COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

YANKEES 5 TIGERS 3 It was just another day at Yankee Stadium. CC Sabathia pitches well, the offense does just enough and Raefael Soriono and Mariano Rivera shut the door. A formula that the Yankees hope works for them just about every day for the next seven months. If it does, maybe the Yankees will go 162-0. Ok, just kidding, that won't happen, but the Bombers looked really crisp in their season opener at the new Yankee Stadium, beating up on the toothless Detroit Tigers 5-3. Trailing 1-0 in the third, Mark Teixiera cracked a three run blast to the upper deck in right to give the Yankees the lead. For Teixiera the homer was very important. In years past, the first baseman has been known to get off to sluggish starts in the month of April. Granted this game was played in March, but the start to 2011 should serve Teixiera fine, and give him a boost of confidence moving forward. Sabathia was just ok. He didn't have his overpowering stuff, but neither did Justin Verlander, as both...

In the previous post we looked at the Yankees rotation. There are a lot of question marks surrounding their rotation, but if the Yankees have one thing going for them it is their offense. Even if the Bombers pitchers get bombed on a consistent basis, you would have to think that the Yankee offense will find ways to pull them out of the fire. The lineup has very little change over from the last two seasons. Derek Jeter -SS Curtis Granderson-CF Robinson Cano -2B Alex Rodriguez -3B Mark Teixiera -1B Nick Swisher - RF Jorge Posado - DH Russell Martin - C Brett Gardner - LF The Yankees known what they will get from Jeter, Tiexiera and A-Rod. Tiexiera has spent the spring working extremly hard on his swing, trying to make sure that he gets off to a faster start this April, compared to previous seasons. Even if he does get off to a slow start, Tiexeria is good for 35 homers and 110 RBI. Word out of camp this year is that Rodriguez is in the best shape of his career. He hit six homers and d...

After failing to sign Cliff Lee during the winter, the Yankee off-season was fairly quiet. The only noise coming out of Yankee Stadium was the bizzare controversy, stirred up by management over Derek Jeter's contract. It is no secret that Hal Steinbrenner is no fan of Jeter, he made it be known, by questioning whether the short stop should get a new multi-million dollar deal from the Bronx Bombers, but even questioned his place on the team. It was bizzare, but at the end of the day, Jeter is still a Yankee, and even though he is getting old is still one of the scariest batters in the game. So begins another Yankees season. The Yankees didn't do a lot to improve the team, at least drastically. They did add Rafael Soriano, the former closer of the Tampa Bay Rays, as a set up man to Mariano Rivera, but that was really it. The Yankees enter 2011 with a numerous questions regarding their starting rotation, especially with Andy Pettitte retiring to his home in Houston this winter. Fi...

Just days before the start of the 2011 regular season, Mets left fielder Jason Bay is already heading back to the disabled list. Bay who suffered a terrible concussion last summer that caused him to miss the rest of the second half of 2010, will begin the year on the 15-day DL with rib cage discomfort. The Mets report that Bay will be examined closely over the next 48 hours, whereupon the Mets will make a decision by Thursday whether to DL him. The Mets already have a problem in the outfield with a lot of uncertainty over the health of Carlos Beltran who is moving to right field this season. Beltran missed most of spring training with knee tendonitis. Who will start in left? Lucas Duda or Scott Hairston will likely seem time in left over the next week or two. The Mets could retrograde the injury to include this week, so Bay can return by April 8, when the Mets return home to play the Washington Nationals.

Oh happy day, here we go again! With the NFL under total lockdown with the players taking on the owners in a antitrust lawsuit that could cancel the 2011 NFL season, it has not stopped Jets coach Rex Ryan from mouthing off. It has been widely reported that Ryan predicted that the Jets would win Super Bowl XLVI, next February, after Gang Green got the axe in the AFC title game for the second straight season. Yet, even with the stench of defeat still in the air, Ryan still believes he can talk the talk, this time comparing himself to Babe Ruth. "They talk about walk softly and carry a big stick. I love that. I agree with that 100%," Ryan said, standing outside the hotel at the NFL league meetings. "But I guess I feel more like Babe Ruth. I'm going to walk softly, I'm going to carry that big stick and then I'm going to point and then I'm going to hit it over the fence," Ryan said. "Now granted, I can't hit anywhere close to Babe Ruth and I'...

The President of the beloved NFL Films industry is in the hospital, undergoing radiation and chemotherapy after a brain tumor was discovered in the filmmakers brain. Sabol, who is the son of Ed Sabol, a World War II vet, who's passion for football and film, created NFL Films, became the voice of the industry since the late 1970's. Steve was always seen introducing highlight films for Super Bowls, season recaps, and many fun things like NFL blooper videos at the beginning of each film. With his father, Steve Sabol brought new life and understanding about the game of football and the passion its players put into the sport. A sample video that looks into the production of NFL Films is here. Ed Sabol is to be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in August, let's all pray that Steve will be there to watch his father's enshrinement.

Say good bye to Oliver Perez! News broke early this morning that the Mets have released the pathetic left handed starter, and will eat the rest of his $12 million owed him this season. After a sparkling turn in the postseason in 2006, Perez was awarded a huge multi-year contract by Omar Minaya. Even with that contract, Perez never captured the confidence of Mets fans and the Mets coaches with his erratic style, and propensity to walk just about anybody during a single inning. Last season, Perez hit rock bottom, and when asked to accept a minor league assignment he refused, beginning the end of his run with the Mets. Thus ends the worst experiment of pitching in recent memory for the Mets. They thought they had something special in '06 with Perez and John Maine. Injuries and a bad attitude doomed Maine's stay with the Mets, who cut him last season. Perez took longer to unload because of the money. With Perez and Luis Castillo both gone, the Wilpons had to eat $18.2 million . Yo...

Well Mets fans, Merry Christmas. I know, I know, Christmas was three months ago, but, this St. Patrick's Day weekend felt more like X-Mas for Met fans, as news came late Friday that second baseman Luis Castillo would be released from his contract. The Mets, who are pretty strapped for cash, with a $1 billion lawsuit coming their way in the Bernie Madoff fiasco, will have to eat the $6 million left on Castillo's contract. Castillo has had a rocky stay with the Mets. The second baseman who was one a leadoff star for the Florida Marlins was ridiculed by Met fans for his lack of hustle on ground balls, and his poor hitting behind short stop Jose Reyes. Even though Castillo was a good defensive second baseman, his dropped pop up against the New York Yankees, two years ago, costing the Mets a baseball game became the symbol for Castillo's career in New York. This spring Castillo has been outplayed by Daniel Murphy and Luis Hernandez. The Mets front office still has high hopes tha...

NETS 88 CELTICS 79 The New Jersey Nets are for real. Before the Deron Williams trade with the Utah Jazz, the Nets were one of the worst teams in the NBA. Mired in last place, with little hope. They lost out on the Carmelo Anthony deal, had egg on their face from the LeBron James disaster over the summer. The needed a change. Once they got Williams, the team lost three straight games to fall to 17-43 on the season. Now, the Nets are talking playoffs. The Nets hung tough with the best team in the NBA, the Boston Celtics all night long. After watching an early 14-9 lead morph into a 23-14 deficit after the first quarter, the Nets didn't give up, battling back to tie the game at 29, and then hung around the rest of the night. Then late in the third quarter, Anthony Marrow and Sundiata Gaines put New Jersey up on top with back-to-back three pointers to give the Nets a 67-61 lead. The Nets stars of Brook Lopez, 20 points, and Chris Humphries, 16 points, 15 rebounds, and Williams, 16 poi...

In an exclusive report from the New York Post, Mets manager Terry Collins has selected his second baseman, and it isn't who you think. Luis Hernandez has been selected to be the Mets starter at second. The light hitting second baseman has beaten out incumbent Luis Castillo and Daniel Murphy for the starting job, according to the report. Hernandez played only 17 games for the Mets last year, and hit two homers with six RBI. The report says that Collins was not impressed with Murphy's defense, even though he wants him on the team as a bench player. Castillo is tricky. He is being paid $6 million this season, and the Mets would have to release him and eat the money if he doesn't make the team. Castillo has been bane of the Mets fans existence. His lack of hustle, and of course the infamous dropped pop up in Yankee Stadium two years ago, made Castillo into the second most hated man on the Mets, next to Oliver Perez. There is a big snag though in Collins plans. Brad Emaus is a...

As planned, the NFL has locked out the players from any football activities for the forseeable future. After the players decertified the union so they could sue the league in antitrust litigation, the NFL had the right to put the league under total lockout. What it means? There will be no NFL mini-camps in May, and no free agency will be allowed to take place this spring and summer. There will will be no training camp, and no regular season games until the new CBA is agreed upon by both sides. The only NFL activity that will occur, as far as pure football is concerned, will be the release of NFL schedules and the NFL draft in April. Other than that, everything will be on hold. Good-bye to the National Football League ... for now.

After agreeing to decertify their union in order to make a last ditch effort to save the game they love to play, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees and ten other NFL players together filed suit against the National Football League in the U.S. District Court under antitrust laws, as they seek a class action litigation. The lawsuit alleges that the NFL has "conspired to deny the players' ability to market their services through a patently unlawful group boycott and price-fixing arrangement or, in the alternative, a unilaterally imposed set of anti-competitive restrictions on player movement, free agency, and competitive market freedom." They cite as constraints what they called "the league's history of antitrust violations, including a potential lockout, the draft and the franchise and transition player designations." Teams use those designations to keep key free agents off the open market, but the players also are well compensated when they sign new contra...

A week ago there was optimism in the air that a new CBA would be hammered out over the ensuing seven days between the NFL and the players association. The optimism caused both sides to agree to an extension of the CBA until 11:59 Friday March 11. However, negotiations have gotten nasty over the past week. The players refuse to agree to an 18 game schedule, and the owners are refusing to open up their account books to show players how much they have and aren't budging on increasing player salaries. Players Association President DeMaurice Smith told his players that they will decertify the union, which means that the players will no longer be obligated as one union. They then can sue the NFL on an individual basis under antitrust law, citing that they are being unfairly treated over their salaries. Apparently it is the only way to avoid the lockout. Without decertification the union would be unable to sue until September. The lockout is now looming.

Santonio Holmes plans to re-sign with the New York Jets once the CBA is straightened out by the NFL. On his Facebook page, Holmes left a viral video in which he states in the first 30 seconds that he will resign with Gang Green. WATCH! If the Jets can re-sign Holmes they will bring back on of the games best playmakers, who won four games all by himself. The Jets need Holmes back. With both he and Braylon Edwards as pending free agents, the Jets could be without a number 1 wide receiver if they should lose both. If Holmes wants in, and the Jets of course want him, it will help the team focus in on retaining Edwards, or bringing in another wide out.

Former Giant running back Tiki Barber is returning to the NFL as a player. Read more on Examiner.com . Barber announced Tuesday afternoon that he had signed reinstatement papers with the NFL and plans to return to the gridiron after four years absence. Barber hasn't rushed for a yard since 2006. In case you are wondering the Giants still own Barber's contractual rights. This is a stunning move. Barber will turn 36 next month, and he hasn't rushed in over four years. He left the Giants on very bad terms, ripping coach Tom Coughlin and quarterback Eli Manning, and once retired continued his criticism of Big Blue, even when the team won Super Bowl XLII. As a result Barber became vilified by Giant fans everywhere. Whenever the running back returned to Giants Stadium he was rightfully booed by 78,000 fans. Even though the Giants own his rights, it is hard to believe that Big Blue will welcome him back. Chances are they will release him from his contract, and let him become a fre...

The NFL and NFLPA has agreed to extend talks on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement for another week. The deadline will be scheduled for next Friday night. Both sides will return to the negotiating table first thing Monday morning and will spend all of next week working on a new deal. George Cohen, who has been mediating the talks between the owners and players was pleased with the open discussion between both sides, but would not go into details on what was talked about. He also placed a gag order on both sides to keep them quiet until an agreement in reached. Teams have been instructed to operate as if the old CBA has expired, which means that teams cannot sign free agents, re-sign their own players or make cuts until the deal is complete. The players union threatened to decertify if negotiations failed on an extension of talks. Decertification could still happen if the new deadline comes and passes without a deal. Currently everyone in the league is very optimistic. "If we c...

The NFL will not lockout at 12 midnight Thursday after all, but that does not mean the 2011 season is safe by any means. The NFL and NFLPA has agreed to extend negotations on a new CBA to 11:59 Friday night, so, that if the two sides still can't come up with a deal over the next 24 hours, then a lockout is still possible. The players were set to sign decertification papers which would have liquidated the player's union, thus pressuring the NFL owners to cancel any plans of a lockout because the players would have gained the ability to sue the NFL on an individual player basis according to anti-trust law. Instead, with this short extension, the players will not decertify and remain united for 24 hours anyway. The extension of 24 hours is actually a good sign. It shows that the sides must be making enough progress that both can feel all they need is 24 hours to hammer out a new deal and avoid a work stoppage. If the lockout does indeed happen, it will cripple America's most p...

The New York Jets are doing what they can to keep their most important free agent pieces in play. On Tuesday, Gang Green put first and third round tenders on receiver Santonio Holmes and corner back Antonio Cromartie, so that if another team wants to swoop in and sign either player, it would have to give up a first and third round pick to the Jets before signing that player, which almost guarantees, under the old CBA, that Holmes and Cromartie will stay at least one year with the Jets. It is kind of like a franchise tag, but, if the new CBA disallows the practice of franchise tags and tenders, then the Jets could be in danger of losing both players. It's a dangerous game of cat and mouse in a blind hallway, but it's the best the Jets can do until a new CBA is worked out. If the league goes into lockout this week then no free agency can occur. Franchise tags are the best a team can do at this point. The Jets also put a high second round tender on Brad Smith. The valuable special...

Among a series of cuts by the New York Jets, the football team decided to keep veteran running back LaDainian Tomlinson for another season. Tomlinson ran for 914 yards last season, his best year since 2008 when he ran for 1110 yards in San Diego. Tomlinson showed a burst of youthful energy early in the 2010 season, taking a firm hold of the starting job, but by season's end, Tomlinson's role became reduced as he began to show signs of wear and tear. The Jets want Shonn Greene to be the number one back. Tomlinson has to serve primarily as the third down back next season. The Jets cannot be fooled into thinking he can contribute on a major scale like they did this year. Greene averaged 4.4 yards a carry in the postseason with 198 yards rushing. He is a bruising, punishing back who can tire defenses, and the Jets need him to have a bigger role in 2011.

The cash strapped New York Mets are looking for some more loans. The Mets have extended an SOS to JP Morgan Chase bank for a $430 million loan to cover operating costs, just days after it was revealed that the Mets took a $25 million loan from MLB for similar costs back in November. The Wilpons are 1.66 billion in dept from costs on the Mets franchise, SNY, and Citi Field construction costs. Yet, the embattled ownership group appears ready to add to that debt with a new loan. "[JPMorgan] believe the Mets still have the capacity to borrow," a source said. But another source said, "Are you kidding me?" when told about the loan. "You don't lend into a distressed situation," that source said. "This is a very risky loan," with the team losing about $50 million a year," said a report from the New York Post. Perhaps J.P. Morgan thinks the Mets are good for it, especially if they can sell off a minority stake in their Mets business. It...

See ya' Vernon Gholston. The greatest bust in Jets history IS history, as the Jets cut ties with the unproductive linebacker. Gholdston never recorded a sack in his three seasons with the Jets. Rex Ryan promised to change the struggling player in 2009 into a Terrell Suggs-type of player, but Gholston never lived up to expectations. The Jets also cut ties with Damion Woody. Woody who was a big part of the Jets offensive line the last two seasons, suffered injuries in 2010 that prevented him from playing down the stretch. His health, age and contract status were the reasons for the cut, but don't be shocked if the Jets bring him back later on a cheaper contract. The Jets also bid adieu to Jason Taylor and Kris Jenkins. Jenkins missed each of the last two seasons with knee injuries, and never became the stout pressence in Rex Ryan's 46 defense. Instead Sione Piouah stepped up big at nose tackle. Jenkins was a funny, and vibrant pressence on the Jets, but the Jets did win gam...

Suddenly Carlos Beltran is Mr. Team Player. Beltran sacrificed his precious position in center field, giving it to Angel Pagan, who did a solid job in the position in 2010, when Beltran was hurt with a knee injury. According to a report from the New York Daily News , Beltran consulted his family, friends, as well as his agent Scott Boras, before heading to new manager Terry Collins to tell him that he is willing to play center field. Collins commended him as a "team player," but you have to wonder what Beltran might be really thinking. Beltran is entering the final year of a bumpy seven year contract with the Mets. With the team heading virtually nowhere in the near and long term future, Beltran is probably thinking about his next contract. With Boras in his ear, perhaps Beltran's thought is if he has a big year in right field it will increase his stock for a new contract next winter. Pagan for his part is a decent player. He hit .290 with 11 homers and 69 RBI. He proved ...