Dave Knows Portland

Archives for April 2008

A bittersweet Timbers opening day

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Timbers!Come to PGE Park tonight and see grown men cry.

Of course you know already that the Portland Timbers kick off the 2008 season tonight at PGE Park. But this match also marks the retirement of the iconic Timber Jim.

Allison Andrews has posted a series of excellent and heartfelt articles in homage to Timber Jim at The Timber Mill:

The match against the Puerto Rico Islanders starts at 7pm. Pre-match drinking commences whenever your local opens. Prepare for an epidemic of the Brown Bottle Flu Friday.

On that note, Bob at The Offside provides newbies (and not so newbies) with A Fan’s Guide to Attending Portland Timbers Games.

Mt Saint Helens: Dave gets out of town (and state)

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I’ve traipsed through Ape Cave, on the southern flank of the mountain, a few times, but I’d never in my thirtyish years living in Portland viewed Mt Saint Helens from the north. The dramatic crater*, almost 10 years younger than me but much more impressive, is on the north side of the mountain.

Heather’s car had itchy feet, so Sunday I got a chance to tag along™ and witness the geological phenomenon** first hand. Heather has posted a fantastic summary of a fantastic day on her blog, Mile73. (Any photos you see on that post that appear to have been taken from the passenger side of a car were taken by yours truly. Also any photo of Heather pointing at a mountain whilst obscuring said mountain by standing in front of it is likely taken by me. Credit Heather and Google for the map, reproduced below. Credit Heather with everything else, especially any superfluous photos of a cute red car.)

Mile 73 – An Afternoon, A Full Tank of Gas, Chapter Four

mtsthelens.gif

* I wanted to use the phrase ‘gaping maw’ here but Heather uses that in her post and I don’t want her to think I’m copying her.

**Disambiguation: by ‘geological phenomenon’ I mean the crater, not Heather or her car’s feet, though both of the latter are most impressive too.

Rosebuds* for 4/11/08

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200pxportland_building.jpgThe Portland Building is ours!

Walking / Drinking Tour of Portland by pickled Berkely wine writer, Tim “Blind Muscat” Patterson

Just in time for the beautiful weather, the Portland Area Patio Dining lineup from Portland Food and Drink

North Portland’s got a podcast. This week’s discussion: North Portland Streetcar

Great new blog: Trimetiquette

TriMetiquette covers personal TriMet stories along with any bus or MAX service alerts, coverage of TriMet in the news along with general TriMet news & other public transportation issues in Portland, Beaverton & Gresham.

And of course you were wondering, what does Channing Frye have in his kitchen? (We already know what he does not have in his kitchen.)

*Read the inaugural post for a rosebud explanation.

Timbers Tidbits: one more week of rest

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TimbersOne more week of preseason, then next Thursday, April 17th, the mighty mighty Timbers host Puerto Rico at PGE Park in the season opener for both teams. A halftime ceremony celebrates Timber Jim’s retirement and the first 1000 fans to arrive at the stadium receive a Timber Jim Farewall T-shirt from Shindaiwa. The only legitimate excuse for missing this game is your honeymoon (and that *barely* qualifies).

In other news:

The Portland Mercury – The Ballad of Timber Jim

At the front of this huge mass of fans—the Timbers Army—stands Timber Jim, their beloved mascot. Looking the part of a true axe man, he is clad in jean overalls and brown steel-toed boots. He brings a chainsaw, which he uses extensively. He does front handsprings, hangs from the rafters beating a drum, and climbs 80-foot poles to rile the crowd up. He doesn’t even get paid for it.

ESPN – Big-name signings add spice to USL dynamics

The Timbers’ Takayuki Suzuki tops the big signings but then the same writer proclaims Sounders look like the class of the USL again.

Several Timbers bloggers go apoplectic over the news:

Timbers at The Offside – Timbers Picked to Finish Second in USL-1

Remember all those nice things that I said yesterday about Anne Ramzy and her efforts to publish stories about the USL First Division on ESPN’s Soccernet? I take them all back now that I see that she has picked the Seattle Sounders to finish above the Portland Timbers in the table.

Nasty Challenge – I Respectfully Disagree Ramzy

What I’m trying to understand, however, is why in today’s article she insists on listing the Portland Timbers as finishing second this season? I don’t want to sound like a whiny fan, which I do often, but HOW DARE SHE!

And speaking of Timbers Bloggers, Bob at The Offside Timbers blog also provides some links (including to yours truly!) to help you follow the Timbers via the internets as the season commences:

Following the Portland Timbers on the Internet

A blog to guide your Rose City weekend

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On occasion, when there’s a festival or sporting event or some other extraordinary reason to drink beer with friends, I’ll blog a recommended weekend itinerary. But sometimes there isn’t a critical mass of events to satisfy my blogging urge, or there is truly nothing going on, or I’m lazy*, and I blog nothing about the imminent weekend.

There are two local blogs, however, that without fail present weekly a list of events for the coming week(end).

Around the Sun
Ideas for saving money in Portland, Oregon, and beyond

Free Events This Weekend in Portland: April 4–6

Idaho’s Portugal
News, events & irreverence from OregonLive.com

Events for the week of March 31 – April 6

*One way to overcome blog laziness and/or bloggers block is to write something about other blogs. Case in point.