AND DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME!

It's become everyone's favorite time of year again. As summer turns to fall, the winds get colder and the race for the MLS Cup intensifies.

This year's MLS season has been perhaps the league's most exciting to watch since the inaugural season of 1996. However, heading into the final third (or less) of the 30-game slate, about 6 teams look certain to make the playoffs, with another on the cusp. That's 7 of 8 playoff spots accounted for. In the East, there is a clearly defined strata, and right now, that strata is 30 points. New England (42 pts) DC United (39 pts), Red Bull New York (33 pts), and Kansas City Wizards (32 points)* are just about sure to be in the playoffs when they roll around in six weeks or so. *= The Wizards are my "iffy" team, but they are still 5 points clear of their nearest rival (Columbus). In the West, the dichotomy is even stronger. Houston Dynamo (38 pts), FC Dallas (36 pts) and Chivas USA (33 pts) are top of the conference. Colorado Rapids are the closest lookers at 24 points.

It will be a fierce battle for the 8th and final spot, and I see it coming down to three teams. Columbus Crew, Colorado Rapids, and Chicago Fire. Under MLS's new playoff format rules, the top two teams in each conference make the playoffs, followed by the next 6 teams pointwise regardless of conference. If the MLS Cup Playoffs started today, the pairings would be...

#1 New England vs. #8 (Columbus/Chicago/Colorado)
#2 Houston vs. #7 Kansas City
#3 DC United vs. #6 Red Bull New York
#4 FC Dallas vs. #5 Chivas USA

Chivas takes the 5 spot over RBNY because right now, they have matches in hand.

So how does the chase come down to the final three teams? What will determine how they will come out on top? Let's take a look.

Columbus Crew
(Through August 25, 6-7-9, 27 points, 4th place in the East)

Remaining Schedule
COLORADO, CHICAGO, @Kansas City, @Toronto, LOS ANGELES, FC DALLAS, @New England, @DC United.

Record vs. "The other two" Lost at Chicago 3-2 in June, Drew 0-0 at Chicago in August. Drew 0-0 at Colorado

Columbus is a young team that hasn't really been tested in playoff situations just yet. While their speed certainly makes them dangerous on the flanks, especially with the seemingly ageless Frankie Hejduk and bargain of the year Guillermo Barros Schelotto providing service, the Crew are not the patsy they have been the past few campaigns, but are not the league shakers they were in the early days of the league with Brian McBride and Brad Friedel. Columbus definitely controls their own destiny and at least 4 points against Fire and Colorado will go a long way to securing their postseason.

Chicago Fire
(7-9-5, 26 points, 5th place in the East)

Remaining Schedule: @New York, @ Columbus, NEW YORK, @FC Dallas, DC UNITED, @Chivas USA, NEW ENGLAND, @DC United, LOS ANGELES

Record vs. "The Other Two": Chicago drew at Colorado 1-1 in April, then 0-0 at Toyota Park in July. Fire beat Columbus 3-2 in June, and drew 0-0 in July, both matches at home.

Chicago technically doesn't control their destiny. They're behind on points, and it would really help should Columbus screw up down the stretch. However, the Fire have a match in hand on the Crew. That being said, it's a rough road. Only two of their remaining contests are against teams at the bottom of the pile. One of those games is against another team fighting for its playoff life, and the other is against David Beckham's traveling roadshow.

Mexican international Cuahtemoc Blanco has worked out in every way possible, scoring his second MLS goal in his 4th MLS game against KC on Saturday. With Justin Mapp and Chris Rolfe returning from injury, and new additions Paolo Wanchope and Wilman Conde should bolster the ranks. They're also hot, going undefeated in four of their last five. The backline however is VERY shaky, and Chris Armas and CJ Brown are showing their age. If the defense can keep the Fire in games long enough for Blanco, Wanchope, Rolfe, Mapp, and Carr to do their jobs, I like the Fire's chances. Of the three teams, they probably have the most talent. That September Fire-Crew game is HUGE in every sense of the word. The winner may not be in, but the loser will probably be out.

Colorado Rapids
(6-9-6, 24 pts, 4th place in the West)


Remaining Schedule: LOS ANGELES, @Columbus, @Los Angeles, CHIVAS USA, @Real Salt Lake, @New England, TORONTO FC, @Chivas USA, REAL SALT LAKE

Record against "The Other Two": Drew Chicago 1-1 in March at home, and 0-0 in Chicago in July. Drew Columbus 0-0 at home.

Colorado is in some deep shit, frankly. Of these three, I like their chances least. The team is in total chaos right now. Head Coach Fernando Clavijo may be on the chopping block. His job likely depends on the Rapids making the playoffs. Keeper Bouna Coundoul has a GAA of 1.19, but the Rapids as a team have only scored 20 goals in 21 matches, third-lowest in the league. They have little star power, little offensive firepower, and only have one game remaining against their playoff rivals Fire and Crew.

If there's one thing to save them, it's their schedule. While the Fire's schedule is packed with league-beaters, the Claret-and-blue is packed with patsies. Los Angeles twice, Real Salt Lake twice and Toronto FC. With that kind of schedule, if they can't make it work, they don't deserve to go to the playoffs.

I'm not making picks. Too bad.

"Paradise" Lost on Dan Roan

There's only one thing in the soccer-reporting media that bothers me more than the constant put-down, condescending, jock-itch sports dinosaur writing that pervades much of the US sports media. That is laziness. Total unabashed laziness.

So is the charge leveled against Chicago's WGN9 Sports anchor Dan Roan. In reporting the highlights of Celtic FC's 1-1 tie with Chicago Fire , Roan did the following in about 30 seconds.

* Mispronounced Celtic "Kell-tick" instead of the proper "Sell-tick."

* Incorrectly referred to Celtic as an Irish team, they are from Glasgow, Scotland.

Forgivable? Perhaps, but it really speaks to the media's either indifference or lack of commitment to get the story right. If anyone on Around the Horn or PTI had referred to the NBA's Boston Celtics as the Boston Kell-ticks, they would have been laughed off the stage. The thing that bothers me is that as a sports guy, Roan is already familiar with the Boston Sell-ticks, but pronounced Celtic FC as Kell-tick. Therefore, he already knows that there is more than one pronounciation for that word. Wouldn't it be hooof him to check to see which one was proper?

As for the location of the team, admittedly, that could be kind of confusing due to Celtic's largely Irish fan base, the presence of a four-leaf clover on their jerseys and Irish Tricolor flags being bandied about Toyota Park yesterday. Also, the absence of the Irish or Scottish anthems prior to the game perhaps further led to the misunderstanding. However, it betrays a lack of research and knowledge of the subject at hand. Imagine if someone had said the University of Illinois sports teams were based in Chicago. Yes, many U of I alums live in Chicago, as well as most of their current student body when they're not in class, and likewise, even though many Celtic fans are of Irish descent, that doesn't mean that they are in Ireland or that the team plays there.

MLS Preview: Chicago vs. Toronto

Unfortunately for Fire fans, what started as a season of promise with daring talk of a trip to the MLS Cup Final in Washington has turned into a season of change. With changes at major positions, including the head coach, rumors of several groups looking to purchase Chicago Fire and an offense that has been nothing short of abominable (Fire have only scored more than 1 goal twice this season, and have been shut out in 3 of their last 4 outings.)

For Tossers fans, it's a season of firsts, and sadly for their Windy City opposition, most of their firsts seem to come against the Fire. Toronto's first goal was scored against Chicago in the Grand Opening of BMO Field; a result that stood up as TFC held on to record their first win that day, defeating Fire 3-1. Toronto has never won on the road, and Fire fans fear they may be witnessing another first.

Things to keep in mind for today's game.

Players returning
While Toronto was not heavily affected by Copa America call-ups, the Fire should see Justin Mapp back in red today. Mapp is characteristic of brilliance, and total apathy. The Section 8 hopeful certainly wish that there will be some renewed urgency in Mapp's game now that he has been given a look by the US National Team at the Gold Cup and Copa America. The Fire also get Ivan Guerrero back from Honduras and Gonzalo Segares from Costa Rica. Osei Telesford is back from Trinidad & Tobago international duty, but is injured and may not play.

Defense
Chicago's backline must hold today if it is to have any chance. Toronto carved them up North of the border, making the aging line look inexperienced. Bakary Soumare is back in the lineup having served his 1-game suspension from his red card on Sunday.

Scoring First
If Toronto can get on the board first, then the Red Patch Boys and U-Sector can already put one point in the bag and fly back to Toronto with a share of the points. Chicago has not come from behind to win since June 28, 2006. Before that, it was September 17, 2005. So in any competition, the Fire have come from behind to win only twice in almost the last two years.

Role Players need to impress
Juan Carlos Osorio (formerly of Manchester City and Colombia's Club Millionarios) is taking command of the Fire's fortunes on Monday. It is believed he will radically transform the team, and that could mean the end of the Fire careers for underperformers Chad Barrett and Logan Pause. Players could well be playing for their jobs. The same issue is at hand on the other side of the midfield line as TFC skipper Mo Johnston has made a record number of trades this summer.

YNSA Prediction: Chicago Fire 1:1 Toronto FC

Osorio Tabbed to Rescue Fire

Juan Carlos Osorio, a former assistant coach with Manchester City FC in the Premiership and head coach of Milionarios in Colombia has been named the third head coach in Fire history.

While at Milionarios, Osorio most recently took the Bogota club to a 4th place finish in the Colombian top-flight, earning them a berth in the prestigious Copa Sudamericana after the club was previously mired at the bottom of the standings.

He faces a similar task with Fire. Chicago has the most anemic offense in the league (12 goals scored in 14 games). The Fire have been shut out in three of their last four, and 5 of their last 9 games. The Fire have not scored multiple times in one game since a 3-2 win over Columbus on June 3rd. They have accomplished the feat only one other time this season, in a 2-1 win over Kansas City on April 21.

Chicago has gone 1-6-2 since starting the season 3-0-1.

Drastic Changes Needed at Harlem Bridge

If there was ever a team in turmoil, it is the Chicago Fire. A bastion of stability for the first 9 years of its existence, this year that tradition has been disrupted by a wave of change. Firstly, Chris Armas announced that this would be his final MLS season, bringing a storied career to a close.

Several Fire fans wish he had hung up his boots a year or two ago.

After a 3-0-1 start propelled the Fire to the top of the table, they proceeded to only win one of their next nine league matches (1-6-2, 5 points out of a possible 27). In those 9 matches, the Fire scored 7 goals, and surrendered 17. Apologists will blame the dropoff in scoring production on the loss of Chris Rolfe, who has been rehabbing an ankle injury suffered in May. However, such an argument ignores the fact that Rolfe has missed significant time in each of the past few seasons. The reliance on such a fragile player to provide almost all of your offense is a poor excuse, especially when one considers that the Fire only scored multiple goals in a game once during their unbeaten run (2-1 over Kansas City on April 21.)

The Fire now lie 7 points adrift of first place New England, and 3 points adrift of eighth place Columbus for the final MLS Cup Playoff spot. Sunday's lackluster scoreless draw with Colorado Rapids only served to illustrate the utter stagnation at 71st and Harlem.

The losses coupled with growing fan frustration ended up costing Head Coach Dave Sarachan his job, with assistant Denis Hamlett taking over, becoming the first Black head coach in MLS history. While a search for a permament replacement goes on, word now comes that the Fire are up for sale, with a reported asking price of $35 million. A change of ownership can only be a good thing for the Fire, provided the new owners are interested in winning, and are willing to spend the cash to accomplish that.

In addition to the change of ownership, it would likely mean a major house-cleaning at Toyota Park, and frankly, that is something that is long overdue. Undermined by years of bad drafts, slow-to-develop players (Chad Barrett, Chris Rolfe, etc.), and an incompetent front office (The Andy Herron Trade), and overreliance on older players who were there during the franchise's glory years (Chris Armas, Diego Gutierez, CJ Brown) the Fire look to be at a tipping point. Continued decline will keep the crowds away, resulting in less money needed to land high-profile players or even good, low-profile players like Honduras's Pavon, recently signed by the LA Galaxy. Conspiracy theorists will likewise tell you that the Fire is AEG's red-headed stepchild to the Galaxy, also owned by AEG, and to an extent, this is true.

Sarachan's sacking was the first step in a series of improvements needed to regenerate the club, but it can't stop there. It needs a full cleaning, top to bottom, before this club can realistically contend for doubles and league titles again.