COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

RAMS 23 – BENGALS 20 In a night where it looked like the Cincinnati Bengals were on their way to pulling out a stunning upset in Super Bowl LVI, a late rally by Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and the Rams propelled LA to a 23-20 victory for the franchises second overall Super Bowl title, and first since returning to the City of Angles. With the Bengals holing on to a 20-16 lead with 6:13 to go, Tyler Boyd failed to haul in what would have been a first down conversion on a critical third and nine, forcing Cincinnati to punt the football back to LA. It was now or never for the Rams, and they took full advantage of the opportunity. Stafford guided LA on a time consuming 15-play, 79 yard drive as he picked apart the Bengals with short, precise throws to likes of Kupp, Brycen Hopkins and Cam Akers. After Stafford found Akers on an eight yard completion to the Bengals’ eight yard line, he would miss on his next two passes to set up a critical third and goal, setting up a pair ...

 The James Harden era is over with a whimper and, in some ways, a sigh of relief.  After weeks of speculation, rumors that Harden wanted out, was unhappy with the situation in Brooklyn, which was wrapped around a nine-game losing streak and a number of games where he would sit with a "knee injury," the Nets finally had enough and traded him away to Philadelphia.  It says a lot that the Nets were more than willing to ship Harden to a division rival, and they got a hell of a haul in return.  By trading Harden, the Nets acquire All-Star Ben Simmons, Andre Drummond, Seth Curry and two first round picks. For the Sixers to be that much in love with Harden, who could turn free agent at the end of the year, it's a huge gamble for them.  The Nets are hoping that by subtracting one distraction, and getting three quality players in return they can get back on track as a basketball team.  That said, it's not like Simmons hasn't been a pain in the neck for Philly either...

There was already a cloud of uncertainty swirling around the start of spring training, but after Commissioner Rob Manfred offered little clarity on when baseball would return, reiterating he is hopeful that the regular season will begin on time. However for that to happen, a deal would need to be struck soon. According to reports , Manfred declined to announce a postponement to Spring Training, which was set to open in six days, February 16. Spring Training games are scheduled to start February 27.  While Minor League camps will proceed as normal, the embattled commissioner ruled out using minor leaguers as replacement players. Both the players union and the owners are deadlocked on core economic issues, with players requesting that the minimum salary be increased, and that arbitration years are reduced so free agency can happen sooner. The only thing that has come out of the meetings between the two sides is the adoption of the universal of the Designated Hitter in both the Nation...

 The start of the 2022 Major League Baseball season is going to be delayed.  How long it is delayed is the only question.   MLB's self-imposed lockout seemingly has no end in sight after the Player's Union rejected a request by the owners to seek federal mediation in negotiations. And according to reports, both sides are not feeling any love for the other.  “It is hard to understand why a party that wants to make an agreement would reject mediation from the federal agency specifically tasked with resolving these disputes,’’ an MLB spokesman said, “including many successes in professional sports. MLB remains committed to offering solutions at the table and reaching a fair agreement for both sides.” Economics have been holding up the two sides, with the players looking for a raise of the minimum salary from $570,000 to $775,000 so younger players can make more; MLB only offering between $615,000 and $700,000. The players want service time manipulation eliminat...

 Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores has turned the NFL upside down with allegations that the hiring process in the NFL is blatantly racist, and is suing the NFL, the New York Giants, Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos for discrimination.  Flores claims that the his interview for the Giants head coaching job was a “sham” to satisfy the “Rooney Rule” which requires teams interview minority candidates for head coaching jobs, even if they don’t hire one when a final decision is made.  The complaint also includes a text message from Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick where the Super Bowl winning coach allegedly texted Flores to congratulate him for getting the Giants job, later retracting it, admitting he meant the text for Brian Daboll.  The suit also alleges that the Miami Dolphins, its owner Stephen Ross, and General Manager Chris Grier tried to pay Flores “$100,000 per loss” in order to improve the team’s draft position. The Giants hit back twice, de...

After 22 seasons Tom Brady is calling it a career.  The former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, winner of seven Super Bowl titles and three MVPs, officially retired on Tuesday.  The announcement of course comes off the heels of Saturday's messy breaking news by ESPN that claimed Brady was in fact retiring, only to have that story denied by the Buccaneers and members of Brady's inner circle, who said the quarterback hadn't yet decided.  On Monday, Brady said on his "Let's Go" podcast that he had not yet made up him mind on playing a 23rd season.  Those sentiments quickly changed on Tuesday morning when Brady took to social media and wrote a heartfelt nine-part good bye letter to the sport he dominated for over two decades.  Ironically that heartfelt good bye never even mentions the New England Patriots, owner Bob Kraft nor Head Coach Bill Belichick, leading many to speculate that Brady still harbors ill feelings to the way his exit tra...

Giants Head Coach Brian Daboll was introduced to the New York media for the first time. Daboll spoke about trying to stabilize things for quarterback Daniel Jones, who has had a shaky first three seasons as Big Blue’s starting quarterback. “We start out by building this relationship, and one thing I told him to do, was give me things you liked here and at Duke,” Daboll said.  “It’s foundational things he is comfortable with. This is a day to day process, he wants to do well; he’s a hard worker, we are looking forward to working with him.” Daboll came across as comfortable and confident in his own skin, joking around with members of the press, while keeping the focus on the moving the Giants forward in the coming years. Check out the presser here by clicking this LINK!