Timber Bits - Are you ready for Saturday?

- The Timbers hosted a practice match this past Saturday at PGE Park against Seattle University's soccer team. Serving as the final tune-up before Saturday's USSF league opener, the Timbers reportedly played loose and free on their way to a 2-0 victory. The next 5 days will be a whirlwind week for the club. With only a handful of opportunities left to iron out any kinks, the players must also prepare for the team's media day on Thursday morning. Things are never easy when adding new players and with so much excitement building this week, will the team be sufficiently rested and focused for this Saturday night?

- The USSF Division II Pro League (wow, that's a mouthful) officially kicked off this Saturday with 8 of the 10 teams in action, including the Timber's first opponent the Rochester Rhinos. The Rhinos traveled down to Miami and escaped a heated game with a 1-1 draw, hardly a horrible outcome for a road game. Defender Ryan Heins scored the Rhinos only goal of the match during the 21st minute However, Miami turned up the pressure in the 2nd half, producing many scoring chances, although only fully capitalizing on one. Still, against a Miami FC Blues squad full of talent and potential, this was a good performance for the new-look Rhinos. Look for a full game preview posted within the next couple days.

- Here's an awesome announcement - Word is that PGE Park and Timbers will be selling $1.50 beers and $3.00 food items at the stadium an hour before every home game this season. How awesome is that?! The rationale behind the promotion is to obviously persuade fans to hang out at PGE before games and take advantage of the existing "pub crawl" pre-game soccer culture. Makes sense to me. If fans are going to hang out and spend money before the games, why not try to get them to do it at your place? Everyone wins.

- Another announcement - Also this season, every Timber's USSF game will be broadcast live via webcast on the team's official homepage. In fact, all 180 USSF games will be available for fans to watch online live this season. The games can be viewed at each team's respective website. Truly a great promotion by the USSF and a great way for fans to keep up with action around the league, so check it out and take advantage.

- Rumor is that it's likely the Timbers will play an exhibition match against the EPL's Manchester City at PGE Park this summer. Details are being worked out now, so expect a big announcement in the near future. However, a possible speed bump could be the location of where the game is played. Supposedly, Manchester City possesses some reservations about playing on turf and other locations are being discussed. Let's cross our fingers.