COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

BRONCOS 34 JETS 17 Hey, guess what? You can take those Jets Super Bowl tickets and stick 'em where the moon don't shine! For the fortieth straight season the Jets will be doomed for failure because they are who we thought they were. The Jets are back to being ... well ... the Jets. Not even Brett Favre could save Jetland from the type of play that we have seen year after year, and decade after decade from this team better known as Gag Green. The Jets did everything in their power to not only lose a game, but completely blew their chances at grabbing the number two seed in the AFC playoffs. Yes, the Jets will win the AFC East because the Patriots lost again today to Pittsburgh, but the Jets will have to not only go to Tennessee but will have to fly to Pittsburgh as well if they want to get to the Super Bowl. In other words, FUGGEDABOUTIT! The game got off to a whacky start. Favre tried to do a double reverse to Jerricho Cothery, but Cothery lost the handle on the ball. Cothery ...

Well. Plaxico Burress can begin kissing good-bye to that lucrative contract he signed at the beginning of September. His career and life are taking a turn for the worse The star receiver, who made news on Saturday morning for shooting himself in the leg, is expected to face charges for carrying a unlicensed weapon, which is a felony offense. According to a report from Yahoo Sports, Burress is expected to turn himself in and plead not guilty to the "criminal possession of a weapon" ( read more ). In an interesting twist on this story, linebacker Antonio Pierce was live and in person for Burress's latest fiasco, but he would not comment on the matter to the mainstream media. The NFL will be looking into this situation as well. It is not clear what kind of fines, suspensions, or even possible sentencing awaits Burress in the coming weeks, but none of it should be any good for him. Burress has blown it. He had it all. He caught the game winning touchdown in last year's S...

STEELERS 33 PATRIOTS 10 Hey folks, I think the Steelers are healthy again . Now you know why I will never commit to saying that a team like the Jets or Titans are better than them. The Steelers not only beat up a good Patriots team, they blew them out in a rainy and cold Foxboro Stadium and let it be known that they are, indeed, the second best team in football behind the New York Giants. Trailing 10-3 in the second quarter, the Steelers wasted no time in getting back into this game. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was picture perfect on the a game tying scoring drive. He was five for five on the drive for 42 yards and a touchdown. On the tenth play of the drive, Roethlisberger hit a wide open Santonio Holmes in the end zone from 19 yards out to tie the game at 10. In the third quarter, the Steelers imposed their will on New England. With Pittsburgh up 13-10, the Patriots fumbled the kickoff, giving Pittsburgh the football at the New England 15. Two plays later, Roethlisberger hit Hien...

GIANTS 23 REDSKINS 7 Who need's Plaxico Burress? Apparently, the Giants do not need him at all. With their troubled receiver recovering from a self inflicted gun shot wound, the Giants took care of business against the Redskins, beating up Washington 23-7 on a rain soaked Sunday. Even though the Giants running game was virtually stopped by Washington as Brandon Jacobs had only 71 yards rushing and Derek Ward had only 30 yards rushing, the Giants found a way to win. Defense was the name of the game for Big Blue. They got four sacks on quarterback Jason Campbell, holding the Redskins helpless throughout the contest. The only bright spot for Washington was a 29 yard run for a touchdown by receiver Devin Thomas on a reverse, but that is not saying a lot for the Skins. Eli Manning was solid once again completing 21 of 34 passes for 305 yards with a touchdown to Amani Toomer in the first quarter. The Giants know how to make football boring; that happens when you are a great football te...

A strange report came over the wire about an hour and a half ago, stating that Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress shot himself in the foot Friday night. It is not know as to why Burress decided to shoot himself, or in what circumstance he was in to percipitate such an event. Burress was already scheduled to miss Sunday's game at Washington due to a sore right hamstring, now he gets to miss some more time with a gunshot wound. Opinion: Burress is a complete idiot. The man signed a huge five-year contract during the offseason, and all he has been this year is trouble. Early in the season, he was late to a team meeting and was suspended a game and a week's pay for the situation. Clearly, Plax needs to get a life. He has a psyhcological problem that allows him to be a pain in the neck not only to his teammates and coaches, but to himself. He is a danger to himself as well, because there must be more than meets the eye as to why he would shoot himself. Get help Plax, you need it....

Ok everyone it's time to hit the tredmill after a hearty feast on Thanksgiving. That's right even us non-athletes have to find ways to stay in shape after a day of gorgeing ourselves for an entire day. Meanwhile the NFL did not have a feast on Thanksgiving. In fact all three games were of the blowout kind and did little to depreciate the fact that the league must consider revising it's Thanksgiving Day schedule for 2009 and beyond. The fact that the Lions, who have not won a thing are still on Thanksgiving is a joke. Also, the fact that the Cowboys seemingly always play an inferior opponent in Dallas on turkey day has to stop as well. Yes, I know nobody knows what the record of each team will be on Thanksgiving when schedules are released in April, but it's time for change. Still, there are some more interesting games left to gobble up this weekend. Here are some picks: SAINTS (6-5) @ BUCCANEERS (8-3): The Saints actually showed up Monday night putting up 51 points on ...

TITANS 47 LIONS 10 I think I now know why the NFL likes to schedule the Lions for Thanksgiving Day every year ... they need the giblets! The Lions gave America even more reason to believe that this tradition of 69 years needs to come an end once and for all. Perhaps the league should consider giving CBS and FOX a flex schedule for Thanksgiving so they can avoid the Lions and Cowboys when they are dreadful. Imagine if we had Steelers/Patriots or Jets/Broncos to chew on at 1:00 that afternoon, instead Lions/Titans. Oh, if only the world were so pleasant! Anyway, this game was over two seconds after the Macy's Thanksgivng Day Parade ended. Santa Claus didn't even get a chance to take his fake beard off before the Titans put some points on the board. On the second play of the game, Lions quarterback Daunte Culpepper hit Shaun McDonald in the flat and was immediately stripped of the football by Kyle Vanden Bosch. Two plays later, Titans running back, Chris Johnson, put six on the b...

Nothing is more fitting for a holiday that involves lots of eating than football on Thanksgiving. It is a family tradition. Whenever you need a break from the in-laws, or your crazy aunt or nosy grandparents, turn on the HDTV and watch something really enjoyable. Unfortunately, Thanksgiving has become a time where the NFL can subject America to the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys every year. For some reason it's tradition, but enough already. The Lions have never been good. The only time I can remember one of their Thanksgiving day games holding any significance was back in 1998 when offical Phil Luckett awarded Detroit a victory after he screwed up the overtime coin toss in a game against the Steelers. Other than that, Detriot has been pathetic, and even more pathetic this year at 0-11. Can they keep the streak going and break the Buccaneers 1976 record of 0-14? Yes! The Cowboys, on the other hand, are usually on one extreme or another during their turkey day games. The Boys are ...

Happy Thanksgiving, America! Even though it is not great times in America this year, the day still offers an opportunity to get touch with old friends and family and begin to experience the good in life once again. As for the NFL, we have finally hit the playoff rush. The race is heading toward the stretch, and it will be interesting to witness who finishes ahead of the rest in order to qualify for division titles and wild card berths. 1) New York Giants (10-1): With Tennessee's loss to the Jets Sunday, the Giants stand alone as the best team in football. I have said it all season; there are no weaknesses on this Giants squad. They have depth at every position, whether at running back, the defensive line, or wide receiver, the Giants can and do it all. It doesn't look like anyone can stop them in the NFC, but time will only tell. The Giants can clinch a playoff berth with a win against Washington yet will need to sweep this three game stretch in the division in order to clinc...

Okay.It is getting a little crazy around here. I open up today's New York Post, and I find a breakdown of the Super Bowl between the Jets and Giants by Steve Serby . Humm, just in case you are wondering, it is not even Thanksgiving Day yet! To seriously talk about a Subway Super Bowl right now is totally ridiculous. Yes, I posted on Sunday night that the two best teams in the NFL were in New York, but I did not say they were guaranteed an all expense paid trip to Tampa Bay. It's a long season for a reason. There are still five weeks left to the regular season, which could be five opportunities for the Jets and Giants to lose, or five opportunities for the Jets and Giants to win. Anything can happen. Then there are the playoffs. The Giants will have to contend with a red hot Tampa Bay Buccaneer squad that totally dominates its opponents at home games and has surrendered only 180 points all season. The Giants will likely see the Cowboys and Redskins in January as well. If the G...

It is a very rare occurence when New York/New Jersey fans can be proud of their teams. It has been a long time since the Yankees and Mets were playing at the pinnacle of their games, when the two matched up in the World Series in 2000. It has been a long time since New York's beloved hockey Rangers last won a Stanley Cup, and it has been an eternity since basketball actually mattered on either side of the Hudson. But, for some reason, this season is different. Not only are the Giants defending Super Bowl Champions and playing like it with each passing week, they are joined by a familiar neighbor from across the street. Yes, folks, the Jets. The last time New York got this excited about Jets/Giants was 1986, when both teams were in first place of their respective divisions. The Jets were 10-1 and the Giants w ere 9-2. Big Blue raced all the way to Super Bowl XXI, beating the Denver Broncos 39-20, while Gang Green gagged on six losses in seven games, including a 23-20 loss to Clevela...

GIANTS 37 CARDINALS 29 The New York Giants returned to the scene of the crime on Sunday. For the first time since their memorable 17-14 victory over the New England Patriot is last year's Super Bowl, the Giants returned to Arizona. The game was not as dramatic, but the result was the same: Giants win! With Brandon Jacobs on the self due to a nagging leg injury, Eli Manning picked up the slack and delivered a huge blow to the Cards, who were hoping to clinch their division before Thanksgiving Day Manning was picture perfect, completing 26 of 33 passes for 240 yard, three touchdowns and one pick. It was by far his best performance of the season. The Giants struggled to hold off the Cardinals in the first half, as the teams traded blows only to see Arizona hold a 12-10 lead late in the first half. Then Domick Hixon took off. The speedy receiver returned a kick off 68 yards to put the Giants in great position at the Arizona 32. Manning would then hit Amani Toomer in the corner of the ...

Donovan McNabb's career in Philadelphia is falling apart and could be coming to an end. In a disastrous 36-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens , McNabb was benched after a terrible first half of play in which he completed only eight passes in 18 attempts. He threw two interceptions and fumbled one. McNabb has thrown five interceptions and has fumbled twice in the last two games for the Eagles. The Eagles are now 0-2-1 in their last three, with McNabb playing a big role in each defeat. Kevin Kolb came in relief of McNabb and was not much better. Kolb went 10 for 23 for 73 yards and two picks. His only excuse is that he is a second year player, McNabb is a 10 year vet. The Eagles are now 5-5-1, and are entrenched in last place in the NFC Eastern division. It's unknown whether McNabb will play on Thanksgiving when the Eagles face the Arizona Cardinals.

JETS 34 TITANS 13 Talk about a statement game! The Jets not only made a statement that they are the class of the AFC East , they are quickly becoming the class of the AFC conference. The Jets dominated the once unbeaten Tennessee Titans in every facet of the contest. The Jets held the ball for over 40 minutes, had 27 first downs, and rushed for 192 yards against what was once considered a vaunted front seven for Tennessee. Brett Favre was fantastic. He completed short and precise slants and cross patterns to his receivers, who ate huge amounts of yards against a beat up Tennessee secondary. On the Jets opening drive, Favre went six for six, culminating the drive with a 10 yard shovel pass to Thomas Jones, who squeezed through the Titans defense for the touchdown. The Jets could have made this a blowout early, but a fumble by Leon Washington and a Favre interception prevented New York from adding points; however, Tennessee did not take advantage of the Jet turnovers. On Tennessee's...

The New York Knicks have been mired in obscurity for years, but it appears that only now they are beginning to see the light. Today the Knicks sent Jamal Crawford to Golden State for Al Harrington , a forward who averages about 12 points a game this season. In another trade, the Knicks got rid of head case and malcontent Zach Randolph, trading the center to the L.A. Clippers for foward Tim Thomas and Cuttino Mobley . None of the players the Knicks received in the deal are flashy players. They mostly average between 10 to 12 points a game, but the fact that the Knicks were able to clear so much cap space by ridding themselves of Crawford and Randolph is a step in the right direction for New York. Some speculate that New York is planning for a run at either Cleveland's LeBron James or Miami's Dwayne Wade, when both players hit the free agent market in 2010. The Knicks will need to clear plenty of cap space in order to afford one of those players. Maybe another New York team that...

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and Christmas follows quickly. The NFL regular season is approaching its conclusion, and playoff football will start to heat up the fireplace. So here are some picks for week 12. JETS (7-3) @ TITANS (10-0): After beating the Patriots in overtime, everyone on the planet is going crazy about the Jets. Can the Jets take off to the Super Bowl? Can they win the AFC title? Can they beat the unbeaten Titans? Those questions and more have been tossed around this week, and the real answer to all is ... no ... for right now. The Jets are a good team, but not a great team. They are not as good as the group from 1998 that went to the AFC title game, but a win in Tennessee will begin to change my mind a tad. I don't buy the idea that the Jets will somehow find a way to run the ball on a vaunted Titans defense led by Keith Bullock and Albert Hanyesworth. I don't buy the idea that Brett Favre won't turn the ball over to a team that is the best at c...

Adam Jones has more lives than a cat. The NFL will reinstate the troubled Jones, after he was suspended for beating up his own bodyguard in a bathroom in mid-October. Jones will not play this week or on Thanksgiving, according to the report on NFL.com; he could play December 7 against Pittsburgh. Either way, Jones has been a waste of time since going to Dallas. The guy was originally suspended for all of 2007 because of a scuffle inside a bar/strip club. The Cowboys got him with the hope that they could "change" him, but that didn't work. Now, he will get one more chance. Not good PR for Commisioner Roger Goodell who has to live with the officiating disaster from the Steeler/Charger game from this past Sunday.

It appears that it will now be official. The final game of Mike Mussina's career will be a game in which he clinched his first 20 win season. According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Yankees right-hander is " selling his home in Bedford N.Y ... and planning to spend more time with his family in Montorsville, PA ." If Mussina does indeed retire, he will be 30 victories shy of 300 wins, a mark that usually is an automatic bid to the Hall of Fame. Nonetheless, Mussina will deserve consideration since he has been one of the most durable pitchers in the game the last two decades.

We are rapidly approaching Thanksgiving and the nitty gritty part of the NFL schedule. Playoff pictures are taking form, and windows are starting to close for teams that are in the 6-4, 5-5 or 4-6 category. Time is running out, so let's see where the league stacks up after 11 weeks. 1) New York Giants (9-1): The Giants continue to destroy its opponents, the latest victim being the Baltimore Ravens. The Giants rushed for 208 yards against a once vaunted Raven defense and stopped the impressive rookie quarterback Joe Flacco in his tracks. Can anyone stop the Giants? Just the Giants at this point. They have completely dominated every single opponent on their schedule, and it should not stop anytime soon. 2) Tennessee Titans (10-0): All season I have been skeptical of quarterback Kerry Collins and his ability to win games. Well, in the past two weeks, he has shut me and many detractors up, single-handedly picking apart the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars in come-from-behind fa...

BENGALS 13 EAGLES 13 You know you're bad when you struggle to win games like the Bengals have all year. You know you're bad, when your quarterback gives you headaches, as Eagle fans can attest about their quarterback, Donavan McNabb. Perhaps it is fitting that the Bengals and Eagles finished in the first tie of the 2008 season. The tie marked the first in the NFL since the Falcons and Steelers tied in a game in the 2002 season. The Eagles did everything they could to lose this game. McNabb threw three interceptions and even fumbled a ball that set up the Bengals first score of the day. As for the Bengals, Ryan Fitzpatrick and receiver T.J. Houshmanzadeh had career days. Late in the second quarter, Fitzpatrick found Houshmanzedeh wide open in the end zone for a 26 yard touchdown, giving Cincinnati a 10-3 lead before half time. The Eagles would not go away. McNabb led Philly back. In the third, McNabb hit L.J. Smith from four yards out to get Philly to within three points, 13-1...

GIANTS 30 RAVENS 10 Let's face it, the Giants are the equivalent of a red hot team in Division I college football. Think Florida or USC teams that find ways to make football boring by outscoring their opponents 50-10 in the first half alone! The Giants cruised against the perceived stingy Ravens, blowing out Baltimore 30-10 Sunday afternoon. The Giants defense harrassed quarterback Joe Flacco all day long, sacking him once and forcing two interceptions. One of the picks decided the game, when Flacco's pass bounced off the hands of receiver Derrick Mason into the hands of cornerback Aaron Ross, who went coast to coast for the touchdown. The Giants defense even kept the Ravens run offense in check all day. Willis McGahee couldn't find any holes as he struggled to 18 yards rushing on nine carries. Ray Rice, of Rutgers, only had 19 yards on nine carries. As for the Giants, they ripped apart the Ravens run defense. The three-headed monster of Brandon Jacobs, Amhad Bradshaw and D...

The Yankees are prepared to do what they do best...spend lots and lots of cash in order to find a way to buy a World Series championship. Even in a plumeting economy, the Yankees will not be detered from their pursuit of C.C. Sabathia , the star pitcher of the Milwaukee Brewers, who revitalized his free agent status by going 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA with Milwaukee. The Yankees offered a $140 million six year contract to Sabathia, which would make him the richest pitcher in the big leagues. Believe it or not, the Yankees have the payroll flexibility with $90 million coming off the books for 2009. It is not yet known whether Sabathia will accept the offer. He has built a home in Los Angeles, and would prefer to stay in the National League, which makes the Dodgers a favorite. However, with the Dodgers pursuit of Manny Ramirez, it might be complicated for LA to hand out two $100 million contracts in one winter.

It's week 11 already! Boy time sure flies when you are having fun! RAVENS (6-3) @ GIANTS (8-1): This is an intreguing matchup. The superior Giants defense goes up against the upstart Ravens offense. Rookie quarterback Joe Flacco has not seen a good defense since early in the season, when he threw for 153 yards and two interceptions in a 13-10 loss to Tennessee on October 5; so it will interesting to see how he handles a heavy pass rush coming from Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka. Meanwhile, on the flip side, the key matchup will be the Giants ground attack going up a soild Ravens front seven, lead by non-other than veteran linebacker Ray Lewis. The Ravens surrender only 65 yards on the ground a game. Giants running back Brandon Jacobs is fifth in the league in rushing this year. Whoever wins this battle, will likely win the game . PICK: GIANTS 31, RAVENS 10. VIKINGS (5-4) @ BUCCANEERS (6-3): Now this is a tough game to predict. The Buccaneers haven't played in two weeks, a...

The stretch run is now on the horizon and some really interesting playoff races are starting to develop. In the AFC, the Jets took full control of the AFC East after beating the Patriots Thursday night. With that win the Jets, right now, have the inside track to the number two seed. The AFC North winner will have a lot to say about whether the Jets get that top seed. The Steelers are in first in the North with a 6-3 record, but have really struggled of late, losing two of their last three. Both of those losses were also at home, which is a huge concern. Injuries to the Steelers offensive line, running back Willie Parker, and a banged up Ben Roethlisberger, could doom the Steelers late in the season. The team that has really come on is the Ravens. Quarterback Joe Flacco has energized what one of the league's worst offenses. Flacco's poise has been suprising, considering he is a rookie from a division II school. The combination of Willis McGahee and rookie Ray Rice have brought ...

JETS 34 PATRIOTS 31 OVERTIME Now this is drama! In typical Jets fashion, New York found a way to make a sure blowout victory into a nail biter, pulling out a heart-stopping overtime win in New England, Thursday night. The Jets held a commanding 24-6 lead late in the second quarter, before Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel orchestrated a last minute touchdown drive in the final minutes before half time to get the Patriots to within 11 at 24-13. Cassel had all day to throw against the Jets. For some reason the Jets could not get any pressure on the quarterback. Cassel was brilliant, throwing for 400 yards for three touchdowns while rushing for 62 more. By allowing Cassel ample time to throw, the Jets blew one lead after another. In the third quarter, the Jets really lucked out. Patriots tight end Ben Watson fumbled on a third down conversion, costing the Patriots a sure scoring drive. Later, Cassel muffed the snap from center, allowing the ball to roll behind him for about a 28 yard loss...

It may not be the Super Bowl, but it looms almost as large. It is hard to put so much significance on a game that occurs in the middle of the season, but when it is Jets versus Patriots and first place is on the line, it is hard not to get the sense that this is like a championship game. The winner of this game will be 7-3 and will be well on its way to winning the log jammed AFC East and will have an inside track to the AFC's number two seed; a seed that will give that team a week off during the playoffs. In one corner stands Bill Belichick, a man who commands respect and a lot of hatred from his opponents. Yes, he is a genuis as a coach, just look at the job he has done this year without the services of his three-time-Super Bowl winning quarterback, Tom Brady, but Belichick's hatred of losing makes him look a sore loser. Observe at how he has treated Jets coach Eric Mangini, who worked for Belichick for years. The two haven't spoken in even more years; they never acknowle...