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.

Updates From Lents

The Friends of Lents held a rally last night to protest against the ballpark going in their area. I'm appreciative of many of them voicing their opinions, but it does seem like many of them are speaking from bad information or fear of change. One of the members of the Friends of Lents even did a study about triple AAA Baseball and the economic impact based on data from the new park in Las Vegas, and determined that the impact would be negligible.

We are all waiting for Dan Saltzman to voice his thoughts over the idea, and I'll post something as soon as we hear from him. Apparently, John Canzano from the O knows the decision, and expects Dan to make his announcement very soon.

Breaking Update - There Might Be A Deal..or Not!!

Per someone who attended the Lents Park meeting tonight about the baseball stadium, apparently Dan Saltzman has made up his mind about the financing deal. Apparently, a very organized display was put on for the press tonight, showing people playing soccer and baseball in a very busy Lents Park, and both sides made some points. The people near the park don't seem to want it there, but their reasoning may or may not be solid, but this much we know. If Saltzman has made his decision, we can then focus on moving that forward or coming up with another idea for the baseball park.

But I fear that the days are getting numbered, and the opponents of this are using any and all tactics to get their point across. Tax critics hate the idea of using anything city related to do this, family advocates want parks preserved for kids, and there is worry about the noise, parking, trash, etc, but yet, this could revitalize the area around Lents and give the Beavers a stadium they can actually fill in using only a small portion of the park.

I don't want to be a doom sayer, but if this plan fails, I don't really hold out much hope that Portland will figure it out anytime soon, and Merritt Paulson would then be free to explore other options. Mind you, the Pacific Coast League wants to be here, and I think the town wants baseball to survive, but nobody is sure what to do about it in the long term. And while we wait, MLS is sitting around and waiting for the final plan to be in place.

We do run a serious risk of losing both teams if nothing happens. Other cities are lining up to bring minor league baseball to town, and if a good stadium deal came along for Paulson once his lease is up, why not find a place that doesn't have the issues here. Other cities build stadiums all the time, literally falling all over themselves to bring sports to their town, while Portland is too busy trying to figure out how to make everyone as happy as possible as they go through the exploratory process. This is just a long word that indicates we'll talk, and then talk some more, and then talk more, but whether something could be accomplished remains to be seen. But there is serious competition for the baseball team, and why would the USL agree to keep a single team out here after 2010 when Vancouver moves up, leaving Portland as the only representative in the Pacific Time Zone for the USL? The league couldn't do this and seriously keep a schedule that works, so now you have the very real threat that after 2010, PGE Park goes from having two tenants to having essentially no pro sports.

I'd like to be optimistic about this, and think it's a done deal that only needs the final details figured out. But I never estimated the sheer anger that some Portlanders have about this stadium idea. They don't want taxes spent on it, and will willingly trash anything and everything to make their point. There's no need for civil discourse, let's just come up with more dirt on Paulson and trash him without really trying. These are the same people that don't think sports means anything to the city, yet would fall all over themselves to do anything the Trail Blazers asked of them. I get that people don't like this idea, but so far, I haven't heard of one solid objection that make me stop and think about this being a good idea, but then again, I'm not the one voting. So within 24 hours, we will know the answer, and we can finally answer the question about whether Portland is all about the status quo or are we going to finally think about something bigger.

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 - Caps Match Recap and Howie's Wake

The Timbers had a big weekend, winning two matches on Saturday and Sunday, beating arch rival Vancouver 2 to nil on Saturday and then beating the Club America reserves on Sunday 4 to 1. I was in the Columbia Gorge over the weekend until today, so I missed Sunday's match, but I did get to watch Saturday's match up close.

The match was slightly delayed for some reason and it was really hot at game time, reaching almost 90 degrees at game time. Girl and I had spent the day at Howie's wake earlier, then walking to the waterfront to wander about, and then wander back to the stadium for the match. My heart was in a bunch of different places after the wake, which I'll chat about later, but for the match itself, it seemed like the lads were keyed up after the big Puerto Rico trip, and because it was a rivalry game.

I had wandered to the far side of the stadium right after getting inside to get girl a margarita, and nearly ran over Merritt Paulson on my way to the beer garden. It's not my fault they put the good margaritas over there, but I did chat briefly with the owner saying Hi and thanking him for things with the team. He seems like a very good guy from what I've seen of him, and after reading the piece that John Canzano did earlier this week, I'm more impressed with the man who only wants to bring top level soccer to Portland. I just promise to be a bit more careful running around the stadium trying to get stuff before the game.

Before nearly 9200 fans (which seemed to be a short count), the match started with the anthem singer nailing O Canada but yet mauling the Star Spangled Banner. For a night where the Starlight Parade was going on, I thought it was a good sized crowd. And as people were getting settled in, Johan Claesson made a good move and was bumped hard by Jay Nolly, the Caps goal keeper and the center official pointed to the PK spot for a penalty kick. The center official, Hidajet Tica, was the official at one of the Timbers' darkest days where we lost in the Open Cup in Tukwila versus the team up north in a match that up until a point seemed even until the officiating slanted towards the home team. Ryan Pore knocked in the PK and we were up 1 to nil.

The Timbers seemed to press their speed advantage on the wings, keeping the Caps on their heels for most of the first half. The mids, especially Claesson, Pore, and Savage, kept control of the ball in the middle and fed it to the forwards almost at will for points. Vancouver only got a few shots on GK Steve Cronin, who really wasn't challenged for the whole match. Near the 40th minute as I was texting updates to my friend Obi, George Josten knocked in a great shot past Nolly to get the Timbers' second goal. I completely missed his run, but watching it on the sports report later, Josten used his speed and positioning to break away from the Vancouver defense and made a great move to knock in goal number two. The score remained this way in the second half, as Vancouver turned up the heat pressing more guys forward, but Cronin and the defense turned away a lot of shots, preserving the shutout.

Observations:

• Jay Nolly looked great at points for the Caps, but he really was beaten by Josten. Also, his goal kicks seemed very short on the PGE Park turf, and the Timbers used some of these short kicks to provide quick counters.
• Josten really played well, and I was really surprised that he got the start over the other forwards, but he proved his worth with some great work and the goal.
• Can't say enough about the job of Cronin and the defense - SCOT, Keel, Hayes and C-Knowles. They held up their men very well, and really only gave Vancouver a couple of solid shots. It appeared that the Caps were completely outplayed and outclassed, which I don't see all that often.
• But I think the defense for the Timbers contributed, but also our midfield, which kept Nash and Knight under wraps for most of the game. The Caps only really dangerous shots were on set plays, and Cronin was up to the task.
• I loved seeing the 30 or so Caps fans that made the trip down from Vancouver. It's always nice to see away supporters, and they showed some love for their team, which I would expect. And not only did I appreciate the win, but they now know what it's like to make that rough drive on I-5 after a loss.

Various Updates:

Videos From Saturday night including Ryan Pore's penalty kick, a really nice corner kick that had some good defense, and the after match march. All are available on my YouTube site, including some old archives.

I also got some pictures of my cats with Timbers gear, so thought I would share.

General Timber Howie Update:

And as I mentioned, we started our day by attending General Timber Howie's wake at PGE Park Saturday afternoon. We had attended his funeral service on Tuesday, and the ceremony on Saturday was a bit more surreal and more fun. Our friend, Drumman, organized it with the help of the team, who opened up the park to allow us to gather. They also allowed us to spread Howie's ashes in Feral Cat Alley at PGE Park, a special part of the park. There are some feral cats that live at the park, taking care of the mice and patrolling the area, but since they are feral, you don't see them much, but the park created a feeding station for the cats in the basement. Since Howie is a cat person, we thought it was a good idea to spread his ashes there, along with one of Howie's cats that he lost before he left us.

We had a wake where some folks shared some stories, our friend Timber played the pipes, and we sang a few tunes before we left for the Bitter End to celebrate Howie. I was given the task of taking Howie's helmet to the Cheerful Bullpen to place in their trophy case, but before that, I needed to complete my task, because while we talked about Howie stories, I didn't share my story and the piece of Timbers history that I have because of Howie.

It was 2007 and the USL had a new team join, the California Victory, based out of San Francisco. Girl and I hadn't been there in years, and once we found out the schedule, we decided to make the first trip down there in late June to see the Timbers' first game at Kezar Stadium. We flew down there, staying near Fisherman's Wharf, with the game being on Thursday, and we were staying through Saturday before needing to be up here for another Timbers game in Portland. We ended up going to Kezar Pub to watch sports before the match because the Trail Blazers were also participating in the NBA draft, and as we were sitting there drinking, Howie came in and joined girl and I. We drank a bit, and then wandered over to the game. During the match, the PA announcer for the Victory kept talking about the Timbers - Victory celebration after the match, which we thought was pretty funny especially for the sense that the game was pretty much a draw until very late until David Hague knocked in a late goal on a looooong Josh Wickes goal kick and we won 1 to nil. We also met many of the Victory supporters, who were good folks and happy that some of the Timbers Army came down to visit.

As we wandered back to Kezar after the match, the TA congregated into one table, and suddenly the Victory supporters placed a pitcher of beer on our table that they had purchased. We then sat about, talking about scarves, supporter things, chants, and other things as the Victory were trying to really establish themselves. Their stadium is great, the crowd seemed to be good, and the fans were great, and my hope was that they were doing enough to do well. In the matter of discussion, we discussed the Cascadia Cup, a supporters cup between Vancouver, the team up north and us in which the team that scored the most points in matches against Cascadia Cup rivals would win the cup. The Victory wanted to do something similar with us, and so that night, we dreamt up the supporters cup with them. We thought that all matches would count, and the cup would remain with the winning team, but it would only be given to the other side if they won and they were present to collect. Since by then, we knew that there was one other match in San Francisco and 3 matches in Portland, it was decided that the Victory supporters would need to come up to get the cup if they won.

After figuring out the rules, we then needed to decide what would represent the trophy or cup. Well, Howie being the ingenious person he was, he pointed to the beer pitcher that was purchased for us, and said this would work. And now that it was empty, he looked about, zipped open his pack, grabbed the pitcher and put it in his pack quickly. It was subtle, quick and decisive, and we all laughed about the theft while realizing it would be perfect for this. The supporters would write the scores on the cup after each match, and so we left with Howie and our newly formed cup. Howie had offered to take girl and on a tour of the city on Friday, and so we met him at our hotel the next morning for a whirlwind tour of the bay. We went to the Presidio, the barracks and Golden Gate Park, and then spent some time in Chinatown for lunch and some shopping. We found a great restaurant where girl ordered a very warm dish that the waiter tried to get Howie and I to tell girl was too hot, but I knew better. She eats what she wants, and the only thing that messed her up was the amount of food, which was massive. Howie also gave us the cup for keeping, so that we could write in the scores. It was a truly fun day seeing the sights of San Francisco, and girl even bought some nice jewelry while we were out. Later that night, we saw Howie at the Giants - Diamondbacks game at Pac Bell Park, where Bonds hit number 750, which was exciting.

We flew back the next day, cup in hand, and the cup never left us, as we beat the Victory the 4 remaining times we played them. The team folded after the 2007 season, as the MLS returned to San Jose, and so the cup will remain as part of Timbers history, and something that girl and I will protect because not only is it a trophy that we have, but it's also something that we have because of Howie. The final picture of my photos from Saturday's wake is a picture of Howie's helmet and the cup that he never got to see, because I never got a chance to write down the scores until now. But girl and I also feel that Howie gave us the cup for a reason, and so it's part of the history of the team. And it's fitting that the helmet and cup will be put to picture, and the helmet will have a picture of the cup placed inside of it when it's placed in its new resting place at the Cheerful Bullpen sometime this week. I figure Howie would want to have his handiwork with him, and nothing would be a more fitting tribute for a truly honorable and humble man.