Agent Bruce Levy said that "the major obstacles"
preventing the WNBA and the players' union from signing a
new CBA "are resolved," while other sources said that "a
deal is imminent," according to Jeff Metcalfe of the ARIZONA
REPUBLIC. Levy: "All the deal-killers are resolved. There
is nothing that is going to stop a contract from being
done." Levy noted that the deal's "highlights" include: a
$30,000 minimum salary for veterans and $25,000 for rookies;
a limit of three ABLers per team this season, with a fourth
allocated to each of the two expansion teams; year-round
health benefits; and "a small percentage" of the league's
BRI going toward the players. Metcalfe writes that a
"majority of the 120 WNBA players must vote for approval to
ratify the agreement," which would then allow the league to
hold its pre-draft camp April 15-17. More Metcalfe: "When
the agreement is struck, the league is expected to announce
plans to expand by four more teams in 2000 to 16 teams
total" (AZ REPUBLIC, 4/14). In DC, Asher & Knight write
that the WNBA "plans to include" ABLers, along with college
and foreign players in its draft (WASHINGTON POST, 4/14).
COMET SIGHTING: Comets G Cynthia Cooper, wanting to get
a CBA done: "We, as a league and as a union, are not going
to do anything to hurt women's basketball. We're here to
stay. We're not going to miss anything." USA TODAY's
Valerie Lister writes that Cooper also feels that ABLers
"should be allowed to come into this league," although it
"doesn't mean they are going to make every team" (USA TODAY,
4/14). In DC, Tom Knott writes that the WNBA's attitude
toward ABLers "is not only embarrassing but un-American."
Knott: "The WNBA has no cap on the Eurotrash and the like
that populate its rosters" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 4/14).
