COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

 Well here is a story nobody saw coming. Former Mets closer Edwin Diaz has been linked to a cockfighting ring in Puerto Rico thanks to incriminating social media posts, according to multiple reports.  Fox News reports that Diaz, who now pitches for the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, appeared in tournament graphics in "full Dodgers uniform." He has also been open about his families participation in the blood-sport, which is banned in the United States.  "  Diaz described cockfighting as a pastime he has followed since childhood and confirmed that his family entered four roosters into a recent tournament." Meanwhile, " Champion jockeys Jose Ortiz and Irad Ortiz Jr. were also identified in social media footage tied to the events. According to the report, the Ortiz brothers, who recently dominated the Kentucky Derby , appeared on video collecting cash bets at one of the alleged cockfighting gatherings ," according to the same report....

 The New York Jets will indeed open the 2026 season at Tennessee where they will square-off with their former coach, Robert Saleh in his Titans Head Coaching debut.  Many anticipated that the Jets could open the season in Tennessee for this very story-line. It was the most obvious choice, despite rumors via ESPN N.Y. and the Daily News' Gary Myers that the Jets might open in Miami. That proved false.   While a lot of focus will be on the wits of Saleh against current Jets Head Coach Aaron Glenn, the real story will be about Saleh going up against the team, and more specifically, the front office that fired him following a Week 5 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London two seasons ago.    The Jets were 2-3 at the time, and had just lost a heart-breaker 23-17 to the Vikings where New York had a chance to win late.  Then Jets owner Woody Johnson, the former Ambassador to the U.K., perhaps feeling embarrassed by the showing, fired Saleh by the time the Je...

As seems to have become an annual tradition, the entire New York Giants schedule drops before anyone else, and well ahead of the "official" announcement this evening at 8 p.m.  Thanks to X accounts @NFLNerd and @ozzyNFL , fans have been watching schedule leaks drop across the league as if they were general election returns since Wednesday afternoon. In fact, the anticipation and prediction element of the schedule has become a thing of its own in social media circles. Everyone takes their best swing at guessing the schedule.  As for Big Blue, we knew on Monday that they would open the season against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, September 13.  No real surprise. The Cowboys are a ratings magnate for the NFL no matter how good nor bad they are. Couple that will John Harbaugh's debut as Giants coach, and you got a ready made game for prime time.  By Wednesday night we also found out that the Giants were going to host the Cardinals in Week 4 and the Washington Comm...

 The New York Knicks are as  hot as any team in the NBA right now, and their fans know it.  In the days leading up to the beginning of this Eastern Conference Semifinal between the Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers, Sixers star Joel Embeed pleaded with Sixers fans to make sure they didn't sell their tickets to Knicks fans.  Those pleas went of deaf ears as the Infinity Mobile Center felt more like Madison Square Garden in Game 3 on Friday, and especially in Game 4 on Sunday as the Knicks swept the series. In fact, the fan domination that many said felt like "80-20" in terms of Knicks rooting interest only grew louder as New York put together another record setting performance in a 144-114 drubbing of the Sixers.  Heck, this game was essentially over when Miles "Deuce" McBride hit his third consecutive three pointer in the opening quarter that gave the Knicks a 17-6 lead with 7:31 to play in the opening stanza. The Knicks crowd exploded chanting "DEUUUUUCE"...

Breece Hall waited a long time for this day.  The Jets running back who had been pinning for a contract extension for a couple of years now finally got his wish on Friday afternoon when the New York Jets agreed to terms with Hall's representatives on a new three-year, $45.75 million deal . The deal will make Hall the third highest paid running back in the NFL in Average Annual Salary (AAV) at $15.25 million. Only Saquon Barkley and Christian McCaffery make more with the Eagles and 49ers respectively.  This is a huge get for the Jets. They get to keep one of its most productive players over the past four seasons for the long term, all while ending ongoing speculation that a trade would be in the offing.  Hall has been the Jets bell-cow the past four years, averaging 978 yards rushing. In some respects he was both underutilized and underappreciated these past few seasons. He has the talent to be a top flight back in this league. Last season, Hall ran for 1,065 yards and fou...

 KNICKS 108 - SIXERS 102  After winning their past two games by a combined 90 points, the Knicks had to settle for only a six-point victory in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, 108-102 over the 76ers.  Either way the Knicks lead this best-of-seven series 2-0 as the scene shifts to Philadelphia over the weekend.  Trailing 90-89 through three quarters in a back-and-forth affair that saw an exchange off 22-lead changes, the Knicks finally took control on a 9-0 run with less than four minutes to go in the ball game. Jalen Brunson's 16-foot jumper gave New York its largest lead at 103-99 with 3:46 to go. Seconds later, Mikal Bridges nailed a 20-footer to make it 105-99.  Meanwhile Philadelphia went completely ice cold offensively.     Following Kelly Obrue Jr's. three pointer that gave Philly a 99-96 lead with 6:52 to go, the Sixers went 0-6 from the floor, including 0-for-5 from downtown over a span of five minutes. By the time Tyrese Maxey...

 KNICKS 137 - SIXERS 98   New series, same result. The New York Knicks continue to dominate in this postseason, racking up a second consecutive victory by more than 35 points, as they blasted the 76ers 137-98 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.  After a back-and-forth opening quarter, the Knicks caught fire in the second quarter, knocking down 15 of their 22 shots in the frame, five of which were from downtown, en route to a 41-point quarter as New York carried a 74-51 lead into the half.  They would never look back.   According to ESPN and Sportradar, the Knicks historic run is mighty impressive. The Knicks have won four in a row by a combined 135 points, and have led in three straight playoff games by at least 30 point in each of those games, a first since detailed play-by-play stat-keeping began during the 1996-97 season.  Leading the way this time was Jalen Brunson, who dominated the floor with 35 points on 12-of-18 shooting, and ...

 The New York Yankees remembered the life and legacy of longtime radio voice John Sterling, who passed away Sunday at the age of 87.  Sterling had the call of over 5,400 regular season Yankees games, and 211 postseason games during his illustrious Yankees' career that began in 1989 and carried him through his retirement at age 85 in 2024. The voice of five Yankees championships and the Hall of Fame careers of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, Sterling will forever be synonymous withe New York Yankees baseball.  The Yankees put together a touching tribute before the club's 12-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles at the Stadium.  Fellow broadcasters Michael Kay and Susan Waldman, who both worked alongside Sterling throughout his Yankees career honored their broadcast partner with flowers at home plate and a moment of silence.   

For more than three decades New York Yankees fans had grown accustomed to hearing the baritone pipes of long time radio broadcaster John Sterling, who turned the phrase "Yankees Win! DAAAAAAA Yankees Win!" into one of the most recognized calls around the world.   Sterling, who stepped away from the microphone in April of 2024, passed away Sunday night. He was 87.  Sterling had the call of 5,420 regular season and 211 postseason games as Yankees broadcaster, and even called 5,600 consecutive games from September 1989 through July of 2019. He was the voice of an entire generation of Yankees fans, who grew accustomed to both his wild sense of humor and keen professionalism.   Whether it be coining catching home run calls for various players like Bernie Williams and Hideki Matsui, to sometimes, even misjudging plays in hilarious fashion, or capturing the essence of total victory in October, Sterling had a front row seat to some of the greatest Yankees' teams of a...

 Well, unless David Stearns and Steve Cohen have a trick up their sleeves, there won't be any 3 a.m. firings of the Mets manager in Anaheim over the weekend.  That's because Stearns gave Manager Carlos Mendoza the dreaded vote of confidence on Friday night before the Mets opened up a three-game weekend series in Anaheim against the Angels.  The Mets (10-21) are currently the worst team in Major League Baseball, and it's not even close.  While most of the fan base has been forgiving of Mendoza for the poor start, putting most of the blame on Stearns and Cohen for building a flawed roster, the media has been on Mendoza Watch.  It hasn't helped matters that both the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies fired their managers, Alex Cora and Rob Thompson respectively in the last week.   It is ironic in a way that the Mets are in Anaheim this weekend, because about 18-years ago the Amazin's found themselves in a similar predicament, w hen then manager Wil...

 It was a game that nobody could have foreseen coming from the New York Knicks.   With an opportunity to wrap up their opening round series with the pesky Atlanta Hawks, the Knicks put together a record breaking performance, dropping 140 points in one of the most lopsided games in NBA playoff history, a 140-89 throttling of the Hawks.  The 51-point spread was the biggest road victory in playoff history, and set the franchise record for largest postseason margin of victory. And to think this game was at one point a 61-point advantage for the Knicks.  New York stunned the Hawks right from the jump with a 40-point first quarter en route to a 83-36 halftime lead. That 47-point margin of victory broke a nearly nine year record once held by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who carried a 41-point halftime lead in a playoff game.  And leading the way was OG Anunoby who dished out 29 points on an 11-of-14 night from the floor in a dominant showcase as he carried the ballclu...

 Both the New York Giants and New York Jets addressed some big needs in the opening night of the NFL Draft out in Pittsburgh, and none bigger than adding a some edge rushers to the mix.  JETS PASS ON REESE, DRAFT DAVID BAILEY INSTEAD This was one of the most controversial picks of the night. Should the Jets select Bailey, a player by most accounts was one of the most dominate pass rushers in college football last season, or do they take the versatile Arvell Reese, who many believe could be an even better player than Bailey in the long term? Well, the Jets decided to go with Bailey who recorded 14.5 sacks last season at Texas Tech, and had an impressive 4.50 -40-yard dash at the combine. While he is considered "pro ready" to take the leap into the NFL, many scouts also feel his ceiling is not as high, and there are concerns about his ability against the run.  Many Jets fans were not pleased with the pick, some even going as far as to claim that the Jets drafting of Bailey ...

 HAWKS 109 - KNICKS 108 (ATL Leads 2-1)  Oh, boy Knicks fans!! This is definitely not what the doctor ordered. For the second consecutive game, the Knicks fell to the Atlanta Hawks by only one-point, this time 109-108 as they fall behind this best-of-seven opening round series two-games-to-one.  Can the Knicks actually choke this series away? A series they were heavily favored in, especially against an Atlanta team that doesn't feature Knick-killer Trae Young anymore?  Well, there is a new Knicks-Killer in the ATL, and his name CJ McCollum, who hit a fade-away jumper with 12.5 seconds to go in regulation to humiliate the Knicks for the second straight night.  McCollum didn't lead the Hawks in scoring on Thursday, he finished one point shy of the leader, Jalen Johnson, who had 24. Heck he didn't even have a double-double. But he hit the biggest shot that mattered.  With the Knicks holding on to a 108-107 lead, and after Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart both misse...

 Just like Manager Lou Brown said in "Major League" after his goofball Cleveland Indians won two straight games, "That's what we call a winning streak... It has happened before."  Well congratulations New York Mets, you have won two in a row. And yes, it has happened before. Even this season in fact.   A day after staging a late rally to stun the Minnesota Twins 3-2 on Wednesday night, the Mets once again had to pull a rabbit out of their hats against Minnesota on Thursday, this time winning 10-8.  Ironically the Mets had built a 6-1 lead, but watched as the Twins slowly crept back into the game, pounding the Mets bullpen.  When Ryan Jeffers launched a grand slam homer off of Hoscar Brazoban to tie the game at seven in the eighth inning, you would be forgiven if you thought the Mets were destined to lose.  Instead Minnesota's bullpen of Andrew Morris and Anthony Banda chose a bad time to have a bad night for the Twins. The Mets loaded the bases before ...

 I guess it's fair to say that Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler just owns the Red Sox.  After shutting down Boston last October, the Yankees number 2 ace stymied the Bo-Sox over eight brilliant innings, as the Yankees swept the series with a 4-2 win on Thursday.  Schlittler was amazing, holding Boston to just four hits, with five K's, and all while keeping a very economical pitch count at 96 pitches. At 3-1, Schlittler's ERA is now at 1.77, and one can argue he is indeed the ace of this staff at the moment.  Offensively the Yankees scratched out enough runs for him in the later stages. With New York down 2-1, Cody Bellinger delivered a two-run single to left, scoring Jazz Chisholm and Trent Grisham to give New York a 3-2 lead.  A few batters later, a fielding error on Boston following an Aaron Judge single, allowed Jose Caballero to score to push the Yankees lead to two.  New York is red hot right now having won six straight to take a commanding three game le...

 The Yankees are one of the few franchises that refuse to tinker with tradition.   While most teams are willing to change the look and feel of their uniforms in order to bring it up to "modern" times, the Yankees have been steadfast, and rightfully so, in remaining keen on tradition. Pinstripe whites at home, and greys on the road.  Really outside of the while pipping that used to exist on the Yankees road jersey's there have been few changes to a uniform that has stood the test of time for over 100 years. Winning 27 World Championships can do that.  But it appears that the Yankees players want to make a change. According to reports there is a popular thought around the clubhouse about switching things up a bit and throwing in the Yankees navy blue spring training jersey's in as a regular alternate with the road greys.  Basically the jersey is the inverse of the normal threads, with a navy top with New York written in grey lettering.  It's not the wor...

 Former Giants defensive end Dexter Lawrence got his wish on Sunday when he was dealt to the Cincinnati Bengals for the 10th overall pick in this week's NFL draft.  The move ends a stunning frayed relationship between the G-men and arguably it's best defensive player, creating a huge hole in the middle of John Harbaugh's defense. Now Harbaugh and GM Joe Schoen must use every opportunity before them, whether it be with the fifth overall pick, and, now, the 10th overall pick to address this issue.    In a way it was surprising to see Lawrence take it this far.  With a new head coach in place who carried a resume of Super Bowl success with the Baltimore Ravens, one would think that Lawrence would want to be a part of it.  But according to reports Lawrence wanted either a new contract or a trade. He had grown frustrated with years of losing in  New York, and wanted to cash in.  As ESPN reported, the Giants felt that Lawrence was coming off his worst...

 The 2026 New York Mets are an abject disaster and it is only April 20.  We are 22-games into the season, and the Mets are tied with the Kansas City Royals for the worst record in all of baseball at 7-15. That's right the team with the highest payroll in baseball of $381 millions, $30.25 million of which is due to players no longer on the roster, is dead last in the National League East, and dead last in the National League.  And they play and look like dead team walking.  And we got 140 games still to go.   You can blame manager Carlos Mendoza all you want, but the facts remain that all the blame shouldn't be shouldered by one man. In fact, President of Baseball Operations David Stearns, and owner Steve Cohen should shoulder plenty of responsibility as well.  Those two men built this mess of a team. They allowed former stars like Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, Edwin Diaz, and Jeff McNeil either leave via free agency, or pushed them out via trade. Stearns...

 Speaking of five game losing streaks, we present you the New York Mets.  The Amazin's lost their fifth in a row in a 1-0 loss to the Sacramento/Las Vegas A's on Sunday afternoon at Citi FIeld, as New York suffered its first ever sweep at the hands of the Athletics.  Not to mention former Met Jeff McNeil feasted on the Mets all weekend, going 6-of-13 with an RBI, and some great work at second base defensively.  But hey, the Mets traded Brandon Nimmo (also scorching right now) to Texas for McNeil's replacement last off-season in Marcus Semien who is hitting a wondrous .190 on the year.   The Mets were nonexistent on Sunday against the A's . They managed only four hits, all of them singles, and were 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position. It's as if they didn't even care.  When Bo Bichette grounded out on the first pitch he saw in the ninth inning, boos reigned down from the stands at Citi Field as if the season had collapsed, and it's only April....

 So much for that 8-2 start to the season.  The New York Yankees are in the midst of an early season slump after taking their fifth straight loss in a 5-4 decision to the Rays in Tampa on Sunday. The loss obviously completed a three-game sweep for Tampa Bay, who suddenly swings into a three-way tie for first place in the AL East.  It's been that kind of week for the Yankees. Every single loss has been close, with four of the five consecutive losses decided by one run.  Despite Aaron Judge's two-run bomb in the ninth inning that cut the Rays lead to 5-4 it was not enough for a Yankees squad that managed five hits prior to the ninth inning, and were a measly 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.  The Yankees offense has really been a problem of late. They are hitting .170 over their last seven games with only Ben Rice and Amed Rosario providing any consistent offense of late.  So even with a vaunted top of the rotation led by Max Fried and Cam Schlittler,...

 On Thursday night amid the Mets 7-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants, someone in the stands yelled that the Mets were New York's B-Team. While there is no disrespect on our part to the New York Yankees, who look every bit the part of baseball's best team 9 days into the 2026 season, the Mets flexed some serious muscle out in the Bay this weekend.   Check out the vlog!     

 DUKE 80 - ST. JOHN'S 75  Rick Pitino said it best in his post game press conference about his St. John's Red Storm following a heart-breaking finish to its NCAA title hopes at the hands of the Duke Blue Devils in the Sweet 16.  "They were just the greatest kids in the world. They wanted to win so badly. They were willing to do anything to try and win. I'll never have a team like this again with that type of attitude." And that's what makes Friday's 80-75 loss so painful , and so tough to digest. Because the Johnnies were that good. They were more than capable of beating the Blue Devils, and with the way the field was shaping up with Houston and Florida out of the way, and a date with Big East rival UCONN looming, there was a legitimate chance for St. John's to not only make it to the Final Four, but possibly the NCAA Championship game.  And for different moments in this game, it looked like the dream could indeed come true. When Rube Prey connected o...

 METS 11 - PIRATES 7  This was the kind of debut Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns had to be dreaming about when he put Mets fans through the ringer this off-season. After an off-season purge of past stars was followed by a late January surge in trades and signings, the Mets opened the 2026 season on fire!  New York pounded NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes, knocking the righty out of the first inning of the season opener at Citi Field, and kept pounding the Pittsburgh Pirates for 11 runs in an 11-7 victory.  While Brett Baty's three-run triple on a ball that sailed over the head of center fielder O'Neil Cruz, cleared the bases to give the Mets a 4-2 lead, the afternoon really belonged to a number of new members of the Mets, namely rookie Carson Benge.  Benge, who made the roster out of Spring Training after only one full season in the minors, had his signature moment when he launched his first major league home run into the bullpens in right-cent...

 YANKEES 7 - GIANTS 0  It wasn't exactly the most picture perfect Opening Day ever, but the Yankees will surely take it, as they pounded the San Francisco Giants 7-0 as the Bombers used small ball to stymie the G-men by the Bay.  Trent Grishom, fresh off signing a one-year deal in the off-season to return to New York, picked up right where he left off in 2025, cashing in on a pair of hits, including a two-run triple that gave the Yankees a 5-0 lead in the second inning.  Grishom's key note was preceded by RBI singles by Jose Caballero and Ryan McMahon as the Yankees got to Giants ace Logan Webb early. Webb would leave the contest after five innings, charged with seven runs, six earned.  Meanwhile Max Fried did just enough in his second consecutive Opening Day start for the Yankees. Fried held the Giants scoreless through 6.2 innings, allowing only two hits and a walk.  What was most impressive about the Yankees opening night victory? The fact New York pound...

I am not a fan of the World Baseball Classic. Never have been.   I never understood the fascination of starting spring training, then suddenly asking players to leave their respective teams in order to turn up the intensity to MAX for two weeks to go "all in" for God and Country in a tournament Major League Baseball devised.  Heck the W.B.C. isn't even part of the Olympics! If you told me that finally baseball and the Olympic committee agreed to make the W.B.C. a part of the festivities, my feelings on the event would be a lot different.   That's just me.    But as the throws of the W.B.C. in 2026 are about to come to a conclusion with Team USA taking on Venezuela in the W.B.C. Final later tonight, it's hard to ignore the facts that it continues to increase in popularity.  According to reports, FOX Sports slayed in the ratings:  "3.17 million viewers watched the four Team USA World Baseball Classic pool play games across FOX, FS1 and FO...

One team that everyone is going to want to keep an eye on as the NCAA Tournament begins is St. John's.  Rick Pitino's club has been one of the best basketball teams in the country this year, posting a record of 28-6, and capturing a second consecutive Big East title.  The Johnnies even beat UCONN twice this season, including dominating the Huskies 72-52 in the Big East Title game this past Saturday.  Yet, as the tournament bracket was laid out, it was hard to look at from the St. John's perspective.  Duke, Ohio State, Kansas, Michigan State, Louisville, UCLA, UCF, and UCONN are all in the same East regional bracket as St. John's.  Not to mention, St. John's has to open against Northern Iowa, a program that owns five NCAA tournament victories, and is no stranger to upsets.  In short this won't be easy. Even if St. John's outlasts Northern Iowa on Friday night, they'll have to get through most likely Kansas for a shot at (most likely) Duke in the Sweet 16....

 Give some credit to Jets General Manager Darren Mougey, he found a way to dump quarterback Justin Fields and get something in return.  The Jets traded Fields after just one season with the team to the Kansas City Chiefs for a sixth round pick. It's a win-win for both teams.  The Jets get a sixth round pick for 2027 and rid themselves of a player who just didn't work out. The Jets had hoped that Fields could build off a brief stint as a starter with Pittsburgh in 2024 and parlay that into the starting gig with Gang Green a year later.  Fields went 2-7 as a starter with the Jets, and New York eventually benched him in November for good.  As for the Chiefs the trade is unique. Fields -- as poor as he has played in two of his previous three stops -- is still a player with plenty of talent. His scrambling ability, plus live arm makes him attractive, especially to a Chiefs team that is uncertain about the availability of Patrick Mahomes comes week 1.  Mahomes ...