COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

He was a Super Bowl winning coach for the Oakland Raiders, a legendary broadcaster, brand name for a billion dollar video game franchise, and NFL Hall of Famer. John Madden had a wonderful life; he passed away Tuesday. He was 85.  Madden's influence on the game spans generations. He was, at the time of his hire in 1969, the youngest coach in the NFL when maverick Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis made him his head coach. Madden guided the Raiders for nine years, compiling an impressive 103 wins to 32 losses and seven ties. His Raiders won Super Bowl IX over the Minnesota Vikings  His overall winning percentage (regular season and postseason combined) ranks second in NFL history.    After leaving the Raiders in 1978, Madden jumped into the broadcast booth, launching one of the most outstanding broadcasting careers his history.    He eventually teamed up with Pat Summerall on CBS in 1981, forming an indelible duo that became the soundtrack of fall Sunday's for 2...

 JETS 26 - JAGUARS 21  For those Jets fans who wanted Gang Green to lose to Jacksonville for draft position, look away.  With 20 players, and head coach Robert Saleh, on the COVID-protocols list the Jets found a way to hold off Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars 26-21 at MetLife Stadium.  Gang Green was powered by the running of running back Michael Carter, who gashed the Jags for 118 yards on 16 carries. And they were led by Braxton Berrios' 103-yard kick return for a touchdown that gave the Jets a 13-9 lead in the second quarter.  Berrios also had five catches for 37-yards to lead the Jets. A free agent-to-be, Berrios made a huge case for the Jets to extend him a major contract.  Berrios has been the Jets most consistent presence offensively all season, and was deserving of  Pro Bowl bid.  Of course this game was supposed to be about the battle between quaterbacks Zach Wilson and Lawrence, the first and second overall picks in last spr...

 The future of head coach Joe Judge and quarterback Daniel Jones may have already been determined.  Hours before the Giants took the field in the their 34-10 blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, reports surfaced Sunday that both Judge and Jones would be returning to Big Blue next season.  ESPN's Adam Schefter originally reported the story.  In two seasons at the helm Judge is 10-21 as Giants head coach. Jones is currently out for the season with a neck injury that sidelined him a month ago in Week 12. One could argue that the Giants are easily the worst team in the NFL - not named the Jacksonville Jaguars.  It is still widely assumed that the Giants are going to part ways with General Manager David Gettleman, who could either be fired or forced to accept an early retirement. The Giants would certainly create a very odd situation for any potential GM candidates with both Judge and Jones firmly entrenched for 2022. If one wants an example of how this kind of m...

 As if this rookie campaign for head coach Robert Saleh couldn't get any worse, the Jets head coach has tested positive for COVID-19.  Reports are Saleh showed symptoms earlier in the week before testing positive. Ron Middleton will serve as acting head coach until Saleh returns. If Saleh doesn't clear COVID protocols by Sunday, Middleton will coach the Jets match-up against the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Saleh is the third head coach in the NFL to test positive for the virus including the Saints' Sean Payton and the Browns' Kevin Stefanski. New York currently has 14 players on COVID-reserve.  Every sport has been hit hard by the virus. The National Hockey League has postponed close to 50 games through Christmas weekend, and backed out of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.  The NBA will not pause the season, but the Brooklyn Nets have been decimated by the virus. 

The COVID ravaged Brooklyn Nets will have another game postponed due to the lack of available players. The Nets had as a many as 10 players appear on the COVID protocols list, including Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving. The Nets plight is the highest known number of players with the virus in the sport. Brooklyn needed to have a minimum of eight active players for the game to played; they do not have that number right now. Thursday’s game at Portland will be the third straight game that Brooklyn has had postponed. They had games against Denver and Washington also suffer postponements. Overall, nine games have been postponed across the NBA, but Commissioner Adam Silver insists that there is no plan to pause the season the way the NHL did this week in lieu of the virus and the ever spreading Omicron variant.  When asked about the Omicron spread Silver told ESPN: “No plans right now to pause the season. We have of course looked at all the options, but frankly we ...

 DOLPHINS 31 - JETS 24  The struggles continue for Zach Wilson and the New York Jets. Gang Green couldn't protect a 17-7 lead, as Miami stormed all the way back in the second half, beating back the Jets 31-24 to drop New York to 3-11.  Unlike last week where the Jets couldn't get their offense going at all against the Saints, Wilson and company showed signs of life. There were trick plays, and plenty of golden opportunities. Unfortuantely for the Jets, they just couldn't finish it off.  Wilson completed his first six passes of the day and engineered the Jets on a 10-play, 83-yard scoring drive that culminated in a Braxton Berrios touchdown on a reverse to give the Jets a 7-0 lead. In the first half Wilson showed improved accuracy; was connecting with his receivers on shorter throws and withstood the Dolphins heavy blitz packages.  And for a while it looked like the Jets were on their way to pulling out the upset. After the Jets opening touchdown, Jets safety Ash...

 COWBOYS 21 - GIANTS 6  It was a game that nobody wanted to sit through. Heck, even free soda probably wasn't enough to entice Giants fans to show up to watch their listless football team get decked by the Dallas Cowboys, 21-6.  It was a game that was so bad, that even with Dallas settling for three field goals, there was no chance for the Giants on Sunday. They had no answer on Sunday.  Mike Glennon tossed three interceptions; Jake Fromm was ineffective when he came in relief of Glennon in the fourth quarter. And on a more serious note, Sterling Shepherd tore his Achilles. Obviously he's out for the rest of this season. His status for the start of next season is in question.  Meanwhile Dak Prescott and the Cowboys' offense did just enough to get the 'W'. Prescott completed 28 of 37 passes for 217 yards and a touchdown to Dalton Schultz that pushed the Dallas lead to 21-6.  Relieve the lowlights ... I mean, highlights, here...