It may be worst kept secret in sports that the Minnesota Lynx are the premiere team in the WNBA. Since this is the time of year when critical thought is focused on the play-offs Litt magazine wanted to take its moment to opine on who deserves the coveted title of MVP; the league's most valuable player. In a league with so many individuals stars it may difficult for some "with VOTES" to point to the one true MVP. There are performances like the one delivered by Lindsay Whalen on Thursday night (9-8, 2011) at the Target Center that scream MVP. Whalen gutted out 20 points and 10 assists in a winning effort over Chicago Sky 78-69. Chicago made it a point to test Lynx toughness-their mistake. The rougher they made it, the harder Whalen played it. Hard, physical play in basketball forces turn overs-that's a fact; Whalen turned the ball over 0, that's zero, times-that too is a fact! Zero turnovers is almost unheard of, and a nearly unattainable goal for most shooting guards. Underline the fact that in a game that meant next to nothing, Whalen played as if it were her team's last breath. As an athletic warrior woman, Whalen was brilliant! Case #1 made for MVP; plays like a lion all the time-even when there is nothing on the line-but team pride! With 8700 plus people along for the ride, Seimone Augustus was in a zone... called the Chicago Sky. In a night when a team made every effort to shut her down, Augustus rained points on Chicago's defensive strategy. Augustus finished with 22 points after 30 minutes of duty. The offensive firepower displayed at the guard spot kept Chicago on their heels all night, and caused a little of the Sky's frustration to be taken out on Augustus' team mate guard (Whalen). It wasn't as if many hard shots, some fair, some not so, were not delivered-they just weren't called. Augustus was fouled sooo hard three times, that the audience booed the "no calls"- and Coach Reeve was left livid. Augustus simply brushed the dust off her shoulder and continued to fire Chicago's ass up! Augustus was the # 1 draft by the Lynx in 2006. A severely torn knee ligament at the beginning of 2009 season took her off track for that season, but through a grueling rehabilitation regimen, and force of will she was ready to begin anew the next season. Augustus was again derailed by occurrence and re-occurrence of a painful medical issue in 2010. The unexpected surgery required set Augustus back yet one more year, leaving her stranded on the hard road to recognized potential.

The road that an athlete chooses to fully recognizing and claiming their full potential, I s like a heavily loaded train trying to ascend a remote mountain pass. On a slippery track perhaps, but still on track. Great potential, once derailed, is hard to reclaim-but to have to do it again (rehabilitate) and again (heal) to make a triumphant return is the stuff of which champions are made; the ability and willingness to face adversity and rise; case in point, in shape, and back on track, Seimone Augustus. A team leader can be counted on inspire his/her team by defiance to condition, and turning adversity into unstoppable offense. Seimone Augustus leads by example every game, in breakaway offense, and in your face defense. Case #2 made for MVP; let us define leader as; a visible, defiant personality that can carry a team with individual offensive daring-and has no fear about drawing a line in the sand on defense. One who is unafraid to talk big sh..(trash) and then, back it up!! The one person you want to touch the ball last when ALL and EVERYTHING is on the line-the one that will assure victory! To find that ONE-go to the dictionary of the WNBA and look up Seimone Augustus. It was a quiet night for forward Rebekkah Brunson in terms of time played and points made. Brunson had to sit (by design) so others could get valuable playing time as a unit. Coach Cheryl Reeve utilized Brunson for only 19 minutes the entire game. In game situations Rebekkah Brunson's presence, or, absence is felt immediately by her team and is akin to a booster on a rocket. Brunson has steadily given team Lynx the "insurance policy" that pushes a team to the next level. Brunson, the speediest forward, with the surest hands in the league, has the defense that gives the lady Lynx' its edge, over any other team. "They can’t touch that"- insurance personified, if you will. Brunson can be depended on by her team to pull them through whatever might be their particular malfunction, or the other team’s intricate offensive schemes to isolate her. Case #3 made for MVP; hard defense all the time, and dependability on offense that a team can believe in. Game after game, whether quietly contributing, or with all guns blazing-she is a model, of heart and desire, for young forwards to emulate. Another member of the Lynx squad that deserves an asterisk (honorable mention) for MVP, is Taj McWilliams-Franklin. There are moments of play when the individual matters not, and the TEAM is ALL. Taj McWilliams-Franklin is the ultimate team player. Giving up her body to provide pics and screens to clear scoring lanes for Whalen and Augustus is part of the job. McWilliams-Franklin shows no fear when going hard to the court floor to fight for balls that other 35 plus ( I tread lightly here) year olds might pass up. Her second, third, and sometimes fourth efforts going after loose balls and rebounds are her personal trademark. Defense-defense-defense wins games. Taj McWilliams-Franklin is defending, the Lynx' are winning-get the correlation? Case to make for Special MVP, as nominated by Litt magazine: It is to be taken with a grain of salt, BUT-it is not McWilliams-Franklin's ability to see everything on the court, nor her ability to play hammer down defense-in fact, and the case made for Special MVP award has nothing to do with what she is on court. It has to with what she does for the game of basketball when she’s off court. McWilliams-Franklin's most special contribution to the LYNX organization has to do with the total acknowledgement of all people humanness of spirit than athletic prowess. It can be easily witnessed that after every autograph signing at every event Taj McWilliams-Franklin is the last to leave. She shakes every hand, signs everyThing, and speaks kindly to everyOne. She not only speaks kindly with words, she looks every person in the eye while speaking to them. No child, no challenged person, goes under Taj's radar, she sees them all. Case in point-on fan appreciation night the Lynx players were given 30 minutes to meet, greet, and autograph before their locker-room press conference. The team was still signing well after their 30 minute time schedule. One by one the players adhered to the pre-arranged time format and returned to the locker-room-all except for McWilliams-McFranklin, who continued to sign autographs and talk to even the patience testing fans. As McWilliams-Franklin began to leave the auditorium the remaining crowd surged toward the exit-the crowd in its public exit-McFrank moved toward the player security exit. Two elderly women in motorized wheelchairs, had given up on the possibility of meeting any of the Lynx players, were engulfed by the crowd. The ladies of tiny stature and bent bodies were literally swallowed up by the four to five hundred remaining audience and could not see, nor maneuver the wheelchairs, so they sat together waiting for the crowd to disperse so that they could leave. A very frustrating point of view from their side. Although the tiny ladies could not see her, Taj McWilliams-Franklin looked over the crowd and saw them. From her secure area, T. McWilliams-Franklin waded into the crowded, unsecured area to shake the women's hands and thank them for coming. The seriously surprised ladies were overwhelmed. There were no cameras rolling- no dramatic/poignant songs in the background, nor is the scene particularly significant to anyone, save those two very senior, tiny ladies, and this witness. One great big athlete, in one small instance showed a gigantic heart, and gave two general admission patrons of women's basketball a thrill they never thought possible. As is athletics; "the thrill of victory....it is as so ; the unbridled joy in receiving unexpected acts of genuine kindness, thoughtfulness, and sportsmanship. Case #4 made for MVP; the award for the largest heart, and the ability to help cultivate women's sports through shining examples of personal goodness. It was a regular ol' night of bump and grind (basketball style) for rookie guard Maya Moore who scored 16 points, and caused a boatload of problems for Chicago's defense. Moore is the Lynx' unflappable rookie jump shooter that gets the Target Center crowd chanting MAYA with every score she nails. The public address announcer says Maya-and every time he announces a score by Moore the crowd echoes back; MAYA-it’s contagious, you want her to quickly score again so that you can hear the crowd respond -MAYA!! It is excitement personified in the Lynx funhouse otherwise referred to as the Target Center. To see the phenom known to the crowds as: MAYA-get down to the Target Center and see this ascending Lynx team for yourself-you won't be disappointed. PLAY-OFF INFO SCHEDULE