Portland will have the inside track on the Cascadia Cup and will play on national TV a dozen times in 2012, it was revealed Thursday when Major League Soccer released its full regular season schedule.
The second-year Timbers will host rivals Seattle (June 24 & Sept. 15) and Vancouver (May 26 & Aug. 25) twice each (much to the chagrin of fans of certain teams up north), and PTFC and Timbers Army will be showcased nationally 12 times, including an afternoon tilt against the arch-rival Sounders on NBC in September.
From the press release:
The Timbers kick off their second MLS season with one of 12 nationally televised matches during the upcoming campaign on Monday, March 12, as they play host to the Philadelphia Union at JELD-WEN Field on ESPN2 at 6:30 p.m. (Pacific).
Under the new competition format for MLS, the Timbers will play a conference-based schedule in 2012, taking on each of their eight Western Conference opponents three times and each Eastern Conference club once during the regular season. … Between national broadcasts and the Timbers’ local television partners, all 34 regular-season matches will be broadcast on live TV in 2012. ROOT SPORTS™ will air 14 games throughout the season, while KPTV (FOX 12) and its sister station KPDX (PDX TV) will show a total of 10 matches, which will also air in Spanish on Estrella TV. Every regular-season match will once again feature a live radio broadcast on Sportsradio 750 AM The Game and in Spanish on La Pantera 940 AM.
Click past the jump for the full regular-season schedule.
MARCH
Monday, March 12—vs. PHILADELPHIA UNION, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Saturday, March 17—@ FC Dallas, 5:30 p.m. (ROOT)
Saturday, March 24—@ New England Revolution, 1 p.m. (ROOT)
Saturday, March 31—vs. REAL SALT LAKE, 7 p.m. (ROOT)
APRIL
Saturday, April 7—vs. CHIVAS USA, 7:30 p.m. (KPTV)
Saturday, April 14—@ LA Galaxy, 7:30 p.m. (KPDX)
Saturday, April 21—vs. SPORTING KANSAS CITY, 7:30 p.m. (ROOT)
Saturday, April 28—@ Montreal Impact, 11 a.m. (KPDX)
MAY
Saturday, May 5—vs. COLUMBUS CREW. 7:30 p.m. (KPTV)
Tuesday, May 15—@ Houston Dynamo, 5:30 p.m. (ROOT)
Sunday, May 20—vs. CHICAGO FIRE, 4 p.m. (ROOT/Galavisión)
Saturday, May 26—vs. VANCOUVER WHITECAPS, 7 p.m. (ROOT)
JUNE
Sunday, June 17—@ LA Galaxy, 4 p.m. (KPTV)
Sunday, June 24—vs. SEATTLE SOUNDERS, 2 p.m. (ESPN)
Saturday, June 30—@ Colorado Rapids, 6 p.m. (ROOT)
JULY
Tuesday, July 3—vs. SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES, 7:30 p.m. (KPTV)
Saturday, July 7—@ Real Salt Lake, 6 p.m. (KPDX)
Saturday, July 14—vs. LA GALAXY, 8 p.m. (NBC Sports)
Wednesday, July 18—@ Chivas USA, 1 p.m. (ROOT)
Saturday, July 21—@ FC Dallas, 6 p.m. (KPTV)
Saturday, July 28—vs. CHIVAS USA, 8 p.m. (ROOT)
AUGUST
Sunday, Aug. 5—vs. FC DALLAS, 4 p.m. (NBC Sports)
Wednesday, Aug. 15—@ Toronto FC, 4 p.m. (ROOT)
Sunday, Aug. 19—@ New York Red Bulls, 4 p.m. (KPTV/Galavisión)
Saturday, Aug. 25—vs. VANCOUVER WHITECAPS, 7:30 p.m. (ROOT)
Friday, Aug. 31—vs. COLORADO RAPIDS, 7:30 p.m. (NBC Sports)
SEPTEMBER
Wednesday, Sept. 5—@ Colorado Rapids, 6 p.m. (NBC Sports)
Saturday, Sept. 15—vs. SEATTLE SOUNDERS, 12:30 p.m. (NBC)
Wednesday, Sept. 19—@ San Jose Earthquakes, 7:30 p.m. (KPDX)
Saturday, Sept. 22—@ Real Salt Lake, 5 p.m. (NBC Sports)
Saturday, Sept. 29—vs. D.C. UNITED, 7:30 p.m. (ROOT)
OCTOBER
Sunday, Oct. 7—@ Seattle Sounders, 6 p.m. (ESPN)
Saturday, Oct. 20—@ Vancouver Whitecaps FC, 1 p.m. (ROOT)
Saturday, Oct. 27—SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES, 3:30 p.m. (NBC Sports)