| 30 August 2010
Timbers Looking Strong
The Portland Timbers have been on a hot streak of late amassing 10 points from their last 4 league games, and look like a sure lock for the USL playoffs.
On Sunday night, they dismantled Crystal Palace Baltimore by a score of 3 to 0 as forward Bright Dike continued his torrid form of late with two goals. Dike has scored five goals in the last five games, while Ryan Pore tallied his league-leading 14th goal of the season. The Timbers sit in third place in the USL conference with 38 league points from 25 games.
Expansion Draft
Last Monday the Timbers and the Vancouver Whitecaps got together to hammer out the details of which franchise would pick first between the MLS Expansion Draft or the MLS SuperDraft - basically the college draft. Unfortunately, the choice was ultimately up to the Whitecaps who won a coin flip last month.
The Whitecaps chose to choose first in the MLS SuperDraft, which left the Timbers with the first choice in the MLS Expansion Draft. If the Timbers had won the coin flip, picking first in the Expansion Draft would have been the way to go regardless. The more experienced MLS players - and in most cases the better MLS players - will be available in the Expansion Draft rather than the college draft. This allows General Manager Gavin Wilkinson and his staff to really pinpoint the best player in the expansion pool and go and get him.
All the MLS teams must send to the league a list of protected players, and non-protected players. The Timbers and the Whitecaps will have the chance to select 10 players each from the non-protected player list from any team in the MLS. We will be keeping a close eye on the Expansion Draft coming up in November, while the SuperDraft will take place on January 13, 2011. The Whitecaps will be picking first, the Timbers second.
Goodbye PGE Park….Hello Burgerville Park?
PGE Park will be no more starting next season. The stadiums 10-year old agreement with Portland General Electric expires and owner Merritt Paulson will be looking for the highest bidder to come in and grab the naming rights. Hopefully Mr. Paulson is not going to make a mockery of the naming rights. There have been rumors floating around that the front runner for the naming rights is Burgerville –leaving us with Burgerville Park or Field.
One of the most unique things we have in Portland is the Rose Garden. No corny airline or financial institution name. It’s just simply the Rose Garden. That’s what many love about the Blazers’ home arena. It is central to Portland. It will be interesting to see what comes out of the naming rights auction for the Timbers.
Stay Tuned To Beyond the Beat For Ongoing Timbers News And Coverage
One thing is for sure: rumors and emerging news about the Timbers - including potential kit sponsors, possible signings, and expansion happenings will continue to persist - and as the USL season comes to an end, news will surely be coming out of Timbers headquarters and Beyond the Beat will be there to cover it.
photo:crewonesport
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