FanHouse Newark

The short answer: no ... or at least, not yet.

Just days after learning that Nets owner Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards development (which includes the Barclays Center, ostensibly the Nets' future arena) in Brooklyn might be dying comes word that the team is negotiating to play three exhibition games next October at Newark's Prudential Center, the shiny new arena that's also home to the New Jersey Devils.

On the surface, big deal, right? Teams play out-of-market exhibition games all the time -- it's a good way to expand regional interest in the team. But if you connect the dots, those three games might represent something bigger.

Just the other day, I was telling my father I wanted to call Newark Mayor Cory Booker's office to see if and when ESPN's Barry Melrose would make good on his apology and visit The Rock for a Devils game. Turns out I'm a day late and a delicious Cuban Sandwich from the Prudential Center's Havana Restaurant short: Tom Gulitti of The Record reports that Melrose is scheduled to be the guest of Booker and Devils owner Jeff Vanderbeek at tonight's game against the Washington Capitals.

In an ESPN.com video last month, Melrose said that the area around the new Newark arena is "awful," that "the inside and the outside where it's built is pretty humorous" and warned those who dare see a game to not "go outside if you have a wallet or anything else." When his comments were swiftly rebuked by the Devils and the city, Melrose cowered and apologized, embarrassingly admitting that he had never actually visited the arena before labeling it a crime-ridden Thunderdome of lawless thugs. Melrose told Gulitti that he's looking forward to gaining "first-hand knowledge" of the arena and its surrounding area tonight; he also said that Devils fans have been fairly kind to him after his commentary: "No one has been tough on me, so, hopefully, that will continue tomorrow."

It should be a decent crowd, as the Devils will celebrate Scott Stevens's induction into the Hall of Fame and the fact that he ended his career with his leadership unquestioned and his dedication to his teammates respected (unlike some other former Devils defensemen named Scott). But Devils fans, at The Rock, welcoming The Mullet with open arms? Ask a Rangers fan how hospitable NJD fans can be -- even when the Rangers aren't playing them. No, battle plans are being drawn ... and I even have one of my own.

For another writing gig, I had an opportunity to interview a personal hero this week: Celebrity Chef Anthony Bourdain, host of The Travel Channel's "No Reservations," author of the recently published "No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach" and simply one of the coolest cats on the planet. But there was something on my mind heading into the conversation, which was the continuing shock waves from my previous FanHouse piece on ESPN's Barry Melrose and his uninformed, and quickly retracted, comments about the New Jersey Devils' new arena in Newark.

The article stirred one hell of a debate. The Long Island Press pointed me in the direction of their column in support of Melrose's hack logic, in which Chick Dubinsky warns potential guests to the Prudential Center to bring their pepper spray because ... well, because he saw a hearse drive by him (boy, never see those in the suburbs) and was dumb enough not to take mass transit to a city arena.

Then there were some of the enlightened souls on the comments thread who called me an "idiot," a practitioner of "reverse classism" and, worst of all, that I was from Nebraska. Truth is I'm a Jersey boy, just like Bourdain -- he grew up in Leonia in Bergen County, roughly 16 miles away from Newark. Bourdain actually did a segment of his Travel Channel show in the Ironbound in Newark, so I decided to pick his brain on the controversy:

The great thing about Barry Melrose putting his foot in his mouth is that you know it's some kind of quality imported designer shoe, which undoubtedly is pleasant on the palate. The ESPN hockey analyst recently opined about the Prudential Center, the new home of the New Jersey Devils in Newark, NJ. (Average attendance after four games: 14,849). Seems Barry had a touch of racism or classism or ignorance or a little of all three during this edition of the ESPN.com exclusive "The Melrose Line." (His Devils comments are at about the 1:40 mark).

UPDATE: It appears as though our friends at the WWL would prefer we didn't revisit The Mullet's regretful commentary, as the screen now reads "the video you requested is currently unavailable." I've replaced it for the time being with this image of people lined up to enter the Prudential Center, so that Mr. Melrose can analyze the frame to see which fans are literally carrying their own lives in their hands.

In summary, Melrose said that the area around the arena is "awful," that "the inside and the outside where it's built is pretty humorous" and warned those who dare see a game to not "go outside if you have a wallet or anything else." This naturally drew the ire of Devils fans and Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who told Fox 5 in New York that he's "sick and tired of people kicking our city around."

Determined to come off as a complete elitist, Melrose apologized on Tuesday to all offended parties in an interview with the Associated Press and revealed he had not actually visited the arena yet, basing his comments on "footage aired by Canadian broadcaster TSN before the Devils' first game at the new arena last Saturday." Meaning that you and I know about as much about the surface of Mars as Barry Melrose does about the Prudential Center. Now, as someone who's actually been to the arena, let me tell you where Melrose was right and where Melrose was wrong ...
Sorry, No Photos

Is there anything more satisfying than heading to the arena water closet, sending a few beers back out to sea, looking down and having your team's logo staring back at you from the top of the flusher? Of course not, and that's one of the reasons why the Prudential Center, the Newark-tastic new home of the New Jersey Devils, is, as the kids used to say, "the shizz."

I was in the house for Opening Night at the new ice barn, after two-and-a-half torturous decades in that cement sedative now known as the IZOD Center. The less said about the Devils' pathetic offense -- which looked about as dangerous as a blind double-amputee trying to stab someone with a plastic spork in their 4-1 loss to Ottawa -- the better. Let's focus on the positive ... or at least as positive as a Jersey-born blogger can be, considering the fact that cynicism was actually a study unit in my kindergarten class.

After the jump, photos by yours truly and others, as well as reviews of the Devils' new den ...