COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

Whether he intended to or not, President Donald Trump has managed to throw some serious mud all over the World Cup Tournament after USA Striker Folarin Balogun had his red card reversed by FIFA, a day after the President spoke with FIFA Presidnet Gianni Infantino to review the red card ruling.  On Sunday the ruling, which levied a one-game suspension of Balogun for stomping on the ankle of an opponent for the Bosnia-Herzgovina team was lifted and delayed f or up to a year after the tournament.  As one can imagine all hell has broken loose since. USA plays Belgium tonight, and Balogun is eligible to play in the Round of 16 game in Seattle.  Both Trump and Infantino t ried to put out the conspiracy theory flames to no avail.  Instead the controversy has only gotten bigger as fans, pundits, politicians, and even people who don't follow soccer ... er ... football throw their collective two cents in.  Said President Trump on Monday, "All I did was ask for a review. I...

 The New York Mets nearly authored one of the most revolting losses in a lost season one can imagine, as they almost blew a seven-run, ninth inning lead in a 10-9 squeaker down in Atlanta, Sunday afternoon.  The Mets held a 10-3 lead going into the bottom of the ninth. Interim manager Andy Green had Huascar Brazoban open the inning in what should have been a routine finish to a rare 'W' for the Metropolitans.  Instead it almost turned into another Metsie nightmare.  First there was the pick-off error by Brazoban that allowed Mauricio Dubon to score to make it 10-4. Then Brazoban proceeded to load the bases with singles by Austin Riley and a walk to Eli White. (ex-Met Dom Smith was already on base).  Then Drake Baldwin got into one, and launched a Brazoban fastball over the left field wall for a grand slam to cut the Mets lead to 10-8.  That was it for Brazoban as Green had no choice but to bring in embattled closer Devin Williams. And Williams nearly blew i...

 Talk about turning up the heat.  About the only good news for the New York Yankees right now is the fact that they hit the road tonight for Tampa Bay, therefore they will be sparred from having to hear the litany of screaming Yankees fans on the talk radio and podcast circuit.  Then again, Florida is like New York South ...  The Yankees dropped another series, this time to the Minnesota Twins by the score of 6-1. That's right, I said the Minnesota Twins; the same franchise the Yankees have dominated routinely over the past quarter century plus.  The Twins enjoy a day in the Bronx. Getty Images.  The last time New York lost a regular season series to Minnesota, you'd have to go back to 2023, the year the Yankees didn't make the playoffs.  If that was an omen of things to come in '23, one would hate to see what's in the cards now.   The Twins simply dominated the Yankees behind a stellar outing by Joe Ryan.  The 30-year old veteran pitche...

 There is no doubt that Steve Cohen loves the New York Mets, and wants to see the team succeed. His frustration over the Mets miserable 2026 season was on display in a very open and honest interview with the New York Post's Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman.  However as honest as Cohen tried to be, and as careful as he tried to be at the same time in what he could say, it felt like a 40-minute diatribe where Cohen consistently contradicted himself, and even backed himself into a corner by endorsing embattled President of Baseball Operations, David Stearns.  "David is a thoughtful man, he's incredibly thorough," Cohen said. " There aren't answers where I walk away and say I don't agree with that. He knows what's he's talking about. Does he get any credit for 2024? Does that not count, we almost made it to the World Series. It's a mixed record. I won't say it's going great, but it's too early to make evaluations.   "If we burn and chu...

 So, can we panic now Yankees fans? Can we take this slump seriously?  The Yankees offense was once again limp, and Jazz Chisholm left in the fourth inning under concussion protocol as the Yankees lost to the lowly Detroit Tigers 7-3 at Yankee Stadium.   New York managed only three hits on Monday night as Tigers veteran pitcher Casey Mize matched a career high with 10 strikeouts as he totally bedeviled the Yankees the entire evening.  In the last four games the Yankees batting average has been .098.  They clearly miss both Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, which is a heck of an indictment for a team that can't keep relying on two aging and brittle superstars.  Meanwhile the Tigers teed off of Yankees starter Ryan Weathers, who was charged with five runs (two earned) on seven hits over an inning and two-thirds of work.  What had to add insult to injury for the Yankees was the fact that Chisholm collided with outfielder Jasson Dominguez on a pop ...

 The Mets might have a new skipper, but it doesn't mean they are exempt from further embarrassing themselves. Quiet the contrary, as the Mets bumbled their way to a 2-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays up in Ontario.  New York has now lost three of their last four since Andy Green took over on an interim basis. What fun!?! The Jays scored in the opening frame when George Springer lined a base hit that bounced off the turf and past Juan Soto and skipped to the wall. A.J. Ewing then bobbled the ball on the relay throw, allowing Spring to touch 'em all. Springer was credited with a triple, and scored on the error by Ewing. There was no inside the park homer.  Toronto tacked on another run later in the contest to make it 2-0, before Francisco Lindor cracked his first home run since returning from a long stint on the Injury List in the seventh inning to make it 2-1.  MEANWHILE... Former Mets hitting coach Eric Chavez, who has made no bones about having no love for Mets Presi...