Sports Brief: October 2-6

The Clash of Two Stars in the NBA Preseason

Two talented superstars will face off in a preseason matchup in Oklahoma City. 

The number two pick in the 2022 NBA draft, Chet Holmgren, will make his first appearance after suffering a season-ending Lisfranc injury last year. According to USA Today, his teammates are raving about the impact he will have as an elite rim protector. 

The Thunder’s Holmgren will face off against the number one pick of the 2023 NBA draft, the San Antonio Spur’s Victor Wembenyama. These two have faced each other before in closed runs, with Wembenyana  even calling Chet “one of the greatest players of this new generation.” 

This matchup will take place on Monday, Oct. 9 at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. 

76ers Star Joel Embid Commits to Team USA for 2024 Olympics

Joel Embid has committed to play basketball for Team USA in the 2024 Olympics. 

Joel Embid is the center for the Philadelphia 76ers and one of the best statistically in the league. He has been dominating boards for years now and is excited to play for Team USA. 

This announcement came as a shock to many, as he holds citizenship in both Cameroon and France. However, his reason came back to his family. 

“My son is American, and you add that to the fact that I’ve been here for such a long time, I feel like for the past few years every decision has been based on family,” Embid said. 

With one star already on the team and more to follow, it will be exciting to see if Team USA can win on the world stage, a feat they accomplished last time the Olympics were held. 

Wild Card Series Over

The MLB postseason’s wild card series finished this week. 

The Minnesota Twins beat the sixth seeded Toronto Blue Jays, sending the Blue Jays back to Toronto to prepare for a tough matchup against the two seeded Houston Astros. 

In the American League, the Texas Rangers took on the Tampa Bay Rays. Led by a strong offensive performance on Wednesday night, the Rangers swept the series and are headed to play the one seed, Baltimore Orioles. 

In the National League, the sixth seeded Arizona Diamondbacks faced off against the three seeded Milwaukee Brewers. Most believed this would be an easy matchup for the Brewers, but the Diamondbacks swept them in the series. The Diamondbacks are now set to play the L.A. Dodgers in the divisional series. 

The fourth seeded Philadelphia Phillies took on the fifth seeded Miami Marlins. The Phillies had a monster offensive game and took care of business to sweep the Marlins 2-0. They will now go on to face the first seeded Atlanta Braves.  

 Texas v. OU: A Tradition as Old as Time

The number 12 Oklahoma Sooners are taking on their longtime rival, the number three Texas Longhorns, this Saturday at the Cotton Bowl. This game will be the last time the rivals play as Big 12 Conference foes, as both have signed to join the SEC after this season. 

The first OU v. Texas game was in 1900. They played each other again in 1918 and have done so annually ever since. The current record of the all-time series matchup is 63-50-5, with Texas leading. However, OU has been better than .500 since the end of World War II and has been 16-8 since 2000. 

Both teams are currently undefeated and fighting for a chance to play in the national championship. Sooners’ LB Phil Picciotti and DB Jayden Rowe are out for the season and Longhorns’ CB Ryan Watts lower-body and TE JaTavion Sanders ankle are questionable for Week 6. Who will take the cake as the better of the matchup for the last time in the Big 12?