The latest in sports includes: scorn for the University of Maryland's retina-busting new uniforms, a juicy college football expansion rumor is denied, and Washington may have to wait one more day for the return of Stephen Strasburg.

• The University of Maryland debuted its new football uniforms during last night's win over the University of Miami Hurricanes. The initial reviews for the school's state-flag inspired duds were harsh. ESPN.com uniform blogger Paul Lukas said the Terrapins resembled "living chess pieces," while Washington Post sports columnist Tracee Hamilton felt like she was watching a troupe of "Cirque du Soleil performers" lost on the gridiron. Pat Forde of ESPN.com deemed the two-sided, Under Armour-designed helmets "the ugliest... in the game's history." Remarkably, the school still has 30 additional garish new uniform combinations left to debut, including helmets that mimic the shell of the Diamondback terrapin. [Sports Illustrated]

• Texas A&M's departure from the Big 12 conference won't go through until next July at the earliest, but speculation about a realigned sports landscape is already fevered. Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner John Swofford tried shooting down one such report last night, telling reporters at the Miami-Maryland game that there's no truth to a report from University of Texas athletics blog orangebloods.com that the conference would target Texas, UConn, Rutgers and Syracuse in the hopes of expanding to 16 teams. [CBS Sports]
• Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is scheduled to start tonight in Washington against the Dodgers, more than a year after blowing out his elbow and undergoing reconstructive surgery, but we wouldn't recommend setting the DVR or clicking on that #Strasmas Twitter hashtag quite yet. In keeping with Washington's long-tradition of lousy sports luck, the Weather Channel is predicting storms for the D.C. region throughout the night. [The Washington Post]

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at rgustini at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Ray Gustini