Dave Knows Portland

Portland Timbers 2011 Jerseys, and Jet Plane, Unveiled

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The Portland Timbers, with the help of new sponsor Alaska Airlines, unveiled the 2011 MLS jerseys today.

I was one of the lucky fans selected to attend. I brought my trusty point and shoot, which can take decent photos. But not as nice as the photos taken by photographer Steven D. Lenhart. He graciously provided the photo below of new Timbers defender Rodney Wallace modeling the 2011 secondary MLS jersey.

Rodney Wallace in 2011 Timbers secondary jersey

The MLS Timbers know how to throw a party. The unveiling took place in a 64,000 square foot Horizon Air hangar at PDX.

Entrance

Happy fans were offered free beer and food! I enjoyed a Widmer Drifter myself.

happy fans

The production was top notch.

High production value

And did I mention that there was a jet plane decked out with a Timbers scarf and shield?

Jet plane

Check out the rest of the new Timbers kits at the online store.

Tuesday Timbers Tidbits (7-December-2010)

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TimbersOur first stop this Tuesday is the Portland Timbers website where we learn about yet another draft, the 2010 MLS Re-Entry draft. Stage 1 takes place on Wednesday, December 8, followed on Wednesday, December 15 with Stage 2. All MLS clubs, including Portland and Vancouver have picks. In both stages Vancouver picks 17th and Portland picks 18th. If you’re fascinated with this stuff, the details are available. If you just want to know what options Portland has, read mao’s analysis.

The other Timbers events this week are the kit unveiling, which takes place on Thursday, and the opening of the Portland Timbers Downtown Team Store on Friday, the 10th.

Timbers Army HoodieMeanwhile the official team online store is already open, as is the Timbers Army online store. From the latter, check out the new limited edition options, including the kick ass hoodie pictured to the right.

Dropping Timber‘s ongoing Better Know a Timber series introduces us this week to Peter Lowry, the attacking midfielder the Timbers plucked from the Chicago Fire in the expansion draft.

In The Oregonian Geoffrey C. Arnold writes about two recent Timbers acquisitions, Jeremy Hall and Rodney Wallace, who won the national championship with Maryland in 2008. Here’s hoping their college era chemistry translates to the MLS Timbers.

And at OregonLive Kip Kesgard considers this a historic week.

Former Timber Mandjou Keita has joined Pune Football Club of India for the 2010-2011 season.

And finally, there’s a newish Timbers blog in town worth checking out: Chopping Timbers: Opinionated Portland Timbers News. I imagine it will be the first of many new Timbers related sites to sprout up as the MLS Timbers kick off their first season in 2011.

Portland Timbers Roundup (3-December-2010)

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TimbersNot much in the way of Timbers news this week, but stay tuned. I’ll be in attendance at the kit unveiling on Thursday, and the retail store opening (see below) should prompt some opinionators.

We Are Timbers: Eugénie by Brian Costello at PortlandTimbers.com

You’ve seen them. Big. Bold. Towering over the urban landscape with some as high as seven stories tall.
They are portraits of photographers, brewers, coaches, men, women, kids.
They are portraits of fans.

Eugénie Frerichs is a photographer and art director at uber-cool local clothing company Nau. Moving here as a one-year old from Colorado, Eugénie grew up in Portland but has traveled throughout the world. And yet, somehow, the pull of the city always brings her back. A true Portlander, she loves her soccer. [more]

Timbers to open downtown Portland retail store next week by Allan Brettman at The Oregonian

The Portland Timbers will open a downtown Portland retail store on Friday, Dec. 10, a day after unveiling they jerseys will wear during their inaugural Major League Soccer season.

The store at 516 S.W. Sixth Ave., between Southwest Alder and Washington streets, will be open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays. [more]

Better Know a Timber – Adam Moffat by paulsepp at Dropping Timber

John Spencer looked to a fellow Scot, when he picked up Adam John William Moffat in the expansion draft. A member of the Crew since 2007, he has played in 44 matches and started in 36 of those. In his tenure with the Crew he scored five goals, recorded one assist and played in some big games helping the Crew win two Supporters Shields and the 2008 MLS Cup. [more]

Tuesday Timbers Tidbits (30-November-2010)

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TimbersThe expansion draft dust has settled, for a little while at least. These are the guys:

  • Dax McCarty – defender (FC Dallas) – Traded to DC United for defender/midfielder Rodney Wallace and 4th round pick in 2011 MLS SuperDraft
  • Eric Brunner – defender (Columbus Crew)
  • Adam Moffat – midfielder (Columbus Crew)
  • Anthony Wallace – defender (Colorado Rapids) – Traded back to Colorado for allocation money
  • David Horst – defender (Real Salt Lake)
  • Robbie Findley – forward (Real Salt Lake)
  • Peter Lowry – midfielder (Chicago Fire)
  • Jonathan Bornstein – defender (Chivas USA)
  • Jordan Graye – defender (D.C. United) and
  • Midfielder Arturo Alvarez (San Jose Earthquakes) – Traded to Salt Lake for 2nd round pick in 2011 MLS SuperDraft

Read Zaggy‘s guest commentary at Dropping Timber for a good analysis of the remaining Timbers from this list, how their salaries stack up, and some speculation as to what’s next for the Timbers.

December 2010 looks to be, perhaps, the most exciting December in recent Timbers history. The Kit Unveiling takes place next Thursday, December 9 [I’ll be in attendance, taking photos, tweeting, and ultimately blogging about it]. Meanwhile the PGE Park renovation continues apace. And don’t forget Timbers Army First Thursday on Thursday, December 2!

Then the 2011 MLS SuperDraft takes place on January 13. The Timbers pick second in the first round, after the Whitecaps. I expect John Spencer and Gavin Wilkinson have more trade shenanigans up their sleeves.

I know I’m not alone, as a long time Portland Timbers fan, in being utterly ignorant of the MLS. So I’ve actually been finding the Portland Timbers website MLS 101 News section to be edifying. Recent posts include Derby Cups, which reveals that the MLS features some legitimate rivalries, soon to include the reconstituted Cascadia Cup, the biggest derby cup, in my humble opinion, of them all!

Portland Timbers Roundup (26-November-2010)

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Timbers

It’s All About The Draft – See If You Can Make Any Sense Of It

Timbers Add Ten in Expansion Draft by mao at the Portland Timbers Blog at The Offside

Portland Timbers added ten new players today in the Major League Soccer Expansion Draft. Analysis will follow, but here are the twenty players taken by Portland and Vancouver Whitecaps:

Portland
1. Dax McCarty: Midfield – Dallas
3. Eric Brunner: Defender – Columbus
5. Adam Moffat: Midfield – Columbus
[more]

Three Draftees Leave Before Even Arriving in Portland by mao at the Portland Timbers Blog at The Offside

Gavin Wilkinson and John Spencer were busy all morning drafting players in the MLS Expansion Draft. They spent the afternoon moving players through trades, leaving just seven of the ten drafted players still under the Timbers’ name. The biggest news of the day was Portland’s trade of top pick Dax McCarty to DC United for young defender Rodney Wallace and a fourth round SuperDraft pick. Rumors are swirling that the Timbers have a major international central midfielder close to a deal, so moving McCarty, the most coveted player in the draft, clears room for that move. [more]

Timber Bits – Expansion Draft Edition Vol. 1 by paulsepp at Dropping Timber

Yesterday was a big day in Timbers history, and possibly the the wildest in terms of transfers, as the Timbers drafted two players who seem to have their bags packed, and drafted 3 others only to send them packing. The Timbers also selected five young and experienced players who will see playing time next year. The roster now stands at eleven and the hunt for talent continues. [more]

Timbers’ hope they’ll get Jonathan Bornstein by Scott French at ESPN Los Angeles

He’s signed, sealed and all but delivered to Mexico’s UANL Tigres, but that didn’t dissuade the Portland Timbers from taking a chance on Chivas USA captain Jonathan Bornstein.

The Timbers, one of two clubs joining Major League Soccer next season, selected Bornstein (Los Alamitos/Los Alamitos HS and UCLA) with the 15th selection in Wednesday’s 20-player expansion draft, no matter that the left back/midfielder is beginning a four-year contract in January with Monterrey-based Tigres. [more]

Nimo not Subject to Draft-Exclusion! at Prost Amerika Soccer

Real Salt Lake’s Alex Nimo was one of seven players waived by their clubs late on Wednesday night. Because he does not meet the age and service requirements to participate in the Re-Entry Draft, he is now available to sign a new contract with any MLS club on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Including Portland where he has played most of the last two years. [more]

MLS expansion draft recap – Timbers inaugural roster grows by Kip Kesgard at OregonLive.com

The MLS offseason began in earnest as the final whistle blew on the MLS Cup in Toronto on November 21, but the existing clubs knew the winter months were going to be anything but slow. With two new clubs joining the fold for 2011, the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps, MLS was hosting an expansion draft to help the new clubs populate their roster. [more]

The Portland Timbers’ dizzying day of draft and trades by Geoffrey C. Arnold at The Oregonian

The Portland Timbers did the expected and the unexpected during a flurry of trades and deals surrounding the 2010 Major League Soccer expansion draft Wednesday.

Not surprisingly, the Timbers used the first overall pick to select midfielder Dax McCarty from FC Dallas. But two hours later, the Timbers then turned around and traded McCarty to D.C. United in exchange for midfielder Rodney Wallace and a fourth-round draft choice in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft January 12. [more]