Monday, August 30, 2004
Timbers Top Team in A-League
The Portland Timbers
clinched the 2004 A-League regular season Championship on Sunday with a 2-1 win over Milwaukee. The Timbers finished with an 18-7-3, 57 pts record, beating the Eastern Conference's top team Montreal by a single point.
Byron Alvarez and
Fadi Afash scored as the Timbers go
unbeaten in 10 games into the playoffs which start at
PGE Park on Wednesday night.
The announced crowd of
7,833 was the best for the Timbers this year in the A-League (the
league wide numbers can be found here minus the Toronto-Charleston game which was posponed and will be played today). The Timbers finished the season with an
average of 5,281 at PGE Park.
posted by the timberlog at 10:52 AM
Sunday, August 29, 2004
Weekend Update
Posting will be sporadic as timberlog-towers awaits babylog mark II (yes the due date IS the same as the A-League final!!)
...but here are the
main points again:
Timbers
wrap up their regular season this afternoon against
Milwaukee at PGE Park (KO 5pm)
Timbers 0-0 Thunder - 6,287 on Friday night saw just the
Timbers held scoreless for just the 5th time this year.
Lights out in the 41st minute!
The
Timbers will play Seattle in the
quarterfinals of the playoffs, first leg at
PGE Park on Wednesday Sep 1st, return leg in Seattle on Sun Sep 5th.
Vancouver will play Minnesota in the other quarterfinal playoff.
posted by the timberlog at 3:31 PM
Friday, August 27, 2004
Elfvin Profile
Oregonian profile of Bayard Elfvin who will be starting in goal tonight as the Timbers play the Minnesota Thunder, PGE Park 8pm KO.
"When you first come out, the butterflies are definitely there, but to do my job -- that's such a great feeling."
posted by the timberlog at 11:57 AM
Vanity Journalism
...and for anyone still interested,
Dwight Jayne in the Trib continues his bold exercise in
vanity journalism by filling this week's "Sports" column with unimaginative retorts to reader's letters...because (as we all know) there's nothing going on in the world of sports this week.
posted by the timberlog at 9:25 AM
Goodbye PGE Park??
The new
stadium financing plan put forward by the City of Portland and the members of the Oregon Stadium Campaign includes the
possibility of razing PGE Park (for "
redevelopment opportunities") in order to
divert current Multnomah hotel and vehicle taxes (currently used to pay off the $38.5 million Civic Stadium/PGE Park redevelopment cost) to the proposed new MLB stadium.
Although Portland is no longer in the running to house the
Montreal Expos (those close to the sources claim that PDX never was a real candidate) the plan has been devised to keep Portland alive for a
possible future relocation of one of the following MLB teams (Oakland Athletics, the Minnesota Twins, the Florida Marlins and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays).
When asked about the
future of PGE Park, David Logsdon, the city's spectator facilities manager, said:
"That's an issue we'll look at. As we look at what the future of PGE Park is (if a big-league stadium is built), that's an option that'll be analyzed."
posted by the timberlog at 9:00 AM
Thursday, August 26, 2004
Tomorrow: Portland Timbers v Minnesota Thunder
Friday night sees the Timbers play Minnesota in the
penultimate regular season game at PGE Park this season. KO is at 8pm, the later time to accomodate the
live broadcast on Fox Sports World.
With
top seed in the West wrapped up, the Timbers just need to keep their
momentum going while they wait to see who will face on Sept 1st as 4th seed.
The Thunder are coming off a
2-0 win in Edmonton on Monday leaving them
currently in the 4th and final playoff place.
Jake Sagare and
Josh Saunders will miss Friday's game for the Timbers.
posted by the timberlog at 10:22 AM
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Josh Saunders in DUI Arrest
Timbers keeper
Josh Saunders was arrested in the early hours of Friday morning and
charged with DUI, the Oregonian is reporting today.
Saunders, 23, of Tigard was clocked twice by laser at
102 mph on the highway 26 near the Canyon Road exit.
Saunders was given a
Sept. 7 court date and has been
suspended for Friday's game against Minnesota and has been fined an undisclosed amount, according to Chris Metz, spokesman for the Timbers.
posted by the timberlog at 4:45 PM
Benedetti Named to Team of the Week
For the first time this year
Scott Benedetti has been named to the
A-League team of the week.
Benedetti, 37, notched up
a goal and an assist in Thursday's 5-0 victory over Puerto Rico.
posted by the timberlog at 4:42 PM
Saturday, August 21, 2004
Timbers Champions of the West
The
Portland Timbers became the
A-League Western Conference Champions on Thursday night with an
emphatic 5-0 win over the Puerto Rico Islanders.
The Championship was the
first in the club's history and sets up a first-leg
playoff game as the number 1 seed on
Wednesday Sept 1st at PGE Park.
Goals from
Edwin Miranda (his first for the Timbers), Byron Alvarez, Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar, Scott Benedetti (his
first of the year)and Fadi Afash proved too much for the Islanders especially as they played for half the game with 10 men after
Chris Gores pulled down Alvarez on a breakaway.
Syrian
Fadi Afash's goal was his 4th in
only 143 minutes play since returning to the Timbers 8 games ago.
The Timbers
penultimate regular season game is next
Friday, Aug. 27. The game against the
Minnesota Thunder in a nationally televised match on Fox Sports World and
kickoff is 8 p.m.
Tickets for the
Sept 1st playoff game go on sale on Monday, Aug. 23 at 10 a.m.
O -
Timbers Wrap Up First Seed
Columbian -
Timbers Lock Up Western Conference
posted by the timberlog at 7:44 PM
Thursday, August 19, 2004
Feel Good Hit of the Summer
Alvarez,
Antoniuk,
Gordon,
Afash!
The
Oregonian today on the quartet of forwards who have each played their part in the
Timbers' success this season.
"It's a real luxury to have four players of this quality on your team," Howe said. "This is the strongest attacking force we've had. . . . You can start with two of those players and take one off and not miss a beat."
No
Lee Morrison tonight serving his red card suspension and
Shawn Saunders,
Andrew Gregor and
David Henning all have injuries that mean they might be
rested or play
limited minutes.
posted by the timberlog at 2:30 PM
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Thursday at PGE Park: Olympic Theme...No Costas!
Next up for us "hooligans and yuppies", the
Puerto Rico Islanders visit PGE Park this Thursday for the Portland Timbers' next A-League game in the
run-in to the playoffs.
A win on Thursday would assure the Timbers of the
2004 Western Conference Title, the first time they will have achieved this since joining the A-League in 2001.
The Islanders are coached by
Hugo Maradona, younger brother of the former Argentinian superstar
Diego Maradona, thus giving English ex-pats another chance to bore their neighbors with stories about the
1986 World Cup!!
The Islanders started this season slowly, taking
14 games to get their first win, but since then have improved with a
middle of the road 4-5-3 record taking them to 5-15-6 for the year.
The Islanders have
done well attendance-wise, currently lying in 6th place with an average of
3,889 fans.
Kick off is 7pm and the night has been named "
Toga Party Thursday" in celebration of the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
There will be the traditional "
drug test avoidance" game at half-time and
Bob Costas will be delivering an annoying, partisan and
condescending commentary throughout...just kidding.
Actually...
"this will be the last Thursday event at PGE Park this season, fans are invited to take part in the occasion, which will include
opening ceremonies, halftime competitions and togas galore."
The mind, as they say, boggles!
posted by the timberlog at 10:03 AM
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Alcaraz-Cuellar Honored Again
Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar has been named to the
A-League team of the week for week 18. Hugo
beat Minnesota keeper Joe Warren with a
direct free kick on Saturday to give the Timbers a 2-2 draw and extend their
unbeaten streak to 7 games.
Hugo currently
leads the A-League in assists with 9 and this is the
third time he has made the team of the week.
posted by the timberlog at 4:12 PM
Come Yuppies, Come Hooligans, Come Nude Dancers!
Portland's worst sports columnist
TM is finally coming off the rails.
In his last missive before he is shunted off to the
Ross Island Home for the Feeble Minded.....
Dwight Jaynes bundles some of his pet hates together. Soccer, Portland and probably himself!
Fuming at the lack of progress in attracting a MLB side to PDX, Jaynes calls
Major League Soccer the perfect fit for the Rose City.
From there on
all bets are off as Jaynes spins his initial concept into the far reaches of
cosmic space and time.
Amazingly linking soccer (which as we all know appeals to "yuppies and hooligans") to a dislike of public transport and public funding (just plain "the public" probably) Jaynes goes onto
fume about public urination, the Multnomah County income tax, signing for the hearing impaired and "nude-dancing emporiums".
Unfortunately Jaynes
ran out of space before he could link "same-sex marriage", "off-leash areas", "begging" and the "terror threat" to the evils of MLS.
No mention of the
Timbers making the playoffs, Alan Gordon or the
amazing atmosphere at PGE Park, natch. This is a
sports column after all.
posted by the timberlog at 10:14 AM
Monday, August 16, 2004
Surprise! Your new coach is...
More on the "
Tiffeny Milbrett to coach high school girls" story.
"I found myself with time I didn't expect to have," said Milbrett, who was a Oregon three-time player of the year for Hillsboro High School before starring at Portland. "And I knew that after playing, my next career will be as a coach."
posted by the timberlog at 4:31 PM
Timbers Establish Keiana Serrill Fund
The
Portland Timbers have established a
fund for Keiana Serrill the grand-daughter of Timbers
iconic mascot Timber Jim.
Hannah Serrill, the daughter of Jim and mother of two-year-old Keiana was killed on Aug 5th in a road accident near McMinnville, Ore.
Timbers fans
paid tribute to Hannah before the Aug 12th game at PGE Park where Jim and Keiana were present.
Donations to the
Keiana Serrill Fund are being accepted at
Portland-area US Bank locations or by sending a check to the Portland Timbers at 1844 SW Morrison, Portland, OR 97205. The Timbers will be
accepting donations during all the remaining regular-season matches at the fan stand, located on the main concourse at PGE Park.
posted by the timberlog at 2:39 PM
Sunday, August 15, 2004
Thunder 2 - 2 Timbers
The
Portland Timbers came away from St. Paul Minnesota yesterday with a
2-2 draw, a point to keep them
9 points clear at the top of the Western Conference and a
red card to Lee Morrison.
Byron Alvarez put Bengard's corner part Warren on 19' to get the Timbers off to a good start, a lead Portland held into the second half.
On 58'
Alan Gordon had a penalty plea ignored after being brought down in the box, the Timbers players even
more incensed when
Lee Morrison was sent off 2 minutes later for a similar offence. From the Minnesota penalty,
Menyongar made the score 1-1.
Playing a man down, the Thunder seemed to have got the
game winner on 71' when
Melvin Tarley chipped the ball over the head of Portland goalkeeper Josh Saunders.
But with a
direct free kick from the edge of the Minnesota box on 86'
Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar stepped up to
save the day and send the game into overtime.
Jacquette was sent off on 92' after bringing down Thompson who was
almost in 1-on-1 with Warren, but with both teams having late chances the
game ended 2-2.
The Timbers extended their
unbeaten streak to seven games and finished with a
fantastic 9-3-2 record away from home.
The Timbers
final 3 games are at PGE Park starting on
Thursday Aug 19th against the
Puerto Rico Islanders, KO 7pm.
posted by the timberlog at 2:35 PM
Friday, August 13, 2004
Friday Links
posted by the timberlog at 6:56 AM
Thursday, August 12, 2004
Playoff Bound: Timbers 2 - 1 Mustangs
A final minute goal by super-sub
Fadi Afash gave the Portland Timbers a
2-1 win at PGE Park tonight, sending the Timbers into the A-League playoffs.
A 39th minute penalty by
Alex Bengard gave the Portland Timbers a first half lead against the
Calgary Mustangs, a lead that Portland held into the second half.
With
Miranda replacing Gregor on 56',
Geert Brusselers equalized on 62' after a Calgary move down the center.
Scott Benedetti replaced Bengard on 69' and the 2 substitutions in midfield and the Calgary goal seemed to
spur the Timbers into action.
There were late chances for Gordon, Benedetti and Alvarez before Byron was replaced by
Fadi Afash on 85'.
Then for the
third time in 3 games Fadi scored, taking Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar's pass and
beating Pfannenstiel for the
game winner in the 90th minute.
The only advantage of being out of town and
missing the game is listening to Andy Macnamara's radio broadcast, which tonight was augmented by the
vocal-stylings of
Aaron Heinzen who added some great insight.
A couple of things mentioned in the broadcast:
John Nolan of the Oregonian is recuperating after recent heart surgery. Get well soon John
Jim Taylor mentioned
Wed Sept 1st as the most probable first leg playoff date at PGE Park.
posted by the timberlog at 8:40 PM
Tonight: Timbers v Calgary
A reminder that the
Portland Timbers play the
Calgary Mustangs tonight at PGE Park, KO 7pm.
Since losing to a single
Alan Gordon goal back in July the Mustangs have put together a
nice run of results (including last weekend's 1-1 draw against the Timbers in Calgary). The Timbers need a
single point to assure them of a playoff spot this year.
Tonight's game will include a
minutes silence for Timber Jim's family.
posted by the timberlog at 12:55 PM
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Soccer University USA?
In a week when
Michael Lewis asks the question "Can the U.S. Women's Olympic Team survive and even thrive without the
University of Portland connection?" more proof of soccer
thriving on the bluff.
First the NSCAA announce the
2004 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch Lists which include Pilots senior forward
Christine Sinclair and junior midfielder
Lindsey Huie on the Women's list and Junior forward
Alejandro Salazar on the men's list.
Then there's another Pilot taking a
different route into the future.
Josh Simpson has given up his senior year and signed a two-year contract with
Millwall of the English Championship. The Canadian caught the eye of Millwall manager
Dennis Wise (gotta get my Wimbledon connection in at least once a year!) when Millwall played Canada in a friendly last month.
posted by the timberlog at 9:36 PM
Soccer Mum?
The
WWeek picks up on the whole "language" mini-controversy that was handled by both sides with
seeming aplomb last week.
"They're a great bunch of people," says Cathy McKay, owner of the Bullpen, a stadium-area bar favored by fans. In fact, McKay prefers the singing soccer spectators to the Beavers' baseball believers.
The Timbers' fans
continue to amaze with two threads from
talktimbers.com over the last few days. The
Timber Jim Condolences thread and then to cap it all, Timbers' fans
help mend a broken heart....ahhhhhhhhh!
posted by the timberlog at 10:44 AM
Midweek Round-Up
With just
5 regular season games remaining (4 at PGE Park!), the Portland Timbers are
6 points clear of their nearest rival Vancouver.
Next home game, this
Thursday at PGE Park KO 7pm, a
single point will guarantee the Timbers an A-League playoff place.
Former USA Women's team member
Tiffeny Milbrett will be
coaching the lucky girls at Tigard High School while she considers her future options and continues her rehab following knee surgery.
posted by the timberlog at 10:26 AM
Sunday, August 08, 2004
Sad News for Timber Jim
Very sad news today as Timbers fans are learning that the 17 year-old daughter of Timbers' premier fan and mascot
Timber Jim was
killed in a car crash on Thursday.
Hannah Beth Serrill was killed after a head-on crash on Highway 18, about five miles east of McMinnville.
In other news the Timbers won in Edmonton 4-1 yesterday and drew 1-1 in Calgary today.
Edmonton 1-4 Portland
16' Gordon, 16' (UA)
45' Alvarez, 45' (UA)
60' Alvarez, (Alcaraz-Cuellar)
85' Afash, 85' (Bengard)
Calgary 1-1 Portland
72' Afash, 72' (Alcaraz-Cuellar)
posted by the timberlog at 6:16 PM
Friday, August 06, 2004
Portland 3 - 0 Minnesota
There were some
great performances at PGE Park last night.
Andrew Gregor's 2 goals and 1 assist would have been the
standout in any game...except last night
Josh Saunders had to keep the Thunder (and in particular
Johnny Menyongar) at bay. The game was a
lot closer than the one-sided scoreline suggests and the Thunder
played their part in one of the best games seen at PGE Park for a while.
Bobby Howe's wish to have
every game from now on played as if it were a
playoff game seems to have started well.
Match report here.
posted by the timberlog at 3:43 PM
Thursday, August 05, 2004
Timbers Back Home With a Bang (or Three)
The
Portland Timbers returned to PGE Park tonight and
blew away the remaining cobwebs from their sorry performance aganinst Seattle.
The
full story tomorrow but tonight the facts:
Andrew Gregor's free kick, missed by Bengard's head, curled past Joe Warren on 12'.
Gregor again on 43' with a
sweet volley past the Minnesota keeper to make it 2-0 at the half.
56 minutes and
Byron Alvarez's 1-2 with Gregor to beat Warren for the third time tonight.
Timbers 3 - 0 Thunder
posted by the timberlog at 10:11 PM
Timbers v Thunder Tonight
The
timberlog team sheet for
tonight's game at PGE Park (KO 7pm). Should be a good game (famous last words). The Thunder are always
worth watching even if they are
tired after last night's loss to San Jose in the US Open Cup and the
Timbers have some
things to prove in front of their home fans.
posted by the timberlog at 2:34 PM
Heinzen's Season Over
Sad news this morning that
Aaron Heinzen's season with the Timbers is over after an MRI discovered some dead bone in his left ankle. Heinzen is
scheduled to undergo surgery in about 10 days.
Get well soon Aaron.
The
O article this morning focuses on
Alex Bengard, rightly singling him out as key reason for the Timbers success this season.
The
Minnesota Thunder arrive in Portland for
tonight's game at PGE Park having played
120 minutes last night in St. Paul, eventually
losing to San Jose on penalties in the US Open Cup.
"We've got to overcome that psychologically," Bobby Howe said of the homestand blues. "We've got to hit them, because they're going to be tired.
posted by the timberlog at 8:32 AM
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
Timbers: WWeek's Best of...
Kind of
wrote itself really.
Alan Gordon one of the
people of the year ("
Best Raging Rookie"), currently the top scorer in the A-League with 16 goals and the
Portland Timbers voted "
Best Local Sports Team" in the
readers poll.
posted by the timberlog at 2:38 PM
Timbers v Thunder Preview
Another
Thursday evening of Timbers soccer tomorrow as the
Minnesota Thunder visit PGE Park for the first time this year (KO 7pm).
The Thunder (10-6-3) are currently
6 points adrift of the
top placed Timbers and Whitecaps with a game in hand, and are currently the
only A-League side without a win on the road (let's hope it stays that way!)
The Timbers, however, seem to be
keeping their best form for the road and are coming off wins in Calgary and Milwaukee, earning midfielder
Edwin Miranda a place on the A-League
Team of the Week.
The teams only meeting so far this season was
back in June when the Timbers' Alan Gordon gave Portland a
1-0 win in the James Griffin Stadium.
[A
bad scheduling clash as the Oregon Zoo concert season sees the
brilliant Zimbabwean Thomas Mapfumo (now a Eugene resident!) play...if you're not going to be at PGE Park on Thursday make sure you're at the Zoo! Personally it was a
toss up, but the timberlog has seen him 3 or 4 times already...and will be listening to Kekele tonight so...]
posted by the timberlog at 9:46 AM
Monday, August 02, 2004
Timbers Continue to Win on the Road
The
Portland Timbers continued to
win on the road on Saturday with a 2-0 win in Milwaukee,
avenging their 2-1 loss at Uihlein Park back in June. The Timbers now have an
8-3-0 record on the road, one of the best in the A-League.
Early goals by
Byron Alvarez (his 10th of the season) and
Alex Bengard sunk the Wave United,
Dan Antoniuk getting both assists.
The Timbers now
top the Western Conference with the Vancouver Whitecaps (who were held to a 1-1 draw by Calgary on Friday).
Next up for the Timbers, the
Minnesota Thunder at PGE Park, this
Thursday, KO 7pm.
posted by the timberlog at 11:09 AM