CANNON BALLERS
The White Sox' Single-A South Atlantic League affiliate in Kannapolis, N.C., are being renamed the Cannon Ballers in an effort to "incorporate and honor the city's heritage," according to Adam Thompson of the Concord INDEPENDENT TRIBUNE. Kannapolis was home to textile company Cannon Mills for "more than a century before it went bankrupt and closed" in '03. Additionally, the Cannon family "helped grow the city." More than 1,300 fan suggestions were submitted, and Cannon Ballers GM Matt Millward said that the "top fan recommendation was for the team to be named the Cannons." The team had been named the Intimidators since '01 in honor of late NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, who was from Kannapolis. The new Cannon Ballers logo, designed by Studio Simon, features a "superhero type figure with a baseball head and a mustache" similar to Earnhardt's (Concord INDEPENDENT TRIBUNE, 10/24). The team will "still recognize Earnhardt's legacy by including the No. 3 within the new 'CB' logo on hats" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 10/24).
