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On Monday it was announced that NBA basketball team Philadelphia 76ers purchased two esports teams, Team Dignitas and Apex Gaming, which will both merge under the Dignitas banner.The 76ers and their new staff of esports hires, including former Bioware CEO and Electronic Arts VP Greg Richardson, former Dignitas owner Michael ODEE ODell and former Apex general manager Michael Slan, will now run teams across multiple esports titles. These games will include League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Overwatch, Heroes of the Storm and Smite, mixing together squads from both Apex and Dignitas.We aim to be the most dominant, winning franchise across the [esports] space, 76ers CEO Scott ONeil told ESPN in an interview about his teams new venture. I think having the opportunity to put some real resources behind an unbelievable, rapidly growing property will be amazing.ONeil, who also serves as CEO for the NHLs New Jersey Devils and the Prudential Center, has lofty ambitions, which were clear throughout the course of the interview. Putting money behind Dignitas, one of esports oldest organizations, will likely elevate the organization that has fallen behind in certain esports -- mainly due to a lack of financial bidding power -- over the past few years.The 76ers and ONeil first began to court an opportunity in esports in 2015, when they first met ODEE, who has worked in the space as the head of Team Dignitas since 2003. ONeil said that ODEE gave them a personal view of an industry that had already piqued their interest. After assessing their options, both ONeil and the 76ers believed that acquiring Team Dignitas was the right move.In a space thats changing rapidly, to have a solid, strong, confident voice in ODEE was really comforting, ONeil said. He approached the partnership with a very long-term approach like we did, very focused on understanding that the landscape changing as rapidly as it is. He was looking for a partner capable of bringing real resources. He was looking for partner with whom he could build a dominant, championship-winning team.But despite ODEEs strong reputation among the business, hiring Slan and acquiring Apex comes with baggage.Slan is best known for his time as the manager of Team Coast, which he co-owned with his father, David Slan. During his time with Coast from 2013 until it was sold to NRG Esports in 2015, that organizations reputation plummeted, as it made ill-advised roster moves and had a knack for being involved numerous disputes, which were later published. In 2016, Slan and his father launched a new esports team, called Team Apex.Richardson said that working with the Slan and acquiring Apex from his father was ODEEs suggestion. ODEE had worked with the Slans in the past as a colleague during Team Dignitas time in the League Championship Series and recently gave his teams Challenger Series spot to Apex in April.Richardson, however, said his main motivation to work with Slan came after seeing his history of finding talent in League of Legends, where Coast has qualified for the League Championship Series with multiple different lineups.Michael Slan at Apex has a unique ability to find top talent, Richardson said. Working with ODEE in the Dignitas culture is going to make great things happen for him and our LCS team.For ONeil and Richardson, they both said they want to make Team Dignitas the most prestigious option for potential players in the esports world, something the organization has never been able to accomplish alone.We have to very clearly communicate that Dignitas is the best place in the world for players to play seriously, where they have the opportunity to build really amazing careers, be well compensated and have all the things they need to be the best, Richardson said.As ONeil added, We have experience in terms of creating an environment where athletes excel and develop. If you talk to any of our players at the New Jersey Devils or Philadelphia 76ers, youll find its an incredible experience for them, and we have no doubt we can build on that for players who commit to Team Dignitas. 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HOUSTON -- When the Houston Astros suffered through a grueling offensive slump that bridged the final two games of July with the opening week of August, they hoped that the additions of Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel would eventually lengthen their lineup and correct their problems.The Astros scored a total of 18 runs while losing eight of 10 games before finding their footing in Minnesota on Aug. 9. On Saturday night, in their 6-2 win over the Rays, the Astros (68-61) showcased the balanced offense they sorely craved.In attacking Rays left-hander Blake Snell, the Astros banged out nine with him on the mound and closed the game with five starters recording multi-hit games. By spreading hits up and down their lineup, the Astros overwhelmed Snell and set the stage for a series sweep on Sunday.Its a weird discipline to ask out of your hitters to be ready to hit on every pitch but dont swing at everything, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. I thought we did a really good job tonight of making (Snell) get his breaking ball over. We didnt chase any breaking balls in the dirt or not very many of them. The changeup was really very effective early on for him but we hit his fastball, and then the second time through we hit his changeup. I like how our guys stayed very focused in the strike zone.Right-hander Doug Fister (12-8, 3.59 ERA) will take the hill for Houston coming off his best start of the season. On Monday against the Pirates, Fister worked seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk with six strikeouts in a 3-1 win. He did not faace the Rays when the teams squared off in Tampa Bay in mid-June, but Fister is 2-4 with a 3.dddddddddddd.63 ERA over seven career appearances (six starts) against them.Right-hander Chris Archer (7-17, 4.11 ERA) will get the start for the Rays (54-74), seeking to continue his exceptional pitching against the Astros.Archer is 3-2 with a 1.31 ERA in six career starts against the Astros. Two of his three career shutouts have come against Houston, including a one-hitter on Aug. 20, 2015 at Minute Maid Park and a five-hit shutout at Tropicana Field on July 14, 2013.The road shutout against the Astros came in his previous appearance in Houston, a 1-0 win over right-hander Collin McHugh in which Archer threw just 98 pitches. In that start, Archer became the first American League pitcher to throw a one-hit shutout with 10-plus strikeouts and less than 100 pitches since Yankees right-hander David Cone twirled a perfect game against the Montreal Expos on July 18, 1999.The Rays will need Archer to pitch effectively and efficiently. They lost Snell to an injury one batter into the fourth inning on Saturday, forcing manager Kevin Cash to dip into his bullpen earlier than he expected.Its unfortunate because Kevin Jepsen really shouldnt have been pitching, Cash said. Now, tonight was injury-related, and (Danny) Farquhar comes in and gives us two innings.The bullpen is getting taxed a little bit. We need to straighten that out. ' ' '