COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

He was a Super Bowl winning coach for the Oakland Raiders, a legendary broadcaster, brand name for a billion dollar video game franchise, and NFL Hall of Famer. John Madden had a wonderful life; he passed away Tuesday. He was 85.  Madden's influence on the game spans generations. He was, at the time of his hire in 1969, the youngest coach in the NFL when maverick Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis made him his head coach. Madden guided the Raiders for nine years, compiling an impressive 103 wins to 32 losses and seven ties. His Raiders won Super Bowl IX over the Minnesota Vikings  His overall winning percentage (regular season and postseason combined) ranks second in NFL history.    After leaving the Raiders in 1978, Madden jumped into the broadcast booth, launching one of the most outstanding broadcasting careers his history.    He eventually teamed up with Pat Summerall on CBS in 1981, forming an indelible duo that became the soundtrack of fall Sunday's for 2...

 JETS 26 - JAGUARS 21  For those Jets fans who wanted Gang Green to lose to Jacksonville for draft position, look away.  With 20 players, and head coach Robert Saleh, on the COVID-protocols list the Jets found a way to hold off Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars 26-21 at MetLife Stadium.  Gang Green was powered by the running of running back Michael Carter, who gashed the Jags for 118 yards on 16 carries. And they were led by Braxton Berrios' 103-yard kick return for a touchdown that gave the Jets a 13-9 lead in the second quarter.  Berrios also had five catches for 37-yards to lead the Jets. A free agent-to-be, Berrios made a huge case for the Jets to extend him a major contract.  Berrios has been the Jets most consistent presence offensively all season, and was deserving of  Pro Bowl bid.  Of course this game was supposed to be about the battle between quaterbacks Zach Wilson and Lawrence, the first and second overall picks in last spr...

 The future of head coach Joe Judge and quarterback Daniel Jones may have already been determined.  Hours before the Giants took the field in the their 34-10 blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, reports surfaced Sunday that both Judge and Jones would be returning to Big Blue next season.  ESPN's Adam Schefter originally reported the story.  In two seasons at the helm Judge is 10-21 as Giants head coach. Jones is currently out for the season with a neck injury that sidelined him a month ago in Week 12. One could argue that the Giants are easily the worst team in the NFL - not named the Jacksonville Jaguars.  It is still widely assumed that the Giants are going to part ways with General Manager David Gettleman, who could either be fired or forced to accept an early retirement. The Giants would certainly create a very odd situation for any potential GM candidates with both Judge and Jones firmly entrenched for 2022. If one wants an example of how this kind of m...

 As if this rookie campaign for head coach Robert Saleh couldn't get any worse, the Jets head coach has tested positive for COVID-19.  Reports are Saleh showed symptoms earlier in the week before testing positive. Ron Middleton will serve as acting head coach until Saleh returns. If Saleh doesn't clear COVID protocols by Sunday, Middleton will coach the Jets match-up against the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Saleh is the third head coach in the NFL to test positive for the virus including the Saints' Sean Payton and the Browns' Kevin Stefanski. New York currently has 14 players on COVID-reserve.  Every sport has been hit hard by the virus. The National Hockey League has postponed close to 50 games through Christmas weekend, and backed out of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.  The NBA will not pause the season, but the Brooklyn Nets have been decimated by the virus. 

The COVID ravaged Brooklyn Nets will have another game postponed due to the lack of available players. The Nets had as a many as 10 players appear on the COVID protocols list, including Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving. The Nets plight is the highest known number of players with the virus in the sport. Brooklyn needed to have a minimum of eight active players for the game to played; they do not have that number right now. Thursday’s game at Portland will be the third straight game that Brooklyn has had postponed. They had games against Denver and Washington also suffer postponements. Overall, nine games have been postponed across the NBA, but Commissioner Adam Silver insists that there is no plan to pause the season the way the NHL did this week in lieu of the virus and the ever spreading Omicron variant.  When asked about the Omicron spread Silver told ESPN: “No plans right now to pause the season. We have of course looked at all the options, but frankly we ...

 DOLPHINS 31 - JETS 24  The struggles continue for Zach Wilson and the New York Jets. Gang Green couldn't protect a 17-7 lead, as Miami stormed all the way back in the second half, beating back the Jets 31-24 to drop New York to 3-11.  Unlike last week where the Jets couldn't get their offense going at all against the Saints, Wilson and company showed signs of life. There were trick plays, and plenty of golden opportunities. Unfortuantely for the Jets, they just couldn't finish it off.  Wilson completed his first six passes of the day and engineered the Jets on a 10-play, 83-yard scoring drive that culminated in a Braxton Berrios touchdown on a reverse to give the Jets a 7-0 lead. In the first half Wilson showed improved accuracy; was connecting with his receivers on shorter throws and withstood the Dolphins heavy blitz packages.  And for a while it looked like the Jets were on their way to pulling out the upset. After the Jets opening touchdown, Jets safety Ash...

 COWBOYS 21 - GIANTS 6  It was a game that nobody wanted to sit through. Heck, even free soda probably wasn't enough to entice Giants fans to show up to watch their listless football team get decked by the Dallas Cowboys, 21-6.  It was a game that was so bad, that even with Dallas settling for three field goals, there was no chance for the Giants on Sunday. They had no answer on Sunday.  Mike Glennon tossed three interceptions; Jake Fromm was ineffective when he came in relief of Glennon in the fourth quarter. And on a more serious note, Sterling Shepherd tore his Achilles. Obviously he's out for the rest of this season. His status for the start of next season is in question.  Meanwhile Dak Prescott and the Cowboys' offense did just enough to get the 'W'. Prescott completed 28 of 37 passes for 217 yards and a touchdown to Dalton Schultz that pushed the Dallas lead to 21-6.  Relieve the lowlights ... I mean, highlights, here... 

 Attended the NFL Alumni COVID Vaccine event in Paterson, New Jersey for Fox Sports New Jersey. Had a great opportunity to talk to a few more NFL stars including ex-Jets quarterback Ray Lucas and Giants wide receiver David Tyree. Here is the video below! 

 The New York Mets and Steve Cohen would not be denied.  The Mets have hired Buck Showalter as the franchise's 24th manager, ending a process where he was clearly the favorite to get the job.  Steve Cohen posted to his twitter at 1:44 p.m. that the Mets have officially named the former Yankees skipper the new boss of the Amazin's.  Showalter's record speaks for itself. He is a program builder. Every team he has managed has gone on to success, even after he left the building. He build the Yankees in the early 90s. When he left a team that lost the Wild Card game to Seattle in 1995, he left a team that would go on to win the World Series four times over five years from 1996 to 2000.  He built the Arizona Diamondbacks from the ground up. In 2001, the year after Showalter left, the D-Backs beat the Yankees in the Fall Classic.  The Rangers also saw their fair share of success under Showalter.  He took the Orioles to the American League Championship Series ...

 Look up paradox in the dictionary: a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true. Well, the Nets are in the midst of their own paradox. Brookly is welcoming back Kyrie Irving, whom the team distanced itself from at the start of the season because he was unvaccinated. Why? Because the team is decimated by COVID positive cases.  The NBA and the entire sports and entertainment world has been ravaged by COVID-19 spikes in recent days.  Many games have been postponed. Broadway shows have been canceled.  As for the Nets, they have won a couple of games despite playing short-handed. They have seven players on the COVID-list. Kevin Durant joined that list on Friday night. After shortly readmitting Irving to the team, he too was placed on the COVID protocols list . Unbelievably the Nets are still scheduled to play a game in Orlando on Saturday night.  Welcoming Irving back to ...

  Giants legend, three-time Pro Bowler, and Super Bowl Champion, Shaun O’Hara will be one of several former NFL players who will be in attendance at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson on Saturday, December 18 to educate, and support those looking to get vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19 and its variants. O’Hara will be joined by former Giants teammates Roman Oben and David Tyree, as well as former Jets Ray Lucas and Dave Szott at the event which will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 11 Getty Avenue in Paterson. The NFL Alumni Health, in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has been working across the country to educate fans about the need to get vaccinated. St. Joseph’s will offer Pfizer BioNTech vaccine to eligible participants ages five and up. No appointment is needed. All former players will be there to greet fans and sign autographs. The event will feature a surprise visit from Santa, a raffle for prizes and NF...

 Thank you New York Mets for giving us something to chew on as the Jets and Giants ate getting blown out on another football Sunday.  According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, former Yankees manager Buck Schowalter is a finalist for the Mets vacant managerial job.  He is one of three. The other two are Astros bench coach Joe Espada, and Rays bench coach matt Quatraro.  Both Espada and Quatraro have also interviewed for the Oakland A's managerial job.  Schowalter has long been deemed the favorite for the job, with the likes of Terry Collins and Max Scherzer throwing their support behind his candidacy.  According to Andy Martino of SNY, it is inevitable that the Mets will name Schowalter their 24th manager in franchise history.    Schowalter certainly brings plenty of credibility and gravitas to the position. While he never won a World Series as a manager, each franchise he has been on was set up to succeed. He along with Gene Michael built th...

 SAINTS 30 - JETS 9  When it comes to teams that are trying to rebuild, the month of December is very important. Yes, playoffs aren't at stake, but playing well, showing progress, and setting the standards for the next season are at stake. And if Sunday's 30-9 loss to a mostly toothless New Orleans Saints team is any indication, the Jets rebuild is taking on water.  Sure the Jets have injuries. They were without wide receivers Elijah Moore and Corey Davis, both of whom are on injured reserve, and running backs Tevin Coleman and Michael Carter were out.  But the Saints had injuries too.  Defensive end Cam Jordan is out with COVID, and the Saints are rolling with Taysum Hill at quarterback. So what is the real excuse?  Zach Wilson had a bad Sunday. He was 19-of-42 for 202 yards. A lot of it wasn't his fault. Ty Johnson had multiple drops; Keelan Cole had a couple of make-able catches fall in and out of his hands.  But Wilson was also inaccurate. A number...

EAGLES 33 - JETS 18  For one week it was not Zach Wilson's fault the Jets lost a game.  No, the culprit was once again the Jets defense, which couldn't stop Philadelphia Eagles back-up quarterback Gardner Minshew, who was near perfect on the afternoon, ripping up the Jets for 242 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the Eagles 33-18 victory.  The other culprit was Jets kicker Alex Kessman, signed by the Jets this week after Gang Green cut incumbent Matt Amendola. And Kessman stunk it up, missing two extra points that helped put the Jets in a hole they never got out of.  The shame is, the Jets offense started so well. New York got a 79-yard kick return from Braxton Berrios to open the game, and Zach Wilson proceeded to guide the Jets to goal-line before hitting Elijah Moore for a three-year touchdown to give New York a 6-0 lead.  Of course the lead was short lived. Minshew needed only six plays to tear apart the Jets porous defense, highlighted by a 36-yard touchdow...

 DOLPHINS 20 - GIANTS 9  It was going to be a tough slog for the Giants when word came down Friday that quarterback Daniel Jones was not going to play Sunday at Miami, and the G-Men lived up to those low expectations.  Mike Glennon was bad. The offense, anemic. The Giants mustered only three field goals in a 20-9 loss to the Dolphins, that drop Big Blue to 4-8, all but eliminating its fleeting playoff hopes.  Glennon struggled to move the Giants offense. He finished 23-of-44 for 187 yards, and threw an interception. He was lucky it wasn't two or three, or even four interceptions, because the Dolphins had numerous chances at the football as it bounced in and out of the hands of Glennon's intended receivers.   And it's not like the Giants didn't have chances. They did. Defensively the Giants did an excellent job containing Tua Tagovailoa and Miami's offense, holding the Fish to 10 points through three quarters. In fact New York was down 10-6 for most of the t...

 Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association failed to come to terms on any agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, and as expected the League locked out its players at midnight, Thursday, December 2. It marks the first lockout in Major League Baseball since 1990, and first work stoppage since the player strike canceled the remainder of the 1994 season, and delayed the start of the '95 season.  That work stoppage lasted 232 days. The longest work stoppage of the four major sports in the United States is the NHL, 310 days, which whipped out the entire 2004-05 season. Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a prepared statement: "It was the owners' choice, plain and simple, specifically calculated to pressure Players into relinquishing rights and benefits, and abandoning good faith bargaining proposals that will benefit not Just Players, but the game and industry as a whole," the MLBPA said in its statement. "These tactics are not new. We have been h...

 Hours before Major League Baseball imposed a lockout of the players, the New York Mets officially introduced Max Scherzer to the New York media.  The former Cy Young Award winner, who owned the Mets when he was the ace of the Washington Nationals, won a World Series in DC two years ago, and was undefeated with the Dodgers in the second half of last season, will join Jacob deGrom to form a formidable 1-2 punch.  Scherzer signed a three-year $130 million deal, that will pay him $43.3 million annually, a new record for any individual player.  Scherzer said his family, which lives close by the Mets spring training home in Port St. Lucie, and owner Steve Cohen's desire to win played a large role in Scherzer's decision to come to New York.  Check out our reaction below to the mega signing! 

 JETS 21 - TEXANS 14  Zach Wilson looked every bit of a quarterback who hadn't played in a game in more than a month. The number two overall pick in last spring's draft struggled for Gang Green, his first game back since suffering a PCL sprain in his right knee, as the Jets won inspite of his struggles, 21-14 over the equally putrid Houston Texans.  Wilson really struggled with his accuracy, and was late on a number of throws There were moments where he would miss receivers like Elijah Moore, who were wide open on a couple of reads. He was sacked four times, and took a number of hits when throwing the ball away would have been a better option. There was even a point he appeared to aggravate his knee injury on a rollout in the third quarter. Early in the second quarter, Wilson tossed a interception on an inexplicable throw when he started to run with the football before trying to dump it off at the last second to Ty Johnson who wasn't looking. The ball bounced off Johns...

 GIANTS 13 - EAGLES 7  If the Giants can be thankful for one thing this holiday weekend, it was the fact Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts picked the right time to have statistically, the worst game of his young career.  Hurts tossed three interceptions, and was close on a couple of occasions on Philadelphia's final possession to tossing a forth.  Overall the four Eagles' turnovers helped the Giants come away with an ugly 13-7 victory to improve to 4-7 on the season. What really killed Philly was the fact that two of Hurts' interceptions happened deep in Giants territory. With Big Blue up 3-0, Hurts drove the Eagles deep in to Giants territory at the 25 yard line, before heaving up a ball that wound up right in the hands of Darnay Holmes for the interception.  Later in the first half, it looked like the Eagles were on their way to scoring a touchdown to take a lead, or at the very least, kicking a field goal to tie it, but on third and goal, Hurts' pas...

Apparently angry Steve Cohen is a productive Steve Cohen.  Two days after his explosion on Twitter directed at Steve Matz' agent, the billionaire owner and the New York Mets ponied up big cash for a couple of former Oakland A's and a Milwukee Brewer by signing Sterling Marte , Matt Canha and Eduardo Escobar to contracts.  The moves are the first big moves made by the Mets since the naming of Billy Eppler as General Manager. In an off-season that has been dominated by negative headlines, the trio of signings is the first positive news to come to the Mets this winter.  In Marte the Mets get a center fielder they desperately needed, and it gives them added flexibility with their outfield. Potentially Brandon Nimmo could move to left or right field, and it makes Dom Smith totally expendable via trade.  Marte and the Mets agreed to a four-year, $78 million deal , to bring both his glove and his live bat to Citi Field.  Marte had a .310/.348/.458 slash line with 12 ...

 Guess whose back Jets fans?  That's right, Zach Wilson is set to make his return to the starting lineup on Sunday when the Jets visit the 2-8 Houston Texans.  In addition, ESPN's Rich Cimini reported Tuesday that Mike White and Joe Flacco have both been placed on the COVID-19 list, with White having tested positive, and Flacco, who admitted to be unvaccinated, was in close contact.  That means Josh Johnson will back-up Wilson.  It has been a bizarre season for the Jets in the quarterback room.  The Jets entered the season with all intentions of Wilson starting every game this year, taking his lumps as a rookie as he gets accustomed to the game. However, he not only struggled, he REALLY struggled. Nine interceptions in six games, before suffering a strained PCL in his right kneed that sidelined him for four weeks.  Mike White came in and was amazing in his starting debut against the Cincinnati Bengals. He was so good that his jersey was sent to the Hal...

 It didn't take long for the New York Giants to take swift action following their 30-10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football.  Not even a full day after head coach Joe Judge threw the Giants coaching staff, especially Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett under the bus, during his post game press conference, Garrett was out as Offensive Coordinator.  Former Browns Head Coach Freddie Kitchens, who has been on the Giants staff this year as an assistant, now becomes interim Offensive Coordinator for a unit that ranks 25th in the NFL in total offense, averaging 18.5 points per game. "You guys can write that tonight. Players have to execute. That is their job, right? It is our job to teach them. It's their job to go out and execute," Judge said last night. "But we've got to make sure we put them in position to have success. That has to be consistent, by the way. So, you can go ahead and write that down. I'm not going to debate that....

 DOLPHINS 24 - JETS 17 Last week Robert Saleh decided that Joe Flacco gave the Jets a better "chance to win" than Mike White, based on White's struggles in a 45-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills.  On Sunday, it was painfully obvious it didn't matter who started for Gang Green. Flacco was just 'ok. But he was not spectacular. Aside from the busted coverage on Elijah Moore when the nickle corner fell to the ground, allowing Flacco to hit Moore in stride for a 62-yard touchdown, there wasn't much to write home about for the former Ravens quarterback.  While Flacco didn't throw a pick, he was hit over a dozen times, and was even strip-sacked at the Dolphins five-yard line when it had appeared New York was about go in for the go-ahead touchdown.  In short, there was nothing that Flacco did Sunday that Mike White couldn't have done.  Meanwhile it was another rough day for the Jets defense. Miami marched down the field on their opening drive, and plugged it into t...

Billy Eppler, good luck.  You're gonna need it. After seven weeks of constant rejection and utter embarrassment,  Steve Cohen, Sandy Alderson and the Mets are trying to wipe away the proverbial egg off their faces by handing their unwanted General Manager's job to former LA Angels GM Billy Eppler.  Eppler, who is best known for building teams that didn't win in Anaheim for five seasons, was offered the Mets general manager's job according to numerous sources. According to Jon Heyman and Jeff Passon, Eppler is taking the job. His naming as GM ends what has been a ridiculous, exhaustive search for a front office executive.  The Mets opened this search looking for a President of Baseball Operations, and failed to lure any candidates.  Billy Beane said 'no.'  Theo Epstein said 'no.'  David Stearns wasn't allowed out of his contract.  Matt Arnold wasn't allowed out of his deal either.  The Mets then tried to change course, again, forgoing finding...

 BILLS 45 - JETS 17  So much for the Mike White momentum.  Any debate about who would likely be the Jets starting quarterback moving forward was put to bed after White tossed four interceptions, and looked totally uncomfortable against the Buffalo Bills.  It wasn't all that surprising. The Bills are one of the best teams in the AFC; they have one of the NFL's top defenses. The Bills did an outstanding job taking away the middle of the field, and their zone coverage was impeccable. The dared White to go down field, and it didn't work.  On the flip side, the Jets defense, once again, couldn't get a stop. Josh Allen tore the Jets porous secondary for 366 yards and two touchdowns, while Stefon Diggs, eight receptions, 162 yards, and Gabriel Davis, three receptions, 105 yards, ate up the yardage through the air.  New York gave up 489 yards of offense and 26 first downs. Buffalo was 4-of-7 on third down, and they did all of this on just 54 plays. That is how domi...

 The New York Mets never ending pursuit of a President of Baseball Operations and a General Manager, and dare I say, even a manager -- that's important too -- is hitting ridiculous levels that only a team like the Mets could top.  First the Mets were rejected by just about every candidate they had on the list. Either candidates like Theo Epstein or Billy Beane weren't interested, or as in the case of David Stearns and Matt Arnold, were told to stay away by teams like the Milwaukee Brewers.  Now the Mets, in an attempt to save face, are scrapping the bottom of the barrel. If reports and rumors are true, the Mets are poised to name little known former National Assistant GM Adam Cromie as their new General Manager.  What do we know about Cromie?  Welp, we know that he has been an attorney at Jones Day out of Pittsburgh for the past four-plus years. He is well educated with degrees at U Mass-Amherst and Georgetown. The later where he got his law degree.  He als...

 Mike White will get another opportunity to prove himself under center for the New York Jets.  White will start for Jets in their Week 10 match-up against the Buffalo Bills, rather than Zach Wilson, who is still bothered by a knee injury according to Head Coach Robert Saleh.    Saleh also declined to say whether Wilson would assume the starting quarterback role when he is fully healthy, again, reiterating that his decision on who will be the starter at quarterback long term is a week-by-week proposition.  The White vs. Wilson debate is a very interesting one for Gang Green.  Should Mike White once again perform well, even if the Jets should lose to the Bills on Sunday, it raises questions as to whether Wilson should get the start again this season.  Why?  Very simple. Both White and Josh Johnson showed more in leading this offense than Wilson has in five starts. The rookie has looked overwhelmed.  Even Saleh acknowledged as much when he stat...