Things I Learned While on the East Coast

I just got back from Dirty Jersey and Lawn Gisland last night and wanted to quickly touch on a few things I learned. These are in no particular order and have no particular theme to them.

• Knicks fans are actually optimistic (well, the two that I talked to anyways). My boy Gorman seems to think that they have a lineup that can grab one of the final two playoff births in the East. I'm not sure if it was more of a "well, somebody has to be 7th and 8th" attitude or a general feeling of hope, but it is definitely there. I actually liked the Nets lineup a little better, but none of the bottom 7 teams in the East has a stud like Amare, so I tend to agree that they will make the playoffs.
• My uncle is not a huge fan of Kovalchuk's 15 year contract. Apparently, Coach John MacLean is not impressed either, as he benched Ilya 8 games into his 15 year contract!
• Speaking of the Devils, I got to watch them beat Montreal 3-0, and luckily didn't have to watch as they got outscored 9-2 in the next two
• It is extremely difficult and tiring flying with an inquisitive 16 month old, especially when no one on the plane appears to be into babies. Advice for next time we fly: suck it up and buy the extra seat for her
• At least one fellow Mets fan said he would be fine with a massive rebuilding process, as long as it was done so with a long-term plan. We need to hire the right GM - one who has a plan and intends to stick with it, regardless of what happens in the short term.
• Fist bumping is actually a lot of fun. I hadn't had much experience with it in the past (truth is I'm from farm county Jersey), but I think I picked it up pretty quickly.
• We spent $38 dollars on tolls. That includes two $8 fares across the GWB, two $5.50 fares across the Whitestone and two $5.50 fares across the Throgs Neck. I know a $2.50 toll on 520 will suck, but I don't want to hear ANYONE in Seattle complain about it.
  
• Long Island accents are the best.
  
• No one cares about the Nets. My cousins boyfriend met some of the players (Harris, Humphries, Murphy, Outlaw, Farmer) at an open gym on Thursday (long story short: someone on Twitter told him about it, he worked two blocks from the location so took a long lunch..ok, the story was short to being with). Apparently there was a Nets representative standing outside the building, trying to get passers-by to stop in, but no one cared. That is just amazing to me.
  
• Also, I learned that the Nets won't be having "New Jersey" on their road uni's anymore. Instead it will say Nets. I guess it is official- the Devils really are New Jersey's Team

I think that is all for now. I will update this post as I think of more.