COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

 Pete Alonso wouldn't admit it when asked about the emotions of this moment when he returned to Citi Field as a member of the Baltimore Orioles on Monday, but this was personal, and he had to love every minute of it.  Nine months ago Alonso said good bye to the city he called home for over a decade, when he signed a five-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles, after the Mets front office, led by President of Baseball Operations David Stearns, decided against going into an aggressive bidding war for his services.  In fact, the Mets didn't even make an offer last winter.  How could they do that?   Alonso is the Mets All-Time Home Run Leader. His bat alone catapulted the Mets onto an incredible postseason run in 2024 when he launched a Devin Williams fastball over the right field wall in Milwuakee to send the Mets past the Brewers in the wild card.  Alonso was a home grown Met; one of the franchise's best overall players (even if he wasn't fleet afoot at fi...

 Behind a three-run bomb by Aaron Judge, the Yankees clinched a spot in the 2026 postseason in an 8-3 win over their favorite whipping boys, the Minnesota Twins.  Judge, who was 3-of-20 since coming off the I.L. after missing most of the season with a rib injury, launched a pitch into the second deck, signifying the Yankees slugger was finally back!  Judge wasn't the only one to go long. Both Jose Caballero and Austin Wells went long for the Yankees as they blew away the Twins in the later innings.  Now as far as that postseason thing is concerned the Yankees have a lot of work to do, and need some help.  They still trail the Rays by 3.5 games. Tampa has been in first place seemingly everyday since mid-June.  Can the Yankees catch them? We are running out of days. The Yankees are six games ahead of Boston for the top wild card, meaning New York will have home field in the wild card series, but for the second straight season, the Yankees are starring down fa...

 It has been 17 years since the last time both the New York Football Giants and New York Jets opened a season winning their season openers.  17-years.  Rex Ryan and Tom Coughlin were the head coaches. The Giants were - at that time - two years removed from winning Super Bowl 42.  The Jets were beginning a new era under Rex Ryan that would take them to the first of back-to-back trips to the AFC Title game.  It's truly been that long since both teams have been good in this town. And for the first time in seemingly forever both teams appear to finally be heading in the right direction.  The Giants dominated the Dallas Cowboys 28-20 on Sunday night. It wasn't as close as the score indicated. The Giants had 396 yards of offense in the game, and Jaxson Dart absolutely ate the Cowboys lunch tossing for 250 yards and three touchdowns. He even added 54 yards on the ground on 11 carries.  Cam Skateboo chipped in 81-yards and a score himself.  The Giants loo...

 25 years ago, radical terrorists tried to take away our freedoms, filling us with nothing but fear when they hijacked four planes on a crisp Tuesday, September morning. Two of those planes as we known crashed into the World Trade Center; another was driven right into the Pentagon, and, thanks to the heroics of the passengers aboard United Flight 93, the last plane wound up crashing into a field in Pennsylvania.  2,977 people were killed.    I shake with sadness and anger because it's just too horrifying to think about, let alone type into words.  September 11 changed everything in our Nation and around the world.  Not only did radical Islamic terrorists try to take away our freedom, they declared war on it, and led us down a path toward seemingly never ending wars in Afghanistan and later, Iraq.   Moreover our way of life changed forever.  Security checkpoints at airports changed; even security at big social gatherings like stadiums and...

 Let's get this bad boy started!  The 2026 NFL season is upon us, and it all begins this evening when the reigning Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks take on the New England Patriots. It will be a rematch of last season's Super Bowl, and it's only the second time since the NFL implemented the Thursday night opener begin with the reigning champion taking on the same team they defeated in the Big Game.  The last time that happened was 2016 when the Broncos faced off with the Panthers in a rematch of Super Bowl 50.   Chances are good the Seahawks, led by quarterback Sam Darnold will crush a Patriots team that has had an off-season full of distractions. We'll see.   Meanwhile back here in New York City, the Jets and Giants are preparing for Sunday's games, with moderately high expectations for the upcoming season.  Can John Harbaugh turn around the Giants? Will Jaxson Dart come into his own? Can the Giants stay healthy offensively? Will Arvell Reese...

 A couple years ago the Athletic published an article about the dysfunction within the New York Jets. New York had just fired its head coach, Robert Saleh following a disappointing trip to London, England, in which they lost to the Minnesota Vikings 23-17 to drop to 2-3 on the season.  When Saleh was fired, many pundits and fans, including myself, thought the move was abrupt. What followed was a scathing story that painted owner Woody Johnson as a meddling owner; detailed his fractured relationship with quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and dove into the idea that Johnson's own son Brick and Madden ratings.  It was wild.   Of course Jets fans pounded on Johnson for the handling of the Saleh situation, and the Jets failings over the past 15 years without a playoff appearance.  The media has dissected his every word -- when he does speak in public -- but we never really get HIS side of the story.  That was until now.  Fast forward to today, and The Athl...

 Aaron Judge is back.  At long last the Yankees MVP is back in the lineup tonight against the Colorado Rockies, in what the  Yankees hope is the beginning of a major run by slugger Aaron Judge.  Since landing on the IL on May 31 with a rib injury, the Yankees have bounced up and down all summer long, posting a record of 45-39 during the 84 games Judge was sidelined. New York clearly missed him. New York's run production dropped off considerably from 5.19 per game with him to 4.06 runs per game in Major League Baseball.  There have been points this summer where it felt like the Yankees were the on the precipice of fading. Not only did they not have Judge, but Giancarlo Stanton and Cody Bellinger have missed time. Bellinger returned to the lineup a couple weeks ago. Stanton might be done for for the year.  Winning five straight in mid-August which included a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles was really the Yankees saving grace. In addition, the team dominated th...