COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

January 26 will be a day that will forever live in infamy. At around 3 p.m. word came down that Los Angeles Lakers legend and five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant passed away in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. He was one of five people who perished. One of the victims was Bryant's 13-year old daughter, Gianna Bryant, according to ESPN. The other victims are reportedly another player and a parent, their identities have not been released. Nobody survived the crash. Reports are that Bryant was on his way to his Mamba Academy. Bryant, and his daughter, are survived by his wife, Vanessa and three children. The tragedy comes less than 14 hours after current Lakers star LeBron James passed Bryant for third place on the NBA's All Time Scoring List. The tragic news is hard to stomach. Bryant was not only of the greatest players in the history of the sport, but was of the toughest competitors, and accomplished family men out there. The accolades and shock has been wide...

Giants quarterback Eli Manning is stepping away from the game. The two-time Super Bowl MVP retired Wednesday, ending a solid 16-year NFL career that had plenty of ups and downs, and was highlighted by two Super Bowl triumphs over the New England Patriots. Manning leaves Big Blue holding almost every franchise passing record. In what turned out to be his final NFL season, Manning started the first two of the season, both losses, before former Head Coach Pat Charmer benched him in favor of Daniel Jones in Week 3. Manning wouldn't see the field again until Week 14 when Jones suffered a high-ankle injury, keeping him out of a Monday Night match-up in Philadelphia. Manning started the Eagles game and played well, despite the loss. Manning's final start for the Giants came in Week 15 at home against Miami, where he completed 20 of 28 passes for 283 yards, a pair of touchdowns and three interceptions in the Giants 36-20 victory that snapped a nine-game losing streak. It ...

The Mets search for a new manager after the termination of Carlos Beltran has concluded. New York chose long time minor league manager Luis Rojas as the club's new skipper, agreeing to a multi-year deal. Rojas is not a name that is going to jump out to most Mets fans, in fact, many people probably have never even heard of Luis Rojas. Here is a little recap: - Rojas spent eight seasons as a manager in the Mets farm system rising from Rookie ball to Single-A, High-A and Double-A, accumulating a .539 winning percentage and 555 wins on the way. - He is well regarded by both players and front office personnel in the Mets organization. Pete Alonso praised the move saying on Twitter:"Loved having Luis in '17 and '18 as my AA manager! It's awesome playing under him and having  him on the staff last year as well!!" Pitcher Marcus Stroman added: "Luis Rojas! Love, Love, Love it. Loved being around him on the bench last year. Always teaching and full of kn...

You could almost hear the bellow of the late great Gene Shepherd announcing Derek Jeter to the plate. "Numbah 2"is heading to Cooperstown after locking down 396 of the maximum 397 votes needed for induction, or 99.7 percent. Nearly perfect, albeit just one vote shy of joining his former Yankees teammate Mariano Rivera as unanimous entries into the Hall of Fame. It is odd, and, even sad that even after the announcement all Yankees fans, and baseball fans in general for that matter, could talk about was the identity of the lone non-voter, as if it carried the kind of national importance like the identity of Deep Throat or the Zapruder tapes. Really, seriously, who cares? Whether it be 99.7 percent or 100 percent, it does not change the fact that Derek Jeter is in the Hall of Fame where he belongs after a storied career in pinstripes. A lifetime .310 hitter, Jeter played all of his 20 years in Major League Baseball in the Bronx. He played with an old school flare in...

What is happening with the Mets managerial search?   It’s really the biggest question hovering over the franchise since former Manager Carlos Beltran was named in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal and subsequently lost his job last Thursday. As we move into another week, it appears more and more likely that the Mets are going in-house. While almost everyone was busy watching the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers stamp their tickets to Miami for Super Bowl LIV on Sunday, presumptive managerial candidate Dusty Baker was busy hoping on a plane to Houston to interview for the Astros job. When asked by reporters if he had heard from the Mets, Baker said he had not. “Like I said, I’m busy, I haven’t heard from anybody and its first come, first serve and everybody likes to feel like they are wanted,” Baker said. Then on Monday night, New York Post columnist Mike Puma reported that the Mets front office has been stuck in “paralysis … on how to proceed”...

Giants vs. Cowboys is about to get a whole lot more interesting next fall. Big Blue has finalized a deal with former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett to become the club's offensive coordinator. Garrett is no stranger to the Giants; he was a back-up quarterback for New York from 2000 to 2003, and is well regarded within the organization. Garrett, of course was fired just two weeks ago by the Cowboys after a lengthy, and at times, bizarre 10-year stay as Cowboys head coach. Bringing Garrett into New York could be a huge boon for new Giants head coach Joe Judge. Judge has never been a head coach at any level and will definitely pick the brain of Garrett who is very familiar with the personnel in the entire division, including Dallas.  Garrett's primary job will be to tutor quarterback Daniel Jones and get this Giants offense humming on a more consistent basis. While Jones showed flashes last season, he was troubled by turnovers, specifically fumbles. Garrett's...

Also seen on Amazin' Clubhouse. Now that Carlos Beltran tenure as Mets manager is over faster than you can say “Bill Belichick,”the focus for the Mets turns to the next challenge, finding a new manager as soon as possible with Spring Training set to begin in less than four weeks. Obviously this is not an ideal position to be in, but the Mets find themselves in this spot because they hired a manager who was heavily linked to the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal that has rocked the entire sport. Like it or not, the Mets had to move on from Beltran. The pressure was mounting, the evidence could only become more damning by the day, and to ask a first year manager in the pressure cooker that is New York to handle it all was asking a lot. This is not to say fans should completely write-off the 2020 season, quite the contrary. The Mets have an opportunity to truly get this right, and hire a manager who can grab the reins, settle the turmoil and lead the franchise. H...

The Carlos Beltran era is over before it ever truly started. Beltran and the New York Mets mutually agreed to part ways nearly four whole days after Commissioner Rob Manfred named Beltran in his nine-page report on sign-stealing within the Houston Astros organization in 2017. While Beltran was a player, and received immunity from punishment by the commissioner because of that status, he was named in the report for a reason and many believe he was an intricate member and participant in the cheating scheme. On Thursday the Mets made it official, just minutes after COO Jeff Wilpon concluded a sign dedication ceremony for Mike Piazza, where the Mets boss got snippy with reporters over questions regarding the former star center fielder. "We met with Carlos last night and again this morning and agreed to mutually part ways. This is not an easy decision. Considering the circumstances, it became clear to all parties that it was not in anyone's best interest for Carlos to m...

Should the Mets fire Carlos Beltran? Will it happen sooner rather than later? Well the pressure continues to mount three days after Commissioner Rob Manfred published a nine-page report detailing the League's decision to levy penalties on the Houston Astros for the sign-stealing scandal. Since Manfred's decision to suspend Astros manager A.J. Hinch and General Manager Jeff Luhnow for a full year, both Hinch and Luhnow have been fired. Alex Cora, the supposed architect of the scheme was fired by the Boston Red Sox. Many believe Cora used similar tactics in Boston in 2018 -- the year the Sox won the World Series. MLB has yet to levy its penalty on Cora, but its coming. As for Beltran, who was named in the report, the question over what the Mets will do has been the topic of discussion. And it isn't going away.  Mark Teixeira an ESPN baseball analyst and former teammate of Beltran's when they played together on the Yankees, has joined a wide and long chorus calling...

Major League Baseball has come down hard on the Houston Astros for the sign-stealing scandal, suspending Astros Manager A.J. Hinch and General Manager Jeff Luhnow for one year for their roles in allowing cheating to take place during Houston's 2017 World Series Championship run. After the suspension was levied by Major League Baseball, the Astros turned around and fired both Hinch and Luhnow from their jobs. In addition, ESPN is reporting Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who was an integral member of the Astros coaching staff in 2017 is in danger of facing a heavy suspension for not only his efforts in the Astros scandal, but a similar scandal with the Red Sox during their World Series run in 2018. Mets manager Carlos Beltran, who was a player on the Astros in 2017, and was rumored to be an integral member of the scandal, is not facing a suspension because he was a player. MLB is also fining the Astros $5 million and taking away their first and second round draft picks in 2020 ...

It will be a day that will live in infamy in the minds of many Giants fans everywhere. The New York Giants settled on a new head coach Tuesday morning, but it wasn't the one many thought would come to the Big Apple. Early Tuesday, Matt Rhule, the supposed favorite for the job, and media darling for that matter, opted instead to sign with the Carolina Panthers for a whopping $70 million over six years with full control of his staff.  According to various reports he phoned the Giants with whom he was to meet today, and asked them to match the Panthers offer. They didn't, and Rhule signed with Carolina. As a result, the Giants went ahead and signed former Patriots special teams and wide receivers coach Joe Judge to be the head coach of this football team.  Joe Judge who virtually nobody outside of New England knows, and who comes to New York as another Bill Belichick wiz-kid disciple. How will this work out is anyone's guess, but one thing is certain the Giants don...

The New York Giants head coach search took a very circuitous twist Monday morning when news came down that the Dallas Cowboys hired former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy for their vacancy. The news came down just days after the Cowboys dismissed Jason Garrett after ten years on the job. As was reported by Fox Sports Jay Glazer o n Sunday, Garrett refused to accept being fired by the Cowboys, despite Dallas brass telling him consistently that he was indeed out. At the same time, Glazer reported McCarthy was interviewing with Dallas for a second straight day. That was on Sunday. By Monday morning it was done deal, McCarthy was now the head man of the Cowboys. Let's be honest this a brilliant move for Jerry Jones and company. They get an experienced head coach with a Super Bowl on his resume. Yes, McCarthy had his issues with Green Bay toward the end of his tenure, the infamous Bleacher Report story about McCarthy's final days with the Packers did him no fav...

Brodie Van Wagenen is at it again. The New York Mets braggadocios General Manager once again put people on notice with another blank check statement that is sure to get him in hot water with both fans and the press. During the introductory press conference for reliever Dellin Betances, Van Wagenen boastfully proclaimed the Mets current bullpen as one of the best in baseball.   That’s right, the same bullpen that still has Edwin Diaz and Jeurys Familia slated to patrol the late innings is, according to Van Wagenen, right up there with the likes of the Houston Astros and New York Yankees.   “This signing was intended to blow the cover off our ceiling,” Van Wagenen was only warming up. “we believe that a healthy and dominant Dellin combined with Seth Lugo, Justin Wilson, Edwin Diaz, Jeruys Familia, Brad Brock and Robert Gsellman. This collective group has the potential to be one of the best in baseball.” You got to be kidding me, right? That is one heck of st...

One of the great minds of the modern National Basketball Association has been silenced. David Stern passed away New Year's Day. He was 77.  According to reports Stern passed away due to complications from a brain hemorrhage that he suffered three weeks ago. His passing was as sudden as it was shocking, sending shockwaves across the NBA. Stern was considered by many to be the best professional sports commissioner of the modern era. In a time when Major League Baseball struggled with steroids, the NFL with the Patriots cheating practices, and the NHL with a season long lockout back in 2004 and 2005, Stern's NBA stood apart. Yes, there were issues. The lockout of 1998 cut the 98-99 season to 50 games. And there was another lockout in 2011 that cut the season to 66 games. And surely Seattle fans are not going to forgive Stern for allowing their beloved Sonics to leave town for Oklahoma City.  But beyond that, the NBA became a revenue machine under his watch. He helped ma...

Happy New Year 2020 folks. And what better way to ring in the new year and decade than a podcast about a coach getting the pink slip. Seriously though, the Giants are looking for a new head coach after dismissing Pat Shurmur on Monday, and the rumor mill is on fire ever since. I sat down with Doug Rush of Giants Wire on USA Today to discuss the Giants plans, enjoy!