The Astros are playing in their sixth-consecutive American League Championship Series after sweeping the Mariners in the ALDS. No other team has managed six-straight ALCS appearances since Major League Baseball expanded to divisions in 1969. The Astros, considered widely as the team to beat in these playoffs, began their current run in 2017.
Dikembe Mutombo undergoing brain tumor treatment
Basketball Hall of Famer and former Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo has started treatment for a brain tumor in Atlanta, the NBA announced. The Congo native is best known as a shot blocker and as a humanitarian and ambassador for basketball around the globe. He is said to be in great spirits during this time. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Dikembe, one of the world’s great humanitarians,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. Mutombo finished out his stellar NBA career with the Rockets from 2004-09.
Texas Southern men favored to win SWAC
Johnny Jones’ Texas Southern men’s basketball team will start the 2022-23 season with the proverbial target on its back after being selected as the preseason favorite to win the SWAC. Prairie View is picked to finish fourth. But the Tigers are believed to have the most talent and depth and it all starts with Karl Nicholas and John Walker III, who were both selected to the All-SWAC men’s basketball team. Nicholas, a first-team preseason selection, was also forecast as the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year.