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Posted inTimbers

Keeping the Faith: Dairon Asprilla Leaves Portland as a Legend

The Timbers’ second-longest tenured player is returning to Colombia after nearly a decade in the Rose City.
Avatar photo Abe Asher

Dairon Asprilla is gone now, heading back to Atlético Nacional, the famous Medellín club he left to join Portland a decade ago.  Asprilla, 32 years old now, is going home to Colombia for the next, and possibly final chapter of his career. He’ll likely spend his first days savoring what happened on Saturday night, in […]

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The People’s Courts Serves up Pickleball With a Side of Apizza Scholls

The Portland rec center opened to much fanfare last August. Here’s how it’s doing.
Avatar photo Melissa Locker

The People’s Courts, an Actual Review
The People’s Courts Serves up Pickleball Courts With a Side of Apizza Scholls
The Portland rec center opened to much fanfare in August 2023. Here’s how it’s doing.
Rec center and pickleball stronghold, the People’s Courts opened to much fanfare last August. Here’s how it’s doing.

Posted inSports

Mike Norris Out as Portland Thorns Coach in Staff Shakeup

Norris will become the club’s technical director; General Manager Karina LeBlanc promises “global search” for new head coach.
Avatar photo Abe Asher

Mike Norris is out as Portland Thorns head coach just four games into the 2024 NWSL season, the club announced on Tuesday.  Norris, who served just over a year as head coach, is being moved into a new role as the club’s technical director. Rob Gale, one of Norris’ assistants, will take over as interim […]

Posted inTimbers

Will the Timbers Show Up? A 2024 Season Preview

Will the mistakes of last season continue to haunt the Timbers? And is it a new day for the Thorns?
Avatar photo Abe Asher

The Portland Timbers’ 2023 season ended early in embarrassing fashion last November with a lopsided loss at Providence Park that ended the team’s playoff hopes. When the dust settled, 2023 was the second-worst season in the club’s MLS history. On Saturday night, the Timbers will return to Providence Park for their 2024 season opener—complete with […]

Posted inTimbers

With Phil Neville, Timbers Make Controversial Pick for New Manager

The choice of Neville as the Timbers’ newest head coach is another finger in the eye for fans.
Avatar photo Abe Asher

The Portland Timbers announced Monday they have hired Phil Neville as their new manager, despite the outcry of supporters who have objected to his history of sexist tweets and lack of managerial success.  It’s a decision that is at once shocking and not surprising. Of all the candidates the Timbers could have chosen for their […]

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Portland Timbers Fire Head Coach Giovanni Savarese

Savarese leaves a club lacking both character and direction.
Avatar photo Abe Asher

When the Portland Timbers announced the firing of head coach Giovanni Savarese on Monday afternoon, it didn’t come as a surprise.  On Sunday night in the broiling heat in Houston, the Timbers put in one of the most pitiful performances of their entire MLS history: losing 5-0 to a team that was just a handful […]

Posted inNews

As WNBA Eyes Expansion, Supporters Push For Portland To Be the New Face of Women’s Basketball

Portland’s previous WNBA team folded. Can the Rose City’s ardent sports fans convince the right buyer to take the leap?
Avatar photo Abe Asher

Jordan Dinwiddie is a creative director at Wieden + Kennedy, but she wasn’t working in her professional capacity on Nike’s account with the agency when she had the idea to design an eye-catching billboard with a simple message: Bring the WNBA to Portland.  Dinwiddie wanted to get to work on the billboard last year, but […]

Posted inNews

Portland Thorns Announce New Head Coach Amid Leadership Upheaval

Former assistant coach Mike Norris felt like a “no-brainer” choice after the team’s tumultuous season.
Avatar photo Abe Asher

The Portland Thorns announced Monday that the club has hired Mike Norris as its new head coach, elevating the former assistant coach at a time of major upheaval.  Norris, 43, arrived in Portland last year to join the staff of former Thorns manager Rhian Wilkinson after a decade-and-a-half based in British Columbia coaching in Canadian […]

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Merritt Paulson Will Sell Portland Thorns, Keep Timbers

The decision follows a year of mounting pressure to sell after abuse allegations.
Avatar photo Abe Asher

Merritt Paulson announced Thursday morning that he is selling the Portland Thorns, bringing to an end his stewardship of one of the country’s most successful women’s sports franchises in the aftermath of an abuse scandal that rocked the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). Paulson’s impending sale of the Thorns, however, will not end his involvement […]

Posted inThorns

Thorns, Timbers Management Fires President of Soccer Gavin Wilkinson and President of Business Mike Golub

Owner Merritt Paulson fired his top two executives after a report uncovered their role in enabling abuse against players
Avatar photo Abe Asher

The Portland Timbers and Thorns have fired President of Soccer Gavin Wilkinson and President of Business Mike Golub, the club announced in a press release on Tuesday morning.  Owner Merritt Paulson’s decision to fire his top two executives comes less than 24 hours after he announced that he, Wilkinson, and Golub would all temporarily step […]

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Thorns, Timbers Fan Groups Sever Ties With Club Management Over “Devastating” Report

Supporters say front office officials including owner Merritt Paulson misled and lied to them.
Avatar photo Abe Asher

When Tina Ettlin, a member of the Rose City Riveters steering committee, began reading the report on US Soccer’s independent investigation of abuse in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) on Monday, she was horrified.  The investigation, led by former US Attorney General Sally Yates, found that Portland Thorns owner Merritt Paulson and president of […]

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