Race to the MVP: 2008 Season

Race to the MVP: Finally, Some Clarity? (September 12, 2008)
It's the last weekend of the regular season. And now that it's all over with except for crossing some t's and dotting some i's, the MVP vote should be pretty straightforward. Right? Maybe not.

Race to the MVP: Bird Soaring to New Offensive Heights (September 5, 2008)
How have the Storm done since losing Lauren Jackson? They've won three of four, moved into first place and clinched a playoff spot. Wha??? ... Well, the biggest reason for Seattle's recent success is point guard Sue Bird.

Race to the MVP: Back From Beijing Edition (August 28, 2008)
The WNBA is back, baby! And the Race to the MVP is tighter than ever. While literally all of the MVP candidates who also happened to be members of Olympic teams excelled in Beijing, the current leader is someone who spent the month of August right here in the States.

Race to the MVP: Most Improved Player of the Year Edition (August 21, 2008)
Coaches love players who overachieve, who go beyond their presumed limits. They may not be superstars, but the people in charge love to recognize their extraordinary efforts nonetheless. Why else would there be a Most Improved Player award?

Race to the MVP: Sixth Woman of the Year Edition (August 14, 2008)
What is it that makes a substitute valuable? The ability to come into a game and spell a team's starters? Sure. The knack to come in and hit that vital hoop, sky for that big rebound or make that meaningful defensive stop? Definitely.

Race to the MVP: Rating the Non-Olympians (August 7, 2008)
Some players get all the MVP love. So how about a little love for the teammates they've left behind? How about some appreciation for the underappreciated? It's about time!

Race to the MVP: Week 10 (July 25, 2008)
In the spirit of listening and carefully considering what people around the league are saying, it only seems right to keep it quick and easy with the Race to the MVP this week. We've got our list of MVP candidates. And we've got something nice a coach or fellow player has said about them this season.

Race to the MVP: Week 9 (July 17, 2008)
Time to open up the Race to the MVP Fan Mailbag. I'll grade each of your e-mails for coherence, accuracy, originality… and probably even grammar and spelling. And as I always say, the numbers do speak for themself.

Race to the MVP: Week 8 (July 11, 2008)
In writing this weekly Race to the MVP column, I constantly ask myself what makes a player "valuable"… or even more troubling, what makes someone "most valuable." Is it the player with the league's best stats? Is it the best player on the best team? Honestly, your guess is as good as mine.

Race to the MVP: Week 7 (July 2, 2008)
Her numbers speak to her success: top 10 numbers in scoring, assists per game, field goal percentage and three-point percentage and three Player of the Week Awards in the month of June alone. But when it comes to speaking, Diana Taurasi usually likes to do it for herself.

Race to the MVP: Week 6 (June 25, 2008)
Lisa Leslie and Tina Thompson have a lot in common. They're both WNBA legends. They're the two leading scorers in WNBA history. They both have young children. And they're both MVP candidates in 2008.

Race to the MVP: Week 5 (June 19, 2008)
I might not be the first to point this out, but I want to say it loud and clear. Lisa Leslie is back.

Race to the MVP: Week 4 (June 12, 2008)
This Race to the MVP requires a certain -- how do you say, je ne sais quoi -- feeling deep in one's gut that a star player deserves to be ranked where she is. At least until Paula Abdul tells me otherwise.

Race to the MVP: Week 3 (June 5, 2008)
When Soundgarden sang, "I'm looking California. / And feeling Minnesota," the implication is that California is shiny, beautiful and new. While Minnesota is… well… less shiny, less beautiful and less new. Don't even get me started on the accents.

Race to the MVP: Week 2 (May 29, 2008)
Nothing like tipping things off with a bang. Reaction was fast and furious to last week's pick of Candace Parker as the leader in the MVP race. And, surprisingly to yours truly, not all of it was negative.

Race to the MVP: Week 1 (May 22, 2008)
Everyone knew Candace Parker would eventually be a star in the WNBA. I, for one, thought it would take more than three minutes to happen. I was wrong.

Race to the MVP: 2007 Season

Final Player Rankings: LJ Is Still the One (August 29, 2007)
You know that feeling you get in your stomach from the top of the roller coaster when you realize you are about to go from zero to 100 miles per hour in less than five seconds? I had those same butterflies as I watched the Storm’s Lauren Jackson get swept out of the playoffs at the hands of Diana Taurasi and the Mercury a couple of days ago.

Race to the MVP: Week 13 (August 14, 2007)
On Monday I walked into my daily morning meeting and was blindsided worse than when the Redskins' Joe Theismann had his leg broken and his career ended by the Giants' Lawrence Taylor in 1985.

Race to the MVP: Week 12 (August 8, 2007)
People lie, OK? Politicians trying to get elected. Children trying to keep from getting in trouble with their parents. Criminals trying to avoid jail time. They lie.

Race to the MVP: Week 11 (August 1, 2007)
Quick, name the player that has led her team to the top record in her respective conference, is one of the league’s best guards and is a strong candidate to win the WNBA MVP?

Race to the MVP: Week 10 (July 25, 2007)
The gap in the Race to the MVP between Seattle's Lauren Jackson and the rest of the field was already huge. After LJ's performance on Tuesday night, the only thing left to do is make sure they spell her name correctly on the trophy.

Race to the MVP: Week 9 (July 20, 2007)
If you poll the WNBA general managers and coaches, the majority of them would tell you that this season's Race to the MVP is a two-woman competition between Seattle's Lauren Jackson and Indiana's Tamika Catchings.

Race to the MVP: Week 7 (July 3, 2007)
Time to respond to some of your e-mails.

Race to the MVP: Week 6 (June 26, 2007)
"If I can make it there, I'm gonna make it anywhere. It's up to you, New York, New York." I normally don't run around quoting songs but in this case it was a perfect fit. In her eight seasons in New York, Becky Hammon emerged as a fan favorite thanks to her outstanding play.

Race to the MVP: Week 5 (June 19, 2007)
You know how high school and college teams schedule easy opponents to make sure they have a good Homecoming? Games against Chicago had that kind of feel to them. But all was not lost in their inaugural season. Candice Dupree, the team’s first pick out of Temple, emerged as an All-Star after averaging 13.7 points and 5.5 rebounds a game.

Race to the MVP: Week 4 (June 12, 2007)
And that is how I got my honorary membership card into the Holdsclaw Fan Club. In truth, my boys left me no choice. After hearing that the forward elected to retire from the WNBA on Monday, it got me to thinking about everything she accomplished on the court.

Race to the MVP: Week 3 (June 5, 2007)
As I looked over a couple of WNBA-related forums, I found it pretty interesting that there were some fans who disagreed with the inclusion of New York's Erin Thorn in last week's Race to the MVP.

Race to the MVP: Week 2 (May 29, 2007)
And holding down the fourth position is Erin Thorn. Wait... "Who?" you ask. Erin Thorn of the Liberty, the guard that has ... Hang on, how exactly did a Honda Accord end up in a parking lot full of Mercedes Benzes?

Race to the MVP: Week 1 (May 22, 2007)
After writing Race to the MVP for NBA.com from November until May, yours truly thought he was going to get the summer off to recharge the creative battery. My boss, on the other hand, had a different plan. He thought it would be a good idea for me to write a WNBA version of Race to the MVP. And you know what? I agree.