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 gd 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 Mre (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 Rkie 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 shts 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 shting 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 shting 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 lms 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, Mre 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.Rkie 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 rkie, 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 Rkie 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, t, and shell win at least a few of these in her career. But the veteran Fowles prevailed.The 6-ft-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 gd 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 gd candidates -- including Dallas rkie 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 sn 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 shting 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, t. 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 gd -- 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 -- Mre, 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 tk 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 Michal Kempny Jersey . -- Devin Hester is done returning kicks in Chicago. Jaromir Jagr Jersey . 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PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Steelers left tackle Alejandro Villanueva, an Army Ranger before starting his NFL career, aligns with Colin Kaepernicks frustration over racial injustice, but not his forum.The sacrifice of the military is t great to minimize the national anthem, Villanueva said. On Friday, Kaepernick decided to sit during the playing of the anthem before the San Francisco 49ers game against the Green Bay Packers. Kaepernick says he sat, and will continue to sit, over the oppression of African-Americans.I dont know if the most effective way is to sit down during the national anthem with a country thats providing you freedom, providing you $16 million a year ... when there are black minorities that are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan for less than $20,000 a year, Villanueva said. Its his decision. Obviously he has brought up the issue in a great way. But I think if he encourages other players or other people in the stands to sit down, its going to send the wrong message.He has to be a little more careful and lk at the big picture of the things that hes doing, because as a service member, I have to understand it. But hes an athlete, hes got a huge platform, he has to see the impact he has on other peoples lives.Villanueva, 27, a former rifle platn leader of the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, first said he didnt want to be involved in the Kaepernick discussion when approached at his locker. But when asked about the responsibility of an athlete to stand during the anthem, Villanueva, of Spanish descent, said American minorities have more liberties than in other countries, with freedom to speak their mind, largely because of the military fighting for that right.Kaepernick, who is set to make $111.dddddddddddd9 million in 2016, told San Francisco-area reporters Sunday that he means no disrespect to the military, but he is sitting down for a cause he feels is right.I will be the first one to hold hands with Colin Kaepernick and do something about the way minorities are being treated in the United States, the injustice that is happening with police brutality, the justice system, inequalities in pay, Villanueva said. You cant do it by lking away from the people that are trying to protect our freedom and our country.If a Steelers teammate decided to join Kaepernick in sitting, Villanueva said hes not sure how hed react, but will stand very proudly every time the national anthem is played, singing every word of the song because of what those words mean to him.Villanueva said he often tells teammates that though hes one of the cheapest left tackles in the league ($525,000), living in the U.S. is like winning three lotteries.Villanueva, who played at Army and was cut by three NFL teams before latching on with Pittsburgh, stressed that Kaepernicks cause is worthy, and the topic of race has permeated every locker rm in the NFL. Everybodys talking about this.We have a lot of different ways of approaching things -- through our government, through vote, through donations to platforms who are doing great things, Villanueva said. Whenever you include an entire country in one of those protests, I think you might mislead some people who truly wake up every single morning trying to give everything, including their lives, to protect this country. Its a little bit unfair to group everybody under that category. ' ' '