The absence and disinterest continue this weekend when I’ll miss the Timbers’ home game against the Seattle Sounders; they play Seattle again the following night and in the Emerald City (you can find it on the full league schedule for July; the one on the Timbers' page doesn't make for easy linking). Um, go Timbers. Sorry I’ll miss it.
One last thing on this subject: the Timbers’ official site has yet to preview this weekend’s two-city double-header, but I came across an interesting bit of information in a relatively old post on The Oregonian’s Timbers Weblog:
“The United Soccer League’s version of the Portland Timbers has never had a losing season and the club has qualified for postseason play all but one time in five seasons. With 11 matches remaining - starting tonight in Atlanta – the Ax Men [ed. - that’s the Timbers, in case that’s unclear] need to begin grinding out results if their five-year run of success is to continue.”
This post, it should be mentioned, predated the ass-whuppin’ given by the Atlanta Silverbacks last weekend. So 11 games is now 10 games and it will be 8 come Sunday morning. And, since I’ve got it handy, here’s what the Timbers have left for games, opponents and home versus away (home games listed in bold):
Seattle (July 21)
Seattle, July 22
Virginia Beach, July 27
Toronto, July 29
Minnesota, August 4
Virginia Beach, August 10
Puerto Rico, August 18
Montreal, August 31
Charleston, September 3
Atlanta, September 7
Hmm...like that extended home-stand to end the season, but a gander at the standings seems advisable in order to gain greater sense of what they’re looking at. (Question: What the hell does “magic” mean in the last column? And does the A-League put any kind of cap on Magic Users above the 4th level?) You can begin by writing off the August 31st against Montreal; that’ll be a tie at best. In spite of this season’s play, the Timbers are above Minnesota, Toronto and Seattle, though by only one point with regard to the latter. Against that, we’re behind, though not by much, the remaining teams - except Montreal, who has 12 points on us.
So, things look all right on paper. Good stuff. And I’ll try to improve my A-League stuff.
Turning to MLS, the big news out of Kansas City was the "resignation" of their long (long, long)-time coach, Bob Gansler. I’ll just say it was past time for this move and leave it there. Even when I called for this coach’s head (in here somewhere), that call was never in anger; he seems a good sort and a good manager. And he certainly deserved better than a public revelation that he resigned at the request of the organization - last time I checked, that’s called firing.
Here’s something I just bumped into: one paper reports that John Harkes will join Bruce Arena as an assistant at Red Bull New York. Well…I’ll be damned.
In general MLS news, Neal Thurman, who writes for the Yanks Abroad site, wrote an interesting column on how the U.S. Soccer powers-that-be can cash in on momentum from this summer’s World Cup. It’s not easy to summarize, so I’ll only note that The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart is a lynchpin in his plan and leave it there; one can only hope that Thurman is right in thinking ESPN has the same notion somewhere on the stove, even if it’s only, as he believes, the backburner.
Turning to actual games now, as if more proof were needed, last night’s game between the Columbus Crew and Red Bull New York again confirmed the complete unreliability of my powers of prediction: Red Bull New York not only won, but won away from home and crawled out of last place; it should be noted that they have their Eastern Conference peers to thank for their tied-for- third position. I didn’t see the game, or even the highlights and, as such, don’t have much to add. Well...except this: keep your eye on that Edson Buddle kid; he’s doing good things.
The win also raises a question: Is the coaching prowess of Bruce Arena such that he can will wins in his absence?
A couple exhibition games took place last night, but I want to begin a tradition of ignoring such things outside of pre-season. Two clubs fielding their bench in a game that counts for nothing? Rah, rah...
Because they’re complete a-holes, MLS scheduled still another game for tonight: Chivas USA will play the Colorado Rapids a mile in the sky (preview). Were this just any ol’ home game for Colorado, I’d pick them to win it - and 1-0 at that; they’re not an exciting team - especially with Chivas' Ante Razov sitting out through suspension. But this game will be the first of a double-header, with the second game featuring two clubs from Mexico. In the past, this has translated into a big chunk of the Colorado crowd pulling for Chivas. The Rapids, for their part, expect that to happen tonight.
In the expectation that it will keep my .0000 record alive, I’m calling still calling this one a win for Colorado.
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