COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

Those expecting the New York Yankees to go out and make a big time trade this year can now forget it. With the non-waiver trade deadline now come and gone, the Yankees probably did the smartest thing, keeping their small crop of top minor league talent in tact, which making a couple of small moves that can be seen as band aids for the rest of this season . The Yankees made a rare swap with the Boston Red Sox for back-up infielders, with the Bombers getting Stephen Drew and the Sox getting Kelly Johnson in return. New York then dealt minor league catcher Pete O'Brien to Arizona for infielder Martin Prado. In response to these moves the Yankees also released Brian Roberts, designating him for assignment. Both Drew and Prado are not going to set the world on fire, but they can stabilize the Yankees to get through the rest of this season with a couple of hard working grinders. Drew is a guy that the Yankees tried to sign in the off-season but were unsuccessful. In fact a lot of ...

There is a flawed sense of destiny flowing from somewhere in New York right about now. That flawed feeling is emanating from tiny Citi Field in Queens, New York. Yes, the pit of hopeless dreams, invisible fans, and bad baseball, the New York Mets think they are players again. Specifically, the New York Mets "think" they are now ready to make a big time splash and land either or both Colorado Rockies superstars Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez. Years ago such a notion would be a move that former GM Omar Minaya would get done in his sleep, no matter how deep it would plunge the Mets into salary cap hell. Yet here were are at a crossroads in the Sandy Alderson era. Are the Mets really ready to spend big bucks? Are the Wilpons ready to open the safes and checkbooks again after watching them get burned by Bernie Madoff and a bad product on the field? Well, if the rumors that have run rampant this week are true, then the answer is, YES! The Mets want to make a move, but ...

CC Sabathia's season is over. His career, thankfully, is not. That is the news the Yankees received on Friday regarding their former All Star pitcher, who will avoid microfracture surgery on his right knee, that not only would have ended his season, but his career as well. Instead, Sabathia will have arthroscopic debridement surgery next week, which, if all goes well, will allow him to return to the Yankees in 2015 . Sabathia, who was having his worst season since joining the Yankees, injured the knee during the season, but felt it become truly unmanageable after his final start on May 10. He finished the season with only three wins and an ERA of 5.28. In a lot of ways Sabathia's tenure with the Yankees has been nothing but tumultuous. After winning a World Series with the team back in 2009, he has seen his career go on a sharp decline, especially the past two seasons. Since 2013, he is 17-17 with a 4.87 ERA. To combat his struggles on the mound, Sabathia put himself ...

Breaking News: Derek Jeter is retiring. If you have been hiding under a rock, or, if you've just landed from another planet, you would be in a strong minority, because for the past five months we have been saying good-bye to the Yankees shortstop with no end in sight. In fact the Jeter retirement party has gotten so stretched out that it no longer carries any real resonance anymore. Don't get me wrong, I am not here to bash Derek Jeter. I am not here to call the Yankees the Evil Empire. I am here to call a balk on the mainstream media for taking the career of one player (a very good player), and making into the Greatest Retirement of All Time! Jeter has been one of the greatest players of his generation. With the smokescreen of steroids overshadowing the game, it was players like Jeter; his teammate Mariano Rivera, and even Ken Griffey Jr., who cut through the fog to give fans some indelible moments that will never be forgotten. Jeter had plenty of monumental moments ...

For better or for worse the Knicks have their man. Carmelo Anthony is coming back to the Garden in 2014-15, after inking a five year deal worth $124 million, some five million dollars less than the maximum he could have made if he put the Knicks feet to the fire. Anthony's motive is clear, he wants the Knicks to go out and get him some help. It has not been easy, nor fun for the All Star to play basically by himself, surrounded by a hobbled Amare' Stoudemire, or fellow ball-hog extraordinaire, J.R. Smith. Anthony put all the pressure on himself the past few years, and if Phil Jackson's assumptions are correct, that is part of the reason why Anthony has played so poorly in crunch time. "“It depends how quickly our team evolves,’’ Jackson said of how soon the club will be in title contention. “If we evolve as a team, we can do it rather quickly. If we’re still going to sit and rely on Carmelo to do everything, it’s not going to happen," ( NY Post 7/13/1...

Well Knicks fans, here's the good news, Phil Jackson is close to making a move this off-season. Here's the bad news: Carmleo Anthony might be coming back. Love him or hate him. Adore his offense, abhor his defense. Carmelo Anthony is not going anywhere, according to Frank Isola of the NY Daily News . The News reports that Anthony will sign the max deal to stay in New York City where his family is most comfortable; yet there are also conflicting reports from Ken Berger of CBS, and even Anthony's agent that paint a different picture. According to a Tweet by Berger, Anthony has yet to tell the Knicks of a decision to stay in New York or sign elsewhere. Anthony's agent Leon Rose told ESPN that his client still is deciding between the Knicks and Lakers. So there is definitely still a lot of grey area on this story. Until Anthony officially puts ink to paper on a contract, there should be no certainty that he will return to the Knicks. Anthony was courted by the Roc...

The Nets are not wasting any time in putting the Jason Kidd fiasco behind them. The franchise is close to finalizing a contract with former Memphis Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins. Rumors are that it will be a multi-year deal that will pay Hollins roughly $4 million a season. The signing of Hollins give the Nets much needed stability. He was a winner with the Grizzlies, turning a dead franchise that had moved from Vancouver in the early 2000s' into a perennial playoff contender by 2010. He led the Griz to the 2013 Western Conference Finals before parting ways when the two parties couldn't agree on a contract extension. Hollins has spent the past season watching from the sidelines, and has been a favorite of Nets officials for some time. He was a candidate for the job last summer, and was approached to replace Lawrence Frank as Kidd's top assistant in December. Hollins brings to the Nets a coach who has veteran experience both as a winner and mentor. He found a...

The Brooklyn Nets said good bye and good riddance to the major distraction that had become their now former head coach, Jason Kidd. Kidd was finally sent packing to Milwaukee in exchange for two second round picks, one in 2015 and another in 2019. Not a bad exchange for a head coach who went through a rather odd first season on the bench after a Hall of Fame playing career. Kidd proved one thing during this entire bizarre process: he's not a good man. Kidd tried everything he could to make a power play to take the rug out from underneath Nets GM Billy King, going as far as to ask owner Mikhail Prokhorov if he would promote him to General Manger with final say on all personnel matters. Give Prokhorov credit, he didn't let Kidd's status as a HOF player and the best player in franchise history sway his decision making. He allowed his General Manager Billy King to make the move to move Kidd out of town in exchange for two minor future draft picks that may or may not resul...