COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

 They don't call them the Amazin's for nothing! The New York Mets stamped their ticket to the postseason following one of the most improbable and incredible games in regular season franchise history. The Mets stormed back twice against the Atlanta Braves to win the opener of a double-heade r 8-7 to secure a spot in the 2024 playoffs. Edwin Diaz and Francisco Alvarez celebrate. Getty Images.   The thrilling developments all took place in the late stages. With the Mets trailing 3-0 heading into the eighth inning, it felt like certain doom was imminent for the Mets. Instead the Mets, and maybe even the baseball gods had other plans. Slowly the Mets started to come back. Back to back doubles by Tyrone Taylor and Francisco Alvarez produced the Mets first run. A single by Starling Marte, and a base hit by Francisco Lindor drove in Alvarez to make Mets fans start to believe again at 3-2. Finally the "OMG" King himself, Jose Iglesias singled to right ...

There is a reason why they call them the Same old Jets.  Aaron Rodgers can say in every media scrum that it doesn't exist. Robert Saleh can pass up on even hearing that phrase. But it's true for a reason, and on Sunday, the Same Old Jets showed up big time.  The Jets were a touchdown favorite against a young Denver Broncos team and found a way to lose 10-9. That's right a team with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, and talent galore all over the field and couldn't even find the end zone once.  Aaron Rodgers sacked. Getty Images.  The offensive line was a total mess, flagged five time for false starts on a day the Jets, as a team, were flagged 13 times.  The Jets looked unfocused, undisciplined, and ill-prepared for battle.  That is on the coaching staff.  If Sunday's loss was a true indication who the Jets are in 2024, it's going to be a long, frustrating season. And the hot seat is only going to heat up. 

 Things are not looking good for the New York Mets .  Not only did the Amazin's get blown out by the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday to the tune of 8-4, but with Atlanta's 3-0 win over Kansas City, the Mets are right now in a virtual three-way tie for two wild card slots with the Braves and Arizona Diamondbacks.  Francisco Alvarez, Getty Images.   Not only that, the Mets look battered. Both literary and figuratively. With Francisco Lindor already playing through a lingering back injury, catcher Francisco Alvarez appeared to sustain a back-injury of his own when he left the game in the top of the seventh inning. It was later diagnosed as back spasms.  He sustained the injury while sliding into third base, before grabbing his lower back, and had to be helped off the field.  If the Mets lose Alvarez for an extended period over these final three days, it could be curtains for this team and their playoff hopes.  It's one thing to lose, but with injuries stackin...

 The New York Knicks made a huge late off-season trade on Friday night, acquiring f our-time All Star Karl Anthony-Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Donte DiVincenzo, Julius Randle and a first round pick (via Detroit).  Karl Anthony Towns, Getty Images   The stunning move gives the Knicks the starting center they needed after last year's playoff exit against Indiana. However it will come at a price. Towns is owned $200 million over the next four seasons. He is 28-years old.  In many ways it's a good fit. Towns played under Knicks head coach Thom Thibodeau. So there is a strong familiarity there.  It will be fascinating to see how Towns changes the defensive schemes for New York, and fits into the offense led by point guard Jalen Brunson.  DiViencenzo will be missed. Another wheel of the famed Nova Knicks, he was a popular player off the bench for New York, and did an incredible job down the stretch and in the playoffs when called upon to...

  The New York Yankees are once again champions of the American League East. The Bronx Bombers enjoyed a 10-1 victory over their AL East rivals, the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday in a game that felt more like a coronation. The Yankees never trailed on Thursday, using a six-run sixth inning to pole vault themselves to a much-needed laugher after dropping the first two games of this series. Aaron Judge Celebrates. Getty Images It's been a wild year for the Yankees. They got off to a scintillating start to the season, winning 49 of their first 70 games, before cooling dramatically in June and July. There were questions about the starting rotation, the bullpen, and the potency of the lineup. Yet through it all the Yankees still found ways to win. Aaron Judge and Juan Soto proved to be the lethal 1-2 punch that everyone expected they'd be this season. Austin Wells turned into a solid contributor offensively belting 13 homers and driving in 55, while improving as a catcher de...

 The Mets are clinging to one of final wild card slots in the National League with both the Arizona Diamondbacks and Atlanta Braves circling to knock the Amazin's out. On Wednesday with the Mets coming off a 5-1 loss to the Braves the night before, had the rest of the series postponed until next Monday due to the dangers perpetuated by Hurricane Helene . Obviously it made no sense to play the games under such conditions, but many fans are not pleased. Carlos Mendoza. Getty Images Some Mets fans and pundits questioned why Major League Baseball chose not to have Atlanta move the games to a neutral site that was out of danger, and play them as originally schedule. The Texas Rangers were playing on the road this week, meaning Globe Life Field was available. Heck, even Citi Field was available. Instead the Mets are facing a daunting finish to the season that could leave them either limping into, or totally out of the playoffs altogether.  Consider the Amazin's had ...

 Pop the champagne bottles, the New York Giants have themselves a victory.  Big Blue earned a 21-15 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday behind a breakout day from rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers, and a solid effort from quarterback Daniel Jones.  Nabers, the Giants first round selection in last April's Draft showed off big time on Sunday, hauling in two touchdowns along with his eight catches for 78 yards on Sunday.  Malik Nabers against the Browns. Getty Images.   He hauled in both scores on short passes from Jones in the second quarter as Big Blue built a 21-7 lead.  As for Jones, he was solid, completing 24-of-34 for 236 yards and two scores to give Giants fans some level of confidence that this team can figure things out in a crowded NFC.  Hey, even the Carolina Panthers won on Sunday over Las Vegas,  anyone can win any given Sunday, right?  As for the Giants defense, they answered the bell, sacking Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Wa...

New York Jets fans got to be feeling pretty good about things now.  Fans of Gang Green got to see Aaron Rodgers play a full game this time at home, and they left feeling really good after the future Hall of Famer torched the New England Patriots for 281 yards and two touchdowns in Gang Greens' 24-3 victory.  The Jets sit at 2-1, and are just a half game back of the Buffalo Bills for first place. The offense is clicking right now, even with Morgan Moses going down with an MCL sprain that will cost him only a couple weeks.  The Jets host the Broncos on Sunday. Check out my reaction to the victory below!   

 It was not pretty, but somehow, someway the New York Jets came away with their first win of the year, a 24-17 triumph over the Tennessee Titans to improve to 1-1 on the season.  While it feels good to see Gang Green get back in the win column after a frustrating Week 1 loss last Monday in San Francisco, the Jets performance left a lot to be desired.  Yes, Aaron Rodgers look solid, if not unspectacular in the win. He completed 18-of-30 for 176 yards and threw two touchdowns. He had terrific touch on the football, and his accuracy was on point. He hit Breece Hall on a beautiful fade pattern down the sideline for a 26-yard touchdown that gave the Jets a 14-10 lead in the third quarter.  More importantly Rodgers spread the football around, and we got a glimpse of how dynamic this Jets offense can be when everything is working.  Mike Williams made a terrific catch on a perfect pass down the sideline to move the chains. Tyler Conklin and Malachi Corley each had catch...

 Well, you can't pin all the blame on Daniel Jones for this one.  Not when Jones threw for 178 yards and two touchdowns. He gave his team a chance to win the game.  But the Giants defense decided not to come to play at all in Washington on Sunday, as the G-Men fell to 0-2 following a 21-18 loss. Washington's rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels did whatever he wanted throwing for 226 yards on 23-of-29 passing.  Daniel Jones sacked in Week 2 at Washington. Getty Images.   Meanwhile Brian Robinson Jr. gashed Big Blue for 133 yards on the ground. Overall, Washington rolled up 425 yards of offense and help the football for over 37 minutes of action.  Sure the Giants held Washington to six field goals, but it doesn't matter when your defense can't get turnovers, and can't make a rookie quarterback look like, well, a rookie.  So here are the Giants at 0-2 for the 10th time in the last 12 seasons. It's a familiar sick feeling Giants fans have grown accustomed to...

 Look out everyone Aaron Judge is starting to get hot again.  After blasting his 52nd home run of the year on Friday with a Grand Slam homer to win it for the Yankees, the AL MVP candidate crushed a two-run blast on Sunday afternoon that propelled the Yankees to a 4-0 lead en route to an impressive 5-2 win over Boston.  That is now 53 homers for Judge who still has an outside shot in the final two weeks at tying his own career high of 62. We shall see.  But the biggest news is the Yankees have their slugger hitting well down the stretch. He is hitting .320 over his last seven games, and the Yankees have been winning in the clutch of late. Late inning victories over Kansas City and Boston on this recent home stand should make Yankees fans feel good.  It should also feel good that New York has now built a three-game lead over Baltimore in the AL East. In a crowded American League playoff, the Yankees could use the number 1 seed to their advantage. It will be a ha...

 Mets short stop and MVP candidate Francisco Lindor had to leave Sunday's game with back discomfort in the first inning after lining a base hit to open the contest. Lindor, who didn't play on Saturday after the back discomfort propped up on Friday night will go for an MRI on Monday in New York when the Mets return home to open a seven game home stand.  "We're gonna do some images and see if there's anything concerning in there," Lindor said after the game . "If not, then we continue to try and get better. The goal is to be available as many times as I can in these last [13] games that we have left. And that's pretty much it."   Francisco Lindor rounds the bases. Getty images. The Mets need Lindor to come through the evaluation with flying colors. He has been their best player in all facets of the game both defensively, offensively and as a clubhouse leader.  In a year when Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo have not exactly been consistent enough i...

 Well at least Aaron Rodgers completed an entire game this time.  While all eyes were on the health and play of Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers going into their Week 1 match-up with the San Francisco 49ers, the facts are this New York's defense never came to play in a humbling 32-19 loss on Monday Night Football.  Aaron Rodgers against San Francisco. Getty Images Rodgers acquitted himself well on Monday. While he looked a little rusty and stiff in the pocket, when he needed to make plays he did. He showed that familiar zip with the football, completed passes in tight windows, and fooled San Fran on a beautiful fade down the field to his fellow former Packers teammate Allen Lazard for six points.  The key here of course is: "when the Jets had the ball;" which wasn't often. The Jets held possession for only 21 minutes and 25 seconds; the lowest amount of T.O.P. in Rodgers' entire career.  That is mainly due to the fact that the Jets defense was putrid on Monday. Ga...

  If Week 1 was any indication, it is going to be a very long year for Daniel Jones and the New York Giants. On a sun-splashed afternoon, with legends like Lawrence Taylor, Phil Simms, Eli Manning, Tom Coughlin, and Bill Parcells in the house to commemorate the franchises 100th anniversary, the Giants laid the biggest egg one could think of to start the season, losing to the Minnesota Vikings 28-6. Right from the get go it didn't look good. The Giants offense went three-and-out on its first series. Then followed that up by sluggishly moving into field goal range after the Vikings fumbled the ball back to Big Blue on its first possession. You knew something was not right.  Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones. Getty Images   Before anyone could blink the Vikings and quarterback Sam Darnold caught fire. The former Jets first round pick was slinging the ball around MetLife Stadium like he never did before when he was wearing green & white. He guided the Vikin...

 The New York Giants are busy celebrating their 100th anniversary this season. Fans packed MetLife Stadium on Friday nigh t to celebrate with a season opening fan fest that featured former Giants legends through the years.  But as the season kicks-off Sunday, it almost feels solemn. That's because the expectations are not high coming into the season; at least not the fans, and certainly not the media.  Daniel Jones Getty Images.   The Giants are coming off a disappointing 6-11 season that was quickly followed up by a disappointing off-season highlighted by Saquon Barkley's departure for Philadelphia. If the Hard Knocks series this summer that featured an seemingly miffed John Mara over Barkley's exit, Giants fans couldn't be happy to see their former first round pick from 2018 score three times for the Eagles on Friday night in Brazil.  So when the Giants take the field Sunday to face the Minnesota Vikings to open the season, they will do so with all eyes on qu...

 The New York Mets have been one of the hottest teams in baseball of late, winners of eight straight games to climb right back into a tie for the final wild card out of the National League, so getting any kind of injury news is bad news.  And this one hurts.  Second baseman Jeff McNeil will be out for the remainder of the year with a fractured right wrist. He suffered the break while taking a curveball off his hand in the bottom of the fifth inning of Friday's thrilling 6-4, 10-inning Mets victory.  "Frustrated -- this is not how you want to kind of end the season," McNeil told reporters on Saturday. "I want to be out there with the guys."      McNeil has had a tough 2024. He battled only .238 with 12 homers and 44 RBI, and found himself in an unofficial platoon at second with Jose Iglesias.    Iglesias, who became a clubhouse and fan favorite this year with his music recording debut of "OMG!" will get the bulk of the playing time at second. ...