COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

GIANTS 24 JAGUARS 20 If it wasn't for Kevin Boss' efforts, the Giants could be looking at a three game losing streak. Late in the fourth quarter with the Jaguars holding a 20-17 lead, the Giants needed a huge drive to hold off a Jaguars team that had spent the entire afternoon running up and down the Giants defense with Maurice Jones-Drew and his 113 yards rushing. For three quarters the Giants offense had done very little. They managed only three field goals, and Eli Manning struggled, while the ground game was virtually powerless. Then it all changed. Manning hit Mario Manningham for an 18 yard gain to midfield; then Brandon Jacobs gashed the Jags for 18 more yards to move it the Jaguars 32. After two straight Manning incompletions, it came down to one play. Manning hit Boss wide open between the numbers, and the athletic tight end rumbled down field for a 32 yard touchdown to give Big Blue the lead. The Giants defense suddenly woke up, forcing Jaguars quarterback David Garr...

JETS 26 BENGALS 10 When the New England Patriots erased a 24-17 deficit to the Detroit Lions for a impressive 45-24 victory Thanksgiving Day, the pressure was squarely on the shoulders of the Jets to get a win to keep pace with the Pats. A win over the Bengals and the Jets would still hold first place in the AFC East, and the AFC; a lose and everything could be lost. The first half of the Jets Thanksgiving Night game against Cincinnati didn't look very good. They trailed 7-3 at the half, played a full half of mistake football with terrible penalties, bad decisions by quarterback Mark Sanchez, and another missed field goal by Nick Folk. The Jets needed to show a spark. They needed momentum badly before they took a week and a half off to ready for the Pats. Then, just 30 seconds into the third quarter, the Jets got their spark from Brad Smith. On a reverse to Smith, the speedy utility man, broke free of tacklers for a 53 yard touchdown run to give New York a quick 10-7 lead. Later ...

The Mets made it official Tuesday, announcing that Terry Collins would take over as Mets manager this season with a two year contract. "I'm not as evil or a devil as some of you might think. I learned to mellow a little bit," Collins said with a laugh. Nobody laughed with him by the way. "We want to be the last team standing in October," Collins concluded. OOOH AHHHH! Echos of Rex Ryan. I'm shaking in my boots already hearing this from Collins who came across as timid and tense in his opening press conference. The Mets signed Collins for only a two year deal, probably because they are afraid he will wear out his welcome with his players the way he did in Anaheim when the players on the Angels petitioned to have him fired. I can't stress enough what a terrible move this is for New York. They will be looking for another manager by this time next year, if not by July -- I promise you.

Already hurting with loses on the offensive line to David Diehl and Sean O'Hara, as well as losses at wide receiver without the services of Steve Smith, the Giants got even worse news when lead receiver Hakeem Nicks was diagnosed with Compartment Syndrome in his lower right leg; consequently, he will miss the next three games against the Jaguars, Redskins and, oh yeah, the Eagles. This is a huge loss for the Giants. Big Blue had one of the more dynamic passing attacks this season, led by Nicks who had 800 yards receiving and nine touchdowns. Without him, the Giants will have to scrape to find someone on the team who can replace not only Nicks but Smith as well. If the Giants didn't look destined for another second half swoon after a 27-17 loss to the Eagles, Sunday, they sure look dead right now.

EAGLES 27 GIANTS 17 It was a brutal night in Philadelphia as the Giants and Eagles spent much of the night head hunting each other in the Eagles 27-17 victory to move into first place in the NFC East. The story of the day for the Giants -- fumbles. The Giants turned it over five times, including three picks by Eli Manning, and four team fumbles, two by Ahmad Bradshaw and two by Manning. Yet, in spite of all the problems, the Giants had their chance against the Eagles. Trailing 16-3, Manning hit back-up tight end Travis Beckum from two yards out for the score to cut the lead to 16-10. Then, at the start of the fourth quarter, Manning hit Derek Hagan from five yards out to give Big Blue the lead. But the Eagles soon cashed in on the Giants turnovers. After a Bradshaw fumble, LeSean McCoy went 50 yards to the house to give Philadelphia a 22-16 lead. Michael Vick then converted a two point conversion with a pass to Jason Avant to give Philly a 24-16 lead. On the next Giants possession, Ma...

JETS 30 TEXANS 27 It wasn't supposed to be this suspenseful. With the New York Jets holding a 23-7 lead on the Houston Texans at home, it appeared that Gang Green would be on its way to a much needed "rocking chair" victory. Not so. The Texans put up 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to stun the Jets and their fans at the Meadowlands grabbing a 27-23 lead with 59 seconds to go in the game. Typically, fans began to file out of the stadium, leaving only a third of the 78,000 who came to the ballpark. The fans sat on their hands, waiting for 59 seconds to tick away to a heartbreaking lose. Maybe the Texans will intercept another Mark Sanchez pass? Maybe Sanchez would heave up three straight Hail Marys only to have them knocked down? What it was going to be, it wouldn't be good; right? Never say never again, Jets fans. Sanchez completed two passes to LaDainian Tomlinson for a total of 24 yards to move the ball to midfield. Then Sanchez put up the Hail Mary. He ha...

The New York Mets are never short of making fools of themselves, they are experts in that department for a reason. The Mets continue to make dumbfounding moves, the latest being the naming of Terry Collins manager of the major league club. In case you're wondering Collins has a horrible history as a major league manager. He managed the Astros for three years from 1993-1996 and led them to three straight second place finishes, including a late season collapse in 1996. After getting fired by Houston, he went to the Anaheim Angles to manage that team into the ground. By 1999, he was fired again after his players petitioned to have him fired. He went 444-434 in his six years as a manager. He is like Tom Coughlin only minus the notable victories. Not exactly a great move for the Mets, who have a clubhouse of malcontents. Can Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and Collins survive a season without trying to strangle one another? We shall see.

The Mets managerial search is now down to four people: Terry Collins, Bob Melvin, Wally Backman and Chip Hale. Sandy Alderson hopes to complete the second round of interviews by next Thursday. Clint Hurdle took himself out of the running, when he took the Pirates job on Monday, leaving the Mets with a bunch of inside candidates for the job. Collins and Melvin remain the favorites. Collins managed the Astros and Angles to minor success in the 1990's, and was known as a guy who was hated by his players. Melvin is a very mellow personality, cut in the same cloth as Jerry Manuel; however he has won two division titles, one in Seattle and one in Arizona. Backman is the people's choice, if for no other reason than he played on the 1986 World Series championship team. Yet, Backman's background of personal issues will likely eliminate him.

COWBOYS 33 GIANTS 20 The lights went out literally and figuratively at New Meadowlands Stadium as the Dallas Cowboys pounded the New York Giants, Sunday afternoon 33-20, exposing Big Blue as a Big Fraud. Early in the third quarter, the lights in the Stadium went out , leaving 80,000 fans and the teams in total darkness for a few minutes. Once play was resumed the Cowboys turned out th e lights on the Giants for good. Cowboys quarterback Jon Kitna threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns on the day, highlighted by a 13 yard score to Dez Bryant. Bryant is turning into a heck of a player, he hauled in three balls for 104 yards on the day. He is a threat to score whenever he touches the ball, and is turning heads the way a young Randy Moss did 12 years ago in Minnesota. The big play of the day came in the second, when Bryan McCann picked off an Eli Manning pass in the endzone and went coast to coast for a 101 yard touchdown to give Dallas a 19-3 lead . So now the G-Men get ready for a cla...

JETS 26 BROWNS 20 It will go down as a classic game that will be talked about for years to come. With 23 seconds left in overtime, the Jets pulled out a amazing victory when Santonio Holmes hauled in a Mark Sanchez pass and sprinted down the sideline for a 37 yard game winning score. The win puts the Jets at 7-2 on the season, and has since risen debate about how good these New York Jets really are. Are they lucky? The Jets had their chances to win the game in regulation. After completing a 10 minute drive in the third quarter, Nick Folk missed a cheap shot field goal that would have given New York a ten point lead, but it didn't happen. Late in the fourth quarter, the Browns marched down the field to tie, when rookie Colt McCoy hit Mohammad Masoquai for a 7 yard touchdown to tie it. The Browns had a shot to win it in the OT, but former Jet Chansi Stuckey fumbled the ball down the sideline as he made his move for the Jets 35 yard line. The Jets recovered, and drove down the field ...

There are many headlines to follow for this weeks Jets vs. Browns match-up on Sunday. It is Browns' coach Eric Mangini's chance to inflict revenge on the team that fired him two years ago, and it is also a homecoming for Braylon Edwards who was traded from Cleveland to New York a year ago. But the biggest story (pun intended) is the match-up of Jets coach Rex Ryan and Browns Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan. The two are twins, and will square off against each other for the third time in their NFL careers, but this is the most high profile of the match-ups because of Rex's head coaching position. During a press conference, Wednesday, Rex came out dressed up as Rob Ryan with a Brown shirt, wig, and a Browns hat. As Rob Ryan, Rex cracked jokes that he had put a$5 bounty on his brother's head, and that he thinks Rex is a very "handsome" guy. Watch Press conference. Meanwhile, the real Rob Ryan spoke to the media in Cleveland. Listen . He sounds exactly like his brot...

I broke this story on Bleacher Report , after hearing about it on WFAN. Wade Phillips is done as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Phillips was fired this afternoon by Jerry Jones. Jerry Jones threatened that there would be major changes after a gutless 45-7 loss to the Green Bay Packers that dropped the team to 1-7 on the season. For weeks Jones has been asked about Phillips' job status, either refusing to comment, or even dancing around the question that Phillips was safe. Not so. Jason Garrett will take over as the Cowboys head coach. The former Dallas backup quarterback was once looked upon as a potential head coach in the NFL, but with Dallas' struggles the last three years, his stock has gone down. Garrett has eight games to show Jones that he can become the full-time head coach. The Cowboys have had a terrible season, headlined by a broken collarbone for quarterback Tony Romo, which will sideline him for most of the season. The Cowboys showed little fight in ...

GIANTS 41 SEAHAWKS 7 The Giants look like world beaters right now, after their dominating 41-7 performance in Seattle, Sunday. The Giants rolled up 30 first downs, 487 yards of offense, and held the ball for 42 minutes. The Giants left little doubt that they would walk away from Seattle with the easy victory, as they posted 21 points in the first quarter, and held a 35-0 halftime lead. Eli Manning was solid, completing 21 of 32 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns. His first TD came on 46 yard touchdown catch by Hakeem Nicks. Nicks, who is definately deserving of a pro bowl nod, hauled in six passes for 128 yards and the touchdown. He left the game with an ankle injury, but the Giants report that he is fine and will be available next week. Ahmad Bradshaw didn't have a chunk of yards against Seattle; he only ran for 57 yards, but did have two touchdowns in the first quarter. The Giants benifited once again from facing a team without its starting quarterback. Matt Hasselbeck m...

JETS 23 LIONS 20 If the Jets are going to make the playoffs, they have a lot to clean up. From penalties, lack of discipline, bad play calling, and bad player judgment, the Jets did everything in their power to lose their game against the Detroit Lions, in Detroit, Sunday. Trailing 20-10 in the fourth quarter , the Jets had been flagged 11 times, some of which were of the unsportsmanlike conduct variety, they ran the ball only 22 times, the same numb er of times they ran the ball in a 9-0 loss to Green Bay a week ago. Mark Sanchez had been awful, and the Jets defense did nothing to stop Matthew Stafford. After a five yard penalty on the Jets offense with 4:26 to go, suddenly the Jets fortunes changed. Sanchez shrugged off the bad karma, and delivered an 18 yard strike to Jerricho Cotchery, then hit Dustin Keller and LaDainian Tomlinson for six yard each. Sanchez finally hit Keller again on a 25 yard completion down the middle to spot the ball at the Detroit six yard line. Two plays lat...

The Mets officially announced the hiring of former Toronto Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi , to the position of assistant GM. This means that Jon Ricco is out of the picture for the most part in the Mets front office (thank God, one less Omar Minaya stooge). Ricciardi and Alderson go back to their days in Oakland, when the worked together in that team's front office, before Ricciardi moved to Toronto to lead that club. Even though Ricciardi didn't make the playoffs during his eight year tenure in Toronto, he always fielded a competitive team that was a thorn in the side of the Yankees and Red Sox.

As seen on Bleacher Report. OK, so much for all that Subway Super Bowl hype the past week, eh? The New York Jets finally had a stinker, a 9-0 shutout loss against a pretty good Green Bay Packers team. It was the first shutout against the Jets since 2006, when they lost a very forgettable 10-0 game to the Chicago Bears. The Jets offensive game plan was so frightening on this Halloween Sunday that it left every Jets fan sick to their stomach—and it had nothing to do with candy. The Jets had every opportunity to win this game. Statistically, t he Jets defense held Green Bay to 2-of-14 on third downs, held Aaron Rodgers to 170 yards passing and kept Greg Jennings to 81 yards receiving. But whenever the Jets had a chance to do something offensively, they shot themselves in the foot. Steve Weatherford's failed fake punt for a first down, which was challenged by Green Bay and overturned, giving the ball to the Packers. Brad Smith's fumble at the Packers 33, killing a great Jets d...