The WNBA and ABL are featured in TIME by Steve Wulf,
who writes that "backed by the existing infrastructure and
marketing savvy" of the NBA, the WNBA "has exceeded all
expectations." Wulf adds that while both ABL CEO Gary
Cavalli and WNBA President Val Ackerman "maintain that they
wish each other only the best," a WNBA exec told TIME,
"There is a lot of pressure to beat the A.B.L. 'We gotta
beat 'em, we gotta beat 'em' is the mentality that comes
down from headquarters" (TIME, 8/4 issue).
ASSISTS: USA TODAY's Valerie Lister gives a midseason
review of the WNBA, deeming it "an off-court success. ...
Yet on the court, play has been sloppy, shooting percentages
low and turnovers high" (USA TODAY, 7/29). In Sacramento,
John Schumacher: "Like any child trying to do too much too
soon, the WNBA has stumbled a few times as it explores its
limits. But its early success has exceeded expectations"
(SACRAMENTO BEE, 7/27). In Seattle, Blaine Newnham: "No
matter the reasons, the turnout for the WNBA's games this
summer -- watching in the gym or on television -- is
remarkable." Both the WNBA and ABL are "trying to create
interest in a new sport -- one through style, the other
through substance" (SEATTLE TIMES, 7/27).
