I made my first trip to The Rock in Newark Friday night since the week before it opened.
Holy Wang, what it building! All of Long Island should demand that as much private and public money as necessary be squandered to get one of those in Nassau County ASAP.
Why should New Jerseyans be the only ones with a modern sports palace full of fancy bars (one of which is made of ice), leggy barmaids and easy train access?
The arena workers were extraordinarily friendly, too, including the woman who upon seeing me barely able to stand up between periods offered to walk on my aching back. Seriously.
I was seated near James Dolan, who watched intently but impassively all night. The only thing that betrayed possible nervousness was his severe working-over of a piece of gum.
Jerry Springer and Peter King were there, too, but they were not sitting with Mr. Dolan.
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The great thing about the Prudential Center is how closely it resembles the typical Newark Public School. For example, Shabazz High School has such amenities as indoor plumbing, electricity, walls, and windows just like the Prudential Center. When an occassional slapshot shatters the glass along the boards at the Rock, it creates a situation familiar in many classrooms. In some classes, the number of students is equal to the number of fans at weeknight Devil games. The price of a lower level ticket costs about the same as a day's pay for the typical teacher.
Don't worry Neil, I'm certain that any money earmarked to improve the Roosevelt Public Schools will eventually be diverted towards "infrastructure improvements" to a site in Nassau County that will serve as the future home of the Islanders and the Nets (we both know that the Barclay Center has about as much chance of being built as either one of us winning the top prize in Fantasy Fishing). The only question that we'll have to argue between us is which set of leggy barmaids has the funnier sounding accents - the ones from North Jersey or the Island.