Royalty sees Stadium Series at Yankee Stadium!‏

The NHL started an annual tradition back on January 1, 2008 when they played their first outdoor game in the United States. The Pittsburgh Penguins played the Buffalo Sabres at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, NY. It was an overwhelming success. They called it the Winter Classic. The NHL had played a similar game back in November 2003 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada which they referred to as the Heritage Classic.

As time has gone on, the Winter Classic as become a mainstay on New Year's Day here in the States. As for the Heritage Classic, the NHL had another one in Calgary in February 2011 which the King & I attended.

With that being said, the NHL decided to expand its plans to having more games outdoors this season. As a result, the Stadium Series was born. The league decided to have games in the three largest markets in the States. New York, Chicago & Los Angeles. They also added another game in Vancouver which is part of the Heritage Classic series. 

As for the Stadium Series, the King & I got to go to both of the games they decided to play at Yankee Stadium. The New York Rangers wound up being the visiting team in both games. That way they didn't lose any home games at the Transformed Madison Square Garden. In other words, it was a financial issue. They played against their local rivals, the New Jersey Devils & the New York Islanders.

National Anthem from our seats in section 420B row 5

The first game was on Sunday afternoon, January 26th. Despite the brutal winter we've experienced here in NYC, the game was played. It was delayed an hour at the start due to sun glare on the ice. The game time temperature was a balmy 24 degrees of which an announced crowd of 50,105 people braved the elements to be a part of history. Besides the King & I, a number of people we know we're there as well including Greg Venuto & his pal Paul Bosler who I arranged to get tickets for. They couldn't thank me enough for helping them out. I was more than happy to do so because that's who I am. If I can make a difference, I will. 

As for the game we saw, the Devils scored the game's first goal to take a 1-0 lead. They went up 3-1 late in the first period. The Rangers added a late goal to make it 3-2. In the second period, the Rangers scored four unanswered goals to take a 6-3 lead. They added one more in the third period thanks to Derek Stepan who scored on a penalty shot midway through the period to round out the scoring as the Rangers beat the Devils, 7-3 in front of a mixed crowd of hockey fans. Since the Ranger season ticket holders were forced to buy tickets to both games, there were slightly more Ranger fans at both games.

Wednesday night January 29th the King & I decided to do it again. I met the King there after work. We dressed for the occasion & we survived without a problem despite a game time temperature of 22 degrees. I wound up meeting my pal Eddie Pelle who went to the game too. We had dinner together at the New Sunflower, a Chinese restaurant a few blocks from Yankee Stadium. When I got up to my seat with the King in section 424 row 2 we had an empty seat which was filled by our other buddy Andrew Van Cleve who came up from Philadelphia to see the game.

View from section 424 row 2

 As for the game we saw, the Rangers & Islanders played a scoreless first period. The game remained that way until late in the second period. The Islanders got on the scoreboard first as Brock Nelson got one by Ranger goalie Henrik Lundqvist to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead. It was short lived as the Rangers got the equalizer 40 seconds later to even the score at one with 47 seconds left in the period. In the third period, Dan Carcillo lit the lamp to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead. That's the way it ended as the Rangers won again outdoors. They're now 3-0 when you include the win they had over the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2012 Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

Stay tuned as I plan to do the rest of my w/o 1/27 in review when time allows me too.

Thank you for reading & 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 3/5 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 1/9 in review

View from the West Balcony

I basically spent my week at Madison Square Garden after work Monday-Thursday.

I took turns watching the Knicks on Monday and Wednesday nights and the Rangers on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

Here's how the games I saw went:

Monday night the Knicks hosted the Charlotte Bobcats. The Knicks played them the week before and they lost to them. I didn't go to that one. This time it was payback as the Knicks returned the favor as they beat the Bobcats, 91-87.

I did get to see Kemba Walker play as a pro for the first time. He played college ball at UCONN and he's from the Bronx. He came off the bench and he scored 10 points.

Tuesday night I saw the Rangers play the Phoenix Coyotes. I sat in the newly added West Balcony which is located upstairs behind the goal. It's a great aerial view of the action.

As for the game, it was scoreless after two periods. In the third period, both teams scored a goal which forced overtime. Neither team was able to score in the extra session so the game had to be decided in a shootout. This one took six rounds until the Rangers finally emerged victorious as Derek Stepan lit the lamp to give the Rangers the 2-1 victory in the skills competition.

Wednesday night I saw the Knicks take on the red hot Philadelphia 76ers who had won six in a row. The Knicks came to play as they held off the tired Sixers who played the two nights in a row prior to coming to the Garden. The Knicks won the game, 85-79.

Thursday night I saw the Rangers entertain the Ottawa Senators. Once again I sat up in the West Balcony. This time I wound up meeting a guy named Evans Longacre who was at the game with his co-workers. We spoke to each other during the game which enhanced my game experience on this night. I hope to see Evans down the road again.

As for the game, the Rangers had an off night as they failed to score a goal as they fell to the Senators, 3-0. Jason Spezza of the Senators scored two goals to lead the way. I'm a big fan of his since I remember seeing him play back in 1999 in Junior hockey. He has had himself a nice career with the Senators.

Friday night after work I came home and rested since there were no games of interest in the local area for me to attend.

More importantly, I had to do my wash and get ready for my busy weekend getaway for some playoff football and then some.

Stay tuned for the special post I'm going to do that will recap all the festivities of this classic weekend. It was very royal to say the least.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 10/31 in review

View from Center Ice

After experiencing a winter preview over the weekend, Halloween officially arrived that Monday.
I went to work on Halloween tired and all. After work, I found a way to get up the energy to go to Madison Square Garden to see the Rangers play the San Jose Sharks. It was my first game there since they started the Transformation of the Garden.

Stay tuned for the special post I'll be doing to give you an idea of what to expect if and when you have a chance to go to the World's Most Famous Arena.

As for the game I saw on Halloween night, the hometown Rangers gave their fans a treat as they beat up the Sharks, 5-2 after the game started with a fight just seven seconds into the contest as the Sharks' Ryane Clowe and the Rangers' Brandon Prust dropped the gloves.

After the fight, the Rangers raced out to a 2-0 lead in the first period. The Sharks got on the board late in the period to cut the lead in half 2-1 after the first period. The Sharks got the equalizer almost midway through the second period. After that, the Rangers scored three unanswered goals including two from newly named team captain Ryan Callahan as the Rangers cruised to the victory.

It was nice to see many of the regulars that were in attendance. Over the years, I've seen my share of Ranger games at the Garden so familiar faces aren't hard to find. I recognize many different people even if I've never spoken to some of them. It's nice to see many of them are back for another season.

Tuesday night I went home after work to catch up on much needed rest.

Wednesday night after work, I went to Newark, NJ to see the Devils play the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Prudential Center. Ironically four years ago to the day on November 2, 2007, I saw my first Devil game at the "Rock" against the Maple Leafs no less.

The only difference between the games was the outcome. The Devils won, 3-2 back in 2007 but this time the Maple Leafs emerged victorious as Joffrey Lupul scored a hat trick that included goals to break a 2-2 and 3-3 tie as the Leafs turned back the Devils, 5-3.

Thursday night after work I went back to the Garden to see the Anaheim Ducks who were in town to play the Rangers on this night.

This time the Rangers lead 1-0 until late in the second period when the Ducks tied it up at one. The score remained that way through the third period and the overtime session.

This game was decided by a shootout and the Rangers managed to win the skills competition if you will. As a result, they won the game, 2-1 in a shootout.

Friday night I went home after work to rest up since there were no games in the local area. I got to rest up for another busy weekend that was ahead of me.

For all the details, please stay tuned for the special post that I'm going to write recapping my latest adventure. It may take some time but it will definitely be worth the wait. Please bear with me.

As always, I want to thank all my readers and followers for taking your precious time to read about me and my whereabouts.

Needless to say, if and when you need my assistance and/or advice please feel free to consult me. If you don't, I'll feel insulted.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 10/10 in review

Abbey, Jeremy, Taylor and Scott

It was a slow start to the week for me as I went home after work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night.
Thursday night I broke the string of eventless days as I met my Cousin Andy out in Newark, NJ. We met up for dinner at Subway then we went over to the Prudential Center to see the New Jersey Devils play the Los Angeles Kings. We were joined by the King who met us there.

As for the game we saw, there was a lot of action throughout the night despite a lack of goal scoring. The game's only scoring came in the first period as Simon Gagne drew first blood for the Kings 1:47 into the game. The Devils' Patrik Elias answered later in the period to even the score at one.

After playing two scoreless periods and an overtime session, the game was decided by a shootout as the Devils prevailed, 2-1. Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise scored the only goals in the shootout as the Devils came away with the extra point.

My Cousin Andy was so grateful for the opportunity to join us again. He wrote me an e-mail the next day thanking me for treating him like royalty. It's always a pleasure to have his company. He doesn't get to get out that often so when he does I always like to make sure I go over the top so he can take in the full royalty experience. His appreciation makes me feel like I did a good deed. It's a great feeling when somebody takes advantage of my willingness to help out. That's what life's all about.

We parted ways after the game at the train station and we said we look forward to doing it again next month.

Friday night was another night off for me. After getting some more rest, I was ready for my busy weekend ahead.

Besides going to sporting events on a regular basis, I do take good care of my health as well. With that being said, I went to the dentist for a check up and a cleaning. Everything checked out well. As usual, the dentist said and I quote "you have good teeth." I work very hard to maintain them on a daily basis so I'm happy to hear it's paying off.

After I got done with the dentist, I went out to Long Island to visit my sister Abbey, my brother-in-law, Scott and my adorable niece Taylor and my nephew Jeremy who just turned six years old on Tuesday. Abbey was having a birthday party for him so I went to join in the festivities. It was nice to see the family again and especially the kids who are getting so big so fast.

After the party, I met up with the King at the Nassau Coliseum as the New York Islanders were hosting their arch rivals, the New York Rangers. As usual, it was a feisty and heated affair with a playoff like atmosphere. The game was very entertaining to watch. The arena was jam packed with fans of both teams.

The game itself went back and forth. The Islanders emerged victorious 4-2 as John Tavares scored the empty netter to seal the deal late in the third period. By doing so, he completed the hat trick as he scored his third goal of the game sending the Islander fans home happy.

Stay tuned as I'll be doing a special post describing the game we saw Sunday afternoon with two great roadtrippers who were in town for a special return visit.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Devils double up the Rangers, 6-3!

The Devils playing their first home game since the Olympic break, came away with a victory.

Both teams spent the first half of the game exchanging goals. The Rangers tied it at 1 and 2.

The Rangers also tied it at 3 when Brandon Prust got the equalizer for the Rangers with 10:45 left in the 2nd period.

The Devils proceeded to score the last three goals of the game.

They knocked out goaltender Henrik Lundqvist after they scored their fifth goal of the game.

The Devils added another goal by Travis Zajac with 3:39 left in the game to put the game away for good.

I'll be in Newark, NJ tonight for Rangers & Devils

Please feel free to check back to see how the latest installment of this crosstown rivalry turned out.