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| Quick Change |
Tuesday night after work I went out to the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ to see the Devils host their Hudson River rivals, the NY Rangers with the King.
As for the game we saw, it turned out to be a good action packed match. Both teams battled and fought hard all night exchanging goals. The Devils wound up getting a lucky bounce off the boards as the puck caromed to David Clarkson in front of the net who buried the equalizer with just 48 seconds left in regulation time to tie the game at three. After a scoreless overtime session, the game was decided in a shootout. The Devils came away with the extra point as they won the skills competition. As a result, they were 4-3 winners.
Wednesday night after work I went back to the "Rock". This time to see basketball. The NJ Nets took on the Detroit Pistons.
As for the game I saw, the Nets and Pistons played in a closely contested game. The Nets managed to pull out the victory by a score of 99-96.
I was joined by the King and our friend Vinny Ascanio. As usual, we all enjoyed each other's company.
Thursday night after work I went to Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks entertain the Chicago Bulls.
The Knicks were able to hang around with the Bulls most of the game but in the end, the Bulls came away with a 105-102 win. They were lead by their young superstar point guard Derrick Rose. Rose had a MVP like performance as he sliced and diced his way through the Knicks defense throughout the game as he scored 32 points including 15 in the critical fourth quarter. He also dished out 13 assists to carry his team to the narrow victory in front of an electric atmosphere at the World's Most Famous Arena.
In addition, during the halftime intermission, the crowd was treated to an act called "Quick Change." These people have been doing this routine for many years. Every time I see it, I still don't believe it. They change what their wearing numerous times right before your eyes. It's truly amazing.
Friday night after work I went back to Newark, NJ to see the Nets play the Minnesota Timberwolves who have Ricky Rubio, the point guard from Spain. The Timberwolves drafted him a few years ago but he had to fulfill his obligations in Spain before he was allowed to come to the United States. With his arrival in the Twin Cities, the Timberwolves have improved drastically thus far.
This was the first time I got to see him play live in person. Needless to say, he didn't disappoint. In matter of fact, he put on quite a show. He scored 10 points, handed out 10 assists and he stole the ball 6 times. In the process, he made his teammates better. In particular, Nikola Pekovic, who finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds and Kevin Love who added 20 points and 10 boards as the Timberwolves came out on top, 108-105. For the Nets, Anthony Morrow had a career high 42 points in the losing effort.
Saturday morning the King and I took a bus from Chinatown here in NYC to Philadelphia to see the Flyers take on the NJ Devils in a matinee affair at the Wells Fargo Center . We were joined by our pal Andrew Van Cleve and his son, Dylan aka the Ultimate Sports Baby.
We saw a wild game. The Devils raced out to a 6-0 lead after two periods. The Flyers finally woke up but it was too little too late as they managed to get within a few goals at 6-4 late in the game but they couldn't come all the way back as they lost by that score. At least they made it interesting for us and those who stayed and didn't leave early.
After the game, the King and I took a Chinese bus back home so we could go to Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks play their cross town rivals, the NJ Nets.
As for the game we saw, the Knicks in need of a victory in the worst way after losing to the Bulls then they went to Boston and lost there as well. So despite playing for the third night in a row thanks to the lockout, they needed to find a way to win. On this night they sure did. The Nets fresh off a tough loss to the Timberwolves were beat up by the Knicks by a score of 99-92.
The Knicks found a way to win by calling on a recent undrafted free agent pickup. I'm talking about a guy named Jeremy Lin who graduated from Harvard and was let go by the Houston Rockets. Lin played one game in the Developmental League before the Knicks had him join the team. Based on his heroic performance, he instantly became a fan favorite. Lin brought the energy the Knicks' so desperately needed. He scored 25 points and added 7 assists to go along with 5 rebounds in his Knick debut. What a way to make a splash.
Super Bowl Sunday the King and I didn't spend it in Indianapolis as many thought we might have.
Instead we went out to the Prudential Center to see the Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins play some hockey. It was my 100th Devil game there. The Devils fresh off their 6-4 win over the Flyers, came out strong again as they whipped up the Penguins, 5-2.
After the game, the King and I went back to Queens to our friend Frank and Tina's place to watch the Super Bowl on TV. It's become a tradition the last so many years for us to do so.
I would like to thank Frank and Tina for their fine hospitality as usual.
As for the Super Bowl, we weren't happy with the outcome but since we have no control, there's not much we can do about it. It was a good competitive game at least as the Giants beat the Patriots again, this time 21-17.
It capped off a great football season for me. With that being said, please stay tuned for the special post I'm going to do regarding my record breaking season of attending live football games.
Thank you for reading and following along.
Yours truly,
Gary Herman
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