Match Day Vs. Carolina And Charleston on the Road

It's match day and the Timbers face off against Carolina on the road, then Charleston on Saturday. Since I'm on the road tomorrow to Central Oregon, doing my previews now:

Match particulars – Carolina

Game starts at 4 PM PT at WakeMed Soccer Park. Apparently, they aren't playing in the main stadium, but in a practice field on the complex, as WakeMed is similar to S**kfire in its setup.
You can listen to the game by visiting the Portland Timbers website (http://www.portlandtimbers.com/) and finding the live web broadcast with Andy McNamara, or watch it on USL Live (http://www.usllive.com/) for free.
In the Portland area, you can watch the match live at the Rogue Pub in NW Portland, the Cheerful Bullpen near PGE Park, and Beulahland in SE Portland.

Match Particulars - Charleston

Game starts at 4:30 PM PT at Blackbaud Stadium, one of the nicer parks in the USL.
You can listen to the game by by visiting the Portland Timbers website (http://www.portlandtimbers.com/) and finding the live web broadcast with Andy McNamara, watch it on USL Live (http://www.usllive.com/) for free, or listen to 955 The Game in Portland for John Strong's call (95.5 fm or http://www.955thegame.com/)
In the Portland area, you can watch the match live at the Rogue Pub in NW Portland, the Cheerful Bullpen near PGE Park, St. John's Pub in N Portland and Beulahland in SE Portland. You can also find folks watching the match in Bend, OR at the Old St. Francis School.

Team Updates

Timbers V. RailHawks - Previous meetings were here in Portland on April 30th and May 2nd in PGE Park. The Timbers and RailHawks drew in the first match in a scoreless affair, but then the Timbers got goals from Brian Farber and Ryan Pore to beat the RailHawks on May 2nd 2 to nil. The Timbers are 2 - 2 - 3 against Carolina, getting one win at home and one on the road in the team's brief game history. The Timbers have never lost to Carolina at home, getting a win and the 3 draws at PGE, while having a 1 and 2 record in Cary.

Portland team status - Tony McManus is not on the trip apparently after sustaining a shoulder injury in the Tuesday US Open Cup match, and Ryan Pore has a knee ligament strain which will keep him out for a bit. Johan Claesson is also day to day with an undisclosed ailment. This is the Timbers second of 4 matches in the next week, as they travel to Charleston on Saturday then Sonoma, CA next Tuesday for the Open Cup. The team's depth will be tested over this stretch. Ryan Pore leads the team with 3 goals, while Brian Farber has 2 assists to lead the team. The Timbers are 5 - 1 - 3 overall with 10 goals scored and 4 goals allowed.

Carolina team status - The RailHawks also played Tuesday against Richmond in the Open Cup, getting a win, and then they get the Timbers tonight before they head on the road to face Minnesota on Sunday, then come back home to face Wilmington in the next round of the Open Cup. I couldn't find any major injury news, and really the only issue that is known right now is with the field as noted above. Carolina has three players with 2 goals each, former Timber Luke Kreamelmeyer, Gavin Glinton and Daniel Paladini, while Paladini has 3 assists to lead the team. The RailHawks sit in second place in the USL Division 1 table at 7 - 1 - 2, with their only loss of the year in PGE Park. However, their seven wins have been against some of the lower teams on the table - Minnesota and Cleveland twice.

Timbers V. Charleston - First meeting of the year between the two old time USL rivals. The Timbers have a 4 - 6 - 1 record versus the Battery, getting 3 of the wins at home (3 - 2 - 1), while winning in Charleston only once (1 - 4 - 0) overall. Charleston has a great fan base, and it's usually a loud environment. Charleston visits PGE Park on August 8th, while the Timbers come back to Blackbaud on August 28th.

Timbers Team Status - Same as above, unless something happens on Thursday. Which it won't.

Charleston Team Status - The Battery last played on Tuesday in the Open Cup, beating the Atlanta PDL team, and so they will have nearly 4 days of rest before facing the Timbers before they face their next open cup opponent, the Miami FC Blues on Tuesday. The Battery are top of the table right now, with a 6 - 0 - 5 record. Yes, they haven't lost yet, they've only won or drew. What is interesting is that they have 3 road wins and 3 away wins, and they've faced Montreal at home and away and drew both, while beating Miami at home and on the road. It seems like Charleston has played well against varied competition, but then again, they always seem to have a strong, balanced team. Darren Spicer and Frankie Sanfilippo lead the team with 2 goals, but there have been 9 Charleston players that have notched a goal, while Tyler Hemming leads the team with 3 assists and veteran Dusty Hudock mans the goal.

Predictions - The Timbers should be happy if they get 4 points on the trip, and I think their best chance to win would be tonight, against a Carolina team that while they play physically at home, are prone to give up goals if they are matched in intensity. Plus, we've played well against Carolina this year so far. I believe that we get the win versus them 2 to 1, while we play for the draw in Charleston and the game ends up 1 to 1 in a well played, back and forth affair.

MLS Update - The Oregon House passed the MLS Bill 2531, which would be an extension of an existing bill passed a few years ago for the MLB effort. The bill would target a portion of salaries for MLS Timber employees and players of all MLS teams that play in Portland, and a slice of that tax revenue would be directed towards helping pay for the MLS stadium change to PGE Park. You can learn more about the effort by following this link:

(http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/06/house_endorses_money_for_socce.html)

Cities and counties have been doing things like this for years, essentially targeting the people that work for the team or play in the stadium, and it's a small drop in the overall stadium budget. The bill now moves to the Oregon Senate, and if it passes, it will be sent to the Governor for signature. At this point, the Governor has indicated that he's not a huge fan of the bill and he may not sign it, but may allow it to pass without signature, which happens if the bill passes both chambers and he doesn't sign it within 5 days of passing. One more hurdle passed, but still a few left to go.

Talk to all next week, when I'm back from the Central Oregon road trip!!

Updates From Kitsap, MLS Update, and Our Society Today

I found a few other blog links from last night's match in Kitsap after the Timbers won 3 to nil over the Pumas. From what I've been reading, the TA that made the trip were appreciative of the professional approach the Pumas organization runs up there, and there were Pumas players and front office employees that thanked the TA for making the trip and providing such a good atmosphere. That's us, the Timbers Army, we travel quite a bit. Well, unless you have a job that keeps you close to your desk at points, so I appreciated the Front Office providing Twitter updates to those of us back in the Rose City.
 

http://www.prostamerika.com/soundersfc/2009/06/10/late-goals-disguise-closeness-of-match/ - From Prostamerika, it provides a very balanced update about the match, and the fact that really Kitsap kept things close until late in the match.

 

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/jun/09/pumas-closed-out-of-open-cup/ - Match report from the Kitsap Sun, the local Bremerton newspaper.

 

I've also been reading some of the entries on the SCUSA board, and some of the chants and stories are great. "You may be a Puma, but your mother is a cougar!!" I love road trips, it brings folks together and there's a lot of creativity and community in traveling to foreign soil and root for your club in someone else's house. I'll briefly post something tomorrow about the team's next road match in Carolina tomorrow. Apparently, most of the team made the trip down south, except for McManus the destroyer, who sustained a pretty good shoulder nick in last night's match from contact. Hope that he's back soon, along with Ryan Pore, who apparently has a strained knee, not torn as originally reported, so he could be back sooner than expected.

 

MLS Updates -

 

One of the Oregonian's columnists, Anna Griffin, asks the question today "If you build in Lents Park, will you come?" and talks about the development issues in the area. I've been very impressed with some of the news I've heard from the residents there, who take a great deal of pride in their area, and only want the best for their neighborhood. Some of them are taking a very measured approach to the ball park idea, and I think that's good:

 

(http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/anna_griffin/index.ssf/2009/06/if_you_build_park_in_lents_wil.html)

 

We've gotten away from thoughtful discourse or building consensus in a lot of ways, as our society is very fragmented in many of their approaches, and the stadium deal is a good window into that world.

 

You have the haters, who simply don't like any sort of public involvement in projects like this, thinking that private enterprise should pay for it themselves. Even if the facility is city owned, or if a good idea that could benefit the city comes along, there's no way you could convince them this was a good idea. I get the impression that these are the same folks that don't want government making what they perceive as dumb laws or excessive taxation, but they simply want to be left to their own devices.

 

And while there's a simplicity of spirit there that is admirable, I simply don't trust people to have the same ethical sense of things, which is why government must be involved in a lot of things, simply because of their size, scale and reach. We can't leave health care, roads, schools or infrastructure to just be figured out piece meal, which is why things must operate in a grand plan and be coordinated. You can't just leave things to the whim.

 

But at the same time, you can't be so focused in the one small part of the world that is within your realm that you can't see beyond the bigger picture. I get that this is a ton of money to spend on something that may or may not work, but the pieces are in place to give this a very good shot of working. As crazy as it sounds, it's important to have faith in the process. I realize that's easier said than done when repeatedly, elected officials seem to do things that hurt the trust they've built up. I can't imagine the spotlight they have to operate under, knowing that anytime, anywhere, you have constituents asking you questions or wanting to talk about an issue. It's credit to them for even wanting to take on this in times where opinions come flying at you in different directions and various forms.

 

And our society seems to thrive on two distinct but dangerous tenants - the need to label and the need to litigate. In order to understand, you have to put a label on something or someone, because it's not nearly possible to really understand a situation or person. We could spend time and hours talking about the American Idols from this year, but not know who our neighborhood association or elected officials are, except for the small snippets of information you might here in the news. I get that we need diversions and hobbies, but my point is that everyone needs to step up and be part of the process of their city, in some form. It's in that way that you can begin to understand that we are all part of a bigger picture and bigger collective, and while it's great to keep your own thing in order, by doing that, it helps the larger picture which in turn moves up the chain. It's important not just to think of yourself and your block, but the person across town, or the person in the suburbs and inspire them to act by acting in your own way.

 

I'm not expecting a radical change over night, as a matter of fact, I expect that a lot of people will go back to their own worlds, texting while driving even though it's incredibly dangerous, obsessing about celebrities that honestly are famous for nothing more than being on TV, and people suing teams for some unknown reason to make a point:

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=reilly_rick&id=4247723

 

If it sounds like rambling, it's really frustration at what I see today. People don't care about anything more than what matters to them, and it seems like a lot of the people involved in the processes only care about proving their results to be right, or suing to make sure their point is right. It's not about making things better or helping the future, it's simply about getting something out of it, whether it's motivated by fear, misinformation or the desire to have a floppy hat for free. This is my first experience in being on the ground level of a public process, and while I'm amazed at the complexities going on and am impressed with some of the hard work by many people, I'm frustrated that people who don't care or don't want to understand what good this could do could derail the process for simply nothing more that proving they are right and everyone else is wrong.

 

The problem with that mentality is that it reinforces the notion that somebody has to lose in order for somebody else to win, and what consensus does is ensure that everyone wins to an extent. It may not be a huge win, but accentuating the benefits and allowing a lot of groups to feel good about an outcome is an important part of any process, and I think we are missing that lately. I agree, it's a lot of hard work to make it happen, but at the same time, the results can be something we can all live with for years to come.

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.

The Portland Parks Bureau Weighs In On Lents

The Portland Parks Bureau weighs in on the Lents deal, and the Oregonian mentions Saltzman's demands for a triple AAA ballpark to be placed in the Lents district. The more I read about the situation, the more I realize that these are conditions that could be easily met by Merritt Paulson, if he's convinced that Lents will work for the Beavers. Nothing on the list seems that unreasonable, from working out parking at close park and rides, refurbishing elementary school fields near the park, and replacing some park land. The parking situation still needs to be addressed, but since I lived near PGE Park when it was refurbished in 2001 and saw the work they did there, it can be done rather easily. I paid for a resident permit to have for friends that wanted to park in the area, and the parking patrols went by and checked for cars that had the permits.

The first few years after 2001, the permits had to be used until 11 PM, so it kept many folks at bay from using parking near my old apartment, but recently, I noticed the parking permits are Monday through Friday so the parking must not be as much of a concern. I get that the city needs to work with the neighborhood on these concerns, and while I understand their issue with some of the park being lost, there is still over half the park that would still be available for use, for the ballpark plan uses 16 of the 38 acres available. Plus, it will be a destination point for many, including myself, who would normally not venture to Lents. I thought about it last night, and what other reason do I have to go there right now? I have reasons to go downtown, to North Portland, to NW Portland, Clackamas, Lloyd Center, and a lot of other areas of town, whether they relate to businesses in the area, shopping, or places that I like to frequent. Lents, while it might be a very nice neighborhood, doesn't have anything that is drawing right now, but baseball could change it.

I expect over the next few weeks, we'll hear more about the deal. Paulson hasn't weighed in with his thoughts, and at this point, the other city council members supporting the deal, Sam Adams and Randy Leonard, haven't said whether they like Saltzman's suggestions or not. Nick Fish has already said no, but he's been saying no since the original vote, despite being proclaimed "the biggest soccer fan around", while Amanda Fritz hasn't said much lately about it, but it's expected she'll stay with the negative vote she provided back in March from the original proposal. It's going to be an interesting few weeks, not only on the pitch, but in the council chambers.

And today, it's Rose Festival parade day, and it's raining. How fitting is that for the Rose City to have rain on our signature day? Feels more like the way things should be around here!!