WNBA

The Comets won the first four WNBA titles, including the 2000 crown. Eight years later, the team was disbanded by the league. But that squad has staying power.

The WNBA season will not start on time next month because of the coronavirus pandemic, and when it begins is unclear. The league announced Friday it will delay the season for an indefinite period. Training camps were to open on April 26 and the regular season on May 15.

The WNBA team's co-owner released more detailed transactions in retail and PPE gear while under public scrutiny for alleged insider trading.

Dallas Wings center Imani McGee-Stafford will forego the next two WNBA seasons to pursue a law degree. McGee-Stafford said through the Wings on Monday that she has been accepted into a program at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles that features an accelerated law school curriculum. “While I am saddened to step away from such a big part of my life, I'm also excited for this next chapter," McGee-Stafford said, also expressing her thanks to Wings officials for being understanding and supportive of her decision.

Which WNBA team put together the best season ever? Vote on it in our Best Ever bracket series.

The WNBA draft will be a virtual event this year. ''The WNBA draft is a time to celebrate the exceptional athletes whose hard work and dreams are realized with their selections in the draft,'' WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. Logistics of the draft are still being worked out with ESPN although Engelbert confirmed she would announce the picks that night on the league's broadcast partner's network.

Former Los Angeles Sparks general manager Penny Toler is suing the WNBA team saying she was fired for raising complaints about inappropriate sexual relationships involving the team president and a managing partner, not for using a racial slur. The Sparks say Toler was fired on Oct. 4 following a profanity-laced postgame tirade that included using a racial slur a few days earlier following a playoff game. In the suit filed Tuesday for gender discrimination, Toler said if she were a man, she would still be employed by the team.

Maya Moore has always been known for hitting the big shot on the grandest stage. A judge on Monday overturned the 1997 burglary and assault convictions of a Missouri man, Jonathon Irons, whose case has been championed by the WNBA star to the point she stepped away from her career to help the family friend. Cole County Judge Dan Green found the defense for Irons provided enough evidence to prove he was wrongfully convicted, a decision first reported by the Jefferson City News-Tribune.

Sue Bird is returning to the Seattle Storm for a 19th season after re-signing with the team Tuesday. Bird missed all last season after undergoing knee surgery. The last time she was on the court for Seattle, Bird was leading the franchise to its third WNBA title in 2018.

The Connecticut Sun announced Monday that they have acquired former UConn star Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis in a trade with the Seattle Storm. The Storm will get the Sun's second-round pick in the 2021 draft in return. The 26-year-old averaged 5.5 points for the Storm last season and 5.3 points over her five years in the WNBA, which included a championship in 2018.

Seimone Augustus has left the Minnesota Lynx after 14 seasons to join the Los Angeles Sparks. The All-WNBA guard Augustus was a key piece of four championship teams in Minnesota, which drafted her with the first overall pick out of LSU in 2006. With Maya Moore on hiatus from the sport and Lindsay Whalen and Rebekkah Brunson retired, the Lynx are in rebuilding mode.

It's been a busy week for Stefanie Dolson. The free agent said that she never considered going anywhere else and always wanted to stay in Chicago. Dolson started all 34 games for Chicago last season, averaging 9.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and one steal in 25 minutes per game.

The Connecticut Sun acquired guard Briann January from Phoenix on Wednesday in a three-way deal that sent fan favorite Courtney Williams to the Atlanta Dream. The Sun also get a second-round draft pick from the Mercury. Phoenix received 6-foot-2 forward Jessica Breland and 6-1 forward Nia Coffey from Atlanta.

The Mystics re-signed the forward on Monday. Having one of the top players in the world back for the upcoming season gives us a lot of options in how we play,'' Mystics coach and GM Mike Thibault said. ''It's a great feeling for a coach to have a Finals MVP and a league MVP in Elena Delle Donne lining up opposite each other on the court.

PHOENIX (AP) -- All-Star center Brittney Griner is staying in the desert.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- The Dallas Wings acquired former UConn player Katie Lou Samuelson on Friday along with a 2021 first-round draft pick from the Chicago Sky for Azura Stevens.

The Seattle Storm has re-signed Breanna Stewart. After missing the 2019 WNBA season because of a ruptured right Achilles tendon, Stewart made her return to the court on Jan. 27, 2020, as a member of the United States women's national team in an exhibition game against her alma mater, Connecticut. ''At first, it was about getting back on the court, that was the motivation,'' Stewart said in a statement.

ATLANTA (AP) -- The Atlanta Dream have added more size and experience to their front line by signing two-time WNBA All-Star forward Glory Johnson.

Kristi Toliver is ready for her second go-round in Los Angeles. The two-time WNBA champion signed as a free agent with the Sparks on Monday, leaving Washington, where she helped the Mystics win their first title. Toliver said the decision to returnk to Los Angeles was partly financial.

Skylar Diggins-Smith is going to Phoenix to join Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner. The Dallas Wings traded the four-time All-Star to the Mercury on Wednesday for the No. 5 and 7 picks in the 2020 WNBA draft and Phoenix's 2021 first-round pick. The Wings then sent the 2021 pick the team acquired in the deal to the Chicago Sky in exchange for Astou Ndour.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The Minnesota Lynx hired Rebekkah Brunson as an assistant coach, as the WNBA's all-time leading rebounder announced her retirement on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two-time WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne signed a four-year contract Tuesday to stay with the Washington Mystics after leading the team to its first league championship.

The Connecticut Sun were one win away from a WNBA title last season. The team added a big piece for potentially getting that extra victory on Tuesday by trading for DeWanna Bonner. The Sun sent the Phoenix Mercury three first-round draft picks for the All-Star wing.

USA Basketball will have a team of WNBA players available to qualify for 3-on-3 at the Olympics. Kelsey Plum, Allisha Gray, Katie Lou Samuelson and Stefanie Dolson headline the 11 players invited to a training camp this week in Chicago. From the pool, the selection committee will choose four women to represent the U.S. at the qualifying tournament in India from March 18-22.

Angel McCoughtry is headed to Las Vegas and Kristi Toliver is going back to Los Angeles on the first day that WNBA free agents can sign with new teams. ''Viva Las Vegas, baby!'' McCoughtry said before heading back to Russia, where she plays during the WNBA offseason for Dynamo Kursk. ''I am truly honored for the opportunity to continue my career and make my return to the WNBA with the Las Vegas Aces.

ATLANTA (AP) -- The Atlanta Dream have added size to their lineup by acquiring center Kalani Brown from the Los Angeles Sparks for guard Brittney Sykes and center Marie Gulich.

Comments like the ones Morris made after Wednesday's game are tired.

Dads with daughters inspired by Kobe Bryant's special bond with his 13-year-old Gianna took to social media to celebrate their own in words and photos using the hashtag #GirlDads. The outpouring on Twitter and Instagram came in part after ESPN anchor Elle Duncan offered a tearful, personal remembrance of a chance meeting with Bryant two years ago while she was pregnant with a girl, and how proud he was of his daughters. "When I reflect on this tragedy, and that half an hour I spent with Kobe Bryant two years ago, I suppose that the only small source of comfort for me is knowing that he died doing what he loved the most,� Duncan said on air.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The WNBA champion Washington Mystics say reigning MVP Elena Delle Donne is expected to be ready for the start of the season after undergoing back surgery.

Liz Cambage was emotional as she talked about the fires that have devastated her native Australia. The Las Vegas Aces star was heading home, after a brief trip to the U.S., to train with the national team to get ready for their Olympic qualifier next month.

Atlanta Dream two-time WNBA scoring champion Angel McCoughtry is testing free agency for the first time in her career. McCoughtry missed last season with a knee injury. McCoughtry is an unrestricted free agent.

Minnesota Lynx star Maya Moore sees missing a second consecutive WNBA season as an extension of her decision to skip last year. ''I think when I made my announcement last February in 'The Players' Tribune' that the heartbeats of what I believed in were still true,'' Moore said. Moore has spent most of the last year trying to help a family friend overturn a conviction.

Skylar Diggins-Smith wants to find a new team to play for next season. ''I don't plan on playing in Dallas next year,'' Diggins-Smith told The Associated Press in a phone interview Sunday. Diggins-Smith missed last season after giving birth to a son last spring.

Alana Beard, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year who won a WNBA championship with the Los Angeles Sparks, is retiring after 15 years. In 2016, she helped the Sparks win a third WNBA title. The Sparks announced her decision Thursday.

Minnesota Lynx star Maya Moore will sit out a second straight WNBA season to continue her push for criminal justice reform. Moore told The New York Times in a story published Wednesday of her choice to stay off the court for 2020. Moore's agent confirmed her decision to The Associated Press.

The WNBA season is expanding to a 36-game schedule and adding the Commissioner’s Cup tournament the league announced Thursday. The league had a 34-game schedule since 2003. The games will be the first home and road games against conference opponents.

The WNBA and its union announced a tentative eight-year labor deal Tuesday that will allow top players to earn more than $500,000 while the average annual compensation will surpass six figures for the first time. The collective bargaining agreement also provides enhanced family benefits, travel standards and other health and wellness improvements. ''I call it historic,'' WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a phone interview.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The Minnesota Lynx hired Katie Smith, the franchise's third-leading all-time scorer and Hall of Fame player, as the lead assistant Tuesday on coach Cheryl Reeve's staff.

Whether Tom Brady will return as quarterback of the New England Patriots next season is still an open question. In an Instagram post to fans, Brady said ''I still have more to prove'' following a season that ended with the Patriots failing to reach the Super Bowl for the first time since 2015. A six-time Super Bowl champion, four-time Most Valuable Player of the NFL title game and three-time winner of the league MVP, Brady could become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career when his contract ends in March.

It's been a busy offseason for the New York Liberty and now the franchise has a new coach - Walt Hopkins. The team held a news conference Wednesday at Barclays Center, its new home for the coming season, to introduce Hopkins. Hopkins had been an assistant for the Minnesota Lynx since 2017.

Minnesota Lynx assistant coach Walt Hopkins will be hired as the next head coach of the New York Liberty, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. The Liberty have scheduled a news conference for Wednesday at Barclays Center, where the team will play its home games this season. Previous coach Katie Smith's contract wasn't renewed after the season ended in September.

The Associated Press polled a panel of WNBA coaches and general managers for a mock draft of the first two rounds this spring. Obviously, a lot can change between now and draft day, as far as team needs go, with a new collective bargaining agreement being worked on, and free agency set to begin on Feb. 1. The AP will periodically update the draft board.

The WNBA and the players' union announced Thursday that they have agreed to extend their labor agreement for two weeks as they continue to negotiate a new one. The current collective bargaining agreement was reached in 2014. ''We are making substantial progress toward a new collective bargaining agreement which we expect to finalize soon,'' the WNBA and players' union said in a joint statement Thursday.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Minnesota Lynx coach and general manager Cheryl Reeve has signed a multiyear contract extension.

The Indiana Fever needed a proven leader to take over as their next head coach. Marianne Stanley seemed like the perfect fit. On Tuesday, Fever officials announced they had hired the Women's Basketball Hall of Famer, who just celebrated her most recent championship last season as an assistant coach with the Washington Mystics.

There's truth to Lauren Jackson's comments. But Cambage isn't without her points.

Tiana Mangakahia could have been a WNBA draft pick, but chose to stay at Syracuse. She was diagnosed with breast cancer two months later.

With USA on her uniform this time, Nneka Ogwumike dazzled as she has always done in Maples Pavilion. Tara VanDerveer's young Stanford team put on an impressive show of its own hosting U.S. stars Ogwumike, Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi on Saturday in what the Hall of Fame coach counted on providing a tremendous experience for her women. Ogwumike returned to her former home floor and finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds in the U.S. team's 95-80 victory over the Cardinal, ranked No. 3 in The Associated Press preseason poll.

The Capitals, Mystics and Nationals have all won championships in the last two years. You'd think that would be a run worth remembering.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Skylar Diggins-Smith's outlook on life has changed after giving birth to her son last spring.

NEW YORK (AP) -- The WNBA and the Players Association have agreed to extend their labor agreement until the end of the year.