Sorry for the long gap between blog entries.  There just hasn't been a lot to write about until now with the back and forth that is the MLS standings.

But with a couple of games left in the regular season it's getting interesting.

As far as the top seed in the MLS Cup playoffs and the Supporters' Shield, Columbus has that sewn up.  Houston's win over San Jose got them to 47 points.  With New England's loss Thursday at DC and (checking MLStv...yes) Chicago's loss at Toronto, the Revs and Fire are stuck on 43 points with only one game remaining for both so Houston locks in the second Superliga berth.

That second place spot for Houston just might come in handy should they crap out of the playoffs, and if DC or Columbus win MLS Cup.  That would put Houston into the CONCACAF Champions League again since United and the Crew are already qualified for the CCL by winning the US Open Cup and the Supporters' Shield, respectively.

The last two Superliga berths are still up in the air.  The Revs and Fire are at 43, with Chivas USA in fifth at 42.  Chivas has two games yet to play (this Sunday and next Saturday) while the other two only have one.  The road to the last Superliga spot runs through the Home Depot Center.

For the Wooden Spoon, the Galaxy have two points on San Jose with both having two games left to play.  It's still not over on the other end of the table either.

Now it's time to put up or shut up.

With ten weeks to go in the MLS regular season, some teams are beginning that final push they hope will get them into Superliga and a high seed in playoffs. Three clubs are fighting for that Supporters' Shield. And others are trying to regroup and make one last effort to regain form to get them into the final eight.

New England, Columbus and Chicago have been the class of the league thus far, trading places with each other in the first three spots all season. Houston has made its typical late season surge to move into fourth. RSL has been the surprise of MLS. Even with the slip this past weekend at Houston, they battled hard and will be a factor. Sandy Stadium could be rocking.

And who's this? DC United is moving up after a poor run of form during and post-Superliga. The new keeper Crayton seems to have settled things down in his debut, and United seems to be stabilizing at the right time.

FC Dallas and New York are steadily gaining confidence, but Toronto FC is going the wrong way at the wrong time. They've got to stop the bleeding. Kansas City stops and starts but can't seem to string anything together.

The rest of the West is reeling, and the most ironic part of that is the worst team right now in the table, San Jose, is playing the best soccer, putting a beatdown on the Superliga champion Revolution. LA is in shambles trying to get their organization reassembled, while Chivas USA is just not firing on all cylinders. And Colorado is, unfortunately, Colorado...the coin flip squad.

If you're not a hardcore MLS fan, now is the time to start watching because they're playing for keeps now. The intensity of each game is being ratcheted up. The mid-summer doldrums are over and the playoff push is on.

If you've taken a look at the team graphs, you can get a really good snapshot of how a specific team has moved up and down the table over the course of the season, and in any one time frame. 

Let's see how the MLS clubs are trending over the last five weeks:

Trending up:  Houston, FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake, Kansas City
Consistently good:  New England, Columbus, Chicago
Trending down:  Los Angeles, Chivas USA, Colorado, DC United, New York, San Jose, Toronto FC

Not only are the Revs, Crew and Fire consistent over the last five, but they've been the most consistent over the entire season thus far. What's even more amazing is that New England and Houston are maintaining or even moving up in the table despite not playing league matches, from being on Superliga duty for the past two weeks.

But form is a fickle mistress, and over 40% of the league is tied on points.  The final chapter prior to the MLS Cup playoffs is yet to be written...