Cincinnati has a party planned for Tuesday, when MLS commissioner Don Garber and FC Cincinnati are expected to announce Cincinnati as the league’s next expansion franchise.
To kick off the evening, Garber, FC Cincinnati owner Carl Linder III and general manager Jeff Berding are scheduled to speak at at a local brewpub.
The announcement also will be streamed at Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati.
Winning the expansion bid will make Cincinnati the 26th MLS franchise. However, Sports Illustrated reported that the team would join the league in 2019, a season ahead of Nashville and Miami, which were officially became league members in December and January.
After Nashville’s confirmation, Cincinnati was in competition with fellow finalists Sacramento and Detroit for the bid.
Ironically, the expansion announcement comes as another Ohio city, Columbus, is trying to keep its club from leaving town.
Crew owner Anthony Precourt is trying to move his team to Austin, Texas. The state has joined the city in suing Precourt to keep the team in Ohio.
Another New York derby headlines the Open Cup schedule
In a change of the U.S. Open Cup format, Thursday’s draw determined the fourth round matchups. Games June 5-6 will feature four matchups between MLS teams, including RSL-Sporting KC and a New York derby contest.
NYCFC and New York Red Bulls will face off a month removed from the Red Bull’s 4-0 pummeling of NYCFC at Red Bull arena. Other all-MLS games include Portland-San Jose and Columbus-Chicago.
VAR controversy heats up
Video Review was not popular in Week 13, and some players jumped in to criticize controversial calls.
Between no penalty being called after Columbus’ Christian Martinez slapped SKC’s Seth Sinovic, a red card for the Crew’s Frederico Higuain side for tackling Sporting’s Roger Espinoza with the side of his foot and no call when LAFC’s Laurent Ciman fell and grabbed the ball with one hand, video review gave players around the league substance to tweet about.
Power rankings
1. New York Red Bulls (Last week: 1) • RBNY were shut out for just the second time this season, but they held on for a point against Philadelphia.
2. Atlanta United (2) • Atlanta had the week off.
3. Portland Timbers (3) • The Timbers’ schedule has eased up, and they have taken advantage.
4. New York City FC (4) • NYCFC allowed three unanswered Houston goals to lose on the road.
5. Los Angeles FC (6) • LAFC held onto a 1-1 draw while down 10 men for the second half.
6. Columbus Crew SC (7) • The Crew extended their unbeaten streak to seven matches, claiming a point at Kansas City with 10 men.
7. Sporting Kansas City (5) • SKC was unable to take advantage of a controversial red card that gave them a man advantage against the Crew in a scoreless draw.
8. FC Dallas (9) •. Homegrown goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez kept a clean sheet in his first start of the season.
9. Toronto FC (10) • Dallas shut out Toronto at home.
10. Houston (unranked) • The Dynamo dominated NYCFC in Houston’s fourth straight unbeaten match.
