Timbers Updates and Interesting Sports Weekend

The Timbers come back from Puerto Rico with 4 points in hand, after drawing on Friday night 1 to 1 and winning last night 2 to 1. Mandjou Keita headed in a nice cross from David Hayes to level the game Friday, although the adventure on Friday was actually getting the game feed. Sitting with abou 15 Timbers Army at the Cheerful Bullpen, we kept trying to get video for the game for the entire first half, and turns out it never happened. We finally found an audio feed for Andy Mac, and listened to the game and it was a back and forth affair. We've traditionally never done well in Puerto Rico, only getting 1 draw in 5 games down there previous, so getting a draw was pretty impressive. Since I only heard what was going on, I don't have much to really comment about, but did find a match report from the team.

Sunday's game was a lot better, as the Internet feed did work and USL Live actually did have a game to show. Since I had a few deadlines here, I watched the game from home while working, and it was another physical battle, with lots of long passes, quick shots, and dangerous set plays. Keita got his second goal in the 24th minute, similar to the goal on Friday apparently, as it was Keita knocking in another wicked cross from David Hayes. The Islanders leveled it in the 35th minute after a big pileup in the box, and Steve Cronin couldn't corral a deflection and it was put past him by John Krause. Two minutes later, a pileup happened in the Timbers box, and after a deflection, the ball ended up at Mamadou Danso's feet, and he knocked it past Islanders keeper Bill Gaudette to put the Timbers up 2 to 1. The Puerto Rico announcer kept saying it was Keita, but apparently, he missed the number, and Danso did come up limping after the goal celebration, but he stayed in the game.

The rest of the first half and second half was a defensive struggle, as Puerto Rico kept attacking and trying to get set plays where they seemed to be dangerous, and Portland fought off every attack. There were a couple of late offensive pushes, courtesy of Alex Nimo and Jason McLaughlin, but Gaudette wasn't seriously threatened by any shots after the two goals. Cronin got a lot of help from his midfielders and defenders, and kept the Islander attack at bay until the final whistle, after 5 minutes of extra time instead of the 1 minute announced. Apparently, they use metric time down there.

Overall, it was a great win as it was the first time Portland had won in Puerto Rico, and we used our speed and depth to our advantage. We did get 4 yellow cards in the second half (McManus, Nimo, Danso, and McLaughlin), but we were playing very smart while being physical. A couple of the challenges were aided by some flopping, and really only Danso's situation I felt warranted consideration for a card. He was trying to get the ball with a bicycle kick and got the PR player off the side of the head, and I really don't think Danso saw him. McManus and McLaughlin played physical in their situations, and the official felt they had crossed the line, although I'm not sure. Nimo's card was simply trying too hard to keep the ball away from a PR player, and he didn't stop at the whistle. Overall, though, I'm pleased with our efforts, as we have really used the depth to our advantage, and we have good overall team speed and defensive strength that will keep us in most games. Our next match is Saturday versus the Vancouver Whitecaps (or Wankouver Craps for most of the TA) at 7 PM at PGE Park, hope to see you all there.

The interesting sports weekend had little to do with the traditional sporting events happening this weekend. I've lost interest in the NBA Playoffs after the Trail Blazers were eliminated, even though the quality of basketball this year has been better. I just don't like the Lakers, and could care less to see Lebron or Kobe be crowned this year's king. There's a compelling story that the Nuggets and Magic are attempting to crash the party, and the Magic even have a lead in their series with the Cavs right now, but it's not enough to make me want to watch. I used to like the Indy 500 race when it meant something, but after the troubles in racing, it's just not the same any more. And it's a bit too early to worry about baseball yet, as it's early in the season. Plus, while I like hockey, there's something unusual about playing a winter sport in May even though playoff hockey can be quite compelling. What I found interesting this weekend was English football, as they dealt with their promotion and relegation this weekend.

It's a unique thing to club soccer, as the good teams will get promoted to better leagues as they do better, and teams that don't do well could be dropped from the top tables. No other sport has such an arrangement, and I think it's a rather interesting thing to have in your league. Think about having it in the NFL, where you could banish the Detroit Lions to another league for their continued years of ineptitude, or the NBA, where the Clippers couldn't sleep walk their way through a 15 win season. America would never endorse such a concept because of the money and prestige of professional sports, and we don't quite have any sports with such a league structure outside of baseball, and I wouldn't depend on MLB to do anything this progressive. What this does is give teams something to play for all year, as you don't want to see your team dropped from the Premiership, and nothing is as satisfying as seeing a team promoted that hasn't played in the top flight for years.

Watching yesterday's matches, there were 4 teams in danger of being relegated in the Premier League: Sunderland, Hull City, Middlesborough and Newcastle. Sunderland and Hull City were clear, but needed to get points or hope that Borough and Newcastle lost and didn't get points to stay up. 4 different matches in 4 places, and all with implications of staying at the top flight or dropping down. While Sunderland played well and lost to Chelsea 3 to 2 and Hull lost a tough match to Man United 1 to nil, West Ham sealed Middlesborough's fate by winning 2 to 1 and Newcastle lost 1 to nil to Aston Villa on an own goal. Newcastle has some amazing and passionate fans, but their team really never put it together on the pitch. Middlesborough, meanwhile, had been in the Premiership for 14 previous years, but they had Timberitis, a disease we dealt with in 2008 where we couldn't score goals or keep players healthy. West Brom had already sealed their relegation fate last weekend, so 3 teams moved down, and the Premiership will be welcoming Wolverhampton, Birmingham and Burnley, who won a playoff this morning. While Birmingham has been in the EPL recently, both Wolverhampton and Burnley are new teams to the top flight, and now play on a whole other level.

I get that other sports try to incentive teams to play the string out, whether it's a weighted lottery for players next year, or higher draft picks, but I see the benefits of making teams earn their top flight status year in and year out. I realize that professional athletes should have enough to play for in pay and prestige, but at the same time, nothing can be more dreary than watching a meaningless end of season game between two 1 win teams in the NFL, who are simply going through the motions. I'm smart enough to realize that this idea would never be accepted in the US, though, because as I mentioned, there's too much money and influence in sports, and leagues are happier if teams make money even if the results on the court/field are crap. The NBA doesn't mind the Clippers stinking if they are doing well financially, and at least for now, they are. But there's hope that perhaps leagues here could learn something from this, and give more incentive for teams to play hard throughout the year rather than just pin hopes on highly coveted college players who may or may not pan out or the fallings of ping pong balls.

Long Holiday Weekend! WEEEEEE!!

It's a long holiday weekend, and I'm really happy about it. Memorial Day always starts the summer holiday season, as the cookouts and camping trips start up, and people talk about their planned trips out of town. Girl and I aren't going out of town, but we'll be plenty busy as is usually the case...

Timbers Update:

http://www.oregonlive.com/timbers/index.ssf/2009/05/portland_timbers_at_puerto_ric.html - Match Preview

The Portland Timbers make their annual trip to Puerto Rico to play the Islanders, and this year, it's a bit of a different traveling agenda. Like with Carolina here a few weeks ago, the Timbers are playing their two games in Puerto Rico this weekend on Friday at 5 PM PT and Sunday at 4 PM PT, then they are done with traveling there. It's a cost saving measure not having to travel there twice, especially since the Timbers have struggled a bit playing there. But the team is coming off an impressive late win last week against Rochester, and everyone is healthy at this point, so I would expect a good effort and for us to get some points from the weekend. Puerto Rico is usually a solid team, attacking from the midfield with flash and creativity, and they usually have steady goalkeeping, and this year's group seem to follow that trend. They've also been busy playing as one of the USL representatives in the CONCACAF Championship League, and winning matches, so they've got talent. And Puerto Rico does have a pretty crazy home crowd apparently, which keys up the home team. They are viewing parties this weekend all about town for the matches (Beulahland in SE Portland, Rogue Pub in the Pearl, Cheerful Bullpen near the Park, St. Johns Pub for Sunday's game), so if you are up for some Timbers come on out. Check the SCUSA site, http://www.soccercityusa.com/, for more details about viewings.

The Holiday:

I understand the significance of this holiday, and have a great deal of respect for those in the military that choose to sacrifice for their country so that many of us can enjoy our freedoms at home. While I still don't agree with our decisions in the Middle East made before our current President was elected, I understand that we have a job to do and I'm glad that there are those that choose to hear the call. It's important to remember those that have served, either in the past, currently, or in the future, because it truly is honorable. I took one ROTC class in college, mostly because some friends had signed up and it seemed like fun, and part of me wanted to understand the whole military mindset. While some of the skills were interesting and I enjoyed myself in learning new things, I just couldn't get or understand the military vibe, so I decided to take my talents elsewhere. I'm glad I have that choice, and understand that veterans have had influence in allowing me that right.

Update from Last Post:

Finally, I was listening to Strong at Night on 95.5 the Game, and John spent a great deal of time talking about the subject of my last post, our friends from Wilsonville who were upset about language. He had a great take about exactly who should the team market towards, families with limited disposable income and potentially many competing interests or single people without those influences. Soccer has tried to market itself under the family banner for years, as the common convention was that kids that played soccer would become soccer fans. Suffice to say that hasn't happened, as soccer has remained relatively obscure in television ratings although attendance figures are up this year for the MLS.

Part of that phenomenon is Toronto, who has continued to sell out like crazy with its passionate fan base, and Seattle, who is riding the new team factor to record crowds and attention. I have issues with the team up north for them not supporting their old USL team very well, but it's hard to ignore what's happening up there now. I expect crowds to level out a bit, but both teams have done a good job successfully marketing to a lot of different groups to get them in the park. Toronto went after the soccer fans that had disposable income and marketed the chance to sing, chant, and have an authentic football experience, while Seattle used their website to help fans pick which section fans wanted to sit in based upon their fan preferences of standing, singing, chanting, or the like. It's a smart move.

The TA does distribute chant sheets for each match in the PG version without swear words, and many members alter words based on their own preferences. And the team and the TA meet regularly to discuss things, and we've even killed off one of the more offensive chants that the team specifically said they didn't like. It's not like we can't be reasonable about the situation, but all the TA ask is that it's important that the team respect everyone's fan experience and we'll try and do the same thing. I get that families should feel welcome to come to PGE Park and watch the Timbers, but if they are expecting a Disneyfied, homogenized, bland fan experience where you'll be prompted to make noise and show support, it's not going to happen. I'm not anti-family, I want to have one, but I also don't feel that every experience has to be family inclusive. It's OK for Dad to hang out with the boys and play golf, or Mom to visit her friends and go dancing without the kids now and then, and if you go out as a family, not everything is going to be family friendly. That's why teaching kids about correct behavior and expectations is so important, especially if you want them to behave.

My expectation is that the Timbers will find a way for everyone to co-exist in the park and everyone will be able to enjoy their fan experience. The fan sign marking section 107 as supporters is a great start, and the park employees also do a great job of laying out what to expect if you sit near 107, and the TA will do our part to help in that cause. But as much as we want to help, we also want the ability to cheer and chant and do what we do, and the fact that MLS management was in the stands for the Rochester game and loved what we did and want it to grow to other teams means that football culture is growing, and people understand what we have here. It's special, it's unique, and it's definitely Portland.