Timber Bits - 2 Matches this Week

• Strong at Night - Talk Timbers every Tuesday at 6pm on 95.5 the game.
• Oregonlive.com - Reporting on the coaching search for next year, as current head coach Gavin Wilkinson becomes the Technical Director for 2011.
• The Offside - Game 5: Portland Timbers v. Crystal Palace Baltimore Preview
• The Timber Mill - 'We Saw It All'
• The Woodwork - Awesome pictures and interviews, oh my!
• Rowdies - A view from the front row.
• Dave Knows - Timbers Tidbits
• Throw Ins - Know Thy History
• Timbers Army - The official site of the unofficial supporters group.
  
• The Official Portland Timbers Facebook Page - Become a fan and get to see owner Merritt Paulson do his best Timber Jim/Joey act!

Did we miss something, really? Post a comment below or send us an email at droppingtimber@gmail.com

Timber Bits - Standings, Links and such

TEAM	GAMES PLAYED	PTS
Portland Timbers	4	10
Austin Aztex	4	9
Rochester Rhinos	4	7
Vancouver Whitecaps FC	4	7
Puerto Rico Islanders	3	6
NSC Minnesota Stars	6	6
Montreal Impact	3	4
Carolina RailHawks	3	4
Tampa Bay Rowdies	3	4
Miami FC	3	3
AC St Louis	3	3
Crystal Palace Baltimore	3	0

Links
The Woodwork - Pictures and interviews from last week's games.
The American Soccer Show - Nice little podcast of US soccer news. A focus on Dempsey and Fulham, Charlie Davies and more.
Mao's Football - The last few WC kits are trickling out, see what the teams will be wearing this June.
The Guardian - Interactive world map of the 32 qualifiers for the World Cup.


Super Edson Buddle



A Brief History of the US National Team

Timber Bits - Links and Such

• It's Called Football does an excellent podcast and interviews TA Shawn Levy.
• Wall Street Journal describes the global competition for your balls, includes a slide show.
• Match Fit USA covers the sour end of Jozy Altidore's season with Hull.
• Pitch Invasion wants you to know your PGE Park/Civic Stadium/Multnomah Field history.
• MLS Rumors does a nice little hit piece on TFC supporters.
  
• Mao's Football has the latest pictures of the 2010 World Cup Kits.
• Dropping Timber TV where we post random clips and interviews.
• Twitter where we remind you that we just posted something.
• The Timbers Army Store has super cool gear that will get you laid.
  
• The 107ist is the heart, soul and fuel of the Army, join today.
  

Timber Bits - Postgame Fix

Portland Timbers 1 - Rochester Rhinos 0

• Timbers open 2010 season with win over Rochester - PortlandTimbers.com
• Portland Timber's Photos 2010 Game Action - Portland Timbers Facebook
• 15,416 see Rhinos hand Timbers a 1-0 win - Timber Mill Match Report
• Portland vs. Rochester Rhinos, April 17th Match Pictures - The Timber Mill and more
  
• Portland 1, Rochester 0: Timbers send 15,418 fans home happy - The Oregonian
• Timbers v. Rhinos April 17, 2010 match recap - The Oregonian
  
• My first ever Timbers media day!! - The Oregonian
  
• Match Report: Timbers 1-0 Rochester, April 17 - Strong at Night
  
• Game 1: Timbers 1 – Rochester 0 - The Offsides
  
• The Woodwork is hard at work, interviews, pictures and video oh my! - The Woodwork
• Those damn Rowdies - Rowdies
• We face AC St. Louis this Thursday - AC St. Louis Fanatic blog
• Is your favorite link not on the list, send us an Email or leave us a comment and tell us what we missed.
  

Torrent link of the Match
Watch the full match online at Portland Timbers.com

Timber Bits - Season Previews

John Strong the voice of the Timbers put up an excellent preview of the season on his blog. Talk Timbers, Strong's weekly radio show has returned and will normally be on 95.5 the game every Tuesday at 7pm.

• Podcast of the 4/13 Talk Timbers show, interviews with the awesome Ian Joy and assistant coach Amos Magee.

The Woodwork boys have put up their take on the 2010 season, with looks back at our past and what the future may hold.

• Hoop Dreams by Dave Hoyt
  
• The Young Guns by Bob Kellett

The Oregonian's Kip Kesgard has stayed busy in the off season by bringing some of the most extensive coverage. Check out his preview of all things Timbers.

• Part 1 - Schedule and Coaching
• Part 2 - Friendlies, Opponents and Goalkeepers
• Part 3 - Defenders
  

The Timbers Army has launched an online store, selling a variety of shirts, pint glasses and more. Go to TimbersArmy.org to get some goodies. All merchandise proceeds will go towards 107ist operations and activities as well as charitable organizations.


Did you know that we have a Fantasy Contest in which you could win soccer jerseys and World Cup jerseys? Make some picks and if your lucky there may be some prizes in it for you.

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.

Timber Bits - 8 Days until the Home Opener

Inside Minnesota Soccer put together an awesome 2010 USSF guide to all the teams, they organized writers from every team's city to write up a piece covering the details of what each team is up to. - 2010 USSF Division-2 Pro League Season Preview

John Strong from 95.5 the game interviews Stephen Keel. Talk Timbers, Strong's weekly Timbers radio show begins next week at 8pm on Tuesday. Although I think it will air at 7pm most of the time.

The independent supporters group 107ist will have election results this Sunday. If you haven't joined yet or have no idea what the 107ist is, go to their site.

From the soccer city message boards;

5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sun. April 11
North End Pub
3011 N Lombard Ave
Portland, OR 97217

We will announce the results of the board elections. There will also be a chance to ask questions, share ideas and volunteer for 107ist initiatives. You don't have to be a 107ist member to attend. If you aren't, this will be a great opportunity to see what 107ist is all about (then we hope you'll join). Help us chart the course. Bring your passion and ideas.

Agenda

5:00 - 5:15: Welcome to 107ist
5:15 - 5:30: Election Results
5:30 - 6:45: 107ist Q&A, Ideas, and Volunteers
6:45 - 7:00: Meeting Wrap Up

www.107ist.org

Timber Bits

The Dropping Timber Fantasy Contest is on sign up now.

95.5 the Game counting down the days to the home opener. Link
John Strong interviews Ryan Pore, Pore comes on towards the end. Link

Single game tickets are on sale now. Saturday, April 17th is the 2010 season opener at PGE Park and I highly encourage everyone to attend and bring as many friends as possible. This game will be the most fun you can have on a Saturday night as the stands will be packed and the team on the field will be one of the best in recent memory. Get general admission tickets for just $10. Use the promotion code GAVIN to receive a discount through ticketmaster.

Timber Bits - USSF

Check out an awesome USSF Division 2 League Preview from Inside Minnesota Soccer. They enlisted writers from every team in the league to sum up every team. 2010 USSF Division-2 Pro League Season Preview

The Timbers Offside blog is back, with a new author, Micheal from Mao's Football. Look forward to more great coverage of your favorite club.

Timber Bits - Timbers Remain Unbeaten

Portland played to a 1-1 draw in San Jose on Saturday, with Scot Thompson scoring the header against the Earthquakes. The Timbers remain unbeaten in the preseason, scoring 6 goals, while only allowing 1 scored against them. Get the story from those who attended the match.
Portland Timbers Website
Soccer City USA
The Bay Soccer

Mandjou Keita, may be more concerned with Portland, than continue to play in India.

Of bigger concern though will be a sudden drop in form of his key striker, Keita Mandjou. The team’s leading goalscorer seemed completely out of place on a balmy Sunday, prompting Bencherifa to show him the bench in the second session.

- Kolkata Mirror


A video of fans at the Community Shield match.

Timber Bits - Links, links and more links

Super stud Tony McManus does a little Q&A, and gives the army props. One-on-one with Tony McManus.


Portland Soccer Bars, brought to you by the excellent local blogger Dave Knows. This is one of the best domain names in the history of the internets. http://portlandsoccerbars.com/


Three flounder fans watched frodo in green street hooligans and decided that jumping a guy in downtown shittle is cool. This is so lame, its unbelievable! To the idiot supporters of any club, ours included, that think violence is cool, or some how part of the match day experience, join UFC, go to another continent or do a cobain. Better yet do all three! The Shittle Times


And now some great news, Fox Sports Northwest will televise ten Timber games this year.

2010 Portland Timbers on FSN (all games originating from PGE Park)
April 22 – vs. AC St. Louis (7 p.m.)
April 29 – vs. Vancouver (7 p.m.)
May 13 – vs. Crystal Palace Baltimore (7 p.m.)
May 15 – vs. AC St. Louis (7 p.m.)
June 6 – vs. Carolina (6 p.m.)
June 17 – vs. NSC Minnesota (7 p.m.)
June 27 – vs. FC Tampa Bay (5 p.m.)
Aug. 11 – vs. NSC Minnesota (7 p.m.)
Aug. 26 – vs. Austin (7 p.m.)
Aug. 29 – vs. Crystal Palace Baltimore (6 p.m.)

Timbers Bits - NO means NO!

First off, we had to post this picture of Ross Smith kindly introducing himself to Fredy Montero.



The voice of the Timbers, John Strong is on the air tonight, Wednesday and Thursday at 6pm. Strong at Night always has solid Timbers coverage, including analysis, interviews and phone calls, so make sure to tune in to 95.5 tonight. Also check out Strong's latest blog post which includes interviews with Gavin and Ross Smith. The audio links are at the bottom of the post.


Portland Timber Rookie Goalkeeper Matt Pyzdrowski will be writing about his first year experiences as a professional player in a blog named the Clean Sheet. You can read his first entry on portlandtimbers.com.


The Seattle game wasn't the only derby for the Timbers, as Mandjou Keita played in the Gao derby between Salgaocar and Dempo. Keita didn't find the back of the net, but his team mates did, as they won 3-1, shocking league leader Dempo. It was big victory for Salgaocar, as they are still fighting to get out of the relegation zone. Keita is expected to come back to Portland before the season starts.

A video shot by some dude, (not ours) of the renovation project at PGE Park. Our elite PGE Park Photographer did not shoot this video, and it is not his voice.


Our new favorite Twitter account is LevesqueisDouche

Timber Bits - More Stadium Porn

PGE Park Renovations - Pictures were taken on the morning of Sunday, February 21st. You may think that the renovations picture are redundant and uninteresting, but any day we add new stadium pictures our traffic nearly doubles. Just imagine if we posed scantily clad women in the construction pictures, we'd be bigger than google.






Portlandtimbers.com Video summary of the preseason mini-camp.

Portlandtimbers.com

The Portland Timbers begin full preparation for the upcoming 2010 season on Monday, March 1, when coaches and players report for preseason training camp. Portland’s preseason schedule will include a trip to Costa Rica and a five-day camp in Bremerton, Wash. The Timbers kick off the regular season April 17.

Radio Broadcasts

The Portland Timbers announced today that they will partner with Sportsradio 95.5 The Game and News Radio 750 KXL to broadcast all 30 of the team’s regular-season matches and potential playoff games live during the upcoming season.

Mandjou Keita scored the only goal in 1-nil win last week, the next game for Salgaocar will be the 3rd of March.

The Timbers Army plants trees, what did you last weekend?

Timber Bits - Ian Joy Signed by the Timbers

Ian Joy is the newest Timber to be signed for the 2010 campaign. The 28 year old defender played solid minutes in the 2008 season for Real Salt Lake, but played in only one match for 7 minutes in 2009, before being let go mid-season. He plays left back and could replace David Hayes who retired last season.

Joy has played with several clubs in Europe, most notably in Germany from 2004 through 2007 making some 77 appearances there. The video below shows his first Bundesliga goal and what a goal it is. Official Press Release from portlandtimbers.com.



Strong at Night - 95.5 the Game will broadcast every Timbers game live home and away, unless it conflicts with other events such as the Blazers, in that case the Timbers will broadcast on 970 AM. John Strong will continue to host a weekly Tuesday show all about the Timbers this season. Strong also talked briefly with head coach Gavin Wilkinson, who stated that the Timbers are in contract negotiations with Scot Thompson and he is "hopeful" Thompson will play for Portland in 2010. Gavin was impressed with Doug DeMartin, the two goal scorer in the UP Pilots match, he a few others including one of the keepers will continue to play in the preseason. Listen to the interview here.

And now a little stadium porn. These pictures were taken early this morning.

Timbers Bits - Timbers vs. UP Pilots

Portland Timbers vs. University of Portland Pilots

Wednesday, March 17th 7:00 PM
Merlo Field on the U of P Campus

Tickets for this match are only $7 and the proceeds will benefit the people of Haiti. You can buy tickets through ticket master, but more than likely you can just buy them at the door. The game is part of four day mini-camp for available Timber players and invited trialists. They will face UP Pilot players returning for the 2010 season. The UP Pilots men's team made it to the third round of 2009 NCAA tournament. This is a great opportunity to see some of the players that will make up the 2010 squad for both the Timbers and the Pilots.

Portlandtimbers.com has some notes about day 1 of the mini-camp. Number of trialists by position: defenders (7), forwards (6), goalkeepers (3), midfielders (2).

Takuro Nishimura has been sold to USSF Division 2 side Crystal Palace Baltimore. Nishimura, 32, appeared in 13 matches and logged 619 minutes for the Timbers in 2009. It was great to have a player of this caliber in the roster, and we hope the best for him. We will face Baltimore at home on May 17th. Read more at the official Crystal Palace Baltimore site.

Ocho Cinco is a fan of the beautiful game. Chad lives in Miami, and supported Miami's bid to be a host venue for the 2018 World Cup. He also loves to take pictures with the best known players in the world. Checkout the pictures at Football in Miami and Beyond.

Follow Dropping Timber on Twitter.

Timbers Bits - Keita Keeps Scoring

You can't stop Kieta, you can only hope to contain him. Keita scored the all important goal in a 1-0 win on Saturday and for those keeping count at home this is his fifth goal this season in the Indian I-league. Keita scores goals, like meth head has sores. More at Goal.com


Check out some of the World Cup kits at Mao's Football. Adidas and Puma have finalized most of their designs, while Nike should be releasing some more kits in early March.

Get on the bus to Seattle March 11th. www.timbersarmy.org

Timber Bits - Keita Team of the Week Honor

Mandjou Keita Keeps Doing his Thing
Mandjou Keita is making his mark in the I-league as he received honorable mention for I-League Team of the Week Honors. He has scored four goals in five matches of regular season play. Salgaocar is currently in 12th place out of 15 teams, this has resulted in the head coach Tim Hankinson being sacked, as Salgaocar flirts with relegation. See the full list of I-League Team of Week Players at goal.com

Timbers Returning in 2011 (To the best of our knowledge)

• Johan Claesson (midfielder)
• Steve Cronin (goalkeeper)
• Mamadou Danso (defender)
• Brian Farber (midfielder)
• George Josten (forward)
• Stephen Keel (defender)
• Mandjou Keita (forward)
• Cameron Knowles (defender)
• Rodrigo Lopez (midfielder)
  
• Tony McManus (midfielder)
• Takuro Nishimura (defender)
• Ryan Pore (forward)
• Keith Savage (midfielder)
• Takayuki Suzuki (forward)
• and don't forget the first pick up of the off season Quavas Kirk (midfielder)

1 Goalkeeper
4 Defenders
6 Midfielders
5 Forwards
15 Total

Check out local blogger Mao's Football for some World Cup kit leaks.

Timber Bits - Invite Combine Videos

Tryouts
Invite Combine Day 1 - Video
Invite Combine Day 2 - Video

USL-1 Top 25 of the Decade - Link
Scot Thompson won the honor of #21 on this list, a great honor for a defender which are usually looked over on this sorts of list.

Philadelphia Stadium naming announcement
According to Street & Smiths, the Union are close to a deal to sell the naming rights of the stadium to what else, an energy firm. The deal is rumored to be worth 20 million for 10 years. PGE Park's naming contract will be done at the end of 2010, so we could see a new name by the time we start the 2011 campaign.

Soccer Catalog Archive - Link
This is a great blog of old soccer catalogs from EuroSport to TSI, there are scans of the pages of these glossy beacons of soccer culture from before the Internets. Anyone remember Acme Soccer & Widget Works?

Timber Bits

Read a personal account of a local guy who went to the Timbers Open Tryout this past weekend.

Timbers Abroad - Mandjou Keita played the entire 90 minutes yet failed to score, as Salgaocar dropped into relegation zone in a 2-1 loss to Air India. Full info at Goal.com


Kansas City just broke ground on their new MLS stadium. Hillcrest Road - the official blog of the Kansas City Wiz, has all the details and pictures.

And now more PGE Park Stadium Porn...

Timbers Bits - Gavin Wilkinson to Stay in 2011

Gavin Wilkinson will be the head coach for the 2010 season and in 2011 will remain with the Timbers as technical director. Wilkinson has been with the Timbers for nine years and might know the club better than anyone. The Timbers are most likely looking for a head coach with previous MLS experience.
Timbers name Wilkinson Technical Director of MLS club

Gavin Wilkinson was named the 2009 Field Turf Coach of the Year, it is he second honor in three years with the Timbers.
Wilkinson earns FieldTurf Coach of the Year

Listen to the radio interview on Strong at Night on 95.5 , Head Coach Gavin Wilkinson, Owner Merritt Paulson, and 1st pick of the MLS Draft Danny Mwanga from Oregon State

• Gavin Wilkinson says that we should have final schedule for 2010 within the next two weeks.
  

Salgaocar drops to 12th place, two points from relegation. Next game is this Friday.
We Need To Win Against Air India - Salgaocar Coach Tim Hankinson



The NASL have launched their official website.


Clint Dempsey hurt his knee playing for Fulham on Sunday. He is still under medical assessment but we should know full details within a day or two.
U.S. Team Awaits Word on Dempsey’s Knee Injury
UPDATE: Clint Dempsey gives USA World Cup boost after positive knee scan