COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

METS 3  DODGERS 2 Well, the Mets are back at it again. After an awful start to the week that watched New York drop their first two games to the Chicago Cubs, on the heels of a draining Subway Series with the Yankees, the Mets are once again turning heads with the way they win games. First it was an offensive outburst on Wednesday as the Mets pounded the Cubs for 17 runs, thanks to multi-RBI games by David Wright, Ike Davis, Scott Hairston, and Daniel Murphy. On Thursday it was a combination of solid pitching and clutch hitting that got it down for New York, as the downed the Dodgers 3-2 in LA to start a crucial four game series. Wright, who had five RBI on Wednesday remained hot, lining an RBI single down the left field line to give the Mets a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Then in the fourth, Wright cracked a solo homerun to left center to extend the Mets lead to 2-0. The Dodgers quickly responded, scratching out two runs in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI triple ...

On this edition of Open Mike, host Michael Cohen takes a look at the sudden issues regarding the Yankees rotation after the lose of Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia to injury. Michael also looks at the resurgent Mets offense, and the elimination of the BCS Bowl system. Michael also discusses the Yankees latest lose to the Chicago White Sox, as Dayan Viciedo hit a three-run home run to beat the Bronx Bombers. Box Score.   Listen on Posterous !

One constant for the New York Yankees over the past month, since they turned up the heat and catapulted their way to the top of the AL East with a record of 24-7 over their last 31 games, has been their starting pitching. Yes, the same starting pitching that was much maligned the first month and a half of the year, as the Bronx Bombers got off to a sluggish 21-21 start. Alas, the reason for the Yankees success in the rotation had to be credited to the steady pace of CC Sabathia and the heroic return of Andy Pettitte. Well, it appears that the Yankees will be without either for quite awhile. First, Sabathia will hit the 15-day disabled list with a strained muscle in his left leg. Rather than risk Sabathia injuring it further, with the All Star break coming up the Yankees decided to DL him, so he could return healthy when the second half begins. Sabathia, who was 9-3 this year, apparently felt the discomfort in his leg during the Mets game on Sunday. However, during the Yankee...

Yankees 4 Mets 3 For six innings, Chris Young was dazzling for the New York Mets. The Mets number five starter, and arguably the most forgotten man on New York's roster was dominating the New York Yankees. He held the Bronx Bombers to two hits, befudled the middle of the Yankees order, holding A-Rod, Mark Tiexiera and Robinson Cano to a combined 0-for-7. Young, even contributed offensively, with an RBI single in the sixth to build a 3-0 Mets lead. It looked like the Mets were well on their way to taking their second straight against the Yankees, after Ike Davis and his three-run bomb in the first inning led the Mets to a 6-4 victory on Friday night. Instead, as we all know, no lead is ever safe when facing the Yankees. After a lead-off walk to Tiexiera, Nick Swisher popped the ball up to Lucas Duda in right. Duda misplayed the ball, and watched as it bounced off the ground and trickle under his legs for double. Then, on Young's next pitch, Raul Ibanez blasted a thre...

METS 5 ORIOLES 0 What can anyone say about R.A. Dickey? The man has been incredible all season long for the New York Metropolitans; he has been their rock, the one steady presence in a sea of constant chaos. While the Mets struggle to stay relevant, Dickey has kept the Mets' heads above water since the season opened. At 11-1 and an ERA of 2.00, Dickey is coming into his own, perfecting the way knuckle-baller's influence this game, and paving a way to the All Star Game next month. If Dickey doesn't get the ball for the All Star start, then NL manager and former St. Louis manager, Tony LaRussa must really (and I mean REALLY) hate the Mets. Because, Dickey deserves it. Dickey had a hard road to this opportunity. He toiled in the majors for years with the Twins, the Rangers, the Mariners, before finding a home with the Mets in 2010. Since becoming a Met, Dickey has become the Mets number two pitcher behind Johan Santana. Hell, he is even more reliable than Santana, e...

YANKEES 5 BRAVES 0  So much for that early season slump. The New York Yankees continue their feast on the NL East, winning their 10th straight game to improve to 41-25, best in the American League. Since their hideous 21-21 start, the Yankees are 20-4 ever since. Four of the Bombers 10 consecutive victories have been at the hands of the Braves, who blew a 2-0 lead on New York, Monday night. For four innings Braves starter Mike Minor was dazzling for Atlanta, retiring the first 12 Yankees to face him, but in the fifth, the Yankees offense exploded. A single by Alex Rodriguez was followed by a walk to Robinson Cano. After Andruw Jones grounded out, Russell Martin cracked a ground rule double to drive in A-Rod to make it 2-1 Braves. Three batters later, Derek Jeter's single to center drove in Cano and Martin putting the Yankees in front 3-2. The Yankees would tack on in the sixth and seventh innings. First Mark Teixiera blasted a solo shot to left to make 4-2, and Jete...

In the first hour of this week's Open Mike program, host Michael Cohen takes the NHL refs to the woodshed after the disgraceful finish to Game Six of the Stanley Cup Finals between the LA Kings and NJ Devils. Did the Brenier hit warrant a 5-minute major penalty that cost the Devils the game? Michael is joined by Dan Feuerstein (a Rangers fan), host of Feuerstein's Fire to debate the issue. Listen on Posterous ! In hour two of the Open Mike program from June 13, Michael is joined by Warning Track host Karen VanKat to talk about the Yankees and Mets as both teams head toward mid June. Karen also sounds off on the NJ Devils as well!  Michael is then joined by Mike Sanfillipo of Triple Coverage, to talk Mets and the addition of new part-owner Bill Maher, (That's right the controversial Bill Maher) to the franchise. Listen on Posterous !

KINGS 6 DEVILS 1 LA wins 4-2 It is widely accepted in sports that no official should have an mega impact on the result of any championship game.  Well, it just so happens, that the refs made their mark on Game Six of the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals with an absolutely hideous Major Penalty call on Devils' right winger Steve Bernier for boarding and roughing Rob Scuderi, resulting in a bloody nose for Scuderi.  While a penalty was justified, a major penalty, which gave the Kings a five minute power play was beyond ridiculous. It changed the face of the game. According to NHL rules, a major penalty should only be called when a major infraction occurs like a fight. In this case, all Bernier did was charge Scuderi in order to get the puck and, in doing so, slammed him to the glass. A minor penalty would have been justified, not a major penalty.  The NHL refs were notorious for bad calls throughout this postseason, a postseason that for all intents and purposes was ...

DEVILS 2 KINGS 1 LA leads 3-2 Now the heat is turned up on the Los Angeles Kings. Needing a win to avoid elimination for the second straight game, the New Jersey Devils came out with a virtuoso performance against the Kings winning 2-1, and cutting deep into the Kings Stanley Cup Finals lead, 3-2, forcing a game six on Monday night. Throughout the series the Devils struggled early in games offensively, but not on Saturday night. The Devils were much more aggressive on the power play, and pushed the puck extremely well on the Kings defense and on Jonathan Quick, even though New Jersey took only 19 shots on the night. More than half way through the first period, the Devils struck as Zach Parise tapped the puck into the net, as he swooped around the left end unbeknownst to Quick, who didn't see Parise until it was too late. For the first time in this series, and in these playoffs, the Kings faced some adversity. LA lost only two games all postseason coming into thes...

Who would have guessed it five months ago when the New York Mets were toiling in the midst of the Bernie Madoff mess that come June 8th, the Subway Series would actually mean something. Five months ago, just the very thought of Mets vs. Yankees was laughable, a true display of the Have's and Have Not's at its worst. The Mets went through an off-season full of turmoil; from a pending lawsuit by a trustee in the Bernie Madoff case that could have brought Mets owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon to their knees, to not signing their super star short stop, Jose Reyes to a contract, because they didn't have the money made things look worse. That on top of a team full of minor league prospects, who were not exactly highly touted prospects made this Mets team look like a surefire loser. Then the miracle happened. The Mets have played with extremely well, thanks in part to the firm guidance of manager Terry Collins, who has kept this team of underachievers afloat and near the top ...

"I'll Have Another," the surprising colt who snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes by winning both races by a head, will not go for the Triple Crown on Saturday afternoon. Trainer Doug O'Neil said on ESPN's Dan Patrick Show that the horse suffered a leg injury and will be scratched from the race. This news not only means that it will be 35 years and counting since the last Triple Crown winner in 1978, but it kills the sport. Horse racing has been suffering for years because of the lack of a true championship horse, not to mention the past few years have seen the Kentucky Derby winner lose in the Preakness taking all the potential air out of the Belmont Stakes. When a horse died on the track during the Derby a few years ago, that put into question the role drugs played in the horse racing sport, chasing people away.  Horse racing suffered plenty of bad PR in recent months, after HBO's failed series ...

Four months after he led the New York Giants to their second Super Bowl title in four years, the Giants extended the contract of coach Tom Coughlin. Coughlin and Big Blue signed a three year extension worth $20 million, making him the third highest paid NFL coach per season, behind Bill Belichick and Mike Shanahan. To say that he deserved it is the understatement of the year. Ever since he came here, Coughlin has found a way to dodge the crticism and guided the Giants with a firm hand. He finally changed his own coaching strategy in 2007, and united his team in the process as New York went on its first Super Bowl run. Now players want to play for Coughlin, and as a result he has the team he wanted when he came to New York in 2004. A team that is disciplined, plays hard and makes no excuses. That is why New York has won two Super Bowls in Coughlin's career with the Giants. Now, the Giants can rest asure that Coughlin will retire as a Giant when he hangs up the head-sets. A...

METS 6 CARDINALS 1 The red hot Mets keep on rolling along. Two days after Johan Santana's no-hitter, and a day after R.A. Dickey's complete game gem against the Cardinals, Jon Niese threw his hat into the ring and dominated St. Louis as well. Niese, who has had his share of problems this season had his best start of the season. He was pinpoint with his pitches, striking out 10 batters, and rarely fell behind in any count. Meanwhile the Mets offense continues to stay hot. This time it was Kurt Nieuwenhuis and Andres Torres who delivered for New York. First, Torres' doubled and came around to score on Lucas Duda single to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. Later, Niewenhuis (3-for-5, HR, 3 RBI) cracked a two run homer to deep right to make 3-0 Metropolitans. Finally, Niewenhuis and Torres were at it again. This time, Niewenhuis singled up the middle to bring in Omar Quintanilla to make it 4-0. Then, Torres (3-for-4, 2 RBI) legged out a triple to drive in two Mets runn...

"There are more things in Heaven and Earth ... than are dreamt of in your philosphy." (Hamlet) The quote above, which we all recognize from Shakespeare's play Hamlet, basically means this: sometimes in life the most bizarre, idiotic and baffling things happen that just leaves you wondering (in the poetic words of Vince Lombardi) "What the hell is going on out here?!?" As the Mets have been busy exercising their demons on the field, slowly rebuilding trust between the team and its fans, and playing outstanding baseball more than a third of the way through the season, leave it to Mets ownership to find a way to screw things up a bit. Before the Mets took the field to play the St. Louis Cardinals, and before New York welcomed John Franco into the Mets Hall of Fame, the Mets owners made a baffling announcement: Bill Maher is partner in everything Mets. That's right, Bill Maher is a part owner of the New York Mets! The same Bill Maher who has publicly ...

Yankees 5 Tigers 1 In a whacky and wild year for the New York Yankees, where they have watched their starting pitching become of the most mediocre in the American League, and watched their bullpen become depleted thanks to injuries to Mariano Rivera and David Robertson, they badly needed someone to step up and deliver on the mound. While the Yankees have played better on this recent road trip, games against the Royals and Athletics will do that for a struggling ball club, they are not all the way back. They have struggled offensively with runners in scoring position, and down years for A-Rod, Robinson Cano, and Mark Teixeira have been well documented. That is why Phil Hughes start against Detroit was so important. The righty went the distance for his first complete game of his career. He gave up only four hits and struck out eight Tigers, dominating a Tigers lineup that has also struggled this season. Hughes got stronger as the game wore on. After giving up a solo homer to...

METS 8 CARDINALS 0 Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E St. Louis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 NY Mets 0 0 0 2 0 3 3 0 X 8 8 0 WP: J. Santana (3-2) LP: A. Wainwright (4-6) ...