News of the WNBA Stars being in negotiations to be sold and relocated from San Antonio to Las Vegas capped an "unimaginable fall for a franchise" that arrived from Utah in '03, according to Terrence Thomas of the SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS. The Stars finished last season with the league's "worst record for the third straight year, going a combined 23-79 during the span, and had not been a playoff contender" since '14 or recorded a winning record since '12. Stars coach Vickie Johnson said, "It was probably hard for a franchise to survive that. I just feel bad for the fans, and the city, and also the players. I talked to the players and they're shocked, speechless, angry, mad, everything" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 10/14). ESPN.com's Mechelle Voepel wrote in the WNBA's 21 seasons, the places where the league has worked "haven't necessarily been where it was most expected." And other places where it would "seem there is a natural fan base for women's basketball -- the state of Tennessee, for instance -- haven't gotten a franchise." Voepel: "That's because the 'where' of the WNBA has depended on one thing: interested, engaged and financially committed owners." With the WNBA, it is "always about having ownership that really believes in the product -- or at least believes enough to have high-ranking employees who are fully invested." But it has "seemed for a few years now that Spurs Sports & Entertainment ... was losing interest in the WNBA team for a variety of reasons" (ESPN.com, 10/13).
