Serious “squeaky bum time” for MLS clubs still hunting playoff spots

Never has an MLS final weekend been so muddled.

But really, that’s a good thing. It's good to watch the mayhem in the muddle -- so long as you're not knee-deep in it.

Round 31 finished Sunday evening in a scoreless tie in Houston, where the Galaxy has gone into pack-the-back, playoff safety mode. And it worked. Bruce Arena’s side split the points against a Dynamo team that has gone wobbly at a very bad wrong time. Since overcoming the Chicago Fire back on Aug. 9 (and having to hang on desperately to do that), the Dynamo has earned 7 of a possible 21 points. Yuk.

You want to talk about muddled? Houston can still finish first in the West. Or, depending upon how things fall in what promises to be a wild Round 32, the Dynamo could place fourth in the West.

At least Houston is in the playoffs. So is Columbus, L.A., Seattle and Chivas USA. Seven teams remain alive for three other spots.

Hell, just a few years ago, this league only had seven teams to fill those eight playoff spots!

OK, that’s not true. But it wasn’t so long ago that just 10 teams were in the field. So, this type of wide-ranging drama just didn’t exist – mostly because making the playoffs wasn’t even that big of a deal. So some clubs had playoff berths all but wrapped up by July 4, and only the very worst teams didn’t get a post-season invite.

So for Chicago, New England, Colorado, Dallas, Toronto, DC United and Real Salt Lake, to coin a term from Sir Alex Ferguson, it's serious squeaky bum time as they try to fight their way in. Round 32 should be a blast.

Here’s the weekend schedule, with time listed ET.

Thursday, October 22