Royalty w/o 2/18 in review

My niece Taylor, my nephew Jeremy & I

Monday I was off from work because it was President's Day. After getting back late from Lewiston, Maine, I still managed to get a good night sleep. I woke up and made breakfast then I drove the King & I out to the Nassau Coliseum to see the Islanders play the Philadelphia Flyers in a matinee affair.

We arranged to meet up with our pal Larry Peim out there. When we got inside the building, we were joined by our friends Michael Abrams and Rob Pierlewski who were there too.

As for the game we saw, the Flyers struck early and often as they handed the Islanders their worst shutout loss in their history at the Coliseum. The Flyers cruised to a 7-0 win as Claude Giroux and Daniel Briere both scored twice as they embarrassed the Islanders in front of a crowd of 16,170 that was just short of a sellout.

After the game, Larry took the King back home while I decided to go visit my sister Abbey and my brother-in-law Scott as well as my adorable niece Taylor and my handsome nephew Jeremy who live in nearby East Meadow. They were all so happy to see me and vice versa.

We all wound up going out to Ruby Tuesday for dinner. We all enjoyed each other's company. When we were done eating, we said our goodbyes and I drove myself back home.

Tuesday morning I got up extra early because I had to go to Avis to return the Toyota Corolla I rented for the weekend. I wound up driving 818 miles safely.

After I dropped off the car, I went to work. After work, I went to downtown Brooklyn to see the Nets play the Milwaukee Bucks at the Barclays Center.

Before I went into the arena, I went across the street to McDonald's in the Atlantic Center Mall for a pre game meal.

When I was done I walked back over and I went inside. I met up with the King and our pals Larry Peim and Michael Abrams who were also present & accounted for. They wound up getting tickets in our section 230 on Stub Hub.

As for the game we saw, the Nets lead the Bucks, 31-24 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Nets added to their lead as they led the Bucks, 61-51 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Bucks came roaring back as they scored the Nets by 11 to take a one point lead, 81-80 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, the Nets tied the game at 105 after regulation time. With that being said, the game went into overtime. The Nets emerged victorious as Joe Johnson hit the game winning shot as time expired in the extra session as the Nets escaped with a 113-111 win to send the announced crowd of 17,334 home happy.

Legends Night at St. John's University

Wednesday night after work I went out to Queens with my co-worker and St. John's alumni Jayson Castillo to see the St. John's Red Storm play the South Florida Bulls at Carnesecca Arena on Legends night. In addition, they gave away Lou Carnesecca bobblehead dolls to the first 4,000 fans who entered the building.
Jayson and I had a blast. I want to personally thank him for getting me a ticket for this historic occasion.
They had a ceremony at halftime that Jayson was part of. He was amongst the many alumni that they honored on this special night. They brought back a number of former players such as Malik Boothe, Wille Glass and Greg "Boo" Harvey to name a few. They all lined up around the sidelines of the court.
The ceremony reached its pinnacle when legendary coach Lou Carnesecca stood at center court and he did a moving speech as he thanked all of the alumni for making St. John's basketball what it is today. It was a thrill to be a part of it.

As for the game we saw, the Red Storm raced out to an early 14-2 lead and they didn't look back. They led, 33-17 at halftime. In the second half, the Bulls made a comeback attempt but the Red Storm held them off as they beat them, 69-54 in front of a capacity crowd of 5,602.

Jayson introduced me to a friend of his, Michael Varga who also graduated from St. John's too. Michael is an up and coming sports traveler. He also loves doing sports trivia. We got to chat for a little while as they the game was winding down. We exchanged contact information so we can help each other out in the future. That was the icing on the cake on this festive night out.

Thursday night after work I came home and I made dinner. After dinner I went out and I did my laundry.

Friday after work I went back to downtown Brooklyn to see the Nets play the Houston Rockets at the Barclays Center as Linsanity returned to NYC.

I went to McDonald's again to have my pre game meal. Upon entry to the arena, I went up to my seat with the King in section 230 to watch the game.

As for the game we saw, the Rockets lead 34-31 after the first quarter. The Rockets extended their lead to 8, 61-53 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Rockets added another point to their lead as they went by 9, 84-75. In the fourth quarter, the Rockets maintained their lead as they went on to knock off the Nets, 106-96.

As for Linsanity, he was rather ordinary on this night as he finished the game with 9 points and he dished out 6 assists. His teammates Carlos Delfino and James Harden scored 22 points each to carry the Rockets to the road win. As for the Nets, Brook Lopez scored a game high 27 points in the losing effort.

Stay tuned for some special posts that will recap the hockey and basketball doubleheaders we saw over the weekend.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 12/17 in review

Monday morning after returning from Toronto at 4:30AM, I went to sleep for five hours or so. I got up and I went to Avis to return the car I rented. I wound up driving 1,063 miles safely. After I got done, I went to work for the afternoon.

After work, I went to Charley's Subs in Penn Station for my pre game meal before I went upstairs to Madison Square Garden. It was the return of Linsanity to NYC for one night since Jeremy Lin is now a member of the Houston Rockets. The King and I saw him play in Toronto the day before like I mentioned in my previous post. Lin didn't play well north of the border. I thought he was looking ahead to coming to New York to shine on the big stage. Apparently I was right because he reverted to the form he brought to the Knicks when he made a name for himself last season. He scored 22 points and he handed out 8 assists to lead his new team, the Rockets to a easy 109-96 win over the Knicks. The score wasn't totally indicative of the Rocket dominance on this night. They lead by as many as 27 points early in the fourth quarter. It was nice to experience another installment of Linsanity at the World's Most Famous Arena regardless of the outcome.

The Knicks played without Carmelo Anthony who was recovering from an injury. Chris Copeland picked up the slack by scoring 29 points all in the second half in his absence.

Tuesday night after work I met up with our pal Peter Agnew from Baltimore who was visiting NYC for the holidays. He told me he was coming a few months ago and he said he wanted to see the Barclays Center for the Brooklyn Nets. With that being said, I arranged to get him a ticket so he could join the King and I. I wound up meeting Peter at my office when I got out of work at 5:30PM. We both took the subway to downtown Brooklyn where the Barclays Center is located.

When we got outside we went across the street to the Atlantic Center Mall where we had dinner at AppleBee's since we had some spare time before the game started. As a result, we got to take advantage of their two for $20 dinner deals. Peter got a 7 ounce sirloin steak and I had the riblets. We also got mozzarella sticks as an appetizer and we had vegetables too. It was a hearty and worth wild investment.

After we ate, we walked back over to the arena and we went inside. Peter got to take a quick look around the concourse before we went up to our seats where we met up with the King.

As for the game we saw, the Nets were hosting the Utah Jazz. The Nets got off to a good start as they lead the Jazz, 24-20 after the first quarter. They extended their lead to 13 at halftime, 57-44. In the third quarter, the Jazz made a comeback as they closed the gap to 4, 74-70. In the fourth quarter, the Jazz went ahead late in the game. The Nets blew some golden opportunities to tie or take the lead but time ran out as they came up short as they fell to the Jazz, 92-90.

After the game, Peter took the train with us. He got off in Midtown where he was staying. The King and I said our goodbyes and we headed home. It was nice to see Peter again. Hopefully we'll see him again when we go to Baltimore.

Wednesday at work we had a Christmas party in the office in the afternoon. After I left, I went back to the Garden for the Battle of the Boroughs as the Brooklyn Nets were visiting MSG for the first time since they moved to Brooklyn. The two teams have split their first two meetings at the Barclays Center.

This time the Knicks got Carmelo Anthony back after he missed a few games due to injury. He wound up leading the way with 31 points as the Knicks pulled away from the Nets in the second half to come away with a 100-86 victory.

Thursday night after work my boss took our team out for dinner for the holidays. We had a nice get together. It worked out well since no local teams in the area were home so I didn't have to miss a game to go.
Friday night after work, I went back to MSG. On the way there, I met up with the King for dinner at Popeye's. We had some good fried chicken before we headed to the Garden to see the Knicks play the Chicago Bulls.

The Bulls were playing without their superstar point guard Derrick Rose who's still recovering from a knee injury. He should be back soon.

As for the game we saw, the Bulls raced out to a big lead. They lead 30-23 after the first quarter. They went into the locker room at halftime with a 54-39 lead. In the third quarter, they added to their bulge as they lead, 83-61 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, the Knicks lost their cool. J.R. Smith fouled out of the game with 7:09 left. With 6:45 left in the game, Carmelo Anthony picked up his second technical foul which resulted in an automatic rejection. Head coach Mike Woodson followed Anthony to the locker room with 5:22 to go when he got his second technical. It got worse as Tyson. Chandler and Joakim Noah got double technicals as they were also thrown out of the game. It was an ugly night for the Knicks who got whipped by the Bulls. The Knicks made a run down the stretch to make the score appear more respectable than it really was as the Bulls beat the Knicks, 110-106.

Saturday marked the 10th anniversary of the King and I getting to all the venues in all four major sports which included visits to Vanderbilt Stadium in  November 1998 when the Tennessee Oilers played there and as well as Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois when the Bears played there in November 2002.

When I got up in the morning, I did my laundry. The King and I decided to pass up an opportunity to see a bunch of local college basketball games. Instead we decided to take Metro North up to Bridgeport, Connecticut to see some minor league hockey at the Webster Bank Arena as the Sound Tigers were hosting the Adirondack Phantoms, the Philadelphia Flyers farm club. As a result, I got to meet up with my pal Greg Venuto who joined us. It was great to see him again.

As for the game we saw, it was a touching night because the Sound Tigers' players were wearing jerseys that had the names of the victims who were killed in that horrific scene at Newtown Elementary school on December 14th. In addition, they had a moment of silence to remember those who for no good reason are no longer with us. It was a nice tribute for an unfortunate day that occurred unexpectedly.

As for the game we saw, the Phantoms and Sound Tigers came out swinging at each other. Just 51 seconds into the game, the tempers flared & the gloves were dropped. At 2:07 into the period, another fight broke out as Brett Gallant and Zack Fitzgerald went off for five minutes. Things settled down for the rest of the period as far as fighting went. The Phantoms did get the lone goal of the period when Sean Couturier scored on a bad angle but the puck wound up in the net as Sound Tigers' goalie Anders Nilsson failed to make the save.

Matthew Ford of the Phantoms made it a 2-0 lead as he buried one 7:49 into the second period. At 11:37 of the period, another fight took place as Brett Gallant of the Sound Tigers and Zack Fitzgerald went at it again. Zack Fitzgerald continued to throw punches with his jersey over his head, as a result he got an additional ten minute misconduct for doing so.

In th third period, just 38 seconds in Eric Wellwood of the Phantoms scored while both teams were playing four on four to make it a 3-0 game. The Sound Tigers finally scored with 6:21 left in the game to break the shutout. They scored again 27 seconds later with 5:54 left to get within one at 3-2. Unfortunately for them they couldn't get the equalizer as time ran out.

Sunday afternoon the King and I went out to MetLife Stadium to see the Jets host the Chargers in a battle of two disappointing franchises.

As for the game we saw, the Jets' first drive of the game stalled. They punted the ball to the Chargers. Punt returner Micheal Spurlock ran it back 63 yards for a touchdown with 13:01 left to give the Chargers a 7-0 lead. The Jets got the ball back and they marched down the field 83 yards that ended with a one yard touchdown run with 9:20 left by running back Shonn Greene to tie the game at 7. With 4:13 left, Greene scored again as he ran in from a yard out to give the Jets a 14-7 lead.

In the second quarter, the Chargers got a 51 yard field goal from kicker Nick Novak to pull the Chargers within four at 14-10 with 8:32 left. The score stayed that way at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Chargers took the opening kickoff and they drove 81 yards that culminated with a 37 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Phillip Rivers to wide receiver Danario Alexander with 11:11 left to give the Chargers the lead, 17-14. Phillip Rivers hooked up with tight end Antonio Gates on a 34 yard touchdown pass with 1:34 left to extend the Charger lead to 24-14.

In the fourth quarter, the Chargers got a 27 yard field goal with 14:07 to go from Nick Novak to make it a 27-14 game. The Jets got a 40 yard field goal from kicker Nick Folk to get the Jets within ten, 27-17 with 11:08 left. Unfortunately for the Jets, that's the way it ended as their disappointing season took another step in the wrong direction.

It was a long day for quarterback Greg McElroy who made his first NFL start in place of Mark Sanchez who was benched. He got sacked 11 times which made it difficult for him to succeed.

After witnessing the Jet debacle, I went to the Garden to see the Knicks play the Minnesota Timberwolves.
As for the game I saw, the Knicks trailed the Timberwolves, 29-22 after the first quarter. They were behind at halftime, 55-46. In the third quarter, they sliced into the Timberwolves' lead as they got within two, 73-71 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, the Knicks hung tough. They finally took a lead late in the game and they held off the Timberwolves, 94-91 when it was all said and done.

Carmelo Anthony led the way again for the Knicks with 33 points while J.R. Smith added 19 to carry them to the victory.

As for the Timberwolves, Nikola Pekovic had 21 points and he ripped down 17 rebounds in the losing effort.

With that another week of sports travel is in the books.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 3/12 in review

This week turned out to be a very royal week of stadium travel. Some history was made along the way as well.

Here's how it played out:

Monday night after work I went out to Newark, NJ to see the Nets play the Milwaukee Bucks at the Prudential Center. It was a nice relaxing way to spend the evening since there was a small crowd on hand which included my pal Vincent Ascanio. That's understandable for a few reasons. First of all, it was only Monday night which is notorious for being the slowest night of the week. Secondly, the Nets haven't played well and to add insult to injury they were playing without their superstar point guard Deron Williams aka D-Will who got hurt in Charlotte during their road trip over the weekend. With that being said, I still expected to see a competitive game.

As for the game I wound up seeing, I was right on. The Bucks have played better lately especially because of forward Ersan Ilyasova who has been pouring it points and ripping down rebounds at a torrid pace. In February, when the Bucks were at the "Rock" he led the way with 29 points and he grabbed 25 rebounds before he fouled out with a few minutes to play.

This time he wasn't a factor in the game since he got two quick fouls early so he sat on the bench most of the first half. He wound up scoring only four points in the game. His teammates rallied together to pick up the slack. Brandon Jennings was the hero for the Bucks as he scored 34 points, pulled down 7 rebounds and he dished out 7 assists as the Bucks overcame the Nets, 105-99. The Nets lead most of the game but the Bucks kept it close. Late in the game, the Bucks turned it up a notch as they emerged victorious. On the bright side for the Nets, their forward Kris Humphries scored a career high 31 points and he grabbed 18 rebounds.

Tuesday night after work I went home and did my laundry. I passed up a chance to go to the Garden to see the Rangers because I needed to get my clothes washed, pack up my bags and get some rest so I would be ready for my big extended weekend getaway.

Wednesday night after work I did go to Madison Square Garden to see the ushering in of a new era of Knicks basketball. Earlier in the day, I heard that Knick coach Mike D'Antoni decided to resign. He mostly likely got fired but they reported it as a mutual decision by him and owner Jim Dolan. Mind you Dolan is one of the worst owners in professional sports who always likes to have positive feedback no matter what the circumstances are.

Mike Woodson who was an assistant under D'Antoni was named the interim head coach for the rest of the season. Woodson played for the Knicks back in the day in 1981. He was also been a head coach for the Atlanta Hawks in recent memory.

With Woodson aboard a new philosophy was instilled at the Garden. Unlike D'Antoni, Woodson is a defensive minded coach. It showed instantly as the Knicks shut down the Portland Trailblazers, 121-79.
It was a total team effort as Linsanity had a bad night. He finished with only 6 points and 6 assists. His teammates picked up the slack as they all contributed. Amar'e Stoudemire had 15 of his 17 points in the first half. Carmelo Anthony had 16 points all in the first half as well. In the second half, Steve Novak had 15 of his 20 points all three pointers. J.R. Smith scored 23 off the bench in the second half too.

The rest of the week I finished out West as the King and I flew out to Albuquerque, New Mexico early Thursday morning for fun filled getaway.

Stay tuned for the various special posts I'm going to do to recap the epic journey.

I know it will be worth the wait. It definitely lived up to the hype and then some. Please bear with me as I play catch up.

As always, thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 3/5 in review

1,000 NHL games for Petr Sykora

Monday morning before I went to work I went back to Avis to return the car I rented for the weekend. I wound up driving 637 miles safely over the two days.

After work, I came home and I did my laundry even though I was tired from having to get up an hour earlier than normal since I had to return the car.

Tuesday night after work I went out to Newark, NJ to see the Devils host their cross town rival, the NY Rangers.

In a pregame ceremony, the Devils honored their winger Petr Sykora who played his 1,000th NHL game on Sunday March 4th.

The Devils came in on a losing skid. On this night, Ilya Kovalchuk of the Devils set the tone early in this one as he lit the lamp just 49 seconds into the game. The Rangers tied the game later at one. It stayed that way as they headed into the third period. The Devils turned it up a notch as they crashed the net and they beat goaltender Henrik Lundqvist a few times to break the tie. They added an empty net goal late to wrap up a 4-1 decision.

Wednesday night after work I went back out to the Prudential Center. This time I went to see the Nets play the new and improved LA Clippers who traded for Chris Paul right after the lockout ended.

As for the game I saw, the Nets led big most of the game. The Clippers hung around late as it appeared like they were going to win the game. They took a brief lead in the closing minutes but Jordan Farmar of the Nets hit the game winning shot from beyond the three point arc with just .2 seconds left to win it in dramatic fashion for the Nets, 101-100.

The game featured two of the best point guards in the game today. Deron Williams of the Nets who had 21 points and 10 assists and Chris Paul of the Clippers who came on late to finish with 22 points and 10 assists.
The other battle in this game was between Kris Humphries of the Nets who had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Blake Griffin the young rising star of the Clippers who finished with a game high 28 points to go along with 17 rebounds. He worked very hard to get his stats up. Throughout the game, they gave each other a physical beating. In the end, Humphries got the last laugh because his team won the game.

Thursday night after work, I went back to Newark for more Devil hockey. This time they played the other NY team from Long Island, the Islanders.

The Devils took an early 2-0 lead as Ilya Kovalchuk scored again. When he scores the Devils win. The Islanders cut the lead in half at 2-1 then Kovalchuk scored again. In the third period, Kovalchuk added his third goal which gave him a hat trick. The Devils cruised to a 5-1 victory.

Friday night after work I went home since there were no games to attend in the area. Thankfully it worked out that way since I was running on fumes. I needed to rest up and recharge my batteries.

Saturday during the day I got to catch up on sleep and I cleaned up around the house. At night I went back to Newark, NJ to see the Nets play the Houston Rockets.

This was a very well played game. The Rockets wound up outlasting the Nets in a good competitive affair as they beat the Nets, 112-106.

Sunday after turning the clocks ahead, I went to Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks who returned home after a brutal 0-4 road trip to take on the surprising Philadelphia 76ers at Noon.

The King and I were there along with our friends Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich and Al Linderman who were also in the building hoping to see some more Linsanity.

As for the game we saw, Jeremy Lin is starting to come down to earth it seems. He did manage to score 14 points and he dished out 7 assists but it wasn't enough as the 76ers who were lead by Lou Williams who scored 28 points off the bench and Evan Turner their second year pro from Kentucky who added 24 points and 15 rebounds which proved to be too much for the Knicks to handle as they fell to the 76ers, 106-94.

After the game, the King and I met up with our pal Manny Bonilla who contacted me during the game and he asked me if I could get him a ticket for the Devil game against the Flyers out in Newark. He said he never went to a hockey game. With that being said, I found a way to make it happen for him.

Manny's a good kid. It was a pleasure to accomodate him.

As for the game we saw, the Devils continued their hot streak at home as they knocked off the Flyers, 4-1. Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and two assists to lead the way again.

What a week it was for the Devils and Kovalchuk as they continue their playoff push up the standings.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 2/27 in review

This was another week where I just fell short of having a royal week of Stadium Travel.

The week started rough because I had to starve all day Sunday into Monday morning so I could be ready for a colonoscopy that I had scheduled for Monday morning. I could only drink liquids. With that being said, I didn't go to work.

I wound up meeting my sister Abbey who took me to the doctor's office. I needed her to take me home because I wasn't allowed to leave on my own.

As for the colonoscopy, I got an injection that put me into the twilight zone so I didn't feel a thing during the procedure. When it was all said and done, I checked out with a clean bill of health. Due to family history, I was told to take the necessary precautions just in case so I wisely listened to that advice. I'm good for another three to five years now in that regard.

Despite the fact I've been everywhere there's no need to let up yet so I don't want to suddenly have a health issue if I can do something to prevent it. Unlike many people I know, I incorporate visits to the doctor when it's deemed necessary into my rigorous work and play schedule. For example, I always go for a yearly check up. By doing so, I increase the chances that I can live longer and enjoy what life truly has to offer.

In order to have a full life barring a freak incident along the way, you need to make your health your top priority. In that case, my lifestyle needs a break once in a long while so I can continue on for the long haul I hope.

After starving for so long, I took my sister out for a late breakfast on the way back home. After I rested up during the afternoon, I went on my way back to living the life of royalty.

I went to Madison Square Garden that night to see the NY Rangers play their cross town rival, the NJ Devils. The game itself was rather boring. Both teams barely had any shots on the goal throughout the game. The Rangers got an early goal which proved to be the difference as they added an empty net goal late to beat the Devils, 2-0 as their goaltender Henrik Lundqvist recorded his eighth shutout of the season.

Since it was a rivalry matchup, tempers flared during the match as the Rangers' Mike Rupp, who used to play for the Devils and the Devils' David Clarkson both were in and out of the penalty box for causing havoc on the ice a number of times during the game.

Tuesday I went back to work and afterwards I came home to relax since there were no sporting events in the area to attend.

Wednesday night after work on "Leap" day I went back to Madison Square Garden for another dosage of Lin-Sanity as the Knicks were hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Before the game, I treated myself royally as I indulged in a huge corned beef and pastrami sandwich on rye bread from the Carnegie Deli stand at the Garden. I know how to get the both of all worlds when I have the time and money to do so.

After enjoying my meal, I went to my seat to enjoy the game.

As for the game, I got to see Lin-Sanity as he paced the Knicks with 19 points and 13 assists. Steve Novak came off the bench to drain five three point baskets in the second half to help sink the Cavaliers who had a twelve point lead at halftime. The Knicks went on to over take the Cavaliers as they raced off with a 120-103 victory.

I did get to see rookie Kyrie Irving, the Cavaliers number one draft pick out of Duke play for the first time live. He was impressive as he scored 22 points. Unfortunately the Cavaliers ran out of gas in the second half. It should be noted that the officials didn't help their cause either. That's the way it is in the NBA when you're the road team.

Thursday night after work I went to downtown Brooklyn to see LIU aka Long Island University Blackbirds play the Pioneers of Sacred Heart in the Northeast Conference quarterfinals.

I was there with the King and our friends Frank Anichiarico and Larry Peim who graduated LIU back in the day.

As for the game we saw, the Blackbirds managed to beat the Pioneers, 80-68 to advance to the next round.
Stay tuned for a special post that I'm going to do that will recap my royal birthday celebration weekend.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 2/20 in review

Mike Emrick Night

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 2/13 in review

Despite a slow start to the week it still turned out to be a royal one of stadium travel.

Here's how it went:

Monday night after work I had a night off so I was able to catch up on things at home and I was able to get some much needed rest too.

Tuesday night after work I went home and I did my laundry.

Wednesday night after work I passed up a chance to see some Linsanity as the Knicks played the Sacramento Kings at Madison Square Garden. It turned out to be a wise move as the Knicks blew out the Kings and Linsanity was limited to only 26 minutes. We arranged for our friend Mike Carroll to have the opportunity to witness some Linsanity instead. Regardless of the outcome, he said he had a great time.

As for the King and I, we went out to Newark, NJ to see the Nets play the Memphis Grizzlies. As a result, I got to see my pal Eric Hasseltine, the radio announcer for the Grizzlies. He greeted me in royal fashion as he gave me a Grizzlie media guide. In addition, he gave me some pocket schedules which included not only the Grizzlies but the Golden State Warriors and San Jose Sharks too. That alone made it worth going the extra mile to see that game. Unlike the Garden where it's easier to see the radio announcers, I had to find my way to the lower level since they broadcast from courtside. It wasn't easy but I wasn't going to be denied. Needless to say, I wasn't.

I got to talk to Eric briefly because he was very busy preparing for the game he was calling. I told him I hope to go back to Memphis in November, he said and I quote "let me know." If I do get to go back there, I certainly will. I want to personally thank Eric for giving me royal treatment again.

As for the game we saw, it was a much more competitive one than the Knicks. The Nets and Grizzlies went back and forth holding leads. In the end, the Nets ran out of gas as they fell to Grizzlies who "grinded" out the victory, 105-100. They were led by Rudy Gay who scored 25 points and his teammate Maurice Speights added 20 points to go along with 18 rebounds which proved to be the difference. Deron Williams aka D-Will of the Nets finished with 26 points and 11 assists in the losing effort.

Not only did we see a decent game we had great company on hand as our friends Frank Anichiarico and Vincent Ascanio were in attendance. In addition, we got a visit from a special guest, Manny Bonilla was in the house too. It was great to see him again.

Thursday night just before I left work I found out that former Expo and Met Gary Carter passed away. He was a great person and baseball player. I remember getting his autograph when I was a youngster. He was truly a class act and he will be missed.

After work I went to the Garden to see the Rangers host the Chicago Blackhawks who had lost their last nine games. The Blackhawks struck early and often as they built a 4-0 lead just 9:22 into the game. Jonathan Toews scored on a penalty shot just 1:04 into the first period which set the tone. The Blackhawks gave up a few goals later on but they held on to win, 4-2 to end their losing skid.

Friday night after work, the King and I went back out to Newark this time to see the Devils take on the Anaheim Ducks. By doing so, we passed up another night of Linsanity. He had an off night and so did the Knicks as they lost to the lowly New Orleans Hornets. Our friends Frank Anichiarico and Al Linderman took our place instead.

As for the game we saw, the Devils built a 2-0 lead but they wound up squandering it as the Ducks came back to tie the game at two. They went into overtime and it appeared that the Ducks had the game won in the extra session but it was reviewed. Upon further review it was determined that Ducks' Ryan Getzlaf kicked the puck in the net so it was disallowed. The Ducks celebrated prematurely. The game continued and it remained tied at two after overtime. The game was decided in a shootout. Ilya Kovalchuk scored first for the Devils. Teemu Selanne of the Ducks matched him with a goal of his own. After a scoreless second round, Patrik Elias lit the lamp in the third round to give the Devils a 3-2 victory.

Saturday afternoon the King and I went to the Garden to see the St. John's Red Storm play the Bruins of UCLA. We were joined by a number of friends which included Vincent Ascanio, Frank Anichiarico, Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich and Steve Tepperman aka Princeton Steve who happens to be a big UCLA fan. In fact, he lived out in LA for a while in the past. While he was there he worked at the Pauley Pavilion where the Bruins play. He said they're playing their games at the LA Sports Arena this year because they're renovating the building.

As for the game we saw, the Red Storm of St. John's beat the Bruins much to Steve's chagrin by a score of 66-63.

After the game, the King, Frank and I trekked out to the Nassau Coliseum where we met up with our pal Bryan Gilligan who joined us for the Islander game against the Carolina Hurricanes.

As for the game we saw, the Islanders and Hurricanes exchanged goals. The game was tied at three after two periods. Early in the third, the Islanders' John Tavares scored his second goal of the game just 38 seconds in to give the Islanders the 4-3 win.

After the game, Bryan drove us home but before doing so we stopped off at Donovan's Pub for a post game meal. We all had a great time. I would like to thank Bryan for joining us.

Sunday afternoon the King and I went back to the Garden this time to get another dosage of Linsanity. We weren't alone either. I arranged to have our buddy Frankie Centola join us since he told us months in advance that he wanted to come up from Philadelphia. In addition, our pal Andrew Van Cleve aka the Ultimate Sports Fan decided he wanted to come up also. So I managed to accomodate his needs and wants as well. Thankfully everything worked out well for all of us.

As for the game we saw, the Knicks played the defending NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks. The Knicks got off to a fast start as they let 32-20 after the first quarter. The Mavericks came roaring back to take the lead later in the game. In the end, the Knicks came away with the win, 104-97. Linsanity proved too much for the Champs to handle as he scored 28 points and he dished out a career high 14 assists in the process.

After the game, we all planned to go to Newark to see another NBA game as the Nets were playing the Milwaukee Bucks that night.

Andrew said he was meeting his friend Mike who he knew from when he lived in Chicago for a late lunch at Brother Jimmy's which is located across the street from the Garden. He said we were all welcome to join him and we did.

It turned out to be a nice get to together for all of us. We parted ways and we reunited in Newark for the Net game.

In addition, we met up with Vincent Ascanio who was there too.

As for the game we saw, the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Nets, 92-85. The Bucks' were lead by Ersan Ilyasova who had a monster game. He scored 29 points and he pulled down 25 rebounds.

During the game, Andrew asked us if we wanted to hang out after the game since he had a few hours to kill before he caught his train back to Philadelphia. Since we weren't working Monday we decided to take him up on his offer.

We wound up going to the Edison Ale House which is located right next to the Prudential Center. We had some amazing beer battered chicken fingers, brick oven pizza and alcoholic beverages while we were there.
Afterwards we all walked to Newark-Penn Station and we all said our goodbyes as we parted ways until the next time we meet up.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman