WEEKLY WHINE

What's up with the Comets?

You just can't stop them.

The Houston Comets have spent the last four years showing everyone why they're the best team in women's pro basketball. They've had all they need to wrestle the rest of the WNBA into submission, but this may be their last shot for a while. Their star guard Cynthia Cooper retired at age 37 with yesterday's 79-73 overtime win in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals, and it is not known how the team will perform in her absence.

Cooper, the Finals MVP for the fourth consecutive time, spent the afternoon doing what she did her entire career, leading her team. Sometimes it was by defense, other times by example. Or simply by draining a key three point basket with 00:21 left to force overtime.

So what made the Comets the first team in seventeen years to win four consecutive North American sport titles? They outperformed the New York Liberty's defense, stifling most of the way but prone to foul trouble. They never lost their composure, even on the several occasions when New York put together runs trying to swing the balance of play in their favor. They also got an immense boost from their hometown fans, noisy throughout the game and especially raucous during the overtime period when not a single fan seemed willing to sit down.

Against the Comets, a three point deficit often seems like twice that, at least. After Cooper's basket with 00:53 left in OT, the Liberty were still within three but brought the ball upcourt slowly, almost as though they were ready to pack it in and try again next year. New York was hampered in overtime by the loss of forward Tari Phillips, who fouled out a minute into the extra period. Phillips's twenty points led the Liberty, and three of her teammates also scored in double figures. The Liberty had their moments, but the hostile crowd did get to them on occasion. Backup center Sue Wicks and coach Richie Adubato were each charged with technical fouls for arguing calls.

Fouls gave New York an advantage in the first half, when Houston did not go to the line at all. Though the Liberty made each of their last fourteen free throws, the Comets were 10/11 at the line in the second half and 8/8 in OT.

If there's one thing about the Comets that needs saying, it's that they can make the most of the time that counts. They lost all three contests against the LA Sparks in the regular season. The Sparks went on to take the league's best record, beating Houston's record for most wins in a season. But try as they might, the Sparks could not solve the Comets in the postseason. Houston swept the Western Conference Finals in two games and eagerly awaited the Finals, which turned out a rematch against the Liberty. Three of Houston's four titles have come at New York's expense.

Cooper and the Comets have done wonders for the league's popularity, but now that fans are used to the word "dynasty", the departure of Cooper and of other seasoned veterans like Cleveland's Suzie McConnell-Serio might be just what the league needs. After all, in 2001, it will be anybody's game.