Montreal with huge tie vs Club America at Azteca for CONCACAF Champions League final

Well, the hed pretty much says it all.  The Impact scored early in the first half and then held on to the lead for the remainder until, in the 89th minute Mexican international Oribe Peralta headed in a corner to tie it up.  Based on CONCACAF's away rules, this gives the Impact the advantage going into the return leg in Montreal as a scoreless game will result in an Impact win, away goals being weighted slightly more than home goals.

In any case, here's the official MLS recap.  For a good laugh, the comments section deserves a quick skim; there are some very angry and delusional Club America fans.  The USMNT U23's 3:0 spanking of Mexico last night cannot have helped the matter.  

What's the Matter with the Timbers? Orlando City SC 2:0 Portland Timbers

One might easily be forgiven for assuming that, after last week's sound and convincing drubbing of erstwhile Western Conference table leaders FC Dallas, the Portland Timbers would have seen Orlando City SC, an expansion side after all, as an easy mark at home, and would accordingly have taken to the pitch with a great deal of hunger together with a marked determination to earn another resounding victory.

Unfortunately, one would be mistaken in so doing.  In fact, by all accounts, for reasons that are not readily apparent --we will speculate on them a bit further down-- the Timbers did the opposite, and aside from Darlington Nagbe and a handful of isolated instances in other players, the Timbers seem to have not shown up to play at all.

But maybe that's not right either; while they did look quite poorly for much of the first half, the Timbers didn't look completely impotent and in fact, to the contrary, managed several decent looks at goal in spite of their apparent lack of passion.  During the second half they looked a bit more lively and did dominate possession, but again, there was no real heart in their performance and it was badly marred by stupid mistakes, chippy play and a general lack of execution in the final third of the field.   

One idea might be that the horrific and completely arbitrary refereeing threw the boys off so that they didn't know which foot to stand on.  While it's true that referee Kevin Stott, whatever his antecedents may be, proved himself deeply incompetent and, perhaps even worse, totally inconsistent, one has to think that by the time players reach this level of play, they will have encountered any number of terrible refs and accordingly ought to be capable of handling the situation.  For their part, the Lions certainly were, even if it is arguably the case that they got the better of the abysmal officiating.

As for Stott, I think we can all agree that he has no business at this level of play, South African antecedents or no, and that he really ought to stick to teaching math to middle-school kids.

Another possibility is that the Timbers were, sad to say, a bit star-struck at the prospect of playing against Kaka', a man who must have figured as a childhood idol to much of the roster, but if this is what happened, it's a new development since in past years they have shown no signs at all of being star-struck by the presence of players such as Thierry Henry or David Beckham, both of whom are easily Kaka's equal in terms of international stature.

Complicating the matter is the fact that with the exception of a specific central midfielder who will remain unnamed for the shame that's in it, no single Timber played that poorly and what really bit them in the ass is that none of them played very well either, with the exception of Darlington Nagbe who continues to redeem himself from last year's lackluster showing.

A final possibility (aside from the idea of alien intervention, lizard people and the like) is that the Timbers, while competent, just don't really have their shit 100 percent together in the absence of Diego Valeri and team captain Will Johnson and that in consequence, when faced with wildly inconsistent officiating, they kind of lost their heads and gave away the first half; and while they were able to pull it together for a better showing in the second, it was still rather uninspired play.  (This last leaving aside the evident fact that for whatever reason, former Timbers and current Lions goalkeeper Donovan Rickets appeared deeply motivated and managed two improbable saves in the second half: does Rickets have hard feelings toward Portland?  I couldn't say, but he certainly played as though he had something to prove.)

Anyhow, the whole thing amounted to a pretty disgraceful performance.  I don't claim to have the answers, the above are merely guesses.                   

Frank Deford is an Asshole; Why even the Elitists at NPR are wrong about MLS

Actually, in all fairness, I have zero evidence that Frank Deford --longtime Sports Illustrated stalwart and NPR contributor-- is in fact an asshole and for all I know he's just a regular friendly dude who happened to badly strike out --pardon the baseball metaphor-- in his recent NPR screed on MLS. 

But here's the thing; Deford is supposed to be a sort of "elder statesman" of sports journalism, he's dignified with a regular spot on NPR --a demographic not necessarily known as a bastion of sports fandom-- where he regularly portrays himself as possessing sage-like insight into what's really going on in the world of professional sports.

And maybe he does possess such insight.  I don't know.  What I do know is that like so many of his colleagues, he is deeply ignorant where soccer is concerned, and far from tackling the subject of MLS with anything like penetrating insight, what he did in the above piece is to trot out virtually every tired old platitude about why nobody cares about MLS that we've all been hearing for the past 20 years.

The magisterial Deford holds forth at a library in Connecticut.  Photo; Wiki commons.

First, he treats us to the old canard about how Latino fans are somehow going to save MLS from irrelevancy by raising it to new heights of popularity.  Whether he is completely oblivious to the fact that this is a model that was abandoned back in the 1990's, or he is simply ignoring it, the fact remains; MLS has recognized for at least a decade that Latinos in the US don't give a shit (or at least not in numbers that matter) about MLS because time-zones being virtually the same in North vs South and Central America, there's no reason for them not to continue to follow their home teams, which is what they overwhelmingly tend to do.  

Did Frank not get the memo that in recent years cities like Montreal, Portland and Vancouver (none of them especially well-known for having large Hispanic populations) got new MLS franchises while Chivas USA, the poster child for MLS's efforts to appeal to Latinos, was driven from the ranks as the unclean abomination it basically was?     

In critical thinking, Frank, we call that a "straw man" argument.

Next, Frank moves on to the idea that soccer can never become mainstream in the US because it's not American and Americans really only like things that are American.  Right.  Go America!  I don't know whether to laugh or be offended.  Maybe I'll do both.  Frank, you are showing your age good buddy.  While there are plenty of Americans who, as you suggest, are insular, clannish and ridiculously patriotic, I would argue that most of us, or at least half of us, aren't, and that whatever the root of soccer's popularity issues in the US may be, they are not, as you and the legions of meat-head internet warriors would have us believe, related to the fact that soccer isn't American. 

Frank's next point (and I think this is probably his strongest, though it says something for the quality of his arguments since it's still quite weak) is that European league play is widely available on US TVs and that it enjoys much higher ratings than MLS and that therefore, I guess, MLS can never hope to catch up.  However, he says this immediately after stating that MLS has an average attendance of 19k per game, completely glossing over the fact that watching a game of "footy" with your pretentious asshole roommate who studied in Sheffield for a term, is completely different from watching a live match at a real stadium with thousands of other passionate fans.  

Maybe Frank has never actually been to a live MLS match?  (If I had the means, I would cordially invite him here to Portland for the full and proper experience, but alas, I do not.)  This is the impression I get.  Either way, surely he understands that there is a visceral difference between supporting some hypothetical team on the other side of the world --with which you have no real connection-- and actually going to your home stadium and cheering live with thousands of others.  Whatever the attractions of the big European leagues may be --and no one can deny that they attract by far the best talent in the world-- they can never compete with the experience of being at a live match.

Frank wraps it up by invoking USMNT coach Klinsmann's recommendation that top US players should play in Europe, as if this is somehow a final nail in the coffin of his condemnation, never mind the fact that the same could easily be said of players from Brazil, Argentina or whatever other non-European powerhouse country one may choose to name.  

So let me get this straight Frank, your argument is that because top Brazilian players will probably develop into even better players in the European leagues, as I think everyone acknowledges, Brazil will therefore never have an international presence in soccer?  

Do you not see how stupid this makes you look?  

As others have pointed out, your problem, Frank, is that you are old and are no longer looking in the right direction.         

        

Thorns get New Kit

In an item of potential Portlandish interest, the Portland Thorns rolled out their new kits yesterday.  Stumptown Footy has a pretty good piece on the subject and even though I have yet to attract any readers, I encourage their ghostly and hypothetical counterparts to head on over there for some Thorns love.  

Whitecaps 2:1 Timbers in Farcical Display of Incompetence at BC Place

If it were possible to have a moment of silence in writing, I would have one now, for all of you unfortunate bastards who, like myself, are so benighted as to be Timbers supporters.

As I have written before, it would be one thing if the Timbers were simply terrible; a disgrace of a side along the lines of last season's Chivas USA --completely demoralized and largely playing, each man not for the team, but rather, for a shot at continuing his career in some kind of hypothetical future-- but this is emphatically not the case at all.

In fact, to the contrary, the Timbers have executed the neat trick of looking great not only on paper, but also on the pitch, for the majority of their four matches thus far this season.  This has had the unfortunate effect of raising the hopes and aspirations of Timbers fans in a way that a genuinely bad team would not, and as such, I would argue that the continual mixing of brilliance with resounding incompetence is that much harder to take.

But anyway.  But nothing.  But at least Darlington Nagbe is obviously one of the best players in all of MLS. But I swear, the Timbers reunited with Diego Valeri and Will Johnson will destroy.

Well, so we are told.  It's hard to believe right now.











 

Minnesota United announced as next MLS expansion team

Not sure how auspicious this is for the Republic FC's chances, but it's great news if you like soccer and live in the upper Midwest.  This means we have LAFC, Atlanta and Minnesota United as definite expansion sides, with Sacramento Republic and Miami as possibilities for the last slot.  I have a hunch that Garber and the boys, possibly with a push from David Beckham who is allegedly involved in Miami's potential ownership group, are going to go for Miami as being a much larger market than Sac, even though there is a pretty strong argument to be made that soccer fans in Miami, most of whom are immigrants from Latin America or the Caribbean, already have teams that they follow and aren't really interested in MLS, but that could just be my bias speaking.  Anyhow, this from the nice email MLS sent out earlier today:

Major League Soccer announced that Minnesota has been awarded an expansion team that will begin play in 2018. The new club will be owned by a Minnesota ownership group led by Dr. Bill McGuire, and the team will play in a new soccer-specific stadium in downtown Minneapolis. 

"We are proud to welcome Minnesota to Major League Soccer," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said. "The ownership group's commitment to soccer and the community, the area's growing millennial population and the region's rich tradition of supporting soccer at all levels in Minnesota were key indicators that this was the right market. The passionate soccer fans in Minnesota will soon have a world-class, downtown soccer stadium that will serve as the home for the new MLS team and become a destination for marquee international sports events. 

As for Minnesota FC's elegant crest, seen here in it's current NASL incarnation, for copyright reasons MLS is obliged to change it.  If the past is anything to go on, I expect that they will "cartoonize" it and in general, try to make it look as inauthentic and garish and blatantly commercialized as possible.  

Portland Timbers 0:0 Sporting Kansas City

Another draw is not what any of us wanted.  It's hard to be enthusiastic about a hard fought match in which the Timbers looked good, but once again, failed to get the job done against a side that, while certainly not a pushover, very much did look as though it was ripe for a solid beating.

Since this is so, let us start by focusing on the positive aspects.

There are a few things that the Timbers continue to do right;

• Nat Borchers and Liam Ridgwell continue to gel, forming what I think any objective person will readily admit is one of the most formidable backlines in all of MLS.  
• Darlington Nagbe is still by far one of the finest offensive players in the league.  While he's not quite up to Diego Valeri's ability in terms of making plays down the center, there's no reason to think that he won't be up to great things as the season progresses, especially once he has Valeri to play off in the wings.  
• Diego Chara is back, and how do I know?  Because he got a yellow card tonight and so long as Chara is getting yellows, we all know that he's wreaking havoc across the midfield which, after all, is basically why we hired the guy in the first place.  Chara is the soccer version of an anarchist; he doesn't care about the rules and if you want to go toe to toe with him, by god, win or lose, by the end of the match you will know you've been in a fight.
• Jack Jewsbury.  Say what you will about Jack's lack of pace, but the guy is solid and generally capable of doing what he was hired for.  Add to that his ability on set-pieces --hands down, he's better than Valeri on corners-- and what you have is an old Timbers stand-by who is is still very much worth a shit.    

That said, on the downside, we have a series of complaints that, all else being equal, are basically fair game here.  A list of them might look something like this:

• What do you mean with your gaudy players like Darlington Nagbe or Fanendo Adi who, for all their skill cannot seem to get their shit together for a single goal?
• How do you expect us to believe in you when you seem to be incapable of playing to your real potential in the absence of Johnson and Valeri?  

And finally, if you can't get your shit together to win these early season matches in the absence of Valeri and Johnson, how can we expect you to get the job done once your two big-name players come back from injury?


That said, in all honesty I think the Timbers are doing alright.  A slow start, so long as it does not include any losses, given the lack of Johnson and Valeri, is actually pretty auspicious.

What we are looking at is a well-oiled side that's used to playing under a single coaching system and that by any reckoning should, once reinforced by the presence and skills of its two primary play-makers, kick serious ass for the rest of the season.

Kevin Nagle, majority owner of Sacramento Republic FC, with some encouraging news via Twitter

Not sure what this means in terms of who gets the next round of expansions --word on the street is that Minneapolis and Miami are still ahead of Sac-- but it sure sounds auspicious.

@srfc_kevin: I've talked to @MLS, we are at the top of their list for the next round of expansion. #BuiltForMLS

— Sac Republic FC (@SacRepublicFC) March 17, 2015

Ridgy on draw with Galaxy and Saturday's match at SKC

Defender Liam Ridgwell makes a few remarks in a video clip posted on Oregonlive.com We encourage optimism around here and accordingly applaud his sentiments.

Timbers 2:2 Galaxy in Sunday evening debacle at Providence Park

Although I can take no real joy in having accurately predicted the outcome of Sunday evening's match, one must be satisfied with what little consolation one can find in such dismal circumstances, so at least I've got that going for me.

Because let's be honest; it's not so much the fact that the Timbers managed to yet again snatch a draw from the jaws of victory as it is the galling way in which they contrived to pull it off.  A draw would not be nearly so vexing had it been due to a rally to come from behind rather than the traditional "we forget how to defend for a few minutes after every goal we score," that to the contrary, allowed a basically outplayed and solidly beaten Galaxy to come away with a draw on the road that should have been a loss.

On the plus side, the game itself was fast-paced, full of action but not too chippy, fairly well refereed --without any of the egregious calls that so often mar MLS competition-- and in general, a credit to the league's ongoing journey to international relevancy.

The match began at a good clip with the Timbers pressing early for a decent look at goal on a Nagbe pass to Adi in the third minute.  The Galaxy, for their part, were not impressed and managed to collar two corner kicks in the first 20 minutes with some dangerous-looking pressure of their own.  It was a real back and forth until the 31st minute when the Timbers launched a flawless counter that covered the distance of the pitch in a series of passes from Chara to Nagbe to Wallace and finally to Adi who barely stayed onside while managing to slot it home inside the far post.

The champs seemed to take this as a personal affront and pushed hard for the remainder, determined, it appeared, to find an equalizer before the half.

Nothing doing.  While the Timbers defense didn't look stellar, it did look functional (as opposed to last year's) and new backline additions, Asprilla and Borchers, together with Kwarasey at goalkeeper, displayed an encouraging level of competence.

Early in the second half, the Timbers seemed to lose their mojo and gave up several dangerous opportunities to Keane and Zardes, LA's rightly-feared pair of forwards, neither of whom are accustomed to missing such giveaways.  In the 65th minute Zardes hammered home this rather obvious point as the Galaxy easily put together a counter that ended with a Villareal pass into the box that Zardes tapped in to bring the score even.
The rest of the half was played at a similar pace as a handful of subs brought fresh legs to the field, but both sides kept it together and it very much looked as if, barring any last minute melt-downs on the part of the Timbers (something that they are unfortunately known for), the match would end with a 1:1 draw.

However, this is not how we do things in Portland.  No sir.  First, on another brilliant counter in the 89th minute, Nagbe passed across the box to Adi who adjusted a trifle before knocking it in, and then, in the 92nd minute, with one minute of stoppage left, the Timbers plum forgot to defend, let LA take another corner, and got ready to cry themselves to sleep as Galaxy sub, Gordon, marked by a guy half his size, easily headed it in for the draw.



Other Notes and Questions:

• LA looks credible and dangerous without Donovan, a loss that everyone wondered about.  Are they the same team?  Absolutely not, but they are still a tough nut to crack and with the anticipated arrival of Stephen Gerrard at centerfield this summer, I'm not exactly going out on a limb when I predict that they will yet again be a force to be reckoned with in the Western Conference.
• The Timbers actually looked pretty good.  I absolutely hate it that they threw away two points in a way that makes it appear that they've learned nothing from their past mistakes, but again, they actually looked pretty good, and when you consider that they were lacking both Valeri and Johnson, there may very well be cause for optimism.  

  

       

Big Test Ahead for Timbers on Sunday

To say that Sunday's match against the LA Galaxy is a day of reckoning for the Timbers is probably overstating the case by half, but it would also be a mistake to simply dismiss it as just another "second match of the season" in which a win, while nice, is not critical.


So here's why LA matters:

The first thing to say is that the Galaxy are the league's reigning bully-boys.  While sides like Seattle and Toronto FC and Orlando SC and NYCFC have gaudy rosters and appear to be playing well, none of them are, at face value, anywhere near as scary as the league's reigning champs who, with a convincing victory over Chicago, showed what everyone already suspected --that LA is fine without Landon-- that the rest of the league is on notice.

Which is just to say that the Timbers will have their work cut out for them Sunday evening at Providence Park.  A win will mean a definitive --if not yet set in stone-- turn-around from last year's doldrums, while a loss, especially at a rainy Providence Park, may well signal a return to last season's dithering, though of course, in the continuing absence of both Valeri and Johnson and possibly Chara, excuses can and probably will be made.

Anyhow, the take-home point here, if there is one at all, is that a Timbers win means exciting things for Portland especially if it happens with two or possibly three of their star players out, while a loss or a draw, while not the end of the world, will have a feeling of an inevitable return to last year's sorry early season shambles, whether that connection is fairly made or not.

For LA, a win will be no more than confirmation of what they clearly already believe, which is that they are the best side in the league and will only get that much better when Stephen Gerrard joins the midfield in summer.  A loss or a draw for the Galaxy can and probably will be written off as the result of early season rust --and the Galaxy is notorious for heating up only later in the season-- together with playing in rainy conditions at Providence Park which is well-known as a difficult venue for visiting sides.

My rash prediction is that we are in for a draw and that the Timbers won't truly hit their stride until a bit later in the season when all of their important missing pieces are returned and worked back into the system.        

Colorado Rapids 2:2 Portland Timbers

It was another weird game with any number of odd weather-related variables together with the usual element of dodgy officiating, a few blatant blunders, the odd moment of brilliance and a determined possession-oriented Timbers side that in spite of what would have been the obvious thing to do, managed to pull off yet another draw on the road.

Frustrating, confounding, deeply confusing and yet still inspiring of hope are all terms that apply to the Timbers thus far in their tenure under MLS newcomer head coach Caleb Porter.

On the one hand you've got a team that's given up the first goal in all four of its MLS regular season matches, while on the other, you've also got a team that's dominated match statistics and that has managed to fight back from every deficit but one (and that against Montreal who are currently undefeated and who seem to be on a rampage) to come away with a point.

   

Portland Timbers Fell The Union

The Portland Timbers racked up another win Friday night in a 1-0 victory against the Philadelphia Union at Jeld-Wen Field (JWF) in Portland before a sold-out and rain-besodden crowd. Defender Mamadou "Futty" Danso (Futty) scored the winning goal in the 72nd minute with a well-placed header off of a clinical corner kick from Timbers captain Jack Jewsbury. The win was the Timbers' second straight in MLS play and their fourth straight at home.

On its face, the game was a classic match-up of contrasting styles, pitting the Timbers, who are developing a reputation as a fast-paced attacking team that favors a good offense, against the Union, who have already distinguished themselves as one of the league's stingiest defensive sides and who favor a plodding pace that wears opponents down. Knowledgeable prognosticators predicted a low-scoring game in which the team that scored first was likely to bring home the win, and in fact, this is largely what happened.

What remained intangible were a variety of unknowns such as how well the so far indomitable-looking Union defense would hold up in the pouring rain and before the roaring crowds at JWF; how well the Timbers would deal with the frustration of trying to crack the Union's wall-like defense; how well the Union would be able to cope with the Timbers' offensive fire-power and obvious superiority in terms of speed.

In the starting minutes, a few things became clear. For one, an early fourth minute offside call against Portland forward Jorge Perlaza showed two things: one, that the Union defenders were struggling with the speed of Timbers' overlapping wing attacks, and two, that the young Timbers side lacked the discipline to easily deal with the Union's stacked defense.

Matters carried on through much of the first half with the Timbers wings making a hash of the Union defense up the sides, but finding themselves unable to execute in the final third of the pitch as the Union's vaunted back-line closed down all efforts on the box.

The Timbers made a variety of shots and created vague opportunities while dominating possession, but were unable to execute. In the 26th minute, Futty had a chance on a header off of a Jewsbury corner kick, but like all the others, it was wide of the net.

In the latter part of the first half, Philly began to poke holes in what looked to be a flagging Timbers defense and were able to create several chances of their own, including a 39th minute shot on goal that Timbers goalkeeper Troy Perkins saved with great aplomb.

The second half of the match began with vigorous play on both sides, but soon degenerated to the original theme of the Timbers pushing with superior speed and attacking down either wing, and the Union relying on solid defense and counters. In the 62nd and 63rd minutes the Union rallied offensively and applied real pressure on the Timbers defense which in the past, has been known to collapse. However, the Timbers managed to clear it and in the 72nd minute a do-over of Jewsbury's corner to a Futty header found the back of the net to put the Timbers up one.

The Union fought hard, but scoring goals is not in their DNA, and despite a 79th minute pair of subs that included Jack McInerney coming in as a forward for midfielder Amobi Okugo --a move clearly intended to up their offensive power-- they were unable to thwart a Timbers side that wasn't content to sit back on their lead, and that, to the contrary, continued to threaten until the whistle was blown. To their credit, the Union made a final desperate attempt in the 86th and 87th minutes on a throw in to a six yard shot by Sebastien Le Toux that ended in a tangle, but not before Timbers keeper Perkins was able to lock it away. A series of yellow cards were distributed, but by then, the party was over.

The Timbers remain 4-0-0 at home in regular MLS league play and with this win move into third place in the MLS Western Conference behind the LA Galaxy and Colorado Rapids. The Union remain in second place in the MLS Eastern Conference, but have officially been put on notice that pure defense probably won't cut it at the upper levels.

Other Notes and Questions:

Two weeks ago the Timbers got their asses handed to them by the LA Galaxy in a 3-0 blowout that must have been, quite frankly, embarrassing. To their credit, far from laying down and playing the poor little expansion team that bit off more than it could chew, they turned around and gave Real Salt Lake --widely considered MLS's finest team-- their first loss in a brutal match that could have easily gone either way, but that in the end was won by the Timbers' speedy offense that kept blazing down the wings and making things happen.

Not good enough? OK. This time it was against the Philadelphia Union, a team that, while for my money is nowhere near as complete as Real Salt Lake, is also known for its defense and is also ranked high among current MLS sides.

What happened? Again, a torrent of speed and blistering pace on the part of the Timbers eventually found a hole for the win.

All of which raises the question: are the Portland Timbers for real? Are they a side that has to be taken seriously even though they do bear the "expansion team" label?

From here, it looks like it would be a mistake for any team to take the Portland Timbers for granted. We'll see how the "boys in green" progress through the season, but I think it's safe to say that they are no longer a sure win for anyone.

Everybody likes to say that Portland supporters have a big notion of themselves in the same way that all expansion team supporters do, but the word around the league is that the Timbers Army has upped the ante significantly and that when you play at JWF, you know you're in a fight. Name me another stadium in the league that can do a call and response on the level of "We are the Rose City! You can't stop us!" and then we'll talk. My guess is that the crowd intensity at JWF just might have something to do with the fact that the Timbers have yet to lose there in regular season play.  

Timbers and Sounders FC Fight to a Draw at Qwest Field

The Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders FC ended it in a draw Saturday night at Qwest Field in Seattle before a sold out crowd of 36,593 rabid supporters in the first match of this season's Cascadia Cup. Timbers defender Mamadou "Futty" Danso scored the equalizer in the 65th minute off of a Jack Jewsbury free kick. The set piece was virtually identical to last week's home game winner against the Philadelphia Union, and further cements the Timbers' growing reputation as set piece specialists.

"Their game...is predicated around free kicks and set pieces," said Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid after the match. "That's what the danger is, that's what they live for."

The match was the first of the Cascadia Cup, a supporters-created three-way derby between the Timbers, Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps. This year is the first time since its 2004 inception that all three Cascadia Cup participants are in MLS and is accordingly widely expected to attract the largest crowds and most fervent fan-base yet. Saturday night's match at Qwest did not disappoint in that regard.

Both teams stated during the week that they wanted to come out strong and take an early lead, but it was Seattle that got the best of the first ten minutes of play. Despite a soaking wet field and pouring rain, they used crisp passing and decent ball-control that initially had the Timbers on their back foot. The Timbers, who debuted their "Rose City Red" kits for the match, soon regained composure however, and pushed back to create some early opportunities of their own.

The momentum continued to shift back and forth in the first half with the Sounders showing better passing and ball-control on the sloppy field turf, while the Timbers created more dangerous opportunities with their always-deadly forwards and on several set pieces. The sides looked evenly matched however, and it came as no surprise when the half ended scoreless.

In the second half, the Sounders once again came out guns blazing, and this time Uruguayan midfielder Alvaro Fernandez shot one in at the 52nd minute off of Roger Levesque's cross to a Fredy Montero header. The Home crowd nearly brought down the stadium in celebration, but if anything, it seemed to invigorate the Timbers who came roaring back, seemingly all the more determined for the deficit.

Following Danso's 65th minute goal, there was a noticeable change in momentum, and while the Sounders were able to create a few more chances on goal, especially near the end when an exhausted Timbers back-line began to flag, most of the final third of the match belonged to the Timbers. "They were terrified of us, every set piece we got," said Timbers head coach John Spencer in post-game comments that are sure to win him no friends among Seattle supporters. "They were scared they were going to give up a goal."

Other notes and questions:

While it will go down as a draw on paper, everyone knows that the match was basically a win for the Timbers who remain winless on the road and undefeated at home. With Jeld-Wen Field looking increasingly like a fortress, Seattle's failure to get a win at Qwest does not bode well for their chances at Portland. Since this is so, and since the Vancouver Whitecaps are continuing to struggle and currently hold the bottom spot in MLS's Western Conference Standings, the Timbers have to be slight favorites to win the Cascadia Cup. It will be no small accomplishment for a first year expansion side.

The Timbers Army (TA) and Emerald City Supporters (ECS) appear to have largely behaved themselves for their first MLS meeting. One might hope that this will silence many of the fear-mongers on either side who've been preaching for months about the supposed specter of crowd-violence, but it probably won't since you cannot reason someone out of a position that they did not reason themselves into. In any case, both TA and ECS leadership deserve credit for having taken a hard-line against those who would make trouble.

Despite its reputation, Seattle appears to have struggled more with the rain and the soggy field than did Portland. As Schmid himself said, "I think the weather suited them a little more in the sense that they just try and go direct anyway to a certain extent, and knock it up to their big men. They were a bit better at that game than we were." There's irony for you, or not, depending on how familiar you are with Portland weather.   

San Jose Ekes Out Win Against Portland

A last minute extra time goal eliminated the Portland Timbers from the US Open Cup (USOC) Tuesday night at Jeld-Wen Field in Portland.

The match was of mixed significance for the two sides. On the one hand, a struggling San Jose currently sits at the bottom of the MLS Western Conference standings with just five points from seven games and on the business end of a five-game winless streak with three consecutive losses. A win was clearly needed and coach Frank Yallop started with most of his regular XI on the field.

The Timbers, coming off an upset win over Real Salt Lake, started with their reserve squad, with five players making their first starts of the season. The only regular starter was goalkeeper Troy Perkins. Timbers' head coach John Spencer could not easily have sent a clearer message that the USOC is of limited importance to the Timbers this year and that resting up his starting squad for Friday's tussle with the currently rampaging Philadelphia Union is a much larger priority.

In the event, it was a long, slow and often lackadaisical match in which both sides distinguished themselves more through mediocrity and a general failure to execute, than through anything else. The exceptions were the goalkeepers, both of whom played well and made several good saves. San Jose began to show signs of life in the final minutes that led to their single goal, but if the rest of their play is any indication, it will come as a surprise to no one that they are at the bottom of the standings.

For their part, the Timbers came out looking good and playing hard, but although they were able to create several excellent opportunities in the first 20 minutes or so of play, they were unable to get it past Earthquakes goalkeeper Andrew Weber and soon began to slow down. In the latter minutes of the first half, San Jose began to gain a bit of momentum and in the 35th minute nearly scored after Perkins batted away an on-goal penalty kick, only to have San Jose midfielder Brad Ring send it well over the top on a shot that should have gone home.

Much of the second half play was a bit chippy and while neither side looked especially competent or dangerous, several yellow cards were handed out. They added what little of interest there was to this snoozer of a game. In the 83rd minute Yallop subbed forward Steven Lenhart for midfielder Khari Stephenson in an apparent bid to increase offensive pressure, but though Lenhart was briefly able to energize the 'Quakes, for the most part, the mediocrity droned on and if their respective hoarding of subs was any indication, neither Spencer nor Yallop expected the match to end in the first 90.

The final half hour of play was largely uneventful as well. Both coaches used their remaining subs, but it looked sure to go to penalty kicks when, in the 119th minute, off a corner kick by midfielder Sam Cronin, defender Ike Opara bumped in a header for the winning goal.

On the whole, the match was astonishingly boring and typified by amateurish play. While much of it was understandable and to be expected on the part of the young reserve Timbers players, San Jose basically disgraced itself and underlined its paucity of real ability and talent.

Other Notes and Questions:

While the USOC dates back to 1914 and is, for American soccer enthusiasts, important on that account alone, it is also significant because as of 2008 its winner is automatically awarded a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. It seems pretty safe to say that after doing a little math, Timbers' General Manager Gavin Wilkinson and Coach John Spencer, no doubt in consultation with owner Merritt Paulson, decided that ensuring a successful first season in MLS is more important than winning an obscure cup that guarantees the Timbers entrance to a tournament they are almost certain to do poorly in. (Never mind the fact that they just beat one of this year's finalists in said tournament; on any given day, Real Salt Lake is far more likely to destroy the Timbers than otherwise. That it didn't happen this time probably has at least as much to do with RSL's recent heartbreaking loss to CF Monterrey as it does with playing at Jeld-Wen Field.) All of which brings me to a rash statement of opinion: the Timbers were very right to not take the USOC seriously, to play it with their reserves, and to focus instead on winning this Friday's match against an indomitable-looking Philadelphia Union.

San Jose has some serious issues. Team Captain Chris Wondolowski won last year's MLS Golden Boot as the league's leading goal scorer with 18 goals, but no team can expect success on the strength of a single player. The Earthquakes are currently struggling on a variety of fronts. If their performance against the Timbers' second-line players is any indication, they are in for a long and tough year.

With an official attendance of 11,412 at this match, the Timbers, who claim to have sold out their entire season, have a bit of explaining to do. The short explanation, courtesy of Brian Costello, the Timbers' Director of Digital Communications, is that non-MLS matches aren't included in the season ticket package and have to be purchased separately with the result that only hardcore fans buy them. This makes sense, and while only a fool would expect that next Friday's crowd won't be as raucous and loud as ever, it does bear mentioning that Tuesday's crowd was very thin by normal Timbers standards.

Final point: as anemic as they looked, I do not believe that the 'Quakes would have stood a chance against the starting Timbers XI that took down RSL, FCD and the Chicago Fire at Jeld-Wen Field. It is one thing to play the Timbers' second-line before a half-sized crowd, but quite another to play their regular starters in the roaring maw that is a sold-out Jeld-Wen Field.

Timbers Upset RSL in Raucous 1-0 Victory at Home

The Portland Timbers (3-3-1) beat heavily favored Real Salt Lake (4-1-0) 1-0 before a sold-out crowd Saturday night at Jeld-Wen Field in Portland. The Timbers' newly acquired designated player, Diego Chará, performed as advertised and, along with Darlington Nagbe, who started for the first time this season, as well as Kalif Alhassan and team captain Jack Jewsbury, gave new life to the Timbers' defensive efforts in the midfield.

Real Salt lake (RSL), fresh off of Wednesday's heartbreaking loss to CF Monterrey in the CONCACAF Champions League Final at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, looked moribund and a mere shadow of the team that's widely considered MLS's finest. The loss to the Timbers is RSL's first in this year's MLS play and breaks their league-leading 18 game unbeaten streak in regular season play.

The match was the Timbers' third at home and in keeping with what seems to be becoming a habit, they played well before the roaring home crowd, threatening several times in the first few minutes.

In the 22nd minute, forward Kenny Cooper scored off of a beautiful pass across the box by Alhassan, tapping it past RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando. It was Cooper's team-leading third goal of the season and Alhassan's fourth assist, which ties him for fourth in the league with Los Angeles' David Beckham.

It was only the second goal that the vaunted RSL defense has allowed this season, and the first in over 213 minutes of play.

RSL quickly answered with an attack of its own and in the 27th minute made a dangerous shot on goal, but Portland starting keeper, Troy Perkins, was there for the save. Two minutes later RSL threatened again off of a corner kick, and the always-dangerous defender Nat Borcher was there to knock a header in off of an Arturo Alvarez cross, only to see it called back on an offside call.

In the second quarter of the match, the Timbers continued to slow down, though Colombians and long-time teammates Chará and Jorge Perlaza continued to maintain a blistering work rate. RSL continued to show excellent passing and ball control, dominating in overall possession, but they could not seem to find inspiration in the final third of the pitch and were unable to execute.

At the half, RSL coach Jason Kreis evidently thought better of his midfield strategy, and replaced reserve players Collen Warner and Jean Alexander with regular starters Andy Williams and Will Johnson respectively. It did not initially have the desired effect, and though RSL continued to push, they created few real chances. For their part, the Timbers seemed content to drop back and defend, and to their credit, in contrast to their performance in recent matches, they seemed capable of doing so.

In the 74th minute Timbers coach John Spencer switched from his traditional 4-4-2 formation, to a 4-1-4-1 as midfielder James Marcelin came in for forward Jorge Perlaza. In the 82nd midfielder Sal Zizzo came in for Nagbe and with the fresh sets of legs, the Timbers defense looked good to hold against a ferocious RSL attack in the final minutes.

With RSL, known for being very dangerous in the closing minutes, and the Timbers, known for collapsing defensively, the last ten, plus two and a half of stoppage time, were very tense, with RSL creating multiple opportunities and continually threatening. However, the Timbers defense held this time. Perkins distinguished himself and continued to have a good night with a pair of brilliant saves in the 89th and 90th minutes respectively.

In the first minute of stoppage, forward Ryan Pore came in for an exhausted Kenny Cooper, but it was by then largely a moot point and the Timbers took away their third consecutive victory at home.

Other Notes and Questions:

The Timbers have consistently looked a completely different team at home. If they can find a way to translate that into success on the road, they'll have real potential.

It remains to be seen as to how much wind last Wednesday's CCL Final loss against Monterrey took out of RSL's sails. Widely seen as the team to beat in MLS this year, they did not perform well in Portland. Can they bounce back and get back to winning?

It's safe to say that Diego Chará did not disappoint. Neither did Darlington Nagbe. Chará was everywhere and maintained an astonishing work rate, delivering on the promised box to box coverage. Both he and Nagbe worked well with Jewsbury and Alhassan. Could this be the beginning of the end for the Timbers' defensive struggles?

Another sold-out crowd at Jeld-Wen Field and yet another home victory --this time over one of the league's finest sides-- again raises the issue of the Timbers' home field advantage. It seems pretty clear that the psychological boost they gain from playing before the most raucous supporters in MLS is huge.   

Portland 0-1 Colorado

The Portland Timbers were forced to swallow a bitter pill Saturday night at Jeld-Wen Field as, despite having largely dominated much of the game, they were finally defeated by a combination of missed opportunities, a dogged opponent and suspect officiating.

The match was the home leg of the Timbers' two game regular season engagement with the Colorado Rapids and it was clear from the first minute that the Timbers were a very different team from the one that took a humiliating 4-1 drubbing in its season opener against Colorado. Both sides entered the match badly needing a win, the Timbers due to a two-game (now three) losing streak, and the Rapids, last year's MLS Cup winners, on a six-game tie streak. The sense of urgency on either side was immediately apparent as both teams came out playing hard and aggressive soccer.

Within the first eight minutes both goalkeepers were forced to make diving saves and by the 12th minute, Timbers forward Kenny Cooper had sustained a bleeding forehead injury that obliged him to play the rest of the match with a bandage wrapped around his skull. The physical play continued with both sides creating opportunities, but with the Timbers gaining an edge in passing and possession.

In the 29th minute Timbers defender Mamadou "Futty" Danso went down with a shoulder injury sustained in what looked like an attempted header that ran afoul of Rapids forward Caleb Folan. Futty was taken off the pitch on a stretcher and was replaced by David Horst, he of mustache fame.

For the remainder of the first half, the Timbers continued to look slightly sharper and more determined, beating the Rapids to the mark both in the air and on the ground and continuing to create opportunities and general havoc among an otherwise staid Colorado backline.

However, all the chances in the world won't do any good without accuracy, and for whatever reason, the Timbers seemed unable to control their shots and sent several seemingly sure things wildly astray. Defender Rodney Wallace, for example, capped the half by ending stoppage time with an otherwise excellent shot sent near a yard over the bar.

The second half started more sedately with the Timbers using crisp passing to again gain a slight edge in possession and seeming to take control of the game. The Rapids, to their credit, and as one would expect of a seasoned and accomplished side, did not panic or seem flustered and continued to exert continuous pressure of their own.

However, as the half progressed, an increasing number of fouls were called and referee Abiodun Okulaja gave out two yellow cards, to the Timbers and Rapids respectively, within the first ten minutes. The rest of the half saw fouls called on both sides with increasing frequency.

For their part, the Timbers continued to play a convincing attacking game against a solid Rapids defense. Midfielders Jack Jewsbury and Diego Chará worked together better than ever in creating a strong center, while Darlington Nagbe and Kalif Alhassan worked the wings with good service to forwards Kenny Cooper and Jorge Perlazza. Unfortunately, much of this beautiful play was squandered as the Timbers struggled with accuracy, repeatedly botching good opportunities with inaccurate strikes.

The match looked to be winding down to a disappointing but nonetheless exciting and well-played draw, when, in the second minute of stoppage time, Okulaja called yet another foul, this time on the Timbers, giving the Rapids a free-kick from about 30 yards out.

The kick itself did not find home, but the Timbers backline was not able to clear it entirely and it set up a sequence that resulted in a mad scramble with Troy Perkins making two saves before Moor finally knocked it into the back of the net for the game-winning goal.

The loss is the Timbers' third consecutive and does not bode well for next Sunday's match against the New York Red Bulls who are easily one of the best in MLS. For the Rapids, the win ends a six-game tie streak and, in theory at least, marks the beginning of their return to the upper echelons of MLS.

Other Notes, Questions, Gripes, Observations and General Bellyaching:

This one hurt. It broke my heart to see my Timbers go out there, seemingly play a better game, and then walk away with zero points in the end.

That said, there are a few things to say about this loss:

On the one hand, it's worth admitting, without reservation, that in some ways the Timbers played like the expansion team that they are. While they are a very talented side with a great attacking midfield that's excellent at setting up service down the sides to the lightning-fast Perlazza and the always composed and well-positioned Cooper, they repeatedly drop beautiful opportunities by shooting with zero accuracy. Additionally, while it's improved by leaps and bounds since its porous early days, the Timbers backline still needs a lot of work. Troy Perkins is good enough to shoulder many an error, but no goalkeeper can do it alone, and in the end, this loss can be, at least partially, laid at the feet of the Portland backline's inability to clear it when it finally mattered.

On the other hand, as good as they are, it's still not too late for the Timbers. Most of their issues have more to do with lack of execution and good communication than they do with ability. If the Timbers can plug the holes in their game and continue to work out the bugs, they have the raw talent to be successful this year.

Which brings me to my third point: the real story here is that once again, suspect officiating seems to have played an important role in determining the winner of what was an otherwise exciting and well-played game between two well-matched sides.

Allow me to elaborate: astute observers cannot have failed to notice that Timbers head coach John Spencer was ejected from the pitch following the Rapids' goal in the second minute of stoppage. The reason for this is that, "he called a foul against us that I didn't think was a foul, and I told him that," said Spencer.

Fair enough, you're not supposed to yell at the referee and if you do, you should expect to get ejected.

But here's the real question: why was Spencer so pissed at the referee to begin with?

The answer is simple. Spencer felt that Okulaja simply was not physically fit enough to keep up with the run of play, that towards the end of the match, he was "blowing calls from 50 or 60 yards away," and that he called more and more fouls as the game progressed because, quite simply, he was tired.

As Spencer said after the match, "I think the referee was starting to call innocuous fouls. He was calling foul after foul, and started calling more fouls as the game went on because he was getting tired... He couldn't cover the ground."

Spencer went on to say, "I think this is a problem in the game. The referees make decisions that cost people their jobs and yet they go back to their homes on Monday morning and everything is fine and dandy. They go back to their families with a smile on their face. But, you know, my job's on the line... It's four guys who don't have to stand up and be held accountable. I think that [they] should be standing up in front of the cameras at press conferences and giving reasons why they're making their decisions. Then maybe they might think twice about making a decision in the future."

Personally, I agree. Poor officiating is a particular and unique blight that affects soccer more so than any other major sport. The solution, if there is one, lies in applying accountability to the FIFA goon squads that currently dominate the sport.

As for Futty Danso, the most recent news is that he was taken to Providence St. Vincent hospital in Portland with a "shoulder separation." I'm not sure what that means, but it sounds like a dislocation. Hopefully he will recover soon.

Chopped Down to Size: Upstart Timbers Take Drubbing at Hands of LA Galaxy

It's one thing to know about the holes in your game, and quite another to have them hammered home repeatedly by one of MLS's best sides in what basically amounts to a blowout. The Portland Timbers knew they had a problem on defense and probably knew that it would eventually come back to bite them in the ass, but coming off of two dominant wins at home as they were, they may not have fully grasped the severity of the issue.

If so, the LA Galaxy cured them of any misapprehensions Saturday night in a savage beating that ended 3-0 at Home Depot Center (HDC)in Carson, California. At no time in the match did Portland look the better team, and a dominant LA repeatedly bested the Timbers on nearly all accounts.

The beating of the proverbial red-headed step child that was Portland, commenced early in the match when LA forward Chad Barrett, on an assist from forward Landon Donovan, sent a bullet into the net from the top of the box.

Matters immediately worsened for an inept-looking Timbers side, and in the eighth, Timbers mid, Rodney Wallace, earned a yellow card on a foul against Donovan who then found the back of the net on the subsequent penalty kick, earning his first goal of the season.

LA continued to dominate on possession and passing for the rest of the half and the Timbers back-line, spread out by the wider field at HDC, looked even more porous than usual. The Timbers had a near miss just before the break on a Mamadou "Futty" Danso header off of a Jack Jewsbury corner, but LA goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, who had an excellent night, was able to knock it away

At the half, the Timbers newly acquired Designated Player (DP), Colombian Diego Chará, came in for midfielder James Marcelin, as did LA mid Juan Pablo Angel for Miguel López. With a fresh pair of legs and making his MLS debut, Chará added some energy to a seemingly demoralized Timbers side and the boys in green began to show some life on offense and threatened several times with shots on goal. However, Ricketts continued to excel, making saves on potentially dangerous shots.

In the 67th minute Donovan scored a brace on a header off of a well-timed Juan Pablo Angel shot across the box to the far post. The Galaxy took a 3-0 lead and the Timbers continued to struggle.

Timbers forwards Kenny Cooper and Jorge Perlaza put together a pair of scoring opportunities in the final 20 minutes, but again, Ricketts denied them.

With the loss, the Timbers drop to 2-3-1. LA improves to 4-1-3 to tie Real Salt Lake for the lead in both the Western Conference, and MLS overall.

Questions and Points of Interest:

The Timbers take on Real Salt Lake (RSL) next weekend at Jeld Wen Field. So far they have played well at home and looked dominant on offense. It will be interesting to see how this translates against RSL who have a demonstrated ability to play before hostile crowds, and who are, in any case, arguably the best team in MLS. If the Timbers cannot manage to shore up their leaky defense between now and then, it seems likely that RSL will hand them their first defeat at home.

Diego Chará looked good in his debut, but by no means is he a known quantity and it remains to be seen whether or not he'll be a success.

With Donovan's return, the Galaxy looked convincing against the Timbers and may be one of the few teams in MLS that's legitimately capable of challenging RSL.

The Timbers have given up goals in every single MLS game this year and continue to struggle on defense. As has been said elsewhere, they cannot expect to be successful in MLS with a sieve-like back-line. So what happens next? Something has to change, and it will be interesting to see what management comes up with.

"The House of Pane" Remains: Timbers still Unbeaten at Jeld-Wen Field with 1-0 Victory over Columbus Crew

If there is something to be said for consistency, then the Portland Timbers have to be pleased, if not necessarily thrilled, with the outcome of Saturday evening's match against the Columbus Crew. Sold-out home crowd? Check. Win on a set-piece? Check. Rain? There was even some of that. But while the game wasn't a total sleeper, neither was it a white-knuckler and if you wanted to see offensive fireworks, for the most part you would have had to look elsewhere.

Perhaps fittingly, Ohio native and former Crew defender Eric Brunner paid his old team back for not protecting him in last year's MLS Superdraft by heading in a neat pass from midfielder Kalif Alhassan off of a speedy free kick by forward Jorge Perlaza in the 46th minute for the win.

The match thus far had been more or less evenly contested and while the Timbers looked to have a slight advantage on speed and attacking in the first half, they were unable to create any real scoring opportunities.

Primarily, the first half was marked by physical play, a referee, Edvin Jurisivic, who may have tried to overcompensate a bit too much for the Timbers' by now very well-known home-field advantage, and the widely-respected Columbus back-line's efforts to bludgeon Timbers forwards Kenny Cooper and Jorge Perlaza into submission.



The strong-arm tactics did not work as Perlaza repeatedly out-hustled an often frustrated-looking Chad Marshall while the always imposing Cooper, as is his habit, simply lumbered through the Crew's back-line on the strength of size and conviction.



The two yellow cards handed out in the first half were directly related to this showdown with team captain and long-time MLS standout defender Chad Marshall earning his in the 23rd minute on a hard tackle against Perlaza, and in an odd turn of officiating, Cooper earning one in the 37th for overreacting to a Julius James tackle, while nonetheless being awarded a free kick on what was evidently the same event.



Towards the end of the first half the Timbers began to slow down a bit and Timbers keeper Troy Perkins barely knuckled away a 42nd minute diving header by Crew forward Tom Heinemann, bringing to naught one of the Ohioans' few real chances on goal for the night.



In any case, the Timbers apparent slowdown was evidently a trick; they came roaring back on target early in the second with Brunner's goal putting them up one, and with a variety of fast-paced attacks down the sides that repeatedly tested the accomplished Crew defense. They were aided by the substitution, at the half, of midfielder Darlington Nagbe --who's been struggling with a groin injury-- with forward Sal Zizzo, yet another indication, if one was needed, that Timbers head coach John Spencer is all about offensive aggression as the best answer to a solid defense.



The match carried on through much of the second half with the Timbers continually pressing, but finding themselves unable to execute. For their part, the Crew pushed back, but was never really able to consistently threaten until the final minutes when they rallied for a pair of dangerous opportunities, one of which barely bounced off the outside post in a stroke of luck for the Timbers.



In keeping with the physical nature of the match, another pair of yellow cards were given out in the second half, one in the 82nd minute to Columbus defender Julius James for a savage tackle against Perlaza that very much looked like retribution for the Colombian's exasperating speed, and another in the 85th minute to Perlaza's childhood friend and fellow Colombian, midfielder Diego Chará for an unusually brutal hip-check that one can't help but suspect was motivated, at least in part, by the hard tackle against Perlaza.



The win bumps the Timbers up to 5-3-2 and with 17 points puts them in a three-way tie with the Seattle Sounders FC and FC Dallas for second place in the MLS Western Conference Standings. With the loss, The Crew (3-3-4) drops to fourth place in the MLS Eastern Conference Standings.



Other Random Notes and Questions:

The Timbers continue to look pretty bullet-proof at home. With five wins and no losses or draws in regular season play at Jeld-Wen Field, they have the best home record in the league. After what's been widely acknowledged as an embarrassing blowout at LA, last week's draw at Seattle proved that they have what it takes, if not to win, then at least to draw on the road against high-end teams. At the risk of sounding like a broken record player, the question remains; is there any chance of them translating that home-field dominance into road victories? It's a question that's worth resolving because if they can make the transition to being dominant on the road as well, they will easily become one of the most formidable sides in all of MLS.

As for the Crew, it looks like they may be in the throws of a rebuilding year. While they continue to be one of the finest defensive sides in MLS, and while they are fairly storied in their own right for whatever that's worth in such a young league, the fact is that they are only fourth in the Eastern Conference which brings us to a larger issue: for whatever reason, in recent years MLS has become a bit lopsided and wanting for parity between the Eastern and Western Conferences, both in terms of performance and attendance. So what's next Mr. Commissioner Garner? What do you do when all but two of your high-attendance sides are on the west coast or the Rocky Mountains and people back east don't seem to give a hoot about MLS? I don't personally have any answers and I guess if it was up to me I'd just wait another year and see if what's happening out west and in Canada might catch on, but that said, I'm not sad that it's an issue I don't have to tackle.

Are the Timbers getting a bit tired of their increasingly solid reputation as the league's set-piece specialists, or do they not care at all since a goal earned on a set piece is as good as any other? If I were John Spencer or General Manager Gavin Wilkinson, while I wouldn't be overly concerned about the team's apparent reliance on set pieces --Saturday's was a league-leading sixth of the season-- I would want to think about diversifying a bit since a side that only scores one way becomes increasingly easy to defend against, even if they do have a brutal home-field advantage.

Finally, I don't think it's too early to deliver a verdict on Diego Chará, Portland's first DP, so here's mine: he's worth it, is everything we were promised, and while he's yet to score any goals, I think it's just a matter of time before he does. Here's why: Chará sets a blistering pace, maintains it throughout the match, and is there in the mix in nearly all circumstances. His terrier-like persistence, speed and aggression --from box to box-- frees up the rest of the midfield to make things happen with overlapping wing attacks that rely on Perlaza's speed and on crosses playing to Cooper's size and positioning. I like it. With Chará, Portland's offense is, arguably, one of the finest in the league.   

A New Stadium for new Team

Work continues apace on the renovation and expansion of PGE Park in Portland, according to Mike Golub, chief operating officer for the Portland Timbers. “Everything is on track and on schedule,” he said in a recent statement.

The park, which opened in 1926, has hosted a variety of tenants over the years, including the Timbers in both their NASL and USL incarnations. It was in need of a face-lift and a seating expansion in order to meet MLS requirements, but with an expected capacity of around 20,000, it will retain its small-stadium feel. According to www.portlandtimbers.com, the $31 million renovation will make it “[the] most intimate, exciting and authentic soccer facility in the United States.”

While this may be an overly optimistic assessment, by any sane criteria, the park promises to be an excellent venue.

The Nuts and Bolts:

1. The Pitch: The playing surface will be shifted to the north and west, adding 96,000 square feet of playing surface and freeing up space for new seating on the south and east sides of the stadium. New turf will be installed as well.
2. Amenities and Public Areas: A variety of amenities are planned for the east side as well as a public plaza that will be accessible when events are not in progress and will double as a group/family terrace. There will also be a private club entrance and restaurant as well as a sports therapy clinic and the usual team store.
3. Large Format Video/Broadcast: Upgrades to PGE Park's virtually non-existent video and broadcast capabilities include new camera positions, LED video “ribbon” boards along the pitch, giant video scoreboards and additional TV monitors.
4. Team facilities such as locker rooms and practice areas will also be updated to meet MLS standards.

Additional amenities and seating are nice, but for the hardcore Timbers supporter, the bigger pitch, the institution of legitimate broadcast and video facilities and the retained intimacy at the stadium, look to figure as the best improvements.

The stadium will likely go through another name-change before the home opener against the Chicago Fire on April 14^th, and while it will never rival Seattle's Qwest Field for capacity, Portland's already well-established supporters base promises sold-out crowds and an exciting atmosphere.

Others will be pleased to learn that Vuvuzelas will be prohibited.