With 30 entries there was some stiff competition in the Timbers Army Homebrew Competition held today at Lompoc Sidebar. In its third year the Timbers Army Homebrew Competition is a fundraiser for the 107ist Tifo Fund.

There were two overarching categories Pride of Cascadia (India Pale Ale, Imperial India Pale Ale, Cascadian Dark Ale, and Northwest Red), and Full 90/Summer Ales and Lagers. Entries were judged blind by panels of judges ranging from novice to National ranked BJCP judge, and professional brewers. Special thanks to Van Havig of Gigantic Brewing, Ben Dobler, Joe Casey, Doug Rehberg of Widmer Brothers Brewing for lending their judging expertise.

The Pride of Cascadia winner was “Tribute to Kelso” Cascadian Dark Ale brewed by Jeremie Landers and Jenn McPoland of the Oregon Brew Crew homebrew club. Lompoc will brew the CDA in the coming months.

The winner of the Full 90/Summer Ales and Lagers category was Kö Kölsch brewed by Abram Goldman-Armstrong, also a member of the Oregon Brew Crew. Widmer Brothers Brewing Company will produce the Kölsch for release in time for the 2013 Timbers season opener.

The competition was organized by 107ist members Austin Southard and Abram Goldman-Armstrong. Big thanks to Lompoc owner Jerry Fechter and the Lompoc staff for hosting. Both Fechter and Widmer’s Ben Dobler played for their respective brewery teams in yesterday’s Timbers Corporate Cup at Jeld-Wen Field.

—by Chris Rifer

For a few moments on Wednesday it appeared as though the Timbers may be poised to capture their first road win of 2012. Then, for another few moments, it appeared as though Portland would continue its absurd away ineptitude and capture the inside track to the wooden spoon. And finally, the Timbers pulled even for a deserved draw against their cellar-dwelling colleagues.

The Timbers found success in the early going, as they dominated the ball and found the better of the chances. In the eighth minute, the Timbers opened their opportunities when Sal Zizzo sent a corner toward David Horst at the far post, but Portland’s first choice set piece target’s header went just over the bar.

In the nineteenth minute, Donovan Ricketts nearly made his first mistake in Timbers baby blue, as an Eric Hassli shot squirted through the enormous Timbers’ keeper’s hands but sailed just over the bar.

Two minutes later, Zizzo himself would make some corner kick magic. After Steven Smith found Horst’s head again, Zizzo poked the ball toward goal only to be denied by Eric Avila. The ball rebounded back to the food carteur, who tapped the opener home.

While Toronto saw more of the ball in the remainder of the first half, neither team could break through to create anything significant in the way of chances.

Portland nearly seized control after the break, however, as another neatly placed Zizzo set piece found a diving Horst at the far post, but Horst couldn’t quite steer the ball back toward goal.

Two minutes later Kris Boyd put the ball in the back of the net, but was called offside after Darlington Nagbe held the ball a step too long before sending it through to the Scot.

The previously competent Timbers defense, however, would fold in the fifty-seventh minute. After Toronto earned a free kick just inside their defensive half on the right wing, Richard Eckersley popped his free kick forward onto the head of Reds’ defender Adrian Cann. Cann nodded down to the feet of Luis Silva in prime position, but the rookie was denied by a diving Ricketts. Hassli was apparently the only player interested in the rebound, however, and he easily tapped in.

So many times this year, when the Timbers concede on the road, they have conceded again in short order. Such was the case in the sixty-third minute, as Kosuke Kimura lost Ashtone Morgan on the Timbers right side. Morgan’s cross was met at the near post by Silva who easily redirected home.

Things should have been leveled in the seventieth minute, when the newly introduced Mike Fucito raced onto a perfectly timed through ball from Diego Chara. Fucito found himself behind the defense, but was clipped and taken down from behind by Eckersley. On his way down, Fucito found Boyd all alone twelve yards from goal, but the one-time Timbers’ talisman tamely tapped toward Toronto ‘tender Milos Kocic.

In the eighty-second minute, however, Portland did pull level. After Smith threw to Fucito on the left wing, the active striker laid it back to Smith, who gave to Boyd, who then found Eric Alexander twenty-five yards out. Alexander slipped a beautiful through ball to Smith, who crossed to a wide-open Darlington Nagbe for an easy headed goal. It was one of the better buildups of the season, as the Timbers have rarely showed such short passing verve in the attacking third.

Two minutes later, the Timbers should have had a golden opportunity to lock up three points. In the eighty-fourth minute, Fucito again found himself through on goal. For the second time, Eckersley took down Fucito when he was through on goal. This time he jumped on Fucito’s back, taking the diminutive forward down and allowing Kocic to collect the loose ball. Of course, referee Geoff Gamble failed to give the clearly appropriate penalty and straight red card.

Gamble did find it appropriate, however, to book Hanyer Mosquera seconds later after he got tangled up with Keith Makubya while pursuing a 50-50 ball. With the Timbers’ chance at a winner snuffed out, Toronto nearly found their winner on the ensuing free kick. After Torsten Frings’ free kick deflected slightly off of the Timbers’ wall, Makubya got a touch to the ball, but his redirection sailed a foot wide of the near post.

Wednesday’s match largely left Timbers supporters searching for the appropriate response. On one hand, it was a vastly better result on the road. On the other, it was against a weakened cellar-dwelling Toronto team. On one hand, the Timbers melted down and allowed two goals in a six-minute period. On the other, the Timbers battled back from the deficit to tie the game and, but for some incompetent officiating, probably would have won it.

In the end, however, the Timbers find themselves on Thursday in largely the same position they were in on Tuesday: hopelessly out of the playoff race and in a neck-and-neck race for the wooden spoon.

Timbers Observations

• While the Timbers success on the wings on Wednesday can be seen as a sign of progress —and it may well be— it should be pointed out that Toronto’s fullbacks are awful. While Reds’ supporters may point to the absence of Jeremy Hall as a reason for their vulnerability, Timbers’ fans know better. Toronto’s fullbacks just stink.
• I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a player escape two near misses with a straight red card in a game without even so much as a foul. Although Fucito probably bailed him out on the first by laying the ball off for Boyd, Eckersley clearly clipped the striker, fouling him to diffuse a clear goalscoring opportunity. Similarly, when he jumped on Fucito’s back in the box in the second instance, he was denying Mike another clear opportunity. Such fouls are supposed to be automatic red cards, out of the discretion of the referee. Then again, this is the MLS.

Timbers Grades 

Donovan Ricketts, 5 Had a nervous moment early when he fumbled Hassli’s eighteenth minute shot, but was otherwise competent in goal. Did well to save Silva’s shot on the first concession, and would have snuffed the opportunity if his defense had been interested in helping him out. Overall, a decent but unspectacular debut for Ricketts.

Steven Smith, 6 Had a little bit more cover from Rod Wallace on the left than he does from Songo’o, and had a decent game defensively. His biggest contribution came on the Timbers’ equalizer, where his combination play was vital to the run up.

Hanyer Mosquera, 4 Up and down game for Mosco. Had several nice moments, but it was hard not to notice him getting beat to the rebound on the first concession.

David Horst, 6 Has surprisingly become the Timbers’ set piece target, and has done very well in that role. May have been able to do better on the second concession to cut off the cross, but the cross shouldn’t have been sent in to start with.

Kosuke Kimura, 3 Bears the vast majority of the responsibility for the second concession, as he never should have allowed Morgan to get free.

Jack Jewsbury, 6 Jack’s 2012 appears to be a mirror image of his 2011. Whereas Jack started well and faded in 2011, he started poorly and is now coming on in 2012. He didn’t do anything flashy on Wednesday, but has become the guy that does lots of little things right.

Diego Chara, 6 I was surprised to see Diego get a little bit of flak for his performance on Wednesday. Yes, some of his passes were a little bit looser than normal, but he also had a few nice through balls, was—as usual—very active, and was the most influential player in the central midfield for either side.[1]

Darlington Nagbe, 7 He’s still dribbling too much, and actually got dispossessed a couple times more than I would like, but scoring a goal and completing 48 of 51 passes is a good game for an attacking central mid. It’s been a rough summer for Darlington, and hopefully this can help him snap out of it a bit.

Rodney Wallace, 4 Wasn’t effective going forward, and occasionally looked confused about his defensive responsibilities. Still, provided decent cover for Smith and—surprisingly—won a good number of headers on Toronto set pieces to avert a ratings disaster.

Kris Boyd, 2 Was largely anonymous when he wasn’t set up with a nice chance, and when Fucito did set him up, Boyd made a mess of it. Had a couple helpful flicks on, but otherwise was pretty useless. A benching wouldn’t be out of order.

Sal Zizzo, 7 Oh yeah, and then there’s Sal.[2] Great offensive game from Sal. Aside from using his pace well, Sal unleashed some previously unknown set piece prowess. Also, showed some creativity by wearing camouflage, as Toronto clearly couldn’t see him in the six yard box.

Mike Fucito, 7 Perhaps his best game in a Timbers uniform. Criminally unfortunate not to draw a penalty and red card on Eckersley. He may soon get another chance in the XI.

Eric Alexander, 6 Was otherwise only solid, but had a moment of magnificence in the build up to the Timbers’ equalizer.

Preseason Prediction: Timbers 2, Toronto 0. Boyd, Dike.

Actual Result: Timbers 2, Toronto 2. Zizzo, Nagbe.

Onward, Rose City!

3^rd Annual Timbers Army Homebrew Competition

Fill your mash tuns ladies and gentlemen, it’s that time again, the Timbers Army Homebrew Competition will take place Sunday August 19^th, at Lompoc Sidebar 3901A N. Williams Ave in Portland.

In its second year as an official BJCP competition, the event will be limited to three categories; Pride of Cascadia (India Pale Ale, Imperial India Pale Ale, Cascadian Dark Ale, and NW Red Ale), Summer Beers (open to beers you’d want to drink for 90 minutes at a match (including but not limited to Blonde Ale, Pale Ale, English Summer Ale, Kölsch, Cream Ale, Irish Red Ale, Scottish 60 Shilling, Mild Ale, etc)*, and Lagers. Lompoc Brewing will produce a 15-barrel batch of the Pride of Cascadia winner, and brewmasters from Widmer Brothers Brewing Company will pick one of the winning “Full 90” Summer Beers or Lagers to brew on their 250-barrel system. The Widmer Brothers beer will be sold in Jeld-Wen and released in 22-ounce bottles throughout Oregon and SW Washington.

Judging will be held at Sidebar from 9am- 4pm on August 19, with the winners announced at half-time during the Timbers-NY Red Bulls match at Sidebar that evening.

Judges are needed, please contact Abram Goldman-Armstrong at the email below to sign up.

Please include the BJCP style number (in the case of CDA or NW Red simply write CDA or NWR in the spot for a number) Visit www.bjcp.org for style guidelines . Please submit four 12-ounce bottles, or three 22-ounce bottles. Entries are due to Lompoc 5^th Quadrant or Sidebar by 5pm Friday, August 17. NEW! F.H. Steinbart's homebrew shop on SE 12th and Pine will also be accepting entries until 4.30pm Friday August 17.  (2 bottles are needed for the competition, and 2 bottles are needed by Widmer for lab analysis if your beer is selected).

Cost is $5 per entry for 107ist members, $10 for non-members (please note that only 107ist members are eligible to have their beer brewed at Widmer). Make Checks payable to the 107 Independent Supporters Trust

Please include a BJCP entry form: downloadable here: bjcp entry form and identify bottles with a BJCP bottle ID form

The Timbers Army is one of the most renowned groups of soccer supporters in the US and Canada. The 107 Independent Supporters Trust is a non-profit organization founded by the Timbers Army to support soccer in Portland from the grass roots to the highest professional level.

For more information contact Abram Goldman-Armstrong abram.goldman-armstrong[AT]107ist.org

 

* We don’t want to stifle creativity, so you are welcome to enter whatever style you like in this category, but you may have a hard time convincing judges that your 13% imperial stout is a beer you could drink pints of for an entire match

—by Andrew Brawley

I love Toronto. Hard to believe, I know, especially given my past rants about both Vancouver (cuddly-but-rival town) and Montreal (French people). I’ve been to Toronto a few times, and each time it just got better. It’s clean. It’s full of nice people. It’s the Canadian stereotype I’d always envisioned. However it has been a while since I’ve set foot in my favorite provincial metropolis, so I’ve enlisted some help.

But first, some backstory. I used to work for a punk band. While working for, and touring with, said punk band, I’ve managed to meet and become friendly with a few other punk bands. One of those bands was Sum 41. On Warped Tour 2001, my employers and Sum 41 hung out together way too much. As a result, I learned they were probably the nicest kids playing in a band at that time, despite the fact they had the number one single on the Modern Rock charts that summer. They didn’t let success go to their heads, they were total pros, and as a result, I’ll never have anything but nice things to say about them.

Dave Baksh (a.k.a. Dave Brownsound, a.k.a. Hot Chocolate) was the guy I clicked with the most. Killer sense of humor, loved heavy metal, and somehow was the nicest in a group comprised of nothing but nice guys. Dave left Sum 41 in 2005 and ventured out on his own. Currently he leads a mostly normal life around Toronto and plays guitar in The Organ Thieves. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Dave, but since he’s one of maybe three people I know that are familiar with Toronto, I figured I’d aim high and reach out. Unsurprisingly, and without hesitation, he replied with a robust list of places you might want to check out while in Toronto. Big thanks to Dave for helping out.

The Bovine Sex Club: Rock

Great atmosphere clientele and drinks, bartenders are very nice and very easy to look at. Don't be a creep, wipe the drool off your mouth and order.

College Street Bar: Reggae

Wednesday night is the night to go, as Lennie Far I throws a reggae night usually accompanied by a live band.

The Caribbean Dutch Pot: Food

Located by Chuck Cole's house on the Danforth, I just bought one of the best hot sauces I've ever tried there. Drive past the Danforth DVP entrance, turn right, park and live like you should with some curry.

Sneaky Dee's: Booze and food

The food is excellent, quick and the booze flows forever here as well. Though the atmosphere like many places nowadays looks like the holding room for an EMF video for "Unbelievable," this place has been around longer than the second wave of the tank top and ironic moustache. In other words, don't blame the plate of food, blame the power moustache that the food gets caught in. You're so unbelievable.

Cosmos Records: Record Shop

Two locations and a slew of rare vinyl. If you collect music or need to locate a record these are your guys. They have been in the business for over 1,000 years and still treat their customers with respect. I'm pretty sure it's 1,000....

Hits And Misses: Record Shop

Great punk, rock, metal record store. Owner is awesome and doesn't mind having customers ask questions. Ordering records is easy as well.

Hibiscus: Vegan Cuisine

Our cousin Kerrick took my wife first, and then wife took me. We ate a salad bowl and it was some of the best Veggie cuisine I have ever had. If it's hot and you are tired of eating the fear, go to Hibiscus.

Magpie Taproom: Best Bartender in Toronto

You've seen "Cocktail" right? Well Chuck doesn't do any of that sh*t. He pours drinks and keeps the party going. 90's hip hop nights, Toronto's finest keyboard player and a steady diet of Toots and the Maytals make this place the destination for the lover of a bar with soul.

Odile Chocolat: Amazing Choclatier

I believe the original lyrics went "God make Chocolate for the queen..." until Johnny Rotten realized she was a dick. Ms. Odile believes in the royals however and her chocolate is so good that she made all of the chocolate for Ol' Prince 'Arry's visit to Canada. It is unknown if the queen has eaten chocolate since hearing the news of the Sex Pistol's lyric change.

Horseshoe Tavern: Great venue

I have been playing here all of my life and it's great place with great atmosphere. Tuesday night is usually new music night with Dave Bookman of 102.1FM. It's legendary and the drink is fairly priced.

W Burger Bar: Late Eats

Just went here after a show with The Penske File and the burgers were amazing. Kitchen open late, we ate our burgers while strobe lights, bad top 40 and the 2012 Olympics enhanced our experience. The spot for late night Bison. (Warning: Strobe lights and Bison not recommended for those prone to seizures)

TCB Tattoo: Tattoos

In the famous words of someone famous: "Let's get a thugged out ET on our bodies! No, let's get a Space Jam tattoo!" This place will not do that sort of crap work. Quality artists hand picked by Scot McEwan have taken the shop and made it into a great place to be tattooed. No egos or Asian lettering that doesn't mean what you thought it did after it's on your body. Be sure to ask for Wes Dix.

—by Garrett Dittfurth

First off I’d like to wish the best to Troy Perkins. Thank you for everything you gave to our club. As one of the few players in the MLS bunch who truly understands what it means to play in Portland I wish you the very best in the rest of your career. Don’t forget about us because we won’t forget about you. I can’t wait to see you here again. When you hear us clapping off the team know that those claps are still directed at you as well.

Next I’d like to welcome Donavan Ricketts. You’ve got a great reputation and I’ve heard some very good things about you. Your resume is great and can’t be argued with. I wish you the very best of luck. It’s a hard situation to come in and replace a player with the class and respect of Troy Perkins. I don’t envy your position. If you conduct yourself with the same class and respect I’m positive you’ll be held in the same esteem Troy is now.

Obviously it’s a difficult thing losing players that mean something to the fans. I’ve heard some things said in the past 24 hours I find very troubling that don’t make things much easier.

“You know that you are going to get a hit form some people that it may not be popular with the fans, and rightfully so. I can understand that. Troy was a phenomenal person, a great human being, and a very good professional for us, but Ricketts is a very good professional, a great person, and, in my mind, a better goal keeper.”

This statement starts out fine and should have stopped before the “but.” Of course that’s where most of Gavin’s statements usually should stop. When he starts in with things like, “I don’t want to throw players under the bus, but.” When the but word comes out he should probably learn to stop talking. It would probably do wonders for the relationship with players.

I know there will be a lot of people out there telling me I don’t know what I’m talking about and to be fair I’m not going to give away sources. Let’s just say Twitter is a forum where many former players have accounts. When you see them retweet things and statements they make it’s pretty obvious of their opinions. One former player willing to go on record wrote this about Gavin. “My former coach and someone who I thought I knew very well but found out in the end I knew nothing about.” I can read between the lines in that statement. You should be able to as well. If it were just one player expressing that sentiment it would be an isolated incident, but it’s not isolated. It’s coming right and left from former players. It’s a giant big fat screaming glaring problem.

As far as coaching goes the last thing I want to hear about is two coach of the year awards at the USL level. To be fair 2007 was a good year but one year later the success couldn’t be replicated. How many minutes in a row did we go without a goal? Yes we had good years in 2009 and 2010 but we were playing with a loaded deck. The cream of the crop all wanted to play here for a shot at the MLS roster in 2011.

I’m not claiming to be the one to know the path moving forward on the pitch. I’ll leave that to others to speculate on. I can say one thing very plainly. Portland is a very different city than New York, L.A., and Columbus. The way we think and operate is very different than other cities and that reflects in the stadium and in the fans. If that isn’t recognized sooner rather than later I worry about what the future holds. If I had any advice I would give it would be to hire a consultant from St. Pauli to come here and then genuinely listen to them. Perhaps flying over there to see how things are set up would be worthwhile. Portland is far more St. Pauli than it ever will be London. It’s not called Little Beirut for nothing.

Operating a MLS franchise like an NBA team is not a good idea. The NBA acts the way it does towards fans because they have two or three generations of fans to lean back on. MLS needs to grow supporters culture and I see a lot of signs that the execs are getting a little ahead of themselves in thinking this is a mature league. It's getting there. If you'd like an example of clueless management just look at Toronto. They had a 20,000 person ticket waiting list just a few years and now their stadium looks empty because they got a little ahead of themselves. I don't want that to happen here.

Maybe Perkins leaving hurts so much because he connected with us and we connected with him. It wasn’t because he was just a goalie who had some quirks as has been ludicrously asserted. In the past there have been guys that played here that truly understood what playing here means. Byron Alvarez, Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar, Scot Thompson, Ian Joy and Cameron Knowles come to mind. Those are players who will be remembered decades from now as club legends. Perkins was getting close to that level. In this season of disappointment he was making the comments you want to hear as a fan. He wasn’t saying things like, “we’re paid a lot of money and we’re professionals and we’ve got to pull it together.” That sounds like a mercenary. He was saying things like, “this affects me and it affects my family.” He openly talked about his passion for the game without making it sound like this was his job. When times are tough and the player who was well on his way to winning his second supporters player of the year award is traded away in a surprise move it feels like a sucker punch to the stomach.

I saw something Brent Disken mocked up on Twitter and thought it was very appropriate. I hope Troy sees it because all of us mean it.

**This is my personal opinion and does not reflect the feelings of the 107ist board. I speak for myself**

—by Chris Rifer

At ten o’clock Tuesday morning the Portland Timbers announced that Troy Perkins had been traded to Montreal for Donovan Ricketts.

In the wake of the trade, there has been speculation that the Perkins deal was only the first step of a major roster overhaul likely to take place over the course of the coming days and weeks. That speculation is buttressed by the fact that Merritt Paulson, who frequently comments on new acquisitions and major outgoing players, has remained silent throughout the day – suggesting he may be bunkered down with his consigliere and capos orchestrating such major overhaul.

While any major changes would doubtless be related to the team’s atrocious form of late, Paulson foreshadowed it a couple weeks ago when he – in a moment of honest twitter-induced frustration – suggested dissatisfaction with a number of moves made and not made under John Spencer’s managerial tenure. Paulson apparently feels if he had a wartime consigliere he wouldn’t be in this mess.

Any forthcoming roster overhaul, then, can be seen as a housecleaning of sorts. Whether ill- or well-advised, if it occurs it will likely represent Paulson, Gavin Wilkinson, and the remainder of the Timbers braintrust going Michael Corleone on the remnants of the John Spencer era.

So, in anticipation of the Timbers front office settling a few more scores in the coming days,[1] and in the spirit of “The Godfather” Parts I and II,[2] let’s talk about what has happened and what is to come by analogizing outgone and potentially outgoing Timbers with some of Mikey’s most notorious hits.

Troy Perkins: Hyman Roth – Like Roth, Perkins was a vital partner for the Timbers organization from the time of its first MLS kick until Tuesday morning. In 2011 he was named the Supporters’ Player of the Year. Perkins’ quiet intensity, experience, and consistency made him a mainstay in the lineup and a leader on the team.

In my view, it’s tough to see how the trade pencils out for the Timbers. At the outset it should be noted that Perkins was having a passable, but not fantastic season. While Perkins had only been primarily responsible for a relative handful of goals this season, he was not the hero his team needed, as evidenced by the 12 goals conceded in the brutal four game stretch that spanned just two July weeks.

Nonetheless, Ricketts’ season does not match the All-Star past the Timbers’ brass bragged about to anybody that would listen on Tuesday. While a 59% save percentage and 1.64 goal against average can be partially blamed on a dysfunctional Impact defense, Ricketts has been as mistake prone in 2012 as any point in his MLS career.

Additionally, the 35-year-old Ricketts also represents a doubling down on the Timbers’ young reserve goalkeepers. It is clear that the brass is now dedicated to handing the reigns to either Jake Gleeson or Joe Bendik within the next couple seasons.

Simply put, then, the Timbers traded a keeper of solid, if unspectacular, form for a keeper of very questionable form with a shorter expiration date and young, largely untested keepers behind him. All the while, the club further drained the already-shrinking reservoir of supporter goodwill.

The trade is made, however, so here’s hoping the change of scenery can help Ricketts recover some of his old form and lead the Timbers out of a pretty dark period. Like Roth, however, the once-trusty Perkins found the end of his Timbers days in unlikely fashion on Tuesday.

Kris Boyd: Virgil Sollozzo – Mikey’s first major hit was the muscle that protected the underbelly of the Tattaglia family that apparently spearheaded the effort to assassinate Vito Corleone. Perhaps nobody more closely represents the Spencer era than Boyd. And perhaps nobody has reacted as negatively to the end of Spencer’s reign as Boyd. Boyd was undoubtedly the most prominent piece of muscle brought in to help the Timbers make the jump in year two. While Boyd has had some success in leading the team with seven goals, his form after Spencer’s firing – with the exception of the LA Galaxy match – has been atrocious. This poor form makes it difficult to justify Boyd’s continued occupation of a designated player spot, a massive contract, and place in the striker rotation ahead of several younger, cheaper options. In what appears to be a season dedicated to a youth movement, it seems more and more likely that the once unthinkable may happen – Boyd may be shipped out before the end of his first season.

Steven Smith: Captain McCluskey – Michael famously knocked off Sollozzo’s crooked cop in the same veal-serving restaurant as The Turk. Like McCluskey, Smith is inextricably tied to Boyd as Spencer’s loyal countryman. After a promising start, Smith has consistently looked overmatched over the past two months, making numerous mistakes that led to concessions. Simply put, if the Timbers are to get such inconsistent play from their left back, they don’t want to pay six figures for it. Like Michael’s hit of McCluskey, it would be a bold move to send a new signing packing after three months on board, but ultimately Smith’s crooked form at left back would likely smooth over the public relations hit the Timbers family would take.

Eric Alexander: Salvatore Tessio – Once the likely heir to a Corleone spin-off family, Sallie Tessio was knocked off by Michael after it became clear that he had betrayed the family to Don Barzini. When Alexander arrived from Dallas many – including us at The Morrison Report[3] - hailed him as the Timbers’ future somewhere in the midfield. Instead, Alexander has been the height of inconsistency since coming to Morrison Street. With any number of players now sitting above him on the depth chart on the wings, Alexander may well be shipped out before he further betrays his value.

Lovel Palmer: Khartoum – Yep, the horse whose head ended up spending the night in Jack Woltz’s bed. Palmer is analogized to Khartoum for one simple reason: Paulson will likely have to pull a similar trick to find anybody willing to take on Palmer.[4]

Others Who Could Be Shipped Out

Okay, so I’m not clever enough to think of Godfather parallels for every Timber that could find a new home in the potential roster restructuring.[5] So, here are three more guys who could go if a willing partner can be found.

Sal Zizzo – Pretty much in the same boat as Alexander. Probably not as valuable to trade partners, but also a little more expensive to keep. Hard to see Sal break into the lineup on the wings consistently, which makes him possible trade bait.

Mike Chabala – Another longtime Spencer guy who could be on the outs if a taker can’t be found for Smith. What Smith has on Chewy in talent, Chewy has on Smith in heart. They both make mistakes. Chabala also costs less than Smith.

Mike Fucito– Could have decent value for another guy that looks hopelessly buried on the depth chart. If Boyd goes, however, there could be a genuine competition to be the first striker off the bench, so don’t be surprised to see Fucito stay in such an instance.

—by Chris Rifer

When things are as bad as they are right now for the Timbers, a home draw against FC Dallas marks progress. That, however, is really just a reflection of how bad things are.

The Timbers struggled to establish control early on, as Dallas saw a good portion of the possession and chances in the early going. In the 13^th minute, Troy Perkins narrowly cut out a ball destined for Brek Shea at the top of the box.

Portland’s first chance came a minute later, as Franck Songo’o found Hanyer Mosquera on a cross at the far post, but the Colombian center-half couldn’t nod the ball on frame. The action continued just a minute later, when a deflected Timbers’ clearance found Shea ten yards from goal, but Perkins stoned the temperamental American’s effort.

The Timbers nearly broke the seal in the 34^th minute, as Darlington Nagbe’s swerving shot from thirty yards sailed just wide. Kevin Hartman, the MLS’s most decorated goalkeeper, was forced into action for the first time in the 37^th minute, as he saw that a Kris Boyd set piece sailed just beyond the far post.

Once again, however, the Timbers couldn’t ripen their modest first half superiority into fruit under the blistering sun.

Coming out of the locker room, Franck Songo’o looked like he might be able to put the Timbers on top, but the Cameroonian didn’t make the most of his shot from the top of the 18, resulting in an easy save for the White Puma.

Portland narrowly averted disaster a minute later when Julian deGuzman’s ungodly contract shanked a dribbling cross from six yards in front of goal.

The Timbers would show no aversion to disaster in the 51^st minute, however, as Kosuke Kimura let Shea earn a step on him. After collecting the ball on the left wing, the Burn’s My Little Pony-coifed midfielder crossed to an unmarked Scott Sealy who easily tapped home.

Chivas vu? Not quite. Just as things looked to be turning south for the Timbers, Zach Lloyd earned a needless second yellow card 75 yards from goal when he pulled Songo’o down from behind.

You would’ve had a hard time believing the Timbers were playing with a man-advantage for the next several minutes, however, as Portland seemed desperately unable to take advantage of the ten-man Hoops.

In the 61^st minute, however, Gavin Wilkinson, the Timbers’ beleaguered interim manager, made perhaps the first difference-making substitution of his stewardship when he replaced the ineffective Boyd and the understandably inconsistent Brent Richards with Bright Dike and Danny Mwanga.[1]

Seven minutes later, Dike intercepted a lazy back-pass from Jair Benitez, but Hartman closed him down near the top of the box before Dike could brighten the Timbers’ day. Hartman would one-up himself ten minutes later, as he reacted magnificently from the ground to deny a goal-bound Mwanga volley.

The Burn’s goalkeeper couldn’t come to Dallas’ rescue on the ensuing throw, however. After the White Puma punched out another Timbers’ chance, Jack Jewsbury volleyed home the clearance from 20 yards out with his left foot. If Hartman’s 78^th minute save was the Save of the Week, Jewsbury’s 79^th minute goal might just be the Goal of the Week.

Despite the man-advantage and momentum, however, Portland couldn’t put together a serious effort at a winner. Portland’s draw momentarily relinquishes possession of the wooden spoon to Toronto FC, with next week’s fixture at BMO Stadium perhaps determining permanent custody.[2]

Match Observations

• Well, it wasn’t a loss.
• It is worth acknowledging that the Dallas team Portland played on Sunday was vastly superior to those the Timbers faced earlier this season. That Dallas team isn’t the 23-points-from-24-matches team of the season to date. Dallas’ poor season has been injury, suspension, and mental breakdown-induced. The Timbers’ poor season, on the other hand, has been stink-induced.
• Like last week, Portland’s midfield continued to be just fine, but the ineptitude in the final third is still atrocious. When the strikers are making runs, the right cross isn’t there. When the right cross is there, the strikers aren’t making runs.
• Meanwhile, the defense continues to make two or three major mistakes per game at home. When a team is scoring goals, those mistakes are easily forgiven. When you’re inept up front, however, those mistakes are often disastrous. So it was last week against Chivas, and so it nearly was on Sunday.
• Hey MLS, thanks for the 4:00pm start in August. Even the Coppertone girl was getting fried on Sunday.
• Finally, thanks to all the artists and 107ists who made the Art Takeover happen on Saturday. Absolutely incredible job for a great cause.

Timbers Grades

Troy Perkins, 7 Quietly a very nice game for Troy. Come through with a number of nice plays for the Timbers, thrice keeping Shea from scoring and consistently covering his defense’s mistakes. Nothing he could do about the concession.

Steven Smith, 5 Quiet night on the left flank. Dallas was more interested in moving down their left side, so Smith can’t get too much credit, but I’ll take a quiet game from Smith any day.

Hanyer Mosquera, 6 Bears no fault for the concession, and otherwise had a decent outing. Most of the problems were coming from the right side of the defense, and, where possible, both Mosco and Horst did a decent job of solving them.

David Horst, 5.5 See Mosco. Bears a tiny bit of culpability for getting beat by Sealy, but probably couldn’t have hung with him even if he had been on top of covering the run.

Kosuke Kimura, 3 Had a tough task in dealing with a motivated Brek Shea and didn’t exactly rise to it. Shea found ample space to play in all night, including on the concession.

Jack Jewsbury, 6 Had a relatively quiet— though competent—night until he made a little bit of magic in the 79^th minute. It was May 2011 stuff from Jack.

Diego Chara, 6.5 Did what Diego does. Like last week, was more involved in the attack than he previously has been, and had a few nice runs forward. Now if only his strikers would learn to play off of him.

Franck Songo’o, 7 With apologies to Chara, Franck has been the Timbers’ best player over the last six weeks. Was given license to roam a little bit on Sunday and took advantage, finding space to make plays when he floated centrally and sending decent crosses in when he stayed out wide.

Darlington Nagbe, 5.5 A quieter night for Darlington with Franck working centrally a little bit more. Nagbe needs to learn to play off of that more consistently, as there—at least theoretically—is promise in the idea of Songo’o, Nagbe, and Chara building the attack through the middle. Did so occasionally on Sunday, but also seemed to disappear at times. His 34^th minute strike was just short of magical. That’s what we need to see more of from Darlington.

Brent Richards, 4 Had a hard time in the attack on Sunday. Brent still doesn’t seem completely comfortable with the increased speed and technical ability of the first team game, but there’s only one way to get him there. Rescued his grade a little bit by doing a nice job of consistently tracking back to help out on Shea. He’ll continue to make mistakes here and there, but Brent needs to stay in the team to further develop. At this point, why not?

Kris Boyd, 2 Has the look of a striker that is desperately out of synch. Not only is he not finishing chances—though he didn’t have anything to speak of on Sunday—but he’s not making the runs he needs to make to put himself in position to get them. Very often the crosses or entry balls were there to be had, but Boyd was nowhere to be found.

Bright Dike, 6 Dike came in and highlighted the activity the Timbers had been missing up top. Good outing from Bright, who looks determined to work his was consistently back into the team. I still wonder, however, if he has the quality to make himself an everyday player in MLS.

Danny Mwanga, 5.5 Robbed of a goal by Hartman. Wasn’t terribly active otherwise, but one golden opportunity in 30 minutes is more than his strikeforce predecessors made in 60.

Kalif Alhassan, 5 Did a solid job of facilitating through the middle, but I can’t help but think Kalif is a little bit wasted in the middle. He’s not a make-the-right-pass type of midfielder. Rather, he’s more effective where he can break his man down and send a cross into the box.[3] Kalif needs to be on the wing, but I’m not entirely sure who to relegate to the bench in his favor.

Preseason Prediction: Timbers 2, Dallas 1. Castillo, Boyd, Alhassan.

Actual Result: Timbers 1, Dallas 1. Sealy, Jewsbury.

Onward, Rose City!

—by Michelle Frye

The Timbers Army Blood Drive July 27, 2012 in Vancouver was a huge success for Red Cross. We obtained 65 pints of blood which tied the number of pints donated at the April Drive at Jeld-Wen field. These donations will help save numerous lives. Red Cross donor donations are usually crucial in the summertime and this year more so than others as various blood types were at emergency levels which meant they had less than a three day supply. So the Timbers Army rose up again to help the Red Cross in their continuing battle to obtain as much blood supply as they can.

The success of this Drive does not end there. My day started at 9am on Friday picking up donated sandwiches from Subway and brewed ice tea from Starbucks. At 10am the Drive began, as people came through registering, I asked where they heard about the Drive as I was curious. Several came from mass emails sent from Clark County Indoor Soccer from their database. Among those where many Timbers fans and I asked if they knew anything about the 107ists. The majority of them never heard the term before. So my volunteerism at the 107ist table on game days, paid off. I was able to educate several people on what we do for our Communities and to support the Army up in the stands and encouraged several folks to sign up. In fact, one woman wanted to join as she really liked the charity aspect and giving back to the Community but financially she was in a pinch so I offered to pay her first year’s dues if she was really interested. She joined right on the spot and also joined Timbers Army Northern Alliance Charity Chapter (TANACC) Facebook page so she could start volunteering right away. Several others who were already 107ists joined TANACC as well. TANACC is a new Facebook group for those interested in carrying out the mission of the 107ists into Southwest Washington.

We were also successful at reaching the youth. Mass emails went out through all youth soccer clubs in Southwest Washington to those kids who played and were over the age of 16. We had several youth players show up with parental consent forms in hand, ready to donate. So we were able to reach out to those in their early years and hopefully this will be just the beginning for them in giving back to those in need.

Some other little tidbits that made the day so special was one man rode his bike from Portland, two hours each way, and once he arrived at the Blood Drive discovered he forgot his wallet at home which had his I.D. in it which is required by Red Cross to donate. He donated at the first TA drive and really wanted to do this one as well so he was a little disappointed but in good spirits as he made an attempt anyways which was very honorable. Jokingly he said he learned his lesson and will be at the next TA drive with wallet and I.D. in hand. At least he got some good exercise!

Brent Richards also showed up about 5pm or so as he used to work for Clark County Indoor Soccer so he wanted to come by and support the Blood Drive as well as visit with some of his previous co-workers. He was kind enough to do some autographs and take some pictures with folks. We volunteers at the time had some nice one on one time with him to chit chat a bit which was a lot of fun.

We had another couple come out a little later and when asked how they heard about the drive, they said that they saw me on the 5 o’clock news but they didn’t say where the Drive was held so they googled it to find out where we were and came right down. I thought that was so wonderful that they saw a Timbers Army Blood Drive was happening, dropped what they were doing, and immediately came out.

So all in all, this event was a success in many ways, we received 65 pints of blood for the Red Cross which is so desperately needed. We educated people about the 107ists and our mission and hopefully we will see several new sign-ups. We got some 16 and 17 year old kids to fight the fear of a needle for a good cause and hopefully they will continue on and give back to their community by doing charitable acts. I also think we got our first home grown player, Brent Richards, excited to see that the 107ists are doing charity acts in his neighborhood.

I would like to thank Clark County Indoor Soccer for the use of their facility and their helpful staff and it worked quite well with the buses with their large parking lot and the use of their space inside for registration. There was also ample area inside for people to congregate together while waiting their turn to donate, eat some sandwiches/snacks, chat and hang out. I would also like to thank orwaSubway.com who donated six platters of sandwiches for the event. This gentleman owns 18 Subways in Portland and Southwest Washington and is a 107ist as well as many of his employees. He was so glad that I reached out to him as he and his employees do a lot of charity work both in Portland and Washington but never with the 107ists. So he said he would be very interested in partnering with us on future endeavors. Also I would like to thank the Starbucks store located at 1900 NE 162nd Ave., Vancouver for donating gallons and gallons of flavored ice tea for the event as well.

Also, big thanks to all the volunteers who helped plan, organize, spread the word and volunteered at this event! This whole experience was one big blast for me and feel honored to have hosted this one!

—by Chris Rifer

I’ve had Sunday’s match circled on my calendar since the Fiasco in Frisco two weeks ago. If that match wasn’t over by halftime, it was in the 48^th minute when David Ferreira found Jackson for the Hoops’ third goal. The Timbers never showed any sign of life, and after the match the boys in green pointed out the obvious in admitting that some had quit on the game.

While the Timbers got exactly what they deserved that day in Dallas, let’s be honest, Dallas rubbed Portland’s noses in it. Dallas was going directly at goal for all 90 minutes, despite the result never being in doubt. Their last goal came in the 81^st, when Dallas was already 4-0 up. And to really rub it in, Dallas inserted Timbers-reject James Marcelin in the 78^th minute.

Now, personally, I don’t have any moral objection to what Schellas Hyndman’s boys did that day. If the Timbers didn’t want to get beat 5-0 and let James Marcelin take his rightful place in garbage time, they should have done something about it. They didn’t.

On Sunday they get a second chance.

The Timbers are in the midst of their darkest period in at least the last four years. There is nothing positive to take out of the last month of soccer played by the Morrison Street boys.

But players over and over have said they still believe they have a decent team. They still believe that can play good soccer. They still believe they can get results.

Well, now is the time to prove it, boys. Dallas punked you two weeks ago. And after that they rubbed your face in the dirt.

If the Timbers have any professional pride, there is only one result on Sunday: A multiple-goal victory. With tackles flying all over the plastic pitch Hyndman will complain about after the game.

If the Timbers want respect from anybody in the league, they don’t just need to beat Dallas on Sunday. They need to embarrass them.

No Pity.

Art Takeover is a poster show organized by Factory North and the Timbers Army with all proceeds going to Harper’s Playground.

Original Timber’s Army-inspired poster designs from 30 local designers/artists will be on display and sold on Saturday, August 4th, at Coava during normal business hours, and during a special after-hours event featuring beer, wine, cocktails and snacks provided by many our generous sponsors. Each poster will be hand-pulled, numbered and signed by the artist.

All proceeds from poster sales will go to Harper’s Playground, which is working to build an all-inclusive playground where people of all abilities can play together at Arbor Lodge Park.