"My message to the Nets is goodbye...You don't want to stay, we don't want you."
That was Gov. Christie's farewell address yesterday to the New Jersey Nets, who played the 76ers yesterday in their final game in the state. After 35 years as one of the state's two (official) professional sports teams, the Nets move to Brooklyn next season.
Christie argued that the Nets' former home, the Prudential Center in Newark, is a beautiful arena in "one of the country's most vibrant cities," and so another NBA team might be interested in moving in.
The comments, as Christie comments often do, got wide play -- on ESPN and USA Today and in the New York Daily News, which called the remarks "too simple, too arrogant."
"They want to leave and go to Brooklyn? Good riddance," Christie said. "See you later."