After Thoughts from Yesterday's Open Cup Match

As we got home from the match last night, our cats wouldn't leave us alone, even after the initial greetings at the door. They hung around the entire night, staying close enough to see what was going on. Unlike most cats, ours tend to be more visible, but last night, they were more present that most times. As I got up early to feed them, they followed me around the house, which isn't usual either. Granted, I have seven cats that live with us, so it's hard to go anywhere that doesn't have a cat around, but it reminded me of their incredible sense of knowing when the people around them aren't feeling like themselves. As I puttered around to get ready to go to work this morning, I kept trying to sing, "Always look on the bright side of life" and see the sun coming up, realizing it was a new day, but even with the cats' influence, I'm still in a bit of a fog about last night.

Girl, myself and girl's mom left our house at 2:30 yesterday to make it down to the park by 3 pm, and there was already people lining up to get into the park, and purchase whatever tickets were remaining to the match. As we left, we'd heard it was a sellout of 16,000 plus for Timbers - Flounders, but they had opened up a few remaining seats game day. Girl's mom decided to stay in line, while girl and I headed to the pub for some food and relaxation, and it was already packed in. We saw some Flounders fans walking about, and there was some good natured ribbing going back and forth. We left to get back in line about 5:30 PM, and the lines were already stretched to SW Morrison and all along SW 18th to get in. I hadn't seen anything like this since the Sunderland match in 2005. As the gates opened at 6 and I went through the ticket area, I'm usually one of about 4 or 5 fans that hit section 107 right at 6 pm, and girl is right behind me. When I got into the section, there were people coming from all directions to get seats. Within 10 minutes, the section was entirely full, and many regulars had been displaced by unfamiliar faces. We had managed to save just enough seats for our crew, although we were two deep at points, and girl and I brought some old friends to the park, the whale and monkey. For those new, the whale and monkey appeared back in 2006 during a Timbers - Flounders match, and every time we scored, the whale would move up and down with the monkey on its back. The whale was one of the centerpieces at our wedding, too, turned upside down, so it was nice to see them back for the special night that it was.

By 7 pm, the game was still 20 minutes from kicking off, and sections 104 through 111 were filled. The old regulars of 111 were moved to 105 because of smoke bomb issue, but they were surrounded by fans. Even the Flounders' contingency was strong, sending 7 buses and over 400 fans down south, although there were plenty of puke green kits littering the west end outside of their section. As I looked about, I saw a lot of new faces intertwined with many old friends, and I got a very good sense of what MLS would be like with both the Timbers and Flounders in it. Granted, this was a special occasion, but regular season matches would be this crazy full and intense. Much like being in Sunderland during their derby with Newcastle, two cities that really don't like each other at all. I also was witness to some of the gamesmanship prior to the match. The Flounders were originally going to wear all blue, but apparently forgot to bring other kits down, so they wore their lime green kits and the Timbers wore their black alternates. They'd wore them in previous matches for the Open Cup, but it's a rare occurrence to see the Timbers on their home pitch not in green while the other side is wearing green.

By the time the anthem got completed and the massive TIFO project of Timber Jim destroying the Space Needle was done, the crowd was in a frenzy all the way through the kickoff. Until the first minute and a blue flare hit the pitch, and then the Flounders struck with a rebound goal and it was 1 - nil fishheads. The collective air of the stadium was sucked out, and there was a quiet still except for the southwest end, where Flounder fans were celebrating. The Timbers got a couple of nice chances early, but couldn't capitalize, and then in the 27th minute, a crazy scrum of players let to another Flounder rebound goal, and it was 2 - nil fishheads. I didn't quite recognize the Timbers in the first 30 minutes, as they played very tentatively, passing was not crisp, and Hayes was a very marked man, which really crippled our offense. We played back on our heels, and the Flounders aggressively took the game to us. We got our feet about minute 32, and passes that were falling off started finding players, and Keita knocked in one at minute 43 giving the Timbers fans hopes of a comeback. It seemed like the Timbers were finding space, and they were starting to get back the passion and swagger that I've seen from them at home. At the half, there was cautious optimism.

The second half, I thought the Timbers were the better team, making good passes and stringing together some nice runs, but it seemed like the final pass was just off, which led to a hurried shot or Flounders clearance. A strange occurrence happened when Flounder Nate Jaqua was called offsides while netting a goal, but honestly, I think he might have been on-sides, it was that close. George Josten made a couple of nice runs, and got knocked down right at the box, without any call, yet seconds later, a similar call went for the Flounders. Around the 77th minute, Flounder Sanna Nyassi goes down in the corner without any contact, and rolls around on the turf for what seems like forever, and a well-aimed water bottle launches from the crowd and comes within millimeters of his groin in disgust. Even Timbers GK Steve Cronin was yelling at Nyassi to get up or get off the pitch. Honestly, I don't get the fascination of throwing things on the pitch, and while I smiled at the water bottle and target, it was a stupid move. As the match went on, the Timbers attacked and attacked, but couldn't get anything past Flounders GK Kasey Keller, and after 5 extra minutes, the whistle sounded and the game ends 2 to 1 fishheads.

The look of frustration was evident by the team as they walked by during their post game parade, while the Flounder green supporters celebrated their win. Girl and I started taking down our TIFO, and we both said how much we really wanted to send the Flounder supporters home, knowing what it's like to drive 3 hours after a loss. It's not a fun feeling at all, but it's what you do for your team. And mind you, I'm impressed with their level of support, and their team does play well together. But I seriously can't call them a rival, and here's my reasoning as such.

Rivals may hate each other when their teams are playing, but they at least show the other side a certain level of respect before and after the match. I've traveled to Vancouver, BC multiple times and have been verbally taunted and such, but the fans there are respectful, and we always have a good time there. They treat the visitors with some disdain during the match, but it's earned respect and during the match, you know both sides are going after each other with everything they have. But in the case of Shittle, I've witnessed plenty of questionable things done to our players and fans that get laughed off or dismissed because of a rivalry. I watched as one of my good friends chased a Flounders supporter onto their bus after the Flounder fan struck my friend unexpectedly, took his Timbers scarf and then hid on the away bus. As I tried to intervene between my friend and getting on the away supporters bus, I saw the Flounders fans acting in a rather dismissive, aloof way, wondering what the big deal was. I will give credit to a couple of them that actually were trying to help, but the vast majority couldn't care less, and apparently, one of them posted word of the accomplishment in Flounder land how a TA scarf was heading up north. There were rumours of other incidents after the match, but overall, I thought that most people were mostly behaved, outside of a few morons that were pulled from the Beer Garden for trying to start a fight, and two supposed TA that fought with each other in section 106. But the attitiude struck with me.

I've witnessed the MLS efforts here in Portland very first hand and it's frustrating to me to see the hurdles and obstacles, which only make me want it more, and last night had some beacons of good things, with a big crowd and a competitive match. But the Flounders' path in MLS has been filled with anything but peril, as they were added to MLS with absolutely laughable support of their former club, including even marketing their team as "finally, the world's game comes to S***tle". I can imagine most Flounders supporters have no idea about the former club, but some of them act like they've invented being a fan. Once their club was added to MLS, the money came to the club, it was decided that Qwirst Field would be a suitable MLS park even though it was a football stadium, and they even got the Seachickens owner to become part owner of MLS to help with that, plus the Seachickens marketing and sales staff help with MLS. The entire plan came together apparently so simply, so effortlessly, but I really was left wondering if they deserved it. And they've shown up for this honeymoon period with big crowds, a band, and buzz. But when you get so much easily and so quickly, it can foster resentment from those that have had to battle to get the same things.

If you want to call it jealousy, I think you bleed more lime green than anything, but what I've failed to understand is how easily this has fallen together for a sports market that doesn't deserve it. The people attending games there aren't fans, they are customers, not knowing anything about the team prior or caring about anything more than being part of the new fashionable trend. And while I can admire the crowds and a buzz for a moment, I cringe at the fact that this has fallen into their lap, and I'm frustrated and tired of it. I'd really like for once for them to learn what it's like to see the other side. You can't have respect for a "rival" that doesn't understand what it's like to suffer for your team, deal with frustration, or virtually be ignored in your own city. I can't respect anything about that club, and last night's event did nothing to change that perception. You may be winning on the pitch, but at least with many of us, and markets around the country, the Flounders aren't gaining any respect or love at all. And while they might say it's because they are winning, it's really the way that you're winning that bugs a lot of us. If you are supposedly better than us, show it by using your talent, not grade school tauting, intimidation, and bullying. I can only think about what they might be afraid of to just leave things as they are and taking a chance on a level playing field, but seriously, the Flounders played their top team for the most part, and barely walked out of here with a win. While I'm disappointed in the loss, the silver linings are starting to appear.

And tonight, I'll be back in PGE Park, watching the Timbers battle Bayern Munich II at 7 PM. It probably won't have the same intensity or TIFO as last night, but I'll be back supporting the lads, because that's what you do. When a tough loss happens, you get back up and keep singing and chanting. And at some point, I'm trying to figure out how to teach the cats to meow to Monty Python songs, it might be a good post match decompression.

Other thoughts from the web about the match:

Soccer By Ives recap

USA Today - Yes, the paper with charts and other things reported on it.

the Oregonian's take

Ginge Talks the Footy has some pictures and video to share.

MatchFitUSA was impressed with the crowd support and atmosphere.

The Third Degree, a blog from Dallas has some thoughts about the match.

The Offsides weighs in with support for Portland as well, and loved the TIFO.

The official MLS match report. Not a bad write up, even if they did get a few things wrong.

I had some issues with the batteries on my camera (thank you, Panasonic), so I have only still pictures that I will load sometime this weekend, along with shots from tonight. Hope to see some of you there tonight, and go Timbers!!!

More Gamesmanship Relating to Kits for Tomorrow's Open Cup Match

So, as we reported yesterday, FC Flounders was reported to be debuting an all blue kit that they haven't had to wear yet, but now according to the Flounders blog, they are bringing their Flounder blues and the puke green jobs, and are being very coy as to what they might wear. Apparently, it's a game of chicken to see which club will get to wear their green, and it's a tactic that we've seen in Flounder land for many years.

They've shown up in Portland with their green kits only, making us play in white at home when it wasn't our primary color (I don't even want to touch the decision in 2006 to switch to white at home by the former coach who shall remain nameless), and we've had to change our kit choice a few times playing up there, so I'm not surprised about this tactic at all. Teams try to earn an advantage anyway they can, even in the headgames category, and this just falls into that realm. But unlike previous Timbers squads, I think this is one of our strongest teams physically and mentally, and I don't expect them to be bothered by this in the least.

Only 1700 tickets left per the ticket office, so if you don't have a ticket, do yourself a favor and get it now. If you have an expectation to try and get a match ticket on game day, expect that it will take a bit more time to navigate the crowd, or you might get shut out. Just avoid it, and get down to PGE Park to get a ticket. The ticket office is open from 10 AM to 5 PM at 2000 SW Morrison, and they would be happy to help you out. Do it now, or you might regret it, I'd even expect a full fence full of people on the SW 18th side of PGE Park.

Odd Tidbits Before Wednesday's Match

I'll post all sorts of links about Wednesday for some light reading, especially things from up north.

Apparently, FC Puke Green will be known as FC Flounder Blue on Wednesday, as they are wearing all blue for Wednesday. Still no word on starters or key players making their way down, though, but apparently there are 400 confirmed Podites coming down. PGE Park is capping attendance at 16,000, so as of right now per Merritt Paulson, there are just over 2,000 tickets left. Paulson appeared on Strong at Night to pitch the game. It's good to see that many folks coming down for the fun.

But apparently, some of the members of FC Flounder Blue can't understand why they are so reviled in Portland. I suppose it's everything to do with Timbers Army fans being mistreated by the park security for many years, watching the players push the boundaries of fair play all the time with cheap shots, fake injuries, grabbing themselves in plain sight, and stepping on a Timber player's neck while he laid on the turf. Many of these things I've seen personally, and while they may not understand it, I understand it's what rivals do to their rival opponents to intimidate and try to gain a reaction. I can't tell you how many times they have come to PGE Park and made us wear different colors than our traditional green because they didn't have alternate kits available. It's gamesmanship, and while I wouldn't expect anything less from a rival, it makes me want our boys to destroy them Wednesday night. and Roger LeDouche may be a nice guy to his teammates, but he's classless to his opponents.

Even the MLS folks have picked up on the scale of this match. Seriously, if you are any type of sports fan and want to come see a rivalry game at its best, get to PGE Park and check out Wednesday's match. It will be epic, in a good or bad way. My instincts tell me it will be a good way for the Green and White...

Stadium Updates for June 29, Match Preview for Timbers - FC Flounders

There's been more talk of trying to revive the Memorial Coliseum as the site for the triple AAA baseball stadium here in Portland. The Oregonian did some more research into baseball sites in the Portland area, and the most popular sites were all listed with pros and cons. At least on the surface, the Portland Meadows site seems to have some advantages, having parking there and it's relatively close to transit, while Delta Park seems like the worst possible option. So you aren't going to allow park land to be taken for baseball, yet people in this town would advocate taking a popular amateur sports complex and putting a stadium there?

A guest opinion in the O talked about the situation in Baltimore with their Memorial Stadium, that soon lead to them building Camden Yards and the Ravens stadium in the area once the NFL returned. This led to some pointed comments from various sources, including Brian Libby, who has been the most vocal of the architectural preservationists. I get the significance of the Memorial Coliseum, but as I put in a response to comments that he made, I'd feel differently if there was a better site for baseball then there, I'd feel differently if the Trail Blazers had kept up on their promise to maintain the building, I'd feel differently if the MLS said the teams could share for a few years while we figured out a good site. But since none of those statements are true, and we've looked at all the reasons why PGE Park can't be shared by soccer and baseball and the cost of putting up a triple AAA ballpark is less than building a soccer stadium to MLS specifications, the course of action that is best for the city is to find a new home for baseball. But then again, logic hasn't been a big part of this stadium discussion, so why should I expect the facts to be considered otherwise.

Since I'm going to be very busy preparing for Wednesday, I thought I'd do the match preview for Timbers - FC Puke Green now.

Game Time: Timbers vs. FC Puke Green in the 3rd round of the US Open Cup, the premier American open soccer competition. It pits teams from various levels of US Soccer in a single elimination tournament. Portland beat the Kitsap Pumas and Sonoma County Sol to earn the right to face the Flounders, who are playing their first Open Cup match. The Timbers bid to host the match, and so it's here on Wednesday at PGE Park at 7 PM.

Broadcast: You can listen to the match at www.portlandtimbers.com, on the Game 95.5 (http://www.955thegame/) or watch the Timbers Senior match on Fox Sports Northwest (channel 34 in the Portland area) around the northwest.

Special Events: It's renewing a rivalry that has been around for years, but had it's final game in the USL last season when the Flounders visited the Timbers in August 2008. The Timbers and Flounders will meet again in 2011 when both teams will be part of MLS, unless they met in the Open Cup.

Overall History: The Timbers have 11 wins, 16 losses and 5 draws in their USL history against the Flounders. The Timbers are 7 - 7 - 3 at PGE Park against them, while sporting a 4 - 9 - 3 record in the Emerald City for various matches. The last meeting was August 2008, with the Flounders winning 1 to nil here, although the Timbers Army had a grand time, bringing a coffin with a whale into the park to mark the death of the USL Flounders.

Timbers Form: Still unbeaten in 12 league matches, a friendly and 2 Open Cup matches since losing their opener in Vancouver. They sit with 26 points at 7 - 1 - 5, and most recently, they beat Montreal at home 4 to nil on Sunday June 29th. The Timbers have a busy week with 4 matches this week (Wednesday, Thursday at home and Saturday in Minnesota).

Timber Player Updates: Ryan Pore, Tony McManus and Takuro Nishimura and Automann Jallow have been injured over the past few weeks, but they are all healthy and available for selection on Wednesday.

Timber Key Players: Mandjou Keita continues his hot streak, as he takes over the goal lead for the team with 6 goals, followed by Ryan Pore and Brian Farber with 3 goals, and then George Josten with 2. Josten leads the team with 4 assists, followed by David Hayes and Ryan Pore with 3 each. The forwards are now finding their shot, and putting shots on goal, which is great to see, but really the midfield is the engine for this team. Brian Farber, Johan Claesson and Keith Savage really held their form last night, and with Taka Suzuki, they have learned how to control the middle very well. The defense is doing well, with 6 goals given up, and only two real chances last night versus Montreal and the only Impact goal was waived off due to a player being offsides. We are certainly playing well right now, and after these home matches, we have our longest road stretch of the season in July before having the schedule balance out a bit.

Upcoming Timbers Matches: The Timbers play 7/2 in a friendly against Bayern Munich II and then head to the road to play Minnesota on 7/4, and then they have a bit of a break before heading to Austin to play there on July 11th, and then a long road trip to Miami to face the Blues for 2 matches on the 17th and 19th.

Flounder Form: They beat the Colorado Rapids 3 to nil this weekend, preceded by draws against DC United and FC Energy Drink the preceding weeks, and then the Flounders get a break until July 11th when Houston comes to visit Qwirst Field.

Impact Player Updates: Backup keeper Chris Eyelander has been struggling with a knee problem, so the team signed former FC Energy Drink keeper Terry Boss. At this point, we don't know if Keller or Boss will start for

Impact Key Players: I spent a few minutes on their site to get some stats, and trying to get the smell out. Fredy Montero leads the Flounders with 8 goals, followed by former Portland Pilot Nate Jaqua with 6 goals, while Montero has 6 assists and Jaqua has 5 assists, while former USL mid guy Sebastian Le Douche has 3 assists. Kasey Keller, another former Pilot and EPL keeper, has started 15 games in the pipes, and played really well for them in stretches. The FC Flounder defense has played well at times with Tyrone Marshall, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, James Riley and Patrick Ianni really holding the fort well, as the Flounders don't give up a lot of goals. In most of their games, though, the question seems to be are they going to score enough to hold up the lead.

Key Notes: The Timbers have another long stretch of games coming up, so depth is the key, and as much as I love the chance to advance in the Open Cup, there is a key stretch of league matches coming up. However, most recently, Montreal rested some players in a competition against Toronto to prepare for a league match versus Vancouver, and they lost the competition match but got the league win anyway. There's plenty of new players on both squads that have never played in a Timbers - Flounders derby, but there are some holdovers that know what the game is like, so I would expect both sides to be charging up their troops.

Prediction: The Flounders have something to lose here, being the MLS side and the expectation is that they should win down here if they play their top players. But they are being coy about who is making the trip down, and who will be starting, so I would expect that they would have a side with many reserves and some starters sprinkled in. Portland, meanwhile, is going to use their depth and play their top side on Wednesday, knowing they have a match on Thursday that while should be a good test, has no meaning so they can play some reserves while they get ready for a tough road match on Saturday in Minnesota. The fans are keyed up, so I expect a big showing from both sides, and my hope is that there's no problems between supporters. I predict that it will be a hard fought match, and the Timbers magic at home remains with a tough, but well earned 2 to 1 victory. We always win 2 to 1!!

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday...

What the fuck is going on with the world right now? I mean, we see Farrah Fawcett pass, then Michael Jackson on the same day, and today, word is out that the famous pitch man, Billy Mays, died for undisclosed reasons. I'm not one to normally obsess about celebrity, but in the past few days, we've seen a woman that many of the guys in my generation obsessed over because of her famous poster, we've lost a musician that really put out some of the defining music of the early generation of MTV, and now, one of the best pitch man out there. I wasn't much of a fan of Michael Jackson's music, but it's hard to ignore that his influence over music and early videos wasn't influential. His Thriller defined what music videos could be, and he put out amazing music for many years, until he completely melted down mentally. I can't imagine what demons were floating through his head, but I hope that he's finally at peace with it all. Fawcett on the other hand, fell to cancer, something that I know about very well and my hope that medical science can catch up to this rather vicious killer. And to Billy Mays, well, seriously, man, I watched your commercials with great joy as you sold crap that most people wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole with such enthusiasm and zeal that I almost wanted to buy it anyway. Well, and OxyClean does do a good job in the laundry. But I'm openly wondering if there isn't some sort of weird disturbance in the forces in the world that we have heard about this within a matter of days. I hope it's just coincidence.

EDIT - See it's strange enough that I even forgot about Ed McMahon earlier in the week, he of Tonight Show, StarSearch and Bloopers fame. He made a career out of making others look good
and then some hosting gigs. Seemed like a good guy, and was always laughing. Normally, I'd be concerned about anyone laughing that much, but not this guy. He always seemed to be having a good time.

Just got done watching the Federations Cup soccer match, and for one brilliant half of soccer, the US National Team looked like the best team in the world, putting in two goals and making Brazil look slow, pedestrian, and frustrated. But then reality set in, Brazil got a very nice goal early in the second half, and the soccer world righted itself a bit with Brazil getting two more goals to win 3 to 2. They are the best team in the world, having won 5 World Cups and multitudes of other competitions, but they slept walked through the first half of the match and it almost cost them dearly against an American team that was really playing on borrowed time a bit. The Americans got drilled early by Brazil and Italy in the opening rounds, but then improbably put 3 in against Egypt while they advanced to the next round because Brazil crushed Italy, then the US pulled off the craziest upset over the top ranked Spanish team 2 to nil on Wednesday that shocked the footy world. And for 45 brilliant minutes, it looked like lady luck was going to stay with the Americans, but then the green and yellow clad Brazilians got an early goal, and then just mercilessly chipped away at the American defense, and got the winning goal late off a set piece form the corner. I'm pleased for the moral victory and for playing well, but my hope is that American soccer can move past the moral victories and truly put together some meaningful wins to show the world that we can play on the level of everyone else.

The Timbers kick off in a few hours against Montreal, and I'll be there. Apparently, everyone on the team is now healthy, so McManus, Pore, Nishimura and Jallow are all available for selection tonight. I didn't realize Jallow was hurt, but apparently he has been, but now, we've got a full, healthy squad. And my hope that these guys will mesh with the others that have been playing well, and we keep the hot streak going again. It's going to be an amazing week of footy here in Portland this week, and I'll keep you all posted throughout the events. Enjoy the sun out there, and go Timbers!!!

Match Preview Vs. Montreal, and Recap of NBA Draft, Blazer Style

A very big week is shaping up in Timbers land, with matches on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday. Since this is a long weekend, I'll put out my match preview today for Sunday.

The Offsides puts together a good preview, while the resurrected Oregon Live Timbers blog provides some updates about this weekend, courtesy of our good friend, Rick. I lamented when this blog went away, but our friend Bob went on to do other great things, and now he's back with Offsides, and the rest of us can provide our voice.

Game Time: There is a footy double header this weekend, with US versus Canada in both matches. The Timbers U-23 team play at 1 pm at PGE Park versus the Vancouver Whitecaps Residency, which is a fancy name for a development team. The senior Timbers take over at PGE Park with an early 5 pm kickoff versus the Montreal Impact.

Broadcast: You can listen to the match at www.portlandtimbers.com, or watch the Timbers Senior match on Fox Sports Northwest (channel 34 in the Portland area) around the northwest.

Special Events: The double header is a unique touch, but there is also a Timbers tailgate after the U-23 match in the parking lot behind the Cheerful Bullpen, and many of the U-23 players will be stopping by. The US Men's National Team also play earlier in the day in the finals of the Confederations Cup versus Brazil, marking the first time in a very long time that the USA is in the finals of a FIFA competition, so you could really be watching a lot of footy all day Sunday.

Overall History: The Timbers have a winning record against the Impact, winning 6 matches, losing 3 and drawing 2. Ironically, 2 of the losses are at home, with the Timbers having a 3 - 2 - 1 record here at PGE versus a 3 - 1 - 1 at Saputo Stadium. Montreal and Portland met on June 4th at PGE Park in a day where Portland was hit with major thunderstorms, and then Keith Savage hit with his own brand of thunder in getting the winning goal late in the match, as the Timbers won 1 to nil.

Timbers Form: Still unbeaten in 11 league matches, a friendly and 2 Open Cup matches since losing their opener in Vancouver. They sit with 23 points at 6 - 1 - 5, and most recently, they beat Minnesota at home 5 to 1 on Friday June 19th. The Timbers have had a bit of a break since their 4 matches in 12 days, and they start another tough stretch with 4 matches next week (Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday at home and Saturday in Minnesota).

Timber Player Updates: Ryan Pore, Tony McManus and Takuro Nishimura are still dealing with injuries, but we would expect them back very soon. McManus and Pore have targeted this week for a return, while Nishimura has been practicing with the team, so I would expect him to be available for Sunday.

Timber Key Players: Mandjou Keita continues his hot streak, as he takes over the goal lead for the team with 4 goals, followed by Pore's 3 goals, and then George Josten and Brian Farber with 2 each. Farber leads the team with 3 assists, followed by David Hayes and Josten with 2 each. The forwards are now finding their shot, and putting shots on goal, which is great to see, but really the midfield is the engine for this team. Brian Farber, Johan Claesson and Keith Savage have extremely well in the middle by keeping thing stable and providing support in the front or back as needed, and Taka Suzuki has really found a home in the middle. The defense is doing well, with 6 goals given up, and really, the one goal they gave up against Minnesota was an odd bounce off a free kick, but one that Steve Cronin saves more than he would miss. We are certainly playing well right now, and after these home matches, we have our longest road stretch of the season in July before having the schedule balance out a bit.

Upcoming Timbers Matches: The Timbers play 7/1 versus FC Puke Green in a US Open Cup match, 7/2 in a friendly against Bayern Munich II and then head to the road to play Minnesota on 7/4, and then they have a bit of a break before heading to Austin to play there on July 11th.

Impact Form: Montreal got off to a very slow start, but have picked up their play rather nicely. They sit at 17 points in 11 games, with 5 wins, 4 losses and 2 draws, 14 goals scored and 10 given up. They played Toronto last Thursday in the Canadian Ultralite Cup, and lost 6 to 1, as the coaching staff played a few reserves and held players out for a league match versus Vancouver later in the week, thus giving Toronto the Cup win and a berth in other tournaments and eliminated Vancouver. There was some bad blood between the squads, but Montreal got the win over Vancovuer 2 to 1 on the 20th, and then beat Miami FC at home on Tuesday 1 to nil.

Impact Player Updates: No major injuries that I could find.

Impact Key Players: Roberto Brown Perea still leads the team with 3 goals, while Rocco Placentino has 5 assists to his credit. The Impact are scoring goals, something they struggled with early in the season, but now they seem to have found a form. Joey Gjertsen and Eduardo Sebrango are key players for the Impact, as Gjertsen is a wily midfield veteran, while Sebrango is usually the key striker for the squad, but he's been rather quiet so far. Matt Jordan returns in goal for the Thunder, although they have Srdjan Djekanovic as the backup, who is a crowd favorite for the Timbers Army.

Key Notes: The Timbers have another long stretch of games coming up, so depth is the key. Montreal probably feels like they let one get away the last time they were in PGE Park, as they played very well against the Timbers and gave up the late goal for the loss, but at points, they controlled the tempo and generated better offense. The only thing that kept the Timbers in the match in the first half was some great defense, Cronin's great work in goal, and a few really badly missed chances.

Prediction: The Timbers want to put this one away early, and I would expect 2 goals from them, while Montreal is held in check, so the Timbers win 2 to nil. While the Impact has been scoring, the Timbers defense has really been playing well, and the only Minnesota goal was off a set piece. Granted, Montreal is usually good with those, so there is slight cause for concern, but we will extend our streak to 12, and get ready for Wednesday.

Trail Blazer Draft Night: Granted, over the past few years, the Trail Blazers have really looked forward to this night because it meant something. From the record 6 trades that netted us Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge to getting Greg Oden, we've made the draft night sort of a coming out party, so going into last night's draft, many fans were expecting something similar. But this is also a Trail Blazer team that is coming off a playoff berth and 4th seed in the West with one of the younger cores of players around, and so right now, you don't need to pull it apart, but rather tinker and compliment certain positions.

We went into the draft picking 24th in the first round, and with 4 second round picks, but a late trade to Dallas allowed us to move up to 22 and give up one of the second round picks. We pick Victor Claver, a young forward from Spain with 22, then got Jeff Pendergraph from Arizona State at 31, Dante Cunningham at 33 from Villanova and Patrick Mills at 55 from St. Mary's College. We did swap second round picks with Sacramento in a trade that sent disgruntled PG Sergio Rodriguez to the Kings, and got us Cunningham for us picking Jon Brockman from Washington.

I'm sad to see Sergio go, but I also know that he struggled to find a place in Portland, even with having his good friend Rudy Fernandez on the roster. Sergio wanted to play more up and down pace with flashy passes, while Nate McMillan prefers a more controlled approach. I wish him well, but in the draft picks, we get a very young forward who will play in Europe for 2 years at least, 2 young forwards who will battle to back up Aldridge, and a PG that really is the fastest guard I've seen that can shoot lights out with a very late pick. Mills is certainly shoot first as a PG, but that's what was asked of him by his college team. I can expect him to take a more disciplined approach in Portland, and if anyone can corrall this guy, it's Nate, plus you get to learn from a very good PG, Steve Blake. Plus, the Trail Blazers will retain the rights to Joel Freeland and Petri Kopponen, who will continue to play in Europe, while I expect that Channing Frye, Michael Ruffin, and Shavlik Randolph to be gone. That leaves you with:

PG - Steve Blake, Jarryd Bayless, Patrick Mills, Brandon Roy.

SG - Roy, Rudy Fernandez, Bayless

SF - Nick Batum, Martell Webster, Travis Outlaw

PF - LaMarcus Aldridge, Jeff Pendergraph, Dante Cunningham, Outlaw

C - Greg Oden, Joel Pryzbilla

The rumours of free agency persist, as we look at help for the PG situation, and I would expect the team to find another experience forward/center type. The Oregon Live team did a good job of recapping the draft, while their columnist, John Canzano, says this was a big move to do very little and keep the long term focus to save some money. And that's really what we saw in this draft, picks that are great value and save the team money from the salary cap, so they can be a player in free agency on July 1st. Granted, it's not flashy like what we have seen in previous drafts from the Trail Blazers, but it was what we needed this year.

An Incredible Night - Minnesota Vs. Timbers, and Grand Opening of Sports Complex

It was an incredible night last night at PGE Park, although Mother Nature was trying to do her best to change up the festivities. The last home match for the Timbers against Montreal, the heavens opened up with a crazy amount of rain, wind, and other assorted craziness, so yesterday being a Timbers match at PGE Park, the rains had to come and visit again, dropping over an inch of rain on parts of the metro area around 2 to 3 pm. Things seemed to be smoother, though, as traffic on most of the busy streets was moving along OK. I wasn't going to miss this match, and with it being an 8 PM kickoff, I left our house at about 6 PM to get down there in time. The drive down had a few crazy rain moments, but by 6:30 PM, I was parked in NW Portland and walking to the Bitter End Pub to give a ticket to my friend S3K and see some folks before lining up for the match.

It was also teddy bear toss night for Doernbechers', so people had lined up with bags and bags of bears ready for chucking, but the team also had bears that they were giving out as door prizes for people to throw. I got into my seat just after 7 pm, and waited for the remaining Row N folks to show up to cheer. And we had a lot to cheer about.

I can't remember the last time we got 5 goals, it's been a while I'm sure. We had a lot of scoring chances, and on this night, we took advantage of them. We also got great defensive play from the backline, and Steve Cronin played very well and steady, even with letting in a goal in the first half. The guys picked him up, and got 3 goals in the second half, aided by 3 Minnesota red cards. Yes, Minnesota had 3 players ejected from the match, one for a rather late challenge in the box that lead to goal 3, a red for throwing a punch at Alex Nimo, and a final red for an absolutely horrendous challenge after goal number 5 that didn't need to happen. I can't blame Minnesota for being frustrated, they were being run around the pitch all night by a Portland team that didn't seem to show any ill effects from having played on Tuesday in California after being on the road all the past weekend. The Timbers looked fresh, confident, and on their game, and it probably helped when George Josten notched a goal in the 4th minute to start the bear throwing chaos.

Goals for the night - Josten, Suzuki, Hayes (PK), Keita and S. Thompson. Josten's goal was a nice give and go from a great pass from Farber, while Suzuki got a great angle from the wide side of the box to get the second goal. Hayes knocked in the PK after Minnesota's first red card, while Keita got his goal during a bit of a scrum near the box. Scot took a great pass from Hayes off a corner and knocked it in for number 5.

Key Observations:

• Gavin really did a great job of substituting last night, bringing in Danso at the half, then Nimo, McLauglin and Poltl late for some fresh legs. I did like how Steven Keel played in the first half at points, but he also had a couple of tough touches that really caused some dicey moments in back.
• I don't fault Cronin for the goal he let in. It was after a questionable foul, and he did catch the free kick but it bounced a bit funny and it spun in. But, he was very decisive on his lines, and made some quality saves, plus his goal kicks were spot on all night.
• Johan Claesson has really become a great playmaker in the middle, and he got a lot of great help from Taka Suzuki last night. Between Farber, Suzuki and Claesson, they controlled the midfield quite nicely all night, and never really let Minnesota get any offense going while they literally had their choice of offensive options most of the night. Minnesota really didn't offer much defensive resistance, and we took advantage of it all night.
• The rest of the team looked a little flat and tired in the first half, but played with a lot of urgency in the second half. Apparently, Gavin lit into them pretty good at the half, and the results showed per the O-Live match report.
• I really didn't see how the official couldn't award red on the three different challenges that caused Minnesota to lose players. The first takedown was a pretty obvious call in the box, while Nimo was hit by 3 different players before he finally hit back. I don't mind him getting a yellow in that spot at all, you have to defend yourself. I've seen one red card, and yes even two, but never three red cards leaving Minnesota playing 11 versus 8 while already down 4 goals.
• Nick Platter was left on an island most of the night, and he tried to do his best to keep things civilized, but even he couldn't stop the bleeding.
• I can imagine the Thunder won't forget this game one bit, and have a bit of revenge on their mind for July 4th in their place.

Links for match information:

Allison's great match report from Soccer City USA, along with pictures.

I got some pictures myself that I posted to Flickr, and I got some video of the PK and Keita's goal (thanks Timberista for catching that update, I thought it was goal 5, but it's goal 4), along with a few other shots. The video quality is Ok, but I got some great noise from the TA, who was in good form last night.

The Oregon Live match report, with some decent information and rather useless comments.

I didn't get much chance to celebrate the win late, though. I had to be up early, for I was volunteering at Gradin Sports Park in Gresham for their grand opening. My company got a request from the city for volunteers to help with the grand opening, and the Timbers would be practicing and offering a clinic later in the day, so I said why not? My company pays us to volunteer, but at the same point, what's not to like about seeing the boys a day after their big win. So, yes, I couldn't go to the TIFO party, but I had a good reason.

The U-23 and first team were both there to work out, and they seemed awfully embarrased when me and my mother in law clapped and cheered for them as they ran by doing warmups. I got a chance to chat with Gavin a few times, plus Timber Joey and Lucky Beaver also showed up, while I also got to say hi to Scot and said nice goal. He said thanks, but it was luck, and I said, no, it was 5!! After the practice, many of the players stayed around to talk to fans, sign cards, and then offer help in a clinic for the kids, which I thought was great. The boys had a spring in their step and didn't seem to have any ill effects from the exceptionally physical match from the previous night.

Professional athletes get lambasted for being out of touch, making too much money or thinking too highly of themselves, and then I get to see this up close and personal. These guys were personable, charming, and I even got to see Taka with two infants and who I believe was his wife or girlfriend in one of my pictures, plus Timber Joey working the crowd. They love their job, and love what they do, and nothing was more evident in that than watching them interact with the kids during the clinic. I'm really glad that I saw another side of them outside of on the pitch during the match, because what I saw today was pure class, giving of themselves to help the community and give something back to the soccer community as a whole. Well done, boys. I do have a few pictures from the event that you can all peruse.

To all the dads out there, have a great Fathers Day, and to everyone else, RCTID!!! We're up to 11 league matches without a loss and counting!!!

Game Day Vs. Minnesota and Way to Stay Classy, Lents

It's game day!!! The Timbers face their rivals to the east from the land of lakes, the Minnesota Thunder!!

http://www.oregonlive.com/timbers/index.ssf/2009/06/game_day_minnesota_thunder_at.html - The O previews the game, but let's recap some specifics:

Game Time: 8 pm at PGE Park. It's a late start because of the broadcast.
Broadcast: You can listen to the match at www.portlandtimbers.com, or watch in on Fox Soccer Channel, channel 401 in the Portland area if you have digital cable.
Special Night: It's Teddy Bear Toss night, where teddy bears go flying after the first Timbers goal. Last year, it was bears ahoy after an early goal, and it's always a fun night to see things landing on the pitch for a good reason. Timber Joey also has a birthday celebration tonight at Barracuda after the match.
Overall History: The Timbers have a winning record against the Thunder with a 10 - 5 - 11 record in 26 meetings throughout the years. At home, the Timbers are 5 - 3 - 5, while on the road, they are 5 - 2 - 6 versus the Thunder.
Timbers Form: Still unbeaten in 10 league matches, a friendly and 2 Open Cup matches since losing their opener in Vancouver. They sit with 20 points at 5 - 1 - 5, and most recently, drew on the road in Carolina last Thursday 0 - 0 and in Charleston on Saturday 1 - 1. They beat Sonoma County on Tuesday 3 to 0 to advance in the Open Cup.
Timber Player Updates: At this point, we know Ryan Pore, Tony McManus and Takuro Nishimura have been dealing with injuries and visa issues. Pore and McManus have targeted the Montreal match on 6/28 for their possible return or at the very least the 7/1 Open Cup match vs. FC Puke Green. No word on Nishimura so far, but I'd like to see him return soon. Everyone else appears to be healthy and ready to play.
Timber Key Players: Mandjou Keita is on a tear lately, with 3 league goals to tie Ryan Pore for the team lead in goals, and Keita got 2 goals on Tuesday in the Open Cup match. He's playing very well lately, and his partner up front, George Josten, has also played well, getting a goal in the Open Cup match as well. Brian Farber continues his stellar play, leading the team with 2 assists, but Johan Claesson and Keith Savage have also played well in the middle by keeping thing stable and providing support in the front or back as needed. The defense continues their stellar play, giving up only 5 goals on the season so far, and Steve Cronin making some rather incredible saves and heady keeper moves. Can't say enough about the job Keel, Hayes, Scot, Cam and Danso have done in back. One guy I've been impressed with lately is Taka Suzuki, who seems to have found a place in the midfield, showing some creativity and flair that have been missing lately. He has made some nice plays and is showing some hustle, and it's good to see him showing some skills.
Upcoming Timbers Matches: They get a break for a bit, not playing again until June 28th versus Montreal, but then play 7/1 versus FC Puke Green, 7/2 in a friendly against Bayern Munich II and then head to the road to play Minnesota on 7/4
Thunder Form: Courtesy of their website, the Thunder got their first win of the 2009 USL campaign on Sunday 6/14 versus Carolina at home 2 to nil. They also beat the Chicago Fire PDL team 4 to nil in the Open Cup to advance to a meeting with the Kansas City WIzards on 6/30 at home, and their next league match in the USL after tonight is the 27th when they host Rochester. They currently sit in last place in the USL Division 1 with 7 points and a 1 - 5 - 4 record in 10 games played.
Thunder Player Updates: Per their website, the team has been playing better lately, but got off to a really rough start. They have two injuries to Kevin Friedland and Rich Costanzo, as Friedland has hamstring issues and Costanzo has a dislocated elbow. Everyone else is healthy.
Thunder Key Players: The Thunder have 3 players with 2 goals each, Brian Cvilikas, Leonel Saint-Preux, and Ricardo Sanchez, while Sanchez has 3 assists to lead the team. Long time Thunder player Melvin Tarley returns to the Rose City, along with a former Timber, Lawrence Olum, who has a goal and assist. Olum was a midfielder for the Timbers last season, and was a fan favorite with his high energy runs. Nick Platter returns as the long time Thunder net minder, a veteran of many Timber - Thunder matches.
Key Notes: Former Thunder player and coach Amos McGee is now coach with the Timbers, so he faces his old side tonight. McGee resigned from the team last year, and was replaced by Manny Lagos, who is still coach of the Thunder. The Thunder are playing a bit better after their rough start, but the Timbers are on a roll right now, not having a loss since April and they are getting a lot of contributions across the pitch.
Prediction: As much as I'd like to rely on the records here, I don't think this game will be as easy as people might think. Minnesota is a scrappy team, and they traditionally play smart soccer by trying to control the midfield and make short passes to their attacking forwards. But, the Timbers are playing very well lately, and tonight gives them a chance to keep the streak going before a much needed break after a rough road trip. I expect 3 goals from the Timbers, and the Thunder get 1 to keep it interesting, but in the end, it will be a Timbers win and they'll be bears flying all over the place.

Last night, the Lents URAC held a public open house to talk about the stadium deal for the Beavers, although some of the anticipation of the night was pulled out of the air with the earlier announcement that the soccer and baseball stadium efforts had been decoupled, and would proceed separately from each other. The baseball opponents held a rally, and when the actual meeting started up, Merritt Paulson spoke to the crowd and was greeted by jeers and boos. Apparently, Randy Leonard suffered a similar fate last night, and there was a report of something thrown at him by someone in the crowd. Also, Nick Fish, the city's self professed biggest soccer fan was there to tell the opponents he supports their efforts and won't let the city take away Lents Park.

The whole stadium thing has reached epic proportions of ineptitude, and I can pin a lot of blame on the architects and the Trail Blazers for killing the MC idea, but I can't think of any reason why people need to get so worked up that they throw things at city leaders or purposefully boo people who are there just trying to make their position known. I get that this is a passionate issue and people are entitled to their opinions, but have we all just lost whatever decorum or respect we have for each other that we have to turn public meetings into a spectacle.

I get that many of people in Lents don't like this idea, but by acting this way, you do nothing more than perpetuate the stereotypes that many residents outside the area hold of Lents - crime filled, working class, uneducated. I hold out hope that public debate and discourse can always occur in a civilized manner, but then I read about these kind of reminders of why that will never happen. It's too bad, because this will mean that some other part of the city will get a very nice ball park to enjoy and help their area while MLS comes to Portland and revitalized the area around PGE Park, and Lents will be known as the area with the big Walmart. Nice calling card there, but hey, if it's what you all want, the rest of us won't stand in your way.

Bring On the Flounders, Stadium Vote Coming Soon?

Flash back to a fine August evening back in PGE Park during the 2008 season, and the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers met for the last time as rivals within the USL during the regular season. With the Sounders moving up to MLS for the 2009, this would be the last time the two teams were slated to meet each other officially, although there was an outside chance the teams could have met in the playoffs. After that, the only time they would meet again would be if there was a US Open Cup match, an agreed upon exhibition game or if the Timbers were moved up to MLS at some future point.

We now know that the Timbers will be joining FC XBox in MLS in 2011 after Portland was awarded an expansion team, so the once bitter rivals have a two year hiatus from meeting each other until that point unless the US Open Cup put the rivals in the same bracket. And sure enough, it was learned that after the bracket was announced in June of this year that the Timbers were in the same bracket, but had to win twice versus Kitsap and Sonoma County to set up this match, and a few days ago, it was announced that if Portland won in Sonoma, they would host FC Puke Green here.

The Timbers took care of business last night, beating Sonoma County 3 to nil in California, as Mandjou Keita notched two goals and an assist in leading the team to the win. Keita has been on fire lately, notching a goal late in the Charleston match to draw that game level, and he gets two more last night while keeper Steve Cronin and the defense kept the Sol attack at bay. The Flounders - Timbers match will be at PGE Park on Wednesday, July 1st at 7 PM and the winner advances to the next round. So, the old USL rivals meet in the Open Cup as a tuneup for the eventually matchup that will be forthcoming in 2011. It should be an epic night, and I'd advise anyone that is remotely interested in getting tickets to get them know through the PGE Park box office, Portland Timbers ticket sales, or through Ticketmaster. After talking with my ticket rep today, the great Dan Zusman, sales have been really brisk already and the tickets aren't officially on sale to the general public yet. Also, knowing the rivalry between the supporter groups, the Timbers Army and the ECS (I call them the POD), there will be some crazy TIFO displays and some bantering on message boards between these groups. I hope there is no significant trouble between the groups, but at the same point, some good natured ribbing is anticipated. The Timbers next home match is Friday versus Minnesota at 8 PM at PGE Park, which should be a good time, and I'll have a match preview and recap for you later this week.

The Offsides has a good match preview and recap for your perusal:

http://timbers.theoffside.com/team-news/portland-timbers-face-sonoma-county-sol-in-us-open-cup.html - a great match preview, including some history of the Sonoma County Sol, and the fact that both teams came into the match on very hot win streaks.

http://timbers.theoffside.com/match-reports/us-open-cup-portland-timbers-defeat-sonoma-county-sol-advance-to-face-seattle.html - Match recap from the Offsides.

http://portlandtimbers.com/newsroom/headlines/index.html?article_id=1250 - Official Match recap, courtesy of the Portland Timbers

Stadium Updates - Apparently, the Lents URAC (the Urban Renewal Action Committee) will be holding an open house on Thursday to hear discussion of the plan to put a triple AAA baseball stadium in the north corner of Lents Park, so that the Portland Beavers could move out there to make way for PGE Park to be refurbished for MLS. The plan is to hear from both sides, give groups the chance to talk about the plan, and it is anticipated that the URAC might actually vote on the proposal that night. Two of Portland's city commissioners, Dan Saltzman and Randy Leonard, have indicated that their support for the park is conditional based on their vote, so if they approve the idea, they'll vote for the proposal.

The Oregonian has continued to be busy on the topic, providing a front page article about the residents of the area and what they are thinking about the ballpark, and they are as divided as some other groups about the idea:

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2009/06/residents_will_get_a_say_in_le.html

Some folks see the ballpark as a benefit, and could spur other development or draw people in that wouldn't otherwise visit the area, while others have concerns about the amount of money being used for the stadium or giving up part of a somewhat popular Portland park for a professional baseball team. A few other folks have weighed in on the idea, including John Mulvey, who lives in the area, and Tracy Francis, who was part of the Goose Hollow neighborhood association when PGE Park was being refurbished:

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/06/lents_the_false_choice_between.html - Mulvey isn't convinced the stadium is such a good idea, presenting it as a false choice. And while I see some of his concerns, my issue is that it's really something that we have to make a decision on, because the future of the Timbers and Beavers does hang in the balance. If we do nothing, we risk losing the teams to other cities or in the case of the Timbers, risk having the costs go skyrocketing because of no regional rivalries.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/myoregon/2009/06/lents_park_stadium_project.html - Lematlents is concerned about a lack of public process in the whole stadium situation, and honestly, I don't know what else the city could do about getting people involved. There have been public meetings, presentations, studies done, mailings sent, and discussions in various media sites, and yet there are some that still think this is an idea that is just being thrown at us without any discourse. I love that Portland wants to have their process honored, and I think there's something to having people talk about options and not make rash decisions. The problem is that at some point, you have to make a decision and stick with it, rather than just keep talking until the decision becomes obvious or the opportunity passes you by. That trait is called leadership, and right now, I'm frustrated at some of the leadership in this process who really are struggling to make a decision and stick with it.

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/06/what_goose_hollow_would_advise.html - Tracy's post, which talks from the voice of experience, and as being a resident of the area when PGE Park was being built, I would agree with her that PGE Park has been a very good tenant to the area, and they've done a lot to help the area. However, I do take some offense to her assessment of Steve Janik's comments (the MLS commissioner has said the teams can't share PGE Park, so that's all you need to know) and the only part of the process that has been like a runaway train is the seemingly non stop opinions that are relying on limited information to try and prove a point against this idea.

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/06/bridges_vs_the_stadiums_a_port.html - Steve Novick weighs in and talks about the difference of the Columbia Bridge process versus the stadiums, and why they are being treated differently. It's actually an intelligent question, even if I don't agree with his conclusion. Building a newer bridge between Washington and Oregon makes sense, and I wouldn't mind it being artistically pleasing, but for my money, I'm a sports fan and to me, building a stadium for the Beavers is a good investment in my mind. I'm troubled that some people that call themselves progressives are still struggling with that concept.

Finally, in an unrelated topic about baseball, we found out today that Sammy Sosa cheated. Wow, what a big surprise that the two main guys in the home run derby were both juiced up on some form of drugs, and that the results might have been chemically enhanced. I'm not surprised at all, and honestly, I find myself caring less and less about baseball because of it. Instead of being honest about the issues of drugs, baseball has played a game of deceit and deception about how rampant drugs are in their sport. I agree that baseball shouldn't be on an island in that respect, but it's hard not to point blame at them when even some of the big stars of baseball's current generation have been caught with drugs.

I get that most of the drugs weren't actually against the rules at that point, but at this point, it's just become boring and tiresome, and this discussion only gets amplified when we start talking about Hall of Fame players and statistics comparisons, things that happen in baseball all the time. Until the baseball world can come to a conclusion about how to deal with the situation, this problem just won't go away. My solution to the problem is simply this, if you broke the rules of the game to either influence the outcome of the games, be it gambling, drugs or whatever, you shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame and I can't seriously consider that person as a true great baseball player. But I'm just one opinion, and right now, I would just like baseball to step up and make a decision rather than this stupidly slow piece meal process of dealing with things as they come along.

US Open Cup Match - Timbers Vs. Sol

The Timbers are about ready to kick off versus the Sonoma County Sol in the US Open Cup down in Sonoma, CA. The winner gets to face FC Puke Green in the next round either on June 30th or July 1st. It could be possible that two old USL rivals will get to meet up before Portland jumps to MLS in 2011.

You can track the match at www.twitter.com/TimbersFC, where the team's front office will be providing updates. Come on Timbers!!!

Weekend Wrap-Up

The Row N crew took in a road trip this weekend to Bend, Oregon, and spent most of our weekend hanging out at the Old St. Francis Hotel near downtown. We've had a history of gathering on occasion outside of Timbers matches to mostly eat, drink and just hang out, which sometimes we don't get to do a lot during the busy summers. The tradition started actually with my 40th birthday out at Edgefield in January 2 years ago, and has continued with our regular Thanksgiving weekend meet up at Edgefield combined with a spring/summer gathering that has ranged from camping on the coast to our road trip this past weekend.

I love the Row N folks, as they are some of the best folks you could even meet, and it was great to hang out with them and take in the sights from the road. Oregon has some great sights to see, and I'd only been to Bend once a few years ago participating in the Pole, Pedal, Paddle competition, so it was great to get back there. The guest list was comprised of Hornman, Fish Eye, Bubbles/girl, Regina, S3K, Dublinx and myself, not a huge list, but a hearty group.

Highlights of the weekend by night:

Friday - We checked in about 3 pm to the hotel, as Dublinx rode with me and girl. Our room was a king size bed with two bathtubs, two showers, and a bathroom stall. The bath area was as big as the room, which was nice. The drive over was pretty good, taking about 3 hours, and the only drive highlight was being tailgated the whole way by a white sedan with California license plates. An old friend, armybrewer, had taken over the brewing at the pub, so we were able to get a quick brew tour from him. Since Regina was coming in later and S3K had arrived, it was time to eat and drink. Hornman and Fish Eye were staying at another hotel in the area, but were scared by the absolute scary side of the Dunes Hotel, so they joined us later and there was an extra room to stay on site. We played pool, drank, and when Regina came, we wandered to Deschutes Pub for food and gluten free beer, which rocked. Dessert was back at St. Francis, which was good, and we all retired to our rooms very late.

Saturday - We went to Alpenglow Cafe for breakfast early, ate a nice breakfast, then wandered back to the hotel. Fish eye, Hornman and girl stayed at the hotel while a group of us took the Deschutes Brewery tour, which was fascinating. After the tour, a few hearty souls took a hike at the park while some of us returned to eat and drink. The Timbers match was at 4:30, so we all huddled into girl and I's room with the laptop, and watched a thrilling 1 - all draw. Ok, the match was boring at points, but getting a point was good, and the USL Live feed didn't suck. The rains came after the match, so we stayed close to the hotel, ate and drank until late. S3K's cousin came to visit later and hang out.

Sunday - We ate a hearty breakfast, and then wandered back home. S3K, dublinx and I had a TAFC match later in the day that we made it to in time to play. We played the full 90, and the result wasn't very good for us, but we held our own at points.

Observations:

Old St. Francis is a beautiful old Catholic school that the McMenamin's brothers turned into a hotel, pub and theatre. They are famous for refurbishing properties, and they did a great job with this place. It was quiet, the rooms were great, and the staff absolutely took care of us, even asking us about the game result after they figured out we were soccer fans and there was a match viewing on Saturday. Can't say enough great things about them, although the only complaint is that your tortilla chips have some wheat in them, so please don't tell us they are wheat free.

Deschutes Pub was a blast, and we got great service, and drank gluten free beer. The pub, for being packed, served us promptly, and our server even took a group photo. Even the breakfast on Saturday and Sunday were good, leading me to think that Bend has great restaurants. The atmosphere was great, and we even got some comments about our Timbers gear, and a few folks saying "Go Timbers"

There are a lot of inside jokes and comments I could publish, but it wouldn't be nearly as funny as it was in the moment, but overall, thanks to the Row N folks that could attend, as it was fun, and thank you to Bend for putting on your good side for us to see this weekend. And for those of you that missed out, well, better luck on our next big trip coming soon. And for those of you going, some pictures for viewing.

Timbers thoughts - After the tough match on Tuesday in Kitsap, the Timbers traveled to the Carolinas for a Thursday tilt in Cary versus the RailHawks and then off to Charleston to face the Battery. The team was facing a tough stretch of games, but the depth and talent should make things competitive.

Thursday Vs. RailHawks - We watched at the Cheerful BullPen, and the game was indeed at a practice field, but the pitch seemed OK. Steve Cronin faced a few shots, and Suzuki had a few moments of goodness, but overall, the Timbers had a momentum advantage until a RailHawk was sent off for a tough challenge, and then the Timbers really struggled being a man up. No real good chances in the second half, but getting a scoreless draw meant no loss and one point for the trouble. Not a bad result.

Saturday Vs. Battery - The Timbers had never played well here, but they got off to a great start generating chances all over the pitch and causing the Battery defense some concerns. The first half was a back and forth affair, as after Portland's strong start, each side traded runs and good shot chances. The first half ended scoreless, and it was that way until Charleston took advantage of a defensive lapse and went up 1 to nil. Portland substituted some players, and leveled the score when Keita headed up a Hayes corner kick. The Timbers got more late chances, but in the end, the defenses held, and Portland earned another point with a 1 all draw.

Thoughts - I can't complain about no losses on the trip and points from each game, although it would have been nice to get at least one win. But our points streak from wins and draws pushes to 10 matches without a loss, and my hope is to keep it going. Defense and Cronin are very strong, as Cronin made some great late saves vs. Charleston. Midfield is still playing well, and Suzuki has played very well there the past few matches, as he is helping to create chances. Keita keeps up the hot scoring streak, and the team rolls on.

Other Notes:

The St. Johns Pub had standing room only for Sunday's match, and a few special Timbers guests. Wish we could have been there, but Bend took care of us. Nice to see the fans showing up for viewings, and watch your email for more information about upcoming road matches.

Next Timbers match is Tuesday in Sonoma County in the next round of the Open Cup. If the Timbers win, they host FC Puke Green on June 30th in PGE Park in the next round. Next league game is Friday night versus Minnesota at PGE with a special late kickoff of 8 PM, as the match is on Fox Soccer Channel.

Step One - Win US Open Cup Game

The Portland Timbers beat a rather scrappy Kitsap Pumas PDL side 3 to nil tonight in Bremerton, WA. The Timbers have advanced to play the Sonoma County Sol next Tuesday, June 16th at the Sol's home stadium. The winner faces FC Puke Green in the next round on June 30th.

The match report is noted here, and it was a good effort by the Timbers, especially with the embarrassment of last year's upset loss still fresh in most fan's minds. The Timbers now head out to Carolina for a USL regular season match on Thursday at 4 PM PT, which you can listen to at http://www.portlandtimbers.com/ or watch at USL Live (http://www.usllive.com/). Then, the Timbers travel to Charleston on Saturday for a 4:30 PM PT tilt with the Battery. Right now, the Battery are in first place in the USL Division 1 table, while Carolina sits in the second spot, and the RailHawks remember the 2 - nil loss the Timbers pinned on them on May 1st here in Portland. Saturday's game can be heard at http://www.portlandtimbers.com/ or at http://www.955thegame.com/ or 95.5 FM in the Portland area, or at the USL Live site. The Timbers then come back for the Tuesday night match in the Open Cup, then face last place Minnesota at home next Friday starting at 8 PM.

Timbers Notes -

• Ryan Pore has a knee problem that will keep him out for a few weeks. It could be a strained or torn MCL, but the report is 4 to 6 weeks off. Based on tonight's game, it appears David Hayes will take on Pore's role as designated PK person.
• Tony McManus was injured in tonight's Open Cup match, and Tom Poltl made his first appearance of the 2009 campaign replacing McManus.
• Not sure if there will be a broadcast of the Open Cup match next Tuesday, but 95.5 The Game has promised updates during their weekly Talk Timbers show, which runs Tuesday nights between 7 pm and 8 pm on the Game. Hosted by John Strong, a veteran color analyst and play by play guy who is also a TA emeritus member and has his own radio show weeknights, it's a good snippet of Timbers action, commentary, and interviews. Tonight's chat with Alan Gordon of the Los Angeles Galaxy and formerly of the Timbers was a great listen.

Game Day! Timbers Vs. Kitsap Pumas

It's not a typo in the title, but the Timbers are facing off against the Kitsap Pumas in the opening round of the U.S. Open Cup tonight in Bremerton, Washington. The Open Cup is a competition where teams from all levels of US soccer play in a single elimination tournament, and the winner gets to call themselves the best team in US soccer for the year. The MLS, the top level of US Soccer, has an impressive list of winners, but they don't always win.

http://billsportsmaps.com/?p=2581 - This link provides an opening round map of the US Open cup with logos, and some great information about the tournament in general.

http://www.usopencup.com/firstround/index_E.html - The other opening round matches and potential opponents list

The Timbers suffered a humiliating defeat in the Open Cup last year, losing to Hollywood United at home 3 to 2 back last June. The team didn't take the match seriously, and with Hollywood converting 2 penalty kicks and getting a late goal, they pulled off the big upset. I don't expect the Timbers to make the same mistake this year, with the potential prize being a match versus the team from up north on June 30th. The Timbers would need to win this match, then another match versus the winner of Orange County - Sonoma County, but it could happen.

The Timbers also have some scouting to fall back on, since their U-23 team played Kitsap on Saturday and lost 1 to nil in a closely contested match. A match report from the Kitsap Sun talks about the closely contested match, which saw a Timbers player sent off early, and the Pumas making the one goal stand up for the full 90. Kitsap also maintained their lead in the Northwest Division of the PDL with the win.

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/jun/06/pumas-topple-timbers/

And at least in their game preview, the Pumas don't fear the Timbers one bit, but being in a lower level, they seriously have nothing to lose in the match. If they lose, it's expected, and if they win, it's an upset. It's really up to the higher division team to show up, and take the game seriously, which the Timbers didn't do last year but will this year. Mind you, the Timbers have two other league matches this week, as they travel to Carolina on Thursday and Charleston on Saturday, so the team has a built in excuse already to ignore this match. But if you think this year's team will do that, you'd be dead wrong. I'd expect Gavin to use his bench and try to spread minutes out to keep some guys fresh for the week, but there will be some starters playing tonight.

Updates are available in a few ways, since there is no TV or radio broadcasts. The Soccer City USA board will have some updates in the Game Day thread, as I imagine TA members will update as they hear things. 95.5 The Game will be doing its regular Talk Timbers show at 7 PM with John Strong, and while they won't have Gavin there, they will have updates, plus a talk with former Timber, current LA Galaxy forward and part time lumberjack Alan Gordon. The Timbers will also be providing updates on Twitter, through their account. If you tweet, here's how you can get results:

Live updates from tonight's open cup match will be available on-line through the Timbers' Twitter account - www.twitter.com/TimbersFC. A team rep will also call into tonight's Talk Timbers show on 95.5 The Game from 7-8 p.m. with updates.

Prediction: The Timbers don't mess around and get a goal early and then add another to hold off their PDL foes. They want this badly to get rid of last year's embarrassment.

Timbers Last Night and Saltzman Says Something..

I missed a Timbers home match. Oh, I've missed home matches before due to travel, like to my 20th high school reunion or for business, or my epic European honeymoon last year, but I've not missed a home match while being in town since 2004. But as I was working downstairs on the computer about 3 pm, girl came downstairs and said that bad thunderstorms were coming from Salem, so things could get bad later today. I continued to work until just before 5 pm, when the power went out bumping me from my task. I wandered upstairs to see the wind pick up, and so we went outside to grab lawn chairs, the gazebo cover, and other assorted outdoor furniture and put it in a safe place before the heavens opened. And right at 5 pm, they did. The power flickered on and off a few times, and it rained solid for over an hour, along with thunder and lightning strikes. Our cats were going insane with the racket outside, and as much as I wanted to head downtown, the weather was keeping me here, and then watching the television after the power came back on, traffic around town was terrible as every highway was backed up for miles.

Once I saw that, I was resigned to the fact that I wasn't going to make it to the match, but I had the feeling I wasn't going to be there all week. Our original travel plans were that we were supposed to have been in Mexico from the 29th until yesterday, so really I wasn't supposed to be here anyway. Our original arrival time would have gotten us back in time to go to the match, depending on how we felt, but really, it was insane watching the Waterfront Village for the Rose Festival as a ghost town. I also enjoyed seeing traffic shots and trees fallen down, it was as if the world was ending, but it was a powerful storm. Much like the Timbers Army, as I heard them chanting loudly during John Strong's pregame report. 95.5 The Game was calling the match on the radio, while FSN was providing television coverage, so I settled in to watch the match here.

The first 20 minutes were extremely calculated, as the rain continued to come down and both Montreal and Portland were trying to figure out what each other had planned. Guest analyst Antonio Harvey was really on his game last night, providing some nice insight into a match between a team that has been hot lately (The Timbers) and a team in a bit of trouble (The Impact). The Impact have been struggling with injuries and they made a coaching change recently, but they stuck with their basic idea of playing strong defense and slowing the game down to get a draw. And the longer the game stayed close, perhaps they could steal it with a late goal. Portland, meanwhile was trying to attack from everywhere, but the rain conditions were causing passes to fly in different directions, and it was hard to control the ball at times. Portland seemed to get better later in the first half, generating some chances finally, but Impact GK Matt Jordan was up to the task. The second half was more of the same, as Portland continued to shoot but come up with close misses on golden opportunities, while Montreal held its ground defensively. Some late substitutes for Portland gave some fresh legs, especially Keith Savage, Alex Nimo and Taka Suzuki, as the chances became more frequent, and finally just before stoppage time, David Hayes took a direct free kick that glanced off Cameron Knowles, and Keith Savage tapped in the rebound for the game's only goal. The celebration by Strong on the air was brilliant, and the Timbers got the 3 points and the win.

Observations:

• Montreal didn't start Eduardo Sebrango, who was one of their leading scorers. Not sure what that was about, but the starting lineup for the Impact was a bit odd. They had called up a few players for the match, but their lineup seemed to be built for holding the ball and then hitting the Timbers late with offense if needed.
• Steve Cronin was very good again last night, making some good saves and keeping another clean sheet. But the defense was the man of the match, with Steven Keel, Scot Thompson, Knowles and Hayes all playing parts in keeping things solid in back, and making plays when needed.
• I was very impressed with Aaron Heinzen's work as the color guy for FSN. He must be following the Keith Costigan school of TV work, using his experience as a Timber to get work. But seriously, Heinzen broke down a lot of key moments in the match with ease and simplicity, and I found that even the most novice soccer fans would gain some understanding from his work.
• Even Antonio Harvey was solid last night, and he's a basketball guy. But he understood the basic concepts, and provided some great insight into a game that was being played under tough conditions, both physically with the weather and emotionally with Montreal being a bit wounded. I expect the Impact to be a bit more under control when they visit again on the 28th.
• Don Garber was the halftime guest on FSN, and he spent a great deal of time talking about the Pacific Northwest, and the intense rivalry here. Ok, he spent a bit of time talking about the team up north and the good things there, while the background shot was a Timbers Army member with an ACES scarf.
• John Strong's best comments of the night: "Keel is listed at 6-foot, but it's really more like 6-3 with the 'fro.", which is a clear Fletch comments, and "Hayes and Claesson love to play with themselves." I think Strong has been talking to Mike Rice a bit lately, as Mr. Rice loves to talk about sports in a uniquely double entrendre way.

Match Reports:

Allison did some great work as usual for Soccer City USA, while the Oregonian provides some good analysis as well.

Our next home game is the 19th against Minnesota, and ironically, Minnesota is one of the more famous matches where PGE Park suffered a power outage, so perhaps there will be more magic later this month. The Timbers have a busy week on the road, taking on the Kitsap Pumas on Tuesday in Bremerton as part of the US Open Cup, then they travel to Carolina on Thursday and Charleston on Saturday for matches. Our depth will be tested, but I expect our boys to do alright. And I'll have some information about each match out, and I will be watching the Saturday match on the road in Bend, OR, as the Row N crew go on road trip!!

Saltzman Speaks!!

Well, in a letter to the City Council, per this post on Soccer City USA. His main points, which are summarized in the post are as follows:

Dan Saltzman released a letter to the remainder of the city council yesterday with the following- if I can possibly summarize:

• Considers MLS a unique opportunity, continues to support it, requests the council deliberates decoupling.
• Concerned about the Lents proposal, will consider if Office of Management and Budget AND Lents URAC approve the deal.
• List of other conditions: *Some of $2 million designated for park replacement go to new athletic fields at Marhsall HS, playing fields at Lent Elementary, lights and synthetic turf at the two remaining Lents Park soccer fields. *200-space south parking preserves the vital trees and uses the pavers or green bricks. *Paulson should help pay for expansion of Lents Farmers Market at said parking area. *Replace any trees removed. *Try to reduce footprint of stadium. *Do not locate team offices at the stadium site as originally proposed. *30 game tickets available for Marshall HS students. *Stadium made available for 600 hours of community events and use between March and October. *Paulson pays living wage to stadium workers.

The terms seem rather reasonable based on what I can see. Saltzman still sees benefit in MLS, but wants the baseball issue to be thought of separately to perhaps clear up confusion on the moving parts. His other demands mirror many of the same concerns the neighborhood has brought up in previous meetings. The last point about living wages has to do with a complicated agreement made between previous Timbers/Beavers ownership and the City of Portland whereby the city is making up a pay difference for stadium workers between the paid wage at the park and the prevailing minimum wage in Multnomah County.

Nothing on the list seems too outlandish of a request, and I can imagine if the other requests are met, the Lents URAC (Urban Renewal Admin Committee) might put a blessing on the whole idea, and we can finally move past these generic thoughts and put more tangible plans in place for the future. At least now, we know there is still support from three of the City Council, and what Saltzman wants to continue to provide his support. It feels like a win, and some of the air has been cleared. Now, it's up to Paulson and his team, and I have a feeling that we'll hear good things from him very soon.

Match Preview - Portland Vs. Montreal

One of the USL's flagship teams is visiting PGE Park on Thursday, as the Montreal Impact make one of their two visits to PGE Park tomorrow night at 7 pm. The game is televised on FSN, and the Timbers Army has promised quite a display to start the match, including some coordination of balloons and banners. Should be an interesting site to see for sure.

Key Points:

• This is the first meeting of the year for these squads. The Timbers lead the overall series record with 5 wins, 3 losses and 2 draws. The Timbers have 2 wins in PGE Park versus the Impact, but they also have two losses to them.
• The Impact are 2 - 3 -2 on the year with 8 points, while the Timbers sit in third place on the table with 15 points and a 4 - 1 - 3 record. Portland played Vancouver on Saturday, winning 2 to nil and winning a friendly versus the Club America reserves on Sunday 4 to 1. Montreal also played on Saturday, winning in Rochester 1 to nil over the Rhinos.
• Roberto Perea and Joey Gjertsen have two goals each for Montreal, while Rocco Placentino leads the team in assists with 3. Matt Jordan has played 6 games in goal for Montreal, getting one of the two wins. Montreal has 9 goals scored, but they have given up 7.
• The Timbers start up a tough stetch of games, as they play the Kitsap Pumas in Bremerton on Tuesday night in the opening round of the US Open Cup, which is the US National Soccer championship. Teams from all leagues qualify to play in this tournament, and the Timbers will be facing a new PDL team in the Puget Sound. If they win, they face the winner of the Sonoma County Sol or the Orange County Blue Star, both PDL teams. They would be in the same bracket as the team up north, so depending on how things played out, it could be a rematch between two old rivals.
• Montreal continues their trip out west, playing old Canadian rivals Vancouver on Saturday.

Montreal: Edward Sebrango has been their main target for years, but now they've added the former WhiteCap Gjertsen and now Roberto Perea and so they've got a stable of forwards that can score. And it would appear that midfield wise, they've got veterans in Donatelli and Gjertsen mixed in with some younger guys Felix Brilliant and David Testo. Matt Jordan has been their long time keeper, and has a good leg and organizes the defense very well. He has been dodgy in some catches, but overall, it seems the issue with Montreal is which defense is going to show up, the one that holds teams down or the other that struggles to keep the ball from the net.

Portland: The Timbers are flying high with two wins this weekend, and it appears that George Josten has found his touch, with a nifty goal versus Vancouver. The defense has also played stellar ball, keeping the shots to a minimum, as Steve Cronin wasn't even tested on Saturday night much. The real key from Saturday, though, was controlling the midfield, and Claesson, McManus, Pore, Farber and Savage are doing a great job of countering the other team's attacks and also assisting the defense when needed with numbers, while generating shots for themselves.

Prediction: We always win 2 to 1, we always win 2 to 1. Seems like this is our year to have this happen a lot, much like the wonderfully fun 2007 season.

It's a Thirsty Thursday, so the crowd should be bigger, and the weather should cooperate with a cooler night. Hope to see a lot of you there.

Stadium Update: A new group called Friends of Lents Park has formed to provide some opposition to the proposed Triple AAA ballpark slated for there, replacing the old Walker Stadium, and providing a home for the Portland Beavers. The article itself isn't much more than what we know, but in reading the comments, there is a comment from Jeff Rose that is one of the most thoughtful, articulate, and correct statements about this debate. Keeping things as they are for the simple sake of keeping things that way is no way to run a city or a neighborhood, especially if you have an opportunity to really change things potentially for the better. So far, this seems to be the most organized of the opposition groups, even though in reading various blog spots, there are more residents that don't want the stadium than do.

We'll provide updates as we hear more about their plans, as we all wait for the next episode of "What Will Dan Saltzman Do?" Because right now, he's the main vote in saying what happens now, as he is the swing vote in the City Council, as Mayor Sam Adams and Commissioner Randy Leonard support the idea, while Commissioners Nick Fish and Amanda Fritz are opposed. And Saltzman isn't saying anything about his plans, after providing the initial third vote to support starting the negotiation process. A lot has changed since that big vote, except for one major thing. It's still a great idea for the city, and it will work. Wishing you loads of luck, Dan, and hopefully, you'll share with us soon your grand plan to make this happen.