COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

YANKEES 8 - METS 7 Game 1 YANKEES 5 - METS 2 Game 2 It was the tale of two teams. On one side the New York Yankees, who ended a seven-game losing streak on a walk-off wild pitch on Saturday, twice came from behind, using extra innings to beat back a stubborn Mets squad to get themselves back on track in the American League East.  On the other side, a golden opportunity slipped through the Mets fingers. They had a chance to win every single game of this Subway Series, and probably, and most certainly should have won at least four of them.  Instead the Mets limped back to Citi Field four games under .500 rather then being at the .500 mark. A weekend that has been emblematic of their troubled season.  Game 1 looked like it was going to be all Mets. The Amazin's built a 7-2 lead behind a two-run blast by Robinson Cano in the fourth inning, a two-run double by Michael Conforto an inning later, and a hit by pitch of Pete Alonso with the bases loaded in the sixth. Everything was...

METS 6 - YANKEES 4 Game 1 METS 4 - YANKEES 3 Game 2 The Mets and Yankees right now are two drastically different ball clubs, and it isn't the way you would think. The Mets walked into Yankee Stadium and came back twice to take two games away from the battered, struggling Bronx Bombers 6-4, and 4-3 to sent the Yanks to a seven game losing streak. The skid is the worst Yankee losing streak since 2017.  The star of day and evening was Mets outfielder/DH Dom Smith who went a combined 3-for-5 in the two games with a home run, double and two RBI. Smith's solo shot off Chad Green in the top of the sixth inning of Game 1 gave the Mets a 5-4 lead after trailing much of the day by a count of 4-1. The heroics came just two days after Smith cried in front of the press to decry the police involved shooting Jacob Blake in Wisconsin, a shooting that is still under investigation. There are reports Blake had a warrant out of his arrest.  Still, the Mets rallied behind Smith -- joining the Miam...

 According to multiple reports hedge fund manager Steve Cohen is once again close to becoming majority owner of the New York Mets.  Cohen, whose initial $2.6 billion offer fell through back in February, is said to have won his latest bid after Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez dropped out of the process, leaving Cohen the top bidder. According to reports Mets President and co-owner Saul Katz played a key roll in pushing talks toward Cohen.  According to the New York Post, Cohen's latest offer is around $2.4 billion, less than $200,000 off his  initial offer.  It is not clear how the deal will work out this time, as Mets are currently in negotiations with Cohen, but word is Jeff Wilpon, who played a key roll in killing the deal the first time was not part of the negotiations this time.  When Cohen and Wilpon's last met to negotiate, the Wilpon's wanted to remain part of the power structure and refused to give up control of the Mets television network, SNY. E...

 The New York Mets have thrown themselves right into the midst of the sports-wide protest on social injustice, and in so doing have created their own controversy after a video leaked of General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen criticizing Commissioner Rob Manfred for his supposed handling of the crisis.   In a 50-second video leaked online from the Mets press room, that was somehow discovered online by 20-year old Nick Albicocco, features a masked Van Wagenen rocking a chair back and forth while talking to someone in the background about the Mets and Miami Marlins potentially protesting Thursday night’s finale of a four-game series.   In the video, Van Wagnenen indicates that Manfred wanted to Mets to take the field at 7:10, protest, and then come off the field for one-hour only to play the game at 8:10.    “At the leadership level he doesn’t get it. He just doesn’t get it,” a frustrated Van Wagenen states.    Turns out that was not the case. T...

 The return of the NBA season might be in serious jeopardy after the sport unanimously decided to postpone all of it's playoff games scheduled for Wednesday night in protest of the police involved shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin.  The sports world has been turned upside down already this year by COVID-19, but ever since the death of George Floyd in Minnesota in June, racial tensions across the country have been ratcheted up and professional sports jumped right into the frying pan with both feet in, and have not looked back.  The NBA has led the charge. From the slogan of "Black Lives Matter" plastered across courts in Orlando, to players kneeling in solidarity during the playing of the National Anthem, to having social justice slogans stitched to the backs of their jerseys -- it has been a surreal situation to say the least. Wednesday's events only added to it. The night's events started when the Milwaukee Bucks opted not to play their Game 5 match-up with t...

 ISLANDERS 4 - FLYERS 0  NYI Lead Series 1-0  No team in hockey, let alone sports right now, seems to be hotter than the New York Islanders. The Isles won for the sixth time in their last seven playoff games, earning a 4-0 shutout of the Philadelphia Flyers in Game One of the Eastern Conference Semi's. It was the second straight 4-0 victory for the Isles who won by that identical score in the series clincher against Washington.  The Islanders were led in net by Semyon Varlamov, who shut down the Flyers on 29 shots for his second straight shutout. He has not allowed a goal since Game 5 against the Capitals. Overall, Varlamov has posted a record of 7-2 in these playoffs with a 1.67 Goals Against Average, which is almost a whole goal less than what he allowed during the regular season.  For a while offensively Andy Greene's first period goal was all the scoring in Game 1 as Varlamov made it stand up. By the third period, the Isles finally gave their netminder the ...

 The New York Mets will be back in action tonight when they welcome the visiting Miami Marlins to Citi Field for four game series that will include a make-up doubleheader on Tuesday. The DH makes up the game that was canceled in South Beach last week when two Mets (a player and employee) tested positive for Coronavirus.  Jesse Rogers of ESPN reported Monday both the player and employee are feeling better. Major League Baseball meanwhile confirmed that the Mets had tested negative for the virus on Monday, allowing the team to resume play after taking four days off.  As for the Subway Series that was whipped away this past weekend because of the virus scare, the Mets and New York Yankees will play two double-headers this weekend, one on Friday, the other on Sunday.  Both teams share a common off day on September 3 to make up the final game of the lost series at Citi Field.  The Mets will play nine games in six days as a result, but they are not the only team to d...

 The New York Mets are now the latest baseball team to contract the Coronavirus, and as a result they will see the postponement of games for at least a couple of days.  Two members of the organization, one player and one staffer are  believed to have tested positive according to Jeff Passon of ESPN .   The Mets game against the Miami Marlins in South Florida was postponed; New York had won the first three games of the series. In a corresponding move, the opener of the Subway Series between the Mets and Yankees at Citi Field, scheduled for Friday, August 21 has also been postponed.  The Mets were expected to fly back to New York, although the two members who have the virus, and anyone who was in close contact with them would stay in Miami.  For now the Yankees-Mets series is expected to resume Saturday, but considering the rash of delays and postponements that have taken place in Major League Baseball this year due to COVID-19, it would not ...

 ISLANDERS 2 - CAPITALS 1  NYI lead series 3 - 0  Barry Trotz's New York Islanders are not fooling around in this postseason bubble. The Isles took a commanding 3-0 series lead agianst Trotz's former team, the Washington Capitals, beating them 2-1 in Game 3.  The Islanders were led by goalie Semyon Varlanov, who recorded 22 saves Sunday, and is registering a .921 goals against average the last five games in net for the Isles.  It didn't take long for New York to get on the board as Anders Lee scored on an assist by Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock to take a 1-0 lead. After Washington tied it mid-way through the second period, the Isles won it in OT on a goal by Matthew Brazal.  The Islanders can wrap up the series as soon as Tuesday night. 

 Who needs three All Star players when you got players like Mike Ford?  Ok, let's be fair, the Yankees really could use D.J. LeMahieu, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton back soon, but until then they are doing just fine. The Bombers won their sixth in a row behind a huge night from Mike Ford in a 4-2 victory over the Red Sox.  Ford, playing first base Sunday night, was 2-for-4 with a homer and 3 RBI in the victory. His RBI single in the first inning that scored Gio Urshela gave New York a 1-0 lead. Two innings later, Ford was at in again, blasting a two-run shot to right to give the Yanks a 4-1 advantage.  Aaron Hicks also added an RBI on a double in the second inning.  On the mound JA Happ had a rare good outing for the Bombers. He held the Sox to a run on three hits over five and two-thirds innings of work to get his first win of the season. The bullpen, as per usual was on point, including Zach Britton who struck out the side in the ninth to earn his eighth s...

Nearly 40 percent of the season is in the books, and the Mets (9-14) sit in last place in the National League East.   The pain for fans was only exasperated Sunday when former Met hurler Zach Wheeler tossed seven quality innings to defeat his old team 6-2 as the Philadelphia Phillies completed a three-game sweep at Citizen’s Bank Park of the lowly, struggling Metropolitans. What makes matters worse the Mets were a dismal 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position over the final two games of the series, and left nine men on base.   Sure there were moments during the series like home runs by Dom Smith and Robby Cano on Friday, but as has been the case all year, those moments have been fleeting.   The facts are the Mets haven’t been good at all this year. Pete Alonso has been pressing, hitting .214 on the year --- a shell of his Rookie of the Year self. Wilson Ramos, Brandon Nimmo and Amed Rosario have all struggled at the plate, while J.D. Davis has struggled def...

Give the Yankees depth credit once again, they keep getting battered with injuries but just keep on compiling wins.  In the last two days, the Bronx Bombers have seen its 2018 and 2019 team MVPs, Aaron Judge and D.J. LeMahieu go down with injuries, yet they keep on clicking - riding a four game winning streak into a Sunday night showdown with the Red Sox.  In fact the Bombers have scored 21 runs and bashed four homers in the last two games combined against Boston.  Of course it helps to play arguably the worst team in the American League right now in the Boston Red Sox.  Notwithstanding the injuries are of concern. LeMahieu suffered what is being diagnosed as a strained right thumb, an injury he incurred during an awkward swing on Saturday night. Manager Aaron Boone revealed there was no break and that LeMahieu would undergo an MRI.  As for Judge he was placed on the IL earlier this week with a Grade 1 mild calf strain. Boone and the Yankees are hopeful that it ...

 The State Department Office of the Inspector General is recommending further investigation take place into allegations about New York Jets owner Robert "Woody" Johnson, who is the Ambassador to the United Kingdom.  Last month, allegations surfaced that Johnson had made inappropriate remarks to staffers about race and  women. Earlier this week, the State Department Office of the Inspector General released a 43-page dossier that both "downplays" the allegations, and also criticizes the Jets owner for creating a work environment where staffers were "impacted by the Ambassadors demanding, hard driving work style and it had a negative impact on morale." To read the full report click here!!     The report also notes that Johnson grew "frustrated with what he interpreted to be excessive caution and resistance to suggestions about which he felt strongly," and questioned the intentions of those involved, hinting at replacing people. CNN reported that th...

 There will be no college football this fall out of the Big 10 and Pac-12, a decision made by both conferences that is sure to reverberate like an earthquake on many levels through the sport of football, throughout college athletics, and throughout the ways in which institutions finance themselves.  As many have pointed out, no college football this year could mean a loss of some $4 billion in business. College Towns as they are called like Ann Arbor, Michigan, home of the Michigan Wolverines, and Columbus, Ohio, home of the Ohio State Buckeyes make boatloads of cash during football season.  Bu siness is a booming during the fall from last August through early December for college towns across America.  Not to mention, the institutions themselves use football as a way to garner strong revenue for their other programs. Women's soccer, volleyball, Men's soccer. Their success and failure in many cases hinges on how much revenue football brings in from sponsorships, tick...

 RAYS 4 - YANKEES 3  As great a start to the 2020 season the Yankees had, there has to be concern now as the Bronx Bombers still can't get good quality starts from people not named Gerrit Cole.  Today's example: James Paxton.  And to think at around 3:00 Sunday, the storyline was going to be much different. Through six innings Paxton had silenced the critics, allowing one a single hit while striking out 11 Tampa hitters as the Yankees held a 3-0 lead.  After struggling so much his first two starts against Washington and Boston, Paxton gave the Yankees the kind of start they were hoping from the tall lefty.  Then things fell apart in the seventh. A double by Jose Martinez got the ball rolling for the Rays, and it was all downhill for Paxton from there. With an runner on second and one out, Michael Brosseau took the third fasteball he saw in sequence from Paxton and deposited it over the left field wall for a two-run homer to cut the Yanks lead to 3-2.  ...

  METS 4 - MARLINS 2  Jacob deGrom looked uncharacteristically uncomfortable. The two-time Cy Young Award winner who has dazzled as the Mets ace for the better part of three years was having a rare off day. He was missing with his fastball. His change-up didn't have the typical bite, and his slider was just good enough.  In the top of the second inning, deGrom found himself in a precarious situation. He walked the first two batters to face him before giving up an infield single to Jesus Alvarez. At that point the concern on deGrom's face was too much to bare. Manager Luis Rojas, pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and the Mets training staff had to make their way out to the mound to check on deGrom. He was favoring the middle and index fingers on his throwing hand.  Not a good look. With the bases loaded and one out it looked like deGrom would not be long for this day. But that is why deGrom is the best pitcher in baseball.  After falling behind 2-0 to Monte Harrison, ...

So far this season the Yankees have been rolling right along. With fears of COVID-19 hovering over the sport, the re-scheduling of a series against the Phillies and Orioles due to COVID concerns, and a recent slump where the club has lost four of its last five, the Bronx Bombers still find themselves in great position -- first place in the AL East at 10-5.  Now the Yanks have another obstacle in front of them: Giancarlo Stanton 's hamstring. Stanton suffered the injury while running the bases against the Tampa Bay Rays during a double-header on Saturday.  "He hasn't had an MRI yet," Boone told the press on Sunday. "He will get that on Monday."  Stanton who was hitting well in the early season, .293 with three home runs and seven RBI in 14 starts will spend the next 10 days on the Injury List.  The Yankees recalled Thairo Estrada from the Alternate Site to take Stanton's place on the roster.  Obviously Stanton's injury history is something to be worri...

The gripping mystery of what happened to Yoenis Cespedes now has a fitting conclusion. According to General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen, the Mets outfielder/DH decided to opt out of the 2020 season citing Coronavirus concerns. The announcement came as a bit of a surprise after the Mets issued a statement earlier in the day Sunday stating that they had no idea concerning the whereabouts of Cespedes, and any communication with the outfielder failed. Cespedes never showed up to the ballpark - a game the Mets would lose to the Atlanta Braves 4-0 to drop to 3-7 on the season. During the Mets post game press conference, Van Wagenen told reporters that he had finally made contact with Cespedes and found out mid-game that the left fielder decided to opt out of the season. The Mets GM added that the team sent hotel security to his room and found it empty, all of Cespedes stuff was packed up. According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, Cespedes got up and left and through his agent informed the team of ...

Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes is M.I.A. , and the Mets do not know where he is. Talk about a bad look and a scary moment all wrapped into one. In a moment that is so fitting for 2020, Mets General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen issued a statement that Cespedes did not reach out to management with any explanation for his absence, and any attempt to contact Cespedes has completely and totally failed. There is no telling where Cespedes is, nor is there a reason why he left the team, and if he is anywhere in the Atlanta area. The Mets Designated Hitter was hitting .161 with two homers and four RBI in 31-at bats this season. The Mets are mired in last place in the NL East at 3-6, having lost four games where they have had a lead into the seventh inning. The news comes as MLB is struggling with COVID-19 as three teams have had positive cases, namely the Marlins with a total of 21 players and coaches combined last week. The St. Louis Cardinals have had about a half dozen cases this weekend, whi...

Jets linebacker C.J. Mosely is opting out of playing football this season due to concerns over COVID-19. Mosely joins a growing list of NFL players that includes six New England Patriots and Giants left tackle Nate Solder to opt out for health reasons. Jets C.J. Mosley opted out of the 2020 season. The hit is a huge one to the Jets, who would have loved to have had a healthy Mosley back this season to along with a healthy Avery Williamson to anchor the middle of the Jets defense. Last season both players were lost for the season with injuries. Mosley was due to make $16 million this season, and already received $10 million in a roster bonus in March. He will not lose anything financially by opting out and the Jets won't be on the hook for this season because of the opt out. The news also comes just a few days after the Jets traded away safety Jamal Adams to the Seattle Seahawks for draft picks, including two first rounders, and safety Bradley McDougald. While the Jets are considere...

What is Commissioner Rob Manfred waiting for? With the sport struggling to deal with the Coronavirus, Manfred has informed Players Union President Tony Clark that he would cancel the season as soon as Monday. The news comes as the Miami Marlins have 20 people who have tested positive for the virus, two visiting clubhouse guys from the Phillies tested positive just days after Miami left Philly, and just Friday afternoon, two players from the St. Louis Cardinals test positive for the virus. As a result the Marlins, Nationals, Yankees, Orioles, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Brewers, and Phillies have all seen their games get postponed becuase of growing COVID concerns due in major part to the fact that the Phillies and Marlins play a majority of those schedules affected. Baseball has bent over backwards to legitimize a season that should never have taken place. The latest gimmick by baseball is to pull another idea out of the nether-regions of Indy ball by having seven-inning double-headers to ma...