COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

 As I wrote for Fox Sports Radio New Jersey, 2024 was a year to remember.  It was a wild and woolly year, one that had both joy, sadness, and well misery all rolled into ball, and, you known what — sports-wise — we wouldn’t want to have it any other way.    From the Mets riding a the wave of Grimace and OMG all the way to the NLCS, to the Yankees return to the Fall Classic for the first time in 15 years, and of course the New York Liberty winning their first ever WNBA Finals title, there was a lot to smile about in 2024. Then there are the Jets and Giants. Woof.  Click the link here to check out our BOLDEST, and I mean BOLDEST predictions for the New Year possible.   

 The New York Jets are about to embark on their long awaited search for the 22nd Head Coach in franchise history, and by all indications, the Jets could be looking for a guy with experience.  Multiple reports confirmed Monday that the Jets are set to interview ex-Panthers and Washington Commanders Head Coach Ron Rivera for the job.  Rivera hasn't coached in over a year since his departure from Washington following a 4-13 campaign in 2023.  Nicknamed "Riverboat Ron" for his willingness to think outside the box and take risks in-game, Rivera is an interesting candidate. He was a Coach of the Year winner, and took the Panthers to the Super Bowl about a decade ago. He's been the playoffs multiple times, including one playoff stop with Washington in his first year with the team.  Yet, overall, Rivera is under .500 as a coach. 102-103-2 to be exact.  His teams in Carolina were loaded talent-wise. Washington was a different animal entirely as he tried to guide the...

 It's the question Giants fans have been asking since Sunday's 45-33 win over the Indianapolis Colts, did Big Blue botch its chances of getting the top quarterback in the upcoming NFL Draft.   No doubt the easiest route to securing that so-called "franchise QB" out of the draft is to have that top first overall pick in the draft, but as we all know, it generally doesn't guarantee anything.  Sure Sheduer Sanders and Cam Ward are both very talented players, but let's not act like the 2025 draft class at the quarterback position is like the 1983 draft class, or the 2004 draft class, or even the 2018 draft class.  There is no John Elway here. No Dan Marino. No Eli Manning. No Big Ben, and no Josh Allen.  And when you look at the teams around the Giants, like the New England Patriots, Cleveland Browns, and Tennessee Titans there are no guarantees that any of these teams will select a quarterback in the draft. Meaning that there is a chance that either Sanders or...

 2024 was not a banner year for the Jets or Giants, and as a result both teams are facing a crossroads as 2025 begins. Here is our vlog on what we can expect from the Jets coaching search to the Giants decisions on the front office and quarterback. 

 Sean Manaea is coming back to Queens in 2025. What a gift for New York Mets fans just two days before Christmas. With the New York Yankees making one more after another in recent weeks since Juan Soto left the Bombers for the Amazin’s, many Mets’ fans have been wondering when their team would strike again. Well, they did in the wee-hours of Monday morning as the Mets and Manaea agreed to a three-year, $75 million deal. Bringing back Manaea was a no-brainer for the Mets. They took a flyer on him last season, and he turned out to be the staff ace of the club by season’s end. Manaea finished 12-6 with a 3.47 ERA in 32 starts. In the postseason Manaea made four starts, winning two of them.  Read More on Fox Sports New Jersey . 

As I wrote for Fox Sports New Jersey ... One thing is certain about Aaron Rodgers and the Jets they are the biggest conundrum in sports. The Jets thoroughly outplayed the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, didn’t punt once, and still found a way to l ose the game by ten points , 19-9. It was a comedy of errors that we have grown accustomed to from Gang Green all year. The kind of ‘Charlie Brown has the football pulled away from him’ kinda game Jets fans have seen for years.    There the Jets were marching down the length of the field, 99 yards in fact, on a crisp and efficient drive that culminated in a Rodgers touchdown strike to his buddy Davante Adams. 6-0 Gang Green. Then the bottom fell out. The Jets decided to get too bold with their strategy, going for it on fourth and a long four at their own 33, only to see it back-fire. The Rams eventually tied the game with Kyren Williams’s score. The Jets never learned from that lesson , going for it on fourt...

 Ok, Giants fans, we know how you feel. This season has been a total train wreck. Big Blue is 2-13 following a no-show 34-7 loss to Atlanta on Sunday. Fans are swarming social media, and even flying planes over MetLife Stadium calling for the ouster of Head Coach Brian Daboll and General Manager Joe Schoen. But if there is one silver lining in this miserable season it is this: right now the Giants own the top pick in the NFL draft. That is because the Raiders (3-12) beat the Jaguars (3-12) on Sunday. The Panthers (4-11) also won in OT over Arizona. So the Giants are all alone atop the draft. Congratulations!  Granted there are still two games left in this season, and anything can happen, but for those who are on the infamous “tank” bandwagon, this is a day to crack a smile (potentially) at what could be coming in the future. It is expected that the Giants will draft a quarterback (they really have no choice) with their first pick in April’s draft, and...

 You can cross the Yankees off the list for former Mets first baseman Pete Alonso.  The Bronx Bombers came to terms on a one-year, $12.5 million deal that will solidify the Yankees need at the position for at least a year.    In his prime, Goldschmidt was one of the best hitters in baseball. Up until the past two seasons, Goldschmidt was a consist .290 to .300 hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals. However, the past two years since his NL MVP campaign in 2022, his numbers have dipped a bit.  He hit only 22 homers, and drove in 65 while hitting .245 last season for St. Louis at age 37.  What will it be this year? Perhaps the Yankees could platoon Goldschmidt with one of their younger players like Ben Rice. But at the very least, the Yankees added an experienced piece to a roster that looks even better than it did in the World Series.  Since losing out on Juan Soto the Yankees have been busy. They added: outfielder Cody Bellinger, closer Devin Williams, sta...

 An interesting story has been brewing for a while that former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel could be interested in taking the Jets head coaching job.  Colin Cowherd on his show spoke with NFL insider Jordan Schultz about it, and claims that Vrabel would take it depending on the GM. Both Schultz and Cowherd put ice water on the Athletic bombshell story about team dysfunction. "I spoke with Mike Vrabel, he would take the job depending on who the General Manager is," Cowherd said.  Schultz agreed, adding the Jets have been somewhat stable as compared to other franchises when it comes to giving coaches and GM's time to work with. Ex-GM Joe Douglas got six years. ex-Jets Head Coach got three-plus seasons.    Still this story really isn't new. It was first reported by Rich Cimini of ESPN back on December 4 that Vrabel would be interested in the Jets job depending on who the GM is. So is this really new that Cowherd is presenting to us?  Could Vrabel'...

As the Jets season is about to come to an end, and their search for a new General Manager and Head Coach is about to intensify, The Athletic has dropped another bombshell bringing new, disturbing allegations about the inner workings of Gang Green under owner Woody Johnson. The article paints a bleak picture of the Jets under Johnson, who allegedly gets too involved in the football business, and has been at odds with coaches, executives, and even players.  The article further claims that Johnson reneged on a trade with the Denver Broncos for wide receiver Jerry Jeudy because of the star receiver’s perceived “Madden rating,” among many other mind-boggling decisions within the confines of 1 Jets Drive.  The article further purports that Johnson involved his two teenage sons, Brick and Jack in football matters., which “clarified their father’s propensity for sharing posts from X.” In addition, Johnson’s call on the Jeudy trade may have been influenced by his son’s...

 Leave it to Bill Belihick to be the ultimate troll on his way out the door when it comes to the New York Jets.  Multiple reports have reported Saturday, starting with Dianna Russini of The Athletic , that representatives for the ex-Patriots head coach had reached out to the Jets to express interest in the Jets vacant head coaching position.  "A very small circle of people in the Jets building were made aware of his interest, though no meeting of formal conversation ever happened because the UNC opportunity popped up."  It's amazing how this now comes out a mere couple days after Belichick was introduced as head coach at the University of North Carolina.  This is not a dig at Russini, or any other reporter who has reported on this. They all got the information from a reliable source for sure.  From all indications it is true that Belichick and his team reached out. UStadium even tweeted out that  Belichick "reached out to multiple teams, even those wit...

The Yankees are not resting on their laurels in the post Juan Soto world. Ever since the Yanks lost out on Soto to the New York Mets, they have been red hot in pursuit of roster improvements.    The latest came Friday afternoon when the Yankees acquired Milwaukee Brewers closer Devin Williams in a package deal that sent Nestor Cortes and minor league prospect Caleb Durbin to the Brew Crew.  The Yankees desperately need a closer. Last season Clay Holmes lost the job to Luke Weaver at midseason. While Weaver was great at times, the truth was, somehow, the Yankees managed to get to the Fall Classic without a true shutdown ace in the ninth inning.   They will have that now in Williams who owns a 1.83 career ERA and 68 saves. He was also the man that served up Pete Alonso's three-run homer in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card series between the Mets and Brewers that sent New York on its merry way to the NLDS.  It is a risky gamble for the Yankees. Williams is a free ag...

 Bill Belichick has sent a shock-wave through the football world, as he becomes the new Head Coach at the University of North Carolina.  The shock comes from the fact that Belichick will not jump back into the NFL after spending a year away from the game; instead he will jump into the ever increasingly complex world of College Football.  This should be interesting.    About a year ago at this time we saw Belichick get r ejected by the Atlanta Falcons for their head coaching vacancy. It was a stunner. Before Atlanta made its final decision, it appeared that Belichick was destined for the Falcons after meeting with Arthur Blank, but the front office had other ideas. They convinced Blank to look elsewhere.  The problem was the Falcons front office knew that if Belichick came aboard, they would all be looking over their shoulder.  When a team hires Bill Belichick, they get all of Bill Belichick: the good, the bad, and the ugly.  "... The Falcons real...

 Two days after striking out on Juan Soto, the Yankees responded by finding someone to rack up K's in former Atlanta Braves starter Max Fried. The 31-year old Fried, inked an eight-year, $218 million deal with New York, making him the highest paid left-handed starter in baseball history.  The deal includes a full no trade clause, and no deferred money.  While a starter wasn't exactly on the top of their needs for the 2025 season, we all know a team can never have enough pitching. Fried is as solid as they come, and was sought after by many clubs. With the Yankees he can slide right into the number two slot behind ace Gerrit Cole.  Fried is well accomplished in his career; a two-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove Award winner. Since 2020, he has posted the lowest ERA among pitchers with 500 innings to their name with a 2.18 ERA.  The Yankees are far from done of course.  They are heavily linked to Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker, who is about the same ag...

 The New York Mets have won the Juan Soto sweepstakes.  The news became official just before 10 p.m. Sunday as New York Post columnist Jon Heyman broke the story that Soto, the games' most prized free agent slugger, had signed a record setting 15-year, $756 million contract with the Mets.  While that comes to $51 million annually, the contract will include plenty of deferrals , obviously. The terms of the deal at this moment are still not fully known.  What is obvious is that Mets owner Steve Cohen did something that no prior Mets ownership group could do and that is beat the Yankees to the punch. He was willing to go all in for the best player on the market and got him.  There was speculation as last as Saturday that the Mets and Yankees were competing for Soto with the Mets at $735 million, and the Yankees at $710 million. But according to the Post, the Yankees did come in at $760 million over 16 years, which more than doubled the money the Yankees gave Aaron ...

The Aaron Rodgers era in New York needs to come to an end.  There is no doubt that Rodgers is a first ballot Hall of Famer; one of the most gifted athletes of his generation. He will go down as one of the best to ever do it in the regular season. His arm talent was second to none, except for maybe Dan Marino or Brett Favre in the primes of their careers.  But with the Jets, it has been an all time disaster.  Aaron Rodgers looks for help. Getty Images Sunday's 26-21 Jets loss to the Seattle Seahawks only furthered the evidence that Rodgers marriage with the Jets has to come to an end.  Rodgers was inconsistent, and threw a horrible pick-six that flipped the game totally on its head.  The Jets had a chance to go up 28-7, but Rodgers threw a pass that ex-Jet defensive lineman Leonard Williams tipped into the air and picked off before rumbling down field for the six-points to make it 21-13 instead.  It was all Seattle after that.  The Jets never got close ...

 Of course the big news this past week centered around the story from The Athletic about the firing of Jets General Manager Joe Douglas. The story goes into great detail citing sources that claim Jets owner Woody Johnson has had more say on football matters than previously thought, and paints a very bleak picture of things for Gang Green.    There is also a belief that the Jets and Aaron Rodgers could be threw with one another once the season concludes.  I had a chance to speak with Zach Rosenblatt of the Athletic on the Fox Sports on the Road podcast for Fox Sports Radio New Jersey . Take a listen in!  ZACK ROSENBLATT INTERVIEW

  Daniel Jones’ tenure with the New York Giants came to a stunning conclusion Friday morning when Big Blue officially released the veteran quarterback. The release of Jones comes a day after the embattled quarterback gave a heartfelt speech thanking the organization for giving him an opportunity to start in New York. At the time it was an odd presser since there was no indication, despite the fact he was benched in favor of third-stringer Tommy DeVito, that the Giants would outright release the quarterback from his contract, making him a free agent so quickly. “I am extremely grateful to the Mara and Tisch families for the chance to play here. The Giants are truly a first-class organization and I have nothing but respect for the people who built it,” Jones said after practice on Thursday. “I take full responsibility for bringing more wins,” he added. “I wish I could have done more. I did not play well consistently enough to get the results.”   On Fr...

In light of Joe Douglas' firing as General Manager of the New York Jets, The Athletic dropped a major bombshell that indicates that owner Woody Johnson may have had more influence on football related matters than was previously thought, even going so far as to suggest that Johnson recommended to coaches that Aaron Rodgers be benched following the Jets 10-9 loss to Denver in Week 4.  The story has taken a life of its own, with all fingers pointing back at the Jets as a likely culprit in the franchise's dysfunction.  Woody Johnson in the crosshairs. Getty Images. The story written by reporters Dianna Russini and Zack Rosenblatt, with a contribution from Michael Silver, intimately details the goings on in Florham Park, and boy what a read it is.  The explosive story starts fast, in Week 4 when an angry Johnson suggested that Rodgers get benched.  "Johnson suggested to the coaches that they bench Aaron Rodgers in favor of Tyrod Taylor because he felt Rodgers’ performa...

 The New York Jets have officially fired General Manager Joe Douglas after six years on the job. The move came Tuesday morning and was reported initially by SNY’s Connor Hughes.  Joe Douglas, ex Jets GM. Getty Images.   The divorce between Douglas and the Jets was certainly expected for some time, especially after the franchise fired Head Coach Robert Saleh after a Week 5 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London, England. Six weeks later, Douglas followed his head coach out the door. The Jets are 3-8, and 30-64 under Douglas stewardship. Two weeks ago Douglas held a cryptic press conference when he was short with his answers and looked distant with reporters outside the Jets training facility in Florham Park. The Jets Press also reported on Sunday prior to the Jets’ 28-27 loss to the Colts that Douglas was anticipating a move, is considering returning to the Baltimore Ravens , and was looking for “real estate” in the Baltimore area. “He welc...

 The Daniel Jones Era appears to be over in New York. The Giants officially benched Jones in favor of third-string quarterback Tommy DeVito as Big Blue returns from its bye week this week to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.  Tommy DeVito, Giants. Getty Images.  DeVito gets the nod to start over backup Drew Lock mainly because the math makes the most sense. Lock is on a one-year, $5 million deal. He has no future with the Giants beyond this season. According to CBS Sports, Lock would be due increments of $250,000 a piece should he hit certain incentives like percentage of snaps played, completion percentage, and quarterback rating. DeVito has an exclusive rights-free agent in 2025, meaning he could be back next year in some sort of role with the team. Plus he was a fan favorite when he came in the stead of Daniel Jones last season, and led the Giants to three straight wins over the Commanders, Patriots, and Packers last December. Read more on my st...

 The New York Giants were extremely quiet at the NFL Trade deadline on Tuesday.  Granted New York is 2-7, they aren't going anywhere, but they couldn't find any suitors for two of their prominent soon-to-be free agents: wide receiver Darius Slayton and edge rusher Azeez Ojulari.  Azeez Ojulari goes after Mac Jones in 2023. Getty Images.  According to Dianna Russini of  The Athletic , the Giants asked for a fourth or high fifth round pick for Ojulari who has six sacks this season, and 22 sacks in his career. At 24-years old, he is going to be a prime target for teams once he hits the open market next spring.  As for Slayton, he is the Giants leading receiver, and could hit a career best 800 yards receiving this season. He was a fifth round selection back in 2019, and is a free agent this spring. 

Mike Williams we hardly knew ye. The New York Jets shipped Williams , the lanky 6-foot-4 wide receiver to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a fifth round pick as the NFL trade deadline came and went Tuesday afternoon. The move was not that surprising, and made sense for both sides. Mike Williams - Getty Images.  For the Jets, Williams became expendable when New York acquired Pro Bowl receiver Devante Adams two weeks ago in a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders. Since joining New York, Adams has seen 26 targets from quarterback Aaron Rodgers, catching 12 passes including a 37-yard touchdown last week against Houston. Williams on the other hand saw his production dip since the deal, with only four targets in the last three games combined. Many feel that Rodgers lost trust in Williams after the receiver ran the wrong route at the end of a Monday Night game against Buffalo on the last play of the game. The play ended in a Rodgers interception as Buffalo won 23-20 on October 14. ...

 Thanks to an unfathomable New York implosion that started in the top of the fifth inning of Game 5 and carried until Alex Verdugo struck out for the final out of the night, the Dodgers edged out the Yankees 7-6 to take the World Series in five games. For a few innings, it felt like the Yankees would be on their way to sending the series back to Los Angeles for Game 6. Gerrit Cole looks on in frustration. Getty Images. Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning, and Giancarlo Stanton hit a solo shot in the fourth to stake New York to a 5-0 lead. Then the bottom fell out in the top of the fifth as the Yankees fumbled it away. Judge dropped a pop-up by Tommy Edman to get the ball rolling in the wrong direction. Then Anthony Volpe threw the ball away on an attempted play at third, allowing Kike Hernandez to reach safely. Finally, Mookie Betts reached first base on an infield single when Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rizzo miscommunica...

 DODGERS 4 - YANKEE 2  The New York Yankees have their backs up against the proverbial wall now following a 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of the World Series.  Ever since Freddie Freeman launched a grand slam into the right field bleachers at Dodgers Stadium on Friday night, the Yankees have looked totally lost as a baseball club. They can't hit; struggle in the field, and their pitching isn't up to snuff.  Giancarlo Stanton out at the plate. Getty Images.  By the seventh inning of Game 3 on Monday night, you could hear a pin drop at Yankee Stadium. By the eighth inning, fans were starting to hit the exits. The Yankees had nothing, and everyone knows it.  While the Yankees had a good season this year, and got to the Fall Classic for the first time in 15 years, they aren't even close to being as good as Yankees teams of the past who have made it this far into October.  Let's be honest the Yankees got here thanks to a soft American League...

 If you were a betting man, and decided to put down some dough on the Giants AND Jets both being horrible this year, it would have been an ill-advised bet ... back in August.  But, now? Well let's just say both the Jets and Giants are back in familiar territory -- at least familiar for the past decade -- both are 2-6 and buried in last place in their respective divisions.  For the Giants this was expected.  Daniel Jones runs from the Steelers. Getty Images.  The Giants made a lot of bad decisions the past two years, namely re-signing quarterback Daniel Jones to a multi-year deal, and letting running back Saquon Barkley walk to the Philadelphia Eagles. We could look at Big Blue's infamous appearance on 'Hard Knocks' in the off-season, and come to the conclusion that the ship Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll are running isn't exactly tight.  Yet, owner John Mara gave both the dreaded vote of confidence last week, hinting he won't make any sudden moves during the y...

 There is a line in the movie "Moneyball" where Brad Pitt says, "How can you not be romantic about baseball?"  Well on Friday night in Los Angeles, in a city known for Hollywood endings, Freddie Freeman not only won a World Series game for the Dodgers, he channeled the legend of Kirk Gibson from the 1988 World Series.  It was at the end of that Game 1 of the '88 Fall Classic that Gibby cracked a three-run homer to win it for the Dodgers over the Oakland A's.   Freddie Freeman celebrates his Grand Slam. Getty Images. Ironically, Gibson was hobbled by a bad hamstring, and his at bat was a pinch hit.  Likewise, Freeman -- a veteran player and borderline Hall of Famer, was also hobbled by a lower leg injury, his ankle.  Both hitters are left handed.  And the home run that Gibson hit 36-years ago, and the Grand Slam that Freeman hit on Friday night, both wound up in nearly the same location in the right field bleachers.  Talk about symmetry. ...

 The 2024 New York Mets season came to an end Sunday night in Los Angeles. Their storybook season didn't have the Hollywood ending many Mets fans would have hoped for, but it didn't diminish what they had accomplished. The Dodgers won Game 6 of the NLCS 10-5, punching their ticket to the 2024 World Series where they will face the Mets crosstown rivals, the New York Yankees in what should be an epic clash of titans. Still the when the dust settles on this defeat for the Amazin's, New York Mets fans should be left with nothing but good feelings. Francisco Lindor Looks on. Getty Images. This was a team many picked to finish dead last in the National League East. The belief was that with a new manager, a new President of Baseball Operations, and many free agents to be, the 2024 season would be a transition year.  Instead, after a woeful 0-5 start, and, at one point, finding themselves 11-games under .500 in May, the Mets turned out one of the best seasons in thei...

 STEELERS 37 - JETS 15  The New York Jets season is starting to slip away, if it didn't totally slip away on Sunday night in Pittsburgh, as Gang Green was totally outclassed by the Steelers 30-15. New York now drops to abysmal 2-5 record, the same record as their MetLife Stadium co-tenants the New York Giants.  The difference between the two being, there were very little expectations for Big Blue coming into the year. Many had the Jets pegged for the playoffs, if not the Super Bowl this year.  That's all out the window now.  With the Pittsburgh Steelers offense reeling, and Russell Wilson looking as rusty as ever, the Jets built a 15-6 lead in the second quarter, and quickly squandered that lead on mistakes and turnovers.  In fact, just the fact that the Jets even had that nine-point lead was a miracle in of itself. Aaron Rodgers hit tight end Tyler Conklin for a one-yard touchdown that almost was nulified by the Jets themselves, when Interim Head Coach Jef...

 Juan Soto is gonna make a lot of money this off-season.  And we mean a lot of money.  The free agent outfielder-to-be, who is already expected to break records on his next contract, probably blew all future offers out of the water when he launched a three-run homer to right-center in the top of the 10th inning to give the Yankees a 5-2 lead , and ultimately send New York back to the World Series for the fist time in 15-years. Juan Soto homers.Getty Images.   It all went down perfectly for New York in that 10th inning. A walk to Austin Wells started the inning. Another error by Guardians short stop Bryan Rocchio followed, setting up Soto with two men on and two out. After fouling off four straight pitches, Soto got a pitch he liked and crushed it. You knew it was gone as soon as center fielder Lane Thomas started back-peddling for the wall. When the ball went over, Soto stopped looked back toward the dugout and screamed, before rounding the bases. T...

 YANKEES 8 - GUARDIANS 6  The Yankees don't like to make things easy do they?  The Bronx Bombers survived Game 4 in Cleveland, winning by the count of 8-6 as the Guardians once again staged a late inning comeback that had to give Yankees fans in the Bronx palpitations.  Giancarlo Stanton, Getty Images   The Yankees held a 6-2 lead thanks in major part to another monstrous home run by Giancarlo Stanton in the top of the sixth inning. It looked like New York would be on cruise control until the bottom of the seventh inning when things went sideways.  RBI doubles by Jose Ramirez, and Josh Naylor brought the Guardians to within a run at 6-5. Then in the eighth inning, David Fry, who broke Yankee hearts with the game winning homer in extras in Game 4, tied Game 5 by reaching on an infield single to plate Bo Naylor with the tying run.  The Yankees bullpen which had been so good this postseason was charged with four runs, including Mark Leiter who wound up ge...