COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

At least Kristaps Porzingis is no longer the Knicks problem, because the former Knick is facing huge legal trouble after a woman has accused him of rape. According to reports, the woman was allegedly raped over a year ago, but waited to tell authorities because she had discussed receiving $68,000 in hush money from Porzingis. Porzingis was still playing for the Knicks when the incident happened, ironically just hours after he sustained the ACL injury that ended his season -- and ultimately his Knicks career. ESPN reports that the Knicks made the Dallas Mavericks aware of the incident before finalizing a blockbuster trade to send the failing star to Big D. Of course the Knicks, Mavericks and Porizingis representation have imposed gag orders and are keeping quiet.

YANKEES 7 - ORIOLES 2  The Yankees picked up right where they left of in 2018. One of baseball's best offensive squads, the Yankees thumped the hapless Baltimore Orioles 7-2 at the Stadium to open the 2019 season.  First base has been a huge concern for Yankees fans all winter, until today. Slotted in the DH spot on Thursday, Luke Voit quieted the critics  when he crushed a 93-mph heater over the center field wall for a three-run bomb in the bottom of the first inning.  The homer catapulted the Yankees to victory, and was the perfect start for Voit, who added another RBI in the bottom of the fifth when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.  And speaking of Greg Bird, yes, he got into the action too. The lumbering first baseman went 1-for-4 on the day, connecting on a solo home run in the eighth to give the Yankees that 7-2 advantage.  All those runs were to the benefit of starter Mashairo Tanaka. Tanaka did jus...

METS 2 - NATIONALS 0  1-0, and it feels so good! Everything went according to plan for the Mets in their 2-0 victory over the Washington Nationals in DC on Thursday to open the season.   Not only did the win add to New York’s MLB best winning percentage in the opener, but a number of the integral and key pieces that made up the Mets offseason came through in the clutch. Of course, no one had a bigger impact than Robinson Cano, who went 2-for-4 and accounted for all the runs scored on the afternoon. It didn’t take Cano long to put his staple on the game. Taking a 1-1 change-up from Max Scherzer that hung over the middle of the plate, Cano slapped the ball over the center field wall for a solo home run to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. For the Mets it was the opening salvo that General Manager Brodie VanWagenen was hoping for when he swung the deal last December for the former Yankees All Star. In the eighth inning with Dominic Smith and Pete Alonso on base, C...

Mets fans can take a big sigh of relief.  Jacob deGrom  will be a  New York Met  for a very long time to come. After much deliberation and discussion the Mets and deGrom agreed to a five-year deal worth around $137.5 million in guaranteed money. The deal was struck just two days before deGrom's self-imposed opening day deadline to reach an agreement on a contract extension. The deal also comes nearly 48 hours after deGrom's teammate,  Noah Syndergaard  took on Mets team brass when he publicly expressed frustration that the 2018 NL Cy Young award winner had yet to receive a new deal.  deGrom, who was scheduled to make $17 million this season after winning his arbitration case during the winter, will now get $10 million at signing, and $7 million for this season, according to  Joel Sherman  of the  New York Post .  Moving forward, deGrom will make $23 million in 2020 and $33.5 million in 2021 and 2022, which includes an op...

Noah Syndergaard is mad as Hell, and he isn’t going to take it anymore. The Mets hard-throwing right-hander delivered some high heat in the direction of the teams’ front office and ownership when he spoke candidly about his unhappiness with Jacob deGrom’s contract situation and the Mets travel schedule. “Jake is the best pitcher in baseball right now,” Syndergaard told reporters, Sunday. “I think he deserves whatever amount he’s worth and I want to keep him happy so when it becomes time to reach free agency, he stays on our side and pitches for the Mets. I just think they should quit all this fuss and pay the man already.” The comments come a day after deGrom told reporters that he was “less than optimistic” that a deal would be struck between his new agent and the Mets by a deadline of Opening Day, March 28.   Should neither side strike a deal by then, deGrom said he would cut off talks on a deal until after the season concludes. Of course the pressure to get a deal d...

A group of Cy Young Award winners have singed long-term deals with their respective teams this week. And no, Jacob deGrom is not among that group. With less than a week to go before opening day, and deGrom’s self-imposed deadline to strike a deal with the Mets looming, there is no word on whether deGrom and the Mets are any closer to a long-term extension. And if you are a Mets fan, you have to be frustrated, confused, and maybe even angry. While deGrom’s contract status twists in the wind, the Tampa Bay Rays finalized a five-year $50 million deal with their Cy Young award winner, Blake Snell. Granted Snell is younger than deGrom; he’s only 26 compared to deGrom’s 30. And Snell won 21 games and pitched to a 1.89 ERA against American League lineups, one could argue that deGrom’s Cy Young season last year was more impressive. While he went only 10-9 on the win-loss record, deGrom consistently pitched at the top of his game inspite of the fact he got little to no run s...

Eli Manning is not going anywhere. And if you think he should, Giants General Manager David Gettleman probably feels you should get a life. Asked by reporters during a conference call if he still had confidence in the aging quarterback, Gettleman said: " This narrative Eli is overpaid and can't play is a crock," Gettleman told reporters Monday during a teleconference. "I'm telling you. So at the end of the day you guys got to say Gentleman's out of his mind, or he knows what he's talking about when he evaluates players. That's really what it is. That's really where it's at. "And I'm OK if you disagree with me, that's fine. But what I'm telling you is, if you turn around and look at what he's making right now and look around the league and see what quarterbacks are making, alright, if you were in my shoes you'd say, you know what, there really is not, the way he finished the season and what he's making, ther...

Here is today's podcast, a reaction and analysis of the Giants huge trade with the Cleveland Browns that has sent star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. packing.

Well, well, well that last post I did on the Jets offseason didn't age well. ;-) Welcome to the fast and furious world of the NFL Free Agent Frenzy. The Jets got their man. New York has signed former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell to a four year, $52 million contract with $35 million guaranteed. Incentives could push the deal over $61 million. The singing of Bell ends a ton of drama surrounding his potential signing in Green and White. Earlier Tuesday, it appeared the Jets would be on the outside looking in at the Bell sweepstakes with teams like the Raiders and Ravens heavily rumored to be involved for Bell's services. It got to the point Tuesday that the Jets set an unspecific deadline for Bell to notify them of his decision, making it looking it even more likely that this moment wouldn't have come to pass. But it has. After forgoing $14 million by sitting out for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bell now heads to the biggest pressure cooker in sports...

Yes this is real folks! Odell Beckham is no longer a member of the New York Giants. Big Blue sent Beckham, their talented and troubled star receiver, packing to the Cleveland Browns for a first round pick (17th overall) and third round pick (95th overall) in next month's draft and safety Jabrill Peppers. During an offseason where the Giants have sent mixed messages about what their intent was for 2019, it is pretty clear now that this season is about a complete and total rebuild. The first domino to fall was Landon Collins. Now Beckham. Could Eli Manning be next? More on that in a moment. To say Beckham's trade was stunning is an understatement. The Giants signed Beckham to a $98.5 million contract last summer, making it appear extremely unlikely they would trade him. Just the idea that some team would willingly eat the rest of that contract itself would have been a poison pill. But don't tell that to the Browns who wanted to add some star power to join their pola...

First Anthony Barr spurned the Jets on Tuesday morning, backing out of a deal that could have paid him anywhere between $14-$15 million a year, only to return to the Vikings instead. Then former Broncos center Matt Paradis spurned Gang Green by inking a three-year, $27 million with the Carolina Panthers, after it looked like the Jets were making progress on a deal on Monday. Now Le'Veon Bell is playing the Jets like a fiddle as he has yet to decide where he will ultimately sign, and the Jets have invoked a deadline for the former Steelers running back to make a decision. Yup, it has been a bad 24 hours for the Jets. Think about it; when people put their heads down to sleep on Monday night, the Jets had linebackers Anthony Barr, CJ Mosley and wide receiver Jamison Crowder  "locked up" with the prospect of potentially adding Bell and Paradis. Now the Jets are just trying to save face. You can blame the player agents all you want, but the fact is their job is to ge...

This is why the Jets will always be the Jets. Last night at around 8 p.m. it was reported that Anthony Barr would leave the Vikings for the Jets for a multi-year deal. While no figures were released it was assumed he would be getting around $14 million, and would switch the outside linebacker. Oh how cruel the world can be for the Jets. According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, Barr has backed out of a verbal agreement with the Jets and will return to the Vikings instead. This is a huge blow to the Jets who were hopping that Barr would be that veteran edge rusher they desperately needed. Mike Garafolo ‏ Verified account   @MikeGarafolo Follow Follow  @ MikeGarafolo More Plot twist! LB Anthony Barr has decided to agree to terms to remain with the #Vikings , sources say. He will not be a member of the #Jets after all. 12:45 PM - 12 Mar 2019  With so many edge rushers now off the open market the Jets are in desperate straits for a pass rusher...

The Jets are off to a flying start in free agency this year. Hours after agreeing to terms with former Redskins wide receiver Jamison Crowder, the Jets inked two more players on Monday and have their eyes set on a few more prizes before all deals are official on Wednesday. First Gang Green signed special teamer Josh Bellamy to a two-year deal worth $7 million to give the club some added depth at wide receiver and specials. Bellamy's numbers don't exactly jump off the page, but his familiarity with head coach Adam Gase when the two were in Chicago was an attraction here. The bigger signing came late Monday when the Jets signed former Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr to a mega contract. While terms of the deal were not released on Monday night, it is believed to be around $14 million a year -- a figure the cash strapped Vikings were not going to meet. While Barr has 13.5 career sacks, the Jets plan to use him on the outside in Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams' 3-...

The Jets are wasting no time. With $92 million to play with General Manager Mike Maccagnan is busy making moves. The Jets are expected to sign former Redskins wide receiver Jamison Crowder.  The news was first reported by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.  According to Adam Schefter the Jets will give Crowder a three-year $28.5 million deal that includes $17 million guaranteed.  Last season, Crowder was limited to nine games due to an ankle injury. Before the injury he was a safety valve for Washington's plethora of quarterbacks. Two years ago, Crowder hauled in 104 catches for 789 yards and three touchdowns. In 2016, he caught 97 passes for 847 yards and seven scores. So obviously this is a guy, when healthy, who has good speed inside and can find the end zone.  Crowder's addition could mean the end of Jermaine Kearse. Kearse really underwhelmed last season, recording only 76 catches for 371 yards and one score, his worst season on record since 2013. He is a free a...