COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

PITTSBURGH STEELERS (14-4) vs. ARIZONA CARDINALS (12-7) 6:30 NBC : Enough with all the pomp and circumstance. Enough with all the media analysis on TV, the Internet and in the papers. Enough with all the sad personal stories; these players are multi-millionaires; they don't deserve our sympathy. Enough with the over-hyped commercials, and the over-hyped pre-game ceremonies. Enough already! It is time to strap on those chinstraps and get ready to smack someone's head off. Finally, Super Bowl XLIII is 48 hours away. ( Look at Arizona stats ). ( Look at Pittsburgh stats ). All the talk over the past two weeks focuses on the miracle season for the Arizona Cardinals. They have exorcised the demons of 61 years of bad memories and a rather mediocre 9-7 regular season to put together an improbable playoff run. Quarterback Kurt Warner has been excellent; running back Edgerin James has done a decent job on the ground, and receiver Larry Fitzgerald has had an historic postseason. That be...

There are only three days left until Super Bowl XLIII, a fitting end to a wacky 2008 season, as the old guard Pittsburgh Steelers take on the surprising Arizona Cardinals. Whenever Super Bowl time comes up, it is really a frustrating holiday for true die hard fans of the NFL. For starters, the NFL tries its best to pander to the casual fans, who know virtually nothing about football, so they, and various other companies, can score big in TV ratings. The die hard's are left out in the cold, forced to listen to people at Super Bowl parties make remarks like "Wow, there is a team named the Cardinals? How many Super Bowl's have they won?" Or, "I hate those Steeler uniforms; why don't they try nicer colors?" Or, "Hey! How about that commercial with Burt Reynolds and Peter Griffin from Family Guy ?" It's enough to make a genuine football fan want to run out of the room screaming! If it were up to me, a true football fan, the Super Bowl would kic...

With Super Bowl winning coaches like Bill Cowher, Mike Shanahan, Jon Gruden, Mike Holmgren and Tony Dungy all likely to take a year off in 2009, it is now clear that the NFL is entering a new era for head coaches. For the past 20 plus years, fans and pundits alike have considered the names above, as well as the old guards of Bill Parcells, Dick Vermil, Dan Reeves and Jimmy Johnson to be the best coaches in the league. Now neither will be coaching a game in 2009. Thus, the winner of Super Bowl XLIII will be the welcomed in as the next great head coach. This new generation of head coach is younger, more fit, more hip to modern technology, and a player coach who still maintains enough discipline and commands enough respect from his ball club. Mike Tomlin and Ken Whisenhunt are about to enter this fraternity. Tomlin, after taking over for Cowher after the 2006 season as a virtual unknown from Jon Gruden's Tampa Bay coaching staff, has lit a fire under the Steelers. Tomlin's strong...

Jerry Manuel did the Mets front office no favors when he went on SNY's Daily News Live program on Monday, and stated that he would love to have troubled slugger Manny Ramirez on the Mets in 2009. "I don't have a problem with people that produce in the form and fashion that Manny Ramirez produces," Manuel said on SNY. "We shouldn't spend that much time in the locker room anyway. "Our job is to be on the field, and Manny Ramirez has proven that he is probably one of the best right-handed hitters of our generation. To have a shot at managing him would be exciting for me. I've had Albert Belle, Frank Thomas, tremendous right-handed hitters. I would love to have the opportunity to watch Manny hit every day." This amounts to a disturbing quote from the Mets manager, considering that Mets COO Jeff Wilpon stated during the weekend that the Mets and GM Omar Minaya have no interest in acquiring the complex Ramirez. Granted Ramirez is a great talent, but...

According to a story in the New York Post, Peter King of Sports Illustrated told some in the media that he believes that Brett Favre is likely done playing football at the professional level. However, King hinted that if Favre comes back, he wants to play for the Minnesota Vikings, not the Jets. One reason Favre does not want to return to the Jets is the fact that he will have to participate in off-season workouts, something the lazy Favre hates to do. "You're kidding yourself if you think he's going to move back to New Jersey for 12 to 16 weeks in March. 'I've never been in a [full] offseason program,' Favre told me a month ago," King writes . Favre's stay with the Jets was a rather weird one. He was received well by the fans and some of his teammates when he first arrived in August, but there were other problems brewing in the clubhouse. First it was Lavernous Coles vile hatred for Favre, as well as Thomas Jones' hatred of Favre for throwing big...

Usually when faced with a David vs. Goliath type match-up in the NFL either in the regular season or postseason, most consider the pressure to be squarely on the shoulders of the favorite. Last year the pressure was on an undefeated New England Patriots squad that was looking to become the first ever 19-0 team. A loss in the Super Bowl would be devastating to the Pats, who were perfect for so long. Well, that loss did happen, and a year and Tom Brady's gimp knee later, the Patriots were out of the postseason party in 2008. This year, however, all of the pressure is on the David: the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals are coming into Super Sunday with a huge fanfare. The little engine that could never get up that steep hill has finally made it, and everyone wants to meet and greet them. A franchise once believed to be a doormat to the NFL is now one step away from immortality. How these young red birds handle the pressure of Super Bowl week will go a long way toward determing how the...

Andy Pettite and the New York Yankees have agreed to a one year $5.5 million contract for the 2009 season. Pettite can make as much as $6.5 million with performance bonuses. Last season Pettite had one of the worst years of his career. After being mired in the Roger Clemens steroid scandal, Pettite went 14-14 with a 4.51 ERA but was 2-7 with a 6.23 ERA in his last 11 starts. The lone bright spot for the veteran lefty in 2008 was pitching in the final game ever at the real Yankee Stadium. Pettite solidifies a Yankee rotation of C.C. Sabathia, Chien Ming Wang, A.J. Burnett, Joba Chamberlin and Phil Hughes. If Pettite can stay healthy, the Yankees could move Chamberlin back to his more natural spot in the bullpen.