(May 23, 2002)

Next>

L.A. Looking Over Shoulder As Sixth Season Opens

NEW YORK NY (May 23, 2002) Sheryl Swoopes shook a defender, accelerated and sank a silky 15-foot pull-up jumper.  

Finals MVP Lisa Leslie helped the Sparks unseat the Comets for the WNBA title. It was only an exhibition game at Madison Square Garden, yet the familiar move proved the star of the Houston Comets was back to her old form -- a scary prospect for the defending-champion Los Angeles Sparks and the rest of the WNBA.

Later, stepping off the bus in New York City, Swoopes hyperextended her left knee -- the same knee that forced the 2000 MVP to miss all of last season with a torn ACL.  "It was very sore, but feels much better,'' Swoopes said. "My goal is to be ready to go by Monday (for the home opener).''

The WNBA begins its sixth season with Los Angeles trying to hold off the rejuvenated four-time champion Comets. The Sparks feel they need to go undefeated this season just to retain their title. "I don't think they're looking over their shoulders because I'm back,'' Swoopes said. "Anytime you're defending champion, you know everybody is going to come after you.''

New York gets the first chance, facing the Sparks on Saturday in the season debut on NBC.

The Sting will likely stay in Charlotte despite the Hornets moving to New Orleans. Charlotte, which made a surprising run to the finals last season after a 1-10 start, would be the first WNBA team in a non-NBA city.

Dee Brown will coach the Orlando Miracle after hanging up his jersey with the Magic, becoming the second former NBA player among current WNBA coaches. Ex-Laker Michael Cooper coaches Los Angeles.

Houston's Van Chancellor is the only current coach remaining from the league's first season in 1997.

"It reflects how seriously our teams take the whole idea of winning,'' league president Val Ackerman said.

Washington Mystics fans keep showing up despite the team's 10-22 record last season. Marianne Stanley became coach in the off-season and hired Tennessee's Pat Summitt as a consultant for a team that has never posted a winning record but draws average crowds of 15,000 at the MCI Center.

Connecticut star Sue Bird was the No. 1 pick by the last-place Seattle Storm, one of four players taken from the unbeaten NCAA champion Huskies in the top six selections. Teammates Swin Cash (Detroit) Asjha Jones (Washington) and Tamika Williams (Minnesota) are expected to make immediate impacts.

Bird, the consensus national player of the year, led UConn to a 39-0 record and NCAA title last season. "She is a unique rookie,'' Seattle coach Lin Dunn said. "I've been very impressed with her poise.''

Stacey Dales-Schuman, the No. 3 pick from NCAA runner-up Oklahoma, will complement Mystics All-Star Chamique Holdsclaw.

"I'm surprised to see players so young almost seamlessly come in and perform,'' Stanley said. "Stacey has international competition (Canadian Olympic team) and Asjha is as durable as you get playing four years uninjured.''

The Indiana Fever will be much improved with the debut of former Tennessee star Tamika Catchings and the addition of Nikki McCray in a trade with the Mystics. Catchings sat out last season rehabbing an injured knee.

"Nikki is a veteran, savvy player with tremendous energy and explosiveness,'' Fever coach Nell Fortner said. "Like Catchings, she makes people around her better.''

Fans may witness the first dunk in the WNBA. Michelle Snow, who dunked three times during her Tennessee career, wants to be the first to throw one down in the WNBA. Lisa Leslie of the Sparks attempted a dunk in the inaugural game in 1997 against New York, but missed.

"Coach is very adamant about me being aggressive and going for it in practices,'' Snow said. "That's new for me.''

The 6-foot-5 Snow wants to try a dunk in the half-court set. "We've already seen the breakaway dunk,'' she said. "Been there, done that.''

The league expects a new television agreement with NBC, ESPN and Lifetime in two weeks. Fifty games will be nationally televised this summer, including the playoffs. Holly Hunter will host a Lifetime weekly magazine show featuring WNBA players.

League attendance has leveled off at an average of nearly 10,000, while the average ticket price has hovered around $15.

The players' union contract expires on Sept. 15, and Ackerman wouldn't discuss salary increases or the league's fiscal fitness.

"Most sports leagues lose money. Most new sports leagues lose a lot of money,'' she said. "At this stage, the WNBA is still representing an investment for NBA owners. We intend to become a profitable enterprise.''

Players earn an average of $60,000, Ackerman said, with rookie minimum salaries at $30,000 and veteran minimum salaries at $40,000 for the three-month season.

The return of Swoopes sends shudders through some locker rooms. But Swoopes, who averaged 16 points in four preseason games, admitted that her leg muscles tire the longer she's in the game.

"I can still see weakness in things that I try to do because I don't have that strength in my leg,'' Swoopes said. "I definitely think I'm about 90 percent. It will come, though.''

Chancellor has a simple game plan for earning a fifth WNBA ring.

"We're going to put Janeth Arcain out there, Tina Thompson and Swoopes and get 'em a ton of shots and roll,'' he said. "I don't know if we're going to win it or not, but we're going to be in the hunt.'' Swoopes was emphatic about regaining the title. "We want it back.''

More teams will be vying for the WNBA title starting next season. Ackerman said San Antonio is expected to field a team in 2003 and Oakland has expressed interest in 2004.

[Source: Melissa Murphy, Associated Press; ESPN.com]