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No. 3 TCU enters the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday against No. 1 Georgia as a 12.5-point underdog, but first-year coach Sonny Dykes said Tuesday that the Horned Frogs believe they shed the label of a Cinderella team weeks ago.

TCU was picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 conference and is now in position to win the program’s first national title since 1938. Dykes conceded that most within the program would admit this past summer they didn’t think they’d be playing for the national title.

It wasn’t that they didn’t think they were capable of it, Dykes said, “we just hadn’t done it together.”

That mentality began to change, he said, following a three-game stretch that included wins against West Virginia, Texas and Baylor.

“I think that point, our guys started to believe, ‘OK, we’re a real football team and we’re a battle-hardened team and we’ve had to overcome some adversity,'” Dykes said. “And you know what? We have a chance to make a run.”

TCU, which went 12-0 during the regular season before losing in overtime to Kansas State in the Big 12 championship game, has proven skeptics wrong all season, and will have one last chance to defy the odds on the sport’s biggest stage. TCU could become the first team since Georgia in 1990 to win the national title after being unranked in the preseason Associated Press poll, which began in 1950.

“When you hear about how you’re about to lose to a team, or however many points you’re going to lose by, it just fuels us as a team,” LB Dee Winters said.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart said Tuesday that TCU’s ability to come back in the fourth quarter “shows what your mental makeup is.” TCU won five games this season when trailing after halftime and won seven straight games by 10 points or fewer.

“Their kids believe,” Smart said. “They have, I feel like just reading and listening about them, a lot of similarities to our kids in terms of the culture created there, the way they play, the way they believe.

“Their conference has been in a lot of tight ballgames, and they’ve won those tight ballgames, and done an incredible job with what they do. And they create really tough situations defensively, do an incredible job on special teams. Have one of the best returners I’ve ever faced in the return game and score a lot of points on offense with the Heisman Trophy-candidate quarterback. So it’s a recipe to be playing for the national championship.”

Dykes said his team has matured throughout the season, but the message when he was hired was “we’re good enough.”

“We’re good enough to compete,” he said. “We have all the pieces here. We just have to put them all together and we’ve got to do things the right way. We have to be willing to pay the prices. And those guys believe that. They really have. They believed it from day one.”

Still, they realize not everyone is convinced — even after Saturday’s 51-45 win against No. 2 Michigan.

“We use it as motivation, because why not?” said star receiver Quentin Johnston. “It’s one of the main things I feel like has driven us to the success we’ve come to this year. So honestly, there’s going to be a lot of outside noise, people projecting us to lose by however many points, but we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing and prove them wrong from week to week.”

TCU’s chances at an upset will increase if running back Kendre Miller is healthy, but Dykes said his leading rusher is “probably questionable” after injuring his knee in the first half of the Fiesta Bowl.

“I think he’s feeling pretty good,” Dykes said, noting the coaching staff got “a pretty good evaluation on him” when the team returned home from Phoenix. “He was pretty sore. Woke up yesterday, felt a little better. I just saw him a little bit ago. He’s feeling better today. … We’ll see how he progresses through the week, see how he feels, and we’ll try to make a determination as we get closer to game time whether we think he’s going to be ready to play or not.”

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Hard-throwing rookie Misiorowski going to ASG

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Hard-throwing rookie Misiorowski going to ASG

Hard-throwing rookie Jacob Misiorowski is a National League All-Star replacement, giving the Milwaukee Brewers right-hander a chance to break Paul Skenes‘ record for the fewest big league appearances before playing in the Midsummer Classic.

Misiorowski was named Friday night to replace Chicago Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd, who will be unavailable for the All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Atlanta because he is scheduled to start Saturday at the New York Yankees.

The 23-year-old Misiorowski has made just five starts for the Brewers, going 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA while averaging 99.3 mph on his fastball, with 89 pitches that have reached 100 mph.

If he pitches at Truist Park, Misiorowski will make it consecutive years for a player to set the mark for fewest big league games before an All-Star showing.

Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander getting ready for his second All-Star appearance, had made 11 starts in the majors when he was chosen as the NL starter for last year’s All-Star Game at Texas. He pitched a scoreless inning.

“I’m speechless,” said a teary-eyed Misiorowski, who said he was given the news a few minutes before the Brewers’ 8-3 victory over Washington. “It’s awesome. It’s very unexpected and it’s an honor.”

Misiorowski is the 30th first-time All-Star and 16th replacement this year. There are now 80 total All-Stars.

“He’s impressive. He’s got some of the best stuff in the game right now, even though he’s a young pitcher,” said Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who is a starting AL outfielder for his seventh All-Star nod. “He’s going to be a special pitcher in this game for a long time so I think he deserved it and it’s going be pretty cool for him and his family.”

Carlos Rodón, Carlos Estévez and Casey Mize were named replacement pitchers on the AL roster.

The New York Yankees‘ Rodón, an All-Star for the third time in five seasons, will replace teammate Max Fried for Tuesday’s game in Atlanta. Fried will be unavailable because he is scheduled to start Saturday against the Chicago Cubs.

In his final start before the All-Star game, Rodón allowed four hits and struck out eight in eight innings in an 11-0 victory over the Cubs.

“This one’s a little special for me,” said Rodón, an All-Star in 2021 and ’22 who was 3-8 in his first season with the Yankees two years ago before rebounding. “I wasn’t good when I first got here, and I just wanted to prove that I wasn’t to going to give up and just put my best foot forward and try to win as many games as I can.”

The Kansas City Royals‘ Estévez replaces Texas’ Jacob deGrom, who is scheduled to start at Houston on Saturday night. Estévez was a 2023 All-Star when he was with the Los Angeles Angels.

Mize takes the spot held by Boston‘s Garrett Crochet, who is scheduled to start Saturday against Tampa Bay. Mize gives the Tigers six All-Stars, most of any team and tied for the franchise record.

Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia will replace Tampa Bay‘s Brandon Lowe, who went on the injured list with left oblique tightness. The additions of Estévez and Garcia give the Royals four All-Stars, matching their 2024 total.

The Seattle Mariners announced center fielder Julio Rodríguez will not participate, and he was replaced by teammate Randy Arozarena. Rodríguez had been voted onto the AL roster via the players’ ballot. The Mariners, who have five All-Stars, said Rodríguez will use the break to “recuperate, rest and prepare for the second half.”

Arozarena is an All-Star for the second time. He started in left field for the AL two years ago, when he was with Tampa Bay. Arozarena was the runner-up to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the 2023 Home Run Derby.

Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen, a first-time All-Star, is replacing Angels left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, who is scheduled to start Saturday night at Arizona. Rasmussen is 7-5 with a 2.82 ERA in 18 starts.

San Diego added a third NL All-Star reliever in lefty Adrián Morejón, who replaces Philadelphia starter Zack Wheeler. The Phillies’ right-hander is scheduled to start at San Diego on Saturday night. Morejón entered the weekend with a 1.71 ERA in 45 appearances.

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Giants’ Devers dealing with disk injury in back

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Giants' Devers dealing with disk injury in back

SAN FRANCISCO — Giants designated hitter Rafael Devers is dealing with a disk injury in his lower back that has limited his production since joining his new club.

Manager Bob Melvin is hopeful Devers won’t require a stint on the injured list given the upcoming time off for the All-Star break.

Devers has begun anti-inflammatory medication for the irritation symptoms he is experiencing and is playing through the issue. He underwent an MRI exam Thursday.

“He went on some medication, feels a little bit better today. We’ll see how he responds to that,” Melvin said Friday. “I’m glad we got the MRI done so we know what’s going on.”

Acquired last month from the Red Sox, Devers entered the series opener Friday against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers batting .245 with 23 strikeouts, four doubles, a home run and six RBIs over his past 14 games dating to June 26. He was hitting .261 with 17 homers and 67 RBIs overall.

The Giants took on Devers’ mega contract when they traded for him June 15 to boost their offense after the slugger made it known he didn’t want to play first base for Boston. But he arrived in the Bay Area insisting he would do anything asked of him to help San Francisco win.

A three-time All-Star, Devers signed a $313.5 million, 10-year contract with the Red Sox in 2023.

On Friday, he was in the lineup as DH batting third. He isn’t ready to play the field, including first base, where he has been doing regular fielding work.

“He feels it mostly running, probably a little bit at the plate, but not as much as when he’s running bases,” Melvin said. “I think with the break hopefully [he’ll be OK]. I think he’s been playing through it for a little bit, basically since he’s been here. It’s the reason he’s not out in the field right now.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Cardinals’ Arenado (sprained finger) exits early

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Cardinals' Arenado (sprained finger) exits early

The St. Louis Cardinals removed star third baseman Nolan Arenado from their 6-5 loss to the visiting Atlanta Braves on Friday night because of a sprained right index finger.

Arenado, who was 1-for-3, was replaced in the seventh inning by Thomas Saggese. While it was unclear how Arenado hurt the finger, it is the same injury that kept him out of two games last week during a series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Arenado has 10 home runs and 42 RBIs in 84 games this season.

Field Level Media contributed to this report.

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