CHICAGO — An exceptionally newsy day in the American soccer news cycle included some high praise for Futbol Club Cincinnati from Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber.

Garber, speaking Wednesday at Soldier Field during a press conference following a league owners meeting earlier in the day and just prior to the MLS All-Star Game, dropped several newsy notes on assembled media members.

Chief among those notes was that the league owners voted Wednesday to approve former international soccer star David Beckham's effort to make Miami the next expansion city, although Garber cautioned there's still more work to do to finalize Miami's bid over the next month.

Sprinkled in alongside the Miami news and other significant happenings around MLS – Garber also announced the extension of its league-wide partnership with adidas – were mentions of FC Cincinnati.

Asked by The Enquirer about FC Cincinnati's three proposed stadium sites, as well as each expansion candidate's stadium pursuits, Garber said he wasn't concerned about Cincinnati's or other markets' ability to close on stadium plans in 2017.

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Then Garber diverted from the stadium subject and went on to say "what's happening in Cincinnati is remarkable."

And while almost every expansion candidate received some form of a shout out from Garber – "we're trying to move all of them as far as we possibly can," he said at one point – FC Cincinnati received more praise than most, as well as a comparison to three organizations widely considered to be at or near the front of the expansion pack.

Garber specifically noted FC Cincinnati, Sacramento Republic FC, and expansion bid groups in Nashville and Detroit were very energized. The comment might have been a nod to the perceived leaders of the expansion race.

Fortunes rise and fall quickly in MLS expansion, but being mentioned with the likes of Sacramento, which was lauded by Garber for recently breaking ground on a stadium, was not an accident.

"Both on and off the field – we talked about it a bit when we presented the Miami section of (Wednesday's) board meeting – you know, two games in the U.S. Open Cup more than 30,000 (fans) is just something they should be very proud of. (Owners) Carl Lindner III and Jeff Berding are doing an amazing job."

Regarding the specifics of FC Cincinnati's stadium proposals, Garber said: "We like all three sites. We don't have a preference for one. Their stadium renditions are fabulous and I think that Cincinnati has done an awesome job."

Berding said Wednesday he was flattered to receive the praise from Garber, and that the club is moving forward with its stadium plans.