By Matthew Brennan, WNBA.com

August 26, 2008 - The 2008 WNBA season and the Pick One Challenge are back after the Olympic Break, with the season resuming on Thursday. Here is a look at this week's schedule, which features four days of WNBA games.

Olympic Break MVP: Lauren Jackson, Seattle Storm

Jackson was her usual stellar self in Beijing as she led Australia to a silver medal. She ranked second in the tournament with 17.3 points and checked in at fourth with 8.6 rebounds. Jackson also recorded a double-double in five of eight games with Australia. Now she will return to Seattle, where the Storm are just a half game out of first place in the Western Conference. The Storm will host Houston on Thursday before embarking on a three-game road trip.

Rookie Watch

Candace Parker maintains her lead in the Rookie (and the WNBA) PRA (points+rebounds+assists) rankings with 31.8. She leads the next best rookie, Candice Wiggins, by nearly ten points as Wiggins comes out of the break with a PRA of 23.0. .

The big news on the rookie front this week is the return of Chicago's Sylvia Fowles, who missed a big part of her season due to a sprained knee. Fowles made her return in the Olympics and looked dominant at times, averaging 13.4 points and 8.4 boards (including 26 points and 14 rebounds in the quarterfinals versus South Korea) as the U.S. cruised to the gold medal. Fowles should challenge Parker and Wiggins as the league's top rookie over the final weeks of the regular season.

Last Week's Picks

My entry moved has crept up to the 95th percentile and I have moved up to a 288th overall ranking after recording 131 points in the last week before the break. Rookie Shannon Bobbitt had 44 points in the last game before the Olympics, scoring seven points, grabbing five rebounds and dishing out ten assists for the Sparks.

Thursday, August 28 Loree Moore New York vs. Chicago

Friday, August 29 Lindsay Whalen Connecticut vs. Atlanta

Saturday, August 30 Laura Harper Sacramento vs. Houston

Sunday, August 31 Sandrine Gruda Connecticut vs. Seattle

This Week's Picks

Thursday: Loree Moore, New York vs. Chicago

Loree Moore has been one of the league leaders in assists this season, checking in at third in the WNBA with 5.1 per game. She tied her season and career-high with nine against Atlanta as the Liberty finished up the first half of the season. Moore and the Liberty will meet Chicago on Thursday night as the WNBA returns to action.

Friday: Lindsay Whalen, Connecticut vs. Atlanta

Lindsay Whalen has been one of the WNBA's best all-around players in her fifth season, averaging 15.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.3 assists (second in the league). In her final game before the break she missed recording the first triple-double of the 2008 season by only one point, two rebounds, and three assists. She filled the stat sheet with 20 points, ten rebounds and four assists in her last meeting with Atlanta on June 27.

Saturday: Laura Harper, Sacramento vs. Houston

Laura Harper is averaging 5.3 points and 3.9 rebounds in her rookie season with Sacramento. She enjoyed one of her best games of the season in Sacramento's last meeting with Houston, tying a career-high with 11 points and also grabbing five rebounds. Harper was the 10th overall pick in the draft and currently ranks 14th among rookies with a 9.3 PRA.

Sunday: Sandrine Gruda, Connecticut vs. Seattle

Sandrine Gruda is in her first WNBA season with the Sun after coming over from France, and she ranks tenth among rookies with a 11.2 PRA. Gruda, who is averaging 6.6 points per game, scored ten points and grabbed four rebounds in her first meeting with Seattle.