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.

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.

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.

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!!!

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.

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.

Timbers Match This Weekend And Wrap Up Thoughts

I joined the Timbers Army in 2004 during the playoff match up north to Seattle, and I've found a group of people that are caring, passionate, and full of life in pursuit of supporting their club. I've read on a lot of blog posts that the Timbers Army are just a bunch of drunken hooligans who only care about causing trouble and getting drunk, and my experience has been anything but that. It's hard to convince some folks, because they only see what they want to see.

They don't see the hours of work that we do in creating banners or flags for the matches, or the hours spent traveling around the country to follow our team. They don't see the community involvement with Habitat, Doernbechers, or helping people in need whether it's our own people or others in the area. They don't seen us coaching in the local soccer community, attending other games, or even supporting teams in other sports. They don't see us participate in fair wage discussions in town, promote businesses that we either run or support, or participate in many of the processes the city has. They don't see us vote, they don't see us riding the bus to get to our jobs, be it teacher, postal worker, banker, student, media person, film maker, beer maker, or editor. They don't see us in any other terms but people who wear green and white scarves, and so we are immediately discounted. It's easy to label us because of what we wear, but to understand us means understanding the diversity and passion of this group.

We are involved in local politics, we pay taxes, we vote and participate in the process, and we support many local businesses, big and small. We love our city more than anything, and want what is best for the short and long term. We want good schools, good services in the city, and things to do when you aren't working, and expect that our local officials understand what a special place this is and that they will do what they can to protect, nurture and promote it. We are citizens of Portland, Beaverton, Lake Oswego, and all communities and neighborhoods of Portland, but we are also Washington, Idaho, and parts all over the world. We come from all walks of life, offering different experiences and perspectives, and we come together to share our love for our team. Many of us feel that MLS is the right move for the city, not only to bring top level soccer to the city, but the long term future of the USL is in question, and the deal on the table to build a new baseball stadium and refurbish PGE Park is good for everyone. And we try and talk about our point of view, which we are entitled to do, even if we are dismissed with the various labels presented because while we are Timbers Army, we are people just like everyone else.

We play Vancouver Saturday night at PGE Park at 7 pm, and with the weather being good, I expect a good crowd. Sunday, the boys face the reserve team of Club America, a prominent club from the Mexican League at 5 pm at PGE Park, while the U-23 Timbers have a match in Vancouver Wa on Saturday afternoon. I will be at the WhiteCraps match on Saturday night, but will not be attending Sunday's match, as girl and I will be spending some vacation time in the Columbia Gorge, but I'll provide a report from the Timbers - Craps match later in the week.

Match Preview -

Last meeting - 4/25/09 in Vancouver, won by the Craps 1 to nil on a Martin Nash goal. The teams played very evenly for most of the match, when Nash put a shot on Timbers GK Steve Cronin that deflected off a few players into the back of the net. The game stayed that way, even with the Timbers increasing pressure late in the second half. This is the Timbers only visit to Swangard in the regular season.

Injury Status - Both teams appear to have their full sides available, with no notable injuries. The Craps were missing Justin Moose for the opening match, but he's back.

Vancouver Analysis - The Craps have scored 5 goals by 5 different players, so their scoring is balanced early in the season. Wes Knight leads them in assists with 2, and Jay Nolly has played all 7 games in goal for them, with a 1.00 goals allowed and a 3 W - 2 L - 2 D record. As with past Vancouver teams, they really try to control things in the middle of the pitch, using strong runs from the wings to then drop in crosses to their forwards and attacking midfielders. Nash and Knight are the main catalysts for this attack, trying to control the ball and spread the attack out from side to side. Their defense is solid if unspectacular, while Nolly has solidified the keeping situation with some good play. He can be dodgy at times, as he shanked a few free kicks versus Portland and didn't grab a couple of rebounds immediately, but he rarely seems rattled in back. Vancouver has traveled a bit early, going to Puerto Rico, Minnesota, Austin and trips for the Canadian championship, but get their next 3 games at home before a good amount of home games later in the summer.

Portland Analysis - Steve Cronin has solidified his role as the top keeper, getting a win and a draw in Puerto Rico. The Timbers actually haven't lost a match since going to Vancouver, as they sit with 3 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss. Their offense woke up a bit in Puerto Rico, as Mandjou Keita heated up with a goal and assist during the win and draw there. Ryan Pore and Brian Farber still lead the team in goals with 2 each, and Farber has 2 assists to lead that category. The defense has played stellar the past few weeks in keeping the streak going, as coach Gavin Wilkinson has shuffled Keel, Danso, Hayes, Thompson, Knowles and Nishimura around and each one has stepped up game after game. The mids have been especially good at generating opportunities, especially Savage and Claesson, while McManus has really been a bulldog out there. The only real issue has been finishing in the last third of the pitch, and Keita seems to have found his touch a bit, which is good to see. The Timbers have a friendly on Sunday, then face Montreal on Thursday before heading out on a two game road trip the following week.

Keys to the Game - Portland will win if their defense can keep the Vancouver mids at bay, because the Craps offense comes from the middle. Portland also must finish the chances generated by their mids, and not just pass the ball around. It's okay to shoot, really. Vancouver does try to play a bit more physical in PGE Park to neutralize some of the team speed the Timbers have, and I wouldn't be surprised if they try the same tact again. The Timbers need to keep their head about them, and take advantage of the chances.

Prediction - The Timbers get two goals and make it stand up for the win on Saturday.

Timbers Match Report and Sad Day in the TA

I'm doing a quick update today for a match preview for the Timbers versus the Rochester Rhinos tonight at PGE Park. The game is a late start of 8 pm as we are on Fox Soccer Channel so you can see the game live if you have digital cable or satellite. While the late start means a slow morning tomorrow, it does prevent the craziness of trying to get from our place to downtown by 6 pm, which happens most game days.

The Timbers struggled in Cleveland last Saturday, putting 24 shots forward, of those 11 shots on goal, and yet they couldn't get one past the City Stars, who were giving up 3 goals per game going in. The offensive effort generated some nice chances, but as often happens in soccer, luck sometimes is the most important component. The Timbers played well defensively, and held on for a point in what was described in the match reports as "completely terrible spring weather". In listening to the match, apparently it rained, sleeted, and the sun shone within a 10 minute period.

The Timbers have been working on shots on goal this week in practice all week, with our forwards trying to get more offensive. No, not worse potty mouths, but actually putting better shots on goal. And really, what I'm impressed with more than anything, it's the fact that we are getting shots on goal, which was a huge problem with last year's Timbers.

The Rhinos, who used to be called the Raging Rhinos, are no longer officially raging, but they are sitting towards the top of the table with 10 points (3 wins and a draw) in 5 games. Their leading scorer is Johnny Menyonger, who has 3 goals already this season, and is an active guy up front. Ok, he kind of looks like Gary Coleman, but he's very skilled. We will also see former Timbers Andrew Gregor, unceremoniously traded from the team last year, and Brent Sancho, who played with the Timbers back in 2001 and 2002 and has played well. Gregor will be the target of a lot of abuse from the TA, while Sancho will get some love at first until the game starts. I also look forward to seeing Scott Vallow, the Rhinos' keeper, who is a great sport in goal but does get a lot of abuse as well. He's a seasoned veteran, and is a very steady influence in back.

The Timbers are healthy, as Steve Cronin is back in goal for the team, and we have no reported injuries, so everyone should be ready to go tonight. We've got 9 days until we travel to Puerto Rico, and it's been 5 days since Cleveland, so our team should be fresh and rested. I expect a backline of SCOT, C-Knowles, Hayes and Nishimura, Claesson, Savage, McManus, and Pore in the mid, and up front, Josten and McLaughlin. We have Warren Ukah, a former Atlanta Silverbacks forward, in camp, which means that if he sticks, we'll have 4 former Silverbacks on roster (Hayes, McManus, McLaughlin and Ukah). They lead the league in goals last year, so they could score but the defense was a bit of a concern, and now they are taking this year off, so their players have been spread about the USL. The Timbers have 3 consecutive shutouts going, and would tie a record if they hold the Rhinos scoreless, and they would also break the record for longest scoreless streak on defense (380 minutes per Allison A).

Prediction ---- Timbers get 2 and the Rhinos will not score a goal and we hold our scoreless streak.

Also, a heavy heart to tonight's game as I found out that one of our beloved TA, General Timber Howie, passed away earlier today. He was a legend in the TA, and I recall fondly his guided tour of San Francisco when girl and I went there a few seasons ago. He had just retired from his job to help a co-worker out who had just had a baby when his firm needed to cut a job. I also traveled with him to Sunderland a few years ago, and he always had kind words for me and my wife. He is truly a class act, and will be seriously missed around the TA. RCTID, Howie