THE HUNTER AND THE HUNTED: NBPA MEETS WITH WNBA TEAMS

          NBPA officials "are meeting with WNBA teams to try to
     persuade them to join forces and form a players association
     that would negotiate their contracts with the NBA,"
     according to Athelia Knight of the WASHINGTON POST.  NBPA
     Exec Dir Billy Hunter said his group has recently met "with
     several teams and we hope to complete that process over the
     next few weeks."  At least four teams, the Shock, Liberty,
     Monarchs and Rockers, have met with NBPA reps and discussed
     issues "of concern" for the players, including salaries,
     free agency, and health and retirement benefits.  Hunter:
     "The players we have contacted so far appear very receptive
     to our overtures" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/10). 
          BETTER PRODUCT? In Charlotte, Cliff Mehrtens reviews
     the WNBA's second-season and writes the league is "on solid
     ground."  While attendance is up 3% from last year, fans are
     "seeing an improved product" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 7/10).
     ...NEWSDAY's Shaun Powell writes on Liberty C Rebecca Lobo,
     whose stats are down from last year.  Powell: "Judging from
     the sour public response toward Lobo, you'd swear she was
     guilty of something, when she's guilty of nothing."  Powell
     calls her a "victim" of "hype, swallowed up by an image she
     can't even begin to transfer to the court."  Lobo is "no
     star," and "maybe the WNBA recognized that" by not including
     her in the league's "main commercial spots."  Powell: "When
     it drew up the blueprint for success, the WNBA prioritized
     image and promotion.  Both were shoveled to the public in
     mass quantities, which raised the potential for a setback,
     had one of their celebrities failed to deliver. ... To the
     surprise of no one who followed her closely since UConn, it
     was Lobo who became a victim of the system" (NEWSDAY, 7/10).