Who’s footing the bill to get to the FIFA World Cup? That’s the question on everyone’s mind as New Jersey gears up to host eight games at MetLife Stadium this summer.

Governor Mikie Sherill says the skyrocketing transportation costs have a $50 million price tag — one that she’s not willing to pass on to commuters.

Ticket prices have been a hot topic, but we may have to wait a bit longer for an answer.

Transportation officials on Friday will be talking about how NJ Transit service is going to be impacted.

Four hours before those matches, NJ Transit service from New York Penn Station to New Jersey is expected to be suspended, exclusively going to MetLife Stadium only.

Friday’s press conference is happening to discuss what alternatives there are for commuters during those four hours when service could be restricted.

Four World Cup matches are during the week, so this service disruption will impact the afternoon commute for many people.

There have been rumors recently that a round-trip New Jersey Transit ticket to attend the FIFA World Cup could cost up to $150. The normal price is $12.90.

A set price has not been announced yet, so that’s a big question still, and it may be brought up at Friday’s press conference or we may have to wait a bit longer for an answer.

NJ Transit says it’s going to cost around $48 million to provide service during the World Cup, primarily because of extra security.

Gov. Sherrill says she doesn’t want to pass that cost onto every everyday commuters.

She released a video on social media saying FIFA should pay for the rides, but FIFA says that’s not part of the original deal.

“I won’t stick New Jersey’s commuters with that tab for years to come. That’s not fair. So here’s the bottom line, FIFA should pay for the rides, but if they don’t, I’m not going to let New Jersey commuters get taken for one,” Sherrill said.

Sherrill says her predecessor set up the deal.

The press conference is set to be held at 11:30 a.m.

There is parking available at the American Dream Mall. Those prices are set by FIFA and could run over $200 per space.

Those who park at the mall will have access to mall festivities and celebrations.

Democrat Analilia Mejia won a New Jersey special election for the US House on Thursday, defeating Republican Joe Hathaway on a message of standing up to Donald Trump.

Mejia, a former head of the Working Families Alliance who had support from the senator Bernie Sanders, will fill the seat previously held by the Democratic governor Mikie Sherrill and serve until January.

Her victory is a win for progressives and means Democrats hold on to the 11th district seat in the House, where Republicans hold a thin majority. It also adds to a string of victories for Democrats heading into this year’s midterm elections.

The Associated Press called the race for Mejia minutes after the polls closed.

Mejia emerged from a crowded primary in February and cast the race as a test of Trump’s leadership. She criticized his pardons of people convicted of January 6-related crimes and faulted him for freezing funds authorized by Congress.

“The people here are ready to do something about it,” she said recently. “We’re not here to write strongly worded letters. Congress has real power.”

She campaigned on populist economic policies and pushing to abolish US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She has criticized the Israeli government and said she stands with Palestinian communities in their “pursuit of peace and dignity”.

Hathaway tried to use Mejia’s progressive credentials to his advantage, as national Republicans cast her as a socialist.

“I’m running to bring common-sense leadership to D.C + deliver results for our families, not push a far-left agenda,” Hathaway said in a recent social media post.

They could go head to head again in November’s election for a full two-year term.

The 11th district, which covers parts of Essex, Morris and Passaic counties in northern New Jersey’s wealthy suburbs, was long a Republican stronghold but has become increasingly Democratic since Trump’s first term.

Sherrill first won the seat in 2018’s midterm elections, when Democrats flipped dozens of seats to take control of Congress. In 2024, she won re-election by about 15 points, while Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, carried the district by nearly nine points.

Saran Cunningham, an 86-year-old retired special educator, said she was initially reluctant to support Mejia, worried that her views were too far to the left. She backed another candidate in the primary. But recently, outside the Morristown early polling location, she said she would now vote for Mejia.

“I think we’ve been tilting a little bit more to the right lately, which worries me,” Cunningham said. “I think that we need people in Congress who will fight for things that will help people as opposed to hurting them.”

Over the years, Mejia has been a regular presence in the state capitol, advocating for progressive causes, and was Sanders’s political director during his 2020 presidential run. During the Biden administration, she was deputy director of the labor department’s women’s bureau. In addition to winning Sanders’s endorsement, she was backed by the US representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the senator Elizabeth Warren.

The 2025-26 New Jersey Devils season will be another forgettable one in the team’s history.

With playoff aspirations and the hope of a deeper run than anything in the last decade, the team couldn’t build any consistency and as a result will miss the postseason again. Tom Fitzgerald was even let go as GM and President of Hockey Operations with part of the season still to be played due to his role in creating this mess. While the hope is that the team can turn things around with just some minor adjustments, the unfortunate fact is that until the games are played we simply don’t know how the 2026-27 Devils will be. They could look amazing on paper and be as bad as this year; conversely, they could look meh on paper and put together an amazing year.

While there will be plenty of time to forecast how 2026-27 will go, there were some things that went right in 2025-26. Today, I want to briefly acknowledge those things as well as how the Devils can build upon them to find more success next season.

Firstly, Jack Hughes was incredible after returning from the Olympics. His play from scoring the Golden Goal and beyond made it apparent that he was playing hurt upon returning from his freak dinner injury. 41 of his 77 points came in his final 25 contests. He was a point per game in the first 36 appearances, but played at a near 135 point (across 82 games) pace after the season resumed. He finished the season leading the team in points despite missing 21 games. It all goes to show how dangerous a healthy Jack is and how much the Devils need him to be healthy and in the lineup. Next season, do whatever it takes to keep him healthy. Bubble wrap him at team dinners, or when he’s not on the ice, whatever it takes.

Next, I think Cody Glass should be acknowledged for having a strong season. Glass went through a weird situation this past summer where it was rumored the Devils wouldn’t extend him a qualifying offer, but wound up doing so and re-signed him on the second day of free agency. As a fixture of the Bottom Six, Glass provided the desired secondary offense, potting 19 goals in 70 contests, good for sixth on the team. For a guy who spent majority of the season on the third or fourth line while not necessarily having the best line mates, Glass came and did what the team needed him to do. For next season, keep him with Arseny Gritsyuk (and maybe Lenni Hameenaho if he can take a step forward developmentally) and see if a talented player (or two) being with him consistently helps to keep his offense flowing.

One last positive for today: while there are probably a couple of other players that could be highlighted (depending upon your opinions and definitions of success) I’m going to go with Jake Allen. In a season where team goaltending was bad, Allen at least gave the Devils a chance to win for most of his starts. Additionally, with save percentage down across the league, Allen’s .904 was technically above league average. If the Devils got average to slightly above average goaltending nightly, they’re probably a playoff team even with only 3/4 of a season from Jack. Next season, give Jake more than half of the games, especially if Jacob Markstrom continues to rock below average numbers. He’s obviously not a long term solution, but if the Devils can’t adjust their goaltending situation (highly unlikely that they can) they need to play the guy with better numbers more often than the guy with the higher salary.

2025-26 has mercifully drawn to a close. For the Devils organization once they figure out their management situation, they need to build around the positives. If these three keep performing as they did, and others on the team rebound, 2026-27 can be a whole lot better. Once again, it will all depends on what is done to adjust the failings and then getting out on the ice next season and playing the games.

What are your thoughts on any positives from this Devils season? Were you happy with the play of Jack, Glass and/or Allen? Does the disappointing result of the season overall wipe away any positives for you? Is there a bigger positive that you feel i missed, keeping in mind that I technically mentioned that Fitz got canned? Leave any and all comments down below and thanks as always for reading!