Which team's the preseason favorite? Who will win MVP honors? And just which squad will go from cellar to stellar this season? Our primer has the answers as rosters are trimmed to 11 players Friday and the league opens Saturday.

1. Sparks still flying
Los Angeles won the WNBA title last season, and there's no reason to think the Sparks can't repeat.

While all the usual suspects -- Houston, Sacramento, New York, to name a few -- also will contend for the title, the Sparks have great chemistry, depth and experience and will be very difficult to beat. They return nearly everybody, stole this year's draft and made some great additions in a post-draft trade.

The Sparks traded Ukari Figgs and their second-round pick to Portland for Nikki Teasley and Sophia Witherspoon. Teasley, from North Carolina, was one of the top five players in the college last season, and Sparks GM Penny Toler needs a star next to her name for that one. She was a star player and now she is a star GM. She earned her Jerry West medal with that unbelievable heist.

I like Figgs a lot, but she was the beneficiary of having Mwadi Mabika, Tamecka Dixon, DeLisha Milton and Lisa Leslie on the floor. If you have to give up one thing, what is that? The three, and that's Figgs. I'm not saying she wasn't a great player or great scorer, but she was a good shooter who really benefited from having such great players around her.

Teasley will be the Sparks' point guard for years. That means Dixon can move back to playing a 2, her natural position, which makes Los Angeles even better. Add in the fact that Lisa Leslie will continue to improve as a player and Michael Cooper will be an even better coach this season, and the Sparks have what it takes to win another title.

2. Center of attention
Leslie is the early favorite for repeating as the league's MVP, too.

The Sparks' 6-foot-5 center plays and trains with such intensity and determination that she's only getting better. Last season, Leslie became the first player in WNBA history to sweep the regular-season, All-Star game and WNBA finals MVP awards. Only Shaquille O'Neal, Michael Jordan and Willis Reed have done it in the NBA.

3. Catchings on

	Catchings

The preseason debate for the Rookie of the Year award is definitely more intriguing. Seattle won just 10 games last season, and Sue Bird might very well help the Storm double that total. She's incredibly difficult to guard -- she can take you off the dribble, catch and shoot or take the 3. She will make Lauren Jackson and Semeka Randall better players, and because Bird will do a great job of feeding them the ball, they'll get better looks at the basket and shoot a higher percentage as a team.

Still, Tamika Catchings gets my early vote. I've seen her play recently, and talked to several other players, including Dawn Staley, who say the former Lady Vols All-American is completely recovered from the ACL injury that forced her to miss all of last year, which would have been her rookie season.

Catchings is legit and is the strength of the Indiana Fever. She can shoot it, take it to the basket, put it on the floor, is working on her passing and is just incredible. As great as Sheryl Swoopes and Chamique Holdsclaw are, they only have half of Catchings' pure athleticism. This kid is just amazing, and although she hasn't played in a single game, she might evolve into one of the top three players in the league rather quickly.

4. European players missing in action

	Baranova

Several of the league's top European players -- including Miami forward Elena Baranova (Russia), Cleveland forward Eva Nemcova (Czech Republic) and several of the Australian players -- are opting to sit out the 2002 season to train with their respective national teams as they prepare for the World Championships, which will be played Sept. 14-25 in China.

The top foreign players often have national team commitments throughout the offseason and summer, but the pressure to stay home and commit to the national team seems much greater this year. The overwhelming sentiment is that everyone wants to desperately knock off Team USA, something many of these countries thought would happen at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. It didn't happen then, but now some of the United States' toughest rivals are doing everything they can to try and make it happen this summer.

Incidentally, Belgium's Kathy Wambe, selected by Detroit as the No. 22 overall pick in last month's WNBA Draft, has indicated that she won't be playing in the WNBA this season.

5. Postseason projections
In the West, Los Angeles is the favorite, with Sacramento, Houston and Utah likely candidates for the conference's four postseason berths.

Cleveland gets the nod as the East favorite, followed by Charlotte, New York and Miami.

It's no coincidence that the same teams swept last season's eight playoff spots, too. It's just doubtful we're going to see a lot of newcomers break onto the scene this year. The other teams just aren't there yet.

6. More title talk
Several players should contend for the season's scoring title. Minnesota's Katie Smith led the league in scoring last season, averaging 23.1 points over 32 games. Minnesota needs Smith to be productive, so she'll vie for the title again this season, although Lynx teammates Svetlana Abrosimova and Betty Lennox will probably average double-figures, too.

Houston's Swoopes and Tina Thompson also will be up there, as will Brandy Reed and Jackie Stiles. Leslie could be up there, too, although the Sparks don't need her to score 20 points per game.

Expect Natalie Williams or Yolanda Griffith to be the rebounding queens again.

7. Time out for Timms

	Timms

Several high-profile players have retired since the end of last season. Seattle got hit hard with the loss of both Katy Steding and Michelle Edwards, which is forcing Lin Dunn to rebuild with youth

Still, Phoenix suffered the biggest loss as point guard Michele Timms has called it quits. Timms was a brilliant player and a wonderful teacher on the court. She's not completely stepping away, however. After five seasons in the WNBA, the Australian has been hired as a commentator for the Mercury radio and television broadcasts.

Another player who will be absent for at least the first part of the season is Edna Campbell, who is battling breast cancer. Campbell is one of the most likeable players in the league, and she and her wonderful son, David, are in our thoughts and prayers.

And lastly, she'll still dish out the assists by the half dozen this season, but Dawn Staley won't be around forever. The Charlotte guard and Temple coach told me recently that she won't play more than two more years.

8. Shot of Brandy
Two years ago, she made headlines when she was initially left off the West roster for the 2000 All-Star game. Last season, Brandy Reed was in the news again when she was suspended for the season after playing in just one game.

Reed was the WNBA's third-highest scorer in 2000 with a 19.0 average, but scored just three points in all of 2001. Her problems began last April, when she rejected a $42,000 contract offer as insultingly low. She eventually signed a contract, three days after the May 1 signing deadline and after she'd received a $50,000 salary, plus a $32,000 community-relations job with the Mercury.

Then, after scoring three points in Phoenix's May 30 opener, Reed traveled to Seattle, participated in the Mercury's shootaround but missed the team bus and an 83-70 loss to the Storm. Team president Seth Sulka suspended Reed that night and things didn't get better the rest of the season.

The league is better with Reed in it. She is a great talent, but she needs to be consistent and obviously had to make some concessions to Sulka and Mercury coach Cynthia Cooper.

9. Mercury on move?
That being said, Phoenix has a chance to make some waves this season.

Although the Mercury lost Trish Fallon, they've got Reed back. And depending on how everything flows -- how well 6-3 forward/center Jennifer Gillom plays and if Reed can be consistent -- Phoenix could be moving in the right direction. Maria Stepanova is fantastic. Lisa Harrison will continue to get better.

And if Gordana Grubin has a great year, Phoenix can overachieve and maybe be a playoff team.

The big question facing the Mercury is the team's lack of a true point guard. Kristen Veal is very talented, but she's young, and Phoenix is probably going to have to play point guard by committee to make it.

10. The more things change ...
When the league first launched in 1997, the WNBA consisted of 100 players. Of that group, just 27 remain, so the league has seen a lot of new faces over the years.

Another thing that has changed is the players' average age. In '97, the WNBA's median age was in the mid-30s. Now, it's in the mid- to late-20s, and going down.

There's no question the level of play has increased since the league's inception. But that doesn't necessarily mean the skill level is better. The difference is that there are now more skilled players in the league.

ESPN analyst and Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman is a former WNBA coach, general manager and player. She is a regular contributor to ESPN.com's women's basketball coverage.