Backed by the full faith and credit of Van Chancellor's coaching and the stellar play of Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson, the Comets, like clockwork, won the first four WNBA championships and Cooper was named MVP of those Finals.

Swoopes

And then things changed. Cooper retired. The Los Angeles Sparks, led by Lisa Leslie, matured into more than just a formidable force in the West, they became a championship team. Still for the next three years with the core of Swoopes, Thompson and Janeth Arcain, the Comets made the playoffs, but never escaped the first round, going 2-6 in the postseason in that time.

Last year, even the playoff run stopped, as the Comets, who before last season held the distinction of being the only team to make the postseason every year of the WNBA's seven-year existence, missed the postseason for the first time in the league's eigth year.

But there were a lot of things the Comets missed last year. They missed shots, shooting only .413 from the field. They missed guard Janeth Arcain, who prior to last season never missed a game, but decided to take the WNBA season off to make one last run for a gold medal with the Brazilian Olympic team. (They finished fourth.) Another thing the Comets missed last season was their signature depth. Only Thompson (20.0 ppg) and Swoopes (14.8 ppg) broke the double-digit scoring barrier.

And for Comets faithful, they may look at Thompson missing at least the first couple months of the season as she is scheduled to deliver her first child in a matter of weeks as another reason to be pessimistic about the 2005 season.

Buck up, Comets fans. While not having the All-Star forward around will hurt, the Comets should have more depth this year to lessen the impact of Thompson's absence. Plus, a familiar face will return to help steady the ship.

But first, the depth. The Comets signed All-Star center Tari Phillips as a free agent to help shore up the post. In the WNBA Draft 2005, the Comets further solidified the inside by drafting University of Houston center Sancho Lyttle. While raw (she's only played organized ball for four years), Lyttle has an athleticism that reminds one writer of another Houston legend.

"Two decades after the Rockets snatched up a fabulously talented, but relatively inexperienced, University of Houston center named Akeem Olajuwon," wrote Michael Murphy of the Houston Chronicle, "the Comets snatched up Lady Cougars center Sancho Lyttle with the fifth overall pick in Saturday's WNBA Draft."

Thompson

Comets coach Van Chancellor even compared Lyttle to an NBA contemporary.

"She's a rebounding machine," Chanecellor told the Chronicle. "She reminds me of Ben Wallace (of the Pistons)."

That's heady praise for a rookie. But it could be a steady veteran hand that has the most impact in Houston this season, and that handle will belong to Arcain, who returns after a year away. That in itself makes the team's superstar, Swoopes, breathe a sigh of relief.

"Just when I first heard that there was a possibility that she might be coming back, I got excited," Swoopes told the Chronicle. "But I wasn't going to believe it until I could see it."

Believe it. Arcain is back. So is center Michelle Snow, who should gobble up minutes and rebounds in Thompson's absence.

But what concerns the Comets most is making it back to the postseason. Being out of them was enough for Swoopes, who takes inspiration from Houston's NBA brethren.

"I don't even think I've gotten over it," Swoopes told the Chronicle. "For the first year in Comets history for us to not make the playoffs, it was very frustrating. It was like a slap in our face.

"But I kind of feel like the Rockets. I don't think many people expected them to be where they are right now. If there's anything I can do about it, we're definitely making the playoffs this year."