Royalty is going to Western Canada over the first weekend in March!

Here's the game plan:

The King & I are flying to Calgary, Alberta, Canada on WestJet Airlines. We leave New York LaGuardia Airport on Friday, March 3rd which happens to be my special day at 7:30AM Eastern Time, we have an 2 hours & 11 minute layover in Toronto, Ontario. We're then scheduled to leave there at 11:15AM Eastern Time if we're not delayed for any reason. We're supposed to land in Calgary at 1:34PM Mountain Time if we're on time. Upon arrival, I'm renting a car from Budget Rent A Car for the weekend. I plan to meet some special people who I met on my way to Yankee Stadium a few years ago when they came to visit NYC. I'm referring to Patti & Jim Smart who happen to live in Edmonton, Alberta. They arranged to get us tickets so we can see the Rogers Place, their new downtown arena which opened up in October. By doing so, we'll be for the time being current members of Club 122 once again. Sunday night/Monday morning we leave Calgary, Alberta on a red eye flight that departs at 1:15AM Mountain Time on Delta Airlines & we're scheduled to land in Toronto at 6:58AM Eastern Time where we have a connecting flight that departs Toronto at 9:35AM & is supposed to land at 11:06AM Eastern Time at LaGuardia Airport if all goes according to plan.    
   
Friday March 3rd Red Wings at Flames 7PM Mountain Time

Saturday March 4th Red Wings at Oilers 8PM Mountain Time
                                                       
Sunday March 5th Islanders at Flames 2PM Mountain 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.

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 is going to get a Rocky Mountain High at the end of February!

Here's the game plan:

The King & I are flying to Denver, Colorado on Delta Airlines. We leave New York LaGuardia Airport on Friday, February 26th at 8:10AM Eastern Time, we arrive in the Mile High City at 11:03AM Mountain Time.

Upon arrival, I'm renting a car from Payless Car Rental for the weekend.

We'll be meeting up with a special lady named Meg Minard who lives in the Denver area. We met her in August when we went to Seattle for the Ballpark Chaser Meet Up. I told her we were planning to come to visit her in late February. True to my word, we are. We're looking forward to seeing her again. 

We fly back home on the red eye early Tuesday morning, March 1st. Our flight departs Denver at 12:20AM Mountain Time. After a brief layover in Atlanta, we're scheduled to land at 8:14AM Eastern Time at LaGuardia Airport if all goes well.    

Friday February 26th Alaska Aces at Colorado Eagles 7:05PM Mountain Time
                              
Saturday February 27th Red Wings at Avalanche at Coors Field 6PM Mountain Time Stadium Series
                     
Sunday February 28th Arizona State Sun Devils at Colorado Buffaloes 2:30PM Mountain Time

Monday February 29th Grizzlies at Nuggets 7PM Mountain 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.

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 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 3/19 in review

Rangers win 2-1 in OT!

After seeing a new record of four sporting events in one day and nine in three days, I had a sub par week with only six total. I can only play the cards I'm dealt. That goes for everybody in life. We only have so much time to enjoy the ride. Some days and weeks are better than others.

Here's how this week went for me:

Monday night after going back to work during the day, I went out to the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ to see the Nets host the Cleveland Cavaliers. I was pulling for the Cavs because of the great people I know from that part of the country. On that night, the Cavs didn't let me or them down. Since LeFraud abandoned his hometown area, the Cavaliers have been in rebuilding mode.

With that being said, the Cavaliers have since drafted well adding a few pieces of the puzzle to ultimately get them where they want to go. Of course, that is to get back to the NBA Finals and hopefully they'll win before LeFraud has a chance to do so again.

As for the game I saw with the King and our pal Vincent Ascanio, the Cavaliers trailed most of the game but they hung tough as they found a way to beat the Nets, 105-100.

They were led by their crowned jewels, the number one overall pick in the most recent NBA draft, guard Kyrie Irving from Duke and forward Tristan Thompson from Texas, the fourth pick in the same draft. Irving turned it up a notch in the fourth quarter as he helped lead the comeback by pouring in majority of his 26 points and he handed out 7 assists. Tristan Thompson added 27 points and he grabbed 12 rebounds as the Cavaliers won the game.

Based on those performances, the future has potential for the team from Northern Ohio. Time will tell if they can finish putting together the rest of the pieces of the puzzle. For starters, they're heading in the right direction.

Tuesday night after work I went to Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks play the Toronto Raptors. It was my 600th lifetime Knick game that I've seen in person at MSG.

As for the game, Linsanity returned to form at the mecca as he scored 18 points and he dished out 10 assists while his teammate Amar'e Stoudemire finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds as the Knicks blew away the Raptors, 106-87.

Wednesday night after work I went back to the Garden, this time to see the Rangers play the Detroit Red Wings. It was a match up of two of the best teams in the league.

As for the game I saw, the Rangers fell behind 1-0 as the Red Wings took the early lead. The Rangers hung around as they eventually tied the game at 1. The game wound up going to overtime. The Rangers' Ryan Callahan lit the lamp just past the midpoint of the extra session to give the Rangers' the 2-1 victory.
Thursday night after work, I went home to do my laundry. In addition, I was able to rest up and recharge the batteries for a short time as well.

Friday night after work, I went to Newark, NJ to see the Devils play the Toronto Maple Leafs.

I was rooting for the Maple Leafs' because our pal Sean McDonald is a big fan of theirs.

As for the game I saw, the Maple Leafs held a 3-1 lead but the Devils managed to tie the game and they forced overtime. After a scoreless extra session, the winner was decided in a shootout. The Maple Leafs wound up scoring three goals on three attempts to beat the Devils, 4-3. Unfortunately for them and our friend Sean it was too little too late as the Maple Leafs won't be making playoffs again this season.

Saturday I was out and about during the day taking care of some things I needed to do. At night I went with the King to see the Knicks as they played the Detroit Pistons at the Garden.

As for the game we saw, the Knicks cruised to an easy 101-79 win as Tyson Chandler was a force in the middle as he scored 15 points and he pulled down 17 rebounds.

The win was a nice way to bounce back for the Knicks after they got beat up the night before in Toronto who returned the favor from Tuesday night at the MSG.

Sunday afternoon the King and I took a Metro-North train round trip to Bridgeport, Connecticut where we went whale watching if you will. We saw the Sound Tigers, the NY Islanders' AHL affiliate play the Rangers' farm team, the Whale at Webster Bank Arena.

More importantly, I finally got to meet up with another sports fan and big fan of my blog, Greg Venuto. I got in contact with Greg a few years ago thanks to Danielle Granquist who lives in Denver. She's a big hockey fan. Through her website, hockee puck, which is on my blog list, Greg got in contact with her because he's a huge hockey fan himself. As a result, he got in touch with me via e-mail thanks to her.

After trying and failing to meet up at various sporting events, we finally made the right connection. Since Greg lives in nearby Norwalk, Connecticut he decided to join me for the Sound Tiger game.

We spoke and told each other different sports related stories which made for a fun filled afternoon and experience.

In addition, we got to witness an entertaining hockey game too. The Sound Tigers and Whale scored early & often as it was 3-2 Sound Tigers after the first period. Despite a scoreless second period, the Whale wound up tying the game at three in the third period. The Sound Tigers emerged victorious as they scored the game winner with just two seconds left in overtime to win, 4-3.

It was a great way to end an enjoyable day. I want to personally thank Greg for being able to breakaway from his wife and two kids so he could hook up with me.

I look forward to seeing Greg again in the near future. He does like baseball and the Yankees so hopefully it will be sooner than later.

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 12/6 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