At the MLS All-Star Game in Toronto two months ago, the fate of Jeff Cunningham sparked much banter on the sidelines and in the press box.

Every year, the critics of Division I men's college soccer circle and swoop, citing the short schedule, limited budgets and liberal substitution rules as impossible impediments to attaining a professional career.

History is strongly against it, yet on stats and influence, this is the first season Landon Donovan truly deserves to win the MVP award.

Pardon me if I can't get excited over Ottawa's bid to join MLS. And it's nothing against Canada, for if I had the power and all the pieces fell into place, I'd go with Vancouver along with Portland in the next round.

The scintillating form of Guillermo Barros Schelotto the past two months has vaulted the Crew midfielder into the rarified air of those serious MVP candidates, yet with him likely to sit out this week's game against Toronto FC at BMO Field, his coach and his teammates get a rare chance to show what they can do without him.

For the past decade, any time MLS officials made remarks about altering the regular-season schedule to accommodate international competitions, coaches and general managers knew it was time to reach for their collection of rock music, flip to the Led Zeppelin stack, and pull out, "The Song Remains the Same."

A hostile environment is anticipated at Toyota Park when former Fire head coach Juan Carlos Osorio returns to Chicago to lead his Red Bulls in a crucial Eastern Conference match against the team he abandoned during the offseason. But a far more amiable reunion is also on the docket in another conference showdown between the league's top two teams. The Revs will line up at Columbus Crew Stadium to take on the conference-leading Crew having exchanged some pleasantries during the pre-match warmup.

Was it confidence or desperation that drove Wizards coach Curt Onalfo to steadfastly maintain his team's playoff chances remain tangible despite it sitting six points adrift of the nearest postseason slot with eight games to play?