Oh, the Places you’ll go
By: Bob Kellett | May 15th, 2008
I’m not sure if it was a wise business move or whether it has really helped the league, but I do know that when Puerto Rico was granted a USL First Division team the league became infinitely more awesome. When I talk to people who don’t know a thing about the Portland Timbers I always mention that their closest competitor is Seattle and that they play as far away as Puerto Rico. Far away is an apt term. The trip to Puerto Rico is physically the longest Timbers will take this year. According to my calculations (which involved the very complex action of plugging in points), San Juan is 3,707 miles (5,965 km, 3221 nautical miles) from Portland. That is about 1,000 miles further than the next furthest team, Miami. To put it into perspective, London to Moscow is 2,506 miles, Tokyo to Beijing is 1,301 miles, and the home of future Timbers legend Benjamin Totori, Hoinara, Solomon Islands is 6,080 miles from Portland. The distance and the awful travel always makes this a difficult trip for the Timbers.
Burse staying put
With Josh Lambo coming back from injury, it looks like Ray Burse won’t be making the shuttle between Dallas and Portland anytime soon. FC Dallas coach Steve Morrow:
Morrow wants to see Lambo return to full fitness as soon as possible so that he can be the backup ‘keeper behind starter Dario Sala. The Hoops’ other ‘keeper, Ray Burse Jr., is currently on loan to the Portland Timbers of the United Soccer League and Morrow doesn’t see that arrangement changing any time soon. For the entirety of the season so far, the Hoops have used league pool goalkeepers as the backup on gamedays.
“Yes, that’s the plan (to keep him in Portland),” Morrow said. “We want to get Josh (Lambo) fit as quickly as possible. Ray (Burse) is starting to do a lot better up there and is starting to hit his best form again. So, we want that situation to continue. Once Josh gets fit and healthy, he’ll be a good backup for us on the bench.”
That’s a lot of hair
Former Timbers keeper Josh Wicks finally started for the LA Galaxy. Wicks played against his old club the Vancouver Whitecaps in an exhibition played in front of 37,000 in Edmonton (more fans than their USL team ever drew in an entire season) on Tuesday. Wicks came out on the losing end 2-1. Alan Gordon scored for LA. Gordon is in excellent form at the moment.
Nothing to see here
With their win last night at home against Montreal, the Charleston Battery are now tied with the Timbers atop the USL First Division table. That’s with a game in hand, of course. The Battery have won their past three games, all of them played at Blackbaud Stadium. Do they have a shot at winning the league title? They could, but I think over the course of the season we’ll see them fall back into about the mid-table.
Viewing parties
If you are looking to watch the Timbers play on Friday and Sunday, and you prefer the company of others, the word is that both Beulahland (118 NE 28th) and Slabtown (1033 NW 16th Ave) are showing the action. Beulahland is an all ages venue. It is great that these places are showing their support for the Timbers and their supporters.
Category: Timbers Team News
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