Random Notes for A Friday

I've heard of players being fined for all sorts of reasons, like missing a team flight, misconduct during practice, fighting, or other various reasons. But honestly, this is the first time I've ever heard of a player being fined for drinking a beer during the match. Ok, it's not like he was drinking on the bench, either, it was a situation where the player, Burnley's Steven Thompson, fell into PGE Park's Beer Garden trying to go after a ball and fell on a table that some folks were sitting at. The Beer Garden is at field level, and you are only about 10 feet from the pitch, so I'm surprised that we haven't heard more about players crashing into the area during games. But what got Thompson in trouble was the fact he drank from one of the pints on the table and then returned to the pitch. Well, it was a hot night and I'm sure that you get thirsty running about.

 

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The Seahawks' news sources are abuzz with the fact that it's rumoured that the NFL team up north might be a destination for disgraced NFL quarterback Michael Vick. It's true that the new coach in Seachicken land, Jim Mora Jr, was the coach in Atlanta when Vick had his best seasons before the wheels came off as he was convicted of animal abuse and cruelty amongst other things. Vick was conditionally reinstated by the NFL this week, and the commissioner, Roger Goodell, is keeping an eye on the situation so his actual return date is up in the air. I only have interest in this story as much as if there was a team that might need talent like what Vick could do on the field, it's the Hawks. The problem is whether the firestorm of publicity and comments that would come from a signing is worth the trouble. Granted, Vick has served his sentence and paid restitution to the legal system for what he did, but I'm not sure that he's really repaid his full debt.

 

I own pets, and couldn't fathom doing to them what it is shown that Vick did with his animals as part of his dog fighting ring. I would hate to think that anyone would be capable of doing such cruelty, but at the same time, there's plenty of things that happen out there that boggle my mind. Playing in the NFL isn't a right, it's a privilege and one that I think Vick has to do a lot more to show he's worthy of this honor. He's got enough talent, and let's face it, there are organizations out there that will take a chance on it simply because the talent of what he has done in the past is too powerful to ignore. As much as we would like to think that character and integrity mean a lot in sports, ultimately, winning will triumph over most things and some team will take the chance that Vick would help them win without damaging the chemistry.

 

Somebody will give him a chance, and it will cause a ground swell for a time until the next great crisis comes along. Being in the front row to watch the Trail Blazers go through their problems from wonderfully talented and good guy team in the 90's to winning team but troublesome chemistry team in the early 00's to massive implosion of problems and train wreck and now a rebirth. Good teams need chemistry, talent and a lot of luck to win, and sometimes I feel you can take a chance on a guy with some blemishes in his past if you have a team with strong character that can help keep things in line. My problem with the Vick situation is that while he's paid his legal debt, I'm just not sure there's a team that could handle the baggage and distraction that he will bring. If there is one guy that can't afford to relapse or get into any sort of trouble, it's this guy, which is why I'm not sure he could find a home in the NFL, especially if you have a large group of media that will be watching every move, and scrutinize it at every level. I'm not sure anyone could live under that kind of microscope.

 

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Randy Ready is now the former manager of the Portland Beavers, but it's because he got a new job, as he is the newest hitting instructor for the San Diego Padres. With the number of injuries and callups from Portland all year, Ready will actually end up reuniting with many of his former players in going to San Diego, so he might be able to help their anemic offense. But then again, after trading your ace pitcher away, offense might not be your only issue.

 

Granted, San Diego is a beautiful city and they do support their baseball team rather well. But with troubles in their ownership, as their owner needing to shed payroll and talent being traded away from time to time, I can imagine that being a Padre fan can be frustrating. And since Portland is the triple AAA team, we are affected by a lot of what they do, including watching talent be here one day and then gone the next. I'm hoping that at some point, the organization can stabilize to the point where you can provide some strength and build some teamwork. But as long as San Diego remains a smaller market trying to survive, this is probably the reality of what we will see with the Beavers over the next few years. Just remember when watching the game, you might need a scorecard just to know who's playing on the field.

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Have a good weekend all, and enjoy the sun! It appears the heatwave that hit Portland is come and gone, as we suffered from over 100 degree heat for most of the week. I can't believe that I'm excited about it being 93 outside!!!

I've Angered the Soccer World

Or at least a small part of it anyway. I find it rather interesting that they are getting so worked up over my opinion, but then again, we are dealing with a rivalry here and sometimes rational thought doesn't fit in the equation. I wanted to keep an open mind going up there, hoping that things might be different now versus previous trips up north. But I was proven wrong, and decided to share my thoughts. There wasn't anger or frustration or even jealousy in my words, I simply wanted to compare the experience to other football matches I've witnessed here and abroad. It didn't compare in the least, but at the same time, if that works for them, by all means keep it up.

 

The Timbers are close to hitting the home stretch, which doesn't seem possible as it feels the season just started a few weeks ago. But they have 12 games left, 7 at home and 5 on the road, starting with a game in Minnesota on Saturday. I'll have some thoughts on the game in my other blog home, but one thing I will say up front is play 90, Timbers, please play 90.

 

The baseball saga in Portland continues with an interesting article about Beaverton and their ability to pay for a ballpark. Ok, apparently, they could pay for one right now, according to Beaverton Mayor Denny Doyle. They seem overly excited to have a team come to their town, and I think it's a win for them in the long run. Sports team can add quite a bit to how people feel about their town, and Beaverton has always wanted to be outside of the Portland shadow a bit. Plus, the Beavers need to be in a city that actually wants the team. Mind you, I think Portland wants them as well, but they just can't figure out a way to do it that doesn't require a huge amount of consensus, discussion, and posturing. Portland had the right idea for a ballpark, but lost their way in the middle innings, and now, the team will stay in the proper area. But I feel that the Beavers will thrive given the chance to really be supported and become an anchor for the area, which really it doesn't have here. Portland residents might like baseball, but their team of choice more often than not is somebody else than the Beavers. They deserve a better fate, and especially if the city and Merritt Paulson can work together to find a deal that works for everyone.

 

The Trail Blazers are very close to announcing their full schedule for 2009 - 2010, but they've announced their preseason games in a release yesterday. Two games of interest are the game in Vancouver, BC versus the Phoenix Suns and Vancouver's own Steve Nash, and a turn back the clock game on October 14th. On that date, the Suns and Trail Blazers will play at the Memorial Coliseum, the Trail Blazers' original home, and ironically, the teams playing were the last teams to ever play there before the Trail Blazers moved to their new home. This is either a genius move to rekindle some old time Blazermania, or it's a ploy to show the state of the MC to everyone to then gain traction to fix up the old building or tear it down. I still don't trust the team's motives in relation to their own home, as they have been responsible for up-keeping the MC and haven't been, and their desires for the long term are to put in some shops and pubs. So far, people have suggested a museum, velodrome, water park, or outdoor concert venue to go in that spot, but in my mind, baseball still made the most sense.

 

I haven't even gotten to talk about Andre Miller joining the Trail Blazers last week, as he signed a three year deal with the team. Granted, Miller is a winner, hardly gets injured, can drive to the basket and create his own shot, but this deal has effectively indicated that the team doesn't think Jarryd Bayless is ready to run the team, and that Steve Blake might not be in the team's long range plans. You've upgraded the position, and given yourself a great option if Blake gets injured, and Miller could thrive with a second unit of Webster, Outlaw, Oden and Fernandez. He's definitely a step up from Sergio Rodriguez, who I personally liked a lot, but he really never showed his skills here with any consistency. The team has made their 1 through 10 players stronger, though, but it's probably not the flashy move everyone has expected. But getting some help in being a leader and a distributor for Brandon Roy was a vital need, and this move addresses it. The franchise can't help but be happy about this, and I hope that we're only a few steps away from seeing his contract extended.

 

Enjoy the rest of your Thursday, and stay cool out there. The heat isn't quite as bad as it has been, but then again, I never thought I'd be happy to see the temperature at 95 degrees as a good thing. I'm actually happy thinking about the prospect of the rainy season coming. Guess I've really adopted this Oregon way of life.

I'm Still Worn Out

I'm worn out and my work week just got started. That's what you get when you try and cram two footy matches in two cities on one day, and then try and watch a third match on television on Sunday. Great for the soccer sensibilities, but tough on the sleep and sanity.

I spent my Saturday traveling to that place up north as a guest of the Chicago Fire from the MLS to support them while they played FC Puke Green on Saturday afternoon. We had chartered busses to make the trip up north, and make it back in time for a friendly match here in Portland between the Timbers and Burnley, a recently promoted to the Premiership English team. I've covered most of the highlights on my other blog, and have some photos that I took in both stadiums.

Honestly, the football experiences couldn't have been more night and day from each other. MLS at Qworst was very homogonized, bland, and controlled, while the Timbers was more of a fluid, dynamic experience. I felt that the Timbers and Burnley played a very competitive, aggressive game during a match that really didn't mean much of anything to either side. There was some chances taken, some mistakes made, but it appeared that both sides were playing to win. In the Fire - Flounder match, it seemed like both teams were content to take their shots at only a certain time, and it was very bunker like in the approach. Although, the controlled crowd environment didn't help my sensibilities either.

I've seen matches in England and throughout the United States, and I've never heard of a soccer stadium actually using sound effects and piped in noise to help accentuate the environment. The Shittle USL team used to use sounds like what you would hear at an NBA game to exhort the crowd to cheer, and this year, they use different techniques to make the game experience, well, not like anything I've ever experienced. But then again, most crowds that follow soccer know when to cheer, they sing with their fans, and the noise is rather spontaneous. That's a foreign concept for a lot of arenas in America, where our short attention span audience needs to have things happen all the time to keep their focus on the events at hand. I can see why some soccer teams have resorted to cheerleaders, mascots and other things, which makes me sad, but at the same point, some people need more of a hook than just the game itself.

Which really points me to a discussion from last week about marketing and the MLS, which really has gone away from its early days of marketing to soccer moms and kids and is now going after more of the edgy fans that appreciate things like cheap beer and being able to make noise. It's a delicate balance to market to both groups, but I think that's what teams need to do in order to survive. One of the things that FC Puke Green has done with tickets is ask fans what type of experience they want, and then put the fans in areas with fans that want to do the same thing, like stand for the match or sing songs. It's actually not a bad idea to put fans together in that type of experience, because I think it lessens the chance of someone getting upset about fan actions when they realize the section they are in. No surprises, just an experience that matches what they want.

And that's why I appreciate how hard the Timbers have worked to make the experience more palatable for everyone. There are sections on the west side for fans that want to sit, and families that don't want to hear the salty language that the TA often uses. For the hardcore fans, you have the north end and section 107. Sometimes, you can't make everyone happy with the overall stadium plan, but if I'm the guy in charge, I'm probably not going to upset my loyal fans that come every game and travel on the road to follow their team. While there are some families that do this, more often, it's the single fans with large disposable incomes that have that approach to their fandom, and many of them want a more animated, active approach to being a fan.

What gets in the way of some arguments is an approach taken by the Portland Sportsman, who tries to argue that Portland is a better overall fit for MLS than Shittle, but they take a rather long way about to prove their point. I'm always happy to hear from different perspectives on the fan experience and what people want, but the take needs to be something that works and it doesn't help when your major premise is filled with some rather simple errors. I wouldn't know anything about that, as one of my first posts on my new blog was filled with a couple of bad hiccups. Granted, I thought my research was top notch, until it got shot down with a few well timed comments. I can see the author here is trying to make the same point about a static, controlled environment is going to do well at first but will level out versus something more organic and fluid, but if that is the case, try and make it a bit more simply. For me, all I needed to do was see an MLS game up close as an away supporter and that was enough for me to understand.

Look, I could have went and sat in the regular seats and took it in, and I might have come away with a different take than I did. I might have thought that FC Puke Green isn't so bad and their fans are good at what they do, but then again, when you have a front office that controls every aspect of the environment and the experience is meant to be controlled to produce an expected result, what could you expect from that? Especially if you have a large group of fans that either don't know any better because soccer is new to them, or you have a block of largely disenfranchised sports fans whose team isn't in the area anymore. It just goes back to trust, and whether you trust the product to sell itself. And right now, I don't think that Shittle trusts the product to sell itself, so you have to sell the fan experience, but if that might not be enough, well then resort to making sure it is enough. Seriously, I've never been to a soccer match where a team got booed for earning a draw during a match.

I can't blame some teams for doing this, especially if there's significant investment like many owners are making. As a fan, though, you hope that at some point, the team wakes up and realizes their mistakes and allows the experience to really sell itself, or you find another diversion for your money. Thankfully, the Timbers have the best owner in the business, who gets what it should be about, and I can't wait until we get to show the MLS what we are all about. But we must be very respectful about what we do, because there's a tremendous amount of history that has occured, and it's important to honor that.

You can't talk about great soccer support in America and not talk about the Barra Brava, Section 8 (who are quite top notch fans), or the supporters in Houston who have really taken to their team. These groups have done quite a lot to show what it takes to be great supporters, and without them, you don't have groups like the ECS or Red Patch Boys with their abilities to show their fandom. You can't really see the future without looking towards the past, and I'm thankful that many of the Timbers fans are learning about our history and what we've done to set things up for our future.

But the most encouraging thing I saw on Saturday in our park was an incident that occured after our first goal versus Burnley. George Josten had slotted home a nice ball, and during the celebration after the goal, a guy who I hadn't seen in our section before takes a smoke bomb and throws it onto the pitch. This led to more than a few of us, myself included, to yell at the guy and point him out to security. Apparently, he was talked to later by some of the more seasoned members of the TA and told we don't do that and until you can follow those rules, stay away. What was rumoured to have happened after that was that the guy tried to turn himself into security and they told him that we'll let the Timbers Army deal with you.

This is a far different cry than the end of the 2006 season with the Flare Bears or the infamous exhibition match with Toronto FC with a few guest players that remain nameless. We talk with our front office, and they listen to what we have to say, and decisions are made with those thoughts in mind. I don't expect the team to do everything we suggest, but at the same time, they are listening to us. And we are doing our part by reaching out to the community and by taking care of issues like what happened on Saturday. MLS is going to be a huge success here, not just because we have the passion for it, but we have the forethought to make this something truly special.

A Dream Come True

It was the most unreal feeling I've had in a while, much like the feeling in my stomach when I got married. It was part exhilaration, part anxiety, part happiness, and part being overwhelmed at the moment, but I had achieved something I'd wanted to do for a very long time. In the second half of the Timbers - Puerto Rico match at home on Thursday night, I was on the pitch with my camera taking pictures. It had already been a momentus day when I got to this point, so I was happy to take a moment and take it all in.

The City Council had passed the financing bill for PGE Park to refurbish it to a soccer/football only facility, and the Timbers were playing for first place in the USL First Division against Puerto Rico. The vote on the financing took place about 5:30 pm, and by the time the final votes were done, girl and I were cutting it close to get to the stadium to get our seats in Row N. But it didn't matter, because we got the votes we needed. 4 affirmative, 1 negative, and MLS now has a future here, and I still believe in baseball's future here too, as long as a home can be found, and it looks like Beaverton is angling for the team and has the best chance now. As I listened to the testimony and speeches, I was struck about the fact this was a pipe dream just over a year ago, and now it's one step away from reality. There's a final vote in September once the final designs and financing are figured out, but Thursday's vote is really the point of no return. In two years time, MLS teams will be coming to Portland, seeing what the Puerto Rico Islanders were faced with.

A crowd of 14,000 fans, all excited, and ready to go. The game itself was fairly balanced and well paced, both teams took their shots to score but played within themselves, and in the end, it was a scoreless draw. Ok, that happens in soccer, but the enthusiasm wasn't dampened by this at all. The Timbers Army did a tifo display for Scot Thompson, who became the franchises' all time games played leader, and he had already earned the record for most minutes played, so the TA wanted to do something for the team's emotional leader. And his play on the pitch didn't disappoint, as he kept Puerto Rico's forwards at bay all night. Steve Cronin came up big as usual, and the defense played very well, as we saw two first place teams that really tried to do what they do best, but ended up being countered by another team that can match them. Puerto Rico may have speed in the mids and defense, but they can't match Portland's creativity and discipline, and both teams have top notch keeping, which means you're going to need to do something special to score.

But on this night, it didn't matter the score. It didn't matter that I had forgotten to do a match report for the big match, it didn't matter about anything more than just being part of something special. There was a lot of people that worked very hard to get MLS here, and these people continue to support the current USL team with all of their heart, mind, soul and wallets. It was a true honor to see a lot of people realize what many of us TA already know, this team and this sport are for real, and Thursday night, 14,000 people witnessed another rebirth of soccer in Portland. And for me, having a true dream to be a sportscaster and write and talk about my sports and teams, it was truly overwhelming to see that my dream had come true. I'm truly blessed to be part of such a great group of fans, and love a team that is so much more than just a bunch of guys playing soccer. It's nice to see some others start to get it.

Tomorrow, we have a big day in Shittle to help our friends from the Chicago Fire cheer on their boys versus FC Puke Green, and then the Timbers face Burnley in a friendly at PGE Park on Saturday night. I"ll have my take and attempted pictures from the whole thing up, and you can also view my writing about last night for the O-Live world.

Happy Thursday!!!

So today, two celebrities share a birthday, whose careers are going in vastly different directions. Daniel Radcliffe, the guy who plays Harry Potter turns 20 years old, while Monica Lewinsky, the person who was at one point the most famous alumni of Lewis and Clark College here in Portland, turns 36. One of them has the world at their hands, while the other has probably spent the last few years, hoping that they'll fade further into obscurity. Well, with the price of fame being what it is now, perhaps both of them might be asking that question?

 

The dance of the stadium continues in Beaverton, as now, the site being looked for baseball is one of a few out west. Negotiations like this go back and forth, and so I'm not surprised that it moved forward and now back a bit, as the city of Beaverton says it's looking at a few places to put the park. What's interesting in the article is that it's mentioned that 2 other communities are interested in having the baseball stadium, yet Hillsboro, Gresham, Wilsonville and Troutdate are all saying it's not them and they aren't pursuing it. So is this now a war between Maywood Park and Wood Village?

 

Listening to the City Council hearings as the vote for the MLS proposal is due in about a half an hour, and the business previous has been interesting to say the least. They've been talking about park lands being purchased for the city and friends of the park taking care of it, and the discussion now is about the study of the use of force by the Portland Police department. Apparently, the use of force is down, although if you watch the news, you'd think we lived in crime zone central here. Well, I suppose if you need to incite the viewers or push them to watch, go with what works to draw attention for most viewers - violence, sex or explosions. And right now, they are talking about what exactly constitutes a use of force by the police. Apparently, grabbing and bending someone's thumb may or may not be a show of force. God, I love discussions about legalese and what means what. And apparently, Gil Frey has some competition for craziest person to testify in front of the council. While I'm sure this woman had concerns, it didn't help her case when at the time she was told she'd have 3 minutes to talk, she argued about the time allowed, then kept going after being thanked for her testimony when she felt her question wasn't being answered. And apparently, it's a county question, not a city of Portland issue.

 

And at 3:39 PM, the discussion has begun, three separate amendments:

 

1031  Authorize financial terms and conditions between the City of Portland and Peregrine LLC for improvements necessary to accommodate Major League Soccer at PGE Park  (Resolution introduced by Mayor Adams and Commissioner Randy Leonard)

1032  Adopt findings and authorize an exemption to the competitive bidding process for development of a Major League Soccer Stadium, pursuant to ORS 279C.330 and City Code Sections 5.34.810 and 5.34.820  (Second Reading Agenda 987)

1033  Authorize sole source acquisition and execution of a contract with Peregrine Sports, LLC for a Predevelopment Agreement and Operating Agreement for a Major League Soccer Stadium  (Second Reading Agenda 988)

So far, the discussion has been very intelligently done, as they talk about worst case scenarios, which really means how is Portland protected if things go bad. And the answers so far, have been put forth to saying that the residents are not affected unless they are actually going to the matches. Both Mayor Adams and Commissioner Leonard have been pointing out how balanced this deal is, and the minimal amount of risk. Plus, topics like the MLS franchise fee that Paulson was discussed as a cost to him, and even Portland State and their dreams of potentially moving up to D-1 football is getting some attention. Since I'm getting close to my time for me to leave and get home for the match tonight, I'll wrap things up, but at this point, it looks very good for MLS and it being passed. Go Timbers, go MLS!!

 

And I can't wait for tonight's match!!!