Major League Soccer went on uninterrupted this weekend, despite the World Cup qualifiers taking place around the region and the world. In fact, not only did the league play a full complement of matches (with two games set for today), they scheduled one that ran concurrent with the United States' match with Honduras.

So, if you were at all like me and focused on the international variety of the game, you might have missed a thing or two.

Don't look now, but the defending champs might be good again. The Crew thumped beat Kansas City at Community America Ballpark yesterday, thanks to a brace by reigning MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto. The win gives Columbus sixteen points on the year, good enough for a tie for third in the Eastern Conference with the Wizards and Toronto. If the Crew have truly rebounded from their poor start (and it looks like they may have), and the team is now responding to head coach Robert Warzycha, then the rest of the league should sit up and take notice. With essentially the same squad as last year and no clear dominant team in the conference, it would not be surprising to see them steadily climb the table. Columbus' next three matches are Chivas USA at home, on the road to FC Dallas, and hosting New York. Seems to me that the Crew could easily get six or seven points from that run, a total that might have them solidly in a playoff spot by the end of the month.

Did you know that LA was actually capable of something other than a draw? The Galaxy have drawn so much recently that yesterday's win in Toronto, without Landon Donovan no less, comes as a bit of a shock. LA still sits in the bottom half of the Western Conference standings, though the victory puts them only two points behind third-place sides Colorado and Seattle. Toronto and their fans can't be too happy about dropping a game to the star-less Galaxy at home, especially after losing to Vancouver and missing out (barring a miracle) on the Canadian Championship, and it will be interesting to see if yet another Canadian coaching change is coming.

Speaking of the two third-place clubs out west, the Sounders failed in their bid to topple front-running Chivas at the Home Depot Center, while Colorado needed a late stunner by Omar Cummings to salvage a draw with Rocky Mountain rivals Real Salt Lake. The Sounders created a few chances and seemed to have the better of play, but the resilient Goats held strong and came away with the victory thanks to a goal by Eduardo Lillingston. RSL probably deserved a win in a front of a strong home crowd (which may have been more about hometown boy David Archuleta performing after the game than the play of the club), but Colorado steals a point on the road. The win-turned-draw means Real Salt Lake now sits on twelve point, ahead of only FC Dallas and San Jose in the West.

FC Dallas actually has a chance to tie RSL on points if they can beat bottom dwellers San Jose, a match up of two of the worst clubs in the league thus far.

Also today is an installment of the rivalry between New York and New England, and the Revolution will look to build off of last week's big win over DC United.

International football takes the spotlight, and many of us are frustrated that MLS continues (or has to) play through the breaks, but the league remains somewhat intriguing despite the conflicts; it's back to club footy only next week, so let's hope that the league delivers.