Royalty meets up with another roadtripper in Aberdeen at Ironbirds game after the Oriole game in Baltimore!

Sunday July 14th I was able to see a second baseball game on my way home from Baltimore. On paper I knew I had a good chance as long as the Orioles played a game in a timely fashion. Thankfully they did. The Oriole game ended at 4:11PM. I planned to drive 30 miles north to Aberdeen, Maryland for the Ironbird game at Ripken Stadium that was scheduled to start at 5:35PM against the Williamsport Crosscutters. It should be noted that Ripken Stadium is conveniently located right off the highway. You can see the stadium when you drive by on I-95.

Me & Sean Rowland at Ripken Stadium 

During the week, I got in touch with fellow roadtripper and Stadium Journey writer, Sean Rowland thanks to his website that said he was spending the weekend in Baltimore with his wife, Cheryl. They planned to go to see the Orioles play Saturday afternoon and the Ironbirds Sunday night. In between, they planned to go sightseeing. When I knew he was going to be at the Ironbird game, I told him I'll definitely be there.

It worked out well since I was able to get out of Baltimore quickly. Luckily I was able to dodge pockets of traffic on I-95 which allowed me to get to Ripken Stadium, home of the Aberdeen Ironbirds at 5:15PM. Upon arrival, I got a ticket and I headed inside. Shortly after the game started, Sean came over to where I was sitting and we enjoyed each other's company. He then went back to see his wife after we spoke for a little while. He told me he'll come back later in the game. True to his word, he came back with his wife, Cheryl who he introduced me to. It was nice to see him again.

As for the game we saw, it was very sloppy to say the least. The Ironbirds made a bunch of errors. They were fortunate that they were only charged with four. It should have been more. It was that bad. Since this was a low level minor league game, I wasn't too surprised with the quality of play but this game was really hard to watch. The visiting Crosscutters wound up beating the Ironbirds, 8-6.

After the game, I walked Sean & Cheryl back to their car in the parking lot. We said our goodbyes and we went our separate ways. Hopefully we'll meet up again down the road.

On my way home, I stopped off for some gas and a made to order chicken cheesesteak hoagie at Wawa's. I ate it in the car then I drove back home. Thankfully I wasn't working that Monday.

Stay tuned for a special post that will detail how I spent my day off.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees outdoor hockey on New Year's Day in Williamsport, Pennsylvania to start 2013!

Prince at Historic Bowman Field

Domish & I stayed at Super 8 in Mansfield, Ohio. We got a good night sleep and we had breakfast at Cracker Barrel again. It was right by the hotel so it was hard to pass up the opportunity to start 2013 off right.

After having another amazing meal, Domish & I headed towards Williamsport, Pennsylvania where we were going to see some outdoor hockey as the Williamsport Outlaws were hosting the 1,000 Islands Privateers at 5:05PM in a Federal Hockey League game at historic Bowman Field which is the home of the Williamsport Crosscutters of the NY-Penn League for baseball.

Originally I was planning to drive back to NYC to see the Knicks play the Portland Trailblazers at 7:30PM until Domish told me about this hockey game. So I did some research before I made my decision. I thought it made sense so I decided to take him up on the idea. Since I know how much he loves hockey, I wanted to accommodate his needs & wants. Thus I alternated my game plan. Domish is a team player. He was kind enough to keep me company at a few basketball games so it was only right for me to cater to him even if it was on short notice.

With that being said, I got to see an outdoor hockey game again on New Year's Day. Thanks to the NHL lockout, the Winter Classic was cancelled. So I did the next best thing and I found an alternative instead.
As for the game we saw, the start of it was delayed because the ice wasn't resurfaced properly after the players warmed up. As a result, the game didn't start until 5:31PM. Thankfully they got the ice fixed and we got to enjoy some hockey on a cold chilly early evening. The temperature was in the mid 20's. We dressed for the occasion so we weren't that uncomfortable.

Williamsport opened the scoring 4:39 into the first period as Chris Leveille put the biscuit in the basket to give the Outlaws a 1-0 lead. The Privateers evened the score at one 8:16 into the opening period. The Outlaws regained the lead 2-1 when they got a power play goal from Matt Smyth. The Privateers got even again with 1:34 left to make it a 2-2 game.

In the second period, the Outlaws scored in the first and last minute of the period to take a 4-2 lead as Trevor Karasiewicz scored 52 seconds in and Chris Leveille added his second of the game with just 14 seconds to go.

In the third period, the Privateers got back within a goal just 1:07 into the period as Kris McCarthy found the net to make it a 4-3 game. Unfortunately for the Privateers, they couldn't force overtime. The Outlaws added an empty net goal with 42 seconds left to preserve the victory, 5-3 in front of an announced crowd of 790 which was a bit of an exaggeration. There were probably a few hundred hearty souls in the building who decided to brave the elements.

It should be noted Domish got to say hello to defenseman Nick Williams who plays for the 1,000 Islands Privateers. He ironically met his parents before he went to Joe Louis Arena on Sunday to see the Great Lakes Invitational Tournament. Domish went to the Lafayette Coney Island restaurant before the game where he started talking to these people. Nick said his parents told him. After the game, Domish & I saw him together as he headed back to the locker room. What a small world.

After the game, Domish & I wound up meeting a special guest who's a huge fan of my blog and my sports travels.

Stay tuned for the special post that I'm going to do about our get together.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 7/9 in review

Statue of Liberty

With Major League Baseball officially on their All-Star Break, I had to resort to different alternatives to pass time.

Monday night after work I went down to Lower Manhattan to catch the Staten Island Ferry so I could get to the Richmond County Ballpark at St. George, home of the Staten Island Yankees. They were playing the Williamsport Crosscutters.

I met up with my pal Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich who has season tickets for them. He has a perk of being able to exchange tickets he doesn't use. As a result, he was able to get me a ticket for the game which included all you could eat food and drink. I was grateful that he was willing and able to accommodate me.
As for the game we saw, the Yankees took a 3-0 lead in the first inning as their first baseman Saxon Butler hit a three run home run to center field. They gave a run back in the second inning to lead 3-1. They proceeded to tack on more runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to build a 9-1 lead. They wound up giving up three runs in the eighth and that's how it ended as the Yankees beat the Crosscutters, 9-4. It turned out to be a nice relaxing night out.

Tuesday night after work I arranged to meet up with my parents who came into town to visit. We went out to dinner at Romano's in Astoria. They brought my niece Taylor and my nephew Jeremy with them. It was great to see them all again. The kids are getting so big.

After we ate, they took me home. I went in and watched the baseball All-Star game which was being played in Kansas City. The game was over early as the National League scored five runs in the first inning against American League starting pitcher Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers. Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants started and pitched the first two innings for the National League. In the third inning, my boy Gio Gonzalez of the Washington Nationals got to pitch. He made me proud as he retired the three batters he faced in order. He struck out Mike Napoli of the Texas Rangers and then he got two Yankees out. Curtis Granderson flew out to left field and he got Derek Jeter to ground out to second base.

The National League added some more runs as they went on to win the game, 8-0. It was the third straight year the senior circuit has won the Midsummer Classic. By doing so, the National League team who plays in the World Series will have home field advantage.

Wednesday night after work I came home and I did my laundry and I packed my bags in preparation for the King and I's road trip down South.

Stay tuned for the special posts that will go into detail about our latest getaway.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 7/2 in review

Monday night after work I came home and I did my laundry. After I was done, I was able to rest and relax for a short time.

Tuesday I got out of work early which worked out because that morning I got an unexpected e-mail from Steve Cirvello. He works with my pal Rick Morris from the FDH Lounge. He asked me if I had any free time this week. I wrote him back instantly and I told him I'm available this afternoon since I was getting out of work early. It's not easy for me to find free time with my schedule and/or the lifestyle I live. This turned to be a perfect opportunity. I wound up meeting Steve in Midtown Manhattan to discuss a possible documentary plan for the near future. It was a very productive conversation we had. I hope things materialize going forward. For the time being, he wanted to get the ball rolling he said.

After I finished chatting with Steve, I made my way out to Citi Field to see the Mets play the Philadelphia Phillies in the first game of their three game set. In addition, it was fireworks night. It turned to be a fun night that included a record crowd that gradually showed up at Citi Field. They announced there were 42,516 people on hand. Amongst those who joined us was our pal Manny Bonilla. It was nice to see him again. He always enjoys our company.

As for the game we saw, the Mets' bats did the talking as the fireworks started early as the Mets built a 6-1 lead after four innings. In the sixth inning, Mets All-Star third baseman David Wright hit a three run homer to make it 9-1. Daniel Murphy added a two run double in the eighth inning to round out the scoring as the Mets took game one, 11-1. The crowd was so into the game all night which made for a very festive atmosphere. It was great to be apart of it.

After the game, the King and I decided to stick around with Manny Bonilla to see the fireworks show that they were having. It was an entertaining display. They showed highlights and they played brief musical clips that spanned the five different decades of the Mets franchise history which began 50 years ago in 1962.
Wednesday I was off from work as America celebrated Independence Day. I spent my afternoon back at Citi Field with the King, Bryan Gilligan and Vincent Ascanio.

As for the game we saw, the Mets lead the Phillies and Cliff Lee who was looking for his first win of the season, 2-0 after six innings. Mets starter Chris Young was pitching well similar to his start a few weeks ago against the Yankees. Just like the Yankees did, the Phillies struck back in a hurry. After Juan Pierre lead off the seventh inning with a single, Chase Utley followed him with a two run homer that tied the game at two. All-Star catcher Carlos Ruiz followed by hitting a solo home run to give the Phillies the lead for good. They added three more runs in the eighth and ninth innings to even the series at a game a piece as they beat the Mets, 9-2. As for Cliff Lee, he finally picked up his first win of the season. He pitched well as he struck out nine and allowed only two runs in eight innings of work.

After the game, Bryan drove us all to Coney Island where we got to see the Brooklyn Cyclones play the Williamsport Crosscutters at MCU Park.

As for the game we saw, the Cyclones scored four runs in the first inning. The Crosscutters came back with a run in the second inning and they took a brief lead in the top of the fifth inning as they scored four more runs. The Cyclones responded with five runs in the bottom of the fifth which included a three run home run to right field by Brandon Nimmo. That's the way the game ended as the Cyclones won, 9-5.

Thursday I went back to work after having a day off in the middle of the week which seemed rather odd.
After work I went to Checker's for dinner with the King on our way to Citi Field for the rubber game or grudge match if you will since the Mets' R.A. Dickey was facing the Phillies' Cole Hamels.

As for the game we saw, the pitching match up didn't exactly live up to billing as I had hoped it would. R.A. Dickey wound up going seven innings but he gave eleven hits and five runs. Cole Hamels did slightly better. He allowed seven hits and four runs in his seven innings of work. The Mets' bullpen kept it a one run game as they headed to the bottom of the ninth inning. The Phillies' brought in their closer Jonathan Papelbon to try and seal the deal. He allowed a lead off double to pinch hitter Ronny Cedeno. After Josh Thole bunted him to third, Papelbon struck out Kirk Nieuwenhuis for the second out. He proceeded to hit pinch hitter Jordany Valdespin who won a game for the Mets in Philadelphia earlier this year in Philadelphia by hitting a game winning home run off Papelbon. Ruben Tejada battled and worked out a walk to load the bases. Daniel Murphy followed with a smash up the middle that hit off of Papelbon. He tried to recover but he fell down, Murphy beat the throw to first base as the Mets tied the game at five. All-Star David Wright became the hero when he delivered the game winning hit as the Mets beat the Phillies, 6-5. As a result, Citi Field was sent into a frenzy. It was quite a scene.

Friday night after work I met up with the King for some pizza at Taste of Dolly's on our way back to Citi Field to see the Mets who were hosting the Chicago Cubs to begin a three game weekend series.
As for the game we saw, the Cubs drew first blood as they took a 1-0 lead in the first inning off Johan Santana who gave up a lead off home run to Reed Johnson. In the bottom of the second inning, Lucas Duda answered back with a solo home run of his own. The Mets went back ahead 2-1 in the third. The Cubs evened the score again in the fourth. Then they exploded for a five run outburst in the fifth which proved to be too much to overcome as the Cubs hung on for a 8-7 win. Cubs closer Carlos Marmol escaped by getting a double play to end the game.

After the game, we went to Donovan's Pub for a post game meal.

Saturday afternoon the King and I went back to Citi Field for game two of the weekend series. This time the Mets won, 3-1 behind a solid pitching performance by Dillon Gee who pitched eight strong innings to earn the victory.

Sunday afternoon we went back for more hoping the Mets could go into the All-Star Break on a high note.
Unfortunately the Mets fell behind 4-0 before they came up to bat. Jonathon Niese got roughed up then he settled down until the seventh inning when he served up a three run homer to All-Star shortstop Starlin Castro to make it 7-0. That's the way it ended as the Mets couldn't get anything going.

Hopefully they just had a bad day and they can continue their winning ways in the second half of the season.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 8/2 in review

Monday night after work I went to Yankee Stadium to see the Yankees play the Toronto Blue Jays. Early in the game between innings they did a  special video tribute in honor of their late Captain Thurman Munson who died tragically 31 years to the day. To show respect, I did a special post. Please feel free to take a look if you haven't already done so.

As for the game that night, A.J. Burnett who started  for the Yankees got lit up for 8 earned runs as the Blue Jays held on to beat the Yankees, 8-6!

Brendan Morrow pitched for the Blue Jays and he won the game despite giving up 5 runs himself. He did strikeout 9 batters in the process.

Speaking of Brendan Morrow yesterday he came within one out of pitching a no-hitter. He wound up giving one hit as the Blue Jays beat the Rays, 1-0 in Toronto. He struck out 17 Rays. What a performance that was.

Tuesday night after work I went back to Yankee Stadium. Ricky Romero, the Blue Jays starting pitcher gave me a rare treat by going the distance.

He gave up a two run home run to Mark Teixeira in the first inning after he walked a batter then he proceeded to shut the Yankees down the rest of the night. He gave one other hit which was an infield single to Marcus Thames in the 5th inning.

The Blue Jays cruised to an easy victory, 8-2!

Wednesday I was working when the Yankees played an afternoon game. A-Rod  was still looking for 600th home run. He didn't waste any more time. In his first at bat in the bottom of the first inning, he finally did it. To find all the details, please read the special post I wrote if you haven't already done so.

That night after work I took a long train ride to Coney Island to see the Brooklyn Cyclones play the Batavia Muckdogs. I stopped off at Nathan's to have a few hot dogs and fries before I went into the ballpark.

As for the game, it was nice and fast for a change, it took only 2 hours and 3 minutes to play. Mind you it took just as long just to get home afterwards.

The Cyclones won the game, 4-0!

Thursday night after work I came home to rest and recharge the batteries.

Friday night I went to the Bronx to see the Red Sox play the Yankees.

It turned out to be a great night for me and for some special people who I met we're visiting NYC for the very first time. Stay tuned because I'm going to do a special detailed post regarding that. It was a prime example of what royal treatment is all about.

As for the game itself, Clay Buchholz of the Red Sox pitched very well to lead the Red Sox to a 6-3 victory.

Ryan Kalish, a Red Sox rookie, hit his first major league home run, a two run blast which was big because it gave the Red Sox a three run cushion at the time. It wasn't the first time this season that royalty saw him play. Back on April 24th and April 25th we saw him play for the Red Sox Double A affiliate, the Portland Sea Dogs when they played those days against the Trenton Thunder, the Yankees farm team. He wound up getting a single and a sacrifice fly on the 24th and a run scoring double on the 25th.

Saturday afternoon we went back to the Bronx for the second game of  the series. The Yankees went on to win this one, 5-2! CC Sabathia their ace was dominant. He pitched great for 8 innings until it was time for Mariano Rivera to come in to pick up a cheap save as the King likes to call it. Believe me, CC could have and should have finished the game. Thanks to manager Joe Girardi he wasn't allowed to.

After the game, we went to Donavan's Pub for a nice post game dinner. For more details, please see my newly created restaurant review link on my home page.

Sunday afternoon we wound up in Staten Island watching the "other " Yankees in town play. The "baby" Yankees beat the Williamsport Crosscutters, 6-3!

While I was at the game, I stopped off at the Group Sales table to say hello to my buddy John DeLuca, the Group Sales Coordinator for the Staten Island Yankees. He told me he read my review of the ballpark and he told me how well written it was. With that being said, he made me feel real good. I told him to keep up the great marketing job.

If you want to attend a Staten Island Yankee game I suggest you round up at least 10 people and either call John at (718) 313-1336 and/or e-mail him at jdeluca@siyanks.com. Tell him Royalty Tours USA referred you. In my absence, he'll give you royal treatment.   

For further details regarding the Staten Island Yankee experience see the special post I wrote that has the official review of the ballpark which I did for my fellow roadtripper and founder of the website, Stadium Journey, Paul Swaney. 

That post is also conveniently located on my home page right under the about me segment. Just click on it and it will pop right up for your viewing pleasure..

In addition, if you want to have a better idea of what to expect from all the different ballparks around the country I strongly suggest you take a good look at Stadium Journey when you have some spare time. Paul and his partners as well as other sports enthusiasts have done a tremendous job scouting out for these places to give people tips and a real feel before they go so they know what they should expect. In this day and age, the last thing you want to do is waste your precious time.

Here's the link:

http://www.stadiumjourney.com/

I'm a big believer in the "5P's" that being "prior planning prevents poor performance".

Please feel free to take my advice and wait and see how it works wonders for you. I know for a fact it does for me.

After we left Staten Island, it was time to return to the Bronx for the Sunday night ESPN game between the Yankees and the Red Sox.

Upon arrival, we found out that scheduled starting pitcher A.J. Burnett was scratched due to an injury. Dustin Moseley took his place. He pitched well for 6 and a third innings before giving way to the bullpen which culminated with Mariano Rivera throwing one pitch to secure the last out as the Yankees won again, 7-2!

In the second inning, Derek Jeter got a run scoring single. More importantly, it was the 2,874th hit of his major league career which allowed him to pass the legendary Babe Ruth on the all time hits list.

With all that said, another week of my life is in the books.

Don't forget to check back for that special post I'm going to write.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman