Royalty w/o 2/11 in review

Tim Capstraw & Chris Carrino

Monday night after work I came home and I ate dinner then I went out and I did my laundry.

Tuesday night after work I went out to Newark, NJ to see the Devils play the Carolina Hurricanes at the Prudential Center. I wound up having a pulled pork sandwich at the arena for dinner. I decided to take it up to my seat in section 226 row 6 where I met up with the King and our pals Frank Anichiarico, Vincent Ascanio and Dennis Barbera who were at the game too. We were one big happy family amongst the sellout crowd.

As for the game we saw, the Devils broke through first with 4:01 left in the first period when Ilya Kovalchuk scored on the power play to make it 1-0 Devils. In the second period, the Hurricanes got even as Jussi Jokinen beat Devils' goaltender Johan Hedberg 1:36 into the period to make it a 1-1 also on the power play. Later in the period with 1:31 to go, the Hurricanes took the lead, 2-1 as Patrick Dwyer lit the lamp. In the third period, the Devils got the equalizer as Ryan Carter beat Hurricanes' netminder Cam Ward just 1:34 into the period on a giveaway in front of the net to tie the game at two. The Hurricanes broke the tie again 7:25 into the period when Jiri Tlusty scored to give the Hurricanes a 3-2 lead. He also added an empty net goal with 26 seconds left to seal the deal as the Hurricanes beat the Devils, 4-2.

Wednesday night after work I went to downtown Brooklyn to see the Nets play the Denver Nuggets. By doing so, I've now seen every NBA basketball team play at once this season.

Before I went into the Barclays Center I stopped off at McDonald's in the Atlantic Center Mall across the street to have my pre game meal.

When I was done I went into the arena. Before I went to my seat in section 230, I stopped off by the radio broadcasting booth which is located by section 110 and I said hello to the Nets radio team of Tim Capstraw and Chris Carrino. After talking to them briefly before they did the Nets' inside look, I went upstairs and I met up with the King and our pal Harry Schwartz who was in attendance. It was nice to catch up with him again.

As for the game we saw, the Nuggets led the Nets, 26-23 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Nets scored a season high 39 points to take a 62-57 lead at halftime. In the third quarter, the Nets continued to pull away from the Nuggets as they opened up a 14 point lead, 95-81. In the fourth quarter, the Nets got out scored 27-24 by the Nuggets who failed to come all the way back as the Nets went on to beat them, 119-108.

The Nets played without Deron Williams who was inactive due to an injured ankle. In his place, C.J. Watson scored a season high 25 points and he dished out 6 assists.

Thursday night after work I came home and I made dinner and I relaxed for a change.

Friday night after work I went back out to Newark, NJ to see the Devils play their division rival, the Philadelphia Flyers.

As for dinner, I got a spinach stromboli and a slice of pizza at the arena. I met up with the King and my friend Lloyd Ramsland who was joined by a long time buddy of his who lives out in Denver, Colorado, Dick Harding. I arranged to get them tickets for the game so they could join us. It was great to see both of them again. We see Lloyd from time to time. As for Dick, we've met him a number of times over the years either here or when we've gone to the Rocky Mountain state thanks to Lloyd.

As for the game we saw, the Devils scored first just 40 seconds into the game as Travis Zajac made it 1-0 Devils. The Flyers got even and then some midway through the period as they score three unanswered goals in a 2 minute 36 second stretch to take a 3-1 lead. In the second period, Alexei Ponikarovsky who the Devils had reacquired got the Devils back within a goal just 26 seconds into the second period. Later in the period with 4:20 left, the Devils tied the game at three as Patrik Elias scored. In the third period, the Devils took the lead, 4-3 as David Clarkson found the net with 9:17 remaining in the game. The Devils' Steve Bernier added an empty net goal to give the Devils a 5-3 victory.

Stay tuned for some special posts that I'm going to do regarding our educational and adventurous weekend in New England.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 1/28 in review

Monday night after work I went to the Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn to see the Nets play the Orlando Magic.

Before the game I walked over to the Atlantic Center Mall which is across the street. I wound up going to McDonald's for my pre game meal.

After I finished eating, I walked back over to the Barclays Center and I went inside. I was able to go to the area where the radio broadcasters do the game by section 109. On this night, I got to say hello to Dennis Neumann, the radio voice of the Magic. I also got to say hello to the Nets radio team of Tim Capstraw and Chris Carrino. These guys are always very fan friendly when they have some spare time.

When I was done, I went up to section 230 row 13 where I met up with the King. We wound up seeing our pal Steve Tepperman who was also at the game.

As for the game we saw, the Nets made fast work of the Magic who lost center Dwight Howard in the off season. The Magic are having a miserable season thus far. As a result, the Nets made sure they took advantage. They built an early ten point lead, 30-20 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, they out scored the Magic by six to lead 56-40 at the break. In the third quarter, the Magic made a comeback attempt as they out scored the Nets by nine to pull within seven, 70-63 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, the Nets turned it on again. They put the Magic away as they went on to win, 97-77 before a crowd of 16,480 which was just short of a sellout.

Tuesday night after work I got to come home and I caught up on things around the house after I made myself dinner. It was really nice to have a night off so I could play catch up.

Wednesday night after work instead of going to see the Knicks or the Nets play, the King and I went out to a special trophy awards dinner. During the spring and summer, the King and I play softball on Sunday mornings. Our team, the Fuzz Cougs, wound up winning the Championship back in late August. On this night, we got to see our teammates as we got rewarded for our hard work. It was a nice get together which was well worth missing a sporting event for.

Thursday night after work, I went out to Newark, NJ to see the Devils play the Islanders at the Prudential Center.

I met up with the King and our pal Mike Carroll aka Sabre Mike who joined us. I wound up getting pizza for dinner at the arena.

As for the game we saw, the Islanders took a 2-0 lead early in the second period before the Devils came back to tie the game at two. Both teams spent the rest of the game trading goals as the game was tied again at three and four. The game wound up being decided in overtime as the Islanders got the game winning goal from right winger Brad Boyes who scored with 2:59 left in the extra session to send the sellout crowd which included a number of Islander fans home with mixed emotions as the Islanders came away with an entertaining 5-4 victory.

Friday night after work I went back to the Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn to see the Nets host the Chicago Bulls. Before the game, I arranged to meet my Cousin Andy at AppleBee's at the Atlantic Center Mall for dinner then we went to the game together. He told me he wanted to see the Barclays Center so I told him I'll make it happen and I did.

After we ate dinner, we walked over to the arena. We went inside and I showed him around the building before we met up with the King. We all watched the game together. Andy was very grateful that I got him the ticket and he enjoyed our company.

As for the game we saw, the Nets got off to a fast start as they led the Bulls, 24-14 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Bulls came back and they led, 42-41 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Bulls extended their lead to four, 67-63. In the fourth quarter, the Nets staged a comeback as they went on to beat the Bulls who played without a few of their key players, 93-89 much to the delight of the sellout crowd.

Stay tuned as I'm going to do a few special posts that will recap my busy weekend.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 1/14 in review

Prince at Barclays Center

Monday after work I came home for some much needed rest and blog catch up since they were no local games in the area.

Tuesday after work I went to downtown Brooklyn to the Barclays Center to see the Nets take on the Toronto Raptors. Before I went into the arena, I stopped off at McDonald's in the Atlantic Center Mall which is across the street for my pre game meal. I had a McRib. It was really good. When I was done, I walked back to the arena and I went inside. I met up with the King by our seats in section 230 row 13 and we watched the game together.

As for the game we saw, the Nets and the Raptors were tied at 27 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Nets went ahead as they led at halftime, 54-50. In the third quarter, the Nets added to their lead as they out scored the Raptors 29-26 to take a 83-76 lead after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, both teams scored 30 points as the Nets held off the Raptors to emerge victorious, 113-106.

Brook Lopez led all scorers with 22 points and he grabbed 9 rebounds while his teammate Deron Williams had 21 points and he dished out 7 assists. Joe Johnson also added 21 points and handed 5 assists to lead a balanced attack.

Wednesday night after work I came home and I did my laundry after I made dinner.

Thursday night after work I met up with my pal Larry Peim in upper Manhattan near the George Washington Bridge. I also met the King and our friends Frank Anichiarico and Phil Butleman there as well. He drove us all to the Stratis Arena at Rothman Center in Hackensack, NJ which is the home of the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights. On this night, they were playing the LIU Blackbirds. Upon arrival we met up with our pal Bert Shoobs who does the public address announcing for the Knights. It was great to see him again.

As for the game we saw, the Blackbirds led the Knights after the first half, 36-35. In the second half, the Knights went on a 13-2 run to take a 48-38 lead. The Blackbirds came all the way back to force overtime as Brandon Thompson hit a three pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 75. In the extra session, the Blackbirds out scored the Knights, 10-6 to win 79-75 before a sparse gathering of an announced crowd of 317. It should be the King did a head count and he came up with a total of around 200 people.

For the Blackbirds, they got 30 points and 16 rebounds from senior forward Jamal Olasewere while guard C.J. Garner added 23 points to carry them to the comeback win.

As for the Knights, Melquan Bolding scored a team high 22 points in the losing effort.

Friday night after work I went back to downtown Brooklyn to the Barclays Center. This time I saw the Nets host the Atlanta Hawks. Once again I stopped off at McDonald's for dinner. After I got done, I met up with my pal Phil Butleman outside the arena. We went inside together. After we got in, I told him I wanted to go to see the radio announcer for the Hawks before the game started. I'm referring to the legendary Steve Holman who has done Hawk games for the last 28 years. In matter of fact, on Wednesday night in Atlanta he called his 2,000th consecutive Hawk game. Ironically it was also against the Nets. This night was game number 2,001 for him. I also got to say a quick hello to him before he went on the air. He's a really nice guy and it was an absolute pleasure to see him again.

In addition, I got to see Tim Capstraw and Chris Carrino, the radio voices of the Brooklyn Nets. I got to speak to them as well. While I was doing so, I got to introduce myself to a young man who hopes to get into broadcasting himself some day. His name was Matt Cohen. It was nice to have the opportunity to meet and greet him too. I wished him luck and we exchanged contact information.

As for the game we saw, the Hawks and Nets played dead even for the first three quarters. The game was tied at 29 after the first quarter, 49 at halftime and at 75 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, the Nets finally broke through as they out scored the Hawks, 20-15 to win the game, 94-89. It should be noted that Josh Smith of the Hawks threw down a monstrous highlight reel jam with his left hand late in the game to get the Hawks with a point but the Nets held them off and escaped with the victory in front of a sellout crowd of 17,732.

Stay tuned for some special posts that I'm going to do regarding the weekend getaway the King and I took over the Martin Luther King weekend.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman