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PHILADELPHIA — Trea Turner shouted for his booze-soaked Philadelphia Phillies teammates to clear a path — the clouds of smoke formed from puffs of his celebratory cigar certainly opened a hole — as he rode into the clubhouse on a platform truck also stacked with cases of beer.

Hoodie up, googles on, Turner jumped and splashed into the swill of beer and bubbly that sopped the clubhouse floor, the All-Star shortstop ready to crash the bash that had circled him.

The Phillies are used to the party, though this one came with a twist — for the first time in 13 years, they are headed to the postseason as National League East champs.

Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto went deep. Phillies fans went wild. And pitcher Aaron Nola provided a taste of just how great it would feel for the entire franchise if Philly went all the way.

The Phillies won the NL East for the first time since 2011, clinching the division title with a 6-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Monday night.

“That was our main goal in spring training, to win the division and get that first-round bye,” slugger Bryce Harper said. “Do all the things we can to kind of set us up for the postseason. The division was the first thing.”

The Phillies had rolled tarp pinned above clubhouse locker stalls before the game, a familiar protective sight for the bottle-popping ahead for a team that has made the playoffs each of the past three seasons under manager Rob Thomson.

They went wild moments after Carlos Estevez retired Michael Busch on a fly ball to end the game. Phillies players swarmed each other in excitement on the infield. The Phillie Phanatic stormed the celebration waving a 2024 flag as fans stood and filmed it all.

“We know there’s a really big picture ahead of us,” Schwarber said before the game. “Winning the division is a big thing. If we go out there and do our thing tonight, it’s going to be well deserved. It’s not an easy division to win. It’s never been an easy division to win. It definitely will be a cool thing.”

Oh, it was cool in Philly for an announced sellout crowd of 42,386, with temperatures in the 60s — a sneak peek of October weather.

That suits this squad just fine.

With a postseason berth already clinched last week, Schwarber, Harper, Turner & Co. earned the franchise’s 12th division championship— and have their sights set on the top seed in the NL playoffs.

The Phillies (93-64) hold the No. 2 spot just behind the Los Angeles Dodgers (93-63) and would earn a first-round bye should the standings hold.

“The biggest things for me, really, are winning the division and getting the bye,” Thomson said. “If we get home field throughout, that’s a bonus. But I won’t put our players in danger to get there.”

The Phillies have two games left against the Cubs and close the season with a three-game set in Washington.

With playoff appearances now the norm for these Phillies, perhaps the inevitability of it all kept some fans home. After selling out game after game during a sensational season, there were pockets of empty seats at Citizens Bank Park, which topped 3.2 million in attendance.

Thomson once said a rival coach told him a playoff game in Philly was “four hours of hell.”

“I feel like it’s the best atmosphere in sports,” All-Star reliever Jeff Hoffman said. “It feels like it’s 50,000 vs. nine. It’s always a good feeling when you step on the field.”

Phillies fans were greeted by “CLINCHED” on the videoboard outside Citizens Bank Park, while the main entrance featured Harper and Nola as the anchor photos on a “Make More HISTORY” banner.

“Being able to come home and do it here, in front of the best fans of baseball, in front of a fan base that showed out for us each night, it was just a lot of fun,” Harper said.

Philadelphia ended Atlanta‘s run of six consecutive NL East titles and is trying to finish with the major leagues’ best record and home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

Seeking their third World Series championship following titles in 1980 and 2008, the Phillies overtook Atlanta for the division lead on May 3 and haven’t trailed since.

Philadelphia won five straight NL East titles from 2007 to ’11, then went 10 years without making the playoffs. A wild-card entry each of the past two postseasons, the Phillies put together consecutive October runs that ended in heartbreak.

They reached the 2022 World Series, losing to Houston in six games, and dropped a seven-game NL Championship Series to Arizona last year after leading the underdog Diamondbacks 2-0 and 3-2.

The path to this division title was a bit messy after the team raced to the best 50-game start in the majors since Seattle in 2001. The Phillies slumped in the summer and returned home this week from a 2-5 trip against Milwaukee and the New York Mets.

Both are teams the Phillies could face in October.

It seemed fitting the 31-year-old Nola was on the mound for the clincher. Nola was a first-round draft pick by the Phillies in 2014, debuted the next year and has been with them his entire career. He’s been one of baseball’s most dependable pitchers — a valuable commodity with the modern stress on big league bullpens.

Nola helped Philadelphia secure a wild-card spot last year, then went 3-1 with a 2.35 ERA in four playoff starts. He made five postseason starts in 2022, going 2-2 with a 4.91 ERA.

Nola only briefly tested the free-agent market last offseason before signing a $172 million, seven-year deal to stick with the Phillies.

His reward is another postseason opportunity to bring home a World Series title now 16 years in the making.

“I think that says a lot about our club. We stayed hungry after the losses in the World Series and the CS last year,” Nola said. “We hope we can keep that going.”

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Cristobal: QB Beck cleared for summer workouts

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Cristobal: QB Beck cleared for summer workouts

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — Miami coach Mario Cristobal said Monday that quarterback Carson Beck has been cleared to participate in all team summer activities and is approaching 100 percent following elbow surgery last year.

Cristobal said Beck has been throwing for the past three weeks as part of his rehab regimen. Beck missed all of spring practice and has yet to throw to Miami’s receivers as part of organized team activities. But that is all about to change when Miami begins summer workouts next week.

“He’s good to go,” Cristobal told ESPN at the ACC spring meetings. “He’s exceeding every benchmark.”

Beck underwent surgery on his right elbow to repair his ulnar collateral ligament, which he injured on the final play of the first half in second-ranked Georgia‘s 22-19 overtime win against Texas in the SEC championship game Dec. 7.

Beck started at Georgia for two seasons, going 24-3, and ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. had him rated as the No. 5 quarterback for the 2025 draft. But given his injury and inconsistent performance in 2024, Beck entered the portal in January. He quickly opted for Miami, where he will replace No. 1 NFL draft pick Cam Ward.

Beck threw for 7,426 yards over his two seasons as Georgia’s starter, fifth most among all FBS passers since 2023, with 57 total touchdowns and 23 turnovers.

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Canes LB Hayes out of hospital after tragic crash

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Canes LB Hayes out of hospital after tragic crash

Miami Hurricanes linebacker Adarius Hayes, who was one of the drivers in a two-vehicle crash that left three people dead and at least two others injured, has been released from the hospital, the university said Monday.

The three people who died as a result of the crash were all in a Kia Soul, which collided with a Dodge Durango being driven by Hayes on Saturday afternoon in Largo, Florida, police said.

A 78-year-old woman who was driving the Kia and two of her passengers — 10-year-old Jabari Elijah Solomon and 4-year-old Charlie Herbert Solomon Riveria — died in the crash, police said. Another passenger in the Kia was hospitalized with serious injuries, police said.

No tickets or criminal charges have been filed, though the investigation is continuing.

“We are deeply saddened to learn the crash resulted in three fatalities, as confirmed by Largo Police, and our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of those lost,” the Hurricanes said in a statement.

The school is still working to gather further information.

“There were no signs of impairment with either driver of the vehicles,” Largo Police public information officer Megan Santo said in a statement distributed Sunday.

Hayes, a four-star recruit coming out of Largo High, played in 12 games for the Hurricanes as a freshman in 2024, mostly on special teams. He finished the season with four tackles and one interception, which he returned 25 yards in Miami’s 56-9 victory over Florida A&M on Sept. 7.

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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NCAA prez is open to Trump’s idea of commission

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NCAA prez is open to Trump's idea of commission

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — NCAA president Charlie Baker said Monday he was “up for anything” when asked about a President Donald Trump-proposed commission on collegiate athletics.

Reports surfaced last week that Trump was going to create the commission.

While his conversations at ACC meetings with league football coaches, men’s and women’s basketball coaches, athletic directors and other school officials focused on governance and the pending House settlement, Baker was asked during an informal media availability for his thoughts on the presidential commission.

“I think the fact that there’s an interest on the executive side on this, I think it speaks to the fact that everybody is paying a lot of attention right now to what’s going on in college sports,” Baker said.

“I’m up for anything that can help us get somewhere.”

Baker noted the NCAA has already spent time in Washington asking for congressional help that is focused on three big issues. Among the biggest: a patchwork of state laws that relate to how collegiate athletics work in individual states; and whether student-athletes should be considered employees.

“I think [Congress] can help us. I really do,” ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said during an interview with ACC Network. “We have been very bold in the desire for a national standard when it comes to name, image and likeness. We need to make sure that we have something that comes out of Washington that connects all 50 of the states because we’ve had a piecemeal project and it’s really undermined college sports. It’s been a race to the bottom. So that’s one. Two is we need some legal protection. We cannot sustain one legal case after another legal case after another legal case. A reaffirmation that these are student-athletes. Those three things to me will be very important to see if that can come out of the commission.”

Baker said, “People in our office have talked to folks who are working on this, but I don’t think they’ve decided the framework around who they want to put on.”

When asked whether he felt the creation of a commission would enhance the NCAA’s chances at legislative relief, Baker said, “I don’t have a crystal ball on that one. I don’t know. I do think, though, that it’s quite clear at this point that there are a lot of people interested in college sports, and we do need some help at some point to create some clarity around some of these issues in Washington. Creating clarity one lawsuit at a time is just a really bad way to try to move forward.”

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