The Portland Fire

The Portland Fire debuted the team’s mascot during the team’s loss to the Washington Mystics Sunday night. She’s a shiny pink dragon named Rose who breathes glittery fire, wears pink Nikes, and sports ice blue nails. She’s fantastic, and we’re going to get to her in a minute. But, more urgently, there’s something else that […]

The Portland Fire racked up the team’s fourth win over the Seattle Storm Friday night, edging out their rivals 84-82 at the Climate Pledge Arena. The win also meant the Fire had a clean sweep of the Storm, largely due to the electric work of Oregon graduate Holly Winterburn. Though not quite a hometown hero, […]

To suggest that the Portland Fire—or any WNBA expansion team—could make the league’s playoffs in the first season would have gotten you laughed out of many an arena before the 2025 season. This is because that up until head coach Natalie Nakase took charge of the Golden State Valkyries (last year’s expansion team), made it […]

The last time the Portland Fire won a game was July 16, when the team bested the Washington Mystics 75-56. Since then, they’ve lost to the Minnesota Lynx (101-93 on July 18), Dallas Wings (101-97 on July 22), Las Vegas Aces (98-83 on July 28), Indiana Fever (112-98 on July 31), and Los Angeles Sparks […]

The Indiana Fever are coming back into town to play the Fire, and this time things are poised to be very different. Fans may recall the Fire soundly defeated the Fever, 100-84, when they hosted Indiana at the Moda Center on May 31. That game saw a rare, poor performance from Fever guard Caitlin Clark, […]

The Portland Fire’s 88-80 loss to the Las Vegas Aces wasn’t a fun one. And, I know: what loss really is? But this week’s game offered a look at one of the Fire’s most consistent performance issues: their turnover rate is one of the highest in the league, and it’s costing them crucial points and […]

The moids may have convinced you that the only WNBA story worth paying attention to this week involved the Indiana Fever’s Sophie Cunningham, AKA MAGA Barbie, and the Phoenix Mercury’s DeWanna Bonner. Happily, there’s been a lot more going on: Last night the Portland Fire treated the rest of the league to a historic match […]

Last night the Fire hosted the Seattle Storm as part of the first installment in a four-game rivalry series that will see both teams traversing the 175 miles that separate them. Portland, who entered into the series with a 5-4 historic record from the 2000-2002 seasons, pulled out a 94-89 victory last night, thus sparing […]

The Portland Fire came roaring back in front of 14,612 fans Saturday night with a satisfying, if not gritty and hard-fought, 84-83 win over the Dallas Wings. The victory put a pin in a grueling four-game losing streak that started when the Golden State Valkyries trounced the Fire 95-77 on June 2, and ended when […]

At halftime, during the team’s May 30th win against the Indiana Fever, the Portland Fire were up by 13 points. That’s when a fan in the crowd turned to this Mercury reporter and asked, “It almost like the Fire’s just doing whatever they want—and it’s working. Is that on purpose?” The short answer is yes… […]

The Portland Fire rounded out a series of three home games with a 100-84 win over the Indiana Fever Saturday, firmly shutting down the doubts of naysayers (at home and elsewhere). With all the attention the Fever has received, it’s the kind of win that establishes a team has arrived. Head coach Alex Sarama acknowledged […]

The Portland Fire hit the road this week after the team’s nail-biter of a win (83-82) over the Connecticut Sun at the Fire Pit on Monday, May 18  The Fire’s first road test on Wednesday, May 20, was in Indianapolis against the Indiana Fever, and it was one the team will probably want to forget. […]