Portland Boys we are Here

By: Bob Kellett | April 23rd, 2008

How do you replace a legend? You don’t. For those of you who remember the first time Timber Jim temporarily hung up his chainsaw back in the dark ages of the club, the mere mention of Timber Andy and Timber Bob (or was it Timber Tim?) are sure to send a chill down your spine faster than you can say “Chainsaw the Monkey“. Alas, the Timbers organization is wiser these days and so they are taking a slower, more subtle approach to life after Timber Jim. Who will be the special guest to fire up the chainsaw this Thursday? Maybe Alan Gordon is available that evening

Now you see them, now you don’t
One Monday the names of Steve Reese and Tom Taylor appeared on the roster list without much fanfare. Today they have disappeared from the roster without much fanfare. Odd situation, that one.

You’re a good man, Chris Brown

Chris Brown was the only Portland Timbers player to make the USL First Division team of the week. A well deserved honor (term used loosely, these teams are nothing but a PR ploy) for Brownie. But will his blast from outside the box be named the week’s top goal? The Timbers have had four player with the goal of the week over the past three years: Edwin Miranda in 2005, Hugo Alcarez-Cuellar in 2006, and Justin Thompson and Leonard Griffin in 2007.

Spreading the Timbers love in South Korea

You can add South Korea to the growing list of Rose City Til I die. From a Timbers Army fan’s journal:

As I learned more about the team, the similarities between Gimhae FC and my Portland Timbers were striking. Gimhae FC was established just this year, and 2008 is their very first season. There are a half-dozen or so core supporters who are working hard to drum up interest and enthusiasm in the new local club. The Timbers Army experienced a similar birth from a small & dedicated group when they re-joined the United Soccer League in 2001. The supporters at Gimhae Stadium were mighty passionate and I know that their numbers will grow quickly! They can certainly count this Portlander among their first foreign fans.

Bayard on the Beach
Former Timbers Bayard Elfvin, Yuri Morales, and Ronnie Silva (I couldn’t pick him out of a police lineup. The Agnello era is a black hole in my brain) were members of the US beach soccer team that failed to qualify for the World Cup last week. The U.S. beat Costa Rica in its first match, but then lost to the two teams that advanced from CONCACAF, El Salvador and Mexico.

A Raging new blog

Back in 2006 when The Offside was merely a thought in my beer-soaked brain, I never imagined it would end up having a USL section with blogs about the Portland Timbers, Montreal Impact and now the Rochester Rhinos. It doesn’t surprise me, however, that there is also a Seattle Sounders blog that doesn’t even mention the current USL team. Typical.

From the AccuWeather Storm Team

The forecast for kickoff Thursday evening: In Portland it will be 53 degrees with showers. In Minneapolis it will be 68 degrees and partly cloudy. Gah, even freakin’ Minneapolis is having better weather than us.

Who starts on Thursday?

Put on your coaching cap and pretend you are Gavin Wilkinson. In your best Kiwi accent, start barking out the starting XI for Thursday. Do you make any changes from the team that beat Puerto Rico or do you stick with the same guys? The temptation is to think that he’ll make some changes in the midfield. Maybe Little in for Higgins, perhaps Dombrowski will get to play against his brother, might even see Kiki Lara get a run. This could happen but I see him rolling out the same lineup and bringing fresh legs off the bench early in the second half. I say:

Burse
S. Thompson Knowles J. Thompson Griffin
Higgins Poltl Gregor Olum
Suzuki Brown

Your guess?