COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

On the day that he welcomed a brand new head coach, Jets owner Woody Johnson let one slip through his tounge when he told reporters: " We've been preoccupied with building the stadium and this (facility), and now we're really focused on the most important aspect, and that's the team ." ( Qutd. New York Post). The quote didn't really shake fans or media until today, as it was construed to mean that Johnson and Company did not care about winning at all, and was more concerned about selling PSL's. Some people claim that the quote is evidence as to why the team did not get Bill Cowher as the head coach, and still wants an aging Brett Favre on the team, so Favre can sell tickets with his big ticket name. CHECK OUT " The Roberts Rant " from WFAN.com titled "It's All About The Stadium" Johnson tried to back track on the quote when he told WFAN host Mike Francesa "That clearly was not what I meant to communicate. I was trying to commu...

Six years ago, the Jets were in a very familiar position. They needed to win their season finale and pray to the gods of football that the New England Patriots would defeat the Miami Dolphins in order to give the Jets the division title. The Jets were led by Chad Pennington in that season, his first as a starter. Pennington helped resurrect a Jets team that started 2-5 that year to an 8-7 record. They had to square off against the Green Bay Packers and some quarterback named Brett Favre in that season finale -- a scenerio that did not look too favorable for Gang Green. Giants Stadium was packed that cold evening; on the jumbotron, minutes before the Jets/Packers kick off, a live feed appeared of the Pats/Dolphins game. Adam Vinatieri kicked the game winning field goal for New England, killing Miami's postseason dreams and giving the Jets hope. Giants Stadium roared with pleasure as the score was announced. The Jet players fed off that energy and beat up Favre and Packers, 42-17. P...

SEAHAWKS 13 JETS 3 If we learn anything from this disastrous Jets season it is this: money doesn't always buy happiness. It is well documented that the Jets spent more than $140 million to reshape the franchise in the off-season and shipped out Chad Pennington in favor of Brett Favre. Expectations were high; people wanted a division title and a deep playoff run. Then, after a terrific 8-3 start, the fans were dreaming of the Super Bowl, and a possible matchup with their stadium mates the Giants. That was w hat it was ... a pipe-dream. The Jets in 2008 are offically dead! After a dismal and heartless 13-3 loss to the 4-11 Seattle Seahawks, the Jets can kiss their playoff dreams goodbye, because both the Patriots and Dolphins won, making things very difficult for New York. The Jets now have to win against Miami and hope that the Buffalo Bills come up with enough of an effort to beat the Patriots. If that scenerio plays out, the Jets would win the division at 10-6. That is highly unli...

Even if New York is not represented at all in the Super Bowl this year, it certainly will be in the Pro Bowl. Talk about a downer. 13 total players from both the Giants and Jets have been selected to the meaningless post-Super Bowl scrimmage in Hawaii. The Giants sent only one Pro Bowler last year in their Super Bowl season; this year they are sending six. Offensive linemen Chris Snee and Shaun O'Hara will be there. Snee will start at guard, while O'Hara will be a reserve center. Eli Manning made it to his first pro bowl as a backup quarterback. It marks the first time that both Eli and Peyton Manning will square off in the Pro Bowl, but if you ask both, they would rather square off in the Super Bowl. Justin Tuck who has had a monster season at defensive end in place of Michael Strahan and Osi Umienyora, will be there as well. Punter Jeff Feagles and kicker John Carney will lead the NFC's special teams. As for the Jets, they didn't send a single player to Hawaii ...

JETS 31 BILLS 27 Don't get too excited Jet fans; your team is plain vanilla lucky to be 9-5 today. The Jets were well on their way to losing their third straight game, as well as all but flushing their playoff hopes down the toilet, when Bills coach Dick Jouran decided to make one of the dumbest play calls one can make, and J.P. Losman made one of the dumbest plays a quarterback can make. With the game all but wrapped, the Bills faced a second and five at their own 27 yard line with 2:06 to go. All Buffalo had to do was run the ball for a first down, let the clock run to 2:00 and the victory would have been theirs. Instead, Jouran decided to put in a pass play. Losman, in typical Losman fashion, botched the play when he was sacked by Jets saftey Abram Elam, causing Losman to fumble the football. Shaun Ellis picked up the loose ball and stumbled into the end zone for the game winning touchdown. It was one of the most improbable plays in NFL history; right up there with David Tyree...

Now that the playoff picture in the NFL is really developing, it is starting to look more likely that neither New York football team will have much of an impact when the playoffs begin. The Giants, having had their victory parade derailed last week against the Eagles, is one thing, but when it appears that the club is falling apart due to the Plaxico Burress/Antonio Pierce fiasco, it is hard to believe that this team will remain focused for another big stretch run. Add to this the fact that running back Brandon Jacobs will likely be side lined for a while because of a couple of banged up knees, and that, outside of Amani Toomer, the Giants have no real deep threat at receiver left on the team. One has to wonder when, not how, the Giants will be picked off in the playoffs. Keep in mind, during the Giants great run this season they have not seen a team from the NFC South, which is a better division than the NFC East. The Panthers have the best ground game in the league, and a receiving ...