Wednesday, May 21, 2003
The Houston Comets' 40-year-old standout will come out of retirement.
HOUSTON (AP) -- There's a buzz at Houston Comets training camp that's familiar to some of the veterans.
Cynthia Cooper is back, joking on the sidelines and popping in jumpers in practice.
Cooper retired from the WNBA as a player two years ago with three scoring titles, two MVP trophies and four championship rings with the Houston Comets.
She coached the Phoenix Mercury for a season before resigning to return to Houston to be a regular mom to 10-month-old twins Brian Jr. and Cyan. Now, inspired by a pickup game in July in the Virgin Islands, she's attempting a comeback with the Comets.
Health issue
But at age 40, health could be an issue in her return. She's already suffered a hamstring injury trying to get back in shape to face players half her age.
Why, with nothing left to prove, is she doing it?
"I missed being one of the girls," Cooper said. "I missed hanging out in the locker room with the girls and talking. The coaching staff, they're off to the side and the players kick you off the curb and they don't let you in that little group.
"I missed that."
Her return reunites the Comets' Big Three of Cooper, Tina Thompson and two-time MVP Sheryl Swoopes, who combined to lead the team to four straight WNBA championships.
Along with the acquisitions of guards Dominique Canty and Ukari Figgs, the Comets should be among the title contenders -- along with two-time champion Los Angeles Sparks -- when the season begins Thursday.
Labor strife
It's a season that almost didn't get off the ground. The league and its players' union reached agreement last month after weeks of negotiations and only hours before the WNBA draft.
The four-year deal, with a league option for a fifth, establishes free agency -- the first in women's pro sports -- and a hard salary cap.
In the first year, minimum salaries for veterans will increase 5 percent, from $40,000 to $42,000, and the rookie minimum remains at $30,000. The players had asked for a $48,000 minimum, and the league's original offer was $41,200 with rookie salaries cut to $25,000.
The deal also capped a troubled offseason that saw the Miami and Portland franchises fold and two others move -- the Utah team to San Antonio, and Orlando to a casino in Uncasville, Conn.
Cooper's return has rekindled the talk of a feud between her and Swoopes that both players deny ever existed.
"I don't think two years away has changed my perspective of Sheryl and myself that we're both professionals," Cooper said. "That's what people refuse to focus on. They want to focus on everything else. The reality is we've won four championships together and we're pretty doggone good together."
Versatile player
Swoopes was the WNBA's MVP and defensive player of the year last season. She led the Comets in points, assists, steals and minutes played. She, too, is tired of the feud talk.
"What people tend to forget is I get along with every single person on this team," Swoopes said. "I don't pick up the phone and call Cynthia and say 'let's go shopping, let's go hang out.' But I don't do that with anybody on the team.
"You don't hear 'why aren't you and Tina close?' "
Cooper was the WNBA's most valuable player in 1997 and 1998. She won scoring titles in 1997, 1998 and 1999. She was the first WNBA player to reach 500, 1,000, 2,000 and 2,500 points. She is the Comets' all-time scoring leader (21.1) and also the leader in free throw percentage (87.1) and assists per game (4.8).