The actual, snarkless AP caption for the photo above:

Tim Beach, Vice President of Game Operations and Events for the New York Islanders and Media Intern Josh Mevorach hold an 18 foot piece of aluminum flashing that fell 50 feet from the roof of the Nassau Coliseum due to severe weather. A 12 x 12 foot piece of aluminum flashing also fell during an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 13, 2010, in Uniondale, N.Y.  (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek)

A bit from the Post, under the heading "Nassau Coliseum Falling Apart":

Strong winds brought down two pieces of the aluminum façade that goes around the entire building at approximately 5:30 yesterday -- about 90 minutes before the Islanders hosted the Devils -- near the box office. The larger piece was 10 feet by 18 feet.

The jokes write themselves, what with the age of the building, the squabbles over the lease and a replacement venue, and the tales of locker room plumbing problems of yore.

But the nostalgic sap in me always come back to the acoustic purity of stuff like this:

While succeeding in modern NHL hockey requires the "enhanced revenue streams" and other assorted inflationary non-hockey mumbo-jumbo* a new venue provides, the act of watching hockey doesn't require any of that.

*This $5 pizza? Now magically an $8.50 pizza! Just for you! Progress! How 'bout a $12 beer with that? We'll even tell you when to cheer!

I've been to the glitzy new arenas with their shiny glass exteriors, plush seats, unfortunate sound-absorbing surfaces and special sections for corporate donors. I've also experienced some of the now-extinct old barns. Very real and overdue reasons for a new Islanders venue aside, when an intense NHL game is on the line and the crowd is there for hockey, I know which place I'd rather be: I'll take the frills-free noisy old barn, every time.

(Of course if I need to get to the bathroom or need a mid-game sushi, well that's another matter.)