Royalty is hitting the road again to Canada & Upstate New York at the end of October!

Here's the game plan:

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

I'll be driving up North of the Border to Montreal, Quebec, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, & through different parts of New York State to see NHL hockey, a Canadian Football League game, college football & AHL hockey before returning to NYC late Saturday night/Sunday morning. My pal Mike Carroll aka Sabre Mike as we call him is joining me. He asked me if I would take him again to see his favorite team, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats play. I told him I would. They happen to be playing in Ottawa. When the NHL schedule came out, he saw the Montreal Canadiens were home the night before. He has always wanted to go there as well so I arranged to add that to the mix. I was planning to skip seeing the World Series again that weekend. I'm counting on the fact that it will be too far away & too pricey for me to attend. We shall wait & see what happens. If the Yankees get in, I'll probably cut the trip short so I can go to games 4 & 5. His birthday is on November 12th so we'll be celebrating a little earlier again this year.             

Thursday October 26th Kings at Canadiens 7:30PM

Friday October 27th Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Ottawa Redblacks 7PM

Saturday October 28th Bucknell Bison at Colgate Raiders 1PM

                                       Springfield Falcons at Binghamton Devils 7:05PM
           
If you're interested in going on this exclusive getaway royalty style just let me know so I can arrange to have you join Mike & I.

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 is going back to the Bay Area for a Roadtripping Reunion in December!

Here's the game plan:

The King & I are flying to San Jose on American Airlines. We leave New York LaGuardia Airport on Friday, December 9th at 6:59AM Eastern Time, we have an hour layover in Dallas. We're then scheduled to leave there at 11:10AM Central Time if we're not delayed for any reason. We're supposed to land in San Jose at 1PM Pacific Time if we're on time. Upon arrival, we're meeting up with fellow roadtripper & a good friend of ours, Tike Narry who's going to drive us around while we're in the Bay area for the weekend. We're also planning to meet up with our pal Scott Bultman who's planning to arrive on Thursday & he'll be with us all weekend long. In addition, we're going to see our good people from Buffalo as well, they being Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell aka USRT if you will. Due to scheduling conflicts, we'll only see them in Sacramento that Friday night. Furthermore, we're going to see a very special guest & fellow roadtripper who normally just focuses on seeing as many baseball games on the road in the shortest time possible. I'm referring to Chuck Booth who will be flying to the Bay area on Sunday for the day to join us in Santa Clara for some football. Before the King & I escape that night on a red eye back home, we're all going to have a farewell dinner to cap off another memorable weekend of road tripping. Our flight leaves San Jose at 11:05PM on Jet Blue & we land in Boston at 7:31AM Eastern Time where we have a connecting flight that departs Beantown at 8:50AM & is scheduled to land at 10:03AM Eastern Time at LaGuardia Airport if all goes according to plan.    
   
Friday December 9th Knicks at Kings 7:30PM Pacific Time

Saturday December 10th San Diego Gulls at San Jose Barracuda 1:15PM Pacific Time

                                           Hurricanes at Sharks 7:30PM Pacific Time
                   
Sunday December 11th Jets at 49ers 1:05PM Pacific Time

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. If you live in the area and/or happen to be around that weekend & you want to meet up let me know. As I like to say, teamwork makes the dream work. No doubt about that. This weekend getaway is a total team effort.

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

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees a rare basketball tripleheader!

Prince at Prudential Center for Seton Hall Pirates

Saturday morning I went to the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ which is also the home of the Seton Hall Pirates who play their home games at the Rock. On this day they were hosting the Cincinnati Bearcats at 11AM. It was also the 20th anniversary of the Seton Hall team that won the Big East Championship during the 1992-1993 season. As a result, they had a ceremony at halftime to celebrate the reunion before an announced crowd of 6,961.

I was joined by the King and our pals Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich and Dennis Barbera.

As for the game we saw, the game was tied at 28 late in the first half. The Bearcats went on a 20-0 run that carried over into the second half. As a result, the Bearcats were able to hold off a late surge by the Pirates as they went on to win the game, 65-59.

Prince at WRAC - Home of LIU Blackbirds

After the game, we all took the Path train back to midtown Manhattan where we caught the Q train to downtown Brooklyn for game two of the day at LIU where the Blackbirds were hosting the Robert Morris Colonials at 3PM at the Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center aka the WRAC.

We were also joined by our pals Larry Peim, Michael Abrams, Phil Butleman, David Sack and Vincent Ascanio.

As for the game we saw, the Colonials led the Blackbirds, 32-29 at halftime. In the second half, the Colonials held off the Blackbirds in a closely contested affair, 60-57.

Prince at Madison Square Garden 

After the game, I went to Popeye's for dinner before I went to Madison Square Garden for game three at 7:30PM as the Knicks were taking on the Sacramento Kings.

As for the game I saw, the Knicks wound up blowing out the Kings who raced out to an early 18-6 lead. It went down hill from there for the Kings as the Knicks rolled to an easy 120-81 victory.

The Knicks got monster performances from Tyson Chandler who scored 11 points and he grabbed 20 rebounds. In addition, Amar'e Stoudemire came off the bench and he shot 10 for 10 from the field as he finished with 21 points while J.R. Smith added a team high 25 points off the bench which enabled the Knicks to win the game easily.

Stay tuned for the recap of how I spent Super Bowl Sunday.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 2/6 in review

Nets and Spurs on Hardwood Classics Night 

Another royal week of stadium travel is in the books.

 Here's how it turned out:

Monday night after work I went to Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks play the Utah Jazz with the King. There was some good news and some bad that came out of this game. As for the good, the Knicks rallied around the troops that they had on this night since they were shorthanded. With the aid of somebody named Jeremy Lin who made his first NBA start they found a way to win. They won, 99-88 as they beat the Jazz.

As for the bad news, they played without superstar Amar'e Stoudemire who tragically lost his older brother, Hazell who got killed in a car accident in Florida. To add insult to injury, Carmelo Anthony came up lame early in the game. He was diagnosed with a pulled groin. As a result, he was finished for the night and for the next few weeks as well.

Tuesday night after work, I stayed home so I could do my laundry.

Wednesday night after work I went out to the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ with the King to see a rematch from the week before as the NJ Nets hosted the Detroit Pistons again. This time the Pistons emerged victorious, 99-92. By doing so, they avenged the loss from the week before.

Thursday night after work the King and I went back to Newark to see hockey as the Devils faced off with the St. Louis Blues who were making a rare visit to the area. As for the game we saw, it was a good seesaw battle as both teams exchanged goals during the game. The Blues got the equalizer with 5:50 left in regulation time to knot the game at three. After a scoreless overtime session, the game was decided in a shootout. The Blues' T.J. Oshie scored the first and only goal of the skills competition as the Blues came away with the 4-3 win.

Friday night after work the King and I went back to Madison Square Garden to see more basketball. It was a special night since Kobe Bryant and the Lakers were making their only local area appearance. With the Lakers in the building, the Garden was really rocking. There were a number of Laker fans as usual in attendance.

As for the game we saw, the Knicks were still without their big guns, Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. Despite that, once again somebody named Jeremy Lin emerged as the hero on this night. He lead the way as the Knicks got passed Kobe and the Lakers, 92-85. Kobe shot awful early on in this game. He perked up in the second half but it was too little too late as his team fell short on the big stage.

Saturday afternoon the King and I went out to the Nassau Coliseum to see the Islanders play the LA Kings. I want to personally thank our friend Larry Peim who was kind enough to pick us up and drive us out there. Royal treatment indeed.

As for the game we saw, the Kings and Islanders fought hard in a very physical affair. The game was tied at one after regulation time. Captain Mark Streit of the Islanders netted the game winner 1:36 into overtime to give the Islanders the 2-1 victory.

After the game, Larry dropped off the King and I back home on his way to Bridgeport, Connecticut where he was going to see the Sound Tigers, the Islanders farm team play. He would have gladly taken us with him but since the Nets were playing the Spurs, the King and I wanted to see them play.

In addition, I arranged to have my Cousin Andy join us as well. Our friends Frank Anichiarico, Ralph and his son Vincent Ascanio were also there. It made for a nice social gathering at the arena.

Furthermore, we got to see the San Antonio Spurs who have been a powerful team over the last decade with their silent assassin Tim Duncan and great play making point guard Tony Parker. They made it look easy as they cruised past the Nets, 103-89 on Hardwood Classics night as both teams turned back the clock and they wore old school uniforms which was an added treat. It was also my 1,200th NBA game that I've seen live in my life.

Sunday afternoon the King and I trekked back out to the Nassau Coliseum by public transportation to see the Islanders take on the Florida Panthers on Marvel Comic Book Day. It was a fun day for all the kids that were in attendance. They were able to meet and greet some of their favorite superheroes. The Incredible Hulk, Spiderman and Thor were on hand to keep the children amused during the game and between periods.

As for the game we saw, the Islanders drew first blood as they scored the game's first goal but it went down hill after that as they gave up the next four goals as the Panthers went to win easily, 4-1.

We did have company at the game as our friend Dennis Barbera was there. After the game, he drove the King and I home. More royal treatment. I would like to thank Dennis for taking us back. It was very nice and thoughtful of him.

Stay tuned for the special post I'm going to be do about somebody named Jeremy Lin.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees a convenient doubleheader in Philadelphia!

As many people know the City of Philadelphia is not known for having the nicest people or fans in the country. They have a reputation for a reason.

With that being said, the King and I are very fortunate to know some good people that live there.

On the other hand, they do have the best sports complex. That won't change anytime soon either.

In the past, they had Veterans Stadium which has been replaced by Citizens Bank Park as the home of the Phillies.

Years ago, they had the Spectrum which has now been demolished but it was replaced by the Well's Fargo Center as it's called these days. It's the home of the Flyers and 76ers.

Furthermore, back in the day they had JFK Stadium which hosted Live Aid back in 1985.

That has been replaced by Lincoln Financial Field aka "The Linc", home of the Eagles.

Most importantly, the complex is very easy to get to either by car or train.

On this past Sunday the King and I as well as our friends Rich Wolber & Mike Carroll had the privilege of seeing a nice easy same building doubleheader.

However, Rich decided he didn't want to stay for the Flyer game so he wound up taking a bus back to NYC instead. That was his prerogative.

We saw the 76ers play the Sacramento Kings at Noon and the Flyers hosted the Boston Bruins at 7PM.

In between games we got to go to the Oregon Diner for a nice full course meal too.

What a way to spend a day in Philadelphia if you're a sports fan.

The King and I have done many doubleheaders here over the years.

As for the games we saw, the home teams lost both of them.

First, the 76ers got crowned by the Kings as royal treatment was delivered in more ways than one in the matinee.

The Sixers tied the game at the buzzer in regulation as Lou Williams hit a three pointer from just inside half court.

In the overtime, the Kings managed to overcome the Sixers as they went on to win, 114-111.

As for the nightcap, the Flyers were tied at one late in the third period but the they got called for an untiming penalty.

As a result, the visiting Bruins took advantage and capitalized on the power play as Brad Marchand found the net with just 3:43 left in regulation to win it for the Bruins, 2-1.

In the future, if you want to experience a live sporting event or two in the City of Brotherly Love you should make sure you talk to me.

I've seen hundreds of games down there over the years.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Nets crown Kings, 93-79!

It was Jewish Family Night at the IZOD Center.

Omri Casspi, who plays for the Sacramento Kings, was the first Israeli born player to be drafted in the first round of the draft and to play in the NBA.

He saved his best for last when he scored his only points of the game on the King's last possession, he put in a lay up.

As for the game itself, the Nets wound up winning their 8th game of the season in 71 tries.

They also ended their 14 game home losing streak in the process.

The Kings did play without rookie of the year candidate, Tyreke Evans who
leads the Kings in scoring at 20.3 points a game and 5.6 assists as well.

The victorious Nets were paced by Brook Lopez and Devin Harris who had 26 and 24 points respectatively.

As for the Kings, Beno Udrih had 19 points in the losing performance.

The Nets try to make it 2 in a row for the first time this season on Friday night when they host the Detroit Pistons.

I'll be there to see if it happens so feel free to check back to find out.

Knicks blow big lead and go down in OT, 118-114!

The Knicks looked like they were in control to crown the Kings. They lead most of the game including by 15 with 7 and a half minutes left in regulation 98-83. All of a sudden in a matter of seconds the lead was cut to 7, 98-91. Thanks to two big 3 point baskets by Donte Greene who finished the game with 24 points in all.

Omri Casspi who's from Israel, first to play in the NBA, starred early scoring 16 of his 18 points in the first half on Jewish Heritage night.

Rookie of the year candidate Tyreke Evans had a monster second half scoring 19 including 2 in overtime which sealed the deal in the closing seconds. He finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds.

In addition, Kevin Martin scored 9 of his 17 points in the extra session which put the Kings in position to win the game.

As for the Knicks, they were lead by Wilson Chandler who scored a career high 35 points in defeat.

On a personal historical note, this game was the 1,100th NBA game I've seen in person.