San Antonio's Katie Feenstra celebrates as Houston's Michelle Snow reacts to a foul late in Sunday's season opener. Bill Baptist/NBAE/Getty Images

Holdsclaw THE DAY'S TOP STORY While All-Star forward Chamique Holdsclaw was away from the Sparks dealing with undisclosed family issues, her teammates began the 2006 season with a 90-67 loss on the road in Seattle. L.A. shot just 33.9 percent and was outrebounded by nine. Lisa Leslie scored 24 and Mwadi Mabika added 19, but Doneeka Hodges-Lewis was the only other Spark in double digits. Makes you wonder how things would have gone with Holdsclaw's 17 points and seven rebounds -- her 2005 averages -- added to the mix. ALSO MAKING HEADLINES ... A Very Good Sign: The road was an unfriendly place for the San Antonio Silver Stars last season; they lost 15 of 17 away from home. Sure they were only 5-12 on the River Walk, but 2-15 is worse. (It's math, folks. Trust me.) The Silver Stars got the 2006 season off to a better start with a convincing 79-63 win over the Houston Comets. San Antonio led by as many as 18 and owned the glass, outrebounding last season's West semifinalist by 16. And, most impressively, they did it at Houston. Hopefully, if Sunday's performance is a sign of things to come, the Silver Stars' road woes are a thing of the past. Johnson WHAT THEY'RE SAYING "I just got here and I can already tell that this team is just going to get better. Tonight, we just did what we wanted to do and that started with defense and great rebounding." -- Silver Stars guard Vickie Johnson, who scored 18 points in her San Antonio debut, including 14 in the second half. The 10-year veteran signed with the Silver Stars during the offseason.

Jackson WHO'S HOT Lauren Jackson, SEA: 23 pts, 8-11 FG, 2-2 3-pt FG, 5-5 FT Shanna Zolman, SAN: 15 pts, 5-7 FG, 3-3 3-pt FG

Thompson WHO'S NOT Tina Thompson, HOU: 2-12 FG, 0-2 FT, 5 pts Brandi Davis, LAS: 1-5 FG, 1-4 3-pt FG, 1-4 FT, 4 pts

Young ROOKIE WATCH While fellow Silver Stars rookie Shanna Zolman was burning up the nets, this year's No. 4 pick Sophia Young was putting together a fine all-around game of her own. The forward from Baylor notched a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double in her WNBA debut, dishing three steals and blocking a pair as well.

Bird FILLING THE BOX SCORE WNBA veteran Sue Bird got her fifth season underway in style, leading her Seattle squad to an easy 90-67 victory over Los Angeles. Bird sparked the Storm from the get-go and ran the show down the stretch. Seattle's nine-point halftime edge grew throughout the second half, and Bird's 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, nine assists and eye-popping seven steals were a big reason why.