Month: May 2017

Fun With Chart.JS and the Slump



I decided to take a poke at some data visualization by tinkering with Chart.js, which is pretty powerful. Even though it has a lot of documentation, the examples are sparse and it took me a while to make it look right. You can see I've charted our conference standing, supporter's shield standing, and MLS Power Rankings after each game. Notice, this isn't by week, it's by games played. Standings are noted at the end of the weekend, or if it was a midweek game, after all midweek games have been played. I prefer that to weekly updates because I think it gives a more accurate and interesting picture.

Because we were in the same position in conference standing and Supporter's Shield standing for several weeks, it's kind of boring to look at, and unfortunately where they overlap it doesn't exactly show it. Ideally I would think the lower layers would be positioned slightly lower so you could se it, but I can't figure out how to make that happen. Another issue, the highest standing you can achieve is a 1, but if I don't start the ticks around 0, the line thickness gets cropped. Fortunately I can turn of the label for that first tick. I'll be fiddling with the settings a lot so if you come back later I may have learned thing or two and it may look somewhat different. (UPDATE - Keeping an updated version of this chart over here.)

So... are we in a slump? Sure looks like it. You can see the individual graphs after the jump.

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Key Bank Club Doughnut Destroyers

You know the Key Bank Club. We all love to hate them because they show up late for the matches and the TV camera’s show empty seats. I knew they got free hot dogs, but they also get free doughnuts. Not just any old doughnut, but fancy, match specific Voodoo Doughnuts. It’s like they sail their yachts on see of money over there… They finally have a sectional patch called the KBC Donut Destroyers, made by one the wise guys who sits in that section, who assured me is always there before the match starts. UPDATE: I’ll be adding subsequent team doughnuts to this post when I get pics.

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New Stadium Renders

OregonLive.com posted some additional renders of the proposed expansion of Providence Park. Another baby step, the plans have been presented to the city’s Design Commission, and were met with “general support.” The more I see of the renders, the more I like it. Still not crazy about the strip mall feel* from in the inside view, but the exterior is looking good.

*As I scroll down to look at those first renders, I realize I no longer have any objections to the way it looks on the inside. Must have just been the initial shock of seeing them for the first time.

Stadium Expansion Baby Steps

The Portland City Council passed a resolution expressing formal support for the stadium expansion plans, opening the door for the rest of the things that need to fall in place as well. Three things of note, there will be a special exemption from the competitive bidding process, I assume because construction is being paid for by Peregrine Sports. The second thing, and one that has a few people grumpy, is that the 4,000 new seats would be exempt from city ticket taxes for a period of 10 years. Some see this as a government subsidy, while most reasonable people feel it’s a fair concession considering tax dollars won’t be spent on construction. The final point of interest, Peregrine’s representative would not comment on the time period required for the Timbers to recoup the investment, because the project had not been finalized yet. The section of the hearing relevant to the Timbers starts at around the 2 hour and 13 minute mark and runs for about 35 minutes. Some of the mechanics of the deal and the different ways it can be interpreted are fairly interesting.

Good for the Goose, Good for the Gaffer.

The Timbers have what they call a fine wheel in the locker room. If you’re late for practice or have some other minor infraction you have have to spin the wheel and receive judgement. What’s good for the goose is good for the Gaffer, because Caleb Porter had to spin the wheel and was forced to put on a full Timbers kit for a training session. It caused quite a bit of laughter in the locker room, if you’re able to find the video that Alvas Powell posted, for a while at least. He was asked about it during a media briefing, and you’ll notice he goes out of his way tiptoeing around what the back of his jersey says, a reference to being a full kit wanker. It’s great see Caleb laugh, he always looks so serious.

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