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AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Maybe its just that time of year, but it seems like some people already want to declare a winner in a contest that hasnt actually yet happened.Kevin Harvicks track record at Phoenix International Raceway is so strong that a sizable number of prognosticators have already handed victory in the Can-Am 500 to the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.Its true that Harvick has proven almost unbeatable at PIR since the track was re-profiled and repaved. He has won six of his past eight Sprint Cup Series starts at the Desert Mile and probably would have added another in the fall 2015 race if rain hadnt handed the victory to Dale Earnhardt Jr.Harvick pretty much needs to win again at Phoenix on Sunday because hes 16 points out of the all-important fourth place in the Chase standings that will determine the drivers who will join Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson in the championship shootout one week from now at Homestead-Miami Speedway.Hes confident he can triumph again, but his challengers believe the law of averages is about to put another driver in Victory Lane -- and on to Homestead with one of the two remaining spots being contested among six drivers.There are several storylines to follow when the green flag drops for Sundays 312-lap race. Heres what to watch for:1. Harvick: Theres no question, Harvick has been The Show at Phoenix dating back to his time at Richard Childress Racing.Hes won from the pole, and hes won from the 10th row. Hes led 43 percent of the laps run since 2012. More importantly, hes been able to run up front when needed in the November Chase cutoff race.Harvick believes his team thrives in the pressure of a must-win situation. And thats why he expects to be in the mix again on Sunday. Hell start the race from the outside of Row 3.Anything can happen, and we just have to control the things that we can control and try and put ourselves in the position we usually do and see where it all falls, he said Friday after qualifying. That is what makes all this here exciting. What I like about it is the sense of the unknown, the competition, the effort, and the thought and everything that goes into it. That is intriguing for me.From a team standpoint, to see where everybody is at and how they approach it is fun to me, he added. I like to see people performing and working at that level. Because once they do it, you can hold them to it.2. Alex Bowman: On Friday, Harvick said his toughest competitor at Phoenix during his streak has been Dale Earnhardt Jr. Sure enough, the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet will start Sundays race from pole position.Of course, it wont be Earnhardt behind the wheel. It wont even be superstar substitute driver Jeff Gordon, who ran his last race at Martinsville.Instead, its Hendrick development driver Alex Bowman, who earned his first career pole to at least temporarily steal the limelight from the battle for the Chase.The 23-year-old has a couple years of Cup Series experience, but his full-time job this year was running simulator programs for the Hendrick organization. When Earnhardt was forced to miss the last portion of the season with concussion aftereffects, Bowman was tabbed to split time with Gordon in the No. 88.Hes shown plenty of speed, qualifying in the top six four times, including on the front row at Charlotte. But his results (a pair of top-10s with a best of seventh place at Kansas from eight starts) are not indicative of how well he has often run.He has really helped our team get better on the qualifying front as well as in the racing also, said Earnhardt, who is on hand in Phoenix. Alex has really helped our program. Jeff helped it a lot, but Alex has been a great treat for the guys to work with, and obviously he is a great driver.Though Bowmans stock has risen since he began wheeling the No. 88 on a regular basis, he still doesnt have a full-time ride for 2017. He said Friday he expects to be back in the Hendrick simulator.Im very thankful to get this opportunity, obviously not under the circumstances that anyone would want, Bowman said. But Im trying to make the most of it and having a lot of fun.We really werent that great in qualifying trim during practice, he continued. Im not sure where this came from, but Ill take it and hopefully we can stay up front on Sunday.3. The Gibbs battle: One Joe Gibbs Racing driver (Carl Edwards) is already locked into the Chase final four at Homestead. Three others (Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin) are separated by two points, and at most, two of them will join Edwards in the championship battle next week in Florida.Bottom line is at least one of the Gibbs drivers is going to leave Phoenix unhappy. And theyre all convinced that they will be racing each other for those coveted transfer spots.Closely.Obviously all of us want to be in there, so somebody is going to be disappointed when they leave here, observed Kenseth, who currently sits one point below Busch for the critical fourth place in the standings. All three of us could be disappointed when we leave here.You never know whats going to happen Sunday. Out of the eight [remaining Chase-eligible drivers], the four that dont make it are going to be disappointed whether theyre on the same team or not.Hamlin, who drew the wrath of his teammates with some defensive driving down the stretch at Martinsville, tried to downplay any rivalry between the Gibbs drivers.I dont think its that big of a deal as it sometimes seems, he said. Its going to be exciting, and were in for a very, very competitive race where I think the guys that are battling for points, if were not battling for the win, were all going to be very, very close to each other all day long.I think its going to go down to the last lap.4. The outsiders: Obviously the main focus on Sunday will be on setting the final four. Winning the race is the clear-cut way for a driver to advance, but if a non-Chase eligible driver is in position to win, it means both of the two remaining transfers will be decided on points.?After qualifying, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott put themselves in good position. Larson qualified his Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet on the outside of the front row, while Elliott will pursue his first Cup Series race win from third on the grid.Larson broke through to earn his first win earlier this year at Michigan, and he is ready to add a short-track victory to his resume.I constantly try to work at it when we come to short tracks, he said. I feel like Ive gotten better but have work to do.This is as far forward as Ive ever started here, and it would be nice to get to the lead at the beginning, lead some laps, take care of my stuff and maintain track position, he added. Its a pretty quick race so you cant make too many mistakes. You have to make the right pit calls, and track position is always important here.5. Reliability: Anyone who watched the Camping World Truck Series race from Phoenix on Friday night knows that a seemingly sure win or solid finish can go up in smoke in an instant.William Byron dominated the 150-lap truck race, but his Toyota suffered a devastating engine failure with just 13 laps remaining. And although car and engine reliability is much better than it was years ago, glitches can still happen at the most inopportune time. Remember how the failure of a $5 axle seal ended Johnsons championship hopes last year at Dover?And dont forget fuel strategy. Three of the past eight Phoenix races have gone to overtime, and those few extra laps could be the difference between coasting into Homestead or being left high and dry.Like Hamlin said, this is going to go down to the last lap. Fake Vapormax For Sale . After taking two big hits this week -- losing at home and dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season -- Indiana struck back by playing its most complete game of the year. Vapormax Outlet . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. http://www.outletsneakersclearance.com/fake-under-armour.html . -- Stanford squashed Oregons national championship hopes again, schooling the Ducks in power football. Wholesale Air Max 270 . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason. Air Force 1 Cheap Wholesale . After Martin Skrtel put the Reds in front from close range at Stamford Bridge after only four minutes, Hazard hit back in the 17th with a superb strike. Etoo gave Jose Mourinhos team a decisive lead from Oscars back pass in the 34th. The last time the Los Angeles Sparks were in the WNBA Finals, the Minnesota Lynx were a gritty underdog that tried to stop them. That was 2003, when the Sparks were two-time defending champions and the closest thing to WNBA villains.They werent really all that villainous, but they had superstar Lisa Leslie, a tough defense, and a swagger that then-coach Michael Cooper loved.The Lynx were in the playoffs for the first time under then-coach Suzie McConnell-Serio. Katie Smith starred for Minnesota, and longtime USA Basketball great Teresa Edwards was playing in the first of her two WNBA seasons at age 39.The teams met in the conference semifinals, and the Lynx put a little scare into the Sparks before losing the series 2-1. Los Angeles went on to lose to Detroit in the WNBA Finals.No one would have guessed then that it would be 13 years before we would see the Sparks in the season-ending series again. Similarly, Minnesotas playoff appearance that year -- and again in 2004 -- were good signs for the franchise, but not indicative of an eventual dynasty.In fact, the Lynx missed the postseason every year from 2005-10 as five coaches rotated through. The fifth one, though, stuck: That was Cheryl Reeve, who got her start as an assistant and is now coach of the top franchise in the WNBA. Starting in 2011, the Lynx have reached the WNBA Finals in five of six years, with three titles.The Sparks, who have had eight coaches since 2004, some in more than one stint, have made it back to the WNBA Finals under Brian Agler, who is with his third team in the league. He led Seattle to the championship in 2010 and actually started back in 1999 with ... the Lynx.So it feels like a few things are coming full circle with these WNBA Finals.This is the first year for the WNBA playoff format in which conference affiliation did not matter; the top eight teams advanced to the postseason. That was particularly advantageous for the Sparks, who were eliminated two of the past four years from the playoffs by the Lynx.Minnesota, which had a 2-1 series edge this season over Los Angeles, is the favorite.Thats no guarantee, of course. As the favorite in recent years, Minnesota has lost in the WNBA Finals (2012) and also been pushed to five games before prevailing (2015). Indiana was the opponent both times, and although the Fever didnt have quite the star power that the Sparks do, they had one great player in Tamika Catchings and a cast that played very well around her.At this point, theres nothing the Lynx or Sparks can throw at the other that is unknown. Despite there being no surprise factor, theres still a lot of strategizing that will go on between two head coaches who know what it takes to win a championship.We look at four areas that could be key as the Lynx and Sparks compete for the 20th WNBA title.Defense! Defense! Defense!Yeah, boring old defense. Who wants to focus on that? We want to watch Maya Moore float to the basket, Lindsay Whalens shake-and-bake in the lane, and Seimone Augustus soothingly smooth jumper for the Lynx. Plus, Kristi Toliver making rainbow 3-pointers, Nneka Ogwumike outjumping everyone and then spinning around for the layup, and Candace Parker going coast-to-coast for the Sparks.All that will happen, but the series probably will be decided by which team defends the best. And these two teams can make defense pretty exciting.The Lynx have the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year in center Sylvia Fowles, who allows them to take more chances than they would if she werent there protecting the rim.Some of the Lynx players have slowed down, but Reeve and her staff have figured out how to compensate for that. It helps that the oldest player on the team, gritty forward Rebekkah Brunson, is still going strong a couple of months from turning 35. She can take care of her assignment and help elsewhere. The same can be said at the guard spot for Jia Perkins and Renee Montgomery, who come off the bench.Like Brunson and Perkins, Los Angeles guard Alana Beard is also 34 but still a defensive whiz who doesnt seem to have lost a step. Beards hallmark always has been defense, and the same goes for teammate Essence Carson.Ogwumike has become an excellent and versatile defensive player, and Toliver has made strides on defense, too. If there has been a knock on Parker, as fantastic a player as she is, its that she sometimes conserves energy on defense or doesnt make it back to defend when shes upset about a call on the offensive end. But considerring its the WNBA Finals, we can expect shell be at her best defensively, too.ddddddddddddMomentum shiftsThese happen even between teams that arent similar in talent. But they can be a huge factor when both teams are this good.In the three regular-season meetings between the Lynx and the Sparks, Minnesota won two close games, the first and the third. Los Angeles won the second game after it grabbed momentum in the fourth quarter, outscoring Minnesota by 12 points in that period, and prevailed by 18.Based on what we saw in the semifinals, momentum seems to be a bigger concern for the Sparks. They had two third-quarter lapses against Chicago; one cost them in a loss, and they rallied back from the other.The Lynx have won two of their championships in sweeps (against Atlanta in 2011 and 13) and have had very few big lapses in their WNBA Finals appearances, with one exception: In Game 3 in 2012, which seemed to come out of a parallel universe, Minnesota was blown off the court by Indiana, which went on to win the title in Game 4.Last year in the Lynx-Fever series, three of the first four games were decided by six points each, and the other by Moores buzzer-beating 3-pointer. By the fifth game, the Lynx had worn out the Fever, winning by 17.The trade that worked surprisingly well factorThere are so many standout, veteran players in this series. However, the Lynx and Sparks also have youngsters who were obtained in trades before this season that have paid off.In February, the Lynx dealt for forward Natasha Howard, the No. 5 pick in the 2014 draft by Indiana, because Devereaux Peters wished to leave. Reeve has acknowledged that Minnesota, while aware of Howards potential, wasnt expecting shed make as strong a showing as she has.One of the best games of her career came Sunday, when she had 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists against Phoenix. Howard also has been an effective defensive cog.The Sparks made a trade in March for a scoring guard, obtaining Riquna Williams from Dallas. But Williams was injured and missed the season. Then Los Angeles made another trade in April, this time with Connecticut for point guard Chelsea Gray.Like Howard, Gray was picked in the 2014 draft, at No. 11. Grays college career at Duke was very good but marred by injuries, which extended into her missing the 2014 WNBA season. When healthy, shes an outstanding point guard, and thats something the Sparks needed. Gray had one of her best performances of the season against the Lynx, scoring 20 points on Sept. 6 and making that game close at the end.Plus, as part of the deal for Gray, the Sparks got the Suns 2017 first-round selection, which turned out to be a lottery pick. Los Angeles will have the No. 4 spot in the 2017 draft.Who will be the MVP of MVPs?Minnesotas Moore just keeps getting better and can legitimately lay claim to being the best womens player in the world right now -- even if she wasnt the 2016 WNBA MVP.Moore, at 27, has set a standard so high that even when she has MVP numbers, theres a tendency to take her for granted. You could say the same thing happened a lot with one of her predecessors at UConn, Phoenixs Diana Taurasi.Moore came to the Lynx in 2011 as a great scorer, and she has improved every other aspect of the game. Her playmaking ability, in particular, is something to watch, because she has really taken advantage of having a powerful center in Fowles.Ogwumike won the MVP award this year, and even big fans of Moore and New Yorks Tina Charles couldnt complain too much about that. The buzzword for Ogwumike for this season was her efficiency; she shot 66.5 percent from the field in the regular season and is at 60 percent in the Sparks four postseason games.As mentioned, Ogwumike has become very valuable on the defensive end as well, because she can guard virtually anybody, which is like gold in Aglers team-defense system.Moore and Ogwumike were back-to-back No. 1 draft picks, in 2011 and 2012, and they had great college careers at UConn and Stanford, respectively. Theyre also classy, intelligent, thoughtful people, the kind of ambassadors the WNBA is especially thrilled to have.Which one will have the better WNBA Finals performance? Its likely theyll both be outstanding, and it will be all the other factors weve talked about -- and some we probably havent -- that will make the difference. ' ' '