The Storm continues its road trip tonight in Minnesota, facing the league-leading Lynx. On the verge of the Storm’s 17th game of the season, Jayda Evans offers midseason grades in the Seattle Times and looks at what lies ahead.

The Storm is playing without three-time MVP Lauren Jackson in a competitive Western Conference where 2 ½ games separate fourth place from first. Coach Brian Agler is optimistic about the defending champs’ playoff future.

“I really think our best basketball is ahead of us,” he said. “We’ve kept our identity that we’re a solid defensive team. There are some people that have really had good years, like Ashley (Robinson). But our best days are still ahead of us, and we’re going to work hard to make that happen.”

In the Everett Herald, Aaron Lommers has a preview of tonight’s game.

The Lynx ended the Storm’s 23-game winning streak dating back to 2009 in the second game of the season on June 9. Just over two weeks later, the Storm tasted revenge, with a convincing victory over Minnesota at KeyArena. The Lynx took the first meeting of the season in Minneapolis on July 16.

Swin Cash’s journal returns to SlamOnline.com for a recap of Cash’s All-Star Weekend, which culminated in MVP honors. Be sure to check out all the behind-the-scenes photos.

San Antonio has always held a special place in my heart. It was only nine years earlier that I hoisted the NCAA Championship trophy after going a perfect 39-0 at UConn while picking up my first MVP award. So, fast-forward to this past weekend and even though the West didn’t win the game, I was blessed to hoist another MVP trophy in good ol’ San Antonio.

After struggling to win on the road early this season, the Storm came up with an impressive performance last night in Phoenix to knock off the Mercury 83-77. Here’s what they’re saying.

Seattle Times stringer Jack Magruder looked at how the Storm imposed its will on Phoenix.

As has been typical, the more physical Storm imposed its will while breaking a four-game road losing streak. Phoenix, which averages an WNBA-high 92.7 points a game, shot only 40 percent from the floor and had little help for Diana Taurasi, who had 26 points on 9 of 15 shooting.

“When it comes to our matchups with Phoenix, it is a battle of style. We are definitely defensive-minded. I think you see battles when these teams oppose each other,” said Storm guard Sue Bird, who had 18 points, seven assists, three steals and five rebounds.

On the other side, Mercury Head Coach Corey Gaines was displeased with his team’s effort, reported Odeen Domingo in the Arizona Republic.

Gaines wouldn’t say what he said to his players but he did divulge the end result:

“They listened,” he said.

Seth Pollack of SBN Arizona noted the game followed a familiar script for Storm-Mercury matchups.

Once again Seattle used their muck-it-up style of defense to take away the rhythm and flow that’s so vital the high-powered Mercury attack. The Mercury gave some credit to the Storm defense, but from their perspective the loss is about energy and desire.

“We didn’t come to play. I talked to the team, they listened. We just didn’t come to play,” a frustrated Mercury head coach Corey Gaines said after the game.

On SwishAppeal, Nate Parham tries to parse whether the game showed the Storm’s improvement or was just an off night for Phoenix.

For the second game in a row, the Seattle Storm beat an opponent that openly admitted they didn’t show up.

So it’s tempting to look at the Seattle Storm’s 83-77 win over the Phoenix Mercury last night in exactly the same way as last week’s home win against the San Antonio Silver Stars: a win that holds little insight about the Storm’s progress this season.

But just for the sake of argument, if quality opponents having sub-par games against the Storm becomes a pattern, at what point do we start wondering if it’s something the Storm are doing rather than random chance?

Elsewhere in the Times, the latest segment of Bird’s regular Dishin’ It Q&As focused on a popular topic of late: food, as well as point guard play and NBA role models.

Q. Is there anything that you refuse to eat?

Bird: Not really. I’ll try anything. When you’re in another country, there’s a lot of stuff that you’re not necessarily used to. In Russia, in particular, I’ve tried cow tongue. They’re really big on caviar. Caviar, I’m not so much of a fan. I can do it when it’s on sushi now and then. So caviar is one thing. I can have it sometimes, but it’s not something I’m going to choose. And that’s definitely from my experience in Russia.

Jayda Evans offers Bird’s recipe for chicken piccata in her blog, along with helpful hints from No. 10.

Evans also explains the Storm’s moves to waive and re-sign rookie Krystal Thomas over the last week.

“We didn’t want to cut her,” said Agler of Thomas, who has averaged 2.8 minutes. “But we felt we needed to do that in case we want to add a different type of player to our roster at some point.”

Those hoping for the return of veteran Svetlana Abrosimova can nix that dream. Her native Russia won the EuroBasket to qualify for the Olympics, and Abrosimova is resting from the competition.

“I have communicated with them, but all indications are that she won’t be (returning),” Agler said.

After a weekend away from the regular WNBA schedule, it’s back to the grind for a busy second half that features 19 of the Storm’s 34 games. I hope you enjoyed All-Star Weekend, and especially Storm forward Swin Cash earning All-Star MVP honors for the second consecutive time. Here’s a look back, and ahead.

On WNBA.com, Brian Martin writes about Cash ending up MVP despite the West losing the game.

Jump back to 2011 and with neither team dominating the game, the amount of MVP candidates does not narrow itself down to the clear-cut winning team. With the game still hanging in the balance until the final minute, voters chose the player with the most dominant stat line, regardless of the result.

Cash, who voted in as was a starter for the West, wasted little time racking up the points. In the first two minutes of the game she had five shot attempts, one make, two free throws and three rebounds. When she exited the game midway through the first quarter she already had eight points and four rebounds. She finished the first half with 14 points and seven rebounds, well on her way to a double-double.

Also on the dot com, Scott Stanchak talked with most of the members of the WNBA’s Top 15 Players of All Time about the honor, including the Storm’s Sue Bird.

What were your initial thoughts when you found out you were named one of the Top 15 greatest players in WNBA history?

Sue Bird: “It’s an honor. It’s a huge honor. You walk into the room right before we got introduced to the crowd and look around, you look at the names. The same way when I got the call. I thought about the others who were probably going to make it. It’s just a tremendous honor just to be in the same breath as those names. There’s no way to describe it. It’s just surreal to be on that list.”

As Nate Parham noted for SBN Seattle, Cash stood out almost as much for her pregame dance routine during the introduction of starting lineups as for her play, while Bird tried her hand at lassoing.

2011 WNBA All-Star Game MVP Swin Cash might have deserved a second MVP award for her attempt to impersonate Michael Jackson during the shadow dancing routine during the player intros.

And her biggest competition might have been Seattle Storm teammate Sue Bird who was apparently trying to beat some anonymous stuntman up or something.

On the day of the game, Jayda Evans wrote in the Seattle Times about being cooked dinner by Bird (and helping in the process), getting to know the Storm’s point guard a little better off the court.

“This is the first time I get to boss you around. Just kidding,” Sue said after I equated her directing me in the kitchen to her being a point guard on the floor. “I’m kind, nice, until you mess up. Lauren, she’s just that good where she can mess up and it’ll be OK. But, yeah, she just loses her brain sometimes, that’s all. It happens to the best of us.”

Bird, 30, doesn’t like being bossy, claiming it’s why she could never appear on her favorite cooking show, “Top Chef.” Especially at crunchtime when we were lined up side-by-side plating the linguine, chicken and salad.

Looking ahead, ESPN.com’s Mechelle Voepel focused on what lies in store for the Storm the rest of the season.

And of the eight that currently are in position to be playoff teams, everyone has things to worry about … but also reasons for optimism.

“We’ve had a rough start, but we like our chances going into August,” Cash said of the Storm. “We’re definitely not down. If anything, we’re looking at the upside. I think a lot of people are going to be surprised in the second half of the season how much better basketball we’re going to play.”

The Storm reached the All-Star break with last night’s 73-55 victory over the San Antonio Silver Stars. Here’s what they’re saying.

Jayda Evans writes in the Seattle Times that the Storm set the tone for the win by playing physical basketball in the paint, starting with Le’coe Willingham.

Willingham, who was scoreless in the team’s previous two games, got six points off the bench in the second quarter. She was replaced in the starting lineup for a second consecutive game by center Ashley Robinson.

“It had a lot to do with Brian calling me out and the post players out, telling us we need to get in there and fight for position and ask for the ball,” said Willingham, who helped Seattle outscore San Antonio 30-20 inside. “My teammates saw me and I finally got (the shots) to go down. We’re at our best when we play inside-out, so we made an effort as a team to sprint down and seal and keep sealing.”

On her blog, Evans has an update on the rehabilitation of Storm star Lauren Jackson.

“I’m good,” she said. “Obviously for me I want to get back out there as soon as possible, but in saying that, they’re monitoring everything really closely. All signs are very positive for a early return.”

Jackson, who ranks fourth all-time in WNBA points scored, can run in a pool, which she said is a bit ahead of schedule. She also feels better when walking around rather than sitting for long periods, supposedly another good indicator.

In the Everett Herald, Aaron Lommers credits the performance of Tanisha Wright, who helped the Storm start the second half strong.

The Storm picked up where they left off in the third quarter, starting the half on an 8-0 run.

“It started with Tanisha,” Bird said. “She got those quick steals and we were able to score off of them. Our 14 point lead turned into 20 and we were feeling good and just rode it out from there.”

Nate Parham talked about the Storm’s defensive effort on SB Nation Seattle.

‘I thought they were extremely tough-minded defensively and physical,” said Silver Stars coach Dan Hughes. “They really congested the paint.”

With the paint congested, the game pretty went the opposite direction of the two teams’ meeting last Thursday.

The Storm out-rebounded the Silver Stars 37-26 and nobody on the Silver Stars had more than three rebounds. Struggling to establish themselves in the paint, the Silver Stars retreated to the perimeter but weren’t much more successful there. San Antonio shot just 27.1 percent from the field during the game, a season-low for Storm opponents.

ESPNW has a nice story about the bond felt between Australian players in the WNBA, including current Storm players Jackson and Belinda Snell and a host of former Storm players like Tully Bevilaqua.

Before Jackson underwent surgery June 30 to repair the torn labrum in her left hip, her game-day routine started with her lacing up shoes with an Australian flag stenciled on, and a solo shootaround on the court 2½ hours before tipoff, with INXS blasting through the PA system.

It may be why Jackson calls Seattle her favorite city outside Australia. They do try. On day one with the Storm in 2001, Jackson was picked up by a limo in which a song by Savage Garden, a Brisbane boy band, was playing.

And you’ll want to check out Meri-Jo Borzilleri’s piece for ESPNW on Sue Bird being at the top of her game as one of the league’s top players and the world’s best point guard.

“Doing the point guard stuff gives me way more satisfaction, because not everybody can do that,” Bird said. “I don’t know. There’s just not a lot of point guards out there.”

Fewer still are of Bird’s caliber.

“When I think about Sue Bird, I think about a person who’s perfectly suited, by temperament and personality, to play the point guard position,” Burke said. “She is confident enough to have the ball in her hands at crucial moments and make all the right decisions, but humble enough to not need the spotlight and to make sure she’s putting the people around her in the best position possible.”

For more Bird, she answered questions on the All-Star experience and more for ESPNW.

2. What does this weekend mean for you?

It means a lot to be selected but it really is a celebration for the fans. It’s a chance to have the league’s best on display and hopefully put on a good show. For me, I also like catching up with the other players and playing with them.

Also on ESPNW, columnists made their picks for the Top 15 Players in WNBA History, to be announced during halftime of Saturday’s All-Star Game. Bird, Jackson and Katie Smith were all unanimous votes, while Swin Cash was selected by Mechelle Voepel.

The Storm knocked off the Washington Mystics 79-71 yesterday at KeyArena in front of a youthful crowd, but we’ll actually start today with Seattle Times sports columnist Steve Kelley writing about Lauren Jackson’s determination to get back on the court after hip surgery.

“It is kind of like a love story,” Jackson said about her life in basketball. “There’s nothing more heartbreaking than having to go through injuries like this and wanting to be out there. I can’t even really explain how I feel right now. But I can’t look at this negatively.

“I love the sport and I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t love it. Trust me. I wouldn’t go through all of this pain. But I’ve loved it my entire life, and now I just have to get back to it.”

Elsewhere in the Times, Jayda Evans highlighted the Storm’s ball movement as a key factor in the win.

Beginning with forward Swin Cash’s pass inside to Le’coe Willingham, Seattle executed another dazzling team game at KeyArena, defeating the injury depleted Washington Mystics, 79-71. Sue Bird led the Storm with 22 points in the matinee WNBA game in front of 13,384 at KeyArena.

The cohesion of Storm players further revealed a team realizing its identity.

Chris Wells of The News Tribune wrote about Bird’s outstanding play in Jackson’s absence.

Bird, who had 15 points in the first half, finished with 22 points as the Storm erected a double-digit lead and then settled for a 43-37 halftime advantage. Bird went 8-of-14 from the field with three assists.

“In my four years, we haven’t had Lauren (Jackson) for three of them, at times,” said Storm coach Brian Agler, who is again without the services of his All-Star center because of hip surgery. “When Lauren is out, other people really have to step up and contribute in the scoring factor. Sue has consistently done that over the years, and again she is doing it now when we need it.

In the Everett Herald, Aaron Lommers credits the Mystics with refusing to go away after trailing early.

But again, the Mystics responded, led by some sharp shooting from beyond the 3-point line. Washington made four 3-pointers in the third quarter to stay within striking distance. Through three periods, the Mystics shot a blistering 9-for-14 from beyond the arc.

“It was one of those games where we played a team that was not backing down, not letting up,” Bird said. “Every time we kind of got a little bit of a cushion, they came right back. It was a tough game, but a great win for us.”

On SB Nation Seattle, Nate Parham takes note of the Storm’s work on the defensive glass.

Most importantly, the Storm managed to hold the Mystics to only eight offensive boards, one above a season-low. In keeping the league’s best offensive rebounding team off the glass, the Storm held the Mystics without a second-chance point all game. So in addition to execution, holding the Mystics off the boards was particularly critical in the fourth quarter as Washington only shot 29.4 percent with their best second chance scoring opportunities coming at the very end of the game.