Celts WNBA Entry

["Michael J. King Sr." <kingpin@primenet.com>]

I got this from my Infobeat NBA Daily E-Zine and thought it of
interest:
Celtics considering WNBA team for Hartford
(AP) - The Boston Celtics are
interested in sponsoring a WNBA
team and would consider having it play some games in Hartford.
But talk of a women's professional team affiliated with the
Celtics is still preliminary, and nothing could happen before
next year at the earliest, team spokesman Jeff Twiss told The
Associated Press on Wednesday. "Would it be considered for
future
years down the road? Yes it would," Twiss said. The American
Basketball League folded in December and sought bankruptcy
protection. Among its franchises was the New England Blizzard,
who played in Hartford. Connecticut officials have been courting
the rival WNBA to land a team for Hartford. The Celtics used to
occasionally play in Hartford but have not had games there for
several years.

WNBA teams are collectively owned by the 29 NBA franchises and
are operated in conjunction with NBA teams. It is up to each NBA
team to decide if it wants to sponsor a women's franchise, WNBA
spokesman Mark Pray said. "The NBA team expresses interest,
then
the WNBA operating committee makes the decision," he said.
Twiss
said the Celtics feel the WNBA has a future in New England. He
could not say if the team considers Hartford -- where the ABL
regularly drew more than 10,000 fans a game and the University of
Connecticut men's and women's teams both sell out the downtown
Civic Center -- the best location for the franchise. "It's 
very
early. Right now we are just batting around a few ideas," he
said. 

*** For the full story, see
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2558025144-8db