Actual New York teams, stand up! Mets, Yankees win; Bills top Jets in wild one

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⚾ Good morning to all, but especially to …

NEW YORK CITY’S MLB TEAMS

If they can make it here, they can make it … a Subway Series World Series? Maybe? The Yankees and Mets won their respective Championship Series games Monday, with the Yankees taking a 1-0 series lead over the Guardians and the Mets tying their series with the Dodgers 1-1.

The Bronx Bombers took an early lead on Juan Soto‘s solo home run, added on thanks to some shoddy Guardians pitching and catching, got a Giancarlo Stanton solo shot and held on (despite a wild obstruction play) for a 5-2 win. It was ugly all around for Cleveland, which gave up three runs thanks to four Joey Cantillo wild pitches.

Carlos Rodón, meanwhile, had the Guardians swinging wildly: nine strikeouts and 25 swings and misses, the most by a Yankees pitcher in a playoff game in the pitch tracking era (since 2008). That plus Stanton’s continued postseason excellence proved to be a winning combination.

On the other side of the country, the Dodgers entered Game 2 on a historic pitching streak: 33 straight scoreless innings. It took the Mets one batter to change that as Francisco Lindor led off the game with a home run. The big blow was Mark Vientos’ second-inning grand slam, and the bullpen held on after a solid Sean Manaea start for a 7-3 win.

The Dodgers intentionally walked Lindor ahead of Vientos, and he “took it personal,” becoming the youngest player in LCS history to hit a grand slam.

Los Angeles posed some late threats, but Phil Maton and Edwin Díaz escaped jams. The Mets head home for three games starting tomorrow.

👍 Honorable mentions

• Lamar Jackson has high praise for Jayden Daniels.
• Lonzo Ball is expected to return to action in the Bulls‘ preseason game tomorrow. It’ll be his first game in more than 1,000 days.
• Will the Celtics repeat? James Herbert examines.
• Clayton Kershaw plans to return in 2025.
• The Jaguars traded Roy Robertson-Harris to the Seahawks.
• What a journey it’s been — and still could become — for Dillon Gabriel.
• Barack Obama named his all-time NBA starting five.
• Here’s how the USMNT could line up against Mexico tonight, and here’s who impressed against Panama.
• The stingrays that call Tropicana Field home are safe after Hurricane Milton.

🏈 And not such a good morning for …

THE NEW YORK JETS

A team actually based in New York beat a team that calls itself “New York” while playing in New Jersey. They had a new coach, a new play caller and new vibes, but the 2-4 Jets got all-too-familiar results with a messy 23-20 loss to the Bills.

It looked like the Robert Saleh firing and Nathaniel Hackett demotion were paying immediate dividends as the Jets scored on each of its first two possessions. But things fell apart from there:

• Greg Zuerlein missed two field goals, and the Jets’ only touchdown over their final seven drives was an Aaron Rodgers Hail Mary before halftime.
• Rodgers’ final pass was picked off on a fantastic diving play by Taron Johnson, and Josh Allen converted a third down to seal it shortly thereafter.
• Also not helping? 11 penalties for 110 yards. In fact, the game featured the most combined penalty yards of any game this season.

I loved the Bills’ ability to run the ball — how about rookie Ray Davis with 152 total yards in James Cook‘s stead?! — and Allen’s ability to improvise while still taking care of the ball. He’s up to eight straight games without an interception (including playoffs), the longest streak of his career.

But, man, the Jets missed “a golden opportunity,” in Rodgers’ words. They managed just one touchdown and two field goals on four red zone trips. Buffalo, conversely, had three touchdowns and a field goal on four trips. The Jets are talented, but the miscues are infuriating and extremely costly. A -10 point differential over the three-game losing streak speaks for itself. The little things must be figured out.

👎 Not so honorable mentions

• Aidan Hutchinson‘s injury dampens the Lions‘ Super Bowl chances. He was one of many notable injuries in Week 6.
• The Browns are, somehow, sticking with Deshaun Watson.
• Mario Edwards was suspended four games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
• Joel Embiid might be done playing in back-to-backs.
• Paul George hyperextended his knee.
• Graham Mertz (ACL) is done for the season. DJ Lagway will take over behind center for Florida.
• Keenan Pili (ACL) is done for the season.
• Benjamin Morrison (hip) is done for the season, the latest significant injury for Notre Dame.
• Neal Brown at least hopes fans are having fun amid West Virginia‘s tough start.
• Nigeria men’s soccer boycotted an AFCON qualifier against Libya after being “abandoned” at an airport.

🏈 CBS Sports 134 and projected College Football Playoff 

After another wild weekend, the top of the CBS Sports 134 has some major changes but a familiar face at No. 1: Texas. Shehan Jeyarajah says the Longhorns made the right choice going with Quinn Ewers at starting quarterback, and it’s hard to argue there. Here’s the top five:

1. Texas (previous: 1)
2. Oregon (4)
3. Ohio State (2)
4. Penn State (3)
5. Miami (5)

Further down, Arizona State continued its quiet rise with the week’s biggest jump, going from 42nd to 27th with a win over Utah. The Utes, meanwhile, were the week’s biggest faller, going from 20th to 38th, and with Cam Rising‘s season over, things don’t look good. (Yes, he could return for an eighth year.)

Here’s the entire 134, and here are Brandon Marcello’s Power Rankings.

Penn State fans, you might wonder why your team didn’t gain ground despite a comeback at USC. John Talty has the answer: The Nittany Lions look like a CFP lock but not a true national title contender. 

🏀 2024-25 CBS Sports Preseason All-America team and preseason AP Top 25

We’re inside three weeks until the 2024-25 college basketball season begins, and we’re celebrating appropriately.

Let’s start with the CBS Sports Preseason All-America teams, as voted on by CBS Sports and 247Sports staff and CBS and CBS Sports Network broadcasters. The first team is …

• G Mark Sears, Alabama — “As the leading returning scorer in the SEC entering the 2024-25 season, expectations for both Sears and his Tide are at a high water mark.”
• F Cooper Flagg, Duke — “The 6-foot-9 Maine product is a shot-swatting, smack-talking star-in-waiting for a Duke team that has the talent to win it all.”
• C Hunter Dickinson, Kansas — “Another year in the system playing for a center-friendly coach in Bill Self? We’re comfortable penciling him in for a production spike.”
• G RJ Davis, North Carolina — “Davis also earned consensus All-America honors last season as reward for his true star turn where he averaged an ACC-leading 21.2 points per game and improved on his passing numbers while cutting down on mistakes.”
• C Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton — “He became the third player in Big East history last season to earn Big East Defensive Player of the Year honors at least three times. The other two players are Patrick Ewing … and Alonzo Mourning.”

Big shout-out to Kyle Boone for the analysis. You can also see our second- and third-team selections here.

Unsurprisingly, those players’ teams are well-represented in the preseason AP Top 25. Here’s the top five:

1. Kansas
2. Alabama
3. UConn
4. Houston
5. Iowa State

No Duke, though? The Blue Devils are ranked seventh, and Cameron Salerno says that’s too low.

• Salerno: “Flagg may be the best player in the sport by the end of the season because of his undeniable two-way talent. But it’s not just Flagg that makes this Duke roster great. Tyrese Proctor bypassed the NBA Draft for the second consecutive season and his return will give coach Jon Scheyer a steady presence on both ends of the floor. Caleb Foster is a potential breakout candidate after coming off the bench last season as a freshman.”

The women’s preseason top 25 comes out today, and ahead of that release, Isabel Gonzalez ranked her top 10 players in the sport. Here’s the top five:

1. G Paige Bueckers, UConn — “After missing the 2022-23 season due to a torn ACL, Bueckers returned physically stronger and a better defensive player.”
2. G JuJu Watkins, USC — “Watkins arrived to college basketball with high expectations and absolutely smashed them.”
3. G Aneesah Morrow, LSU — “It’s time for Morrow to truly step into the spotlight — although she was already shining pretty bright.”
4. G Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame — “She averaged 22.6 points while also leading the nation in steals with 160.”
5. G Madison Booker, Texas — “Booker was a wing in high school, but quickly adjusted to point-guard duties and became the first player in conference history to win both the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year awards.

Isabel also has offseason winners and losers.

📺 What we’re watching Tuesday

🏒 Wild at Blues, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ ALCS Game 2: Guardians at Yankees, 7:38 p.m. on TBS/truTV
🏒 Flyers at Oilers, 10 p.m. on ESPN
⚽ Mexico vs. USMNT, 10:30 p.m. on TNT