New numbers, helmets, uniforms and 'sports' names

As the old Stevie Wonder song goes, “Very Superstitious.” As WFAE’s Jeanne Davis reported this week (thanks for the assist), Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball has received approval to change the number on his jersey from No. 2 to No. 1, beginning this upcoming season. He spoke about his aversion to his previous number at a news conference in April.

“Yeah, I just ain’t never been two,” Ball, said “It’s just weird out there for real. Just don’t feel like you’re playing for real. Like I don’t know who this is. I don’t know who number two is.”

For those keeping score, older brother Lonzo Ball, who plays for the Chicago Bulls, sports No. 2. Little brother LiAngelo Ball, wears No. 3 for the G League’s Greensboro Swarm, but he wore No. 8 for the Hornets in the NBA’s recent summer league.

The demand for alternate uniforms is a growing industry in all sports and no sport does it better (or prints money) like the NFL. The Carolina Panthers are rolling out a new look this season and it was sleek enough to get Gov. Roy Cooper excited about it.

Red and black seem to be the most popular colors this season as the New Orleans Saints joined the Panthers in rolling out a black helmet. The New England Patriots are going back to their old '70s look with red uniforms and the Falcons will give their fans a blast of nostalgia with the classic red helmet design also harkening back to the '70s. The Houston Texans are also introducing a red helmet. The Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants are both sporting their '80s styles with the classic Kelly green and classic blue uniforms respectively. And, the Washington Commanders will be introducing an array of uniforms incorporating burgundy, gold, black and white.

But, as Deon Sanders once said, “If you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you play good. If you play good, they pay good."

If that is the case, expect the Cincinnati Bengals to not only return to the Super Bowl but to win it all with their new all-white uniforms and helmets with black stripes if the mockups are true. Stay tuned.

Update: The Bengals released a photo of their new helmet on Friday.

The WNBA is planning to expand and according to Chantel Jennings of The Athletic the short list of cities are:

• Portland
• Nashville
• Oakland
• San Francisco
• Philadelphia
• Toronto

My question is why not Charlotte? Why not bring back the Sting? There is a rich WNBA history here. The Sting was one of the league’s original eight teams. They’ve had players like Vicky Bullett, Dawn Staley and Andrea Stinson (the only member of the Sting to have her number retired). And, the team was once coached by Tyrone "Muggsy" Bogues and at one point Bernie Bickerstaff was the general manager.

Last week, I reported about Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder’s extended Mediterranean vacation where he may or may not be evading U.S. Marshalls from handing him a subpoena from the House Committee on Oversight and Reform to answer questions about how the NFL team handled alleged workplace violations.

Thanks to the magic of Twitter, anyone wondering where in the world Commander Dan is, there is this Twitter account started in June called Dan Snyder Yacht Tracker.

Due to a write-up by ProFootballTalk, the account already has nearly 6,000 followers.

A sport inspired by the Harry Potter book series has distanced itself from the anti-trans positions of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. U.S. Quidditch and Major League Quidditch announced the name change on Tuesday as well as their own rebranding as U.S. Quadball and Major League Quadball.

Other sports headlines:

• Hornets' Bridges pleads not guilty to domestic violence
• ACC looking for ways to boost revenue, shrink financial gap
• Golf Hall of Fame to move back to Pinehurst at new site
• NASCAR to run street race in downtown Chicago next season
• Panthers QB spot competitive, West Charlotte's Daylan Smothers picks the Sooners and UNC loses top recruit

Thanks for reading. Until the next Time Out For Sports Overtime.

WFAE's Jeanne Davis contributed to this report.