ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, October 24, 1996 TAG: 9610240058
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: NEWS OBIT
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
An attractive television package and the support of the NBA helped lure Olympic gold medalists Rebecca Lobo and Sheryl Swoopes, two of the most prominent names in women's basketball, to the fledgling Women's NBA.
The WNBA will start in June, eight months after the rival American Basketball League began its first season.
``The opportunity to play professional basketball in the United States is very exciting,'' Swoopes said at a news conference, when she and Lobo were introduced as the first players to sign with the WNBA. ``And to be a part of the WNBA is an honor and a dream come true.''
Swoopes, who led Texas Tech to the 1993 NCAA championship, and Lobo, who guided Connecticut to the 1995 national college title, agreed to two-year contracts.
Neither player has a team yet. The WNBA will announce its eight teams next week.
WNBA president Val Ackerman said more than half the 29 NBA cities were interested in operating teams the first year. Among the cities expected to get franchises are New York, Chicago, Phoenix, Houston and Charlotte.
BASEBALL
*Bob Grim, the last American League rookie to win 20 games, had a fatal heart attack after throwing snowballs with neighborhood children in Shawnee, Kan., his family said. He was 66.
Grim was 20-6 for the 1954 New York Yankees, winning the AL rookie of the year award. The right-hander spent five seasons with New York, playing on the Yankees' 1956 World Series champions.
LENGTH: Short : 41 lines KEYWORDS: IN SPORTSby CNB