After returning from St. Louis late Sunday night, I got a few much needed nights off after work Monday and Tuesday night. Thankfully it was a short work week but I still had plenty of work to do before the long Thanksgiving weekend kicked in.
Wednesday after work I went up to Manhattan College to see some college basketball. I met up with the King and we took the subway up to Riverdale, NY. It's the last stop on the number one train which is 242nd Street. When we got there, we met up with our pal Al Linderman. We walked over to the Draddy Gymnasium which is where the Manhattan Jaspers play. When we got inside, we had more company. Our friends Frank Anichiarico and Bryan Gilligan who went to school there joined us. In addition, our pal Eddie Pelle was also in attendance. He got out of work early and he knew we were going to be there so he decided to come. It was great to see everybody again. We were one big happy family.
As for the game we saw, the Jaspers played the Hofstra Pride. The game was close in the first half as the Jaspers lead by one, 29-28 at halftime. In the second half, the Jaspers pulled away thanks to guard Michael Alvarado who hit three treys during a stretch to help his team earn their first victory of the young season, 67-56.
After the game, Bryan who drove there, gave us a ride back to Queens. We wound up going to Donovan's Pub where we were celebrating some birthdays. Frank's was on the 16th, the King's is on the 24th and Bryan's is on the 27th. Charlie Casiano, the King's brother met us there too. It turned out to be a very festive occasion for all of us. Eddie also took part in the festivities. In preparation for Thanksgiving, I enjoyed my Turkey dinner early. I knew on Thanksgiving day, I may not have any so I made sure I indulged. We all had a great time gathering together. It was really nice of Charlie to take part. We don't see him too often but it's always a pleasure when we do.
Thanksgiving day the King and I watched football on TV until it was time to go out to MetLife Stadium for the Jets and Patriots game in prime time.
We sat up in section 312 with Ira Lieberfarb aka Ira from Staten Island who was there with his son Robby.
As for the game we saw, it started off slow as it was scoreless after the first quarter. The Patriots got on the board just six seconds into the second quarter as wide receiver Wes Welker caught a 3 yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady to give the Patriots' a 7-0 lead.
With 9:43 left in the second quarter, the Patriots took a 14-0 lead on the first play of the drive as Tom Brady connected with Shane Vereen on a pass that turned into a 83 yard touchdown. Shortly thereafter, things started to turn for the worst for the Jets. They got the ball back but they fumbled and it was recovered by free safety Steve Gregory who ran it in for a touchdown from 32 yards out with 9 minutes to go in the half to give the Patriots a 21-0 lead.
The Jets fumbled again on the ensuing kickoff and they lost the ball again as Julian Edelman ran it back for a touchdown from 22 yards out to extend the Patriots lead to 28-0 with 8:51 left.
To recap the Patriots scored 21 unanswered points in a 52 second span. What a turn of events it was.
With 3:08 left until halftime, the Patriots scored another touchdown as Tom Brady and Julian Edelman hooked up on a 56 yard touchdown pass to make it 35-0.
The Jets finally broke the shutout with 2 seconds left in the half as kicker Nick Folk booted a 32 yard field goal to make it 35-3 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Jets added two points when Stevan Ridley of the Patriots was called for a penalty in the end zone which resulted in a safety that made it a 35-5 game with 6:47 left in the quarter.
The Jets continued to make a comeback as running back Bilal Powell scored on a four yard touchdown run to get the Jets within 23 at 35-12 with 4:41 left in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, with 12:02 left in the game, Tom Brady ran in from a yard out to extend the Patriots lead to 42-12. The Patriots added to their lead with 11:07 left as Stevan Ridley scored on a 9 yard touchdown run to make it 49-12. The Jets finished the scoring for the night with 2:21 left when Dustin Keller capped off an 80 yard drive with a 1 yard touchdown pass from Mark Sanchez to make it 49-19 which is how it mercifully ended.
Friday during the day I relaxed and caught up on things around the house. At night, the King and I went to downtown Brooklyn to see the Nets host the Los Angeles Clippers.
We met up with our friend Phil Butleman who was there too.
As for the game we saw, the game was tied at 25 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Clippers outscored the Nets by seven to lead, 47-40 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Nets came back and they evened the score at 63. In the fourth quarter, the Nets pulled away as they went on to beat the Clippers, 86-76.
Brook Lopez lead all scorers with 26 points. Joe Johnson finished with 19 to carry the Nets to the victory. As for the Clippers, Blake Griffin and Chris Paul had 14 points each in the losing effort.
Saturday was the King's 60th birthday. We went to Philadelphia with Vincent Ascanio on Megabus to see the Philadelphia 76ers as they hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Upon arrival, the King decided he wanted to have a gourmet meal at Popeye's. So that's where we went. After we got done, we took the subway over to the Sports Complex.
We got to the Wells Fargo Center home of the 76ers when the gates opened. We walked around the building before the game started.
As for the game we saw, the Thunder got off to a fast start. They lead, 29-21 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the 76ers came back to cut the lead to one, 50-49 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Thunder padded their lead to six, 85-79. In the fourth quarter, the 76ers came back and they tied the game at 98 after regulation time. In overtime, the Thunder pulled away to beat the 76ers, 116-109.
Kevin Durant of the Thunder lead the way with 37 points including many down the stretch with the game on the line. He's a special player and a joy to watch play live. His teammate Russell Westbrook added 30 points. The Thunders' dynamic duo outscored the 76ers' tandem of Thaddeus Young who had 29 points and he grabbed 15 rebounds while his teammate Evan Turner contributed 26 points in the losing performance.
Sunday afternoon the King and I went back to downtown Brooklyn to see the Nets play the Portland Trailblazers at the Barclays Center.
As for the game we saw, the Trailblazers lead 27-25 after the first quarter. They extended their lead to four, 50-46 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Nets came back to even the score at 70 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, the Nets turned it up a notch as they pulled away from the Trailblazers as they escaped with a 98-85 victory. Joe Johnson scored 21 points to pace the Nets to the win. Deron Williams had 15 points and he handed a dozen assists to help the cause. Wesley Matthews had 20 points for the Trailblazers in the defeat.
After the game, the King and I went to Penn Station where we got the NJ Transit train to Secaucus and then we changed for the train to MetLife Stadium so we could go out to see the Giants play the Packers in Sunday night football.
We didn't have tickets yet. Shortly after we got out there, we ran into a few young guys who had an extra pair of tickets. We wound up giving them $70 for the pair. It worked out well as we were able to go right inside and we saw the end of the late games.
It was a cold, windy night. We decided to stay downstairs instead of going up to our seats in the upper level.
As for the game we saw, the Giants scored on their first drive of the game which set the tone. Running back Andre Brown ran in from two yards out to give the Giants a 7-0 lead with 12:38 to go. The Packers came right back as they got a 61 yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers who found wide receiver Jordy Nelson with 10:44 left to tie the game at 7. With 2:38 left, wide receiver Rueben Randle caught his first career touchdown pass from 16 yards out to give the Giants a 14-7 lead. With 23 seconds left, Lawrence Tynes extended the Giants' lead to 17-7.
In the second quarter, the Giants added to their lead as Eli Manning hit Victor Cruz for a 9 yard touchdown pass to make it a 24-7 game. The Packers got a 28 yard field goal from kicker Mason Crosby with 3:37 left to make the score 24-10. The Giants found the end zone again with 44 seconds left as running back Ahmad Bradshaw scored on a 13 yard touchdown run to make it 31-10 at the half.
In the third quarter, the Giants' Eli Manning entered the record books as he threw his 200th touchdown pass as a Giant to Hakeem Nicks, a 13 yard pass with 3:36 to go to make it 38-10. Manning passed Phil Simms in the process. That's the way it ended as the Giants dominated.
With that, another week of sports travel was in the books.
Thank you for reading and following along.
Yours truly,
Gary Herman
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