Sports Daily: Doing right by Dikembe

Hey, y’all. Happy Friday.

The latest on the Braves and AJ Smith-Shawver’s elbow — plus college baseball, the Dream and United — is coming up shortly, as we take a (mostly) chronological look at what to expect from the weekend.

But first: How to honor a true Atlanta giant.

Quick links: Braves fear worst | UGA baseball preps for regional | Tech, too | United on the road

A MOUNTAIN OF A MAN

Credit: ccompton@ajc.com

Credit: ccompton@ajc.com

Dikembe Mutombo was the best of us.

The basketball stuff speaks for itself, like that finger wag always did. The breadth of his humanitarian efforts? Astounding.

A hospital, a school and so much more in his native Congo. Here in the States — and especially in his adopted city of Atlanta — he fed the needy. He volunteered at the Boys & Girls Club, the Special Olympics. He coached. He played Santa at Children’s Healthcare.

We’re lucky he chose us.

Now’s the time to thank him.

And not just at his public memorial, which is set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Georgia Tech’s McCamish Pavilion. That’s more for celebrating and saying goodbye, some eight months after brain cancer took his life.

“I think it’s a community that embraced us, embraced him and loved him, and it just feels so good to do something like that in our community,” Mutombo’s widow, Rose, told the AJC’s Lauren Williams this week.

Everyone who is able to should go. They want a crowd (and I suspect they’ll get it).

But what if we all did a little more, too?

Volunteer. Help someone who needs it. Make your community better, whatever that looks like.

Or just live with the joy Dikembe did.

Long after his playing days were over, he embraced the Cookie Monster jokes. The smile never faded.

And he loved it when strangers gave him a knowing look and an extended index finger.

“Everywhere I go, people wag their finger at me. I wag my finger back,” he wrote in a 2015 piece in the Players Tribune. “When I see people wagging their fingers at me, it feels like cheering.”

Go do something worth cheering for.

THE ROAD TO OMAHA

Credit: (Andy Hancock/ACC)

The NCAA Tournament, Baseball Edition begins today. And both Georgia and Georgia Tech hope to start working their way toward the College World Series.

🏆 The Bulldogs are the overall No. 7 seed and hosting their own double-elimination regional in Athens. They get Binghamton at noon on the SEC Network.

They’ll also have to get through Duke and Oklahoma State to advance. Lots more insight here.

🏆 The Yellow Jackets, meanwhile, are headed to Oxford, Mississippi — and feeling a mite miffed about not hosting their own party.

Their regional journey begins against Western Kentucky at 4 p.m. on ESPN+, with Murray State and Ole Miss standing in their way.

Plot twist: Check out the full schedule for both regionals here. And know that if both the local squads emerge victorious, they’d square off in a best-of-three Super Regional with a trip to Omaha on the line.

BRAVES AWAIT WORD

Credit: Matt Slocum/AP

The Braves salvaged the second game of Thursday’s doubleheader in Philadelphia, winning 9-3 as Chris Sale continued his return to dominant form.

But they lost twice in Game 1 — in the final score, yes. But also when young starter AJ Smith-Shawver left the mound after feeling “a pop” in his elbow.

He’s now back in Atlanta with an MRI pending on his “right elbow strain” … which more often than not means “see you in a year or so.” He’s already been placed on the 60-day injured list.

Said catcher Sean Murphy: “It stinks. He’s been throwing the ball so well. He threw an awkward pitch and he shook his arm out. It was a little weird. You could just tell something was off there.”

⚾ Stay tuned to AJC.com/braves, @JustinCToscano and the Braves Report newsletter for updates throughout the day.

⚾ On deck: A weekend home series with the Red Sox. Tonight’s first pitch: 7:15 p.m. on Apple TV.

GRINER DUE BACK?

The Dream hope to keep their three-game winning streak rolling when they visit the Seattle Storm tonight (10 p.m. EDT on Ion).

👀 The bigger news: Center Brittney Griner just might return to the court after missing time with a left knee injury. She’s listed as probable.

A LIVELIER UNITED

Atlanta United is riding its first heater of the season and, in the words of columnist Michael Cunningham, finally starting to look like the team manager Ronny Deila promised.

The Five Stripes now take the momentum (and a few still-slumbering stars) to New York, where they’ve never beaten the Red Bulls.

⚽ Tune in to Apple TV at 7:30 p.m. Saturday to see if they can keep the energy up — and bring a little personality to the pitch, too.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Credit: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

Is the Scripps National Spelling Bee sports? Only if you squint real hard. But we’re rolling with it — because this 11-year-old from Dunwoody Elementary just got third place.

More photos here.