Holy testosterone, Batman!

Last night we headed back to the Rock in Newark. However, instead of going to a hockey game, we went to see UFC 78 Validation. That's the Ulimate Fighting Championships. It was part of my Christmas present to Matt. After a free train ride to Newark because there weren't enough conductors on the train and our no-so-legal dinner of pizza and beer in a bag in the shadow of my law school and with the blessing of the nearby police officer, we headed over to the Rock for a night of fights. Here's the view from our seats.

The fights started at about 8:15, and the first four were pretty good. At 10, the pay-per-view portion of the night started. So in theory, these were supposed to be the better fights. For the most part, they weren't. But they were entertaining nonetheless.

Here's some pictures from the second-to-last fight with Houston Alexander and Thiago Silva. The crowd seemed to liked Alexander better, but Silva won in the first round.

The main event was Rashad Evans and Michael Bisping. Each of them found their way into UFC by winning their respective seasons of the Ultimate Fighter, which is a reality show in which they look for new UFC fighters. Evans won in a split decision. Here are some photos from that fight.

We definitely had a good time last night. Hopefully this was a success and the UFC will be back in Newark some time soon.

Welcome to the Rock

Took our first trip to the Prudential Center (aka the Rock) to see the Devils play the Pittsburgh Penguins. The new arena was awesome. The product on the ice was not so great. I've NEVER left a game as early as we did last night. But somehow we did not think that they were coming back from the 4-0 deficit (in the end, they lost 5-0). I mean, they're good, but they're not the Sox or the Pats. I've been to two Devils games this year -- it would be nice to see them a goal because I haven't so far.

Some have questioned the move from the Meadow to the Ghetto. But we think the new arena is going to be great! We took the 15-minute train ride to Newark Penn Station and then made the 10-minute walk with our fellow fans to the arena. The path was well lit, and there were police on every corner.

We have to be honest. We never even sat in our seats last night. No, we didn't move up to better ones. We shouldn't give this secret away, but we will anyway. On the second level near the concessions (all Newark food -- Portuguese, Greek, Jimmy Buff's Italian hot dogs, Hobby's Deli), there are tables that overlook the ice. Anyone can sit there. First come, first serve. We were first, and we didn't leave for two periods that we stayed. The seats look comfy. We just never sat in them. Next time ... maybe.