Royalty w/o 2/18 in review

My niece Taylor, my nephew Jeremy & I

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Legends Night at St. John's University

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 11/26 in review

Monday morning I went to work for a half a day. After work, I went to the doctor for my annual exam. Thankfully I got a clean bill of health.

After my check up, I went to Avis and I rented a car for the day so I could drive to Philadelphia to see Monday night football between the Eagles and the Carolina Panthers.

I picked up a Ford Focus and then I drove back home to pick up the King. I also arranged to meet up with my pal Eddie Pelle who wanted to go to the game as well.

We got down to the sports complex area around 6:45PM. Before we went to park the car we stopped off at Burger King for a pre game meal.

Once we were done we parked the car and we walked over towards Lincoln Financial Field. We stopped off at Holiday Inn first because Eddie had to pick up a ticket he had bought on Stub Hub. After that, we walked over to go inside to see the game. The King waited to meet up with our buddy Andrew Van Cleve who was on his way after he put his kids to sleep. They got tickets and they went in. I had a club seat with our pal Frankie Centola who I met inside.

As for the game we saw, the Eagles got the ball first and they drove down the field but their drive stalled and they wound up settling for a 36 yard field goal by kicker Alex Henery with 11:12 left to gave the Eagles an early 3-0 lead. The Panthers responded on their first drive of the night as they drove down the field 72 yards which culminated with a 24 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Cam Newton. The Panthers led, 7-3 with 6:12 left in the first quarter. After stopping the Eagles, the Panthers got the ball back and they scored again. This time Cam Newton threw a 43 yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brandon LaFell to extend the Panthers' lead to 14-3 with 3:36 left.

The Eagles took the kickoff and they went down the field but they stalled again and they settled for another field goal. This time from 41 yards out as Alex Henery split the uprights to make it a 14-6 game with 14:15 left in the second quarter. After stopping the Panthers, the Eagles got the ball back and thanks to running back Bryce Brown they got closer as he ran 65 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-12. The Eagles decided to go for two to try and tie the game but it was unsuccessful with 10:56 left until halftime. Later in the quarter with 3:20 left the Eagles took the lead, 15-14 thanks again to the right foot of Alex Henery who booted a 45 yard field goal. It stayed that way as both teams headed to the locker room.

In the third quarter, the Panthers took the kickoff to start the second half. They started at their own 5 yard line. Cam Newton drove his team down the field and he dove into the end zone to cap it off from a yard out to give his team the lead again at 21-15. The Eagles fought back again as they went back ahead with 3:30 left in the quarter as Bryce Brown scored again. This time he ran in from 5 yards out to give the Eagles a 22-21 lead.

In the fourth quarter, the Panthers got a 23 yard field goal from Graham Gano to make a 24-22 in favor of Carolina. The Panthers padded their lead with 4:40 left as Cam Newton ran in again. This time from two yards out to make the score 30-22. Graham Gano missed the extra point which gave the Eagles a glamor of hope. Unfortunately for them, they couldn't score anymore and that's the way it ended. Bryce Brown of the Eagles had a memorable night as he ran for 178 yards on the ground. Unfortunately he fumbled twice which cost his team along the way. Hope for his sake, he learns from his mistakes.

After the game, we all met at the car and I drove Andrew Van Cleve home then I took Frankie to his mother's house where he was spending the night. I dropped off Eddie at his job then I took the King and I home we got in around 2:30AM.

Tuesday morning before I went to work I went to Avis to return the car I rented. 260 miles were safely driven.

After work I came home to catch up on some much needed rest.

Wednesday night after work I went to downtown Brooklyn to see college basketball at LIU. The Blackbirds were hosting the Columbia Lions. After I went to McDonald's for dinner, I met up with the King at the Wellness Center where LIU plays its home games. We went inside and we had plenty of company. We were joined by ours pals Phil Butleman, David Sack, Vincent Ascanio, Larry Peim and Frank Anichiarico.
As for the game we saw, the Blackbirds picked up their first win of the season after losing their first four games. They won, 70-61. Julian Boyd led the way with 19 points. His teammates Jamal Olasewere and Jason Brickman added 16 points each to pace the Blackbirds. As for the Lions, Mark Cisco had 18 points in the losing cause.

Thursday night after work I went out to Jamaica, Queens to see the St. John's Red Storm play at Carnesecca Arena which is on their campus. They were hosting the Gamecocks from South Carolina in the SEC/Big East Challenge. On the way there, I stopped off at Popeye's for some fried chicken. When I was done, I got back on the bus and I met up with the King outside the arena. We got tickets and we went inside.

As for the game we saw, the Red Storm raced out to a big lead which grew as the game wore on. Guard D'Angelo Harrison led the way for the Red Storm as he poured in 26 points as they went on to blow away the Gamecocks, 89-65.

Friday after work I went to Madison Square Garden where I saw the Knicks play the Washington Wizards.
As for the game I saw, the Knicks made fast work of the lowly Wizards who finally won their first game a few nights earlier at home. On this night, it wasn't meant for the Wizards to make it two in a row. The Knicks took it to them early and often. The Knicks led by 9 after the first quarter. They were up by 11 at halftime. They pulled away in the third quarter as they went up by 21. That's how it ended as the Knicks won by 21, 108-87. Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith paced the Knicks with 20 points each.

Saturday morning I did my laundry. Later in the afternoon, the King and I took a ride on Metro North up to Bridgeport, Connecticut so we could see some AHL hockey since the NHL is still locked out.
We went to the Webster Bank Arena where we saw the Bridgeport Sound Tigers host the Worcester Sharks.

As for the game we saw, the Worcester Sharks lead 2-1 after a fight filled first period. After a scoreless and fightless second period, the Sound Tigers got the equalizer 2:51 into the third period to tie the game at two as Nino Niederreiter found the net. With 6:08 left in the third, Worcester regained the lead at 3-2 when Tim Kennedy scored his second goal of the game for the Sharks. The Sound Tigers evened the score once again with just 2:28 left in regulation time as Brock Nelson scored on a late power play. After a scoreless overtime session, the game was decided by a shootout. The Sharks wound up beating the Sound Tigers in the skills competition to give the Sharks a 4-3 victory.

Sunday the King and I met up with our friends Frank Anichiarico, Michael Abrams and Larry Peim who picked us up in Midtown Manhattan and he drove us out to MetLife Stadium where we went to see the Jets play the Cardinals.

When we got out there, we met up with Andrew Van Cleve who came up from Philadelphia and Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich who also came to the game.

As for the game we saw, it was a poor display of football to say the least. It got so bad that the Jet fans got their wish when head coach Rex Ryan decided to pull quarterback Mark Sanchez. He put in backup Greg McElroy in his place with 4:48 left in the third quarter with the Jets trailing 3-0. During his brief stint, he threw his first NFL touchdown pass to Jeff Cumberland from a yard out with 14:55 left in the fourth quarter to give the Jets a 7-3 lead. The Cardinals got a 35 yard field goal from former Jet kicker Jay Feely with 10:39 left to make it a 7-6 game. The Jets decided to run out the clock when they got down to the one yard line so they could preserve the ugly 7-6 victory.

After the game, Larry drove us back to Manhattan and we all went out for dinner at Jackson's Hole which is the home of the 7 ounce burger. We all enjoyed our burgers and each other's company.

With that, another week of sports travel has come and gone.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 2/20 in review

Mike Emrick Night

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 2/13 in review

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

Here's how it went:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 12/6 in review

Upon returning from Cincinnati Monday at Noon at LaGuardia Airport I went home quickly to drop off my bags. After doing so, I proceeded to go to Avis to rent a car for the day.

I drove to pick up our buddy Al Linderman aka "Big Game Al" who took the King's place since he had to get back to work so he reluctantly couldn't make the trip. Al and I went to Foxboro, Massachusetts to see the AFC East showdown between the Jets and the New England Patriots.

On the way up we were listening to sports radio. Mike Francesa, a local host on WFAN in New York said and I quoted "if you plan to stay for the whole game it's going to take you 3 or 4 hours to get out of the area since there's only one road in and one road out."

Royalty laughed at the commentary. Rightfully so, we stayed to the bitter end and we got out rather fast even with plenty of traffic. I drove 3 miles to the highway in 10 minutes. Once I got on the highway it was smooth sailing the rest of the way. I dropped Al off and I took myself home. I got home at 4:10AM.

In addition, Royalty knows where to park cheap. I paid $20 to park as opposed to the other lots that we passed that were charging $30, $35, $40 & $50 to park. We had to walk a mile and a quarter but it was well worth it. If you parked in one of those other lots you still had to walk a mile or more.

As for the game, it didn't live up to the hype for the Jets who failed to show up. They fell behind early and they never had a chance. They went on to lose, 45-3!

After getting an hour and a half sleep I went to work Tuesday. After work, I went to see St. John's play St. Bonaventure in college basketball on my way home at the Carnesecca Arena formerly known as Alumni Hall in Jamaica, Queens.

I managed to stay awake even though it was a struggle in the second half.

I saw a good game and a great ending. The Red Storm as they're called these days got off to an early 13-2 lead but that disappeared as the Bonnies from St. Bonaventure stormed back to keep it close the rest of the way. In the end, the Bonnies won 67-66 as Andrew Nicholson who had 19 points and 13 rebounds scored the winning basket with just 5.2 seconds to go. His teammate Michael Davenport added 22 points.

Dwight Hardy of the Red Storm led all scorers with 24 points in the losing effort.

Wednesday night after work I went to Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks take on the Toronto Raptors. The Knicks won in dramatic fashion as Raymond Felton hit a three pointer that bounced off the rim a number of times before dropping in with 2.7 seconds left to give the Knicks a 113-110 decision over the visiting Raptors. The Knicks were paced by Amar'e Stoudemire who poured in 34 points. Raymond Felton finished with 28. The Raptors got a career high 41 points from Andrea Bargnani in the defeat.

Thursday & Friday night I went home to catch up on sleep and I prepared for the busy weekend ahead.

Saturday I went to Manhattan College to see the Japsers take on the Bearcats from Binghamton. Both teams came in with horrible records. Despite that, the game turned out to be a good one including another stunning ending. The visiting Bearcats came away with the victory as guard Jimmy Gray scored his only basket of the game with just 5.6 seconds to go to give the Bearcats a 70-69 win. Mahamoud Jabbi led the Bearcats with 20 points. George Beamon paced the Jaspers with 20 points and 10 rebounds in the loss. 

After the college basketball game, the King and I went to the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ to see the Detroit Red Wings, the King's favorite team play the NJ Devils.

The Red Wings got a few goals early and never looked back as they beat the Devils, 4-1!

Pavel Datsyuk led the way with a goal and two assists.

It should be noted this game was the King's 400th sporting event he has attended this calendar year.

Sunday we had another double dip as we saw the Knicks play the Nuggets at the Garden at Noon.

The Knicks continued their winning ways as they notched their eighth straight win for the first time in 16 years. In addition, they've now won 13 out of their last 14 games.

Amar'e Stoudemire was a monster again especially in the second half as he scored 30 points again for the eighth straight game. Wilson Chandler added 27 while Raymond Felton had 19 points to go along with 17 assists.

As for the Nuggets, they were led by Carmelo Anthony who had 31 points and 13 rebounds and Nene who scored 26 points in the loss.

After the Knick game, we went to the New Meadowlands Stadium to see the Jets try to rebound after Monday night's nightmare against division rival the Miami Dolphins.

Before mother nature made things ugly the Jets got a head start. They had some costly turnovers that gave the Dolphins an early 10-0 lead which the Jets couldn't recover from.

As the game wore on the weather got worse. As a result, Santonio Holmes missed a sure touchdown pass in the end zone as the Jets had to settle for a field goal to get on the board late in the second quarter.

The Jet defense played well as they shutdown the Dolphins the rest of the game. Unfortunately, the Jet offense couldn't get going all day as they failed to get in the end zone for the second straight game.

They went on to lose again, 10-6!

Their season has taken a turn for the worst. The way they're playing they may miss the playoffs. We'll have to wait and see if they can get it together again.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Marquette outlast Johnnies & win in OT, 63-61!

Last night at Carnesecca Arena formerly known as Alumni Hall, home of the St. John's University Red Storm in Jamaica, Queens, the Golden Eagles from Marquette which is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in case you didn't know came to NY to play. In addition, Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat went to school there.

As for the game itself, the Red Storm started off well. They were ahead most of the time and at the half, 29-25.

They came out in the second half and built their lead to 8 points. Marquette who hung in there all night started to chip away. They came all the way back and they took a 3 point lead.

They were up 54-51. St. John's had the ball when guard Malik Boothe tied the game with a trey with 14.2 left in regulation. Marquette had the final possession looking to win the game. They wound up missing the last shot.

Now it was time for overtime. In the extra 5 minute period, they continued to go back and forth. Marquette did have the upper hand most of the time but the Red Storm managed to tie it again. Marquette had the final say again. This time the Butler did it. Jimmy that is. At the buzzer, forward Jimmy Butler hit the game winning shot and he sent the home crowd home in disbelief. The Golden Eagles came out of Jamaica, Queens with a hard fought well earned victory.

Lazar Hayward led all scorers with 22 points and Jimmy Butler the hero added 18.

As for the Red Storm, D.J. Kennedy had 20 points in the loss.

Tonight on my way home I'll be stopping off at St. John's University to see the Red Storm play Marquette

Check back to see how things went for the Red Storm.

St. John's deck the Cards, 74-55!

On the night when they celebrated their 25th anniversary of the 1985 Final Four team, the current team played like the one from 1985. They started the game by scoring the first 12 points and they never looked back.

The Cardinals got their first basket of the game with 13:15 left in the half to get on the scoreboard. They got within 6 early in the second half then the Red Storm scored the next 14 points to put this one away for good.

As for the halftime cermony, it was nice but disappointing. It was great to see some of the players from the 1985 team. Willie Glass, Shelton Jones, Ron Stewart and Bill Wennington were there. But for whatever reason, the three big stars Walter Berry, Mark Jackson & Chris Mullin were no shows.I was looking forward to seeing them. They did have a video tribute which was nice.

Triple Header Saturday

Mother nature cooperated!

3 sporting events in one day were witnessed start to finish. Ironicly all 3 home teams lost. Here's how they turned out.

In addition, see photos below.

Game 1 St. John's played a great first half. They lead 33-22! The second half belonged to West Virginia they completely took over. St. John's build their lead to 16. They lead 41-25 early in the second half. With 10:31 left in the game, West Virginia took the lead and never looked back. They went on to win easily, 79-60! They were lead by Da'Sean Butler who had 33 points including 7 for 7 from 3 point range.

Game 2 Hofstra started fast. They lead 15-2. Then they disappeared. Before you knew it Northeastern was right back in the game. As the game worn on, Northeastern kept building their lead. They went on to win going away, 75-55!

Game 3 The Islanders fell behind 1-0 then they tied up the game at 1. But they wound up giving up 2 more goals and went on to lose, 3-1!

Triple Header Planned for Tomorrow

Assuming mother nature cooperates, I have the following planned for tomorrow Saturday, February 6th.

West Virginia Mountaineers at St. John's Red Storm 12 Noon at MSG

Northeastern Huskies at Hofstra Pride 4PM

Carolina Hurricanes at NY Islanders 7PM

Check back to see how it turned out.