Despite the new, more positive direction for he web site, there’s always room for a little snark. PTFC Authentics is having a BOGO sale one Timbers hats. I can’t imagine why they have any of these beautifully designed hats left over to peddle. The best comment I’ve seen on this was from Karl Berner on FB:

There simply are not enough methamphetamine-using Kawasaki-Ninja enthusiasts in the area for this one to be profitable.

Another repost from 1970s Soccer USA on Facebook. Labeled simply as “NASL Fans: Portland Timbers” but identified as Soccer Bowl by Bob Wilmot who was there. What publication did this come from? Who knows….

Here’s a photo of Don Megson taken when? Some time between during tenure as the coach of the Timbers from 1978 to 1980. Of the two NASL era groups I follow, neither of them can be bothered to credit the original source of the photo. When pressed the reply has always been “it’s user submitted.”

UPDATE: After posting I was trying to identify the other players in the picture and found the source of the original picture.

From 1970s Soccer USA:

Did You Know? Don Megson was hired to coach the Portland Timbers in 1978 and responded by steering the team to a franchise-best 20 wins, then advanced all the way to the Conference Championship round of the playoffs before losing to the New York Cosmos.

(more…)

The second post of the new era of PTFZine. Here’s Clyde Best with an assist to John Bain and a goal in a match against the Vancouver Whitecaps from 7/26/1980. Gotta love the music in the background, and “…the delicate touch from Best and Bain of Portland.”Happy for the Timbers highlights but I’d also like to see the whole video.

It’s been 5 years since I made a post. If you’re wondering what happened, read on.

Timbers.com reporting that Jimmy Conway has passed away. Jimmy is one of 5 players in the Timber’s Ring of Honor. Famous for his time in NASL as a Timber, but a bigger legend in Oregon soccer beyond playing days for his contributions in coaching and growing the game in Oregon.

The original Seattle Sounders poster on the left advertising the match with the Timbers showed up on my timeline again after the Timbers won. I thought I’d fix it for them to reflect the outcome. A little prophetic to choose Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots for the illustration, considering the antics on the field, especially post-match.

I’m involved in Zarek Valentin’s project to raise money for Pride Month. Profits from the RibbonZ patches are going to New Avenues for Youth and the Q Center. Find out about the project here. In stadium sales are over, but you still have a chance to buy some online.

We’re halfway thought he 2019 regular season, and we’re 9th in the conference, 15th in the Supporters Shield race. At 23 points were’s averaging 1.35 points per game. We’re 4 points below the playoff line but still have at two games in hand over almost everyone ahead of us, except 7th place Houston which has only played more match than we have, and has 27 points. In our next 17 games, we only have 3 away matches! I love our current run of form, and that includes the loss to Montreal with a rotated lineup. MLS Power Rankings have us at #3 (!) which seems very generous to me. What do you. think? Check out the slightly interactive version of the graph above on this page.