brian costello
Timber Joey, soon to be bald
Oaks Park will definitely be the place to be on Saturday if you’re looking to see Timbers players AND help some great causes.
Yesterday, we wrote about Joe Bendik’s campaign to help his nephew and fight Cystic-Fibrosis via his Team Gavin and their Great Strides walk beginning at 9:00am at Oaks Park.
Also equally important is the work being done by the St. Baldrick’s Foundation and their help in finding cures for childhood cancers and helping survivors live long and healthy lives. As part of their fundraising efforts, they’ll also be out at Oaks Park this Saturday, May 19 with numerous Timbers players, staff, and alumni shaving their heads to help raise money for the foundation. To date, the Timbers St. Baldrick's team has raised over $12,000!
Beginning at 1pm tomorrow, forward Brent Richards, defender Ryan Kawulok, assistant coach Cameron Knowles, alumni ambassadors Scot Thompson and John Bain as well as Timber Joey—already sporting a mohawk (right)—will be among those in the Timbers community that will be going under the razor to shave their heads. All this happening not too long after the Great Strides walk.
There’s still time to give to both excellent causes and both have drawings with great Timbers gear available for people who donate. Joe’s Team Gavin is here and the Timbers page for St. Baldrick’s is here.
What are you waiting for? Donate! Head to Oaks Park! Walk with Joe! Then ride some rides! Then come and see people shave their heads! Have fun! Then be sure to cheer on the boys in green on Sunday!
adidas Soccer unveiled a new ad this morning online touting their revolutionary miCoach Smart Soccer system. Set to debut on Saturday during the Chelsea-Bayern Munich Champions League Final on FOX, the ad features a starring role for Timbers midfielder/forward Darlington Nagbe alongside fellow co-star, the Timbers Army.
Filmed in part during the Timbers 1-0 win over Sporting Kansas City last month, there are also appearances by some other guys.
Okay, yes, those other guys are pretty good MLS'ers too: SKC's Teal Bunbury, FC Dallas' Brek Shea, and Real Salt Lake's Javier Morales.
After shooting footage during the Timbers-SKC match, the adidas crew spent the next day utilizing locker rooms and other areas inside JELD-WEN Field to shoot the players' individual scenes. Check it out:
Got a story, tip, soccer tidbit to share? Send it in to thebackcut (at) portlandtimbers.com.
The old saying that "if you want to be Timbers Army, then you already are," makes for an incredibly easy recruiting tool. The North End at JELD-WEN Field is always packed with legion upon legion of fervent Timbers Army fans.
But what of frontier outposts? How do fans who have chosen to follow the Timbers band together to support their team in the furthest reaches of soccer fandom?
NYC Loggers claiming their territory Photo: MLSsoccer.com
In Manhattan, the NYC Loggers are one group that have taken up the cause. A friendly band made up primarily of ex-Portlanders who now find themselves in Brooklyn and Manhattan, the Loggers set up camp inside the Football Factory at Legends in the heart of Midtown to cheer on the Timbers for every match--no small feat considering the late Eastern time zone kickoffs.
On Tuesday night, a collection of Timbers Army faithful took up their posts inside The Football Factory for the Portland-Houston match whereupon they came across a collection of MLSsoccer.com staff members who were settling in to take in the match. MLSsoccer.com was kind enough to snap a picture.
Advance intel from Loggers organizer Cesar Diaz tells us that a few of them are planning to come in person to the Timbers Cascadia clash against the Whitecaps later this month and are already looking ahead to when the squad travels to Red Bull Arena in August. As always, the Big Apple detachment of Timbers Army troops are, much like the open arms of Lady Liberty, looking to welcome more to their platoon. As their motto proudly states:
We are the Mad Men who occupy Madison Ave chanting "RCTID" as we support the Timbers from Sea to Shining Sea! Give us your mental, your barmy, your Gotham Masses yearning to be Green!
Are you among the Timbers faithful in far off remote outposts? Find yourself in the Deep South? The Midwest? Europe? Asia? At sea? Send us a note at thebackcut (at) portlandtimbers.com and let us know your tales. Also, MLSsoccer.com is devoting this whole week to Supporters Week coverage with unique features on supporters culture, tifo, and more. Be sure to check it out.
With the Houston Dynamo opening their new BBVA Compass Stadium this weekend, MLSsoccer.com takes a look at some of the most memorable MLS stadium debuts.
With all due respect to our Canadian neighbors in Toronto, and the Midwestern folks in Kansas City, the JELD-WEN Field opening takes the cake. Beyond that, though, the opening of Houston's new field marks another development in the growth of soccer-specific stadiums in MLS.
And it's another great stadium to watch a match. Give Armchair Analyst Matthew Doyle's Three for Thursday a read and then re-live the House of Pane opening.
What are some of your favorite memories at JELD-WEN Field?
Got a story, tip, soccer tidbit to share? Send it in to thebackcut (at) portlandtimbers.com.
Photo: Miranda Chrislocke
Next Tuesday, May 15, presents a unique double-header event for Timbers fans.
The Portland Timbers of MLS travel to Houston to take on the Dynamo in the first evening home game at BBVA Compass Stadium at 5:30pm PT on ROOT SPORTS / 750 AM The Game. Also on the same day, The Timbers U-23s of the PDL begin their U.S. Open Cup campaign hosting the USASA's PSA Elite at 7:30pm PT.
You may be asking yourself, how can I--devoted Timbers fan that I am--watch them all in the same place?
JELD-WEN Field has you covered in four simple steps:
Step 1. Get yourself a ticket to the Timbers U-23s match for Tuesday. Tickets for U-23s are only $7 bucks general admission and can be purchased at the JELD-WEN Field box office or via Ticketmaster.
Step 2. Come to JELD-WEN Field on Tuesday beginning at 5:15pm with beer specials and $7 hotdog/soda combos available.
Step 3. Watch the Timbers-Dynamo match on the big BIG screen in the House of Pain that starts at 5:30pm.
Step 4. Stick around for the Timbers U-23s U.S. Open clash following the MLS match that kicks off at 7:30pm.
What are you waiting for? It's a simple four-step process. See you on Tuesday.
Got a story, tip, soccer tidbit to share? Send it in to thebackcut (at) portlandtimbers.com.
Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer
Timbers striker Bright Dike recently arrived with his new club L.A. Blues on loan earlier this week and spoke about his first training session there.
“The Timbers coaches told me I needed to get more minutes at a high level and that there were a few possible destinations,” Dike explained. “From what they said, it seemed like the Blues were the best fit, with coaches who can really help my game and who are determined to get the most out of every player. After one day of training, that’s exactly the impression I have. They know what they want to see on the field and what they expect out of us.”
It's clear that the strong forward is ready to contribute during his stay in L.A. Read the whole report on the USL PRO site here.
Got a story, tip, soccer tidbit to share? Send it in to thebackcut (at) portlandtimbers.com.
Soccer history isn't always dealing with obscure fith division teams from some pastoral English countryside. No. Rather there's a long American--and even Oregonian--slant to what we know as The Beautiful Game.
Jan. 20, 1914, Lincolln High School Boys Soccer Team
Photo courtesy the Futbol Heritage Archive/Boxscore News World Sportswire
George Fosty, president and a founder of the Society of North American Historians and Researchers, has written a lovingly researched post online that charts the history of soccer in Oregon all the way back to the 19th century. The early guises of the Multnomah Amateur Athletic Club—now known simply as the Multnomah Athletic Club (MAC) and its quest to build a stadium that eventually becomes JELD-WEN Field, intra-Oregon collegiate rivalries, road trips to Seattle, a Cameron Cup, the inception of the womens game, hoodlums, hoodwinks, and eventual creation of the Portland Timbers are all mentioned in his piece, Knee-Knockers: Celebrating 120-Years Of Oregon Soccer. Fosty explains his love of Portland and sets up its founding in the Oregon Territory as the precursor to a long soccer history:
The city of Portland, the largest city in Oregon, was incorporated in 1851. At the time of incorporation Portland boasted a population of 821, of which 653 were men, 164 women, and 4 were identified as "free colored." By 1885, the population would stand at 17,500. Fifteen years later, the city would register 90,426. By 1910, it would boast 207,214. During these years, Portland would distinguish itself as one of the most forward thinking cities in North America. A visionary approach that often split over into the realm of sports, among which included the game of soccer.
While much of those early years are difficult to research and may be built around more conjecture than fact, it's an interesting read into the nascent stages of Oregon soccer. Read the whole thing here.
Hungry for more history? Check out Portland-based historian and occasional PortlandTimbers.com contributor Michael Orr’s new book that expands upon the creation of the NASL-era Timbers in his new book The 1975 Portland Timbers: The Birth of Soccer City USA. Well researched with interviews from many of the original Timbers such as current MLS-era soccer ambassadors John Bain and Mick Hoban, the book is a unique snapshot of a key era of Portland soccer history.
Still wanting more history? The excellent soccer blog Free Beer Movement blog took the recent Lionel Messi achievement of scoring 72 goals over the course of a first division season—including all cup tournaments—to delve into how that broke a record once held by an American soccer player, Archie Stark.
With players like Pele (66 for Santos in 1958) and Mueller in the rear-view mirror for global scoring tallies who could have Messi blown by to set yet another record?
An American, of course.
Yes. Someone from the United States of America.
Buried in a host of articles celebrating Messi's accomplishment (many omitting any mention of it at all) was the name Archie Stark.
Read up on this great piece of American soccer history here.
Study up for finals.
Got a story, tip, soccer tidbit to share? Send it in to thebackcut (at) portlandtimbers.com.
Roy Hodgson at JELD-WEN Field, July 2012
Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer
After months of speculation that Harry Redknapp of Tottenham Hotspur was going to take on the national team job for England, the English FA announced today that former West Bromwich Albion, Liverpool, and Fulham manager Roy Hodgson will take over the post.
Hodgson is no stranger to Portland. Last summer he led West Brom to Oregon for an international friendly against the Timbers. In a thrilling back and forth match, West Brom pulled out a 3-2 win on a 91'+ wondergoal by Gabriel Tamas that Hodgson called, "once in a blue moon."
Now Hodgson finds himself at the reins of England and heading into the 2012 European Championships this summer. How do you think he'll do?
Got a story, tip, soccer tidbit to share? Send it in to thebackcut@portlandtimbers.com.
Timbers midfielder/2011 MLS All-Star Jack Jewsbury (left) vs. Manchester United and then Timbers defender now Alumni Ambassador Scot Thompson (right) (Photo: Getty Images & Craig Mitchelldyer)
Manchester United and Manchester City. Perhaps you've heard of them.
The 2011 MLS All-Star opponent United vs. the 2010 Timbers summer exhibition friendly opponent City--otherwise known as gladiators for the top of the English Premier League table--face off today on ESPN at high noon PT. United only holds a three point lead over City with only two matches left to play following today's clash.
The Backcut asks: Who you got?
I don't know how many of you out there are fans of The Wire but if you aren't yet, then you best should be. It is among the finest television shows of all time. Set in Baltimore and ostensibly about the drug trade and the people who try to both profit from it and put a stop to it, the show expanded on issues of education, unions, politics, culture, youth, and everything in between. If you haven't watched it yet, stop reading this and go rent it post haste.
Omar Little
Back? Okay. The depth of narrative arc led to some truly memorable characters. So memorable, soccer blog The Other 87 celebrates the tenth anniversary of The Wire's first season by asking, what would make the best fictional Starting XI out of such a cast?
What I find amazing is that the infamous bandit Omar Little does not feature in either XI. The Other 87 argues that he "doesn't fit neatly into either team" and that sorta makes sense if you assume he'd constantly be on the lookout only for himself. But aren't some of the greatest soccer players of all time the same? Wouldn't Omar have been the consummate #10 pulling the strings across the pitch?
I have to believe B&B Enterprises is the kit sponsor for the Bad Guys. Maybe Stringer Bell's copy shop. For the Good Guys? It's got to be Kavanaugh's Irish Pub. How do you think these teams stack up?
via The Other 87:
The Good Guys
Image: theother87.com
GK – Lester Freamon – He could be painting dollhouse furniture and still pull out a brilliant save between the sticks. He also keeps a level head when the rest of the team loses discipline.
LB Ellis Carver – Known to bash a few skulls, but commands his troops well. Carver provides outlet passes to Bunny Colvin ahead of him, but also has the talent to switch wings with his partner, Herc Hauk.
LCB – Cedric Daniels – Tall, imposing, disciplined. What more could ask of a world class defender? Despite his age, Cedric shows tremendous upshot.
RCB – Rhonda Pearlman – Partners well with Daniels in the back. The two take turns cleaning up messes. When all else fails, she uses her charm to appeal to the ref.
RB – Herc Hauk – Along with Carver, Herc ensures nothing gets into the box. While intelligence isn’t always his forte, he muscles any hoodlums stupid enough to challenge his authority.
CDM – Bubbles – Tactically, Bubbles knows the opposition inside and out. With this insight, he shrewdly predicts every play and provides outlet passes to Kima ahead of him.
LCM – Bunny Colvin – Our warhorse. He’ll try anything to break the opposition, even if it means allowing them to play their game.
RCM – Tommy Carcetti – Carcetti has the energy and guile to go on the offensive, especially when he identifies a weakness in his marker.
CAM – Kima Greggs – She would take a bullet for her team, and that’s exactly why we want her providing support for the front line.
LS – Bunk Moreland – Our target man. While Bunk lacks in speed or athleticism, he more than makes up for in persistence and strength.
RS – Jimmy McNulty – Opposite Moreland, McNulty cracks open the defense with risky runs, often to the displeasure of the coaching staff.
The Bad Guys
Image: theother87.com
GK – Stringer Bell –Because of this attacking formation, we need an intelligent goalkeeper capable of reading the opposition and deflecting any attacks.
LB – Wallace – Runs up and down the wing, often unsure of his position. Uses D’Angelo for guidance.
LCB – Clay Davis – Senator Davis is more than willing to take the ball from Stringer and distribute it as he sees fit.
RCB – Proposition Joe – Prop Joe is by far the most cautious member of the squad. While his teammates are eager to attack, he waits patiently and watches for the counter.
RB – D’Angelo Barksdale – Like Wallace, D is often unsure of his position, but is intelligent enough to play capably in both halves of the field.
LCM – Chris Partlow – Always one step ahead of the opposition, Chris is the left side of our midfield triangle.
RCM – Snoop – Our bruiser. In spite of her size and age, Snoop isn’t afraid to put in a hard tackle if she’s asked to do so.
CM – Marlo – Marlo is ruthless in his pursuit of victory, but doesn’t come to life until the second half.
LAM – Slim Charles – Often at odds with Stringer’s instructions from the back, Charles acts as provider in the box.
RAM – Bodie – Distrustful of the midfield lineup, Bodie often creates his own goals, especially when Avon is out of position.
ST – Avon Barksdale – If Stringer is the calming voice for the squad, Avon is the banshee’s scream. However, as the head of the attack, you can’t blame his enthusiasm for forcing the issue.
Hat tip to both soccer blogs The Other 87 and Free Beer Movement for the great tactical breakdown. Got a story, tip, soccer tidbit to share? Send it in to thebackcut (at) portlandtimbers.com.
