Royalty goes to Philadelphia for a basketball doubleheader!

Prince at Drexel Dragons basketball

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prince at 76er game 

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

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

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

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees a hockey/basketball doubleheader on Martin Luther King Day!

Prince at Sovereign Center

On the day we remembered the man behind the Civil Rights movement, the King & I and our pal Vincent Ascanio spent the day watching hockey and basketball.

After I spent another night with my parents in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, I went to Super 8 and I picked up the King & Vincent. We drove to Reading, PA aka Baseball town and we stopped off at First Energy Stadium which is the home of the newly named Reading Fightin Phils of the Eastern League to show Vincent the ballpark which we think is one of the best in the minor leagues.

We wound up going to Zabala's Sports Diner for breakfast which was located right across the street from the ballpark in right field. We had a very nice meal there which consisted of bacon, eggs, home fries and toast for $2.25 each. What a deal that was.

After we ate, we drove to downtown Reading to the Sovereign Center, home of the Reading Royals. We got to see a rematch of the teams we saw play there Saturday night. I'm referring to the Elmira Jackals who were visiting the Royals again for a special holiday matinee affair.

As for the game we saw, the Royals scored first late in the first period to take a 1-0 lead. A minute and two seconds later the Jackals tied it up at one with just 26 seconds to go in the period. In the second period, the Royals went back ahead midway through the period to take a 2-1 lead. In the third period, the Jackals score four unanswered goals including an empty netter with 2:15 to go to beat the Royals this time, 5-2 in front of a crowd of 4,253 which was slightly smaller then the one they had Saturday night..

Prince at Wells Fargo Center

After the game, we drove to Philadelphia for game two of our two sport doubleheader as we saw the Philadelphia 76ers host the San Antonio Spurs at the Wells Fargo Center.

Before the game, we stopped off at the Oregon Diner for a great pre game meal since our pal Vincent wanted to see it for himself. He had trouble finishing the two massive breaded pork chops he ordered. With that being said, he was a very satisfied customer. As for me, I had the broiled fillet of flounder that was stuffed with crab meat again. It was delicious. When we were done, we drove over to the sports complex area and I parked the car.

We proceeded to walk over to the Wells Fargo Center. Upon arrival, we headed inside to our seats in section 221A that our pal Frankie Centola arranged to get for us. Shortly thereafter, we were joined by our buddy Andrew Van Cleve and his new born son Micah. It was great to see him again.

As for the game we saw, the Spurs led the 76ers, 25-17 after the first quarter. They extended their lead to 14, 49-35 at halftime. In the third quarter, the 76ers cut the lead in half to seven, 71-64 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, the 76ers ran out of gas as they fell short in their comeback attempt as they lost, 90-85 in front of a crowd of 15,346. I was surprised they didn't have a bigger crowd on hand. I guess since the 76ers have been struggling lately, people decided to stay home.

After the game, we drove back home as the holiday weekend getaway came to a close.

Stay tuned for the rest of my w/o 1/21 in review.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty meets up with Kurt Smith, Author of Ballpark E-Guides at Oregon Diner in Philadelphia!

Broiled fillet of flounder stuffed with crab meat

After the King & I unexpectedly saw a college basketball game at LaSalle, we met up with Kurt Smith, author of Ballpark E-Guides who joined us for dinner at the Oregon Diner later than originally planned. Thankfully Kurt was very cooperative so we got to meet up again.

Ironically Kurt has lived his whole life near Philadelphia in South Jersey. Quite amazingly he said he never went to the Oregon Diner which is located within walking distance of the Sports Complex at 302 Oregon Avenue at 3rd Street.

Kurt is a big fan of my blog. He saw the special post that I did about this diner. He said to me I'm going to have to meet you there some day. That day finally arrived.

Kurt & I decided to take full advantage of their incredible $9.99 specials which are available 24 hours 7 days a week. Kurt & I always look for value on our purchases. I told him you can't go wrong.

With that being said, we both got the same entree which was broiled fillet of flounder with stuffed crab meat. It also came with soup or salad and two sides all for a mere $9.99. As Kurt said and I quote when he was done eating, "it was terrific, great value."

As I always say when I give people advice, I will never steer you wrong. This meal once again proved my point.

I want to personally thank Kurt for joining us. It was great to see him again. This time we got to catch up in person. Back in October, Kurt asked me to do an e-mail interview with him about my love for sports travel. In case you missed it, here's that special post.

I look forward to seeing Kurt more often during baseball season. He said he hopes to make a few road trips this year so he can do some more ballpark e-guides. I hope he does, that way he can continue to make some much needed money and at the same time, baseball fans and travelers can benefit from his tight wad tips.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

A Royal Birthday Celebration for the Prince!

Prince at the Pavilion

After I got out of work Friday night it was time to start the royal celebration.

I met my parents in Astoria where I now live and we went out for dinner at Romano's Famous Pizza and Gyro. They serve Greek cuisine. It was a great way to reunite with my parents and I got to have a nice meal too.

Afterwards I went home to rest up for the busy weekend I had lined up.

I got up Saturday morning which was my birthday and I took public transportation out to where I used to live so I could go to Avis to pick up a car for the weekend. I did get treated to some royal treatment as the MTA didn't let me wait too long for the buses and trains I needed to take in order to get there.

I wound up renting a Crown Victoria which had plenty of room. I got in touch with my pal Eddie Pelle who was on his way to the Philadelphia area via public transportation from Long Island. He was also going to Villanova, Pennsylvania to see the Wildcats play the Cincinnati Bearcats in a college basketball game. The King and I were doing the same.

I called Eddie when I got into the car. He said he was in Queens so I arranged to meet him after I went back home to pick up the King. It worked out well as we got him by the entrance to the Queensboro Bridge and away we went.

We arrived in Villanova around 1:40PM which gave us enough time to get ready for the 2PM tip off.
We also met up with Andrew Van Cleve aka the Ultimate Sports Fan and his son Dylan aka the Ultimate Sports Baby.

I love seeing the "USB" if you will. He's adorable and he's getting so big.

Ironically we were all visiting the Pavilion, which is the home of the Villanova Wildcats' basketball team on campus for the first time. They play a handful of games there. They play the rest at the Wells Fargo Center where the Flyers and 76ers play.

It was a thrill to finally see a game there. It was very intimate since it only holds 6,500 people. The seating area is comprised of mainly benches that are very close to the action.

As for the game we saw, it was a competitive one right throughout. The Wildcats who are having a bad season wound up coming up short as the Bearcats of Cincinnati beat them, 72-68.

After the game, we said goodbye to Andrew and Dylan. They went home. Eddie, the King and I continued on to Washington DC where we went to see the Wizards play the Cavaliers at 7PM.

We stopped off in Baltimore first so we could pick up our friends Peter and Carmen Agnew. We got them just after 6PM. Thankfully Peter had a parking pass for the garage that's connected to the Verizon Center since we had no margin for error as we arrived right at game time. In addition, Peter arranged to get us all free tickets for the game. He always asks us to come down so I looked at the schedule once the lockout ended and this was the perfect time to go there.

As for the game we saw, the Wizards they've had a horrible season so far but on this night they found a way to win, 101-98. It worked out well for our friend Eddie who said this was the first time he had ever seen the Wizards win live. I was glad to help arrange for him to join us.

After the game, we drove Peter and Carmen back home. They live right near Looney's Pub, where we went to get a late dinner since we were all very hungry. The burger and chicken wings we had we tremendous as usual.

After we ate we dropped Eddie off at the Amtrak station because he wanted to get back home to see some college basketball in NYC on Sunday.

The King and I drove 30 miles to Aberdeen to Super 8 where we spent the night. We arrived there around 2:30AM.

We got some sleep then we got up in the morning and we drove back to Baltimore to have breakfast with Peter and Carmen at another of our favorite eateries in the area, Eichenkranz Restaurant which is located in a local neighborhood.

We were served by Rose, who loved my accent. Needless to say, the food, the service and the company were priceless and well worth driving the extra miles for.

After we parted ways with Peter and Carmen, we headed towards Philadelphia where we were seeing the 76ers play the Bulls at 7PM.

Since we had plenty of time to kill, we decided to stop off at the Hollywood Casino which was conveniently on the way in Perryville, Maryland off exit 93 on I-95.

We spent a few hours there pressing our luck on the slot machines. I had some luck but the King didn't. Regardless it was entertaining experience.

We got back in the car and we drove to the City of Brotherly Love. We arrived there around 4:30PM. It worked out well because we got to meet up with our friend Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich who took a Chinese bus from NYC to join us for the 76er game. We went to the bus terminal and we picked him up.

On the way to the Wells Fargo Center, we stopped off at the Oregon Diner to have dinner before the game.
I thoroughly enjoyed my meal there. You can't beat the value you get there. I had broiled flounder with crab meat stuffing which came with two sides and a small cup of soup along with rolls and cornbread for a mere $9.99. They have a nice variety of food items for that price that they offer everyday.

After I stuffed my belly, we drove over to the arena which is right nearby.

We met up with our friend Frankie Centola who got us tickets for the 76er game. We also were joined by Andrew Van Cleve who got a ticket outside on the lower level from a buddy of Joakim Noah, who plays center for the Bulls.

At halftime, I got a royal upgrade as I went down to sit with Andrew who had a few empty seats by him.
As for the game we saw, the 76ers led into the fourth quarter but the Bulls led by their superstar guard Derrick Rose who had 35 points and 8 assists held off a late 76er push to win 96-91. Joakim Noah had 11 points and 18 rebounds to help the cause.

After the game, I drove Rich back home to Staten Island. I got him back just before midnight. I proceeded to drive the King to work at the Post Office at Grand Central Station. I got him there at 12:40AM so he had plenty of time to relax and unwind since he starts at 2AM.

I finally arrived home just before 1AM. I went to sleep and I returned the car in the morning.

I want to thank everybody who remembered my special day. I had a blast all weekend long.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty enjoys a weekend getaway for post season baseball and football in Philadelphia and Baltimore!

Last Saturday morning I woke up early and I went out to Avis to rent a car for the weekend. I drove back to Astoria and I picked up the King and we went on our way.

We drove down to the City of Brotherly Love to see a college football game at Lincoln Financial Field which is the home of the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Temple Owls were hosting the Toledo Rockets at Noon. The King and I had to go near the Philadelphia airport first to meet our friend Frankie Centola who arranged to get us tickets for the Phillie game against the St. Louis Cardinals which was Game 1 of the National League Division Series. First pitch was scheduled for 5:07PM.

Despite the detour which cost us a half hour, I still managed to get us to the football game on time. In classic royalty fashion, we barely made it but we did and that's all that matters. I found a way to make it happen.

We wound up parking the car on the street for the day. We walked over to the box office and took advantage of the $5.00 deal they had if you showed a Phillie ticket.

We proceeded to go inside and we watched the game. As for the game we saw, the Owls got beat up, 36-13.

After the game, we walked back to the car and we dropped off some stuff. Once we got ourselves set, we walked back to Citizens Bank Park and got ready for some post season baseball. It was a rare time that we arrived early enough to watch batting practice there.

As for the game we saw, Phillies ace Roy Halladay started. He got touched up for three runs in the first inning as Lance Berkman smacked a three run home run off him. He settled down and he retired 21 straight batters before he departed after pitching 8 solid innings. The Phillies chipped away after they were shut down for five innings by Cardinals' starter Kyle Lohse. They finally got to him in the sixth inning and they hit him very hard as they scored six times on their way to a 11-6 victory.

After the game, we waited out the traffic and we drove over to one of our favorite restaurants in the area, the Oregon Diner. After we enjoyed a hearty dinner, we went to the Sugar House Casino in nearby North Philadelphia which was located right off I-95. In years past, we would have driven to Atlantic City instead.

After we spent a few hours there we called it a night. We drove over the Betsy Ross Bridge to Mt. Laurel, NJ where we got some sleep.

We woke up in the morning and we drove up the road a mile and a half and we had breakfast at another royalty staple, Cracker Barrel. As usual, we weren't disappointed in our great meal.

After we ate, we drove back to the Sports Complex in South Philadelphia. We had the Philadelphia Eagles hosting the San Francisco 49ers at 1PM.

Ironically back in 1991, I saw my first football game at Old Veterans Stadium and the Eagles played the 49ers that day with a quarterback named Joe Montana. The 49ers won, 24-7.

On this day, we saw Michael Vick of the Eagles lead the way as the Eagles took a 23-3 lead with 9 and a half to go in the third quarter. Unfortunately that lead disappeared thanks to the Eagles failure to run the ball which would have helped kill the clock. Instead the Eagles let the 49ers hang around. With three minutes to in the game, the 49ers completed the comeback as their running back Frank Gore ran into the end zone with what turned out to be the winning score. The 49ers came back to win in improbable fashion, 24-23.

After the game, the King and I parted ways temporarily. He stayed in Philadelphia and he went to Game 2 of the NLDS at Citizens Bank Park.

I went back to the car and I took a hundred mile drive South down I-95 to Baltimore, Maryland to see the Jets play the Baltimore Ravens in Sunday night football at 8:20PM.

I stopped off at McDonald's in Delaware quickly so I could have some dinner in the car since I didn't have too much time to burn on my way to Baltimore.
I parked the car on the street within walking distance of M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Ravens. I proceeded to get myself in position to get a ticket despite having to deal with a mob of people who were trying to enter the Stadium.

I finally rounded up a ticket after looking for a short time. I managed to get into the Stadium relatively fast considering what a mess it was. I got situated and I went upstairs to get ready for some football.

As for the game I saw, the Jets came out looking over matched. The Ravens came out ready to play. They were lead by Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, the anchors of their ferocious defense who gave Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez all he could handle and then some. On the Jets' opening possession of the game, Ed Reed blind sided Sanchez and he forced a fumble that lead to a touchdown to give the Ravens an early 7-0 lead which set the tone for the rest of the night.

Despite Joe McKnight of the Jets returning the ensuing kickoff a team record 107 yards to tie the game, the Jets didn't stand a chance.

They did briefly in the third quarter as the trailed 27-17 when they got a turnover but on the first play Mark Sanchez threw the ball in the flat and the Ravens returned it 73 yards to seal the deal, 34-17. That's the way it ended as the Jets had no response for the Ravens' Super Bowl like performance.

After the game, I went back to the car. I got going at 12:21AM. SIx minutes later I got on the highway and I drove towards Philadelphia where I went back to pick up the King who was waiting for me.

I avoided a potential delay getting out of Baltimore. I noticed a construction area where two lanes were closed and traffic was backed up. I wisely got off the exit just before the mess and I found an alternate route which saved me plenty of time.

I met up with the King at 2AM. I drove him back to the Post Office at Grand Central Station in Manhattan where he works. I dropped him off at 3:47AM. I proceeded to drive home so I could get an hour of sleep before I went to return the car.

I wound up driving 518 miles then I went to work dead tired and all. With that being said, another adventurous weekend getaway was in the books.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty meets up with roadtrippers to start the new baseball season!

I took off from work Friday so I could be part of the reunion.

I was originally planning to spend the Opening weekend in sunny Florida but I knew in the back of my mind, the Buffalo Boys, Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell were planning to be in Philadelphia and Washington D.C. so I decided I'll go there instead.

The weather wasn't great but the company was so it was well worth doing what I did.

As a result, we all got to see the Phillies open the season at Citizens Bank Park in the afternoon with Cy Young winner Roy "Doc" Halladay pitching. He didn't pitch great but he managed to keep the Phillies in striking distance. He went only 6 innings.

The Astros lead the game 4-2 going to the bottom of the 9th inning. The Phillies did what they do best. They got 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th to comeback to win the game 5-4. Pinch hitter John Mayberry Jr. delivered the game winning hit. USRT karma worked their magic again.

Thankfully the game didn't go into extra innings. With that being said, we had enough time to take a walk to the Oregon Diner for a full course dinner. The Buffalo Boys got to experience the way Royalty rolls on the road.

After we ate we all walked back to the Wells Fargo Center for game two of our doubleheader. We saw the Nets play the 76ers.

As for the game, it was a blow out from the start. The 76ers got off to a fast start and they never looked back as they cruised to an easy 115-90 victory. With the win, the Sixers clinched a playoff berth.

After the game we drove to Elkton, Maryland which is 90 miles from Washington D.C. and we got a good night's sleep.

Saturday morning we went to the Waffle House that was conveniently located right across from the hotel. It should be noted there was a Cracker Barrel nearby as well.

After eating a hearty breakfast, we hit the road to get to Nationals Park for the afternoon game between the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals at 1:05PM.

We were in contact with the Buffalo Boys since they were going to join us too. They got off to a late start so they said they would meet us at the ballpark. They wanted to park their car by the Verizon Center where they were going after the baseball game to see their Sabres play the Capitals. They proceeded to take
the Metro, which is the subway in our Nation's Capitol right to the ballpark.

I told them we'll get tickets for them. There was six of us all together which included our friend Bryan Gilligan who drove the King and I. As for Andrew and Peter, they were meeting a friend of theirs, Mark Byrnes who used to live in Buffalo but now resides in Baltimore. He joined them for the game too.

Upon arrival at Nationals Park, we decided to go to the box office since we got there early. We were hoping they still had some $5 tickets available. When we got to the window they said they do but it's one per person for those. So we each bought one then we went to a different window and bought three more so everybody was covered. We were able to upgrade ourselves once we got inside the park too.

We got our money's worth and then some. Unfortunately we had to suffer through two rain delays.

However they did manage to get the whole game in. Royalty reluctantly left in the bottom of the 7th inning due to time constraints. The Nationals went on to beat the Braves, 6-3.

We went back to Philadelphia to see the Phillies play the Astros again.

We wound up missing the first inning in Philadelphia too. Mother nature made it impossible for us to follow the game plan that we had drawn up. That's the way it goes sometimes. We can't control the weather.

Once we got settled in, we did see Cliff Lee dominate on the mound for the Phillies as he struck 11 Astros in 7 innings.

Despite the cool weather, the ballpark was still mobbed with people standing everywhere. They announced a crowd of 45,000 plus but I would like to believe they had 50,000 in there.

After the game we came back home.

Stay tuned as I recap the interesting day the King and I had on Sunday in a special post.

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 9/6 in review

Sunday night/Monday morning I flew back from Seattle on the redeye flight which connected in Philadelphia on US Airways. I finally arrived back at New York LaGuardia airport at 8:06AM. I proceeded to walk across the highway to go to my car which I parked in the neighborhood.

My goal was to get home as soon as possible so I could go rent a car and pick up the King and drive back to Philadelphia to see the Phillies play the Marlins in a day/night doubleheader.

I wound up getting home at 8:35AM. I took a shower and I ate some breakfast and off to Avis I went to pick up my car for the day. I got a Nissan Sentra.

I drove to Astoria to pick up the King at 10:30AM and off to Philadelphia we went. I parked the car on the street for free like I always do when I go to Philadelphia. I parked the car at 12:40PM.

We had plenty of time because the first game started at 1:05PM.

As for the first game, the Florida Marlins held the Phillies to just 3 hits as they cruised to an easy 7-1 victory.

Between games, we decided to go the Oregon Diner to have a nice dinner before going back to Citizens Bank park for the night game that started at 7:05PM.

The second game of the doubleheader went to the Phillies as they won, 7-4 to earn the split of the two games.

Tuesday morning I returned the car rental before I returned to work.

After work, I went to the Bronx to see the Yankees play the Baltimore Orioles. I was hoping to see a good game since CC Sabathia was pitching and he was looking for his 20th win of the season.

In the first inning, CC got hit hard. He gave up 3 runs. The Yankees added one in the bottom half of the first. After throwing a 1-2-3 second inning, CC gave up two more runs in the third inning when Nolan Reimold, the Orioles designated hitter hit a two run homer. The Orioles sailed to a 6-2 victory spoiling CC first attempt to win his 20th game.

It was the first time this season that CC lost a game at Yankee Stadium. He was 11-0 coming in. I guess he was due to lose a game in the Bronx.

Wednesday & Thursday I came home after work to catch up on much needed rest after having such a busy stretch over the Labor Day weekend.

Friday night I went to Citi Field after work to see the Phillies play the Mets. More importantly, I was told earlier in the week that Bob DeVries, a fellow ballpark chaser was going to be in attendance to support his 30 parks and a dream campaign. I'm going to do a special post regarding Bob and his heroic run to make people aware of a deadly disease called SADS.

As for the game, the Phillies beat the Mets, 8-4 behind their ace pitcher Roy Halladay who won his 18th game  of the season as the Phillies continue to fight for the division title as the baseball season winds down.

Saturday I went back to Citi Field to see the Mets play the Phillies again. As we all remember the tragic events that occurred on this day 9 years ago. I'll be doing a special post to reflect on the tragedy.

As for the game I saw, the Mets did their best to try to give the Phillies this game. They wound up hanging on for a 4-3 victory. Mike Pelfrey pitched well again as he gave up 2 runs over 7 and a third innings. The Mets spoiled the day for the Phillies despite some horrible base running that led to 2 different double plays on line drive outs to the outfield.

Sunday I went to see the "First Game" at the New Meadowlands Stadium as the Giants opened the regular season hosting the Carolina Panthers. The Giants wound up beating up the Panthers, 31-18.

I'm going to do a special post describing the details about the game I saw and the game experience.

Thank you for reading and  following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman                 

Oregon Diner

Oregon Diner

Lamb Chops, Corn & Apple Sauce

When I have time between games in Philadelphia, I prefer to have a quality meal at the Oregon Diner. The Diner is located at 302 Oregon Avenue at 3rd Street which is conveniently located within walking distance of the best sports complex in the country. If you don't have the time to make the walk it's a short drive to get there.

On Labor Day, we saw a day/night doubleheader at Citizens Bank Park so it was a perfect opportunity to go there and wisely we did.

This time the King and I drove over. 

In the past, I've had a full course meal for only $15-$20.

This time was even better since they marked down their special meals to a mere $9.99. I thought it was great before, this time was beyond belief.

As you can see in the picture above, I ate well. I had Lamb Chops, corn and apple sauce plus I had a cup of soup instead of a salad and I even got dessert with my meal so I chose tapioca pudding with whipped cream. 

It was a great deal and meal. 

I strongly suggest if and when you're in the City of Brotherly Love and you're attending a sporting event that you make time to go here before or after the game to enjoy a meal like I do.

It's just another reason why when you take advice from Royalty you can't go wrong.

For more details, here's the link to their website:

http://www.oregondinerphilly.com/Welcome.html