WNBA Houston Comets Suspend Operations, Effective Immediately

TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE: Orender said that "several investors inquired about keeping the team in Houston, but the league decided there wasn't enough time to make an ownership transaction." Orender added, "Our focus, as the team was up for sale, was always to keep it in Houston. For another team to be in Houston in the future, the right group of buyers would have to get together and form the right ownership group to get it going" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 12/2). KRIV-Fox reported Orender in July came to Houston and met with Mayor Bill White and Harris County (TX) Judge Ed Emmett to "solicit their help in finding new ownership for the Comets." White and Emmett "co-wrote a letter that was sent out to influential members of the Houston community with hopes of finding a potential buyer." Sources indicated that the WNBA was "negotiating with an investor from San Antonio, who if successful in purchasing the franchise, would have kept the team in Houston." However, those discussions "came to an end last week and with it the future of the Comets" (MYFOXHOUSTON.com, 12/1).

IS THE SKY FALLING? ESPN.com's Mechelle Voepel wrote the Comets' demise does not "mean the impending end of the WNBA." The Comets are a franchise that "lost its way at the worst possible time." Voepel: "Bad news? Of course. But the NBA is still vested enough in the WNBA, and that -- along with the energy and hard work of the independent owners -- will keep the league going." The WNBA, set to begin its 13th season in '09, has "few genuinely marketable stars who can reach beyond the women's hoops audience." However, Voepel wrote, "I don't think that the league is doomed or that it can't survive more shakeups and moves." There are "enough positives about the league to keep it going even through the most painful times -- like saying goodbye to [a] team that mattered so much" (ESPN.com, 12/1).

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