Candace Parker

The Sparks are set to catch fire

One piece of the puzzle at a time, things are falling into place in Los Angeles.

First came coach Carol Ross, who restored order to a franchise that had lost its way. Then came Nneka Ogwumike in the draft, the Rookie of the Year who is the prototypical WNBA power forward. And then this year, the Sparks added point guard Lindsey Harding, which shifted and shuffled the roster into an even stronger alignment.

The Sparks still lack a real back-to-the-basket center, but they’ll just have to make do with Candace Parker, merely one of the best players in the world.

Charles headlines 2012 All-WNBA First Team; Catchings earns seventh first-team nod

Connecticut Sun center Tina Charles, 2012 WNBA Most Valuable Player, headlines the 2012 All-WNBA First-Team, the league announced today. A three-time All-WNBA Team selection, Charles led all vote-getters with 196 points.

Tamika Catchings of the Indiana Fever (161) and last year's MVP and Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks (176), the runner up in this season's MVP voting were also named to the team, both as forwards. Guards Cappie Pondexter of the New York Liberty (128) and Seimone Augustus of the Minnesota Lynx (95) round out the First-Team.

Who's best in the WNBA: It's tough to argue with this surprising statistic

With the last days of the 2012 WNBA season as fascinating as sorting laundry, it’s a good time to take a look at one of the more interesting modern statistics: plus/minus.

The concept is simple. When a player is on the floor, how many points does her team score and give up, and when she’s off the floor, how many points does her team score and give up. That generates a net plus/minus, telling coaches and dedicated statheads who’s really helping her team win.

WNBA MVP race wide open -- fans' vote may count for a lot

Once again, WNBA fans have a voice when it comes to the league’s MVP.

Granted, it’s not exactly a Kelly Clarkson-sized voice (41 other individuals will also fill out a ballot), but it’s a voice nonetheless. And on top of that, one lucky fan voter will get a free trip to one game in this fall’s WNBA Finals.

The WNBA's best -- in the first half of 2012

The post-Olympic portion of the WNBA season will be kicking off Thursday so to help FCP readers get back in the WNBA groove, here’s a look back at the first portion of the season.

As there was no WNBA All-Star game this year, let’s start by naming our all-star selections as if the game would have been played instead of that thing in London.

WNBA All-Star teams

 (listed alphabetically within conference)

Team USA is too much for mere magic -- and the French

Any sufficiently advanced technology, pointed out author Arthur C. Clarke, is indistinguishable from magic.

And of course, when the technology isn’t sufficiently advanced, the magic disappears.

Team USA heads into gold medal game inspired by previous Olympians

On the eve of the gold medal game between the United States and France, we must pause and recognize the historic streak Team USA has put together.  The United States women have not lost a game in the Olympics since 1992 and are currently riding a 40-0 winning streak that spans 20 years.  A win against France will mean a fifth consecutive gold medal for the women's team, and arguably the most dominating run in Olympic history. 

What the Americans need to work on during Olympic training camp

Things team USA should work on when Olympic training camp kicks off Saturday:

How to act when beating Angola by 47 points ... in the second quarter.

What to say when asked how a Croatian player would do in the WNBA.

Positions on the podium when accepting the gold medals.

OK, that’s typical American arrogance, but even in Australia and Russia it would be hard to find serious basketball people who believe that the U.S. won’t win the gold medal in London come Aug. 11.