Big East Championship Game at Pitt!

On December 5, 2009 I saw the Cincinnati Bearcats punch their ticket to the Orange Bowl, which is part of the BCS with their amazing come from behind victory.

It was an entertaining game to say the least.

With the Big East Championship on the line, the Bearcats stormed back to defeat the Pitt Panthers, 45-44!

The Panthers retook the lead late with a touchdown but they missed a critical PAT (point after touchdown) which proved to be costly as they wound up losing the game in the last minute.

Needless to say, some future NFL potential was seen at Heinz Field that day.

The players who were drafted were as follows:

For the Bearcats, they had 3 players.

Mardy Gilyard, wide receiver and kick returner was nabbed by the St. Louis Rams with the 1st pick in the 4th round, 99th overall.

I was impressed with him that day myself. He looked like a rising star.
He wound up with 5 receptions for 118 yards receiving which included a 68 YD TD pass.
In addition, he showed his multi dimensional ability when he returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown.

Tony Pike, quarterback went to the Carolina Panthers on the 6th round with the 204th pick.
He finished that day throwing for 302 yards. He completed 22 out of the 44 passes he threw.

Ricardo Mathews, defensive tackle was taken by the Indianapolis Colts in the 7th round with the 238th pick.

As for the Panthers, they had a few players chosen as well.

Nate Byham, tight end, was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the 6th round with the 182nd pick.
He caught one pass that day for 6 yards.

Dorin Dickerson, also a tight end, was taken by the Houston Texans in the 7th round, 227th overall.

It should be noted that Pitt has a reputation of producing great NFL players such as Tony Dorsett, Dan Marino, Curtis Martin and most recently Darrelle Revis to name a handful.

NFL future talent on display in Austin!

On November 21, 2009 it was Senior night and the last Longhorn home game as the Texas Longhorns played the Kansas Jayhawks in a Big 12 Conference game.

Royalty was on hand to take part in the festivities.

The Longhorns beat the Jayhawks 51-20 that night as they continued their run to the BCS Championship game which they ultimately lost to Alabama.

More importantly, NFL future talent was on display for us to witness.

Here's a list of players from both teams who were taken in the draft:

For the Longhorns, they are as follows:

Earl Thomas, strong safety, was chosen by the Seattle Seahawks with the 14th overall pick in the 1st round.
In that game, he did have an interception and he also ran back a punt 50 yards for a touchdown.

Sergio Kindle, defensive end, went to the Baltimore Ravens at number 43 in the 2nd round.
He was expected to go higher in the first round but his history of injuries wound up dropping his stock.

Lamarr Houston, defensive tackle was scooped up with the very next pick at 44 by the Oakland Raiders.
He had 2 sacks when we saw him play.

Jordan Shipley, wide receiver, was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals with the 84th pick in the 3rd round.
He had a big night when we saw him play. He finished that game with 10 receptions for 101 yards which included a 38 YD TD pass.

Colt McCoy, who was the 4th QB selected in the draft was taken by the Cleveland Browns with the very next pick at number 85.

He had a monster game in front of us. He threw for 396 yards completing 32 of 41 passes in the process.

Roddrick Muckelroy, a linebacker was picked by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 4th round with the 131st selection.

As for the Jayhawks, they were represented as well.

Darrell Stuckey, free safety, was picked by the San Diego Chargers with the 110th selection in the 4th round.

Kerry Meier, wide receiver, went to the Atlanta Falcons in the 5th round with the 165th pick.

He had 9 catches for 46 yards in that game.

Dezmon Briscoe, a junior wide receiver, was chosen by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 6th round with 191st selection overall.

He had quite a game grabbing 5 balls for 101 yards.

In addition, he ran back a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown as well.

As a whole, it was another memorable experience for royalty.

Always remember the "Eyes of Texas" are upon you.

Future NFL Stars shine in Stillwater!

On November 19, 2009, Royalty joined forces with our friends and fellow road trippers Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell, better known as USRT, the Ultimate Sports Road Trip.

This was another memorable and educational experience for all of us.

We all spend that weekend in different parts of Texas and Oklahoma.

We met at the car rental center at the Dallas airport.

We both wound up renting cars from Alamo.

I arranged to hook us both up with a great deal.

We followed each other for most of the ride to Stillwater, Oklahoma, home of the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

That night they played in prime time against another Big 12 foe, the Colorado Buffaloes.

As for the game, it was a very competitive see saw battle which the Cowboys came back to win, 31-28!

As for the NFL draft, we did get to see a few players who were drafted. In addition, we missed a few as well.

Here are the details regarding the players who were selected.

They are as follows:

With the 6th pick in the draft, the Seattle Seahawks selected offensive lineman, Russell Okung.
Later in the 1st round, the Dallas Cowboys took wide receiver Dez Bryant with the 24th pick. He was projected to go higher.

Unfortunately for us he had been suspended so we didn't have the privilege of seeing him shine before our very eyes that night.

Perrish Cox, a cornerback was taken by the Denver Broncos in the 5th round with the 137th overall pick.

In that game, he ran back a punt 67 yards for a touchdown.

In the 7th round with 250th pick in the draft the New England Patriots selected Zac Robinson, their starting quarterback.

We didn't see him play either because he was out of this game due to an injury.

Regardless we all made the most of our visit to the college town of Stillwater.

Royalty sees more future stars at RU!

Back on November 12, 2009, I decided to head down to New Brunswick, NJ to see some prime time college football at newly renovated Rutgers Stadium.

On this night, #23 University of South Florida came to town to play Rutgers.

It was a historical night in more ways than one.

First of all, Rutgers wound up dominating the game.

They shutout USF 31-0!

More importantly, a number of players from both teams were drafted as well.

They were as follows:

Anthony Davis, offensive tackle for Rutgers went to the San Francisco 49ers with the 11th pick in the 1st round of the draft.

Jason Pierre-Paul, defensive end for South Florida, who had 2 sacks in that game was picked by the NY Giants with the 15th selection in the 1st round.

Devin McCourty, cornerback of Rutgers was snatched up by the New England Patriots with the 27th pick in the 1st round.

Nate Allen, free safety from South Florida was taken by the Philadelphia early in the 2nd round at number 37.

Jerome Murphy, cornerback for South Florida who had an interception, went to the Rams in the 3rd round at number 65.

Ryan D'Imperio, linebacker from Rutgers was gobbled up by the Minnesota Vikings in the 7th round with the 237th selection.

In retrospect, I'm happy I spent that night out wisely.

I had a good time and I saw some future NFL players.

Royalty saw a future star play at UMASS!

Back on November 7, 2009, the King and I took a "royal" ride to Amherst, Massachusetts to a college football game before Bruin/Sabre hockey in Boston that night.

The next day we were in Foxboro to see the Miami Dolphins play the New England Patriots.

Now for an interesting correlation, the other day the NFL Draft was held.

Little did we know we were watching a potential NFL player that day.

When Roger Goddell announced with the 61st pick in the 2nd round of the NFL draft, the NY Jets select Vladimir Ducasse from UMASS.

Ducasse is an offensive lineman who the Jets have high hopes for.

As a result, they released veteran Pro Bowler Alan Faneca to make room for Vlad.

As for the royalty motto we say you never know what you're going to see at any particular game.

On paper this game seemed very insignificant.

With this selection the game will always have a lasting memory in my mind.

That day Vlad was classified as an amateur now he's viewed as a professional.

More proof when you chose royalty, you get more than you bargain for.

Royalty sees more NFL talent at UCONN!

On October 17, 2009 I took a ride to East Hartford, Connecticut to see a Big East college football game.

That day the Louisville Cardinals played the University of Connecticut aka UCONN.

UCONN has been known over the years for producing many solid NBA basketball players.

Its football program hasn't been in existence nearly as long.

The football program keeps improving each year.

To prove it, I saw 2 players play that day who wound up getting drafted.

They are as follows:

In the 4th round of the NFL draft with the 107th overall pick the Buffalo Bills selected wide receiver Marcus Easley.

In that particular game, Easley caught 6 passes for 108 yards including a 16 YD TD pass.

I do remember him standing out in that game since I do my best to keep track of the play by play when I attend a football game college or pro.

In addition, his teammate Robert McClain who played cornerback that day was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the 7th round with the 249th pick.

In that game, McClain did intercept a pass.

With that being said, UCONN now has a chance to say 2 more football players who played there are playing in the NFL.

Once again if I stayed home that afternoon I would never have seen this guys play.

Furthermore, I would have no idea who they were accept for the fact they played at UCONN.

Living the life of royalty has its advantages.

If this interests you, please feel free to contact me so I can help make it happen.

Royalty visits Charlottesville, VA!

On October 10, 2009, the King and I decided to take a ride to a town we had never been to before.

On that day we wound up in Charlottesville, Virginia the home of the University of Virginia UVA.

We normally stride to see the best when it comes to sporting events, but going to a college event is quite an experience.

Part of the royalty way is to always get further educated.

By going to Charlottesville, we got to see a very nice college town. It's located about 100 miles from Washington D.C.

Being from the big city here in New York, a change of scenery is always welcome.

It's great to see how life is in other parts of the country.

In addition, we got to see the Indiana Hoosiers play the Virginia Cavaliers that afternoon as well.

The Cavaliers tossed the Hoosiers a beating to the tune of 47-7!

In the process, a few prospects were involved in the action.

For the Hoosiers, with the first pick in the 2nd round of the NFL draft, the St. Louis Rams selected offensive tackle Rodger Saffold.

As for the Cavaliers, the Minnesota Vikings took cornerback Chris Cook with the very next pick at number 34.

Overall, it was a very eventful day and one I'll always cherish.

Brooks' House of Bar-B-Q

Brooks' House of Bar-B-Q

Upon recommendation from our friend, Bryan Gilligan, we decided to go here for dinner.

Bryan being a Vice Principal at P.S. 8 in the Bronx, knows how to teach young kids who will  represent our future.

Last August 8, 2009 he taught Royalty a lesson in knowing where to go when you find yourself in the Oneonta, NY area.

The King and I went to Cooperstown that day to see the Baseball Hall of Fame and we also saw the Oneonta Tigers play the Staten Island Yankees in a minor league game that night.

Thankfully we did so, the Oneonta Tigers will no longer be playing there. A few months ago, they announced that the team was moving to Norwich, Connecticut.

In between, we had just enough time to go to Brooks Barbeque. Here's the link: http://www.brooksbbq.com/

Bryan did tell us the line would be out the door. Needless to say, he wasn't kidding.

This place has a reputation for a reason.

He told us to get served fast we needed to sit at the counter like you would in a old fashioned coffee shop.

This is a local place that knows how to please the natives and visitors alike.

I wound up having a full rack of ribs. I wasn't disappointed. I remember them being damn good.

I do hope to get the opportunity to return there some day.

Life is full of choices. That day I know we made a great choice.

Thank you Bryan for your advice.

Royalty always strives to be the best when it comes to making a road trip.