Who will be stretched by the stretch run? With one month remaining in the regular season, only the Red Bulls are mathematically out of contention for the playoffs. The remaining 14 teams are all in with legitimate shots of playing into November but, in my opinion, the winner of MLS Cup will come from one of five teams. Columbus and Houston lead their respective conferences, but with both still involved in the CONCACAF Champions League, I wonder if either can stand up to fighting on two fronts. Each side has shown signs of fatigue in recent weeks, with the Crew having won just once in the past month, while the Dynamo's victory over Real Salt Lake this past weekend was their first in five games. Outside the top two, the other leading contenders are Chicago, Seattle and Los Angeles. The Fire have been boosted by the return of Brian McBride, while, at the other end of the experience scale, Peter Lowry's late-season emergence has offset the disappointing overall output of the inconsistent Patrick Nyarko. With three goals in its past five games, Seattle has issues of its own up front as Nate Jaqua continues to battle concussion problems. The Sounders have the quality to lift the MLS Cup but probably need their big man back up front alongside Fredy Montero if they are to do so. Three straight road games in the coming weeks will provide a pre-playoff test for Sigi Schmid's side. To win it all at home, they'll first have to succeed on the road. Los Angeles has lost twice in the past three months and appears to be well set for a tilt at the title. Its back line has -- the 6-3 defeat to Dallas apart -- been solid while Landon Donovan and David Beckham remain the catalysts for much of what Bruce Arena's side does well offensively. Meanwhile, the display of Edson Buddle against Toronto offers further encouragement to Galaxy fans. Hiatus status Given the internationalization of the league in recent years, as well as the likelihood that a number of American MLS-based players will be in South Africa next year, the decision of the league to take a break during the World Cup is a sensible one. My only question is: Could it have gone even further? As it stands, no MLS games will be played from June 10 to June 25, which encompasses the duration of the World Cup group stage. However, what remains unaffected are the weeks prior to the tournament, during which players will be away preparing with their countries, as well as those in which the knockout rounds are played. Should the U.S., for example, advance to those, MLS clubs will be without key players for longer. The format of the MLS season, as well as the cup competitions into which many teams are entered, means that a two-week break is probably the longest that could be taken without causing a serious fixture pile-up issue. The league has shown no desire to play in winter months, so mid-March until November appears to be as long as the season can be. It's not ideal -- teams will still miss important players for an extended period -- but by taking a break during the world's biggest soccer tournament, MLS has finally acknowledged that carrying on would be detrimental to its product on the field, which would feature teams shorn of some of their best players in front of sparse crowds as the majority stay at home to watch the action from the Rainbow Nation. DNP, key men Four games into the Serie A season, Oguchi Onyewu has yet to log his first minute of competitive playing time with AC Milan. The resurrection of Alessandro Nesta's career has seen the veteran re-establish himself as a starter, initially alongside Thiago Silva and, on Sunday, Kakha Kaladze, while Onyewu -- apparently the fourth central defensive option at the San Siro -- rode the bench for the third time this season. Meanwhile, Michael Bradley continues to be out of favor at Borussia Monchengladbach, where he has not featured in a Bundesliga match since Aug. 9. He has played all 90 minutes in each of his club's two German Cup matches, but given that the latter of those was a 1-0 defeat by German second division (2. Bundesliga) club Duisburg on Tuesday, it seems likely that there will be even fewer chances to impress in competitive action for Bradley in the immediate future. With World Cup qualifiers against Honduras and Costa Rica approaching, the continued inactivity of two men who have become major components of Bob Bradley's first-choice eleven is increasingly concerning. Unless the club fortunes of Onyewu and Bradley change in the coming weeks, the United States' coach will have to gamble on the pair or select less-experienced replacements for vital games.