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NEW YORK — Francisco Lindor‘s propensity for the big moment, an unquantifiable yet undeniable plus for his 2024 NL MVP candidacy, surfaced twice in the Mets’ 7-2 over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.

First, there was the towering two-run home run in the third inning to open the scoring, which stood as the Mets’ only hit until the seventh inning. Later, with runners at first and second, there was the line drive over the left fielder’s head for a run-scoring double to ignite a four-run game-busting eighth inning.

“I want those moments,” Lindor said.

Each time Lindor was showered with MVP chants from the home crowd at Citi Field. Each time there was a sense of inevitability in the Mets’ dugout that he would come through.

“I think every time he’s at the plate,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said, “we feel good about our chances.”

Lindor’s home run off Red Sox right-hander Kutter Crawford on Tuesday gave him his fifth career 30 home run season, tying him for second all time with Ernie Banks for 30 home run seasons by a primary shortstop, according to ESPN Sports & Information research. Only Alex Rodríguez (seven) had more.

He also stole his 26th base Tuesday, leaving him four shy of his second straight 30/30 season. He is one of three players with multiple seasons of 30 home runs and 25 steals, joining Howard Johnson and Darryl Strawberry.

Lindor’s exploits Tuesday powered the Mets’ sixth straight win to remain a half-game behind the Atlanta Braves for the final NL wild-card spot. They are 11 games over .500 for the first time this season — a day after going 10 games over for the first time this season.

It’s a position that seemed unimaginable when Jorge Lopez threw his glove into the crowd as the team fell to 11 games under .500 before calling a players-only meeting on May 29.

Since then, the Mets are 53-31, good for the best record in baseball. It has been a remarkable turnaround filled with great vibes, an improved starting rotation and a deep lineup led Lindor, who has discarded a poor start to the season to become Shohei Ohtani‘s chief competition for NL MVP.

“It’s been an unbelievable season to watch,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said before the game. “We’re getting to the point, I think, where we’re talking about perhaps the greatest individual position player season in the history of this franchise. I’ve been around some really special seasons. Been around some MVP seasons. This is right up there with anything I’ve seen on a day-to-day basis.”

Still, Ohtani remains the overwhelming favorite to win MVP as he is having an historic offensive campaign in his first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He leads the NL in home runs, slugging, OPS, OPS+, runs scored and total bases. He was already the first player in MLB history with 44 home runs and 46 stolen bases in a season entering Tuesday. At this point, it’s a matter of when, not if, he becomes the first player to ever post a 50/50 season.

This would be Ohtani’s third MVP, after winning the award in the AL twice with the Angels.

But Ohtani, rehabbing from elbow surgery, has been the Dodgers’ designated hitter all season and won’t pitch again until 2025. And therein lies the top argument in the case for the 30-year-old Lindor: He plays defense — at an elite level at a premium position, at that — and Ohtani hasn’t played it all.

Lindor’s contributions on both sides is why he holds the NL lead in fWAR over Ohtani (7.0 to 6.6 entering Tuesday). He is batting .273 with 30 home runs and an .843 OPS this season while playing all 139 of the Mets’ games at shortstop.

“I appreciate the love the fans are giving me and I just got to continue to put up a good show for them so they keep on getting louder and louder,” Lindor said after Tuesday’s 2-for-4 performance that sparked more MVP chants.

Lindor’s numbers are despite a horrendous start to the season that left him off the NL All-Star team. The results flipped when he was moved to the leadoff spot on May 18. Since then, he’s batting .307 with 23 home runs, 20 steals and a .937 OPS in 95 games.

Defensive metrics are far from exact, but Lindor’s 17 outs above average were second among major league shortstops behind Kansas City Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. Then there are his intangibles as a veteran universally regarded as a top-notch leader.

“I think that’s part of the entire package that he brings,” Stearns said. “And it’s easy to quantify what he does on the field and that’s really impressive. It’s much harder to quantify the impact he has both by what he says and also by how he acts. He works so hard. He takes so much pride in not only in his preparation, but also ensuring that his teammates prepare appropriately. And it’s the entire package that I think allows him to contribute so much to the organization.”

In the other dugout, Red Sox manager Alex Cora beamed talking about Lindor before Tuesday’s game. He recalled meeting Lindor in Puerto Rico as a minor league player when Lindor was a little leaguer. He knows the Lindor family, also from the city of Caguas, well.

Lindor’s reemergence as an MVP candidate in his fourth season in New York invokes pride, according to Cora.

“He’s just an impactful individual,” Cora said. “There’s a vibe about him that not too many guys have at the big-league level. From the walk-up song, [when] this place is going nuts, to his smile to the energy to the commitment to the structure to the discipline. This kid is on point with everything. Just to watch him play, it brings joy to us. We love watching him play.”

So, does he think Lindor is the NL MVP?

“I’m glad that I don’t have to vote,” Cora said. “But both of them [are] game changers. We saw Othani earlier in the season. There’s a lot of good players in the National League.

“Obviously, at the end of the day, playoff stuff is going to come into play. I don’t think that’s necessarily something that voters need to take into consideration because if you have a great season and you’re in the fight all the way to the end, hey, you did something great. But it’ll be interesting. But the kid is doing everything.”

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‘Fearless’ Mateer’s risks pay off as OU tops U-M

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'Fearless' Mateer's risks pay off as OU tops U-M

NORMAN, Okla. — A week after John Mateer threw for the most yards in an Oklahoma quarterback debut against Illinois State, the transfer passer’s instinctive playmaking highlighted an imperfect performance that helped propel the No. 18 Sooners to a 24-13 win over No. 15 Michigan on Saturday night.

While Oklahoma smothered Wolverines freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood, Mateer completed 21 of his 34 passes for 270 yards with a passing touchdown and an interception. He also finished with a team-high 19 carries for 74 yards, adding a pair of rushing scores on either side of halftime in his second career start for the Sooners.

“You saw what he can do,” Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables said of Mateer. “He falls forward a lot. He’s got great strength and great skills. Tough guy. He’s fearless. He attacks everything without fear.”

Playing behind four new offensive line starters, including freshman left tackle Michael Fasusi, Mateer remained poised against the Michigan pass rush early, connecting on completions of 34, 31 and 21 yards across the Sooners’ initial pair of offensive drives. According to ESPN Research, Mateer finished 8-of-13 with 156 passing yards and a touchdown in blitzing situations Saturday.

Oklahoma opened the scoring on its opening possession via a pop pass from Mateer to wide receiver Deion Burks, who logged a team-high seven receptions for 101 yards. Mateer’s 2-yard rushing score with 22 seconds remaining in the second quarter handed Oklahoma a 14-0 halftime lead, and he used his legs again for a 10-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter.

Mateer’s 19 carries marked the fourth-highest single-game tally of his career and included three runs of at least 10 yards. With his pair of rushing scores, Mateer joined Lamar Jackson and D’Eriq King as the only FBS players to record at least one passing and rushing score in eight consecutive games since 2015, according to ESPN Research, dating to his breakout campaign at Washington State last fall.

“John’s a willing runner,” Sooners offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said. “He understands what it takes to win. They’re definitely designed QB runs in the game. At the end of the day, you’re just trying to win a football game, and John Mateer is willing [to run]. He probably took a big hit or two tonight. But hopefully all for the good of the team.”

Mateer’s night was not without mistakes. He was intercepted by Michigan defensive back TJ Metcalf in the first quarter after overthrowing tight end Will Huggins. Mateer was nearly intercepted again after halftime, and his third-quarter overthrow in the end zone beyond the hands of tight end Jaren Kanak cost the Sooners seven points as the Wolverines mounted a second-half comeback.

But Mateer’s risk-taking and flair for the extraordinary were also the drivers for Oklahoma in only the Sooners’ third win over a top-15 opponent under Venables. The Sooners led 14-7 early in the third quarter when Mateer shed a tackle in the backfield, rolled to his right and fired a 36-yard strike to wide receiver Isaiah Sategna. Mateer ran in his second touchdown and lifted the Sooners to a 21-7 advantage just two plays later.

“The thing with John, I trust that kid to like no end,” Arbuckle said. “He understands moments and situations. He knows when to take a chance, when not to take a chance. So whenever he lets one rip and puts the ball in what someone may say is a risky situation, whenever he does that, I have the utmost confidence that he’s making the right decision.”

Another one of Mateer’s risks paid off early in the fourth quarter, ultimately launching an 8:27 drive that allowed Oklahoma to drain the remaining minutes and any lingering hope of a Michigan comeback.

Facing second-and-10 from the Sooners’ 38-yard line, Mateer again rolled out and — with Wolverines linebacker Jaishawn Barham bearing down on him — made a daring throw off his back foot into heavy traffic to find Kanak for a 9-yard connection.

“[Kanak] kind of went to the open space and I threw it a little dangerous,” Mateer said. “But he made it happen.”

A timely bit of innovation, Mateer’s throw marked the start of a 16-play, 78-yard scoring drive that effectively iced Oklahoma’s Week 2 victory and showed off the very best of Mateer and what his game-changing playmaking ability can offer the Sooners.

Oklahoma visits Temple in Week 3 before embarking on a gauntlet of an SEC schedule at home against Auburn on Sept. 20.

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Hamlin speeds to second consecutive playoff pole

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Hamlin speeds to second consecutive playoff pole

MADISON, Ill. — Denny Hamlin remained perfect in qualifying during the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, capturing the pole position Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway.

It’s the 46th career pole and third this season for the Joe Gibbs Racing star, who also qualified first for last week’s playoff opener at Darlington Raceway.

“We made some great adjustments from where we were in practice,” said Hamlin, who turned a 139.190 mph lap in his No. 11 Toyota. “That’s what they did so well last week for qualifying. Now we’ve got great track position and just got to maintain it, and we’ll be in good shape.”

Kyle Larson will start second alongside Hamlin, earning his first top-10 qualifying effort on the 1.25-mile oval east of St. Louis.

Chase Briscoe qualified third, followed by Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell and Austin Cindric as playoff drivers took the top nine starting spots for Sunday’s 300-mile race at the track known as Gateway.

It was a notable departure from how the playoffs began at Darlington. Only four championship-eligible drivers finished in the top 10 of the Southern 500, a record low for a playoff opener.

Among the disappointments was Larson, whose 19th at Darlington continued a five-race drought without a top-five finish.

“I think our team needs it more than anything,” the 2021 Cup champion said. “We haven’t been able to celebrate a whole lot, so we will definitely celebrate a front row starting spot at Gateway. It’s been a rough, inconsistent couple of months, so even just qualifying good feels really nice.”

Alex Bowman, who has finished no higher than 13th at Gateway, qualified 25th as the only playoff driver who will start outside the top 20. Bowman is tied with Josh Berry (who qualified 12th) for last in the points standings among the 16 playoff drivers.

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Belichick wins 1st at UNC, confirms Patriots ban

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Belichick wins 1st at UNC, confirms Patriots ban

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The man with more Super Bowl wins than any other coach in NFL history now has his first win as a college coach.

Bill Belichick picked up win No. 1 in college — and No. 334 overall — as North Carolina shrugged off a dismal opening performance Monday vs. TCU and beat Charlotte on Saturday night 20-3.

“It’s great,” Belichick said, “but it’s really about the team. It was disappointing Monday night against TCU, but these guys bounced back — players, coaches, staff, support people — and just got back to work. They were determined to have a better outcome. I’m really proud of what they did. They deserve the credit for tonight.”

After a 48-14 blowout loss that included two defensive touchdowns by the Horned Frogs, Belichick praised the team’s ability to shrug off the performance and focus on the fundamentals.

UNC led 17-3 at the half, rushed for 148 yards, and didn’t turn over the ball against Charlotte. Meanwhile, the Tar Heels’ maligned defense held the 49ers to just 21 yards on the ground, five days after TCU ran for 258.

The news cycle after Monday’s loss had been ugly for Belichick and the Tar Heels — “a lot of negativity from the outside,” he said — including reports from multiple outlets, including ESPN, that scouts from the New England Patriots, with whom Belichick won six Super Bowls, have been banned from North Carolina’s facility.

Belichick confirmed those reports Saturday, saying the decision was in response to a closed-door edict in New England.

“It’s obvious I’m not welcome at their facility,” Belichick said, “so they’re not welcome at ours.”

Belichick has had an acrimonious divorce from New England and owner Bob Kraft since he left the Patriots after the 2023 season, with multiple spats erupting in the media in recent months. Belichick took issue with comments from Kraft that hiring him had been a “big risk,” releasing a statement in July saying that he was the one who took a risk by accepting the job. In a Boston Globe story last month, Belichick appeared to take another swipe, saying that one of the perks of his job at North Carolina is that “there’s no owner, there’s no owner’s son,” the latter a reference to Jonathan Kraft.

On Saturday, Belichick seemed in far better spirits, though hardly effervescent in his celebration.

Asked if the team had given Belichick a game ball to celebrate his first win with the Tar Heels, senior Gavin Gibson laughed and said, “If we’d tried, I think he’d look at us like, ‘Nah.'”

Instead, Belichick pointed to UNC’s determination to wipe the slate clean after Monday’s ugly loss and offer some renewed hope that the Tar Heels wouldn’t roll over.

“It was clear in the locker room and as we got out on the practice field there was a … higher level of determination and commitment,” Belichick said. “That was good to see us improve.”

North Carolina hosts Richmond next week before heading to UCF to close out its nonconference schedule.

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