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There were no changes to the top five in the College Football Playoff selection committee’s third ranking on Tuesday night, with No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 TCU holding steady as the nation’s only remaining undefeated teams, followed by No. 5 Tennessee.

After a 66-24 thumping of unranked Missouri, the Vols remained the committee’s highest-ranked one-loss team, keeping them in contention for the playoff without winning their division. Georgia clinched the SEC East and will face No. 6 LSU, the highest-ranked two-loss team, in the SEC championship game. If LSU wins its conference, it could make history as the first two-loss team to reach the CFP.

“The committee believes there’s been separation with Georgia,” said selection committee chairman Boo Corrigan, who is also the North Carolina State athletic director.

Tennessee could become the fifth team to make the CFP without winning a conference title and the third not to win its division, along with 2016 Ohio State and 2017 Alabama. The SEC has had multiple teams make the CFP twice — including last season when Georgia beat Alabama to win the national title.

Without a conference championship, the Vols will face greater scrutiny by the selection committee and will be banking on impressive wins against Alabama and LSU to win a debate against a Power 5 conference champion.

USC (9-1) is now the Pac-12’s highest-ranked team at No. 7 after Oregon lost Saturday to Washington, dropping the two-loss Ducks to No. 12. The Pac-12 has six teams ranked in the CFP top 25 with the addition of No. 23 Oregon State, including two in the top 10 (USC and No. 10 Utah).

USC can clinch a spot in the conference title game Saturday with a win at UCLA, and Oregon will face Utah in another game that will help determine Pac-12 championship participants.

TCU clinched a berth in the Big 12 championship game with its 17-10 win at Texas, but the four-loss Longhorns tumbled from No. 18 out of the CFP top 25 this week. It helped the Horned Frogs that No. 22 Oklahoma State popped back into the ranking this week, giving TCU a second win against a ranked opponent, along with No. 15 Kansas State.

There are three more rankings, including the release of the final top 25 on the Dec. 4 Selection Day. No team has been ranked outside the committee’s top 10 at this point in the season and still made the CFP. The lowest was Michigan State in 2015 and Oklahoma in 2019, when both were ranked ninth.

Two-loss Alabama is No. 8 this week, ahead of one-loss No. 9 Clemson, which will play No. 13 North Carolina in the ACC championship.

Following its 38-31 win at Tulane, No. 20 UCF is the Group of 5 leader to earn a bid to a New Year’s Six bowl as the highest-ranked conference champion, followed by No. 21 Tulane.

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Phillies’ Harper: Ejection for arguing ‘warranted’

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Phillies' Harper: Ejection for arguing 'warranted'

PHILADELPHIA — Phillies slugger Bryce Harper was ejected in the seventh inning of Friday’s game against Detroit for arguing a called third strike on a check swing.

The Phillies scored three runs in the seventh to tie the score at 3-3 and had two runners on base with two outs when Harper faced Tigers reliever Will Vest.

Harper tried to check his swing on a full-count changeup from Vest, but third-base umpire Vic Carapazza rang up Harper, who ripped his helmet off his head in an outburst and shouted as he waved his arms at Carapazza.

Harper was promptly ejected and kept his helmet with him as he walked into the dugout.

“I left the batter’s box walking toward him, so I think it was warranted,” Harper said.

Harper said after the Phillies beat the Tigers 5-4 that he had yet to see the replay, which seemed to indicate he went around with his swing.

“Can’t get thrown out in that situation, especially with the ninth inning possibly coming around and my at-bat coming up,” Harper said.

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Chourio hits IL, unlikely to return ‘anytime soon’

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Chourio hits IL, unlikely to return 'anytime soon'

WASHINGTON — The Milwaukee Brewers placed outfielder Jackson Chourio on the 10-day injured list Friday after evaluations of his strained right hamstring revealed more significant issues than expected.

Chourio was injured Tuesday while running the bases on a triple in the fifth inning. The move to the IL was made retroactive to Wednesday.

Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said the 21-year-old Chourio likely will require more than a minimum stay on the injured list.

“It won’t be anytime soon,” Murphy said before the Brewers’ series opener against Washington. “He was diagnosed a little more severely than we initially thought. To what extent, I’m not exactly sure. Nor are they. We’re just going to have to rehab it.”

Murphy said Chourio will receive a platelet-rich plasma injection.

Chourio is hitting .276 with 17 homers, 67 RBI and 18 steals for Milwaukee, which entered Friday with the best record in the majors at 64-44. He was replaced on the active roster by outfielder Brandon Lockridge, who the Brewers acquired Thursday from San Diego for pitcher Nestor Cortes, infielder Jorge Quintana and cash.

Lockridge, who hit .216 with five RBI in 47 games with the Padres this season, was inserted into the leadoff slot Friday against the Nationals.

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Yanks release Stroman with Gil return imminent

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Yanks release Stroman with Gil return imminent

The New York Yankees released right-hander Marcus Stroman on Friday, abruptly terminating the veteran’s underwhelming tenure with the club.

The Yankees signed Stroman to a two-year contract worth $37 million guaranteed before the start of last season and will eat the remainder of his $18 million salary.

Stroman, 34, has an $18 million vesting option for 2026 that would have triggered if he pitched 140 innings pitched this season, but Stroman, with 39 innings under his belt on Aug. 1, won’t reach that goalpost and will become a free agent this winter.

“Obviously, that was tough today,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “The perception around Stro for us, if you got to be around him the last couple of years, he’s an awesome competitor.”

Boone said Stroman took the news of his release like “a pro.”

“Had a good interaction with him,” Boone said. “I feel he’ll be a guy I’ll stay in touch with for the rest of our lives. Appreciative of him.”

In the end, Stroman, who is 3-2 with a 6.23 ERA in nine starts this season, was the odd man out of the Yankees’ rotation with Luis Gil scheduled to come off the injured list to make his season debut Sunday against the Miami Marlins.

As it stands, New York’s starting rotation will consist of Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Gil, Will Warren and rookie Cam Schlittler, who impressed team decision-makers enough in three starts since making his major-league debut on July 9 to convince the Yankees to pay Stroman to not pitch for them.

Stroman’s release also relieves a roster crunch with the Yankees adding four more players acquired before Thursday’s trade deadline to the roster: relievers David Bednar, Camilo Doval and Jake Bird and utilityman José Caballero. The Yankees traded Oswald Peraza to make room for Caballero while right-handers Ian Hamilton and Yerry de los Santos were optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Thursday. Cutting Stroman opened the final needed roster spot.

Stroman’s brief time in the Bronx was turbulent. An All-Star with the Chicago Cubs in 2023, Stroman recorded a 4.31 ERA in 30 appearances (29 starts) for the Yankees in 2024 and didn’t pitch in a postseason game as New York advanced to the World Series. The Yankees, anticipating a starting pitching surplus, then attempted to trade him over the offseason but couldn’t swing a deal.

As a result, Stroman reported to spring training not projected to make the Opening Day starting rotation. Unhappy with the possibility, he scoffed at the notion of being a reliever upon reporting to camp for workouts two days later than the team expected. Manager Aaron Boone called the situation “awkward.” Injuries to Gerrit Cole and Gil over the following month, however, opened the door for Stroman to begin the season in the rotation.

The 11-year veteran was placed on the injured list with a knee injury in April, missing more than two months before returning June 29 to make six starts. His final outing with the Yankees came Thursday when he surrendered four runs on six hits across five innings against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Stroman finished his Yankees career with a 4.69 ERA — the 11th-highest mark in the majors among pitchers who have logged at least 190 innings over the last two seasons. He can now sign with another club on a prorated minimum — approximately $230,000 for the remainder of the 2025 campaign.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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