COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

In the first hour of Open Mike Sunday, the MLB Preview Show, host Michael Cohen breaks down the upcoming season for the New York Yankees with Triple Coverage host Daniel Feuerstein. They ponder questions about the Yankees durability, age, and injuries. Will the Yankees flame out this year as many fear?  In the second hour, Mike and Dan take a closer look at the Mets 2013 season plans, and make their bold predictions for both the American and National Leagues.  LISTEN HERE !!! 

For seemingly the last six or seven years, baseball fans and writers alike have been asking the same question about the New York Yankees coming into each Opening Day: Is this team too old? And, when will age finally catch up with them? For the better part of that time the Yankees have found a way to defy Father Time, winning a World Series in 2009 and playing in the postseason an astounding 16 times in the last 17 years. However, this season injuries are starting to catch up with the Bronx Bombers, and, for the first time, the lack of depth on this team from the reserves on the bench all the way through to the minor leagues is starting to haunt the organization as well. The list has been well-documented throughout spring training, but here it is again: Mark Teixiera - out 10 weeks with a wrist injury; Curtis Granderson - out 10 weeks with a broken forearm; Alex Rodriguez - likely out for the season due to hip surgery, as well as the unmitigated PR nightmare following the fallou...

Johan Santana's season is over before it started. Already on the disabled list to open the season because of a setback in his recovery from back and shoulder injuries, Santana will not pitch again for the Mets this year, if ever again. According to multiple reports, Santana tore the anterior capsule in his left shoulder, the same injury he suffered two years ago. The former ace, received the diagnosis while being reexamined by team doctors in New York City shortly after being placed on the DL. This is a huge blow to the Mets' and Santana's plans for this year. Clearly, with New York in rebuilding mode and planning to move forward with younger, more talented arms in Matt Harvey and Zach Wheeler, the Mets had hoped that a healthy Santana could solidify the rotation. The Mets had also hoped, that if Santana pitched well enough this year, they could trade him to a contender for prospects.  Now the Mets are now on the hook for all of Santana's $31 million this season...

After trying and failing to find a replacement for Mark Tiexiera at first base, the Yankees released Juan Rivera on the final day of camp, awarding the job to veteran Lyle Overbay. Three weeks after Tiexiera was diagnosed with a wrist injury that will sideline him for seven more weeks, the Yankees search for his replacement is over ... for now. Rivera never impressed much in camp especially in the field at first base. With the acquisition of Vernon Wells, Brendon Bosche and Ben Francisco as back-up outfielders, Rivera became expendable. Earlier this week the Yankees signed Overbay, a guy who is a solid defensive first baseman, after he was cut by Boston. In three games, Overbay hit .429 (3-for-7) at the plate, and his glove is good enough that the Yankees want to keep him going into Opening Day. Offensively, Overbay doesn't have the pop that Rivera has; his best season came in 2006 with Toronto when he hit 22 homers and drove in 92. Yet, when it comes to fielding he's o...

After years and months of consternation over the contract of defensive end Osi Umenyiora , a once frustrated Giant is a frustrated Giant no more. Umenyiora signed with the Atlanta Falcons late Wednesday night, signing a two-year $8.5 million contract, with $5 million guaranteed. For a couple years Umenyiora had been seeking a monster contract that the Giants could not afford. There was even speculation for a long time that he would bolt to neighboring teams like the Jets or Eagles if he was not able to get a deal with Big Blue. Instead Umenyiora will fly south to join a Falcons team that was a 4th down conversion away from going to the Super Bowl last season. There is reason for concern here for Atlanta, and you can understand why the Giants felt the need to move on from Osi. He is 31-years old, and really hasn't been the major impact player he once was. Last season, Umenyiora had only six sacks, and appeared to lose a step and depth on the Giants rotating defensive line. ...

In the first hour of the Open Mike program, host Michael Cohen recaps last week’s round of 64 and 32 in the NCAA tournament, and previews the sweet 16 match-ups. Later, Michael invites “Passed Ball” producer and host, John Pielli to talk Mets baseball. In the second hour of the show, Bleacher Report and Giants101.c0m sports writer Doug Rush joins the program to talk Yankees baseball. To listen to the podcast version of the show, click the following LINK . Hit the play button next to the file to play it. Remember on Sunday, March 31 at 12 p.m . there will be a LIVE Open Mike MLB Baseball Preview Special on MTR !!! The link for the special on Sunday is http://streamdb2web.securenetsystems.net/v5/MTRRADIO

Believe it or not Opening Day is just around the corner. The grandiose de -facto national holiday is finally upon us, bringing back the Boys of Summer, and with it, ending another puzzling off-season by the New York Mets ' front office. Puzzling by the fact that Fred and Jeff Wilpon continue to say that they are out of the financial doldrums of Bernie Madoff and that bright days are ahead, yet GM Sandy Alderson continues to do the best he can pinching pennies to keep the cash-strapped franchise afloat. Sure Michael Bourn may not be worth the money he is getting in Cleveland, and Nick Swisher is not worth $14 million a year, which he got from the Cleveland Indians . But, the Mets could have made a deal happen to bring in a veteran presence to help out the kids on the current roster, and give David Wright a bit of a break, but chose not to. Those potential deals are now water under the bridge, and the Mets enter 2013, like last year, with a roster of players who ma...

In desperate need for a bat before opening day, the New York Yankees have swung a deal with the Los Angeles Angels for outfielder Vernon Wells . Wells, 34, is another aging player added to a Yankees roster full of aging and breaking down players. In a way, the Angels trade of Wells is a throw away. He has been producing poorly the last two seasons, and has not lived up to the enormous seven year $126 million contract he has with LA. Currently this is the sixth year of the deal, and the Angels are expected to pick up a big chunk of the remaining contract. While Wells is coming on the cheap for the Yankees, the fact that the Bronx Bombers are adding him is another example of how desperate this franchise has become for any offensive player who can produce. It is also a condemnation of the Yankees minor league system which is bereft of major league ready talent. Those involved with the Yankees, continue to say that the Yankees have solid kids on the farm who are coming up the system, b...

No surprise here, Johan Santana will begin his 2013 season on the shelf. The Mets ace hasn't thrown a bullpen session since March 3, is struggling to return from his latest injury, imflamation in his back, which he suffered last summer, and as a result will start the season on the disabled list . Santana was never the same after a 136 pitch performance in a no-hitter on June 2, the first in Mets history. After that no-no, Santana struggled the rest of the way until the injury was disclosed. Manager Terry Collins, even blamed himself at the time for the injury, because he let Santana throw so many pitches. Collins wouldn't call Santana's DL stint a set back in his return:  "It's hard to say it was a setback," Collins said. "I just think he wanted to prove his arm was OK, that his arm was healthy. Now we need to get him ready to pitch. I told him, `I don't care about yesterday, I care about now. We've got to move forward here. What happene...

RANGERS 3 DEVILS 2 In a battle of the Tri-State area's inconsistent hockey teams, the Rangers found a way to hold off the New Jersey Devils in Newark on Tuesday, 3-2 . After some recent struggles, the Rangers have now won two in a row, and have leapfrogged the Devils for the last playoff spot in the Eastern conference. While there is still a lot of games to play before the postseason, the fact that New York finally has the edge on New Jersey is big news. The Blue Shirts got big nights from Michael Del Zotto (three shots on goal), who scored the games first goal of the game, and Carl Haglin (five shots on goal), who scored his eighth goal of the season on an assist from Dan Girardi and Ryan Callahan to give New York a 2-1 lead in the first period. The Devils answered each of the Rangers first period goals. Travis Zajac tied it at one on a power-play with six minutes to play in the period. Finally, Anton Volchenkov scored his first goal of the season, tying the game at two...

If John Idzik and Rex Ryan stay true to their word, the nightmare for Tim Tebow will continue into mini-camp. Unable to find a suitor for the dilapidated back-up quarterback, whose career the Jets single-handily destroyed this past season by riding him on the bench and on special teams, could be back next season. That's right, Tebow Time is set to continue for Year 2. The Jets are still looking for someone to acquire Tebow for a sixth or seventh round pick, but the likelihood that the Jets will find someone who wants Tebow is highly unlikely. Thus, New York will be forced to release him at some point. Already, the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League said they would sign Tebow if released. However, Rex Ryan said that Tebow should make plans of contributing to Jets practice this May, when mini-camp opens up. Ryan even said that Tebow will compete for the starting job, as if he hasn't heard that before. Tebow is now fourth on the depth chart behind Sanchez, ...

Another Jet bites the dust! Dustin Keller has signed a one-year deal with the Miami Dolphins, ending his tenure with the Jets. Keller, who spent much of last season injured, joins a Dolphins team that is looking to make a big leap forward in 2013. Miami already signed linebacker Darnell Ellerby and wide receiver Mike Wallace this week. While, they still have to prove it on the field, the Dolphins are winning the off-season right now. Keller leaves a Jets team that is in total disarray from the front office all the way down to the quarterback situation. The Jets are now considering bringing in Kevin Kolb in to battle Mark Sanchez, and David Garrard for the starting job. Keller had a solid career in New York, hauling in 241 receptions for 2,876 yards and 17 touchdowns. He was Sanchez's favorite target before the quarterback went backwards both physiologically and physically on the football field. Now Keller gets to catch passes from a much more solid quarterback in Ryan Tan...

In the first hour of the Open Mike program from March 13, 2013, host Michael Cohen welcomes in the "voice" of MTRradio.com, Mike Sanfilippo to help breakdown the latest news coming out of the NFL as free agency heats up! In the second hour, Michael goes head to head with Mr. Sanfilippo in a battle of the Mets' fans. Did David Wright throw the Wilpon's under the bus with his comments following a 5 RBI performance in the WBC? Will the Mets ever spend money to help him out? Michael also welcomes Karen Vankat to discuss the latest with the Yankees. To listen to the show, click on the link to NJNYSports.com!

Here is some news that is sure to make a lot of Jets' fans smile: Wes Welker is leaving the Patriots to play with Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. In the most shocking twist of free agency, the long time Patriots wide receiver is taking his 100 plus receptions a year to Denver, making the Broncos the odds on favorites to play in East Rutherford in February for Super Bowl XLVIII. Welker inked a two-year $12 million deal with the Broncos, a contract offer that, apparently, Welker took back to New England and asked them to match. They never did. The fact that the Patriots were not willing to match a two-year deal to keep Tom Brady's favorite target speaks volumes about how coach Bill Belichick burns ties and bridges with people who help him to the top. Just ask the Jets about how Belichick burns bridges. Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady was plenty PO'ed that the Patriots front office didn't keep his favorite target. He should be. Welker caught 561 passe...

What once looked like an off-season bent on retooling a broken team, is now a total rebuilding project for the New York Jets . The Jets lost three more players to free agency on Wednesday, making GM John Idzik's job that much harder as he tries to piece together a football team in his first year as general manager. The Jets watched Mike D'Vito sign with Kansas City earlier this week, a loss that the Jets won't regret. D'Vito, while he was a nice clubhouse guy was not a great defensive tackle, and a bit undersized for the position. The Jets can replace his. New York then watched running back Shonn Greene bolt for the Tennessee Titans. Like D'Vito, Greene will not be missed. Greene had an underwhelming career in green and white. Even though he ran for 1000 yards in each of the last two seasons, watching Greene was like watching someone try to run through cement. He was awful; only averaged 3.9 yards a carry in those two years, and his longest run was 36 yards....

A new leader has emerged in the Darrelle Revis sweepstakes, and they are ready to pirate the Jets of their best player. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have over $30 million in cap space for 2013, are the new favorite to land the Jets corner. The Bucs make some sense. Revis' former coach at Pittsburgh University, Dave Wannnstedt is back in the NFL as the Bucs' special teams coach, and Tampa Bay GM Mark Dominik has had success in the past working with Revis' agent representatives. That is huge, because whomever acquires Revis will most likely want to complete a sign and trade with the Jets. Nobody wants to trade away a first and/or second round draft pick for a player who will leave to sign elsewhere. The Bucs will need an assurance from the Revis camp that he wants to play in central Florida for the next seven years. This won't be so easy to pull off. Revis is coming off an ACL injury that cost him the final 13 games of the season, and there is a plethora of fre...

The New York Giants feel they made a substantial offer to keep Victor Cruz in blue for life, but there is a chance that the Giants could still lose their speedy wide receiver on the market this off-season. The Giants put a first round tender on Cruz, meaning he will be a restricted free agent, and can make $2.9 million this season if he doesn't come to terms on a long term deal with the Giants. Teams now have the right to negotiate with Cruz and give him the contract that he wants. If the Giants do not match, Cruz will be in a different uniform come training camp 2013. Co-owner John Mara was calm about the idea of possibly losing one of his best players: "Certainly we’re taking a risk,’’ Mara said. “He is an exciting, dynamic player. It’s not going to shock me if somebody makes him an offer.” The Giants have two things going for them: 1) Cruz changed his agent to Tom Condon, the same agent for Eli Manning and Mathias Kiwanuka. Condon is a deal maker, and has a solid ...

Well the Jets have a new quarterback to compete with Mark Sanchez, and no, he not one that is going to get fans pumped up for the 2013 season. Late Monday the Jets agreed to terms on a contract with former Jacksonville Jaguars' quarterback David Garrard. Garrard, 35, who has not played in an NFL game since 2010, has battled injuries in recent years. Last season he was in line to be the Dolphins opening day starter before a knee injury ended his season in training camp. The Jets are banking that going with cheaper quarterbacks will pay big dividends. So forget about New York going after Seattle quarterback Matt Flynn, it will not happen; not with Mark Sanchez still set to make $8.25 million this year. The Jets are still considering bringing in Brady Quinn as well to the mix, according to the reports. Tim Tebow is still a member of Gang Green, but the Jets are likely to release him in the next couple weeks. Clearly the signing of Garrard means that Sanchez will remain the sta...

THUNDER 95 KNICKS 94 This will go down as a game that the New York Knicks should have won. Forget about moral victories, because after three quarters of play, the Knicks had the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team considered the second best team in the NBA behind the Miami Heat, on the brink. After an inspiring third quarter that saw New York scratch and claw its way to a lead, thanks to big time shooting by J.R. Smith and Amar'e Stoudemire, the Knicks held an 81-75 lead. They had out played the Thunder; they had kept Kevin Durant somewhat silent through three quarters, and played with a brand of physical play on defense that we haven't seen in a long time. But, as has been the case for much of this season, the Knicks were a one quarter wonder. Like their second quarter against the Heat that proved to be a footnote in a 99-93 defeat, the Thunder rolled over the Knicks in the fourth thanks in part to the fact that New York couldn't shoot worth a damn. The Knicks managed...

2013 is already shaping up into a transition year for the Yankees, and if the Bronx Bombers need a bigger symbol for that transition, this will be the last season for legendary closer Mariano Rivera. Rivera, who is best known for his trademark entrance at Yankee Stadium, as he is for his incredible cool in the games toughest moment, the ninth inning, will call it quits after the season. Rivera hinted this could be it a couple of weeks ago in an interview with WFAN's Sweeney Murti, telling the Yankees beat reporter that he would let everyone know soon about his future, and, that he felt blessed to be back on the field for another season. Rivera will exit baseball as the games greatest closer in baseball history. He enters the 2013 season with 608 saves, and if he can reclaim some of that ole' magic for one more season, he will more than pad those credentials. He is also the best postseason closer in the game, with 42 saves, which is nine more than the next two guys on th...

In the first hour of the Open Mike Program from March 6, 2013, host Michael Cohen analyzes the recent inconsistencies of the New York Knicks basketball team. Can this team really compete in the East, or are they a paper tiger? Michael welcomes in Dovid Dobin to discuss. In the second hour, Michael welcomes in Dan Feuerstein of Triple Coverage and Feuerstein's Fire to discuss the hit the Yankees will take after losing Mark Teixeira for 10 weeks. The boys then have a bone to pick with a certain website that claims Robbie Cano and Curtis Granderson took steroids. Listen to Hour One Listen to Hour Two  

For a few weeks it has been assumed that the San Francisco 49ers would be suitors for Jets All Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis; however published reports have now surfaced stating that San Francisco is indeed NOT interested in acquiring the corner. "The 49ers' interest in Revis is ".001 on a scale of 1-10," the source said via text message. That remains consistent with the same team source who previously stated the 49ers were not inclined to pursue a Revis trade" ( ESPN ). This is a huge contradiction from a report by the Daily News that cited the 49ers and the Atlanta Falcons as likely destinations for Revis. The reservations for the Niners are obvious. They will own as many as 15 draft picks in this years draft, once their trade with the Kansas City Chiefs for Alex Smith is approved by the league next week. The 49ers would likely have to cough up as many as 3 draft picks to the Jets, and many have speculated New York would want the Niners first r...

An already shaky start to the Yankees season is starting to develop this very disturbing trend: injuries. Mark Teixeira is the latest in a long line of Bronx Bombers who have hit the DL this spring, after the first baseman was diagnosed with an ECU tendon strain in his right wrist that will sideline him for the next 10 weeks . Teixeira hurt the wrist while batting off a tee during a practice for the World Baseball Classic in Arizona. The Yankees practice in Florida, so Tex was 3,000 miles away from his real team when the injury occurred. The injury will likely bring into question, once again, the legitimacy of the WBC, which is in its third installment since 2006. Like 2006 and 2009, all 30 major league teams reported to camp early, and required their players to get into shape a lot quicker because the classic would take two to three weeks out of spring training for players who decided to participate in it. While it is fair to say that this injury could have easily happened in...

HEAT 99 KNICKS 93 For one quarter the New York Knicks looked unstoppable. For one quarter, the Knicks actually played sound defense, handled the ball crisply on the offensive end, and watched veteran Jason Kidd reclaim that old pizazz that helped New York get off to a sizzling 18-5 start this season. One quarter, doesn't make up for the rest of this game, and it doesn't make up for the Knicks' season of late, as costly turnovers, terrible shooting, and daggers by LeBron James killed New York's chances against the Miami Heat at the Garden on Sunday. The Knicks had a lead as many as 16 points in this game, thanks that explosive second quarter. After New York struggled behind the arch in the first quarter, they turned it on like a light switch; and they shut it down just the same later on. Jason kidd provided the early jolt for the Knicks; he connected on three consecutive three-pointers to help build a 39-34 advantage for the Knicks, and with the veteran waking...