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The midway point of the regular season has come and gone. So which players, rookies and coaches have been most impressive? What are the surprising story lines? Who are the front-runners for the annual awards? Let's take a look.

MVP favorite

Oh, yeah, this is a piece of cake. Right. Since there's such an easy choice from the obvious team that's in front of the pack. (This is what you call a stall tactic. OK, OK! I'm choosing.) I'll go with Los Angeles' Candace Parker. There isn't anything at the pro level that she doesn't do as well as when she was the boss of college … you know, all those long weeks ago when she was still at Tennessee. But as for other good candidates, there are plenty: Let's say CP3's teammate Lisa Leslie, Seattle's Lauren Jackson, Connecticut's Asjha Jones, San Antonio's Sophia Young, Detroit's Katie Smith and Phoenix's Diana Taurasi.

Most impressive rookie

What a surprise! March/April Madness hasn't ended. It's still Ace versus Ice. Parker gets the nod over Minnesota's Candice Wiggins, but they've both been fabulous. It has been a very productive season for other first-year players, too, including Wiggins' teammates Nicky Anosike and Charde Houston.

Most impressive coaching job

OK, I'm flipping a coin. Heads says Mike Thibault, whose Sun have carried on without Katie Douglas, and tails says Dan Hughes, whose Silver Stars are slugging it out atop the Western Conference. And the winner is … Thibault! And I only had to flip once. But if I flipped again, it would be Hughes. Of course, Bill Laimbeer might flip out that I didn't pick him. But he should be happy about the next category.

Most impressive team

The Shock. No team has avoided rough spots, but I still think Detroit is going to win the title.

Most disappointing team

It's kind of hard to knock on Indiana too much when Tamika Catchings has been coming back from her Achilles injury. Still, the Fever have not played as well as I thought it would. That said, it remains a great bet that Indiana will make the playoffs.

Biggest surprise

I can't believe it was only yesterday that I thought, "Oh, my gosh, Ellen Page reminds me of Sue Bird!" How was that not obvious the first two times I saw "Juno"? I know, probably everyone in the entire world already noticed it six months ago. But … as for a surprise team this season, Minnesota has been better than expected. Whether the Lynx can claw out a playoff spot might depend on whether someone emerges as a more consistent third scoring threat behind Seimone Augustus and Wiggins.

Five things to keep an eye on

• Will Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter keep up their scoring pace the rest of July, go to Beijing to try to help Team USA win gold, then come back to Phoenix and lead the Mercury to a playoff spot without Penny Taylor?

• Will Connecticut's Lindsay Whalen, who didn't get an Olympic spot, be even more fired up (and better-rested) for the WNBA's stretch run?

• Will the same be true for Washington's Alana Beard?

• Will young Liberty and Lynx teams hold together for a strong September?

• Will the new "X-Files" movie be any good? Wait a minute, does it even matter? It's Scully and Mulder! How can it be bad?

Mechelle Voepel of The Kansas City Star is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. She can be reached at mvoepel123@yahoo.com.