Phillies crush D-backs, take 2-0 NLCS lead; NFL contenders and pretenders; Midseason All-America team

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⚾ Good morning to everyone but especially ...

THE PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

One night after jumping on the Diamondbacks early, the Phillies did it again. This time, they never let up. Philadelphia got a first-inning home run from Trea Turner and poured it on from there in a 10-0 rout of the Diamondbacks. Philly is two wins away from a trip to the World Series.

Kyle Schwarber homered twice, giving the Phillies 15 home runs in their past four games. That's the most in any four-game span in playoff history.
Unlike in Game 1, Arizona had no chance to even attempt an answer. Schwarber's second home run of the night opened a four-run sixth inning, and the Phillies added four more in the seventh.
Schwarber's 18 career home runs tied Reggie Jackson for most batting left-handed in MLB postseason history.
But don't forget the pitching: Aaron Nola went six scoreless innings, and Philadelphia's 13 runs allowed through eight playoff games are second-fewest ever.

What more is there to say that a 10-0 scoreline doesn't say already? It's the second-largest playoff win in Phillies history and ties the largest playoff loss in Diamondbacks history. The more I watch them play, the more I feel the Phillies as champions is an inevitability.

Mike Axisa feels similarly.

Axisa: "MLB teams to take [a 2-0] lead in a best-of-seven series have then won said series more than 84% of the time. Just 14 of the 89 teams to fall behind 2-0, meanwhile, have been able to recover and win the series. Perhaps the D-backs will prove to be the 15th. For now, though, it's fair to write the odds are very, very much in favor of another trip to the World Series."

👍 Honorable mentions

The Eagles signed Julio Jones.
The Packers signed James Robinson.
Injuries to the 49ers' stars aren't too serious.
Trevor Lawrence is optimistic he'll be able to play Thursday against the Saints.
Dave Roberts will return as Dodgers manager.
Lionel Messi became the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying all-time goal-scoring leader.
The USMNT ran rampant over Ghana, 4-0, in a friendly. Gio Reyna scored twice, and Christian Pulisic and Folarin Bolgun also found the back of the net. This team is fun.
Former USMNT captain Michael Bradley will retire at the end of the season. Pardeep Cattry ranked his best moments for the Stars and Stripes.

👎 Not so honorable mentions

The Rockets traded Kevin Porter Jr. to the Thunder, who waived him immediately. Oklahoma City has tons draft picks coming up.
Grover Stewart was suspended six games for a PEDs violation.
In his retirement announcement, Trevor May had a strong, NSFW message for Athletics owner John Fisher.
Shane Beamer broke his foot in frustration following South Carolina's loss to Florida.
Erick All (torn ACL) is done for the season.
Neymar was carted off during Brazil's World Cup qualifier at Uruguay.

🏈 Evaluating the NFL through one third of the season

Six weeks down, 12 to go. The NFL season is one-third of the way done, and Pete Prisco has one big question in his latest Power Rankings: Is anybody any good?

Prisco: "Brock Purdy, on his run to be anointed as the next Joe Montana, looked ordinary for the 49ers. Jalen Hurts, who was the best player in the Super Bowl last year, hasn't looked the same this season. Both teams lost to good defenses. ... I still think the 49ers and Eagles are good teams that happened to have bad days. ... As we found out in Week 6, nobody is that good -- at least not yet."

I think Pete's being a little harsh here. Sure, there are no undefeated through six weeks for the first time since 2017, but the 49ers lost their two best offensive skill players, were on a short week on the road facing an all-time great defense (as I outlined Monday) and missed two field goals in a two-point loss.

Still, the chaos of this week means the newest top five is completely scrambled:

Chiefs (previous: 3)
Dolphins (4)
Lions (5)
49ers (1)
Eagles (2)

Oh, and there might be more movement coming: This weekend, the Chiefs play the Chargers, the Dolphins play the Eagles and the Lions play the Ravens. Five of those six teams made the "contender" tier in Jordan Dajani's contenders and pretenders column.

The Chiefs are atop Pete's Power Rankings, but they're averaging just 24.5 points, on pace for their lowest since 2016. And with the trade deadline under two weeks away, Cody Benjamin proposes a move Kansas City could make to help.

Benjamin: "Chiefs get: WR Marquise Brown | Cardinals get: 2024 third-round pick -- Patrick Mahomes has yet to shift the Chiefs offense into high gear even as Kansas City remains atop the AFC West at 5-1. Part of the issue has been a scattershot receiving corps. Brown isn't an alpha out wide, but he's a more proven deep threat than many of K.C.'s younger options. And Arizona should be motivated to sell with 'Hollywood' headed for 2024 free agency."

On the other end of things, the Patriots are 29th in the Power Rankings, but Bill Belichick is near the top of Tyler Sullivan's hot seat rankings only behind the Bears' Matt Eberflus. That's not good company.

Finally rounding out our one-third-of-the-season roundup is Doug Clawson's 15 wild stats, and Cheetah is, well, running wild.

Clawson: "Tyreek Hill has 814 yards receiving this season, the second-most through a team's first six games in NFL history behind Don Hutson in 1942 (819). It's also more than 11 NFL teams have from all their wide receivers this season. Hill is on pace for 2,306 yards. No receiver has ever had 2,000 yards in a season."

🏈 2023 CBS Sports Midseason All-America team

A third of the way through the NFL season and halfway through the college football season? Where did the time go? Oh well, at least we here at CBS Sports are taking the glass-half-full approach with our Midseason All-America team. There were three unanimous selections leading the way.

Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. (the new leader in the Heisman Trophy race, per Shehan Jeyarajah)
Missouri WR Luther Burden III (who ranks fourth in receptions and second in yards receiving nationwide)
Georgia TE Brock Powers (who will miss 4-6 weeks following ankle surgery)

Joining Bowers as players living up to the hype of their preseason All-America honors are ...

Notre Dame OL Joe Alt
Penn State OL Olumuyiwa Fashanu
Kansas State OL Cooper Beebe
Alabama DB Kool-Aid McKinstry
Georgia DB Malaki Starks
Iowa P Tory Taylor

All of these guys deserve huge props, but my personal favorite is Taylor, who leads the country in yards punting and is tied for the lead in punts and punts inside the 10. As my colleague Tom Fornelli loves to say, #Punt2Win. Iowa, the current Big Ten West leader, threw for 37 yards and punted 10 times in its win over Wisconsin this past weekend. It's so on brand it's painful -- and it might cost Brian Ferentz his job. Anyway, shout out to Tory Taylor, the nation's busiest and best punter.

You can see all of the selections here.

🏀 LSU opens No. 1 in women's Preseason AP Top 25

Six months after winning its first national championship, LSU women's basketball is back on top, this time in the Preseason AP Top 25. It's the first time the Tigers have earned the honor.

Kim Mulkey's squad brings back plenty of talent, headlined by first-team All-America selection Angel Reese. The star forward recently signed an NIL deal with Reebok -- now headed by former LSU star Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson -- and is in line for another huge season. She'll be far from alone though: LSU added stars Aneesah Morrow (DePaul) and Hailey Van Lith (Louisville) from the transfer portal, and the Tigers also bring back Flau'jae Johnson and Kateri Poole. LSU even has the No. 1 recruiting class coming in.