COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

RAPTORS 115 / NETS 113  TOR leads 3-2 Now the Nets have their backs to the wall. In a series where they were heavy favorites, against an inexperienced Toronto Raptors team Brooklyn now finds itself down 3-2 on the brink of elimination. They look old, the Raptors look rejuvenated, young and raring to go. While Wednesday night saw the Nets put together a miraculous fourth quarter run of 27-7 to erase a deficit that was once 26 points, it was too little too late as Brooklyn couldn't stop the man that had killed all night long, and all series long. Kyle Lowry was tremendous. He tallied 21 points in the first half alone, and was the sole reason Toronto blew the Nets out of the Air Canada center in the first half. He nailed four buckets and three free throw shots in the final 4:27 of the second quarter to turn a 40-40 game into a 62-44 Raptors halftime lead. His three-pointer from half court, while falling was an exclamation point to his performance. Yet, here were the Nets wi...

As has been the pattern all afternoon, the NFL schedule has been leaking all over the place, with the league wide announcement still tabbed for 8:00 p.m. ET. First the Giants announced their schedule around 4:30 this afternoon, nearly two and a half hours later the Jets were next. According to Gang Green Nation, the Jets open the season at home for the fifth consecutive season, this time against the Oakland Raiders on September 7. The Jets will get three primetime games, against Chicago (MNF), New England (Thurs) and Miami (MNF). The Jets will not have a Sunday night game, unless it gets flexed. The Jets finish the season in Miami for the second straight season. Sept. 7 OAKLAND ........ 1:00 CBS Sept. 14 @ Green Bay .... 4:25 CBS Sept. 22 CHICAGO ....... 8:30 ESPN Sept. 28 DETROIT ........ 1:00 FOX Oct. 5 @ San Diego ....... 4:25 CBS Oct. 12 DENVER .......... 4:25 CBS Oct. 16 @ New England 8:30 CBS Oct. 26 BUFFALO ......... 1:00 CBS Nov. 3 @ Kansas City .... 1:00 CBS Nov. ...

CBS Sports is doing a bang up job breaking all the leaks on the 2014 NFL schedule. After the Giants schedule was leaked by Mike Francesa on WFAN, the floodgates were opened to other tidbits on the NFL slate. The Detroit Lions entire schedule was released and in it, it was revealed that Detroit will travel to New York to play the Jets in week 4, the game will be on FOX. The Jets will also host the Chicago Bears in week 3 on Monday Night Football. The rest of the Jets schedule is under wraps. Interestingly it had been assumed for a while that the Lions would host their Thanksgiving day clash against either the Bills or Dolphins, well, it turns out they will instead face the Bears on Fox. That might mean that Dallas will be getting a prime time game on Thanksgiving. We'll know soon. Lost in all this mayhem, the Green Bay Packers and world champion Seattle Seahawks will open the entire regular season against one another on Thursday September 5 on NBC.

The Giants could always blame WFAN's Mike Francesa for this, but Big Blue's schedule was leaked hours before the 8:00 p.m. ET league wide announcement. Inspite of a hideous 7-9 season in 2013, the Giants will have five games in primetime, including a stunning Monday Night Football season opener in Detroit. The Giants will also face the Redskins on Thursday Night Football, (yes, the game will be on CBS, which usually broadcasts AFC contests). Two Sunday night games against the Eagles and Cowboys, and a Monday night game in November against the Colts. The Giants are barely home in December with only one home game scheduled for the final month of the season. Sept. 8 @ Detroit ................. 7:00 ESPN Sept. 14 ARIZONA ............ 1:00 FOX Sept. 21 HOUSTON ............ 1:00 CBS Sept. 25 @ Washington........ 8:30 CBS Oct. 5 ATLANTA ............... 1:00 FOX Oct. 12@ Philadelphia ........ 8:30 NBC Oct. 19 @ Dallas ................ 4:25 FOX Bye Week Nov. 3 INDIANAPOLIS...

NETS 94/RAPTORS 87 This is the reason why Billy King made that monster trade with the Boston Celtics last summer. He made that deal, because he knew that as soon as serious Spring Basketball started, veterans Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett would be at the ready. Down the stretch Saturday, it was the two ex-Celtics that powered the Brooklyn Nets to a 94-87 victory in Toronto to take a 1-0 lead in the best of seven series. While the Nets might be ranked as a number six seed, this match-up feels more like a battle between a four and five seed. These two teams are that close. However it was obvious from the get go Saturday afternoon, that the Nets playoff experience played a large roll in their victory, while Toronto's playoff inexperience may have been their ultimate undoing. The Nets had flirted with disaster from time to time throughout the contest. They were terrible from behind the arch, and watch the Raptors were seemingly nailing every three pointer they attempted. Kyle ...

When Ike Davis failed to secure the first base job from Lucas Duda, who in many respects is a weaker defensive first baseman than Davis, the writing was on the wall that Ike was not long for the Mets and Citi Field. On Friday, the Mets ended their turbulent relationship with Davis when they traded him to Pittsburgh for minor league reliever Zach Thorton and a player to be named later. The trade ends months of speculation that the first baseman was on his way out. The Mets spent an entire off-season trying to trade him and failing, which led to Davis' father claiming the Mets screwed up his son's off-season. The Davis vs. Mets battles became not only bizarre, but public. From Valley Fever to the secret injury that Davis didn't reveal until the start of Spring Training this year, it has been a wild ride. Remember when Davis shredded a New York Post reporter for breaking the story that he had withheld information from the Mets about an injury he played with all of last ...

The New York Jets get their man. In desperate need to address their beleaguered running attack the Jets are reported to have completed a 2-year deal with former Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson. Johnson, 29, who was released by the Titans a couple weeks ago, visited the Jets training facility in Florham Park on Tuesday, had a physical and was reported hanging out at a Brooklyn Nets game. On Wednesday he signed a two-year deal with New York; money was not disclosed as the story broke. Johnson's release came from the fact that his productivity had been lagging the past few seasons, and there were reports that the new Titans regime was not crazy about his work ethic. Whatever the case may be, the Jets are getting a serious upgrade in the backfield. He can generate big plays both in the backfield and in the passing game. With Chris Ivory as his understudy, Johnson will certainly have fresh legs when the Jets use him. It wasn't that long ago that Johnson was one o...

The Giants have a new back-up plan in case they ever need to worry about the health of quarterback Eli Manning, after signing Josh Freeman to a 1-year deal . Manning, who is going under the knife with ankle surgery that will likely keep sidelined until late June. However, Manning was beaten up last year by defensive fronts for many reasons, but the biggest culprit was the poor play from his running game and offensive line; the former Super Bowl MVP had everything, plus the kitchen sink dumped on him in 2013. It only makes sense that the Giants go out and get a decent back-up, just in case. So Big Blue went out and inked Freeman. Freeman, the former quarterback of the Buccaneers and Vikings is at a new stage in his career. He was much maligned last fall as a poor clubhouse leader and was jettisoned by the Buccaneers; however the popular opinion is that Freeman was having issues getting along with former Bucs coach Greg Schiano. So, Freeman moved on to Minnesota at mid-season, an...

The 2014 NFL preseason schedule has been released for all 32 NFL teams, and the Jets know when they will get a chance to see Mark Sanchez again, this time as an Eagle. After both teams basically exchanged back-up quarterbacks, the Jets and Eagles will face off in their traditional week 4 match-up in the preseason. Usually the fourth game of the pre-season is pointless, but if Michael Vick and Mark Sanchez see any time in the contest, rest assure that the media will go nuts over it. Oh, by the way, the Giants and Jets will face each other in week three of the preseason. Here is the schedule: NYGiants Schedule Aug. 3 vs. Buffalo (HOF) ..... 8:00 NBC Aug. 9 PITTSBURGH ......... 8:00 WNBC Aug. 15 @ Indianapolis ......... 8:00 WNBC Aug. 23 @ NY Jets ............... 7:30 WCBS Aug. 28 NEW ENGLAND ... 7:00 WNBC NY JETS Schedule Aug. 10 INDIANAPOLIS .... 8:00 WCBS Aug. 15 @Cincinnati ............ 7:30 WCBS Aug. 23 NY GIANTS .......... 7:30 WCBS Aug. 28 @ Philadelphia ........ ...

UCONN 60/ KENTUCKY 54  It was as improbable a finish as it was a run. The University of Connecticut Huskies are on top of the college basketball world, beating back an equally good Cinderella-tale in the Kentucky Wild Cats, 60-54 in Big D . The Huskies who were ranked 7th in the East region of the tournament and nearly forgotten by just about every expert, blew up everyone's brackets on Monday. Who would have thought that a team that was once blown away 81-48 by Louisville exactly one month ago would find itself hoisting up the National Championship trophy? But they are, and its a testament to second year head coach Kevin Ollie, who went a perfect 6-0 in the NCAA tournament. Ollie's super cool, and player friendly demeanor was the backbone of this great run. His confidence in his players when they beat back Villanova, a two seed, in the second game of this 64-team tourney was evidence that something good was cooking on the stove. He backed his players every step of the wa...

YANKEES 4/ ORIOLES 2 Every move Derek Jeter makes this season is going to be magnified to the nth degree, and Opening Day at Yankee Stadium was no different. Before a half full stadium the Yankees did everything they could to make Jeter's final home opener into a Yankees classic. They tried to get the crowd riled up to give Jeter a standing ovation during team introductions -- which didn't exactly happen, ironically -- and then brought out Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada for a first pitch of the "Core 4." Where's Bernie Williams? While it was one of many moments to come at Yankee Stadium for Jeter, he was probably happiest being on the field for the game, and happier with it's outcome. Jeter was the first to race out to the field when the Yankees finally took the field for the first inning, and was seen smiling and enjoying opening day as the day wore on. Meanwhile, he let his teammates carry New York's 4-2 victory over the Orioles. ...

YANKEES 7/ BLUE JAYS 3 Mashairo Tanaka welcome to Major League Baseball. Major League Baseball meet Mashairo Tanaka. It wasn't easy early on, but Tanaka settled in and delivered a solid performance in his first regular season game in pinstripes. Given an early 2-0 lead, Tanaka couldn't hold it -- maybe he had some early butterflies in his first start. He gave up a solo home run to Melky Cabrera on the third pitch of the first inning to cut the Yankees lead in half; and in the second inning, surrendered a two-run single to Jonathan Diaz to put Toronto in front 3-2. It would be the last time the Blue Jays would score on Tanaka. From that point Tanaka gave up only two hits and shutout down a very solid Blue Jays lineup. It was the kind of dominating performance that allowed his team to not only come back, but it sent the message that Tanaka is indeed ready for this new challenge in his career. The Yankees chose a good day to come out of their offensive doldrums. The...

When Daniel Murphy decided to spend time with his pregnant wife as she was about to deliver the couples child, little did he think it would create a firestorm that has now become a national storyline.  It all started on Opening Day when a few upset Mets fans decided to call into the radio stations questioning Murphy for skipping the Mets season opener to be with his family. The comments were initially brushed aside as incompetent comments from incredibly incompetent fans.  Then, WFAN radio hosts Mike Francesa, Craig Carton and Boomer Esaison decided to jump to the fray to lend their opinion on the matter, and their outrage over Murphy's decision to be a husband and father first was not only classless, it leaves a horrifically bad taste in the mouth about the talk radio giant, WFAN, and the hosts are now on the defensive.  It all started with Craig Carton who blasted Murphy for missing the first two games of the Mets season to be with his family in Florida, bec...

NATIONALS 8/ METS 2  If the first two days of the season weren't enough of a sign that things are amiss with the Mets, than final game of the clubs' opening series was the straw that broke the camels back. With their best pitcher on the mound, Zach Wheeler , and with full knowledge they would not face Nationals flamethrower Jordan Zimmerman, the Mets put together another stink fest en route to their first 0-3 start since 2005. In 2005, when the Mets opened 0-3, they would go onto finish with a record of 83-79. However that was a team that was expected to win. They had a veteran team with Mike Piazza, Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran, as well as two young stars in David Wright and Jose Reyes. It was the first year of what turned out to be the Mets mini-run. This year's club is not expected to do anything, and through three games they haven't. They look lost at the plate, having struck out a combined 31 times over the first two days, the bullpen is a nightmare,...

ASTROS 3/ YANKEES 1 Maybe the Houston Astros knew what they were doing by going all out to honor Yankees short stop Derek Jeter on Wednesday.  They trotted out Roger Clemens, Mike Stanton and Andy Pettitte, former Yankees teammates, who also pitched for the Astros about a decade ago, and gave Jeter all kinds of gifts from cowboy boots to golf clubs. And, to top it off, the Astros were actually selling Jeter jersey's in their store. Maybe the Astros were trying to light a fire under their team's butt in addition to making some money? Nothing should motivate a team more than when its own front office decides to honor the opposing team. If true, it worked as the Astros beat New York 3-1, and have dominated this series taking the first two contests. This from an Astros team that won all of 51 games last season! The Yankees through two games look old. Their lineup from seven through nine looks about as average as a National League lineup. The middle of the order with Al...

NATIONALS 5 / METS 1 Get used to seeing the words "lost" and "lifeless" when describing the Mets this season. Two days after their inexplicable 9-7 loss on Opening Day, the Mets put together a total stinker against the Nationals, Wednesday night, dropping a 5-1 decision . A team already reeling from the nightmarish opener and apparent incompetence by their baseball staff for allowing an injured pitcher (Bobby Parnell) to pitch, looked like they were already eliminated from the playoffs and this was only the second game of the season. Josh Satin was slumping his shoulders; Travis d'Arnaud looked bored; Chris Young looked disappointed after getting injured in the top of the first inning, and Bartolo Colon was ... well ... Bartolo Colon. Colon wasn't awful, but he wasn't good either. He allowed three runs on nine hits, including serving up a solo home run to opposing pitcher Gio Gonzalez in the fifth inning. The Gonzalez homer, which happened t...

Mets closer Bobby Parnell is more hurt than he led on apparently. Word came down from Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal that Parnell has a partially torn MCL ligament in his elbow, meaning that the inconsistent closer will hit the DL for two weeks and could require surgery at some point. It is quite ironic that Parnell suddenly gets diagnosed with an elbow injury after he imploded on the mound in the ninth inning of the Mets opening day game against Washington. It is even more troubling, considering that the pitcher said he felt "comfortable" on the mound after the game. Parnell was already coming off neck surgery last season, and his velocity was down Monday. The lack of velocity obviously had more to do with the now ligament injury than anything else. Yet the Mets felt the need to put him out there. If Parnell had already been injured and had already felt discomfort he should never have been placed on the 25 man roster to start the season. Those who believe that Parnell was...