Storm Brewing in Seattle

Just over a year since Force 10 Hoops bought the Seattle Storm, the new owners are learning to walk in preparation for running. Within the last month, the four-woman ownership group has guaranteed its team’s playing home for the next decade and leased a new office facility. With this foundation, they can now solidify their roster — the current uncertainty of which is worrying a lot of Storm fans.

A few weeks ago, the Storm waived basketball legend Sheryl Swoopes, whom they acquired last spring.

Anne Levinson, co-owner and spokeswoman for Force 10 Hoops LLC, cited economics, rather than performance concerns and said the WNBA’s new 11-player roster limit ensures that they make finding the right players a top priority.

Swoopes’ waiver came in the wake of news that the Storm has, as yet, failed to resign its star post player Lauren Jackson, who became an unrestricted free agent for the first time this year.

Long-time Storm player and fan favorite Sue Bird remains on the roster.

How will the team fare during their 10th anniversary season?

Full story at Fullcourt Press

Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes headline WNBA roster changes

Three-time WNBA MVP and four-time Olympic gold medalist Lisa Leslie says she will retire after her 12th season with the Los Angeles Sparks.The 36-year-old center announced her decision Wednesday in El Segundo, Calif., accompanied by her 19-month-old daughter and husband.

The 6-foot-5 Southern California native first grabbed headlines when she scored 101 points for her Inglewood Morningside team in 1990. Leslie stayed closed to home for college, helping USC reach the final eight of the NCAA tournament twice, in 1992 and 1994.

Leslie, who has been a cornerstone of the league since its start, guided the Sparks to the WNBA championship in 2001 and 2002 and became the first woman to dunk in a WNBA game.

Leslie says she decided to retire as it became more difficult to balance her family life and her basketball career. She took the 2007 season off to give birth, then returned last season.

In other WNBA news, the Seattle Storm released three-time WNBA MVP and three-time Olympic gold medalist Sheryl Swoopes a day before her 2009 contract would have become guaranteed.

Coach Brian Agler says the move was made to clear space under the $803,000 salary cap.

Swoopes is 37 and might now pursue something she’s talked about since September — coaching and being a full-time mother. 

With these announcements, an era in women’s basketball comes to an end.

WNBA Houston Comets shutting their doors

December 2, 2008 – The Houston Comets will suspend operations for the 2009 season it was announced today by WNBA President Donna Orender. A WNBA Dispersal Draft involving Comets players will take place on Monday, Dec. 8.

The Comets dominated the fledgling league when it began operations, winning the first four WNBA titles from 1997-2000, led by its talented trio of players: Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper and Tina Thompson.  Kind of ironic that the most successful Houston sports franchise is no more.

With the Comets officially gone (well technically the franchise is “suspended”) what does that mean for the league?  In her ESPN column, Mechelle Voepel discusses the demise of the team and the struggles the league will face in this uncertain economy.

As the old adage goes, the Comets were in the wrong place at the wrong time. But it’s important not to forget that a decade ago, they were in the right place at the right time. And the WNBA benefited because of it…

…Bad news? Of course. But the NBA is still vested enough in the WNBA, and that — along with the energy and hard work of the independent owners — will keep the league going.

The folding of the Comets franchise leaves the San Antonio Silver Stars as the only remaining WNBA team in Texas. For now, bye, bye Comets. You’ll be missed but not forgotten. And hopefully, you’ll be back one day soon!