This Week in the Forest, 02/02

I'm still working on a title for my weekly feature on the Portland Timbers. I think I like this one well enough to run with it for now.

I'm still catching up on Timbers' news, though I'm smacking my forehead this morning for not considering that Bigsoccer.com might - just might - have some threads devoted to the Timbers. Sure enough, they do. And there's good chatter on some of the new signings, even if it's a bit thin. For instance, that Chris Bagley guy sounds like he'll be all right.

And there's always the wunder-bar Timbers' Log, which turned in a good piece on the aging turf at the Timbers' PGE Park home ground. The best part of that post comes with this insight:

"Kerry Eggers is right. [Eggers is a columnist who writes for a local biweekly paper called the Portland Tribune.] It is time for a new surface, but as long as the city is in charge of the facility operations it isn't going to happen until the last possible moment."

I'm trying to get interested parties to check out the Timbers' Blog because the author, Bob Kellet, does good work; he expands on that argument in a very compelling way. It is a shame, though.

There are other sources out there that I haven't visited for a while, with the Timber Log being the first that comes to me. And, wow, that one hasn't been updated for half a year now (assuming I found the right place). There look to be another few available through this portal....though they're kind of a mixed bag as well. Ah, I'll keep trying.

Returning to the whole turf-and-being-run-by-the-local-government thing, I'm still trying to figure how to find some rich Portlanders to buy out the city's lease to PGE Park, so's we can convert that into a soccer-only stadium and get MLS to come to town. I'm sure there's a report out there somewhere, though, explaining why Portland can't or won't support a first division professional soccer team. Sigh.

(#######)