In this 20th anniversary season for the WNBA, one thing is clear: Theres a lot of talent of all ages in the league.There are those at or near the end of their careers who still play at a high level, superstars in their primes and youngsters whove adjusted quickly to being pros. All of which makes picking season award winners very tough.For all but one honor this year -- which was a slam dunk -- you can make good cases for multiple candidates. Well wait to see how the official voting goes. But as the 2016 regular season nears its conclusion, here are our choices:MVP: Nneka Ogwumike, Los AngelesOgwumike has led the 25-8 Sparks to the No. 2 seed in the playoffs and is on pace to have the most efficient scoring season in the history of the league.The nature of MVP is always debated. Is it who is most valuable to her team? Or who is most valuable regardless of what team she was on? How well can you determine either? Especially the latter, since you cant know for sure how someone would perform in a different setting.A way to best simplify this is to replace the word valuable with outstanding, which is what the award is called for the NCAA tournament. And then examine the stats.Admittedly, if someone is outstanding on a team thats not making the playoffs, shes going to have a hard time winning MVP. But that isnt the case with any in a group of six viable candidates this year.Four of them have won the MVP award before: New Yorks Tina Charles (2012), Minnesotas Maya Moore (2014), Los Angeles Candace Parker (2008, 2013) and Chicagos Elena Delle Donne (2015).Seattles Breanna Stewart is another candidate, and in another season less jam-packed with standout performances she might have joined Parker as the only player to win both MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season.Ultimately, most voters likely will pare this down to a decision between Ogwumike and Charles, power forwards who are past No. 1 draft picks.Ogwumike is averaging 19.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists and shoots 66.7 percent from the field. Charles is at 21.5 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 3.8 APG and 43.9 percent for the Liberty, who are 21-12 and have the No. 3 seed in the playoffs.Some might point out that Ogwumike has another MVP-caliber player on her team, Parker, and Charles doesnt. Yet the clearest indicator of Ogwumikes MVP status is when you consider her league-leading efficiency.Ogwumikes true shooting percentage -- which takes into account 2-pointers, 3-pointers and free throws -- is 73.8. That ranks as the best in league history, according to ESPN.coms Kevin Pelton, a metrics expert of both the NBA and WNBA. He points out that the only player who has finished at 70.0 or better in a season in which she played at least 500 minutes is Phoenixs Candice Dupree (70.0) in 2010.Charles true shooting percentage is 49.9. Her standard field goal percentage has never been above 50 percent in her seven seasons; the best was 49.9 in her MVP year of 2012. Charles has expanded her range; she has made 17 of 49 3-pointers this season, compared to a combined 2-of-17 her first six years. She has put in the work to become more versatile. But so has Ogwumike, who is 16-for-25 from behind the arc this year after being 7-for-34 combined in her first four WNBA seasons.Then there is this stat: Charles has missed almost as many shots this season, 349, as Ogwumike has taken, 357.You could say that Charles was carrying more of the offensive load for her team, so she had to take more shots. But considering their production is fairly similar in regard to total points -- 688 for Charles and 633 for Ogwumike, both in 32 games -- again, Ogwumikes efficiency looms large.Pelton also uses a value stat called WARP, which stands for wins above replacement player. His top five in WARP this season has Ogwumike in the lead at 10.4, followed by Stewart at 8.4, Moore 8.2, Delle Donne 6.7 and Charles and Parker tied at 6.5.Other advanced stats in which Ogwumike leads the league include player efficiency rating (PER) at 31.9 (best in league history is Lauren Jacksons 35.04 in 2007); win shares at 9.3; and offensive rating at 136.2. Ogwumike is the only of my six MVP candidates, in fact, who is in the top five in both offensive rating and defensive rating.At some point, yes, this can become a numbers soup. And we are not disparaging anything about Charles great season. But when you have performances of this caliber, by players who are this spectacular, you have to get more granular to try to separate them for awards purposes.Both players are having outstanding years and are key factors in their teams success. But the evidence statistically points to Ogwumike as MVP.Rookie of the Year: Breanna Stewart, SeattleWhew! Now for the easy one. No debate here; this was the slam dunk. As mentioned, Stewart was legitimately in the MVP discussion, and she has been everything that she was expected to be for her first year as a professional. Which says a lot, because the expectations were so high.Stewart came into the WNBA at an elite level, both offensively and defensively, and the Storm have benefited a lot from both. Shes averaging 18.4 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.9 blocked shots. She also leads the league in minutes played (1,120, an average of 35) and has worked well with last years top rookie, Jewell Loyd, in Seattle.Stewart went from winning her fourth consecutive NCAA title at UConn to being the No. 1 draft pick, to being a WNBA starter, to being an Olympic gold medalist, to being an MVP candidate.And of the Rookie of the Year award, you could almost say she had that at hello when she entered the league. Just as great as advertised.Defensive Player of the Year: Sylvia Fowles, MinnesotaMaybe this wasnt quite as easy to pick as Stewie for ROY. Stewart actually was a candidate for this honor, too, and shell win at least a few of these in her career. But the veteran Fowles prevailed.The 6-foot-6 center is averaging 8.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots. She leads the WNBA in defensive rating (92.3) and defensive win shares (2.9).Minnesota prides itself on having the most consistently great defense in the league, and Fowles has become the centerpiece of that. Minnesota was very good defensively before she came over in the trade with Chicago last year -- the Lynx won two championships without Fowles -- but she gave them that big, athletic, intimidating presence inside. And helped them win another title last year.Sixth Woman: Jantel Lavender, Los AngelesThis actually was another tough award to decide, because there were multiple good candidates -- including Dallas rookie Aerial Powers, New Yorks Shavonte Zellous and Kiah Stokes, and Minnesotas Renee Montgomery and Jia Perkins.They all are reserves who had specific jobs for their teams and did them well. In the case of Stokes, Montgomery and Perkins, for instance, what they do defensively is huge in regard to what they bring as soon as they come into games.But it came down to Lavender and Chicagos Allie Quigley, who has won the award the last two years. These are two completely different players.Lavender is a 6-4 center; Quigley, a 5-10 guard. Lavender was a reserve her first three seasons, then a starter in most of 2014 and all of 2015. Shes coming off the bench again this year, averaging 19.1 minutes as opposed to 2015s career-high 33.8 minutes.Of course, the fact that Candace Parker sat out last year until late July impacted Lavenders playing time then. Not everyone can have her role change so much and deal with it OK emotionally. But Lavender seems like she has; shes averaging 9.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists.Quigley, meanwhile, is the very definition of sixth player. She has started just eight of 166 games in her career. Quigley came into the WNBA in 2008 and then battled for five years just to stick with a team, not playing a whole season until she found a home with the Sky in 2013. Shes a wonderful story of determination and perseverance.This season, shes averaging 9.2 points and 1.4 assists in 17.1 minutes average playing time for the Chicago, which is currently the No. 4 seed in the playoffs.Theyre both deserving. In the end, Lavenders ability to have a slightly greater impact with her rebounding gave her a little edge.Most Improved Player: Elizabeth Williams, AtlantaA 6-3 forward/center, Williams was the No. 4 pick for Connecticut in 2015, appearing in 21 games and averaging 3.3 points and 3.2 rebounds. Atlanta traded its 2016 No. 4 pick (which turned out to be Rachel Banham) to the Sun for Williams. And so far that deal has worked out very well for the Dream.Williams has averaged 11.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and a WNBA second-best 2.4 blocks for the Dream, who are going back to the postseason after missing it in 2015. She was also a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year.While there are other solid candidates for most improved, including Seattles Loyd and Washingtons Tayler Hill, Williams success on both ends of the court was the kind of dramatic jump in performance that you like to see rewarded with this honor.Williams 43.5 shooting percentage is something shell need to work on for the future, but her game has taken a major step forward.Coach of the Year: Cheryl Reeve, MinnesotaLos Angeles Brian Agler is in the conversation for this award, too. As is Seattles Jenny Boucek, who has a young Storm team back in the postseason and playing well since the Olympic break. But the top choice is Reeve, who has put together quite a track record at Minnesota.The Lynx have been so good -- three titles in the last five seasons -- thanks in large part to her leadership. Players respect Reeve, they listen to her and they work hard for her. This season, the 26-6 Lynx are again the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, and Reeve was able to achieve that while also giving her bench quality minutes.She was an assistant to Geno Auriemma on the U.S. Olympic team that won gold. So she managed that extra duty well, as did her Lynx players -- Moore, Fowles, Lindsay Whalen and Seimone Augustus -- who competed in Rio de Janeiro.Reeve has won the Coach of the Year award once previously, in 2011, when the Lynx took their first title. Its time she gets it again for what has now been her teams six-season stay at, or very near, the top of the league.? espnW all-WNBA first and second teams Firmino Jersey . -- Former San Diego Chargers safety Paul Oliver was found dead at his Atlanta-area home Tuesday night, and a medical examiner said Wednesday that the ex-player committed suicide. Jordan Henderson England Jersey . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. http://www.liverpoolstoreuk.com/jordan-henderson-youth-jersey.html .J. -- Marshawn Lynch said Thursday it will be good to get back to football after the Seattle quiet talking running back wrapped up his final mandatory media session of Super Bowl week. Liverpool Kit 2018/19 .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore. Roberto Firmino Youth Jersey . The Swede became the first golfer to win the PGA Tours FedEx Cup and European Tours Race to Dubai in the same season. "It is still taking a little time to sink in what Ive achieved this week as was the case when I won the FedEx Cup but then it just kept getting better and better as the days went on and I am sure this will be the same," he said. NEW ORLEANS -- Draymond Green irritated the other team, nearly started a fight, ignited a torrent of boos from opposing fans -- and backed it up with an all-around performance punctuated by a clutch defensive play in the final seconds.In other words, it was a typical performance for the Warriors feisty forward.Green recorded his 15th-career triple-double with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, and it was the last of his four steals -- against star Anthony Davis, no less -- that helped the Golden State Warriors hold off the New Orleans Pelicans 113-109 on Tuesday night.I love playing defense, so when it comes to a situation where youve got to get a stop to win the game, I enjoy that moment, Green said of his steal, which he executed while the Warriors held a tenuous 111-109 lead.Davis, who had 28 points, five blocks and two steals, was furious that officials deemed Greens steal a clean play and drew a technical foul for disputing the officials decision. There was contact between the two players, but Green said Davis initiated it.I hit the ball as he was trying to throw his shoulder into me. I thought it was really clean, said Green, who also noted that he wasnt worried about the risk of putting Davis on the foul line if officials had seen it differently.Were up two (at the time) and weve got three of the greatest scorers in the world, he said, referring to Stephen Curry, who had a game-high 30 points, Kevin Durant, who scored 27 and Klay Thompson, who added 17 points.Davis disappointment was evident in his eyes as he largely avoided discussing the play -- a wise move if he didnt want to make headlines or draw a fine for criticizing officials.When asked to describe what happened, Davis said he was trying to score, and then waited in silence for the next question.Earlier in the game, after Davis had rejected Greens shot, the two bumped one another and appeared to exchange words while fans bombarded Green with boos. Later, when Green was rejected by Alexis Ajinca, the crowd went wild. But was Green was able to celebrate Golden States 13th road win in 15 games away from home.DURANTS DEFENSEFor all his scoring on an array of shots that ranged from a driving dunk to a 3-pointer, Durants happiest moment seemed to be when he was lying on the floor, pumping his fist, moments after hed blocked Davis driving shot with 34 seconds left.That whole possession, I was telling myself I wanted to make a huge play, Durant said.dddddddddddd. I was excited I was able to get over there and help the team out in another way besides making a shot. It was definitely fun. I was in the moment.COMMANDING RESPECTCurry hit five of Golden States 14 made 3-pointers, but one shot that stood out was a 22-footer from the right side. As the shot fell through, Curry reached back toward the New Orleans bench and got a reluctant but respectful low-five from Pelicans associate head coach Darren Erman, a former Warriors assistant.Right as Curry was pulling up, he said he could hear Erman trying to encourage New Orleans defense by saying, If he makes it, its a good shot.So I wanted a little praise for that good shot, and he gave it to me, Curry added. He was a good sport.BOLD APPROACHFor much of the game, the Pelicans sought to beat the Warriors at their own game, a seemingly counterintuitive approach for a team that has won just eight games.Instead, it produced one highlight after another on both ends of the floor, not to mention a highly competitive game.Langston Galloway scored 20 points, hitting five of New Orleans 14 3s, but the Pelicans missed their final five shots from that range.Tim Frazier scored 13 points for the Pelicans, who led by as many as nine in the first half and by five early in the final period.But the Pelicans committed four of their 17 turnovers in the last 4 minutes and missed their last five 3-point attempts.We stopped making shots, Davis said. The Warriors didnt force anything and things were going in for them. I had my opportunities but didnt come through.TIP-INSWarriors: Center JaVale McGee made his first start this season at center because regular starter Zaza Pachulia was missing his third straight game with a right wrist injury. Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he inserted McGee instead of Kevon Loney, whod started the previous game, because were experimenting a bit and looking at a few different combinations. McGee had nine points and five rebounds in 16 minutes. ... Kerr said Pachulia is scheduled to have an MRI performed on him Wednesday.Pelicans: Solomon Hill scored 12 points and Jrue Holiday 10. ... Terrence Jones grabbed 10 rebounds for the Pelicans.UP NEXTWarriors: Host New York on Thursday night to open a three-game home stand.Pelicans: Host Indiana on Thursday night. ' ' '