Royalty w/o 3/11 in review

Monday night after work I came home and I got to make dinner. When I was done I was able to relax for a change.

Tuesday night after work I went to downtown Brooklyn. I went to the Atlantic Center Mall where I went to McDonald's to have dinner before I went across the street to the Barclays Center to see the Nets host the New Orleans Hornets.

When I got up to my seat in section 230 row 13, I met up with the King who was already there.

As for the game we saw, the Nets got off to a fast start as they led the Hornets, 28-19. After playing an evenly matched second quarter the Nets still lead, 57-48 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Hornets made a comeback as they got within two after three quarters, they trailed 80-78. In the fourth quarter, the Nets came out strong as they pulled away from the Hornets who ran out of gas as the Nets went to win, 108-98.
Wednesday night after work I went out to the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. The Devils were taking their division rival, the Philadelphia Flyers.

I wound up getting a pulled pork sandwich for dinner at the Rock. I ate it at my seat in section 226 row 6 where I was joined by the King.

As for the game we saw, the Devils scored first just 2:02 into the game as Patrik Elias lit the lamp to make it 1-0. The Flyers got even when Jakub Voracek found the net 9:45 into the period on the power play to make it a 1-1 hockey game. 36 seconds later, Adam Henrique of the Devils made it 2-1. With 2:42 to go in the period, the Devils got a shorthanded goal from Ilya Kovalchuk which gave the Devils' a two goal advantage after the first period. In the second period, the Devils extended their lead to 4-1 as Andrei Loktionov scored 6:31 into the period. In the third period, the Devils continued to pile it on as Adam Henrique got his second goal of the goal on the power play 1:16 into the period to make it 5-1. The Flyers added a late goal with 3:52 left in the game as Scott Hartnell tallied to close out the scoring as the Devils beat the Flyers, 5-2 in front of a sellout crowd of 17,625 which was comprised of both Flyer and Devil fans.

Thursday night after work I came home and I made dinner. After I ate, I went out and I did my laundry.
Friday night after work didn't go as originally planned. Stay tuned for a special post that will go into detail about the unexpected surprise I got.

Saturday afternoon was another last minute decision. Stay tuned for another special post that will detail how that went.

Saturday night the King & I went back to the Prudential Center to see the Devils play the Montreal Canadiens. We were joined by our pal Vincent Ascanio. It should be noted that there were a good number of Canadien fans in attendance which is usually the case when they come to the area.

In addition, they were a group of people who were fans of the old Quebec Nordiques who moved to Denver back in 1994 and became the Colorado Avalanche. Those people hope that NHL hockey returns to Quebec City some day. For that matter, so do we.

As for the game we saw, he Canadiens got on the scoreboard first when Colby Armstrong scored to make it 1-0 with 11:52 to go in the first period. In the second period, the Devils got the equalizer as defenseman Peter Harrold got his first goal of the season 3:54 into the period. In the third period, the Canadiens broke the tie as Tomas Plekanec buried the biscuit with 13:11 to go to give the Habs as they're called a 2-1 lead. The Devils applied plenty of pressure the rest of the game but they failed to force overtime as they fell short.

Sunday the King and I spent St. Patrick's Day home catching up on the things around the house. At night we went out to the Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn to see the Nets battle the Atlanta Hawks.

As for the game we saw, the Nets lead the Hawks, 24-21 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Hawks out scored the Nets by five to take a 51-49 lead as they headed into the locker room. In the third quarter, the Nets surged ahead again as they took a 73-71 lead. In the fourth quarter, the Hawks stepped it up as they blew past the Nets as they emerged victorious,105-93.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees a hockey doubleheader in Philadelphia & Trenton!

Prince at Wells Fargo Center

Once the NHL came back from their lockout, some minor changes were made to their schedule. Originally on Saturday, February 23rd the Devils were suppose to be home at 1PM against the Washington Capitals. Unfortunately that was changed as the Devils played in Washington at Noon instead.

With that being said, I needed to found another game to go to since staying home wasn't an option. After exhausting all the possibilities, I decided to go to Philadelphia because the Flyers were playing that afternoon at 1PM against the Winnipeg Jets. I already knew that the Trenton Titans of the ECHL were home that night as well. As a result, it made for an easy doubleheader since Trenton is only 40 miles from Philadelphia and its on the way back home.

I debated whether I should rent a car or take public transportation down there. I decided it would be more convenient & beneficial to rent a car. With that being said, I got up early and I took the MTA out to Avis where I rented a Toyota Camry for the day.

I picked up the car then I drove back home and I picked up the King and off we went to the City of Brotherly Love.

We arrived within walking distance of the sports complex at 12:35PM. We proceeded to walk over to the Wells Fargo Center for game one of our hockey doubleheader.

As for the game we saw, the Jets scored first as Evander Kane gave the Jets an early 1-0 lead 4:48 into the game. The Flyers tied it up at one with 4:42 to go in the first period when Brayden Schenn lit the lamp. In the second period, the Jets regained the lead, 2-1 2:34 in as Olli Jokinen found the net. The Jets extended their lead to 3-1 when Alexander Burmistrov scored with 8:57 left in the period. The Flyers got a break when the Jets were penalized not once but twice. As a result, the Flyers had a two man advantage. Shortly thereafter, Claude Giroux of the Flyers sliced the Jet lead in half when he buried the puck in the net to make it 3-2. I was thinking of my pal Kurt Smith who likes the Flyers and in particular, Claude Giroux. In the third period, the Flyers evened the score at three when Brayden Schenn got his second goal of the game 6:18 into the period on the power play. The Flyers cashed in again on the power play when Wayne Simmonds scored to give the Flyers a 4-3 lead 8:57 into the third period. They added an empty net goal with a fraction of a second to go to officially seal the deal as the Flyers made an impressive comeback to overtake the Jets, 5-3 much to the delight of the announced crowd of 19,933 which should be a sellout.

After the game, the King and I drove to Golden Corral to have dinner between games in Bensalem, Pennsylvania which is midway between Philadelphia and Trenton. By doing so, we were able to help ourselves to happiness.

Prince at Sun National Bank Center

Once we finished eating, we drove to Trenton, NJ and we went to the Sun National Bank Center which is the home of the Trenton Titans of the ECHL. They were hosting the Reading Royals.

As for the game we saw, the Titans scored early and often. In matter of fact, it was a one man show for the first half of the game as Stephen Schultz scored four unanswered goals to give the Titans a commanding 4-0 lead. The Titans wound up adding a few more goals in the third period as they cruised to an easy 6-0 victory as the announced crowd of 5,146 went home happy. That figure seemed a bit inflated. They had a bigger crowd than usual though which was nice to see.

After the game, I drove us back home. We got back just before midnight which allowed me to get a good night sleep.

Stay tuned for another special post that will recap the basketball doubleheader we saw on Sunday.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 1/21 in review

Prince at Devils Home Opener

Tuesday morning before I went to work I returned the Chevy Cruze I rented for the weekend.
After work I went out to Newark, NJ to the Prudential Center to see my first NHL game since the lockout ended. The Devils were playing their home opener against their division rival, the Philadelphia Flyers.
I wound up meeting the King and our pal Vincent Ascanio out there. I decided to get the pulled pork for dinner at the arena. By doing so, I got to say hello to the lady who works that stand which is behind the net near section 122 where the Diablos sit. It was great to see her again. She was thrilled to see us hockey fans again. I proceeded to walk over to my seat in section 226.

The sellout crowd was all pumped up as the players hit the ice. Our section in particular was extremely loud and confrontational because we had a mix of Devil and Flyer fans among us. It was mainly comprised of the younger generation so they were all full of energy. They were yelling and screaming throughout the game. It was anything but peaceful. With that being said, hockey was back.

As for the game we saw, the Devils got on the scoreboard early as Travis Zajac scored the first goal of the game just 1:07 into the match. The Devils added another goal on the power play with just 25 seconds to go in the first period as David Clarkson buried the biscuit to give the Devils a 2-0 after the first period. In the second period, while the Devils were shorthanded, Ilya Kovalchuk broke in on a breakaway and he was hooked down by Flyers' defenseman Kimmo Timonen 2:44 into the period. As a result, a penalty shot was awarded. Kovalchuk capitalized on the opportunity and he gave the Devils a commanding 3-0 lead. That's the way it ended as the Devils stifled the Flyers the rest of the game. The Flyers took out their frustration as they started a few fights late in the third period. Goaltender Martin Brodeur stopped 24 shots to earn the shutout, it was his 120th lifetime in his storied career.

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

Thursday night after work I went to Brooklyn Heights to see college basketball. It was the 38th annual Battle of Brooklyn as the LIU Blackbirds were visiting the St. Francis Terriers. Before I went to the game I stopped off for a hearty Popeye's chicken dinner a few blocks away.

When I got to the gym for the game I was joined by my pals Manny Morales, Phil Butleman, David Sack, Frank Anichiarico and the King.

As for the game we saw, the Terriers got off to a fast start. They dominated the first half as they led 33-21 at halftime. In the second half, things changed dramatically as the Blackbirds awoke from the dead as they went on to destroy the Terriers. They out scored them 57-35 in the second half as they won the game and the Battle of Brooklyn trophy, 78-68. C.J. Garner had 22 points and Jamal Olasewere added 20 points to carry the Blackbirds to the come from behind victory.

Friday night after work I went back to Newark, NJ to see the Devils play the Washington Capitals. On this night, since the King and I are Devil full season ticket holders we got to take advantage of a perk. We were given an upgrade to watch the game from the Ice Cream Social Suite. Before we went into the suite, I bought a pepperoni stromboli for dinner.

Unlike Tuesday night, we were able to watch the game much more peacefully. It was great to see the game from a different vantage point. We wound up in suite 234 which is in the corner. They had another sellout crowd on hand.

It's hard to gauge if people are really hungry for hockey or not. Many people had already paid for their season tickets like us so we were stuck with them. We love hockey so for the King and I it's nice that it's back. Next season will tell the true story if the lockout really indeed hurt the sport when people have the choice to renew their tickets or not.

As for the game we saw, the Devils got off to a good start. They scored 13:55 into the first period when Stephen Gionta found the net to give the Devils a 1-0 lead. With a minute to go in the second period, Patrik Elias scored a power play goal to extend the Devils' lead to 2-0. In the third period, the Capitals finally got on the scoreboard as Mike Ribeiro tallied a power play goal with 7:15 left in the period to slice the lead in half at 2-1. With 2:56 left in regulation time, the Capitals got the equalizer as defenseman Mike Green lit the lamp to knot the game at two. The score remained the same as regulation time expired. In the sudden death overtime, the Devils' Ilya Kovalchuk emerged as the hero as he scored the game winning goal with just 20.5 seconds left in the extra session to give the Devils' a 3-2 victory.

Stay tuned as I'm going to do a few special posts that will recap another busy weekend of attending sporting events.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty meets up with roadtripper Andrew Van Cleve for Devils/Flyers Game 3 at the Prudential Center!

Legendary Devil Fan Baumann

I thought my hockey season was over once the baseball season started but thanks to my pal Andrew Van Cleve that changed.

Since I didn't buy the playoff tickets for the Devils who I have season tickets for, I planned to just skip them altogether. With all the baseball games I had planned, I had plenty on my plate already. It just so happened the Devils were playing the Philadelphia Flyers on a rare night off.

I was initially looking forward to going home after work that night to rest up and take it easy. Then I got an e-mail at work saying that I was invited to a meet and greet work related get together. So I got excited since it fit right into my busy schedule.

All of a sudden, the Devils advanced to the second round of the playoffs and they were scheduled to play that night too.

With that being said, Andrew contacted me and asked me if I was going to the game. I reluctantly said maybe, I'll wait and see.

As it got closer, I told him I'll meet him out there. I wound up going to the get together I had. I left a little early so I could meet up with Andrew at the Prudential Center in Newark.

While I was on the train he was outside the arena trying to round up a few tickets for us. It wasn't easy. He let a few go because they were too pricey for my liking. Trust me I'm not made of money just creative ideas.
I finally got out there around 7:10PM. The game was supposed to start at 7:30PM really closer to 7:40PM when they finally drop the puck.

Shortly after I met Andrew he was able to get a single ticket for a decent price on the lower level.

Unfortunately we still needed another one. We kept trying and trying. Finally after the game started we were able to luckily get another one thanks to Andrew's persistence. He's a great guy. He missed the start of the game because of me. He decided to wait until we both got a ticket before he went in. That says a lot about the kind of person he is.

I decided to go out there without a ticket because I knew he was driving up from Philadelphia to do the same.

Like I say, teamwork makes the dream work. In the last few years since we met in Chicago, we've taken turns helping each other out. I know I'm truly blessed to have responded to an e-mail he wrote me a few years ago.

As for the game we saw, we got in right as the Flyers scored the first goal of the game at the 6:08 mark of the first period on the power play. We just missed seeing it.

We decided to flop into some empty seats we saw on the lower level where we entered. Quite amazingly, I sat right across the aisle from a long time Devil fan I recognized. I don't even know his first name but his last name is Baumann. He's been coming to Devil games long before they won their first Stanley Cup back in 1995. He was notorious for originally starting the Devil chant of give me a D, give me an E, give me a V, give me an I, give me a L and give me a S. Then he would ask the crowd what's that spell. They replied DEVILS, he said what's that spell, DEVILS. Then he would lead the crowd by clapping and yelling Let's Go Devils! He used to sit in section 230 at the old Meadowlands Arena. I hadn't seen or heard him in a number of years. When I noticed him I said to myself he lives. It made me feel good to know that.

By going to the game, I got to see Andrew and a long time Devil fan, so my decision to go was a wise one indeed.

As for the rest of the game once Andrew and I got settled in, we saw a pretty exciting and entertaining game to say the least. I honestly didn't care who won but our pal Kurt Smith, author of Ballpark E-Guides is a big Flyer fan so I was rooting for him.

After the Flyers scored first, the Devils scored twice 20 seconds apart to take a 2-1 lead after the first period. In the second period, the Flyers scored early on to tied it up at two. In the third period, the Devils scored to retake the lead, 3-2. They tried to hold on but the pesky Flyers found a way to tie it up again at three with just nine minutes left in regulation time. Unlike the regular season, they play sudden death overtime. So whoever scores first wins. I honestly didn't need overtime but this is the playoffs and nothing beats that this time of year. That's what makes the hockey playoffs so exciting. An odd bounce can cost you a game and possibly a chance to hoist the sacred Stanley Cup aka the holy grail. It was looking like the game was going to go to a second overtime period but with 2:39 left, the Devils capitalized on a Flyer mistake as they got caught on a shift change in the Devil zone. As a result, the Devils' Alexei Ponikarovsky who was a mid season pick up cashed in on his own rebound which gave the Devils' a thrilling 4-3 overtime win. With the victory, they took a two games to one lead in the series. I felt bad for Kurt. That's the way it goes. Andrew wasn't too happy either. He wanted to see another hockey game close to home.

After the game, Andrew and I said our goodbyes and we went on our way home.

Barring a miracle, my hockey season for all intents and purposes should be over now.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 10/3 in review

Hockey's Back!

Now that baseball regular season is over, my schedule has been changed dramatically for the time being.
I had high hopes for the Phillies and Yankees just because it would have meant a chance to see some more baseball games this year.

After going home after work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night it was finally time to see another game up in the Bronx Thursday night after work.

The Yankees managed to force a deciding game in their American League Division Series with the Detroit Tigers.

The winner moved on to play the Texas Rangers in the ALCS and the loser went home for the winter.
Well the Tigers got two solo home runs on back to back pitches in the first inning off Yankee starter Ivan Nova to give the Tigers an early 2-0 lead. Don Kelly and Delmon Young did the honors.

The Tigers tacked on another run to make it 3-0 before the Yankees sliced the lead to 3-2. Unfortunately for the Yankees they were unable to get the big hit they needed to tie the game against the Tiger bullpen as they fell short as Alex Rodriguez strike out swinging to end their season and mine for that matter.

It was my 160th baseball game I attended in 2011. My lowest total since 2002 when I saw a mere 162. It was a tough year for me between the schedule and things at home which restricted me from seeing more. Given the circumstances, I did well all things considered.

After going home from work Friday night, I shifted gears on Saturday.

The King and I and our friends Frank Anichiarico and Bryan Gilligan went to see the Columbia Lions play the Sacred Heart Pioneers in Upper Manhattan at Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence Wien Stadium.
The winless Lions stayed that way as the Pioneers beat them in a shootout, 34-25. The Lions' place kicker Luke Eddy missed two point after touchdowns and he had another one blocked.

After the game, the King and I said goodbye to Frank and Bryan then we headed out to Newark, NJ to go to the Prudential Center to see hockey as the New Jersey Devils play the Philadelphia Flyers on Opening Night.

The Devils inability to put the puck in the net reared its ugly head again. The Devils got shut out by the Flyers, 3-0.

It could be a long year for the Devils. I'm hoping it was just an aberration and hopefully they'll get their offense in gear sooner than later. Time will tell. Stay tuned to my blog to see if indeed the Devils can get it going since I plan to see a lot of Devil games in the winter months ahead.

Sunday the King and I and our friend Rich Wolber aka Staten Island took a bus ride from the Port Authority Bus Terminal to MetLife Stadium to see the Giants play the visiting Seattle Seahawks. The Giants came in to the game riding high with a 3-1 record. The Seahawks were the opposite at 1-3.

As for the game we saw, the Giants didn't look like they came to play. They let the Seahawks hang around throughout the game. The Giants had taken a lead at 22-19 in the fourth quarter as second year wide receiver Victor Cruz from UMASS who the King and I saw play in November 2009 made an acrobatic catch deflecting the ball in double coverage and catching it with one hand as he took it into the end zone for the go ahead score.

The Seahawks came back and tied the game at 22. The Giants we took the lead, 25-22. The Seahawks once again came back thanks largely in part to back up quarterback Charlie Whitehurst who we saw play in college at Clemson in 2005. Whitehurst replaced starter Tavaris Jackson who left early in the third quarter with an injury. The Seahawks regained the lead 29-25. The Giants appeared to be on the verge of scoring the winning touchdown but this time Victor Cruz couldn't hold on to the ball as it popped up in the air and was intercepted by Brandon Browner who returned it 94 yards for a touchdown that sealed the deal for the Seahawks as they came away with a 36-25 victory.

Stay tuned for the special post I'm going to do about Gio Gonzalez who had a solid season for the Oakland Athletics.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 1/3 in review‏

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty will be in the Keystone State and Wheeling, West Virginia over Thanksgiving weekend!

Here's the game plan:

I'm renting a car on Black Friday morning from Avis for the weekend.

I'm going to pick up The King and our friend Lloyd Ramsland who will we'll be joining us as we visit the Keystone State and we're taking a ride to Wheeling, West Virginia too before returning home very early Sunday morning.

Friday, November 26th Flames at Flyers 1PM

                                    Cincinnati Cylcones at Reading Royals 7:05PM

Saturday, November 27th Flames at Penguins 1PM

We're be seeing the new Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. That will mean all three of us we'll have every current NHL arena once again.


                                       Kalamazoo K-Wings at Wheeling Nailers 7:35PM

If you're interested in going on this getaway royalty style just let me know so I can arrange to have you join us.

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

Thank you for reading.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman