1. Looking at the playoff picture: In examining the playoff positioning in the chase for eight postseason berths, Columbus, Houston, New England and Chicago are in excellent shape. Considering that 10 other teams will spend the next six weeks taking points from each other, it's hard to see any of the frontrunners spiraling into the danger zone.
So, let's assume for now that all four are playoff-bound -- barring some highly unlikely collapse, of course.
D.C. United and New York are in the next best spots. Each has a possible 21 points there for the taking, with seven matches remaining for each. Eight or so points should probably be enough to do the trick.
That essentially leaves eight teams chasing two spots. Of the pursuers, who has the most favorable schedule? San Jose, on an eight-game unbeaten streak, enjoys the best luck of the calendar. Kansas City has a good opportunity, too, for climbing back into postseason contention.
At the other end of the schedule equation lies bad news for all BMO loyalists. Toronto manager John Carver wants his team to play with more "grit." Well, they'll need it, because the schedule is none too kind.
Frank Yallop's Earthquakes have four of their remaining seven at home. After this weekend's date with Houston, the Earthquakes' remaining home matches feature Real Salt Lake, Chivas USA and Toronto. The way Ronnie O'Brien, Darren Huckerby and Joe Cannon are pacing the expansion side, nine points is not a bit out of the question from that closing threesome. On the road, San Jose has matches against FC Dallas and Kansas City, as well as a tougher matchup with Houston.
The Wizards get to play five of their remaining seven in the Midwest, including Saturday's match at Arrowhead against Los Angeles. Toronto comes into Kansas City next week, so Curt Onalfo's team has a big chance to grab six points by the end of the month.
Real Salt Lake can't feel too badly about things. Jason Kreis' team is currently second in the West, with winnable matches upcoming at home against Chivas USA, FC Dallas and a New York Red Bulls team that struggles to score on the road. The men from Utah finish with an Oct. 25 date at Colorado.
It's a mixed bag for Colorado, Los Angeles and Dallas. They don't have the opportunities some of the others have ... but they don't quite have it as bad as Toronto. Or Chivas USA.
Preki's team splits six remaining matches between home and the road. But the sequence is problematic: The next four weeks bring matches at Real Salt Lake, D.C. United and San Jose. Sandwiched in there is a home game against Kansas City, an absolute, positive must-have for the Goats. Otherwise, the sweet spot in the remainder of the slate, the last two weeks, which bring home matches against Colorado and Houston (which could have the West in pocket) could be irrelevant by the time they kickoff.
Then there's Toronto. The league's second-worst road team (six of a possible 33 points, minus-12 goal difference) plays four of its remaining seven away from BMO. They do get three on the waterfront at Exhibition Place -- but it's probably against the three you'd least fancy facing in MLS.
First up to visit Toronto is Columbus, the league's top club. Next up after that, the two-time defending league champs -- and currently very hot -- Houston Dynamo. After that, Chicago, the league's best road team. Whoa.
Carver's bunch will need lots of that grit -- and maybe a small miracle to find its way into the postseason.
2. Injury dents assist record chase: Guillermo Barros Schelotto's chances of doing something truly amazing and reeling in Carlos Valderrama's season assist record took a big hit this week. Columbus' playmaker, enjoying one of the best stretches ever for an MLS playmaker, will miss Saturday's match in Toronto after picking up a slight hamstring strain during last week's statement-making 4-0 win against New England.
More troubling still, Schelotto, with two assists in each of Columbus' last four matches, might be forced to miss his club's contest the following week against New York.
Obviously, the concern for Crew manager Sigi Schmid is keeping the 18-assist man healthy over the longer term. Schmid is not focused on records.
Still, it would put the proper packaging on Schelotto's magnificent season if he could, at least, become the league's second player to reach 20 assists. So what are his chances now that Schelotto can match Valderrama's 26?
Not great, to be honest. Following the Sept. 18 home date against the Red Bulls, the club plays three of its final five on the road. More significantly, the three road matches happen to be against three of the league's top defenses, New England, Chicago and New York. (Statistically, the Red Bulls might not look overly formidable. But three recent defensive-minded additions have surely helped solidify the rearguard at Giants Stadium.)
The Crew's two remaining home matches feature Los Angeles and D.C. United. So, the Oct. 4 contest against the Galaxy, the league's worst defense, looms large in Schelotto's chase. And who knows? With a big night there and a few other assists scattered about, he could still catch "El Pibe's record." It's just a bit more of a long shot now.
3. Houston -- where goal-scoring careers go to flourish: If you're an agent, and you've got a promising forward who seems to be on or approaching a plateau, move ye heaven and earth to get that young man down to Dominic Kinnear's Houston Dynamo. The evidence is mounting that this is a place where young strikers go to grow.
Nate Jaqua had 22 goals in 102 MLS matches when he was traded from Los Angeles to Houston last year. In two stints with the Dynamo (he left for a few months to play in Austria) Jaqua has 10 goals in 22 matches. Do the quick math and you'll notice that his production rose from scoring roughly once every fifth match to scoring nearly every other match. That's a jaw-dropping increase.
What about Kei Kamara, a recent Dynamo acquisition? The statistical sample isn't as great for his time in Houston, but Kamara is certainly trending the right way, at least. The young Californian struck seven times in 48 matches before landing at Robertson Stadium. Now, with Kinnear's club, he has two goals in six matches already.
Last year, Joseph Ngwenya brought these five-year totals to Houston: nine goals in 65 matches. That's now awful, but it's hardly show-stopping stuff. For the Dynamo, he struck seven times in 25 matches, which is prodigious by comparison.
4. Slight decline in MLS influence: Perhaps it's a sign of the times, or perhaps there's been a philosophical shift in national team management. Either way, there's a little less MLS influence in the important World Cup qualifiers during this cycle.
Former U.S. manager Bruce Arena once made it part of his player selection doctrine: those prospering and getting minutes in MLS would be favored ahead of European bench riders.
Now, with ever more Americans earning their paychecks abroad -- even if they aren't necessarily getting into the starting lineup, or even getting on the field for their league sides -- current manager Bob Bradley seems to have moved off that platform. He seems more concerned with retaining lineup consistency -- essentially using the same players, whether they are starting for their European clubs or not -- and less concerned with finding players in peak form and fitness due to league play.
Hard to argue the results, with the USA just halfway through second-round qualifying and sitting pretty with three wins in as many matches.
But neither is the evidence difficult to assess. For whatever reason, players from Major League Soccer just haven't had the same influence in terms of occupying starting spots. Four years ago, in the first three matches of second-round qualifying, Arena deployed five starters from MLS clubs in each of fixture.
This time around, Bradley used four starters from MLS sides in the opening match against Guatemala, then put three on the field in subsequent matches against Cuba and Trinidad & Tobago.
5. Cunningham's partners can flourish, too: Funny thing happened when Jeff Cunningham joined FC Dallas' starting lineup four games back: Kenny Cooper stopped scoring.
Cooper had 13 goals in 19 matches before FC Dallas traded for Cunningham and inserted him immediately into the starting lineup. Since then, the well-traveled veteran has two goals for FC Dallas, while Cooper remains stuck on 13 goals.
The knock on Cunningham's game has always been that he sometimes struggles to combine with other attackers. His passing in areas outside the penalty area isn't always the best.
But he does have 58 career assists to go with those 101 MLS goals. So, that's not too bad. And his history suggests that players around him can certainly score. Strike partner Stern John connected for 18 with Columbus back in 1999. Edson Buddle hit for nine as Cunningham's partner at forward for the Crew back in 2002. Two years after that, Buddle led the duo with 11 goals, while Cunningham scored nine times.
In 2006, Jason Kreis scored eight times for Real Salt Lake as Cunningham scored 16.
FC Dallas manager Schellas Hyndman said there's no issue that should prevent Cooper and Cunningham from being an effective two-headed strike force. He said they were linking better than ever in practice this week. "It's just a matter of us getting Kenny scoring again," Hyndman said.
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