The half-dozen teams shut out of the MLS postseason party are sorting out where they went wrong, and as they observe the elite eight that are still playing, each of them should be taking notes.

What is momentum, or Big Mo, as proponents of sports, both team and individual, sometimes like to call it?

If David Beckham goes to AC Milan on loan, Bruce Arena will have failed his first major test as Galaxy impresario.

I, too, am astonished at the 10-game suspensions handed down by MLS upon positive tests coming back for androstatriendione on samples provided by Red Bull players Jon Conway and Jeff Parke.

Buried amidst the furor over the MLS expansion bids submitted, and those that were not, prior to the Tuesday deadline is some clever wording regarding when the next phase of expansion will take place.

For two straight weeks in games officiated by two different referees, two hotly disputed penalty-kick decisions at Pizza Hut Park have gone in favor of FC Dallas.

Of the six MLS matches to be played this weekend, the head-to-head Western Conference matchups offer the most intrigue.

A while ago, Kansas City coach Curt Onalfo confidently stated his team could and would pick up the points needed to reach the playoffs because of a run of home matches at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

The 2008 MLS season is far from over, yet Commissioner Don Garber has already begun lobbying for 2009 to be the Year of the Conflict. Next weekend numerous MLS teams will be again be deprived of players called up to play for their national teams in World Cup qualifiers, and league executives will again jab, duck and parry the inevitable criticisms of teams stripped of important players as the playoff chase intensifies. That's just a warmup for next year.