Chiefs atop NFL Power Rankings; USMNT finally makes Mauricio Pochettino hire official

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⚾ Good morning to all, but especially to …

KYLE SCHWARBER AND MANNY MACHADO

Welcome to the history books, Kyle Schwarber! The Phillies star cranked his 14th leadoff home run of the season, breaking the record he had been sharing with Alfonso Soriano (2003).

• Schwarber now has four seasons with 35+ home runs. Only Aaron Judge, Mike Trout, Giancarlo Stanton and Nolan Arenado (all with five) have more among active players.
• The Phillies (87-58) beat the Rays, 9-4, thanks to a five-run eighth inning that also included the benches clearing after Rays reliever Edwin Uceta hit Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos.
• The Phillies lead the Dodgers by one game for the best record in baseball.

On the other side of the country, Manny Machado became the Padres‘ all-time home run leader with his 164th career long ball for the Friars. It was a big one in the context of this game and season, too: a two-run shot in the sixth inning to extend San Diego’s lead over the Mariners to 5-2. The Padres went on to win and currently occupy the top NL Wild Card spot.

Machado broke a tie with Nate Colbert. 

😃 Honorable mentions

🏈 And not such a good morning for …

THE MICHIGAN WOLVERINES

We’ve tiptoed around the subject, but let’s hit it head-on: Michigan doesn’t look good. At all. After years of quarterback struggles, the Wolverines struck gold in J.J. McCarthy for two years, but they’re back in quarterback purgatory. Former walk-on Davis Warren surprisingly won the job over Alex Orji entering the season, but after an underwhelming win over Fresno State and a blowout loss to Texas, things are … not great.

Chris Hummer looked at how the reigning champs got here, and it starts with Jim Harbaugh‘s untimely exit.

• Hummer: “The Wolverines won the national championship on Jan. 8. The Chargers didn’t hire Harbaugh until Jan. 24. The Wolverines promoted Sherrone Moore to head coach on Jan. 26. That’s more than two weeks in basically no-man’s land for Michigan … After all, what top transfer QB would pick a school without knowing who the head coach and coordinators would be?  … It [also] would have been difficult for Michigan to put together the money for a top-level QB with so many unknowns atop the program.”

There’s not much time for Moore and Co. to figure things out, Tom Fornelli writes in his weekly B1G Time column. The Wolverines are outside Brad Crawford’s latest projected College Football Playoff field.

Two more Michigan-related things:

😞 Not so honorable mentions

🏈 NFL Power Rankings: Chiefs hold strong, Packers fall off

As has been the case for the past two seasons, everyone’s still looking up at the Chiefs. Kansas City remains No. 1 in Pete Prisco’s NFL Power Rankings, but there was plenty of movement behind the two-time reigning champs. Here’s the top five:

1. Chiefs (previous: 1)
2. 49ers (3)
3. Bills (4)
4. Lions (7)
5. Texans (8)

The Chargers (18th to 11th), Steelers (19th to 12th) and Vikings (25th to 18th) all tied for the largest jump. The Patriots (30th to 24th) were close behind.

I’m not here to rain on anyone’s parade, but let’s keep things in perspective. The Steelers won without scoring a touchdown for the first time since 2008. They won’t force three turnovers (including a snap that deflected off a player in motion) and commit zero every game. Fields’ history tells us as much. Similarly, the Patriots won’t win every turnover battle 2-0 with fumbles forced at their own goal line and on a punt return. The Chargers and Vikings won’t get to face the Raiders‘ and Giants‘ anemic offenses, respectively, every week.

But wins are wins, right? You can’t be better than 1-0.

On the other end, the Packers (2nd to 15th) and the Bengals (5th to 16th) were the biggest fallers.

All right, my quick thoughts:

• Underrated: The Cardinals went on the road and took a double-digit lead before barely losing to the Bills, Pete’s third-ranked team. Yet Arizona fell to 27th in Pete’s rankings. I think they’re closer to the middle of the pack.
• Overrated: The Buccaneers cruised past the Commanders and are up to ninth in Pete’s rankings. I think they’re closer to the middle of the pack, too.

⚽ USMNT finalizes Mauricio Pochettino hire, then draws New Zealand to end dreadful on-field summer

Nearly a month after reports first broke that the USMNT was set to hire Mauricio Pochettino, the sides officially sealed the deal, shortly before the US drew New Zealand, 1-1.

Christian Pulisic scored in the 69th minute (and moved into fifth on the USMNT goals list), but another back-line blunder — Mark McKenzie‘s 89th-minute clearance deflecting off Ben Waine and going in — caused the equalizer. (takeaways here)

We covered Pochettino in-depth when he became the primary target, but as a refresher, he played in Europe and then coached in Europe for some of the world’s biggest clubs. Though the trophy case hasn’t filled up quite as he’d like, he led Tottenham to a UEFA Champions League Final, guided PSG to a Ligue 1 title and several domestic cups and was most recently with Chelsea, which finished sixth in the Premier League — and second in goals scored — in his lone season.

He takes over a program that is, frankly, in dire need of change after a dismal summer. To review, the United States …

• became the first host nation to not advance from the Copa America group stage;
• fired Gregg Berhalter;
• lost to Canada at home for first time since 1957;
• drew New Zealand, the No. 94 team in the world rankings;
• won one of its seven matches, included none of its past four

So, yeah, Pochettino has his work cut out for him with the 2026 World Cup — co-hosted by the USA — looming. Chuck Booth outlined the biggest issues for the new boss to fix, including …

• Booth: “Defensive rotations will be key — Chris Richards has emerged as the top center back on the roster while Antonee Robinson has become the top left back, but every remaining position is up for grabs. Sergiño Dest was close to making the right back spot his own and still could, but after suffering an ACL injury, he’ll have to get back to top form … Where things get concerning is at center back. … McKenzie, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty are all options, but Pochettino will need to figure out the best pairing on the ball that can make his system tick.”

Chuck also outlined winners and losers from the move.

I think USMNT fans are big winners. Pochettino coached some of the world’s best players and clubs in the world’s best leagues — places more Americans play than ever before. He is a very good hire, one who brings experience, tactical prowess and flair. I’m excited to see what he can do for Pulisic, Gio Reyna, Folarin Balogun and a talented midfield.

It’s now or never for the USMNT’s underachieving “golden generation,” and the federation took a big swing to get the right person leading it.

📺 What we’re watching Wednesday

🏀 Aces at Fever, 7 p.m. on NBA TV
⚾ Royals at Yankees, 7:05 p.m. on Prime Video
⚾ Padres at Mariners, 9:40 p.m. on FS1
🏀 Storm at Sparks, 10 p.m. on NBA TV