Royalty w/o 4/8 in review

Monday night after work I came home I ate dinner and relaxed for a change. Thanks to the baseball schedule makers, the Mets and Yankees were both on the road this week after they both opened the season together at home during opening week. As a result, I got an early break from baseball. The King on the other hand, rented a Toyota Corolla from Avis for 15 days so he could drive around the Northeast to see as many baseball games as possible.

Tuesday night after work I went to the Barclays Center for the last time this season since I didn't get the playoff tickets because the King & I prefer to go to see baseball instead. In addition, the prices for the playoff tickets were too pricey for our liking so we passed up the opportunity to get them.

I wound up going to McDonald's at the Atlantic Center Mall for dinner before the game. I ran into my pals Harry Schwartz and Dennis Barbera who were eating there too. Once we got done, we all walked across the street and we went into the arena to see the Nets host the Philadelphia 76ers. When I got to my seat in section 230 row 13 I met up with my friend Frank Anichiarico who was using the King's ticket. Frank is a 76er observer if you will.

As for the game we saw, the Nets made fast work of the 76ers as they built a big lead early and they never looked back as they defeated the 76ers, 104-83 much to Frank's chagrin.

Reggie Evans scored 17 points and he grabbed 24 rebounds while his teammate Brook Lopez added a game high 29 points and he pulled down 11 rebounds as the Nets cruised past the 76ers who had a disappointing season.

Wednesday night after work I went out to Newark, NJ to see the Devils take on the Boston Bruins at the Prudential Center for the last time this season. I was joined by Vincent Ascanio and Frank Anichiarico who were also there. I decided to get an Angus burger that came with Nathan's fries for dinner at the arena per Vincent's recommendation. It tasted really good.

As for the game we saw, the Bruins raced out to an early 4-0 lead 3:06 into the second period. I was thinking of my pal Eric Hasseltine who happens to be a big Bruin fan. I updated him throughout the game. It appeared that it was going to be an easy win for his Bruins. It turned out not to be the case as the Devils finally awoke as they scored three unanswered goals to get within a goal 4-3 with 14:02 left in the third period. The Bruins responded right back as they added an insurance goal with 12:27 to go up 5-3. It turned out to be a huge goal because the Devils fought back and finally cut the lead to 5-4 with 37 seconds to go. Fortunately for Eric and the number of Bruin fans that were part of the sellout crowd of 17,625, the Bruins were able to hang on as they escaped the swamp land with a win. As a result, it hurt the Devils slim playoff hopes.

Thursday night after work I came home and I made myself dinner. Once I got done I went out and I did my laundry around the block.

Stay tuned as I'm going to do some special posts that we'll recap the memorable weekend I had. Please bear with me as I try to continue to find time to catch up.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

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