COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

There is nobody with more class in the game of baseball than Mike Mussina . The veteran right-hander, who goes about his business quietly, won his 20th game of the 2008 season. It is the first time that Mussina has won 20 in his 18th year career with the Orioles and Yankees. Mussina pitched six brilliant innings against the hated Boston Red Sox, surrendering only three hits in just 74 pitches. Mariano Rivera, who has stirred up controversy over his mysterious shoulder injury, locked up the save for Mussina. It was Rivera's 39th. The deciding runs came in the fourth inning as Xavier Nady blasted a three-run homerun to give New York a 3-0 lead. They won 6-2. This is a bittersweet moment for a Yankee team that has played badly in 2008 and needs to regroup big time for 2009.

MARLINS 4, METS 2 SHEA STADIUM 1964-2008 Well, the Mets have done it again. They have accomplished something only a team run by an incompetent General Manager, Omar Minaya, can do; furthermore, they have accomplished something where the players never come up big in the clutch, i.e. David Wright, Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes, Aaron Heilman, and on and on and on, can accomplish. They have accomplished something where they fire a manager, Willie Randolph, who brought the team out of the depths of last place in the NL East to first place, only to blame him for his players' lack of effort, when it was really their shortcomings, can accomplish. Yes, the Mutts sent Shea Stadium out in style with an another excruciating defeat, losing 4-2 to the Marlins, costing them any hope of making it to the postseason. The Brewers beat the Cubs earlier in the day, 3-1, to clinch the Wild Card. Like last year, Met fans were sitting with looks of angst, clasping their hands in prayer, hoping that the gods...

JETS 56 CARDINALS 35 If you like arena football then this was the game for you. Brett Favre and Kurt Warner did not disappoint; the pair of veteran QB's put on a clinic in Sunday afternoon's ballgame, as the Jets beat the Cardinals 56-35. The game marked a new record for Favre since he threw six touchdown passes; the most he has thrown in a game. It was also the first time since 1986 that the Jets scored 50+ points in a game. The Jets were excellent in the first half, playing crisp, sound football on both sides of the ball. The defense confused Warner, rushing him with different blitz packages and forcing five turnovers in the game' first 30 minutes. In the second quarter, Favre and the Jets got the party started. First,Favre hit Laveranues Coles from the 12 yards out to give New York a 7-0 lead. On Arizona's next possesion, Warner was picked off by Darrell Revis, who took it 32 yards into the endzone for a 14-0 lead. After another Warner interception, Favre found Cole...

The Phillies have beaten the Washington Nationals 4-3 in Philadelphia to capture their second straight NL East title. This is also the second straight September, where Philly capitalized off a Mets choke job to win the division. The Phillies will host either the LA Dodgers or Milwukee Brewers in the Divsion Series, set to begin the middle of next week.

METS 2 MARLINS 0 This is why the Mets paid him $137 million dollars in February. This is why Omar Minaya and the Mets desperately wanted him all off-season. This is why he is considered the best pitcher in baseball today. Johan Santana pitched an absolute gem today against the Florida Marlins. He threw a complete game shutout, his third complete game of the year. Yet, this one was much more special. This one came with the Mets season on the line. They needed Santana to be Superman and he was. Three days ago the Mets ace threw 125 pitches in seven innings against the Cubs. The next day reports said that Santana told manager Jerry Manuel that he wanted the ball for today's game. He got, with Manuel hoping to get at least 105 pitches out of him on short rest. He threw 117 pitches, and with each pitch he got better. If the game went into extra innings, Santana probably would have demanded to pitch; he was red-hot and is only one who can save the Mets from themselves. Santana struck ou...

Clearly the Yankees need to get on the same page on Mariano Rivera's mysterious shoulder injury. GM Brian Cashman had to apoligize for his manager Joe Giradi for getting information wrong on Rivera's status. On Thursday Girardi said that Rivera was taking an MRI as part of a routine post-season exam before checking out for the season. Cashman disagreed saying that Rivera requested a test. Either way, Rivera probably won't pitch again this year, nor should he since the Yankees are long out of the post-season race. There is no need to have Rivera risk further injury in garbage time games. As for this debacle of he said he said between Girardi and Cashman it is idiotic. So Girardi didn't get all the information? There was nothing he could do, when he is up in Toronto managing a game, while Rivera and Cashman are in New York getting the tests done. The Yankee management needs to grow up and start working together to fix this mess that was 2008.

MARLINS 6 METS 1 Yes Met fans, start spreading the news! The Mets are falling out of it ... Again! The Mets completely imploded Friday night in a game they had to have against the rival Florida Marlins. The Marlins won 6-1 in front of a sparse and stunned Shea Stadium crowd. Some way to celebrate the final weekend at Shea, eh? The Mets never gave themselves a chance in this one, as Mike Pelfrey continues his struggles against this Florida ballclub. He is now 1-5 all time vs. the Fish. In the first inning, Hanley Ramirez singled on a ground ball to start the game. Moments later, John Baker singled down the left field line well enough for Ramirez to score the opening run. Jorge Cantu doubled to move Baker to third. Dan Uggla grounded out to short, but that was enough to get Baker home from thrid. 2-0, Marlins. Chris Volstad absolutely baffled the Metropolitans, throwing six brilliant innings, surrendering only an unearned run. Volstad finished the season with a 6-4 record and a sparklin...

Believe it or not, we are now offically a quarter into the NFL season. It's a big week for some teams, as positioning inside divisions begin. Cardinals (2-1) @ Jets (1-2) : The Cardinals are coming off a bad loss in Washington last Sunday, but they may have made the best strategic move of the week for the Jets game. The Cards decided to stay on the East Coast all week to prepare, instead of flying back to Arizona and then back to New Jersey. Add that to the leathal weapons of Larry Fitzgerald, Anquain Boldin at receiver and the resurgance of veteran quarterback Kurt Warner, the Cards might actually be for real this year. The Jets on the other hand are a total mess. Brett Favre is recovering from an ankle injury he suffered last week, and the lack of communication between head coach Eric Mangini and his players has heads scratching. CARDINALS 34, JETS 20 . Vikings (1-2) @ Titans (3-0): The Vikings finally got a win last week vs. Carolina, and the move to Gus Ferrotte, doesn't l...

METS 7 CUBS 6 It may not feel like much, considering what has happened to this team over the last three weeks, but tonights win against the Cubs was very important. The Mets came back from a 6-3 hole that Pedro Martinez put them into to beat the Cubs 7-6 and get to within a game of the Phillies for first in the NL East, and assuring them at least a tie with Milwaukee for the wild card. With the Mets down 3-1 in the fourth inning, Ryan Church , who has been really struggling, finally came through with a double to right to bring home David Wright and Carlos Beltran to tie the game at three. But, Martinez put the Mets into a huge hole. In the sixth he surrendered a single to Feliex Pie and walked Ryan Theriot. Jerry Mannuel, not liking what he was getting from Martinez pulled the struggling right-hander for lefty Ricardo Rincon. As a result Michael Hoffpauir provided some power as he blasted his second homerun of the night, this one a three-run blast to give Chicago a 6-3 lead. Two of th...

Three weeks have come and gone, and we have a big shakeup in the top 10 standings. The Steelers, that I ranked number one for the past two weeks, are out of the top spot after their horrendous effort against the Eagles. The Giants are no longer number two . .. but are they number one? 1) DALLAS COWBOYS (3-0) - Now I am convinced the Cowboys are for real. They may have all the pompous All-Stars, but the Boys know how to walk the walk while talking the talk. Impressive effort in Green Bay last week; they should roll over Washington on Sunday. 2) TENNESSEE TITANS (3-0)- One word: DEFENSE! The Titans have the best defense in the league this year. They are first in points allowed (9.7 per game), second in total defense (240.3 yards per game) and they lead the league in interceptions with seven. Watch out; this team could get on a roll fast, and Kerry Collins is managing the game really well for the offense. 3) DENVER BRONCOS (3-0) - The Broncos know how to score points. Jay Cutler is se...

CUBS 9 METS 6 When a team has two different bases loaded opportunities late in a ballgame, it is expected to capitalize on those situations and score some runs. That is a fundamental principle of baseball, a fundamental principle that the New York Metropolitans DO NOT live by. The Mets had two different bases loaded situations late in their Wednesday night game against the Chicago Cubs and came away with only one run, as the Cubs came all the way back to beat up the Mets 9-6 at Shea Stadium...THE CHICAGO WAY. With the game tied at one in the third, Carlos Delgado belted a grand slam homerun to left center to give New York a 5-1 lead. It appeared that this was the blow that the Mets would need to carry them through this game, but that was not to be the case. In the fifth, the Cubs came right back. Ryan Theriot singled to left, and Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez walked. Oliver Perez clearly had no command at this point. He ended up walking five batters in this game, two of which came in th...

BREWERS 7 PIRATES 5 The Brewers will not go away without a fight. The once perceived dead Brewer team is starting to catch fire, coming back three times in a game against Pittsburgh, beating the Pirates 7-5 in Milwaukee. With the win, the Brewers remain a game behind the Mets for the NL Wild Card. In the seventh inning, with the Pirates up 3-2, Mike Cameron laced a double to the left field corner to drive in two Brewers giving Milwaukee a 4-3 lead. The Pirates came back; Steve Pearce hit a two run homerun off of ex-Met Guillermo Mota. Pittsburgh regained the lead 5-4. But, the Brewers came back again. In the bottom of the eighth, Jason Kendell hit his 29 double of the year to drive in the tying run. Finally in the ninth, Prince Fielder blasted a two run to right for the walk-off win.

A story was leaked today by SI's and SNY's Jon Heyman reporting that the Mets have re-signed GM Omar Minaya to a four year contract extension but would not confirm it officially until the season was officially over. What does that mean? The Mets can rip up the contract and take it back if the Metropolitans complete another choke job? Signing Minaya to an extension is a complete joke. If the Mets collapse again this year, Minaya deserves all of the blame. He is the one who gave long term contracts to the useless Pedro Martinez, injured Mosies Alou, and ineffective Luis Castillo. He is also the one who is responsible for building one of biggest jokes of a bullpen in the major leagues. For example, after the 2006 season, Minaya opted not to re-sign Chad Bradford, who pitched great for the Mets in their division title winning year, and instead signed Scott Schoeneweis to a major three-year deal. In case you're wondering, Bradford has pitched well in split time with the Oriole...

METS 6 CUBS 2 It's the understatement of the year, but the Mets needed to win this one ... badly. The Mets who were two and a half behind the Phillies for first in the NL East, and clinging to a one game lead over Milwaukee in the wild card, needed Johan Santana to be the ace they paid for in early Feburary. Santana did not disappoint. He threw his highest pitch count of his career, 125 pitches and each one of them was filled with oxygen for a Met team that appears ready to die at any moment. After a rough start, Santana settled down, as he usually does, and painted a Picasso. He went eight innings, surrendered only seven hits, two runs and struck out ten Cubs to earn his 15 win of the season. Offensively, it took the Mets a while to get going. In fact, Chicago had a 2-0 lead going into the bottom of the fifth, and it appeared that the Mets would choke with their ace on the hill. But that was not the case. Santana singled to center to get things going in the fifth. Two batters l...

Just when you thought it was safe to be a Jets fan ... news came today that quarterback Brett Favre has an ankle injury , but it is not serious enough to end the quarterback's string of 256 straight starts. Apparently, Favre rolled on his ankle in last night's shameful 48-29 disater in San Diego, Monday night. It was not a good night for Favre and the Jets, as the quaterback put his new team in a huge hole with key interceptions in the first half; one of which was returned for a touchdown by Antonio Cramartie to give San Diego a 17-7 lead. Still, Favre threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns, but most of those stats came in garbage time in the fourth quarter. Favre is expected to start against the highly talented and very impressive Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Even with Favre's apparent injury, the quarterback has played with worse. He has had several nicks and dents and still finds a way to play. Most notably was a thumb injury he suffered a few season's ago, where ...

DOLPHINS 38 PATRIOTS 13 Maybe Jets coach Eric Mangini should take some pointers from Dolphins coach Tony Sparano; when you play the Patriots, who do not have Tom Brady, you play to win the game, and you do it aggressively. The Dolphins rolled into Foxboro Mass. and demolished the New England Patriots 38-13 in one of the most dominating performances I have seen in years. Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown was the star of the show as he rushed for 113 yards and four touchdowns, and he threw for a touchdown himself, a 19 yard completion to Anthony Fasano in the third quarter. Several times in this game, the Fish lined up with ex-Jet Chad Pennington at receiver, and Brown behind center in the shot-gun, and each time the Dolphins scored. On the opening Dolphin drive that started with a interception by New England QB Matt Cassell, Brown scored from two yards out to give the Fish a 7-0 lead. In the second quarter, Brown, once again lined up behind center and took the direct snap up the middl...

BRAVES 7 METS 6 If the Mets make it to the playoffs don't expect them to be there for very long. In fact, their presence in the postseason may be so shortlived that you will forget that they were even there. With a 4-3 lead the Mets bullpen was at it again. The Mets built their lead thanks to Carlos Delgado and David Wright. Delgado doubled to right in the first inning to drive home Wright, giving New York a 1-0 lead. In the second, Wright hit his 32 homer of the year; this one was a two-run shot to give the Mets a 4-0 lead. Then, it fell apart. In the seventh, with Scott Schoeneweis pitching, Casey Kotchman lined a single to right center to drive in Omar Infante to tie the game at four. Joe Smith came in, but it didn't get any better. Jeff Franceour tripled to bring in pinch runner Brad Lillibridge; 5-4 Atlanta. Aaron Heilman came in and things got worse. Heilman walked Chipper Jones intentionally to load the bases for Martin Prado, and Prado made Heilman pay when he doubled ...

GIANTS 26 BENGALS 23 OVERTIME This was supposed to be another lay up for the Giants; instead, the G-Men are lucky to be 3-0 at this moment. The Bengals came into this game and played crisp, mistake-free football and nearly beat the Giants in Giants Stadium, Sunday afternoon. Carson Palmer, who was sacked six times by Giant defenders, two of which came from Fred Robbins , still found ways to pick apart the Giants' secondary, especially late in the game. With New York up 16-13 in the fourth quarter, the Bengals started their comeback. On a first and five, Chris Perry rushed for six yards to give Cincy a new first down at their own forty. On the next play, Palmer hit Chad Johnson for a seven yard completion. Palmer then hit T.J. Houshmandzadeh for five more, and back to Johnson for 16 yards. Now at the Giants 17, Palmer hit Houshmandzadeh again for the touchdown and a stunning 20-16 lead. But the Giants came back. Eli Manning, who before this drive had a rather underwelming ballgame, ...

BILLS 24 RAIDERS 23 The Buffalo Bills are red hot! After falling behind the Oakland Raiders by a score of 16-7 late in the third, Trent Edwards and Marshawn Lynch brought Buffalo all the way back for the win. At the start of the fourth quarter, Buffalo completed a 14 play 8 minute drive that was finished off by Lynch, who scored from three yards out. 16-14, Oakland. Key plays on the drive included Edwards completing a 17 yard pass to Lynch on the second play of the drive. Later, Edwards hit Reggie Royal for 18 yards and Rosco Parrish for 12 more to put Buffalo at the Oakland 32. Edwards hit Jake Reed on a 18 yard slant to put Buffalo at the fourteen. Lynch took it from there, scoring the TD. Still, the Raiders would not shrink under pressure. Jamarcus Russell hit Jerome Higgins for an 84 yard touchdown to give Oakland a comanding 23-14 lead. On Buffalo's next drive, Edwards went four of five and led the Bills all the way down to field. Edwards hit his favorite target, Lee Evans, t...

It is now week 3 in a league where they play for pay. Let's make some picks before another exciting week of NFL action opens up. Bengals (0-2) @ Giants (2-0) : Another cream puff on the Giants schedule. Wow! I always thought teams that won the Super Bowl should get the toughest schedule the next year? Not the G-Men. This one should be easy; smack Carson Palmer around a little bit. Shove dirt into Chad Johnson's mouth and a couple of touchdowns by Eli Manning, Brandon Jacobs and Co. and fans can go home before half time. GIANTS 34, BENGALS 14 . Steelers (2-0) @ Eagles (2-0): Great matchup in week three. In a way it is a shame to have these two play so early in the season; it would have been more fun if there were more on the line other than remaining undefeated for another week. Anyway, the Eagles have found a way to score with a bunch of no-name receivers, and Donavan McNabb is healthy again. As for Pittsburgh,it is business as usual after thumping two bad teams in a row. It w...

METS 7 NATIONALS 2 If the Mets somehow find a way to squeak into this year's post season, it will not be because of the bullpen or anything the Mets do offensively; it will because of the arm of Johan Santana. When the Mets needed him the most, Santana was there to save the Mets from even more public humiliation Thursday night when he pitched a seven inning gem against the Washington Nationals. Santana allowed only eight hits and a run in his seven innings of work. He was dominant at times, striking out eight Nats on the night. He improves his overall record to 14-7 with a 2.65 ERA. Offensively, the Mets did just enough. Jose Reyes, who has played with his head in the sand for the month of September, led the game off with a double. Dan Murphy singled to center to drive Reyes in, to give New York a 1-0 lead. In the second, the Mets really got it going, as Biran Schnieder blasted his eighth homer of the year to right. Santana followed with his fifth double of the year, and Reyes drov...

We know that the 2008 season is basically over for the Yankees, and the Mets are doing everything they can to make sure that they, too, will have a cold October in 2008, but that doesn't mean there is nothing to look forward to in a few months for both ball clubs. The schedules are out early for the 2009 season. Usually, the schedules are not revealed until late November, but, I guess, with the opening of two new ballparks, the Mets and Yanks couldn't help themselves. The Bombers will open the "New" Yankee Stadium on April 14 against the Cleveland Indians. The Mets, on the other hand, will open Citi Field on April 13 against the San Diego Padres, not the LA Dodgers, which would have been more fitting, considering Citi Field looks a lot like Ebbets Field, the old home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Yankees open 2009 officially on April 7 in Baltimore, while the Mets start in Cincinnati on April 7. Oddly enough, the season will open a week later than usual. As for interle...

With two weeks now in the books, we are beginning to see some patterns this year. So called elite teams, like the Jaguars, Seahawks and Chargers, are in for long seasons; you can't count out the New England Patriots, even without Tom Brady, they have too much talent; and, can the Jets draw up a playbook that lets Brett Favre be Brett Favre? Here are the rankings after two weeks: 1) Pittsburgh Steelers (2-0) - Not an impressive win in Cleveland, but a win nonetheless. The Steelers stout defense and solid offense puts them over their AFC counterparts, and any good team the NFC has to offer. 2) N.Y. Giants (2-0)- The Steelers match up well with any NFC team except this one. The Giants are rolling over their opponents and look sharper than last year's team that won it all. An easy schedule could have the G-Men at 6-0 before they play the Steelers at the end of October. 3) Dallas Cowboys (2-0) - This much we know about the Boys; they can score at will, but play absoultely no defe...

Here we go again with the New York Mets. After a three game sweep of the Brewers in early September, the Mets had a 4.5 game lead on Philaldelphia for first place in the NL Eastern Division. Now, after losing two of three to the Phillies, losing two of three to Atlanta and losing the opener to Washington this week, the Mets find themselves just a half game in front of the surging Phillies. The Mets were in prime position to erase the ghosts of 2007, but it appears that those ghosts are as alive now as they were last year. The Mets put forth a mediocre effort last night in Washington. Pedro Martinez was awful, giving up four runs in just five innings, and it is obvious that he doesn't have it anymore. Maybe the Mets just don't have it anymore. It doesn't matter who the manager is, the players on this team are experts at choking away big leads. They deserve a PhD in the effort. The bullpen is awful, as many know. Second base has been a rollercoaster all year with Luis Castill...

PATRIOTS 19 JETS 10 So your opponent is missing its star quarterback; you have a star quarterback, and a team you revamped, dishing out $140 million in the process, so how to do you screw it up? You play stupid, undisciplined and plain out pathetic football. The Jets were punished for six crucial penalties that cost them 60 yards, and several important plays of positive yardage that could have put them in position to score more than 10 points. It was just pathetic . Four times the Jets were called for fouls on their opening drive of the third quarter when they had a chance to get back in the game. On the first two plays of the drive, the Jets were called for a ten yard and a five yard penalty that put them in a second and 23 on their own ten yard line. It got so ridiculous that the Jets were asking Brett Favre to heave up one 20 yard throw after another just to make up the yards. At one point, he connected with Chansi Stuckey on a beautiful rope down the sideline for 28 yards that woul...

GIANTS 41 RAMS 13 It was just another wonderful Sunday afternoon for the Giants. A nice easy walk in the park, you might say. The Giants blew the doors off the St. Louis Rams and blew the roof off at the Edward Jones Dome, with a 41-13 victory to improve to 2-0. Eli Manning was, well, fantastic !!!! Manning went 20 of 29 for 260 yards and three touchdowns. It's pretty obvious that with a Super Bowl under his belt, Manning is now a different player. The old Eli might have thrown up a goose egg in this game, but not the New Eli, who is the reigning Super Bowl MVP! The G-Men wasted no time in setting the tone for this day. With 6:11 to go in the first, Manning hit Plaxico Burress from 33 yards out for the TD and a 7-0 lead. The Giants and Rams swapped field goals in the second quarter, but the Giants still led 13-6 into the break. Once the second half started, the Giants welcomed everyone back to their seats, as Mannig hit Amani Toomer right down the middle from the 10 yard line to t...

METS 5 BRAVES 0 Jonathan Niese has been praised as the Mets top pitching prospect in their minor league system over the last year, and tonight the lefty showed New York exactly why the Mets organization has praised him with so much hype. Niese, who looks like a skinny college kid, not your typical muscular major league pitcher, overpowered the Atlanta Braves for eight shutout innings. He threw 116 pitches in the effort, and after popping out Kelly Johnson to end the eighth, it appeared that Niese still had enough in the tank to complete the effort. Still, eight innings was enough. Niese struck out seven Braves, walked two and surrendered only seven hits. Excellent job by a kid making only his second major league start. Offensively, the Mets brought out the thunder; something they did not do in game one. In the first, with Ryan Church on, David Wright blasted a two run shot to the right of the apple in center field to give New York a 2-0 lead. It was Wright's 29th homer of the year....

PHILLIES 7 BREWERS 3 The Phillies are not dead yet! In fact, they are very much alive in both the NL East race and the NL Wild Card race. Tonight the Phillies destroyed the Brewers to take game two of a four game series at Citizen's Bank Park in Philadelphia. The Phillies wasted no time in this one. With Jimmy Rollins on base with a lead-off single; Chase Utley doubled to right field to drive home Rollins to give Philadelphia a quick 1-0 lead. Later in the innning, Shane Victorino drove home Jason Werth, as he punched a single to left. 2-0 Phillies. The Phillies added on in the second. Rollins lead off with a double and Utley hit an infield single to the pitcher's mound. Werth walked, and Ryan Howard broke it open with a single to left. Driving home both Rollins and Utley. Fast forward to the sixth inning, and Rollins delivered again. This time Rollins blasted a two-run homerun to right field givng the the Phillies a 7-2 lead, all but ending the game. The Phillies now trail th...

BRAVES 3 METS 2 Not exactly what the Mets needed in an important double header at Shea Stadium today. The Mets struggled to scratch out runs and struggled to get outs in the first game against the Atlanta Braves, losing 3-2. The Mets had a 2-0 lead going into the sixth inning and a chance to find more. With the bases loaded, Braves pitcher Mike Hampton went 3-0 on Damion Easley. It appeared that he was in danger of walking in a run, or, maybe, the Mets could get a big base hit to drive in a few more runs to give Johan Santana more room to work his magic. Neither happened. Easley grounded into a double play to kill the Mets chances and give Atlanta hope. In the eighth, Santana lost control of his game. He gave up singles to Brian McCann and Yunel Escobar. Jerry Manuel had no choice but to pull Santana at this point. His pitch count was too high and the Mets needed outs. Scott Schoenwise came in and procceeded to give up a single to Casey Kotchman to load the basesfor the Braves. Manuel...

In a rather strange and even funny exerpt from an interview he had with Steve Mariucci, Brett Favre tells his former quarterback's coach about how much he enjoys being a New Jersey resident and a member of the Jets. Favre sounds like a kid in the candy store replaying to Mariucci the conversations GM Mike Tannenbaum had with Favre back in early August about coming to the Jets. Tannebaum, apparently, promised Favre all the mountains, farms and hunting gruond he could want, including deer he could hunt. Favre even tells Mariucci, jokingly, that he might start looking for deer to shoot around the facility in Florahm Park NJ. Watch this zany video from NFL.com

Wow! That was one hell of a week one, heh? Not only did the AFC Champion New England Patriots lose Tom Brady for the entire season, his loss has changed the landscape of the entire league. Now, teams like the Jets, Bills and Broncos have hope of making a serious playoff push. For those considered the elite in the AFC, i.e. San Diego, Pittsburgh and Indianapolis, this is an opportunity to take full control of the AFC. Even the NFC is looking good. Carolina and Chicago shocked San Diego and Indianapolis last week; the Giants are playing like Champs and the Cowboys and Eagles look like they will be awesome in 2008. So let's make some picks for week 2. Bills (1-0) @ Jaguars (0-1): The Bills destroyed the Seahawks last week as speical teams played a huge role in the victory. Rosco Perish might turn into the next big return man in the league; especially,if he keeps making incredible run backs for touchdowns. The Jaguars are in desperate need of a win. David Garrard threw two picks last ...

1) Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0) - Blew out Houston and it appears they won't stop there with a weak division to feast off of. 2) Dallas Cowboys (1-0) - Their convincing win over the struggling Browns showed America that the Boys are indeed focused on the prize. Big challenge in the next two weeks: home vs. Philadelphia and at Green Bay. 3) N.Y. Giants (1-0) - They are the World Champs and are still one of the league's elite until someone stops them. With an easy schedule until Halloween, the Giants will be rolling in 2008. 4) New Orleans Saints (1-0) - Came all the way back to beat the Buccaneers in a huge home game. It might be a preview of things to come for the Saints in 2008. 5) Carolina Panthers (1-0) - It's easy to forget that the Panthers were an NFC favorite to go to the Super Bowl in 2005 and 2006. Well, they are back after a improbable victory in San Diego as Jake Delhome won the game with a touhdown pass in the final two seconds of the game. Watch out if they st...

METS 10 NATIONALS 8 A year ago if the Mets let a 5-2 lead suddenly become a 7-5 Nationals lead, they probably would have curled into a fetal position and lost the game. This year's team is the complete opposite. The Mets fought back in a night of bad pitching from Oliver Perez to beat the last place Nats 10-8 at Shea Stadium, Tuesday night. Once again, Carlos Delgado was at the center of the victory. If you asked any Met fan in April what numbers they thought Delgado would put up this year, they probably would tell you that he would hit maybe 17 to 20 homers and 85-90 RBI. Well, he has proven everyone wrong. Since the end of July, Delgado has 24 homeruns and 68 RBI. He now has 35 homers and 103 RBI on the year, and he has tied Dave Kingman for most multi-homerun games in a single season. Kingman had seven multi-homer games in 1976. Delgado, with his performance tonight, tied that mark. With the game tied at two in the third inning, the Mets put on their hitting shoes. Ryan Church b...