According to Duane at the 24th Minute, Portland and Vancouver are now locks to receive the next two MLS franchises.

While I have no problem with either bid, and the addition of the two new franchises will create exciting new rivalries for the league, it looks like they essentially won a battle of attrition.

Montreal effectively eliminated themselves when they attempted to negotiate down the expansion fee.

St. Louis had financial issues from the start, and it appears that Jeff Cooper was unable to line up enough big money to satisfy the league.

Miami falls off yesterday after rumblings out of Barcelona and intimations from Marcelo Claure that the economy was giving them second thoughts.

Ottawa, while considered a potential dark horse by some, still has an unresolved stadium issue that has "long and drawn out" stamped all over it.

By the way: if MLS didn't announce a successful St. Louis bid at the SuperDraft, it just wasn't going to happen.

That leaves only Portland and Vancouver, two bids with strong ownership, reasonably settled stadium plans, and good soccer communities behind them. The league has dipped into the USL-1 cookie jar again, effectively eliminating that league's presence in the Northwest.

Does it seem that now might be the time to review that MLS-USL relationship? Forget pro/rel, because we know it won't happen, but there has got to be something the two leagues could do to get together on the future of the professional game in America.

I'm still a little fried from the beating life gave me yesterday, so excuse me for not working up a little more enthusiasm. I am definitely excited to see how that whole "Cascadia Cup" thing plays in MLS, as it seems it might be the only cup competition that matters to even one MLS team.

I wonder if either organization will go through the motions of a naming process; it would appear that they would just end up in the same place as Seattle, with their fans rejecting all alternatives in favor of the historically established name.

More thoughts to come as I attempt to rid myself of this lingering rain cloud that seems to be following me around.

I wanted to extend out the Price Is Right analogy, but I just can't seem to find a way to work in Plinko, Cliffhangers (gotta love the yodeller) or the Showcase Showdown.