I’ve been struggling with how saccharinely upbeat the Portland Timbers podcast is, especially Jake Zivin. I want to like it but it’s so unrealistically blind to the state of the club. Like after the horrific Vancouver loss, it was basically “let’s look at the positives!”

Does anyone happen to know who has editorial control over the content? Do they have to clear each episode with the FO before publishing? I would like to understand the dynamic better.

Zivin is presumably on Apple’s payroll and probably doesn’t need the gig. The other host is presumably on the local radio payroll. I get that the official podcast isn’t going to bash the FO but I would be content if they were at least somewhat realistic. In house media from other sports does this.

Portland Timbers Night with the Trail Blazers – January 19th

Join us on Sunday, January 19th for Portland Timbers Night with the Trail Blazers. Your ticket includes:

• A Timbers/Blazers cobranded scarf.
• A group photo with fans.
• A free throw on the court.

Don’t miss out—get your tickets here: Portland Timbers Night with the Trail Blazers

Pick Up Jozy Altidore. Ain't done much. Prolly cheap. Great guy. Veteran bench leadership who may still be hungry???? Would prolly also love Portland????

Classic.

Ned's hands must be nice and warm from all the sitting on them he's doing.

Whether they're a depth piece, consistent rotation, a guy to have on the bench for an injury crisis, who looks the best value on the list for you? I will periodically be adding a list of highlighted players based on the comments below.

Top players based off of your suggestions:

• Literally every LB on this list, please sign a back up left back.
• Jebo (Rotation?)
• Matt Hedges (Depth)
• Robert Castellanos (Depth)
• Róbert Thorkelsson (Depth)
• Alex Ring (Depth)

Messi FC:

• Cole Jensen (GK)
• Sergii Kryvtsov (D)
• Franco Negri (D)
• Lawson Sunderland (M)
• Felipe Valencia (M)

CFG Eastern US Chapter:

• Rio Hope-Gund (D)

Shamu City FC:

• Gastón González (F)
• Jeorgio Kocevski (M)
• Luca Petrasso (D)
• Abdi Salim (D)
• Carlos Mercado (GK)

Cincy

• London Aghedo (D)
• Joey Akpunonu (D)
• Isaiah Foster (D)
• Kipp Keller (D)
• Arquimides Ordoñez (F)
• Malik Pinto (M)

SF Lite FC

• Tanner Beason (D)
• Jeremy Ebobisse (F)
• Jacob Jackson (GK)
• JT Marcinkowski (GK)
• Alfredo Morales (M)
• Will Richmond (F)
• Tommy Thompson (D)
• William Yarbrough (GK)

Cool Hat FC

• Kei Kamara (F)
• Luis Müller (F)
• Tommy Musto (M)
• Diego Rosales (D)

Smog Lake City:

• Kevin Bonilla (D)
• Erik Holt (D)
• Bertin Jacquesson (F)
• Benji Michel (F)
• Jaziel Orozco (D)
• Ilijah Paul (F)
• Delentz Pierre (D)
• Rubio Rubín (F)

Loons

• Hugo Bacharach (D)
• Derek Dodson (D)
• Clint Irwin (GK)
• Moses Nyeman (M)
• Patrick Weah (F)

Sporting Club Coors

• Ethan Bandré (GK)
• Rémi Cabral (M)

*SIGH FC*

• Levonte Johnson (F)

Hard Hat United

• Keegan Hughes (D)
• Yaw Yeboah (D)

Dont-Step-On-Snakey Rovers

• Jamir Berdecio (D)
• Matthew Real (D)
• Joaquín Torres (M)

New England Rev-need-a-trophy-tion

• Xavier Arreaga (D)
• Joshua Bolma (F)
• Dylan Borrero (F)
• Nacho Gil (M)
• Tommy McNamara (M)
• Jonathan Mensah (D)

Good Charlotte Fc

• Jaylin Lindsey (D)
• Jamie Paterson (F)
• Junior Urso (M)

CF Oui Oui

• Gabriele Corbo (D)
• Grayson Doody (D)
• Raheem Edwards (D)
• Ilias Iliadis (M)
• Lassi Lappalainen (M)
• Josef Martínez (F)
• Matteo Schiavoni (M)
• Róbert Thorkelsson (D)
• Rida Zouhir (M)

Real 2nd Best BBQ City

• Robert Castellanos (D)
• Ozzie Cisneros (M)
• Danny Flores (M)
• Chris Rindov (D)

Frisco Football Club

• Liam Fraser (M)
• Omar Gonzalez (D)
• Dante Sealy (F)
• Ema Twumasi (D)
• Eugene Ansah (F)
• Isaiah Parker (F)
• Amet Korça (D)
• Malik Henry-Scott (F)

Space City FC

• Latif Blessing (M)
• Steve Clark (GK)
• Ján Greguš (M)
• Héctor Herrera (M)
• Júnior Moreno (M)
• Tate Schmitt (D)
• Brad Smith (D)
• Daniel Steres (D)
• Ousmane Sylla (F)
• Xavier Valdez (GK)

Real 1st Best BBQ City (Fight Me)

• Matt Bersano (GK)
• Ethan Finlay (F)
• Matt Hedges (D)
• Alex Ring (M)
• Jhojan Valencia (M)

Smashville FC

• Forster Ajago (F)
• Tah Brian Anunga (M)
• Aníbal Godoy (M)
• Ben Martino (GK)
• Amar Sejdić (M)
• Joey Skinner (D)

Tea FC

• Aimé Mabika (D)
• Shane O'Neill (D)
• Prince Owusu (F)
• Greg Ranjitsingh (GK)
• Brandon Servania (M)
• Luke Singh (D)

Sporting House of Cards

• Alex Bono (GK)
• Nathan Crockford (GK)
• Cristian Dájome (F)
• Jeremy Garay (D)
• Christopher McVey (D)
• Tyler Miller (GK)
• Martín Rodríguez (M)
• Hayden Sargis (D)
• Luis Zamudio (GK)

Da Bears FC

• Rafael Czichos (D)
• Fabian Herbers (M)
• Ariel Lassiter (M)
• Spencer Richey (GK)

City

• John Klein (M)

Didn't bother putting Los Flounders on here, just need NY/NJ Energy Drinks and LA Galaxy. Does not include all out of contract players, mostly just declined options. Took the players from the list here

https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/who-s-in-who-s-out-mls-year-end-roster-changes-2025-season

Some Spicy options below:

• Jeremy Ebobisse (F)
• Yaw Yeboah (D)
• Alexandru Matan (M)

If Ned Grabavoy and Co. want to build a contending team next year, they can. This isn't the NBA where it takes years and gradual development to "rebuild." The Galaxy brought in Will Kuntz, showed genuine ambition spending close to 20 million dollars on two top quality DPs, and here they are.

Since 2021 there has always been some kind of excuse for our failure. In 2022 it was extremely bad luck with injuries combined with the lack of a Valeri replacement (Ned explained that we intentionally didn't sign one immediately so they wouldn't be burdened with the "Valeri succesor" tag). In 2023 we sacked our manager and had a bunch of high salary players on expiring contracts (two of which were in the conversation for being the worst DPs in the entire league). And this year, we have a new manager who wants to completely change our style of play and needs time to implement that. We're also at the tipping point for a couple players who either don't fit the new style of play and/or have consistently let us down over the last couple of years. Am I confident that the excuse this year won't be Evander leaving? No. But even if it happens we can still compete if we show some ambition.

I have been very supportive of Phil this year through all the highs and lows. I also have been a lot more understanding of Ned compared to most of you regarding the Evander situation. But next season is crunch time. I don't care if Evander, Moreno, Mora, and Mosquera all leave. If we finish in a similar or worse position next year, both of them have to go.

I had stopped by periodically during the season, but decided to go to the winter sale and MLS Cup watch party. Overall, it was great. Atmosphere was welcoming and fun. Lots of happy people around, both watching the game and enjoying the space.

The beer selection (for members of 107 and affordable) was good, and overall experience was worth it. My partner and I mask mostly and it was super accessible. I'll definitely attend future watch parties, and I really appreciate the community and space. I can only imagine that this is a unique environment for MLS and NWSL and should be celebrated.

Update: posted

https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/morrisonic-christmas/pl.u-AkAmPN3TXaoLp

Okay folks, I’m a lifelong Portlander who grew up going to Timbers matches when you could still see the baseball diamond on the pitch during their matches. I’ve been a devoted Thorns fan for the past several seasons and have followed the premiere league for awhile, but have never gotten into MLS or done more than occasionally watch timbers highlights on YouTube. How can I get up to speed on recent Timbers history and learn more about MLS before next season starts so I can start building some excitement?

Still a good experience game wise. Definitely will be back again but won’t bring the kids again until it’s a good environment. I’ve gone to see the blazers,kraken, and mariners. This was my first time I’ve ever gone to see the timbers will go again hopefully a better experience