After the WNBA all-star game, Seattle's Sue Bird was talking about the West team's mindset coming in and ... well, it was too hard to resist asking.

	Sheryl Swoopes is averaging 14.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.2 steals.

So Sue, native New Yorker and former UConn player that you are, isn't it a little weird to suddenly find yourself carrying the banner of the West?

Bird laughed, "Yeah, it is strange.''

And so, frankly, is the fact that the Western Conference has continued to maintain its edge over the East.

In college ball, of course, the bulk of the top teams are in the Eastern and Central time zones. Take Stanford out of the equation, and things get pretty arid in the West for college teams. The last Pacific time zone team other than the Cardinal to be an NCAA No. 1 seed? Give up?

Not so fast. Think about it for a while ...

OK, it was Washington in 1990. Yes, 12 years ago. For that matter, the last PTZ team other than Stanford to be a No. 2 seed was USC in 1994.

Yet, as we near the conclusion of the regular season and the start of the playoffs, we're thinking West (including the Comets of the Central time zone). Who among you out there is picking an East team to win the WNBA title?

Not so fast. Think about it for a while ... OK, that would be none of you.

Whoops, sorry, there's some Liberty fans over there making a ruckus ... oh, they're just kissing, never mind. No, wait a second, there's some yelling Liberty fans over there saying, "We can SO win the WNBA title.''

Well, maybe. The Liberty did beat Houston and split with L.A. this season. New York also lost two home games last week, to Minnesota and Washington. But, darn it, it really ought to be the Liberty's turn.

Maybe Mystics fans think their team has figured out what was wrong on the seven-game losing streak and now is less likely in the playoffs to go down quicker than the swimmer in the opening scene of "Jaws.''

Maybe Sting fans are saying: "We came close last year when nobody expected us to. This year, when it's also not expected, we can close the deal.''

But right now, here's who looks like the four best teams in the WNBA. They're all in the West, although only three of them will be in the postseason:

1. Los Angeles: Yes, in spite of the loss Thursday to Houston (without Tina Thompson) where the Sparks' shooting percentage was minus-15 percent (they missed shots they didn't even take). Part of this, certainly, was Houston's defense. The other part was a small, invisible gremlin with a particular grudge against DeLisha Milton who was sitting on the Sparks' rim that night. Make as much sense as anything.

I can't say I really understand the Sparks. There have been times this year when L.A. is superb. Other games, it's as if the Sparks just mentally check out. Like, "Oh, we're going to visit a parallel universe now, we'll come back just about the time that it's too late.''

You see coach Michael Cooper on the bench, quietly staring, and you figure a voice in his brain is saying, "How many times do I have to tell them that your focus has to be even sharper when you're defending a title than it was when you won the first time?''

But even with these lapses, L.A. is 24-7 with one more game to play and still a good bet to repeat. If the Sparks survive the West semis and finals.

2. Houston: Yes, in spite of the loss to Sacramento on Saturday. We'll say it again: Sheryl Swoopes is the most dynamic player on both ends of the court in most games, and Tina Thompson is in the same stratosphere. When Thompson's hip injury heals, at least enough for her to play, the Comets are right there with the Sparks.

3. Utah: Maybe the best player that nobody ever talks about is Adrienne Goodson, who holds the distinction of having played in the first women's basketball game I taped when I got my first VCR: the 1985 NCAA title game. Yeah, I'm sure that's in her bio somewhere.

Goodson's 35 and still zipping around people like she did in her Old Dominion days. And speaking of zipping, youngster Marie Ferdinand has moves that can get her past anybody.

Margo Dydek, of course, doesn't. But what Large Marge does have, when she's not in foul trouble, is the ability to scare the crud out of many who think about coming inside. And what rebounds she doesn't get, Natalie Williams does. Jennifer Azzi, like Goodson, seems to be somewhat ageless. Utah's bench, though, is an issue.

4. Sacramento: No, the Monarchs won't be in the playoffs. But they're in a role I can't recall any WNBA team being in before: not just spoiler, but Super Spoiler. Once Sacramento got healthy again, with Yolanda Griffith and Ticha Penicheiro back, it became the team nobody wanted to play. Nothing to lose because the playoffs were already lost. But something to gain: a good feeling toward next year.

That leaves Seattle, for whom Bird had been everything expected, as the final West team in the playoffs. The Storm edged Portland for the fourth bid in the West with Sunday's win over Utah.

Ask me which game I would rather have seen on TV on Friday, Washington-NY for the second night in a row or Portland-Seattle, and I'd pick the latter.

Now, you also have a race for the fourth and last playoff spot in the Eastern conference. And the East has had a phenomenal rookie year by Indiana's Tamika Catchings, reminding anyone who might have forgotten about her that she could have been the 2001 college player of the year had she not been injured.

The East has the incredible fan support of New York and Washington; it would be great to see either of these teams win a championship to reward those fans.

So I'm not dumping on the East. It's just that I'm not counting on one of its teams to be able to knock off the best of the West.

Mechelle Voepel of the Kansas City Star is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. She can be reached at mvoepel@kcstar.com.