday Night football as the New England Patriots were hosting the Houston Texans in what was deemed a preview of the AFC Championship game come January.

I went to Avis and I rented a Ford Fusion for the day. I went back home and I picked up the King and away we went. We wound up driving in some horrible rain which lasted most of the ride. We stopped off in Warwick, Rhode Island to pick up our pal Steve Fekete aka the Padre Punk who was staying at the Comfort Inn there. He just finished driving from Cincinnati where he saw his Dallas Cowboys beat the Cincinnati Bengals that Sunday afternoon. I know he needed a break from driving and it made perfect sense for us to pick him up. We know a back way in and out of the Gillette Stadium area so I preferred to handle the driving.

Thankfully as we were approaching Foxboro the rain was letting up. When we parked the car at 6:53PM it stopped. With that being said, we were now ready for some football. It was a warm night for this time of year especially in New England. We got out of the car and we walked over towards the Stadium. Along the way, we made a pit stop at Papa Gino's which claims to have the best pizza in New England. I like to believe that's true because I think it's really good myself. Steve also approved of it as well. After we finished eating, we finished walking over to Gillette Stadium.

We got inside just before the game started.

As for the game we saw, it didn't exactly live up to the hype. Apparently the Texans had stage fright. The Patriots scored early and often. Tom Brady hooked up with tight end Aaron Hernandez for a 7 yard touchdown pass with 9:27 left in the first quarter. The Patriots extended their lead to 14-0 with 2:49 to go in the quarter when Tom Brady connected with wide receiver Brandon Lloyd for a 37 yard touchdown pass to make it a 14-0 game.

In the second quarter, Tom Brady and Aaron Hernandez found the end zone again. This time a four yard touchdown pass to make it 21-0. That's how it stayed as the teams went into the locker room at halftime.
In the third quarter, Tom Brady aired it out as he hit newcomer and former Patriot Donte' Stallworth on a 63 yard bomb to give the Patriots' a 28-0 lead with 9:49 left. The Texans finally got on the scoreboard on their next drive as running back Arian Foster ran in from a yard out to make it a 28-7 game. The score stayed that way after three quarters.

In the fourth quarter, the Patriots' Brandon Lloyd recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown which made the score 35-7 with 14:15 left. The Patriots' offense wasn't done yet. They got another touchdown on a 14 yard run from Stevan Ridley with 7:23 left to make it 42-7. The Texans found the end zone one more time as back up quarterback Tyler Yates ran in from a yard out with two minutes to go to make it 42-14. That's the way it ended as the Patriots showed the Texans who the best team is in the AFC. For the Texans' sake, they're hoping for payback to come in January. We'll wait and see how things unfold then.
After the game, we drove Steve back to his hotel and the King and I came home. We arrived around 4:30AM.

Tuesday morning I took off from work so I could get some sleep. I went and returned the car I rented. I drove 449 miles safely. After I returned the car, I went to work for the afternoon.

After work, I went to the Barclays Center to see the Battle of the Boroughs part two as the Brooklyn Nets were hosting the New York Knicks.

Steve also drove back to Brooklyn and he joined us for the game. After the game, he was heading towards Charlotte, North Carolina where he was going to see the LA Clippers play the Bobcats.

As for the game we saw together, the Nets raced out to a 26-9 lead in the first quarter. They led, 30-16 after the quarter.

In the second quarter, the Knicks made a comeback and they trailed only 53-49 at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Nets maintained their slim lead as they led, 79-74.

In the fourth quarter, the Knicks found a way to overcome the Nets as they left the Barclays Center with a 100-97 victory. The Nets had chances in the closing seconds be they came up empty and they fell short this time.

Wednesday night after work I came home made dinner and I did my laundry.

Thursday I went to work in the morning. I took off in the afternoon so I could go to the dentist and I rented a car so I could drive down to Philadelphia to see the Eagles play the Cincinnati Bengals in Thursday Night football at Lincoln Financial Field.

I wound up renting a Ford Focus for the day. After I went to the dentist where I got a good report on my teeth, I went to pick up the King and our friend Frank Anichiarico who joined us for the football game.
We left later then I wanted to but luckily traffic getting out of NYC was better than I expected so we were able to get to Philadelphia without a problem. We stopped off at McDonald's on the way and we ate in the car as we headed to Philadelphia.

I parked the car around 8PM and we walked over to the Stadium. We barely made the opening kickoff. I knew it was going to be a close call. Thankfully it worked out well in the end.
As for the game we saw, the Bengals' running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis scored on a 1 yard touchdown run with 11:10 left in the opening quarter to make it 7-0. Kicker Josh Brown booted a 24 yard field goal to extend the lead to 10-0 with 7:51 left.

In the second quarter, the Eagles responded as they got on the scoreboard thanks to an eleven yard touchdown pass from quarterback Nick Foles to wide receiver Riley Cooper with 11:40 left until halftime to make it a game at 10-7. The Eagles tied at the game at 10 with 7:37 left as Alex Henery kicked a 22 yard field goal. With 17 seconds to go in the half, Alex Henery gave the Eagles a 13-10 at the intermission.

In the third quarter, the Bengals regained the lead with 1:10 to go as quarterback Andy Dalton ran in from 11 yards out to give the Bengals a 17-13 lead. Moments later with 21 seconds left, the Bengals scored again as defensive end Wallace Gilberry recovered a fumble and he returned it 25 yards for a touchdown to extend the Bengals lead to 24-13.

In the fourth quarter, the Bengals got the ball back again and they capitalized as kicker Josh Brown kicked a 32 yard field goal with 14:12 left to make it 27-13. They scored another touchdown with 12:47 left as wide receiver A.J. Green caught a 5 yard pass to make it 34-13. That's how it mercifully ended. The Eagles were competitive for most of the game then they self destructed and it made the score more lopsided than it should have been.

Friday morning I returned the car I rented from Avis before I went to work. I drove 273 miles safely.
After work, I went back to the Barclays Center to see the Nets play the Detroit Pistons. Before the game, I stopped off at McDonald's at the Atlantic Center Mall and I had my pre game meal.

After I finished eating, I went inside the arena and I meet up with my pal Phil Butleman who was also there.
As for the game we saw, the Pistons lead, 25-23 after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Nets took the lead, scoring the Pistons by 14 points to lead, 59-47 at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Pistons roared back and they went back ahead, 77-73 after three quarters.

In the fourth quarter, the Nets out scored the Pistons by four to even the score at 90 to force overtime.
In overtime, both teams scored 10 points to remain tied at 100. By doing so, they were forced to play a second overtime.

In the second overtime, the Nets outlasted the Pistons as Joe Johnson hit the game winning shot at the buzzer to break the tie at 105 to give the Nets a dramatic 107-105 win.

Stay tuned for a few special posts that will recap the memorable weekend I spent in Western New York and North of the Border.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty goes to Philadelphia to see the Eagles play the Cowboys!

Prince at Lincoln Financial Field

After we left Lancaster Sunday, we drove on Route 30 towards Philadelphia.

The highlight of the ride was that we got to see a number of Amish people who were riding in their horse and buggys. It was such a unique experience to see them riding along the road.

We got to Philadelphia in the early afternoon so we had plenty of time to get ready for some football which was scheduled to start at 4:25PM. We went to Lincoln Financial Field to see the Philadelphia Eagles play their division rival, the Dallas Cowboys with our friend, Frankie Centola.

In addition, we had our pals, Steve Fekete aka the Padre Punk and Paul Derrick aka the Sporting Puma there with us in spirit. They're both big Cowboy fans.

As for the game we saw, the Eagles took the opening kickoff and they marched down the field on an 81 yard ten play drive that culminated with a 2 yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Riley Cooper from quarterback Michael Vick which gave the Eagles the early 7-0 lead. The Cowboys responded on their first drive of the game as they answered with a touchdown to tie the game as running back Felix Jones caught an 11 yard pass with 2:13 left in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the offense disappeared. The Cowboys managed to get a 30 yard field goal from kicker Dan Bailey with 3:50 left in the half to give the Cowboys a 10-7 lead.

In the third quarter, the Eagles regained the lead on a 44 yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jeremy Macklin from backup rookie quarterback Nick Foles who replaced Michael Vick who suffered a concussion with 12:52 left to give the Eagles a 14-10 lead. With 4:32 left, Alex Henery extended the Eagles' lead to 17-10 as he kicked a 40 yard field goal. The Cowboys' closed out the quarter with a 30 yard touchdown pass to Dez Bryant from Tony Romo that tied the game at 17 as time expired in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Dwayne Harris of the Cowboys ran back a punt 78 yards for a touchdown to give the Cowboys a 24-17 lead with 13:35 left. With 12:25 left to go, Brandon Carr of the Cowboys intercepted a pass and he ran it back 47 yards to add to the Cowboys' lead which was now 31-17. The Eagles' got a touchdown run from a yard out from running back Stanley Havili with 1:55 left to pull the Eagles within 8 at 31-23 as Alex Henery missed the point after wide left. The Cowboys got the final say as defensive tackle Jason Hatcher recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown with 46 seconds left to give the Cowboys' a 38-23 much needed victory. With the loss, the Eagles' season is in serious jeopardy.

After the game, we drove Frankie home then we went home.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees Giants and Eagles on SNF at Lincoln Financial Field on Brian Dawkins night!

Prince at Lincoln Financial Field

After seeing the Baltimore Orioles finish a sweep of the Boston Red Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in the afternoon, the King drove us 100 miles north to Philadelphia where we saw the Eagles host their nearby division rival, the Super Bowl XVLI Champion New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field aka the Linc. In addition, it was Brian Dawkins night. The Eagles were retiring the #20 jersey of their legendary free safety at halftime.

Thanks to our pal Frankie Centola who got us a club seat which I wound up using. The King and I went to the box office after we parked the car on the street. The Eagles usually release tickets on the day of the game. We know because we've gotten them that way in the past. With that being said, we got on line around 7PM in hopes of getting another ticket for the King to use. Shortly thereafter, they started selling some tickets a little while later for $70 & $95. The person who was in charge of keeping things under control handed out numbers for most of us that were on line. With that being said, we stood a good chance of getting one he said. Then they closed the curtain at the window for 10-15 minutes. Around 7:45PM, they reopened it and moments later, the King got one for $70. We proceeded to go in. The King decided to sit by himself because he wasn't feeling well otherwise Frankie was going to get him in with us. After the game, we met up at the car. We took Frankie home afterwards before we continued back home. We finally got home at 3AM.

As for the game we saw, the Eagles and Giants battled it out like it was a heavyweight bout. After a scoreless first quarter, the Eagles finally broke through late in the second quarter as quarterback Michael Vick hit wide receiver DeSean Jackson for a 19 yard pass completion that result in a touchdown to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead. In traditional fashion, the crowd got to sing the Eagles fight song, Fly Eagles Fly. They play it only after the Eagles score a touchdown. It's a great song that fires up the crowd.

Before the half ended the Giants got on the scoreboard thanks to a 25 yard field goal by kicker Lawrence Tynes that made it a 7-3 game at halftime.

During halftime, I stayed in my seat like Dan Baker, the legendary public address announcer told the crowd to do. The Eagles were honoring Brian Dawkins, their free safety who played in Philadelphia from 1996-2008 after being drafted in the second round of the 1996 draft out of Clemson. Upon being released in 2009, Dawkins finished his NFL career in Denver with the Broncos where he played three more years. Number 20 was known for his hard hitting and for making big plays on defense. He played 183 games for the Eagles and he tied the Eagles' all time record with 34 interceptions. He time and time again acknowledged the crowd as he spoke about his time in Philadelphia. In a touching moment, he told the crowd he wanted to hear the Eagles' fight song one more time. The crowd obliged as Brian Dawkins led the charge. He left a lasting impression on the Philly faithful like he did on the opposing receivers he covered in an Eagle uniform. His number 20 jersey won't be worn again by an Eagle. It was officially retired.

After the moving ceremony, the Eagles and Giants resumed their battle.

On the first drive of the second half, the Eagles marched down the field but the Giant defense didn't break as they held the Eagles to a 20 yard field goal by kicker Alex Henery with 9:55 left in the third quarter to extend the Eagle lead to 10-3.

On the Giants' first possession of the second half, they answered right back. They drove down the field and it culminated with a 14 yard touchdown pass to Victor Cruz from Eli Manning which tied the game at 10 with 5:28 to go in the third quarter.

The Eagles fought back again to regain the lead, 13-10 thanks to the leg of Alex Henery who connected from 48 yards out with 2:07 left in the third quarter.

The Eagles started the fourth quarter with a huge play as Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie intercepted a pass by Eli Manning in the end zone five yards deep. He stupidly didn't take a knee and he attempted to run the ball out of the end zone. He got stopped at the nine yard line where the Eagles started their next drive which ended with another field goal with 9:25 left in the fourth quarter as Alex Henery put one through the uprights from 35 yards out as the Eagles took a 16-10 lead.

Eli Manning known for his fourth quarter heroics decided it was time to work his magic. With 6:45 left in the fourth quarter, he found tight end Bear Pascoe for a 6 yard touchdown pass which gave the Giants' a 17-16 lead.

The Eagles continued to persevere as they came back to retake the lead with 1:49 left in the fourth quarter as Alex Henery hit a 26 yard field goal to give the Eagles a 19-17 lead.

With Eli Manning at the helm, I knew the game was far from over. I saw a 20-19 Giant win coming in my mind. Luckily for the Eagles who got called for a few pass Interferences that put the Giants in field goal range, they got the biggest break when Ramses Barden got called for pass interference which backed the Giants up ten yards to the 36 yard line. As a result, Lawrence Tynes' 54 yard field goal came up short with ten seconds to go as the Eagles held on for the 19-17 victory.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty starts the New Year with a bang!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees a convenient doubleheader in Philadelphia!

As many people know the City of Philadelphia is not known for having the nicest people or fans in the country. They have a reputation for a reason.

With that being said, the King and I are very fortunate to know some good people that live there.

On the other hand, they do have the best sports complex. That won't change anytime soon either.

In the past, they had Veterans Stadium which has been replaced by Citizens Bank Park as the home of the Phillies.

Years ago, they had the Spectrum which has now been demolished but it was replaced by the Well's Fargo Center as it's called these days. It's the home of the Flyers and 76ers.

Furthermore, back in the day they had JFK Stadium which hosted Live Aid back in 1985.

That has been replaced by Lincoln Financial Field aka "The Linc", home of the Eagles.

Most importantly, the complex is very easy to get to either by car or train.

On this past Sunday the King and I as well as our friends Rich Wolber & Mike Carroll had the privilege of seeing a nice easy same building doubleheader.

However, Rich decided he didn't want to stay for the Flyer game so he wound up taking a bus back to NYC instead. That was his prerogative.

We saw the 76ers play the Sacramento Kings at Noon and the Flyers hosted the Boston Bruins at 7PM.

In between games we got to go to the Oregon Diner for a nice full course meal too.

What a way to spend a day in Philadelphia if you're a sports fan.

The King and I have done many doubleheaders here over the years.

As for the games we saw, the home teams lost both of them.

First, the 76ers got crowned by the Kings as royal treatment was delivered in more ways than one in the matinee.

The Sixers tied the game at the buzzer in regulation as Lou Williams hit a three pointer from just inside half court.

In the overtime, the Kings managed to overcome the Sixers as they went on to win, 114-111.

As for the nightcap, the Flyers were tied at one late in the third period but the they got called for an untiming penalty.

As a result, the visiting Bruins took advantage and capitalized on the power play as Brad Marchand found the net with just 3:43 left in regulation to win it for the Bruins, 2-1.

In the future, if you want to experience a live sporting event or two in the City of Brotherly Love you should make sure you talk to me.

I've seen hundreds of games down there over the years.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 1/3 in review‏

Monday night I came home after work to catch up on lost sleep and I geared up for the week ahead.

Tuesday I went to Madison Square Garden after work to see the NBA's best team, the San Antonio Spurs take on the Knicks. The Spurs came in with a 30-4 record.

The new and improved Knicks made them look rather ordinary on this night. They used their fast pace style to perfection as they ran the Spurs off the court. They beat them, 128-115. It was an exciting game to watch for a change.

The Knicks were lead by Wilson Chandler who had 31 points. Amar'e Stoudemire and Raymond Felton added 28 points each.

As for the Spurs, Tony Parker scored 26 points in the losing effort.

Wednesday night I went out to Newark, NJ to see the Nets host the Chicago Bulls.

The Nets held off the Bulls in this one and they won 96-94. Sasha Vujacic hit the game winning shot with 5.3 seconds to go to give the Nets the victory.

This game was close in the first half. In the third quarter, the Nets opened up a big lead. In the fourth quarter, the Bulls stormed back to tie it but the Nets were fortunate to make the last shot to come out with the win.

Kris Humphries had 20 points and 11 rebounds while Devin Harris finished with 18 points and he dished out 11 assists to pace the Nets.

Derrick Rose was the high scorer for the Bulls with 21 points.

Late in the game I got a text message from my new found traveling friend, Eddie. He said he was at Rutgers and he asked me if I wanted a lift home. I wrote him back and I told him that would be fabulous.

The Net game looked like it may go overtime which would have helped since I wound up waiting a short time for him to come at Newark Penn Station.

Despite that, thanks to Eddie's kindness and thoughfulness I got home 35-40 minutes earlier than I would have if I took public transportation.

Needless to say, I was very grateful to receive that text message.

Thursday night I was back in Newark for the Devils and Flyers.

The Devils have had a dreadful season thus far. On this night their nightmare continued as the Eastern Conference Champion Flyers beat the Devils, 4-2!

Daniel Briere and Scott Hartnell each scored two goals to lead the way for the Flyers.

After a night off on Friday night, I went back to Newark Saturday night. I would have loved to have been in Indianapolis for the Jets but unfortunately I can't afford to go everywhere.

Instead of staying home and watching the Jet game on TV, I decided to get the best of both worlds.

I got to see the Nets and Bucks at the Prudential Center live and I followed the Jet game on my phone so I was well aware of what was happening.

As for the Net game, they got blown out by the Bucks, 115-92!

Former Net, Chris Douglas-Roberts aka CDR scored a game high 24 points. Ersan Ilyasova poured in 22 points and grabbed 13 boards and Corey Maggette added 20 points for the victorious Bucks.

As for the Nets, Kris Humphries had 22 points and Jordan Farmar finished with 20 points and 10 assists in the defeat.

Sunday the King and I and our friend Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich went down to Philadelphia to see the Eagles play the Packers in the Wild Card game.

It should be noted that Rich was making his first visit to the "Linc" aka Lincoln Financial Field and Royalty made sure he got there finally.

In addition, we met up with our good friend Frankie Centola who lives in Philadelphia at the game.

By going to the Eagle game I was able to extend my playoff game attending streak. I've now seen at least one playoff game every year since 1997.

As for the game, the Eagles fell short 21-16! Michael Vick threw an interception in the end zone on the Eagles last drive that sealed their fate and ended their season.

The Eagles were fortunate to get a number of breaks throughout the game but they tried to force the issue and they came up short in the end.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman