"In a role reversal of sorts, the shadow" of the ABL
"will be over" the WNBA when it holds its draft this
afternoon, according to Mel Greenberg of the PHILADELPHIA
INQUIRER. While the draft is taking place, the ABL Blizzard
will be announcing the signing of UConn's Kara Wolters, the
AP Player of the Year (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 4/28). The
HARTFORD COURANT's Bruce Berlet notes that Wolters will sign
with the Blizzard for what a source said is a three-year
contract for an "estimated" $600,000. Wolters' agent, Woolf
Associates' Andrew Brandt: "The WNBA couldn't compete with
the money or the fact the Blizzard play near where Kara
played in college. The WNBA has a lot of the tangible
things as far as sponsorships and TV coverage, but the ABL
has a lot of the intangibles" (HARTFORD COURANT, 4/28).
Boston-based Woolf Associates added Wolters to its client
list on Friday (Woolf Associates). Meanwhile, the L.A.
TIMES' Earl Gustkey reports that "in a late-hour reversal"
USC's Tina Thompson signed with the WNBA. Gutskey adds that
"beaten badly" by the ABL's recent signings, the WNBA
"apparently made an 11th-hour decision to draw a line over
Thompson." Thompson's deal "might have gone beyond a
$150,000 package," which is what the ABL reportedly is
paying Stanford's Kate Starbird (L.A. TIMES, 4/28).
REAX: Noting the recent ABL's signings of Katrina
McClain, Starbird and Wolters, the INQUIRER's Greenberg
writes, "to put it in terms of the men's game, the ABL has
signed the equal of Wake Forest's Tim Duncan, Kentucky's Ron
Mercer and Utah's Keith Van Horn" (PHILA. INQUIRER, 4/28).
In Sacramento, Bob Burns notes that the ABL "has blindsided"
the WNBA, "dominating the battle for this year's top college
seniors" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 4/27). In S.F., Jake Curtis: "In
simplistic terms, the ABL is building a movement; the WNBA
is manufacturing a product" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 4/28). In
Hartford, Bruce Berlet: "The signings of Wolters and
Starbird gave the ABL an edge over the WNBA in the
competition for the nation's top seniors" (HARTFORD COURANT,
4/28). In L.A., Earl Gustkey: "When the NBA announced a
year ago that it would form a women's league, many wondered
what would become of the rival and upstart [ABL]. Now,
after the ABL's announcement ... that it had signed yet
another group of prominent seniors, some were left wondering
which league is the upstart" (L.A. TIMES, 4/26).
