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Five cities left as MLS pushes back expansion decision to March

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After months of having January as the target for a decision on expansion in 2011, MLS will now wait until March to make its final decision on which two markets will be given expansion teams in 2011.

The five remaining candidates are Miami, Portland, Vancouver, St. Louis and Ottawa and all except for Ottawa have been visited by MLS officials in preparation for a decision. MLS commissioner Don Garber and president Mark Abbott will travel to Ottawa next week to survey the city's bid.

Now that Montreal and Atlanta are out of the running, it is time to start thinking about which two cities are the most likely to be chosen. Miami is looking like a front-runner with the backing of FC Barcelona and the financial strength of billionaire investor Marcelo Claure. St. Louis was thought to be a favorite but continued questions about the financial strength of the ownership group have suddenly left St. Louis look like anything but a sure bet.

If you have not seen it yet, here is my ESPN.com column on the remaining candidates.

Here is the question for you. Now that we are down to five cities, which of them would get your vote for 2011?

Share your thoughts on the remaining expansion candidates in the comments section below.

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