Royalty w/o 3/18 in review

Monday night after work I came home. I made myself dinner, I relaxed and I got to catch up on things at home. It's always nice to have a night off from time to time.

Tuesday night after work I went out to the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. The Devils were hosting their cross town rivals, the NY Rangers which made for a very festive night. I was joined by my pal Vincent Ascanio who bought the King's ticket. The King decided to go out to the Nassau Coliseum to see the Islanders play the Montreal Canadiens instead.

Before the game started, I got a pastrami sandwich for dinner at the arena. I took it to my seat and I ate it just before the opening puck was dropped.

As for the game we saw, the Rangers got on the scoreboard first as defenseman Michael Del Zotto scored while the Rangers were killing a penalty with 8:11 to go in the first period. With 4:45 to go in the period, the Devils cashed in on the power play this time as Travis Zajac got the equalizer to even it at one. Shortly thereafter, the Rangers regained the lead, 2-1 when Carl Hagelin lit the lamp with 3:10 to go. The rapid fire continued as the Devils answered back just 23 seconds later when defenseman Anton Volchenkov found the net to knot the score again at two. In the second period, the Rangers went back ahead this time for good as Rick Nash buried the biscuit 7:25 into the period to make it a 3-2 game. Quite amazingly, there was no more scoring the rest of the game. The Rangers left the building with a victory much to the delight of the Ranger fans who came across the river to see the Blueshirts play. It should be noted there were a good number of them among the sellout crowd of 17,625. Regardless of the outcome, it was an exciting game to be at especially for the first half of it. It was a playoff like atmosphere.

Wednesday night after work I went to Charley's Subs in Penn Station for dinner where I had a Philly cheese steak sandwich before I went upstairs to Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks take on the Orlando Magic.

As for the game I saw, the Knicks got off to a fast start as they led, 26-15 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Magic made a comeback as they sliced the Knick lead down to 5, 51-46 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Knicks played like they did in the first quarter. They out scored the Magic by 13 to break it open as they led, 83-65 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, they slacked off like they did in the second as the Magic out scored the Knicks by six again. It was too little too late as the Knicks beat the Magic, 106-94.

It should be noted that Carmelo Anthony returned after missing some games due to a knee injury. He scored 21 points and he grabbed 8 rebounds in his return.

Thursday night and Friday night I wound up coming home after work. It was nice to have more time to catch up on things at home.

Saturday morning I went out and I did my laundry. In the afternoon, I arranged to meet up with my parents who came to visit. It was nice to see them again. At night, I went with the King to Newark, NJ as the Devils were playing the Florida Panthers. We were joined by our pals Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich and Vincent Ascanio we were also in attendance.

As for the game we saw, the Devils and Panthers played a scoreless first period. In the second period, the Devils scored the first goal of the game as Patrik Elias broke through 1:24 into the period. The Devils went up 2-0 with 8:57 left in the period when David Clarkson scored. The Panthers finally broke the shutout with 10 seconds left in the period to slice the Devils' lead to 2-1. In the third period, neither team scored as the Devils held on to beat the Panthers before another sellout crowd at the Rock.

Sunday afternoon the King and I went to the Nassau Coliseum with our friend Frank Anichiarico to see the Islanders play the Florida Panthers. We got a visit from our buddy Joe Rossi who was there with his adorable daughter, Grace. They were there with a group from school. As always, it was a pleasure to see them again.

As for us, we wound up taking public transportation there and back. It was an like a road trip since it took us close to two hours each way. As the saying goes, you have to do what you have to do. It's always worth going there especially now that their days are numbered at that old barn since the Islanders plan to move into the Barclays Center in October 2015 if not sooner.

As for the game we saw, the Islanders drew first blood as defenseman Andrew MacDonald scored a power play goal 6:05 into the game to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead. After a scoreless second period, the Islanders got two late empty net goals in the third period as they beat the Panthers, 3-0. Evgeni Nabokov, the Islanders' goaltender recorded the shutout, the 55th of his NHL career in front of a nice crowd of 14,512 on Marvel Comics day. The young fans on hand were treated as Thor and Spiderman were there to entertain them in the stands during the game.

Thank you for reading and following.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty schedule w/o 3/25

Here's the game plan:

Wednesday March 27th Grizzlies at Knicks 7:30PM

Friday March 29th Bobcats at Knicks 7:30PM

Saturday March 30th Padres at Rangers in San Antonio 1:05PM

                                 Grand Rapids Griffins at Texas Stars 7:05PM

Sunday March 31st Rangers at Astros 7:05PM Opening Night

Check back to see how it played out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned for my w/o 3/18 in review.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty witnesses our first ever outdoor soccer game at Red Bull Arena!

Prince Outside Red Bull Arena

Back in the early 1980's, I went to the Nassau Coliseum a number of times to see indoor soccer when there was a team called the Arrows in the Major Indoor Soccer League aka MISL. In addition, I also saw an indoor soccer game at Madison Square Garden when the Cosmos played there.

However I never got to see an outdoor soccer game live until this Saturday afternoon at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ which is the home of the New York Red Bulls of the MLS aka Major League Soccer. They were playing their home opener against the DC United.

As for the King, this was his very first live soccer game of any kind he's ever seen. It should be noted he's seen around 13,000 live sporting events in his life.

Over the years the schedule never worked out that we've been able to go to a game.

This time the timing was perfect. The only concern we had was the weather. They play regardless but we were reluctant to brave the elements. We dressed appropriately and we decided to go for it.

We wound up taking the Path train there. When we got out there, we met up with our pals Frank Anichiarico and Mike Carroll aka Sabre Mike who's a huge soccer fan. We wound up getting $20 tickets outside.
It turned out to be a very worthwhile experience. We got to see snow fall during the game which added to the excitement of being there.

As for the game we saw, the Red Bulls dominated the game from start to finish. They out shot the United, 24-4 in total shots. They also out shot them 7-2 in shots on goal. Unfortunately neither team scored. The Red Bulls did hit the cross bar. The game wound up being a draw. Both teams got a point for the 0-0 tie.
Despite the lack of scoring it was fun watching these guys use their feet and their heads to move the ball since it's against the rules to use your hands unless your the goal keeper.

Supporters behind the Goal

It should be noted that the three sections which are located behind the goal are the supporters sections. These people stand up the whole game and they cheer on their Red Bulls. If you don't mind standing the whole game, you should watch the game with them to get the true soccer experience.

Our view of the game

We wound sitting in the second level close to mid field which gave us a nice perspective of the action.

I hope we can go to another game in the future. The schedule doesn't look promising but you never know.

If you haven't seen a live soccer game, I strongly suggest you do. After all, it's the most popular sport in the world.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty gets to go to Big East Tournament Semi Finals at MSG!

Thursday night just before I was getting ready to leave work, I got a text message from a friend of mine, JeanAnn Harrison. She asked me if I had any plans for Friday night. I wrote her back and said no. She replied and asked me if I wanted to go to the Big East Semi Finals at Madison Square Garden. She said she was going to drive down from Nashua, New Hampshire where she currently lives. Without hesitation, I said yes. She told me she was getting tickets on Stub Hub. She told me she wanted to treat me. I was in a state of shock. Shortly thereafter, she sent me an e-mail confirmation. She asked me if I could go to the Stub Hub office here in Manhattan and pick them up. I said absolutely. I went during my lunch break on Friday.

After work, I wound up meeting the King for dinner at Popeye's before I met up with JeanAnn outside the Garden. The King came with me so he could say a quick hello.

JeanAnn and I proceeded to go into the building to see the college basketball doubleheader.

In game one we had the final meeting between the Syracuse Orange who JeanAnn is a huge fan of and the Georgetown Hoyas as members of the Big East Conference. This was a historic occasion. Thanks to JeanAnn I got to take part in it.

As for the game we saw, Syracuse played well early as they were up 29-20 at halftime. In the second half, the Hoyas battled back as they forced overtime as the score was tied at 51 after regulation. What a way to end a storied rivalry. In the extra session, the Orange prevailed, 58-55 as the rivalry was officially closed as a fan in the stands held up a sign acknowledging that fact.The crowd was filled with plenty of Orange and Hoya fans who were into the game from start to finish. It was an electric evening at the Mecca.

In game two, the Louisville Cardinals were hosting the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. The winner was going to meet Syracuse for the Big East Championship Saturday night.

As for the game we saw, the Cardinals led the Irish, 32-25 at halftime. In the second half, the Cardinals extended their lead as they cruised to an easy 69-57 victory.

Unlike the first game some of the sellout crowd of 20,057 were long gone which made for a more subdued atmosphere. Regardless we saw one of the best teams in the country play.

After the game, we arranged to meet up with the King who met us outside the Garden around midnight. We wound up going to Stout NYC which is on 33rd Street between 6th & 7th Avenue to hang out. We got to eat, drink and we were merry catching up while JeanAnn was staying over for the weekend.

After spending a few more hours with JeanAnn, the King & I went home. We arrived home at 3AM.

Stay tuned for the special post that I'm going to do regarding how we spent our Saturday afternoon.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 3/11 in review

Monday night after work I came home and I got to make dinner. When I was done I was able to relax for a change.

Tuesday night after work I went to downtown Brooklyn. I went to the Atlantic Center Mall where I went to McDonald's to have dinner before I went across the street to the Barclays Center to see the Nets host the New Orleans Hornets.

When I got up to my seat in section 230 row 13, I met up with the King who was already there.

As for the game we saw, the Nets got off to a fast start as they led the Hornets, 28-19. After playing an evenly matched second quarter the Nets still lead, 57-48 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Hornets made a comeback as they got within two after three quarters, they trailed 80-78. In the fourth quarter, the Nets came out strong as they pulled away from the Hornets who ran out of gas as the Nets went to win, 108-98.
Wednesday night after work I went out to the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. The Devils were taking their division rival, the Philadelphia Flyers.

I wound up getting a pulled pork sandwich for dinner at the Rock. I ate it at my seat in section 226 row 6 where I was joined by the King.

As for the game we saw, the Devils scored first just 2:02 into the game as Patrik Elias lit the lamp to make it 1-0. The Flyers got even when Jakub Voracek found the net 9:45 into the period on the power play to make it a 1-1 hockey game. 36 seconds later, Adam Henrique of the Devils made it 2-1. With 2:42 to go in the period, the Devils got a shorthanded goal from Ilya Kovalchuk which gave the Devils' a two goal advantage after the first period. In the second period, the Devils extended their lead to 4-1 as Andrei Loktionov scored 6:31 into the period. In the third period, the Devils continued to pile it on as Adam Henrique got his second goal of the goal on the power play 1:16 into the period to make it 5-1. The Flyers added a late goal with 3:52 left in the game as Scott Hartnell tallied to close out the scoring as the Devils beat the Flyers, 5-2 in front of a sellout crowd of 17,625 which was comprised of both Flyer and Devil fans.

Thursday night after work I came home and I made dinner. After I ate, I went out and I did my laundry.
Friday night after work didn't go as originally planned. Stay tuned for a special post that will go into detail about the unexpected surprise I got.

Saturday afternoon was another last minute decision. Stay tuned for another special post that will detail how that went.

Saturday night the King & I went back to the Prudential Center to see the Devils play the Montreal Canadiens. We were joined by our pal Vincent Ascanio. It should be noted that there were a good number of Canadien fans in attendance which is usually the case when they come to the area.

In addition, they were a group of people who were fans of the old Quebec Nordiques who moved to Denver back in 1994 and became the Colorado Avalanche. Those people hope that NHL hockey returns to Quebec City some day. For that matter, so do we.

As for the game we saw, he Canadiens got on the scoreboard first when Colby Armstrong scored to make it 1-0 with 11:52 to go in the first period. In the second period, the Devils got the equalizer as defenseman Peter Harrold got his first goal of the season 3:54 into the period. In the third period, the Canadiens broke the tie as Tomas Plekanec buried the biscuit with 13:11 to go to give the Habs as they're called a 2-1 lead. The Devils applied plenty of pressure the rest of the game but they failed to force overtime as they fell short.

Sunday the King and I spent St. Patrick's Day home catching up on the things around the house. At night we went out to the Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn to see the Nets battle the Atlanta Hawks.

As for the game we saw, the Nets lead the Hawks, 24-21 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Hawks out scored the Nets by five to take a 51-49 lead as they headed into the locker room. In the third quarter, the Nets surged ahead again as they took a 73-71 lead. In the fourth quarter, the Hawks stepped it up as they blew past the Nets as they emerged victorious,105-93.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty schedule w/o 3/18

Here's the game plan:

Tuesday March 19th Rangers at Devils 7PM

Wednesday March 20th Magic at Knicks 7:30PM

Saturday March 23rd Panthers at Devils 7PM

Sunday March 24th Panthers at Islanders 5PM

Check back to see how it turned out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned for my w/o 3/11 in review.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 3/4 in review

Monday morning before I went to work I woke up bright and early after getting a little less than three hours sleep because I had to go to Avis to return the Dodge Avenger I rented for the weekend. I drove 549 miles safely.

After work I came home and I made dinner. After I ate, I went out and I did my laundry. It was a long tiring day to say the least.

Tuesday night after work I went out to the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. The King decided to go to the Nassau Coliseum to see the Islanders with our friend Frank Anichiarico instead. With that being said, I wound up meeting up with our pal Vincent Ascanio who took the King's place. The Devils were hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning. I wound up getting a pulled pork sandwich at the arena for dinner.

As for the game we saw, the Lightning scored the first four goals of the game as they lead, 4-0 midway into the third period. The Devils made a late comeback attempt as they scored a shorthanded goal and a power play goal to slice the deficit in half at 4-2 with 4:45 to go. They couldn't get any closer as the Lightning added a late empty net goal to escape with a 5-2 victory. As a result, the crowd of 15,229 went home unhappy.

Wednesday after work I went to downtown Brooklyn to see the quarterfinals of the Northeast Conference Tournament as the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds were hosting the Quinnipiac Bobcats at the Wellness Recreation. Athletic Center aka the WRAC.

Before the game I went to 2 Bros Pizza and I had a few slices. While I was there I ran into my pal David Sack who was there with his friend Andrew who he introduced me to. They had a few slices too. Once we were done we all walked down a few blocks to go to the game. When I got inside I met up with the King, Vincent Ascanio and our friend Larry Peim who was there to see his alma mater play again.

As for the game we saw, the Blackbirds got off to a slow start. They trailed the Bobcats, 47-43 at halftime. In the second half, the Blackbirds fought back as they hung tough. Late in the game, they went ahead for good as they went on to defeat the Bobcats, 91-83 to advance to the next round.

After the game, we all celebrated the victory with a post game meal at Junior's Restaurant which is only a few blocks away. Larry treated me for my birthday. I was very grateful & thankful for his kindness. I wound up have a corned beef and pastrami combo with steak fries. He did the same while the King and Vincent had steak burgers. It capped off a great night.

Thursday night after work I went back to the Prudential Center to see the Devils take on the Buffalo Sabres. This time I met up with the King and our pal Mike Carroll aka Sabre Mike. Our road trip buddies, Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell from Buffalo were there with us in spirit. As for dinner, I wound getting chicken tenders and fries at the Rock.

As for the game we saw, after a scoreless first period, the Sabres took the lead 7:56 into the second period as Thomas Vanek lit the lamp to make it 1-0 Buffalo. Two minutes later, the Sabres went up 2-0 as Brian Flynn put one in the net. It stayed that way until there was six and a half minutes left in regulation time when Adam Henrique of the Devils broke the shutout to make it 2-1 with a power play goal. The Devils pulled goalie Johan Hedberg to have an extra attacker in hopes of tying the game. Shortly thereafter, the Devils got the equalizer as Patrik Elias scored to tie the game at two with 1:06 left in regulation. The game went into overtime but since neither team was able to score, so the game was decided by a shootout. The Devils wound up prevailing in the skills competition which sent the sellout crowd of 17,625 happy except for the number of Sabre fans who were there to see their team play.

Friday night after work I went to downtown Brooklyn. This time I went to the Barclays Center to see the Nets play the Washington Wizards.

Before the game, I went to McDonald's in the Atlantic Center Mall to have my pre game meal. When I got done I walked back over to the arena and I went inside. I met up with the King and our pal Al Linderman who was there as well.

As for the game we saw, the Nets raced out to a 22-2 lead & they lead 38-14 after the first quarter. Deron Williams lead the way as he was on fire from beyond the three point line. In the second quarter, the Nets added a few points to their lead as they went into the locker room up, 59-33. In the third quarter, the Wizards made a comeback attempt as they cut the Nets' lead to 16, 74-58. In the fourth quarter, the Nets maintained their lead as they went to beat the Wizards, 95-78.

As for Deron Williams, he hit 9 three pointers in the first half to set an NBA record. He wound up finishing the game with 42 points. His teammate Reggie Evans had a triple double if you will. He scored 11 points, he missed 11 free throws and he grabbed a career high 24 rebounds.

Saturday late in the morning the King and I took public transportation to the Nassau Coliseum to see the Islanders play the Capitals in an afternoon affair.

We wound up meeting up with our pals Mike Carroll, Manny Morales and Joe Rossi who was at the game with his adorable daughter Grace who was all dressed up in Islander gear. It was great to see them again.
As for the game we saw, the Islanders scored first midway through the first period as Josh Bailey buried the puck to make it 1-0. In the second period, the Capitals evened the score at one 1:26 into the period when Mathieu Perreault scored a power play goal. The Islanders went back ahead, 2-1 midway through when Casey Cizikas scored. In the third period, the Capitals got the equalizer as Nicklas Backstrom found the net 7:09 into the period. Shortly thereafter, the Islanders got a break as the Capitals committed penalties that gave the Islanders a golden opportunity to take the lead and they took full advantage of it. They got two power play goals from John Tavares who scored twice in a 30 second span to put the game away. Frans Nielsen added a shorthanded goal later in the period to give the Islanders a 5-2 victory.

After the game, the King & I went to Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks play the Utah Jazz.

As for the game we saw, the Knicks were missing Amar'e Stoudemire who hurt his knee and he's going to miss six weeks. In addition, Carmelo Anthony didn't play. Regardless the rest of the Knicks came to play and they wound up blowing away the Jazz, 113-84.

After the game, we went to Donovan's Pub in Woodside which is now under new management. We met up with our pal Bryan Gilligan who joined us for a post game meal.

Sunday I got to relax and catch up on things around the house during the day. Once I got done, I made dinner then the King and I went to Newark, NJ to see the Devils play the Winnipeg Jets at the Prudential Center.

As for the game we saw, the Devils took a 2-0 lead midway through the first period then the Jets scored a late goal to cut the lead to 2-1. In the second period, the Jets tied it up late at two. The two teams failed to score in the third period and in the extra session. As a result, the game was decided in a shootout again. This time Patrik Elias of the Devils scored in the skills competition to gave the Devils the 3-2 win as the sellout crowd went home happy.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Special Offer from Ballpark E-Guides for my Royal readers - Check this out!

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Kurt Smith has written E-Guides for Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, Camden Yards and many other ballparks. He is working on Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati and Rogers Centre in Toronto and should have them out this year.

Just shoot him an e-mail at kurtsmith@ballparkeguides.com, let him know Royalty sent you and which Ballpark E-Guide you are interested in, and he’ll send you a link to download it free of charge.

There’s no catch, except to add your name to the Ballpark E-Guides weekly newsletter e-mail list. You can opt out of it at any time, but you won’t want to…his newsletter is filled with great information, a “Tip of The Week”, and discounts on other E-Guides. It’s a win-win for you.

If you’re headed to one of these ballparks you can’t lose with this one. Kurt is not making this special offer to many people, so by all means take advantage of it.

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Royalty is opening the baseball season in Texas over Easter weekend!

Royalty will be going to Texas over Easter weekend.

Here's the game plan:

Saturday, March 30th we have a flight booked on United Airlines that departs LaGuardia Airport at 5:30AM Eastern Time we're scheduled to arrive in Houston, Texas at 8:31AM Central Time.

Upon arrival, I'll be renting a car from Alamo for the weekend.

Saturday, March 30th San Diego Padres at Texas Rangers in San Antonio 1:05PM

                                  Grand Rapids Griffins at Texas Stars 7:05PM

Sunday, March 31st Rangers at Astros 7:05PM Opening Night 1st Ever American League Game for the Astros

We'll be flying back home on Monday, April 1st. Our flight on United Airlines departs Houston Interecontinental Airport at 7:25AM Central Time. We arrive at  LaGuardia Airport at 11:56AM Eastern Time.

Upon arrival we'll be going right to Citi Field to see the Mets open their season against the Padres at 1:10PM.   

Please feel free to check back for all the details of how this getaway played out. It's going to be a great way to start the baseball season.

If you want to join us, please let me know so I can arrange to make it happen.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty schedule w/o 3/11

Here's the game plan:

Tuesday March 12th Hornets at Nets 7:30PM

Wednesday March 13th Flyers at Devils 7:30PM

Saturday March 16th Canadiens at Devils 7PM

Sunday March 17th Hawks at Nets 8PM

Check back to see how it played out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned for my w/o 3/4 in review.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty spends my special day in Baltimore/Washington DC seeing an another basketball doubleheader!

After saying goodbye to Frank Anichiarico and Mike Carroll who went back home to NYC, the King and I drove to Aberdeen, Maryland where we spent the night at Super 8.

In the morning we got up and we drove 30 miles to Baltimore and we met up with our friends Peter & Carmen Agnew at the Eichenkranz Restaurant for breakfast to start my special day.

We got to see Rose who waited on us. As always it was a pleasure to see her again. We got to enjoy breakfast and each other's company. After we ate, Rose surprised me when she brought out an ice cream sundae with a candle in it to celebrate my birthday. It was an unexpected thoughtful touch. As a result, I felt extra special. She caught me off guard.

After we finished eating, we said goodbye to Peter & Carmen. I want to thank them for making the time to join us while we were in the area.

Prince at Reitz Arena

The King and I got back in the car and we drove over to Loyola University of Maryland. We went to the Reitz Arena which is the home of the Loyola (MD) Greyhounds of the MAAC Conference. They were playing the Manhattan Jaspers.

As for the game we saw, the Jaspers took an early lead but that was short lived as the Greyhounds raced past them to take a 39-35 lead at halftime. In the second half, the Greyhounds extended their lead to 13 with 13:19 to go in the game. The Jaspers made a comeback but it fell short as the Greyhounds held on to win the game, 63-61 before a crowd of 1,324 who were in attendance.

Erik Etherly of the Greyhounds led the way as he scored a game high 30 points.

After the game, we drove towards Washington DC. We stopped off at Walmart to do some shopping since we had some time on our hands.

When we were done we drove to the Verizon Center in downtown DC where we went to see the Washington Wizards host the Philadelphia 76ers. Thanks to Peter Agnew who gave us a parking pass we got to park the car in the garage that's connected to the arena. As a result, we got in and out of the area fast.
After we parked the car, we took a walk over to Burger King which was a few blocks away for a pre game meal. Since we weren't that hungry, we decided that would suffice to hold us over. It would have been nice to gone somewhere better but given the circumstances, it wasn't that important.

Once we were done we went back to the Verizon Center to see the game.

Prince at Verizon Center

As for the game we saw, the Wizards got off to a good start as they led the 76ers, 26-22 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the 76ers sliced into the lead as the Wizards led by just one at the intermission, 50-49. In the third quarter, the Wizards regained their four point lead as they led, 72-68. In the fourth quarter, the 76ers took a late lead at 87-84 but they failed to score in the last few minutes as the Wizards scored the last six points of the game to beat them, 90-87.

After the game, we drove back home and we got back at 1:33AM.

Overall I had a great day and I want to personally thank everybody who acknowledged my special day via e-mail, text messages, Twitter and/or Facebook. I was bombarded all day and I felt overwhelmed but I was grateful for all the love I was shown throughout the day. I know I'm truly blessed.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees another basketball doubleheader in the City of Brotherly Love!

Prince at Liacouras Center

Saturday morning I went to Avis & I rented a Dodge Avenger for the weekend.

I went back home to Astoria and I picked up the King and our pal Frank Anichiarico who joined us for the day. We then drove into Manhattan and we picked up our buddy Mike Carroll aka Sabre Mike who decided to join us for the day as well.

We drove down to Philadelphia and we went to The Liacouras Center which is the home of the Temple Owls. They were hosting the Rhode Island Rams.

We met up with our friend Frankie Centola who has season tickets for the Owls. It was nice to see him again.

As for the game we saw, the Rams led the Owls at halftime, 37-36. In the second half, the Owls pulled ahead. They went by 11 midway through. They wound up holding off the Rams, 76-70 on Mascot day.
They announced a crowd of 9,493 which consisted mainly of families who brought their children with them for this afternoon affair. They're were some empty seats in the outer reaches of the second level.

It should be noted that the Owls honored former football player, running back Bernard Pierce who played for the Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens in a ceremony at halftime.

After the game, we drove over to the Oregon Diner for dinner before we headed over to the Wells Fargo Center for the second game of our doubleheader as the Philadelphia 76ers were hosting the Golden State Warriors on Wilt Chamberlain bobblehead doll night.

We were joined by our buddy Andrew Van Cleve who was there with his son Dylan who is getting so big. It was great to see them both again.

Prince at Wells Fargo Center

As for the game we saw, the Warriors got off to a fast start as they led 31-20 after the first quarter as Stephen Curry scored 13 points. In the second quarter, the 76ers closed the gap as they trailed by 3 at halftime, 54-51. Stephen Curry finished the half with 23 points. In the third quarter, the 76ers went ahead as they led, 82-81. They cooled off Curry who only scored 3 points but Klay Thompson picked up the slack as he scored 12. In the fourth quarter, the 76ers out scored the Warriors, 22-16 as they went on to beat the Warriors, 104-97 in front of an announced crowd of 17,929.

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson got shut down as they finished the game with 30 and 29 points respectively. For the 76ers, Jrue Holiday led the way with 27 points including a dozen in the fourth quarter which carried the 76ers down the stretch to the come back victory.

Stay tuned for the special post that will recap the way we spent my special day in Baltimore & Washington DC on Sunday.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 2/25 in review

Gio Gonzalez in his first Spring start

Monday night after work I decided to come home to relax and catch up on things in the house after I made myself dinner. I really wanted to join the King and our pal Sean MacDonald who was visiting on business from Singapore. They wound up going to see Seton Hall Pirates basketball at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ but it didn't start until 9PM. I thought it was better for me to just stay home.

By doing so, I got to see a special treat on television. During the day, I saw on Twitter that the Mets were playing the Washington Nationals at 6:10PM. More importantly, my boy Gio Gonzalez was making his first start of the spring. With the accusations of performance enhancing drugs behind him, he set his sights on getting ready to build on the great season he had last year when he went 21-8. In addition, he was tuning up for the upcoming World Baseball Classic. He'll be pitching for the United States.

When I knew he was starting the game, I made sure I got home in time to see him. He wound up pitching two innings. He got off to a rough start because his shortstop made an error on the first batter he faced. He proceeded to walk the next batter. Luckily he worked out of the jam and he got the Mets out without allowing a run to score. In the second inning, he got the Mets in order. He looked like the Gio I know and love. He finished his brief outing walking one and striking out three. The Nationals scored a few runs for him so he got credited with the win as they held on to win the game, 6-4.

It was great to see him even if it was just on television. I can't wait to see him again in person at Citi Field when the Nationals come to town in April.

Tuesday night after work I went to Charley's Subs for a pre game meal in Penn Station before I headed upstairs to Madison Square Garden to see the Rangers play the Winnipeg Jets. I want to personally thank my pal Alan Gimpel who had an extra ticket and he was kind enough to sell it to me. As a result, I got to see a hockey game at the Garden. Ranger tickets are hard to come by. I wound up sitting upstairs in section 211 row 17 which is right at center ice so I had a great view of the action.

As for the game we saw, the Rangers and Jets played a scoreless first period. In the second period, the Jets broke through as they got a goal from Olli Jokinen with 14:05 left in the period to take a 1-0 lead. A minute and seven seconds later the Jets scored again. This time Evander Kane got the goal to make it 2-0 Jets. The Rangers got on the board with 10:32 to go when Ryan Callahan buried one to slice the Jets' lead in half at 2-1. With 5:12 left in the period, Olli Jokinen lit the lamp again to give the Jets a 3-1 lead. In the third period, with 10:43 to go, the Rangers got within a goal at 3-2 when Taylor Pyatt scored. 20 seconds later, Evander Kane of the Jets answered right back to make it 4-2 with his second goal of the game. The Rangers got back within a goal 53 seconds later when Anton Stralman found the net to get the Rangers within a goal again at 4-3. Despite their hard work the last ten minutes of the game, the Rangers fell short as the Jets held them off, 4-3.

Wednesday after work I went back to the Garden this time to see the Knicks play the Golden State Warriors. Before I went there, I stopped off at Popeye's for dinner.

When I was done I arranged to meet my pal Sean MacDonald outside the Garden so I could give him the ticket I was able to get for him. Since the game was on ESPN, it started at 8PM which gave him more time to get there since he was working. Since I missed seeing him on Monday night, I'm glad he was able to join me again.

We went inside and he got to see the new additions to the Garden since his last visit back in 2008. He was impressed with the new main concourse on the 100 level he said. For his whole take on the transformation please see his blog where he keeps track of his various sports travels. Since he lives abroad, he's done plenty of international traveling. He takes nice pictures and he gives excellent detail on his excursions. Take a look you may learn some things.

As for the game we saw, the Knicks got off to a fast start. They led the Warriors who were playing without former Knick, David Lee who got suspended for a fight that broke out in Indiana the night before. As a result, the Knicks led, 27-18 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Warriors closed the gap to three as the Knicks led, 58-55 at halftime. In the third quarter, both teams scored 26 points so the Knicks continued to lead by three, 84-81. In the fourth quarter, the Knicks held off the Warriors who took a late lead but they collapsed down the stretch as they fell to the Knicks, 109-105.

It was an historic night as the Warriors' Stephen Curry scorched the Knicks for a career high 54 points. He shot 11 for 13 from the behind the three point line to keep the Warriors in the game.

As for the Knicks, they got 35 points from Carmelo Anthony and 16 points from Tyson Chandler who also grabbed a career high 28 rebounds to carry the Knicks to the win.

Friday night after work I went to downtown Brooklyn to see the Nets play the Dallas Mavericks at the Barclays Center.

Before the game, I stopped off at McDonald's for dinner.

After I ate, I went inside the arena and I met up with the King by our seats in section 230 row 13.

As for the game we saw, the Mavericks led the Nets, 22-21 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Nets out scored the Mavericks by two to take a one point lead, 49-48 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Mavericks pulled away as they took a 77-63 lead. In the fourth quarter, the Nets tried to make a comeback but they came up short as the Mavericks won, 98-90.

Dirk Nowitzki and former Net Vince Carter each scored 20 points to lead the Mavericks. Deron Williams added a game high 24 points in the losing effort for the Nets.

Stay tuned for some special posts that I'm going to do about our weekend getaway.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty schedule w/o 3/4

Here's the game plan:

Tuesday March 5th Lightning at Devils 7PM

Wednesday March 6th Quinnipiac Bobcats at LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds 7PM

Thursday March 7th Sabres at Devils 7PM

Friday March 8th Wizards at Nets 7:30PM

Saturday March 9th Capitals at Islanders 1PM

                                Jazz at Knicks 7:30PM

Sunday March 10th Jets at Devils 7PM

Check back to see how it turned out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned for my w/o 2/25 in review. In addition, I plan to do some special posts that will recap my memorable weekend.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty catches up with Eric Hasseltine & Elliot Perry of the Memphis Grizzlies at the Barclays Center!

Eric Hasseltine, me & Elliot Perry 

Royalty always shows loyalty to special people. Back on December 4, 2006 I met up with Eric Hasseltine who is the radio announcer of the Memphis Grizzlies. He's done every Grizzlie game since they moved to the Bluff City in 2001. I've met up with him on a number of occasions since then. He's always treated me like royalty when he sees me. He's given me media guides and pocket schedules which I like to collect. They're educational & I get to follow up on the Grizzlies who have had their share of bad teams over the years. Nowadays they have arguably their best team in franchise history.

Since the Grizzlies play in such a small market they barely get noticed in the media which is a shame.
They recently made a trade that forced them to get rid of one of their best players in Rudy Gay. They needed to do so because they need to be fiscally responsible going forward to sustain long term success. In the NBA, there's a salary cap and you can't be successful spending freely especially in a small market like Memphis.

As a result, the Grizzlies made a trade to put them in position to succeed for many years to come. Since the move, they've played together as a team which is what they need to do to compete on a daily & nightly basis. With that being said, the team is reaping the rewards and it shows. They're in the midst of an eight game winning streak right now. They use their grit grind style which is their formula for success. It may not be the most entertaining style of basketball but all that matters is the bottom line. As long as they win, people will take a liking to it.

With that being said, Eric who has his own sports talk show in Memphis on 929 ESPN radio weekdays M-F 2-4PM central time has told his listening audience he has become a fan of their style. He said you usually prefers to see a high powered offense but he loves the way this team plays defense. He sees every minute of every game so he knows that their style can be successful when they play as a team. As long as they keep doing what they've been doing, the Grizzlies can be a force in the playoffs. Hard work pays off.

Speaking of hard work, Elliot Perry aka Socks who played in the NBA from 1991-2002 with a number of different teams including the Suns, Bucks and Nets made a living on his sharp shooting and his heart and hustle. He started in the old CBA back in the day which as he said was true grit and grind.

I had the privilege of meeting him a few years ago when he was doing a game on the radio with Eric at Madison Square Garden when the Grizzlies came to play the Knicks.

He's such a good guy & a true class act. He took a picture of Eric & I after we talked for a little while.
I got to see these guys together again on New Year's Eve when I went to Indianapolis to see the Grizzlies play the Pacers. He told me that he will be in Brooklyn with Eric to call the Grizzlies game against the Nets.
With that being said, Sunday night we all reunited at the Barclays Center. It was great to see these guys again. As usual, they made time to talk to me and we were able to catch up. In addition, I got to take a picture with both of them.

I told Eric that I've become a regular listener to his show which is appropriately titled the Eric Hasseltine Show online. He's a great host and I love hearing his opinions and takes on sports. He usually talks about basketball but he sprinkles in other sports from time to time.

When I heard his show on Monday he caught me off guard when he mentioned my name on the air. Like Eric, I prefer high scoring basketball games. I told him it was painful to watch but he made some great points on the show which has me believing in their style too. Like I say, teamwork makes the dream work. The Grizzlies have been following that mind set lately. Hope that trend continues so they can go deep in the playoffs. We'll have to wait and see as it unfolds the rest of the way.

I plan to see them again at the end of March when the Grizzlies make their only visit to the Garden.

In the meantime, I strongly suggest that you tune in and listen to him. I promise you won't be wasting your time.

In addition, you can follow and tweet him on Twitter. His handle is @EricHasseltine. The same goes for Elliot. His handle is @ElliotPerry34.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman