The MVP strikes like lightning, but he's no Bolt

He already owns the NFL's single-season touchdown record, and has three games left to put it beyond mortal reach. His team has the best record in football, and he is the biggest reason. He is the league's Most Valuable Player.

His name is not LaDainian Tomlinson.

Sorry. This line of thinking probably comes as a shock. Every time you turn on a television or open a magazine, you are notified that San Diego's Tomlinson is this season's MVP. You are reminded of his record number of touchdowns from scrimmage -- 29 and counting -- and told that he is the MVP as if this is gospel, something to be argued only by an idiot.

In Chicago, 23 = MVP. Just ask Jordan, Sandberg ... and Devin Hester. (US PRESSWIRE)

Because Devin Hester is your MVP.

With an NFL-record six returns for touchdowns this season, Hester's also your Rookie of the Year -- but let's not minimize his value to the Chicago Bears or his impact on this 2006 season by pigeon-holing him into the most conventional award possible.

A rookie can be the MVP. It's allowed. Not that we need a precedent, but if it'll make you feel better, fine. Here are your precedents: Rookie MVPs happened in the NBA with Wilt Chamberlain (1960) and Wes Unseld ('69), in baseball with Fred Lynn ('75) and Ichiro Suzuki (2001), and in the NFL with Earl Campbell (1978).

And it should happen this season with Devin Hester.

Hester won't win because of his rookie status and his specialized role -- although Redskins kicker Mark Moseley was MVP in 1982 -- and because of Tomlinson, who is on pace to run for 1,780 yards, catch 64 passes and score 36 touchdowns. The Chargers (11-2) have the best record in the AFC. Tomlinson is a strong, strong candidate for MVP.

But to eliminate Hester, to consider the matter closed without even hearing his side, is the very thing you'd expect from the sports media. One or two sportswriters can be brilliant. A group of them, voting en masse? Lemmings. Show them a cliff, give them LaDainian Tomlinson, and watch them race each other to the rocks below.

Meanwhile, Hester means as much to his team as Tomlinson to his. And seeing how the Bears are 11-2 -- best in the NFC -- Hester's MVP credentials deserve a look.

Hester has scored in five games, with two Monday against St. Louis, and the Bears have won all five. When he scores, Chicago is unbeatable. No, he doesn't score as often as Tomlinson. But he has scored more often than any return man in history. The most explosive athletes in the NFL have returned kicks, from Gale Sayers to Deion Sanders to Dante Hall -- but none has scored six return touchdowns in a season. Hester has six in 13 games.

When Tomlinson scores, it finishes a drive. When Hester scores, it finishes the other team. His 83-yard punt return with 2:58 left beat Arizona. His 108-yard return of a missed field goal against the Giants turned a 24-20 Bears lead into a 31-20 margin in the fourth quarter -- game over. His 94-yard kickoff return kept the Bears in the game early with St. Louis, and his 96-yard return in the fourth quarter was the knockout blow.