Last year, the Houston Comets got a new owner. This season, they have a new home.
After spending the previous four seasons at the Toyota Center, the Comets began playing at the cozier Reliant Arena earlier this week.
Although they came up short in their home debut, losing by six points in overtime against Minnesota on Tuesday night, the Comets like their new digs.
``It felt really good, very fan-friendly,'' veteran forward Tina Thompson said. ``The fans were right on top of us and we definitely heard them all through the game. ... The environment is good!''
Teammate Tamecka Dixon also liked the arena, but admitted the team needs to get acclimated to the court.
``It was exciting,'' she said. ``I felt that the fans did a good job of making us feel good at home especially for the home opener. But ... we are still not adjusted to the range, and we still need to get a lot more shooting in the arena.''
Houston played in the Compaq Center in the league's first seven seasons, before moving to the Toyota Center starting in 2003. The Comets averaged nearly 8,200 fans at the 18,300-seat arena last season.
Hilton Koch, who bought the Comets from Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander on Jan. 31, 2007, announced the team's move to Reliant Arena, which has a capacity of 7,256, last December.
``I love it,'' coach Karleen Thompson said. ``We finally were able to see what it will be like. The crowd was loud. The floor is beautiful and the team was really excited to see it.''
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EARLY SEASON BREATHER: After outlasting the defending champion Phoenix Mercury on opening day, the Los Angeles Sparks didn't play again until facing the expansion Atlanta Dream eight days later.
``That's a good thing and that's a bad thing,'' Sparks coach Michael Cooper said. ``The good thing about it is that we got some rest, and got time to really get into our offense and work on some things defensively.
``The bad thing is, rust. You kinda want to play somebody ... because you get tired of beating up on yourself.''
The downside to the light early schedule is a stretch in which the Sparks play eight games in 16 days from June 11-26.
``We've got to take advantage of this now,'' Cooper said. ``We have a chance to take baby steps before we start playing a lot of games.''
After opening with two wins, Los Angeles hit a road bump in a four-point loss in double overtime at Indiana on Thursday night. Los Angeles trailed 37-18 in the final minute of the first half before rallying to force the extra periods.
``The main adjustments were that we came out and played defense with more intensity and that helped us get back into the game from the 19-point deficit,'' Sparks center Lisa Leslie said.
The game also began a stretch of three games in five days as the Sparks wrap up their season-opening five-game road trip.
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REBOUNDING FOR CHARITY: Indiana center Tammy Sutton-Brown will be playing for more than just the Fever this season. For every rebound the seven-year veteran and two-time All-Star gets, she will donate $10 to Athletes for Africa.
Sutton-Brown is also encouraging fans to go to her page at the organization's Web site - www.myathletesforafrica.com/tammysuttonbrown - and make a donation to support her goal of raising $20,000 for programs for youth in Uganda, Sudan and the Republic of Congo.
``I'm one of lucky ones. I have the good fortune of being able to play basketball for a living and this a great opportunity for me to give back,'' she said in a statement. ``In fact, we're all the lucky ones, living here and having the opportunities that we do. Athletes for Africa makes it easy to learn more and get involved.''
Sutton-Brown grabbed seven rebounds Thursday night in the Fever's double-overtime win against Los Angeles, increasing her season total to 17.
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PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Connecticut's Lindsay Whalen and San Antonio's Sophia Young were selected as the league's players of the week for the Eastern and Western Conferences, respectively, for the opening week of the season.
Whalen earned the honor for the third time in her career after averaging 16.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 7.0 assists while shooting 56.5 percent from the field to help the Sun open the season with three wins.
Young received the award for the first time after averaging 23.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals while shooting 59.6 percent. She topped 20 points in each of the Silver Stars' first three games, guiding the team to a 2-1 start.
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SCOREBOARD WATCH: Los Angeles at Chicago, Tuesday, 8 p.m. EDT. Los Angeles' Candace Parker and Chicago's Sylvia Fowles, the top two picks in this year's draft, bring their college rivalry from the Southeastern Conference to the WNBA. Nearly two months after Parker led Tennessee to a one-point win against Fowles and LSU in the Final Four en route to winning the national championship for the second straight year, the two rookies face off in the pros for the first time. It's also a homecoming for Parker, who is from nearby Naperville. ... Seattle at Detroit, Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. EDT. Swin Cash returns to The Palace of Auburn Hills to face the Shock for the first time since the offseason trade that sent her to the Storm. The two-time All-Star averaged 12.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists in six seasons with Detroit. Cash is second on the Storm in scoring at 16.0 ppg - her highest average since 2004.
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STATS: Sparks rookie Candace Parker had 16 points, 16 rebounds, six blocks, five assists and five steals in a double-overtime loss at Indiana on Thursday night, becoming the first player in league history to get at least five in each of those categories in a game. ... Phoenix's Cappie Pondexter entered the weekend as the league's top scorer at 25.3 points per game. Indiana's Katie Douglas (24.5) was second, followed by San Antonio's Sophia Young (23.3) and the Mercury's Diana Taurasi (22.3). ... Parker led the league in rebounding at 11.7, followed by Sparks teammate Lisa Leslie (10.3) and Detroit's Cheryl Ford (9.6). ... Connecticut's Lindsay Whalen was tops in assists (6.5 per game), Parker and Seattle's Sue Bird were next at 6.3 and Detroit's Deanna Nolan was at 6.2.
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK: ``I'm just glad that they welcomed me before the tip-off. I expect (the boos). I definitely don't have any anger or animosity towards that. They're cheering for their team and I'm no longer a member of their team. That's fine. When the ball went up, I'm competing now for the Indiana Fever.'' - Katie Douglas, after her first game back in Connecticut since the offseason trade that sent her to the Fever. Douglas scored 23 points in Indiana's 75-46 victory.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
