As I've already referred on a previous article about the WNBA, this league isn't as followed by the media or has the same level of interest as other competitions, but it still has the potential to bring long term profit to a bettor. From this perspective, I'll pay attention to the league and I'll closely follow it and you all know, when I follow something closely, that means I'll give my max effort to follow it.

Here is the preview for all WNBA teams this season.

Western Conference

Sacramento Monarchs

Sacramento was used to be in the later stages of the league in the previous seasons, but now this seems unlikely to happen this season. The team is now on a rebuilding phase and even though they have players who are capable of doing interesting things, they aren't already on their prime and especially their rivals in the West are stronger than ever. Team's legend Yolanda Griffith went to Seattle and this leaves Sacramento with Brunson and Powell for the frontcourt and it's asking too much to them to replace Yolanda. Both players had amazing seasons in 2007 (Brunson 11.5 ppg and 8.9 rpg / Powell 12.8 ppg and 5.6 rpg), but the problem is that in the West the frontcourt of the teams is very powerful and without Yolanda, Sacramento will struggle in this point. This problem got even worse when Yolanda's natural replacement DeMya Walker got injured and she's out for the season.

Last season Sacramento was extremely strong at home, posting a 12-5 record and this season with them not having the top team status they used to have, some great opportunities to bet on them at home may happen. The team has still a slight chance to reach the playoffs, but ask the team to do it is too much, mainly thanks to the other teams in the West, especially Phoenix, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Antonio.

Houston Comets

Far away are the years where the Comets used to dominate the league and it looks like they will continue far from this scenario this season. If last season the Comets had a record of 13-21, beginning the league with 10 defeats in a row and losing their best player Swoopes in the 3rd game of the season! However, on the side of the bettor we can say it was an excellent year for them, as they were the moneymookers of the league with 20-13-1 ATS and from their 13 wins, 9 were as the underdog.

For this season Houston ended up losing Swoopes, who joined Seattle and so the team has now just two players capable of deciding a game: the all-star Tina Thompson who had a good season in 2007 with 18.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg and 2.8 apg and also the center Snow who finished last season with 10.8 ppg and 6.8 rpg. It's curious to see that the players who joined Houston this season were almost all veteran players. So we won't see the team not struggling at the beginning of the season, due to the high experience of their players and also we might be looking to a team who will play on a slower pace this season. Probably this team can develop into an under machine. About their chances this season, I think it's better to forget it. The Western conference is too strong for them to think about reaching the playoffs in 2008.

Los Angeles Sparks

From hell to heaven in just one season, it seems to be the sentence which describes better what happened with the Sparks last season, where they had one of the worst records in the league, and this season where they are one of the major favorites to win the league. The explanation is simple and it has to go with the players who didn't play last season and the actual roster of the Sparks. Lisa Leslie was out last season due to pregnancy and the Sparks also saw one of the top players of the league, Chamique Holdsclaw, to decide to retire early in the season. But to make things worse, Temeka Johnson was also out for most of the season. That's why the team finished with a weak 10-24 record last season.

But for this season everything has changed, not only because they had the top pick in the draft, Candice Parker, who seems to be a true superstar, as also Lisa Leslie has comeback, with Milton-Jones also returning to Los Angeles, after a period in Washington. This team begins this season with an extremely strong roster and surely they will have one of the best records at the end of the regular season. The form of Leslie can make the Sparks be the top pick to win the title or just be one of the contenders to get the ring. Anyway together with Seattle, the Sparks are the team which most people expect to see in the WNBA final.

Minnesota Lynx

Minnesota has again one of the youngest teams in the league and that last season had consequences, as the Lynx lost 11 games by seven points or fewer. They simply couldn't finish the games well. On the other side Minnesota was the moneymakers on the over last season, with an impressive record of 23-10-1! The biggest weapon of the team was Augustus, who had an average of 22.6 ppg and who is preparing for this season to have identical numbers.

The team looks to have more talent this season, with the inclusion of the free agent and All-star player Anna DeForge, who came from Indiana, but the injury of the PG Harding will make things hard for the Lynx. Harding was preparing to be the rookie of year last season, until she got injured. Minny can be capable of doing interesting things, as they have a superstar like Augustus and she can solve a game alone in a moment of inspiration, however we can't forget Minnesota is part of the Western conference and the level of their opponents is too high for Minnesota think about reaching the playoffs this season.

Seattle Storm

If we were in 2004 and Seattle had this roster, I would say that they would have the starting team of the Western All-Star team. Bird, Swoopes, Cash, Jackson and Griffith are all all-star teams. But we are in 2008 and not in 2004. The major difference is that there are some doubts about the physical shape of some players and naturally being Seattle a team with a short roster, they will depend from how much time can these five players stay healthy. The team last season just had a record of 17-17 and I said just as they had the best player of the league and the soon to be named MVP Lauren Jackson, who averaged 23.8 ppg, 9.7 rpg and 2.0 bpg! But the team was extremely short, with few options in the bench and it's only necessary to see that from the 80.4 ppg they had last season (2nd best in the league), 68.7 ppg came from their starters.

For this season there are a lot of expectations for this team and they are clearly a team for the present and not for the future, with so many veteran players. Lauren Jackson comes from a great season in Europe and she was considered the best player who was playing on that continent and it's secure to say that she is the best player in the world right now. In a conference so competitive like the West this season, if this team of Seattle is capable of preserve the health of their starters, then they are a serious contender to win the conference.

San Antonio Silver Stars

With the trade of Becky Hammon last season, nobody in the Silver Stars staff was expecting the team to improve so fast. But the truth is that Becky was one of the strongest contenders to the MVP title and the Silver Stars finished the regular season with a record of 20-14 and they were in the Western conference final, where they were eliminated by the future champions, the Mercury.

The team this season is even stronger and they have everything to give for the title. With the return of Erin Buescher, who was injured most of last season, San Antonio gains more consistence and more options in the attack. However the big news of San Antonio this season is the return of Ann Wauters to the WNBA. The huge Belgian center had amazing numbers in Europe this season, averaging 17.7 ppg and 9.1 rpg for Russian power CSKA Moscow this past winter. Together with Young, they make the Silver Stars frontcourt extremely strong. However the season hasn't started well for the team, as guard Crossley suffered a season-ending knee injury and she was extremely important for the team last season, coming out of the bench and averaging double digits points. Still this team is extremely strong and combines youth and experience very well, something that can make the Silver Stars one of the strongest contenders to win the title this season.

Phoenix Mercury

The Mercury are the defending champions and so they are the team to beat in the league, however the Mercury won't have the conditions they had last season, as not only their opponents are now stronger, as they also won't be as strong as they were last season. The most important fact is that the most decisive player of the team last season won't play this season in Phoenix, at least until the Olympic Games are over. I'm talking about Penny Taylor. Which team can replace a player with these numbers (17.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 49.9% shooting, 37.8% from three, 88.4% at the line, 1.5 spg, 2.9 apg)? That's almost impossible, so Phoenix will have a tough task this season.

The positive side of the team is that they are already adapted from last season to their up tempo system. The coach of the team isn't Paul Westhead anymore, who joined the Sonics, but Corey Gaines who was one of Westhead's assistants last season and who should maintain the same style of play from last season. I remember that the Mercury until the All-star break last season had a record of just 11-9, to then finish the regular season with a record of 23-11. So there will be a margin to think the same for this season, with the eventual return of Taylor after the Olympic Games. The team with their high paced tempo was the team with most points in the league, managing an amazing 95.8 ppg in the post season. This season their task will be harder without Taylor, but the Mercury have a deep roster and players like Pondexter and Taurasi who are in great form and make the most dynamic duo in the league. It will be on their shoulders that the offensive game of Phoenix will be carried. With Taylor back after the Olympics, then the Mercury will have the chance to try to defend the title with more confidence.