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Posted inNews

City Sends First Draft Moda Lease Terms To Blazers, To Surprise of Council

Some councilors are frustrated over a process they say has excluded them and backed the city into a financial corner that weakens negotiating power.
Avatar photo by Courtney Vaughn

Updated: 4:48 pm July 17 The city of Portland delivered the first draft of a term sheet to the Trail Blazers management on Thursday, July 16, setting the city one step closer to a long-term lease agreement with the team for the Moda Center. No terms have been finalized, and the Council is in disagreement […]

Posted inSports

World Cup Diary: Week 5

Who’s up, who’s down, and the final reckoning.
Avatar photo by Abe Asher

It’s been a theme throughout this remarkable World Cup of 2026: football rewards bravery. Play with ambition, send players forward, try to score goals, and more often than not, you are rewarded. When England took the lead over Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon, they appeared set for their first World Cup final since 1966. […]

Posted inSports

En Garde: Fencing Competitors from Around the Country Descend on Portland

At the Oregon Convention Center, roughly 6,000 competitors tested their swordfighting skills.
Avatar photo by Corbin Smith

If you were strolling near the Oregon Convention Center around the first week of July, you may have seen people clad in athletic gear walking around with very tall, narrow bags. Their hoodies were emblazoned with a sword, and maybe the name of some obscure North American city. Inside the bags were full cover face […]

Posted inSports

World Cup Diary: Week 4

Who’s up, who’s down, and who’s going to win this thing?
Avatar photo by Abe Asher

The early days of a World Cup are often its happiest: teams and fans assemble and arrive in the host countries fresh-faced and full of hope, and play a group stage that includes second and third chances, opportunities to refine and redeem imperfect earlier performances.  It is, for a while, a great big party. And […]

Posted inNews

Moneyball: The Moda Center Controversy Explained

The city of Portland now owns the Moda Center, making us the Blazers’ landlord. With renovations needed and a cheapskate team owner, city officials must calculate the cost of civic pride.
Avatar photo by Courtney Vaughn

The Portland Trail Blazers fought their way to the 2026 NBA playoffs, but now, their toughest opponents may be in City Hall.  The team’s majority owner, Tom Dundon, is trying to iron out a deal with the city for a major, state-of-the-art renovation of the Moda Center that could cost more than $600 million. Recently […]

Posted inSports

World Cup Diary: Week 3

Who’s up, who’s down, and (according to the U.S. team) who needs 11 players?
Avatar photo by Abe Asher

Paraguay, in footballing terms, is a small, often overlooked country. Landlocked, bordered by much more famous neighbors, the Paraguayans had, prior to this week, only ever won a single knockout round game at the World Cup—against Japan, a team that has never won a knockout game in its history.  The ethos of the Paraguayan national […]

Posted inSports

World Cup Diary: Week Two

Who’s up, who’s down, and who’s falling in love all over again.
Avatar photo by Abe Asher

Two decades ago, when their nation hosted the World Cup, Germans enjoyed what they still call the sommermärchen: the summer fairytale, when the country fell back in love with its national soccer team as it embarked on a stirring run to the World Cup semifinal.  The sommermärchen felt relevant last Friday in Seattle, when, on […]

Posted inSports

World Cup Diary: Week One

Who’s up, who’s down, and what does the Pope think about all this?
Avatar photo by Abe Asher

The day before the World Cup kicked off in Mexico City, Pope Leo took to social media to weigh in on the tournament and the nature of life itself.  “The World Cup begins tomorrow, and many will watch the matches,” he wrote. “Soccer reminds us of something we must not forget: life is not a […]

Posted inSports

Where to Eat and Drink Around Portland for the FIFA World Cup

From watch parties to trying cuisines from competing countries, here’s where to celebrate football’s biggest tournament.
Avatar photo by Zoe Baillargeon

It’s officially soccer season in North America, as the FIFA World Cup kicked off on June 11 for a month of highly anticipated matches across the United States, Mexico, and Canada. And what better place to celebrate this once-in-every-four-years event than Portland, AKA Soccer City? Even for those who aren’t big soccer fans, it’s hard […]

Posted inQueer Issue 2026

Sparks Fly During the Portland Fire’s Opening Season

The Mercury’s guide to Portland’s first WNBA season since 2002
Avatar photo by Cameron Crowell

What follows is one of the many articles in the Mercury‘s 2026 Queer Issue. Find a print copy here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to you here, and if you’re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support us here.—eds. On their first night as a Women’s National Basketball Association franchise, the Portland Fire […]

Posted inSports

The 2026 World Cup: Where to Watch, How it Works, and Ranking the Teams

(Almost) everything you could possibly want to know about the biggest sporting event of the summer.
Avatar photo by Abe Asher

The biggest sporting event in the history of the world kicks off in Mexico City on Thursday afternoon (June 11), and before long, it will arrive in the Pacific Northwest.  The 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 23rd edition of the men’s tournament, will feature the largest field and most games in the competition’s illustrious history: […]

Posted inSports

Portland’s Newest Women’s Sports Team, the Cherry Bombs, Win First Match

Getting support from a sold-out crowd, tattoo artists, and an opera company didn’t hurt.
Avatar photo by Stephanie Kaloi

The mood was jovial at Southeast Portland’s Lents Field on Sunday, where a sold out crowd of 2,007 people assembled to watch the Portland Cherry Bombs—the USL W team that also represents the city’s latest foray into women’s sports—win their inaugural soccer match against the Drip FC, 4-0. Despite the more casual nature of Lents […]

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