Royalty is starting 2016 appropriately on the road!

Here's the game plan:

I'm renting a car on New Year's Eve December 31st from Enterprise Rent A Car for four days to start 2016 off right.

The King  & I will be driving out to Foxboro & Springfield, Massachusetts then on to Buffalo & Toronto before we return home late Sunday night.

Friday January 1st  Montreal Canadiens at Boston Bruins at Gillette Stadium 1PM Winter Classic

                                Bridgeport Sound Tigers at Springfield Falcons 7PM

Saturday January 2nd Red Wings at Sabres 1PM

                                   Blues at Maple Leafs 7PM 

Sunday January 3rd Jets at Bills 1PM

If you're interested in going on this exclusive 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 and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 3/4 in review

Monday morning before I went to work I woke up bright and early after getting a little less than three hours sleep because I had to go to Avis to return the Dodge Avenger I rented for the weekend. I drove 549 miles safely.

After work I came home and I made dinner. After I ate, I went out and I did my laundry. It was a long tiring day to say the least.

Tuesday night after work I went out to the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. The King decided to go to the Nassau Coliseum to see the Islanders with our friend Frank Anichiarico instead. With that being said, I wound up meeting up with our pal Vincent Ascanio who took the King's place. The Devils were hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning. I wound up getting a pulled pork sandwich at the arena for dinner.

As for the game we saw, the Lightning scored the first four goals of the game as they lead, 4-0 midway into the third period. The Devils made a late comeback attempt as they scored a shorthanded goal and a power play goal to slice the deficit in half at 4-2 with 4:45 to go. They couldn't get any closer as the Lightning added a late empty net goal to escape with a 5-2 victory. As a result, the crowd of 15,229 went home unhappy.

Wednesday after work I went to downtown Brooklyn to see the quarterfinals of the Northeast Conference Tournament as the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds were hosting the Quinnipiac Bobcats at the Wellness Recreation. Athletic Center aka the WRAC.

Before the game I went to 2 Bros Pizza and I had a few slices. While I was there I ran into my pal David Sack who was there with his friend Andrew who he introduced me to. They had a few slices too. Once we were done we all walked down a few blocks to go to the game. When I got inside I met up with the King, Vincent Ascanio and our friend Larry Peim who was there to see his alma mater play again.

As for the game we saw, the Blackbirds got off to a slow start. They trailed the Bobcats, 47-43 at halftime. In the second half, the Blackbirds fought back as they hung tough. Late in the game, they went ahead for good as they went on to defeat the Bobcats, 91-83 to advance to the next round.

After the game, we all celebrated the victory with a post game meal at Junior's Restaurant which is only a few blocks away. Larry treated me for my birthday. I was very grateful & thankful for his kindness. I wound up have a corned beef and pastrami combo with steak fries. He did the same while the King and Vincent had steak burgers. It capped off a great night.

Thursday night after work I went back to the Prudential Center to see the Devils take on the Buffalo Sabres. This time I met up with the King and our pal Mike Carroll aka Sabre Mike. Our road trip buddies, Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell from Buffalo were there with us in spirit. As for dinner, I wound getting chicken tenders and fries at the Rock.

As for the game we saw, after a scoreless first period, the Sabres took the lead 7:56 into the second period as Thomas Vanek lit the lamp to make it 1-0 Buffalo. Two minutes later, the Sabres went up 2-0 as Brian Flynn put one in the net. It stayed that way until there was six and a half minutes left in regulation time when Adam Henrique of the Devils broke the shutout to make it 2-1 with a power play goal. The Devils pulled goalie Johan Hedberg to have an extra attacker in hopes of tying the game. Shortly thereafter, the Devils got the equalizer as Patrik Elias scored to tie the game at two with 1:06 left in regulation. The game went into overtime but since neither team was able to score, so the game was decided by a shootout. The Devils wound up prevailing in the skills competition which sent the sellout crowd of 17,625 happy except for the number of Sabre fans who were there to see their team play.

Friday night after work I went to downtown Brooklyn. This time I went to the Barclays Center to see the Nets play the Washington Wizards.

Before the game, I went to McDonald's in the Atlantic Center Mall to have my pre game meal. When I got done I walked back over to the arena and I went inside. I met up with the King and our pal Al Linderman who was there as well.

As for the game we saw, the Nets raced out to a 22-2 lead & they lead 38-14 after the first quarter. Deron Williams lead the way as he was on fire from beyond the three point line. In the second quarter, the Nets added a few points to their lead as they went into the locker room up, 59-33. In the third quarter, the Wizards made a comeback attempt as they cut the Nets' lead to 16, 74-58. In the fourth quarter, the Nets maintained their lead as they went to beat the Wizards, 95-78.

As for Deron Williams, he hit 9 three pointers in the first half to set an NBA record. He wound up finishing the game with 42 points. His teammate Reggie Evans had a triple double if you will. He scored 11 points, he missed 11 free throws and he grabbed a career high 24 rebounds.

Saturday late in the morning the King and I took public transportation to the Nassau Coliseum to see the Islanders play the Capitals in an afternoon affair.

We wound up meeting up with our pals Mike Carroll, Manny Morales and Joe Rossi who was at the game with his adorable daughter Grace who was all dressed up in Islander gear. It was great to see them again.
As for the game we saw, the Islanders scored first midway through the first period as Josh Bailey buried the puck to make it 1-0. In the second period, the Capitals evened the score at one 1:26 into the period when Mathieu Perreault scored a power play goal. The Islanders went back ahead, 2-1 midway through when Casey Cizikas scored. In the third period, the Capitals got the equalizer as Nicklas Backstrom found the net 7:09 into the period. Shortly thereafter, the Islanders got a break as the Capitals committed penalties that gave the Islanders a golden opportunity to take the lead and they took full advantage of it. They got two power play goals from John Tavares who scored twice in a 30 second span to put the game away. Frans Nielsen added a shorthanded goal later in the period to give the Islanders a 5-2 victory.

After the game, the King & I went to Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks play the Utah Jazz.

As for the game we saw, the Knicks were missing Amar'e Stoudemire who hurt his knee and he's going to miss six weeks. In addition, Carmelo Anthony didn't play. Regardless the rest of the Knicks came to play and they wound up blowing away the Jazz, 113-84.

After the game, we went to Donovan's Pub in Woodside which is now under new management. We met up with our pal Bryan Gilligan who joined us for a post game meal.

Sunday I got to relax and catch up on things around the house during the day. Once I got done, I made dinner then the King and I went to Newark, NJ to see the Devils play the Winnipeg Jets at the Prudential Center.

As for the game we saw, the Devils took a 2-0 lead midway through the first period then the Jets scored a late goal to cut the lead to 2-1. In the second period, the Jets tied it up late at two. The two teams failed to score in the third period and in the extra session. As a result, the game was decided in a shootout again. This time Patrik Elias of the Devils scored in the skills competition to gave the Devils the 3-2 win as the sellout crowd went home happy.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees a local NHL doubleheader after Nemo!

Prince at Prudential Center

Saturday morning the King and I woke up and we looked out of the window and we noticed the snow was over. Luckily for us, Nemo only left 8 inches in Central Park. With that being said, we escaped another potential disaster by mother nature.

Shortly thereafter, we got a phone call from our friend Dennis Barbera who said earlier in the week that he was going to drive and pick us up. Dennis lives out on Long Island where they got more snow. Fortunately for us, he was able to get his car out without a problem. We arranged to meet him within walking distance from our place in Astoria, Queens.

We met up with him around 11:15AM and he drove us to Newark, NJ. We went to the Prudential Center to see the Devils play the Pittsburgh Penguins in a matinee affair.

Apparently Nemo didn't stop everybody in the area from getting to the arena because majority of the announced sellout crowd of 17,625 actually showed up. It should be noted that there were a good number of Penguin fans who were present & accounted for. Public transportation was running with some delays. Thankfully we got a ride. Since there was nobody on the road it made for a very easy ride especially since the major roads were all plowed and cleared.

As for the game we saw, the Penguins got on the scoreboard first just 1:23 into the first period as Brandon Sutter lit the lamp on the power play to give the Penguins an early 1-0 lead. It stayed that way until late in the second period. That's when the Devils got even. Thanks to Stefan Matteau of the Devils who scored his first career NHL goal to make it 1-1 with 3:29 to go. In the third period, the Devils took the lead with 9:04 left in regulation to go up, 2-1 as Adam Henrique put the puck in the net. The Devils add some insurance with 6:52 to go as Bobby Butler scored his first goal as a Devil to make it 3-1. The Devils shut down the Penguins the rest of the way as they beat the Penguins who have played well thus far in the shortened season.

Prince at Nassau Coliseum

After the game, Dennis drove us out to Long Island. We stopped off at McDonald's for a pre game meal. When we were done we drove up the road to the Nassau Coliseum where we saw another NHL game as the Islanders were hosting the visiting Buffalo Sabres. Unfortunately the Buffalo Boys, Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell couldn't join us for the festivities. They were there with us in spirit though. The same was true for our pal Mike Carroll aka Sabre Mike who was planning to be there but he couldn't get there thanks to Nemo. However our pals Michael Abrams and Rob Pierlewski did make it. It was nice to see them again.

As for the game we saw, the Sabres broke through first when Thomas Vanek scored with 10:49 to go in the first period to give the Sabres a 1-0 lead. The Islanders got the equalizer late in the period with just 42 seconds to go. John Tavares found the net to tie the game at one. In the second period, both teams exchanged goals as Christian Ehrhoff gave the Sabres a 2-1 lead with 7:39 to go. The Islanders answered back with 2:25 to go as Colin McDonald tied it again at two. In the third period, the Sabres scored the game winning goal with 12:25 to go as Alexander Sulzer made it 3-2. The Islanders had a chance late to tie it again but John Tavares failed to score on a penalty shot he was awarded after he was pulled down on a breakaway.

The Sabres were very fortunate to escape with the victory in front of announced crowd of 12,608 which included a number of Sabre fans who were able to get there. They were out shot 43-15. In addition, the Islanders also hit the post a few times. The bottom line is we got a win for our pals. It wasn't pretty but they'll take it.

After the game, Dennis drove us back to Queens. We were very grateful for his kindness. He gave us the royal treatment on this day.

Stay tuned for another special post that will recap the local NBA doubleheader I did on Sunday.

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 1/23 in review

This past week started slow which was just what the doctor ordered after a three week rampage of running around to see live sporting events to start the New Year.

Monday, Wednesday and Thursday night I went home after work to rest and catch up on things at home like normally people do on a regular basis.

Monday night I did my laundry.

Wednesday night I took it easy since I was worn out.

Thursday night I met my parents along with my niece Taylor and nephew Jeremy for dinner. We had a really nice time together. It was great to see them all again.

Tuesday night after work I went to the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ to see the Devils play the Buffalo Sabres who were in a horrible slump.

Since our pals Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell from Buffalo are big Sabre fans, the King and I needed to deliver some royal karma for them. Those poor guys went to Chicago and Winnipeg to see them play and they were awful. They braved the elements to see some lousy Sabre hockey. Regardless they had a blast. Check out their website which is on my blog list for all the details on their latest getaway.

On this night, the Sabres didn't play great but they managed to get the game to a shootout where they were able to beat the Devils in the skills competition, 2-1. A win's a win and I'm glad that we were able to get the Sabres the two points that they so desperately needed.

Friday night after work, the King, his half brother Charlie Casiano and our pal Vincent Ascanio trekked out to Stony Brook, Long Island to see some college basketball as the Seawolves of Stony Brook played their arch rival, the Terriers of Boston University. It should be noted that Charlie got his undergraduate degree from Stony Brook.

I want to personally thank my buddy Eddie Pelle who also graduated from there. He went out of his way to arrange to accomodate all of us. He was going to join us but he wound up taking advantage of an opportunity to make a trip to Hawaii to see the Pro Bowl at the last minute.

Eddie not only got us tickets for the game which was sold out but he also provided us with round trip transportation on LIRR from Penn Station which is a hour and a half ride there and back.

We were all very grateful for his generosity. Too bad he couldn't join us as the Seawolves beat the Terriers, 66-57 in a seesaw battle. The Seawolves started slow but finished strong to win. It was a great experience as the gym was jam packed. There was a sea of red throughout the building since both teams wear red. The crowd was predominantly Stony Brook fans though. The student section was jumping all night long.

It was nice to spend some quality time with Charlie. He's a really good guy. I hope we get to see him more often in the future.

Saturday morning the King and I took a Chinese bus from Chinatown to Philadelphia for the day. We went to see three more basketball games in the City of Brotherly Love.

We arrived in Philadelphia shortly after 12 Noon which gave us plenty of time to get to the first game we were attending at Drexel University, home of the Dragons at 2PM. They were playing the Blue Hens from the University of Delaware. We met our friend Mike Carroll there.

As for the game, it was a great atmosphere. Unfortunately we had to leave early with 6:28 left in the second half with the Dragons winning, 56-38 so we could get to our next game on time. The Dragons went on to win the game easily, 71-55. While we were there we got to say hello to Josh Verlin who writes for Stadium Journey. He's a young man who's taking a class at Temple so he can graduate he said.

He left the game early as well. We all went to Temple to see the Owls play the Hawks of St. Joseph's at 4PM.

We met our friend Andrew Van Cleve who was with his son, Dylan aka the Ultimate Sports Baby. Andrew's wife Nicole is a professor at Temple. She was working while he was at the game.

Andrew helped the King and I out by getting us tickets while we were taking the subway over from Drexel.
As a result, we barely got in on time. As I like to say, teamwork makes the dream work. Needless to say, it was a pleasure to see Andrew and Dylan again.

As for the game we saw, Temple wound up blowing away St. Joseph's, 78-60. I expected to see a more competitive game. Regardless of the outcome, it was still nice to finally see a game there.

After the game, Andrew met up with Nicole for dinner. The King and I went to Wendy's which was right next to the arena so it was very convenient for us to have a quick dinner before we got back on the train to go to the Wells Fargo Center for our third basketball game of the day. We saw the 76ers play the Detroit Pistons.

As for the game we saw, the 76ers won rather easily, 95-74. By doing so, we got to see all three home teams win.

After the game, we caught the 10PM Chinese bus which got us back to lower Manhattan just before midnight.

Sunday the King and I rested up during the day before we headed back out to Newark, NJ to see the Nets host the Toronto Raptors. We were joined by our friends Frank Anichiarico and Vincent Ascanio.
As for the game we saw, it wasn't much of a game. The Nets hung around into the third quarter but then the Raptors started to pull away as they went on to win, 94-73.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

The Winter Classic Experience

Me in the Crowd at Winter Classic

On January 1, 2008 the NHL decided to stage a unique event that being the Winter Classic in Buffalo, New York. The Buffalo Sabres hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins at Ralph Wilson Stadium which is the home of the Buffalo Bills.

Thanks to my pals Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell who are Sabre season ticket holders, they were able to secure tickets for my friend the King and I to see this unique event.

The experience that day was priceless. Despite not feeling our best, we still braved the elements on this day to see hockey history in the making. With snow falling during the game, the ice needed to be repaired numerous times but that didn't stop the game from being a big hit. A record crowd of 71,000 were on hand to witness it.

The game wound up being decided in a shootout as the Penguins beat the Sabres, 2-1 as Sidney Crosby scored the game winner.

On January 1, 2009 the NHL decided to do another Winter Classic. This time they chose Wrigley Field in Chicago as the site of the event. The Chicago Blackhawks took on their original six rival, the Detroit Red Wings. Unfortunately I didn't get to witness this one in person. I did watch it on TV with deep regret.
Since the game was at a smaller venue, the ticket prices were rather pricey. That coupled with the fact I live in NYC, it's a long drive to Chicago and mother nature can always play her tricks. In addition, my friend the King who happens to be a Red Wing fan thought he was going to have to work so we decided it was better not to go.

Ironically we met up with Andrew Van Cleve a few years ago when we visited Chicago. He was at that Winter Classic. I wish we knew each other then.

As for the game that day, the Red Wings beat the hometown Blackhawks, 6-4 in the highest scoring Winter Classic game.

On January 1, 2010, the tradition continued. This time the Winter Classic was played at Fenway Park in Boston as the Philadelphia Flyers invaded Beantown to play the Bruins.

Once again the King and I decided to go. We wound up buying tickets at the last minute on Craiglist because we were concerned about the weather.

Thankfully mother nature cooperated. It turned out to be a beautiful winter day. The temperature was a comfortable 36 degrees which made for a wonderful setting. We had the privilege of sitting towards the back of the grandstand near first base which was the corner of the rink. We had the Green Monster staring us right in the face.

As for the game, the Flyers lead 1-0 into the third period. Late in the period, the Bruins evened the score at one. This one was decided in overtime as the Bruins found the net in the extra session as they sent the natives home happy, 2-1. It should be noted their were a number of Flyer fans in attendance as well who had a long ride home after the loss.

As for the King and I, since we didn't have a real rooting interest so we got to enjoy the outcome regardless of who won.

On January 1, 2011, the Winter Classic returned to a bigger venue. This one was played at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh which is the home of the Steelers. The Penguins hosted the Washington Capitals.

This game was originally scheduled to start at 1PM like the others. Unfortunately mother nature was up to her tricks again. This time the temperature was in the 40's and rain was expected. With that being said, they decided that with the rain suppose to clear out by the evening, they changed the starting time to 8PM. By doing so, this turned out to be the first Winter Classic in prime time.

As for the King and I, we got to go again. This time our friend Peter Agnew who has season tickets for the Capitals said he didn't want to go. He asked us if we wanted to buy the tickets he was offered. We instantly told him yes.

We wound up sitting in the upper level with other Capital fans. They did a nice job distributing the tickets for this game. It seemed like every other section was divided by each team's fans. By doing that it made for a fair view for everybody who was able to be part of this unique experience. They drew a crowd of 68,000.
As for the game, the hometown Penguins came up short as the Capitals won, 3-1.

This year New Year's Day came out on a Sunday. With that being said, the NHL decided to move their Winter Classic game to Monday, January 2nd instead.

This time they went back to the baseball park setting as they chose to have the Philadelphia Flyers host the game at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Phillies. The Flyers played the New York Rangers in the latest installment of the Classic. The game was scheduled to start at 1PM but since the weather conditions weren't ideal they decided to move the starting time to 3PM.

The King and I once again got to take part in the festivities. We were also joined by our friend Andrew Van Cleve who recently moved to Philadelphia.

The King and I got tickets with the help of season ticket holders that we know. Andrew found a person on Craigslist who sold him a ticket for face value.

Surprisingly it seemed like their were a lot more Flyer fans than Ranger fans at the game. We happened to be sitting around a lot of Flyer fans. There were a lot of people dressed up in their Flyer colors throughout the ballpark.

Don't get me wrong, there were a good number of Ranger fans in the building but with the ticket prices being really pricey I think that prevented some people from going to the game.

The experience is different than seeing a hockey game indoors. The outdoor game makes for a once in a lifetime scenario for those who have some spare money to burn. If you like the game of hockey, I strongly suggest that you go to a Winter Classic so you can see the experience for yourself.

As for the game, the Flyers took a 2-0 lead in the second period after there was no scoring for the first half of the game. The Rangers cut the lead in half at 2-1 after two periods. During the intermission, I ran into a guy I knew from New York who happens to be a big time Ranger fan. He said and I quote "this game isn't over yet." He turned out to be right. The Rangers proceeded to tie the game at two and then they got the eventual game winning goal as the Rangers hung on for the 3-2 victory.

In retrospect, I may regret not going to Wrigley Field in 2009 but I've been to the last three in a row. I hope to be able to keep going to see this unique event year after year. Time will tell.

If you plan to go, please take into account that many of the seats are bad. That's the nature of setting up a rink in a baseball and/or football stadium.

In a baseball stadium, the rink usually runs from across the outfield behind second base.

In a football stadium, the rink is laid across the gridiron between the 20 yard lines.

The bottom line is this experiment is working as the NHL now has a day it can call its own.

In the future, if you like hockey New Year's Day is the day you can see the sport outdoors. Hopefully they'll chose different locations and teams so it's more fair to the rest of the country.

I hope I've given you a reason to see for yourself what the Winter Classic experience is all about.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 12/26 in review

Opening Kickoff at Pinstripe Bowl

Since Christmas Day came out on a Sunday this year, I didn't have to go to work on Monday so the King and I decided to take a train ride on Metro-North up to Bridgeport, Connecticut to see the Sound Tigers, the NY Islanders AHL affiliate, take on the Connecticut Whale, the NY Rangers farm team at Webster Bank Arena. Ironically the parent teams were playing each other at the Garden at the same time. We decided to take the more cost effective way out. In addition, a change of scenery is always a good thing.

As for the game we saw the Sound Tigers beat the Whale, 3-2 after they trailed 2-1 after two periods. The game appeared headed for overtime when the Sound Tigers Tomas Marcinko lit the lamp to avoid the extra session with 4:26 left in regulation time. Since the King and I had some time before our train was leaving we were rooting for bonus hockey. Unfortunately we didn't get that break on this night. That's just the way it is sometimes.

Tuesday I went back to work. After work, I went out to the Prudential Center to see the NJ Nets home opener as they play their last season in New Jersey. Next season they move into the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. They played the Atlanta Hawks, a team on the rise. On this night, the Hawks rose up early as they blew away the Nets, 106-70. The Hawks had a well balanced attack as they cruised to the easy victory in front of a sellout crowd.

Wednesday night after work, I repeated the drill to Newark. This time the Devils were home against the Buffalo Sabres. I was pulling for the Sabres because of our friends Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell aka USRT who are from Buffalo and they're big fans of the Sabres but to no avail.

The Devils raced out to a 3-0 lead and they held on to win the game, 3-1 as Thomas Vanek of the Sabres scored in the third period to break the shutout bid by Devils' goaltender Martin Brodeur.

Thursday night I went home to catch up on some needed rest.

Friday I got out of work early at 2PM which gave me enough time to go up to Yankee Stadium for the second annual Pinstripe Bowl. This time the game featured the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers University from nearby New Brunswick, NJ and the Cyclones from Iowa State University which is located in Ames, Iowa 30 miles north of Des Moines.

I had some company as my friend Steve Tepperman aka Princeton Steve was there as well. We enjoyed each other's company during the game.

As for the experience, the crowd was mainly Rutgers' fans who had a short ride to the game. There were a number of Cyclone fans who came in from the cornfields of Iowa to see their team play. In addition, they got to visit New York City too.

As for the game, Iowa State took an early 6-0 lead on two field goals. They were running well but they couldn't get the ball into the end zone. As a result, Rutgers finally got going as they build a comfortable lead. The Cyclones got within a touchdown in the fourth quarter at 20-13 but Rutgers connected on a 86 yard bomb to freshman wide receiver Brandon Coleman for a touchdown that sealed the deal for them as they won the game by a score of 27-13. Redshirt freshman Jawan Jamison sparked the Scarlet Knights' ground game with 134 rushing.

After the game, I met up with the King who wound up going to Brooklyn to see LIU play basketball. By doing so, he saw his 400th sporting event of the calendar year.

Afterwards we met up at Donovan's Pub with our pal Bryan Gilligan who was watching a few high school basketball games. We had a nice dinner together. We got to catch up on our recent whereabouts.

Saturday afternoon the King and I went out to the Nassau Coliseum to see the NY Islanders play the Edmonton Oilers.

It was Ken Morrow #6 Islander Hall of Fame Day as the Islanders enshrined their defenseman who played back in the 1980's in the Islanders' Hall of Fame. Ken Morrow played for the US Olympic Team that won the Gold Medal against Russia in 1980. He joined the Islanders in March that year. He arrived just in time as the Islanders went to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time. They made it five straight years to the Finals as they won their four straight Stanley Cups in the process. Morrow wasn't known to be a prolific goal scorer since he was a defenseman. He did know how to score at the right time though as he had 11 playoff goals including a game winner that eliminated their arch rival, the NY Rangers along the way.

As for the game, the Islanders scored the first goal of the game. The Oilers quickly answered with one of their own to tie the game at one. The Islanders proceeded to score the next three and that's how it ended as the Islanders' won, 4-1.

After the game the King and I hitched a ride to Brooklyn where we closed out the 2011 calendar year the way we started it with a surprise. We saw another game unexpectedly.

This time we saw the Brooklyn Aviators play the Cape Cod Bluefins in a Federal Hockey League (FHL) game. They play at the Aviator Sports and Events Center at Floyd Bennett Field by Marine Park in Brooklyn.

As for the game we saw, the Aviators scored early and often as they lead, 6-1 after the first period. Things settled down on the scoreboard the rest of the way as the Aviators won the game, 7-3. Andrew Oswiak scored a hat trick as he scored three times in the first period.

Stay tuned as I'm going to write a special post about how I started 2012 on New Year's Day.

In addition, I'm going to do my 2011 year in review when I get a chance as well.

As always, thank you for reading and following along.

Happy New Year!

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty and company visit Western NY and Cleveland over the weekend Part Two!

National Anthem at Sabre Game

Saturday morning after spending the night sleeping at Super 8 in the Buffalo area, we started our day in typical royal fashion.

We ate a hearty breakfast at the Royal Restaurant which was conveniently located up the block from the hotel we stayed at.

What a perfect way to start another day. It got better as the day wore on as we got to meet up with part of the Ultimate Sports Road Trip aka USRT as our pal Andrew Kulyk joined us for the college football game we were attending as the University of Buffalo Bulls hosted the Akron Zips in a MAC conference game. Mind you both of these teams had horrible records.

As for the game we saw, the Bulls whipped up on the Zips by a score of 51-10. The Bulls took the opening kickoff back 93 yards to the Akron one yard line. Moments later, they scored a touchdown to make it 7-0 which set the tone for the remainder of the afternoon. The Zips almost got zipped as the Bulls tossed them a beatdown.

After the game, Andrew arranged to have us go to a place called Vizzi's Bar and Restaurant which is located in Kenmore, NY which wasn't far from the hotel we stayed at.

As for Vizzi's, they have been labeled as having the best burgers in Western New York. Needless to say, we decided to try it out to see if it lived up to its reputation. It sure did. They refer to them as monster burgers which come with fries for a mere $6.95. The burger was a massive chunk of meat that was served on a bun.

In addition, we had some "naked" wings if you will. That's the only way the King can handle them since he's such a picky eater. With that being said, Andrew and his partner Peter Farrell who was working showed up to join us, cringed at the plate of wings that was on the table. After all, Buffalo is notorious for their wings that are decorated in all kinds of sauce.

After we finished our great meal and drinks, we all headed over to Downtown Buffalo to see the Buffalo Sabres take on the Phoenix Coyotes at the newly named First Niagara Center formerly the HSBC Arena.
This was a big thrill for our friends Mike Carroll aka Sabre Mike and Frank Anichiarico who were seeing this building for the very first time.

It was especially a real big deal for Sabre Mike because the Sabres are his favorite hockey team. The King and I told him in the past we were going to take him there some day. Well that day finally came.

Unfortunately for him the final result wasn't what he hoped for as the Coyotes beat the Sabres, 4-2. He now has a good reason to come back some time in the future. If he does, hopefully the Sabres will win for him.

After the game, we said goodbye to the Buffalo Boys who as usual rolled out the red carpet and they treated us royally. They arranged to buy us our tickets to the game so we could all enjoy the game together. It's always a pleasure to see their guys and catch up on our travels past, present and future.

Speaking of that, please stay tuned for the final installment from this amazing weekend as I will write another post that will go into further detail regarding that and then some.

Trust me it will be worth the wait.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Sabres whip Lightning, 7-1!

This game was over fast. The Sabres lit the lamp early and often.

Paul Gaustad of the Sabres got his team on the board 2:24 into the game to make it 1-0.

Vincent Lecavalier of the Lightning added insult to injury when he was called for a 5 minute spearing penalty. In addition, he received an automatic game misconduct as well.

The Sabres proceeded to take full advantage by scoring 2 power play goals. Derek Roy and Jochen Hecht were the benefactors.

They chased goaltender, Antero Niittymaki from the game. He made 3 saves on the Sabres first 6 shots.

In the second period, the Sabres added 3 more answered goals against back up goaltender, Mike Smith.

Derek Roy scored his second goal of the night in the process.

With just 43 seconds left in the period, Steve Downie broke the shutout for the Lightning when he beat Sabres netminder, Patrick Lalime.

In the third period, Derek Roy added his 3rd goal of the night. That gave him the hat trick.

See the picture as his teammates celebrated with him as hats flew on the ice.

It should also be noted that Patrick Lalime got credit with his 200th NHL victory.