Janeth Arcain has always been a valuable, if unsung part of the Houston Comets'dynasty. Arcain was a dependable player to be sure, but on a team that boasted "The Big Three," she came in a distant fourth.

Turns out, all it might have taken is to move a couple of stars out of the way, because Arcain is shining on her own now.

	Houston's Janeth Arcain is a big reason for Houston's hot start.

Arcain, best known up to this season as one of the league's best bench players, was named the WNBA's Player of the Week for the first time in her career, averaging 23.3 points a game in three Houston victories last week, including a career-high 27 points in a June 5 win over Utah. In the first four games of the season, the 32-year-old Brazilian has either posted or matched her career-high in scoring three times.

Of course, she's getting a lot more time on the floor to do it, starting at shooting guard and ably filling the legendary shoes of Cynthia Cooper.

"I feel like my responsibilities are still the same," Arcain said. "Last season, I played the point lot. Now I am doing what I did overseas, and in Brazil and now I am showing what I can do here. This is my game."

Arcain averaged 7.9 points a game in her WNBA before this season. But clearly, she can score. Arcain put in 40 points in the championship game of her Brazilian championship last month. In 1996, she was the leading overall scorer in the Atlanta Olympic tournament.

Arcain's offensive efforts have taken some of the pressure and the defensive focus away from Big Three-holdover Tina Thompson.

Thompson leads the lead in scoring at 22.8 points a game, Arcain ranking third at 21.5. That's a combined 44.3 points a game, which is better than 60 percent of Houston's offensive output on a game-by-game basis. Clearly, these two are largely responsible for the Comets' 4-1 start.

"This is good for me and Tina," Arcain said. "Coach has put so much confidence in us, and this is why the Comets still win games."

East vs. West
After three full weeks, just a little comparison of the conferences. The Western Conference teams have a combined record of 26-17 and have four teams with winning records.

The Eastern Conference teams have a combined record a 16-25 with just one team, the Miami Sol, about the .500 mark at 4-1.

Who's hot
Miami. Despite losing their first game of the season earlier this week to Detroit, the Sol are threatening to open up a big lead in the Eastern Conference standings.

The top defensive team in the league last season, Miami is still right among the leaders in that category, which some offensive punch to go with it. Miami has two players among the Top 10 in the WNBA in scoring Sandy Brondello at 19.0 points a game and Sheri Sam at 16.8 points a game. As a bonus, Elena Baranova is playing as well as she ever has in the WNBA and Ruth Riley is holding up to her rookie expectations pretty well.

Who's not
Minnesota. The Lynx lost to Indiana Tuesday night to drop their record to 1-3, all three losses at home. This is not the kind of start that leads to playoff berths, especially not in the competitive West where even Portland and Seattle are playing well enough to win games.

Katie Smith is doing her part, averaging 22.5 points a game, ranked second in the league. But Minnesota needs all that just to stay in games.

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