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CLEVELAND -- Cleveland's WNBA expansion team had three priorities for the franchise's name.
It had to have its own identity and not be related to the Cavaliers. It needed to tie into Lake Erie. And fans wanted something progressive.
The Cleveland Sirens think they accomplished all three Tuesday when they introduced the name and branding during an event at Rocket Arena on Tuesday.
The WNBA's 16th team will begin play in 2028. Cleveland was home to one of the league's original franchises when the WNBA started in 1997, but the Rockers folded in 2003 when owner Gordon Gund could not find a new buyer.
Dan Gilbert's Rock Entertainment Group, which has owned the Cavaliers since 2005, paid a $250 million expansion fee for Cleveland's return to the WNBA.
The logo features a Siren underneath the name. The "S" in the wordmark also conceals "CLE". The two shades of blue take inspiration from Lake Erie and the Rockers logo.
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– Serena Williams and Venus Williams are set to make their Cincinnati Open doubles debut this month after being awarded a wild card spot, marking their return to doubles action for the first time since 2022. The event begins Tuesday, Aug. 11. The Williams sisters have won 14 major doubles titles. They last played doubles together at the 2022 US Open.
– The U.S. men's national soccer team will kick off the next World Cup cycle with four matches over 11 days on home soil. The friendlies include games against Peru, Chile, Mexico and Canada in U.S. cities that didn't host World Cup action this summer. The first game is Peru on Sept. 26.