The good news is the gas is cheap...

I officially request a formal apology on behalf of the State of New Jersey for the Devils' performance on Saturday.


It was that bad, huh?


Yes, it was...and it's a darn shame, too.


Why's that?


Well, this was my first trip to the New Jersey Devils' new home, The Prudential Center. It's a 400 million dollar arena in the heart of beautiful downtown Newark. Newark is a hole, and I don't really care how many times Barry Melrose apologizes for saying it. So here's the deal...they put a giant, expensive new arena right in the middle of the city, and have no parking around it, or any decent roads with access to it, causing traffic problems and $25 parking in the "preferred" lots. Parking a few blocks away isn't normally a problem, unless it's winter, and you're concerned about being mugged. So, to the beautiful new Newark arena, I say a hearty "No Thanks!"

That said...once you're inside the building, it's really quite nice. They have wide concourses, many many tiers of seating, all with good sight lines to the ice. The comfortable seats still have that "New Rink Smell," though the guy next to me did his best to rectify that by dumping an entire beer on the floor. Also, they play a pretty cool pre-game montage involving flames and lightning and explosions, followed by Sean Connery coming out and saying "Welcome to The Rock." It's all downhill from there.

The Devils played a perfectly miserable game against the second worst team in the Western Conference (Phoenix Coyotes), and ended up losing by a misleading 4-1 score. The game was not as close as the score might indicate. After Phoenix went up 3-0 halfway through the third period, people started filing toward the exits...but maybe too soon? Jersey scores a feel-good shorthanded goal with just 6 minutes left to make it 3-1, and then Phoenix takes a penalty shortly after...so there's a chance! The arena gets louder as Jersey takes to the power play, seizing every ounce of momentum from the game, frantically trying to pull within one late in the game to continue a stunning comeback...and then they give up a shorthanded goal to go down 4-1 and basically end the game. Jerks.


You're a little biased for a sports writer, you know.


You're probably right, but since I paid to get into the rink, I can be biased.