Things are beginning to come to a head on the expansion front, and today brings relevant news/commentary on three of the five bids.

Miami FC is having problems, which can't bode well for the MLS expansion bid.

By way of the 24th Minute comes an opinion on the Ottawa bid. What's gotten lost for most Americans in the whole expansion process is the interesting back-and-forth among Canadian soccer fans.

Portland's soccer task force is going to recommend that the city sign off on Merritt Paulson's bid, but there is still $20 million that needs to be raised to make it happen. I'm not in-tune enough to know what this means exactly, though the $20 million shortfall seems much more important than the "rubber stamp" of approval by the task force.

As for the other two bids:

Vancouver seems to be sitting pretty at the moment, the beneficiary of issues with the bids of the remaining frontrunners. The 24th Minute also has a nice argument for Vancouver from a guest writer.

The lack of news out of St. Louis is conspicuous, and I'm not sure what it means. It could be that St. Louis has shored up their financial issues enough to be comfortable where they stand; or, the lack of news could be an indication that St. Louis has completely fallen by the wayside.

*UPDATE*
Just came across an opinion piece on The Oregonian's website by the man himself, Merritt Paulson

Merritt Paulson-An investment in more than sports