For what it’s worth, Diego Chará doesn’t think his record-breaking foul was warranted.

Portland’s midfielder had only been in the match against Vancouver for three minutes two weeks ago when he was shown the yellow card — his 124th in MLS play, breaking Kyle Beckerman’s record.

“I think half the yellow cards are not fair,” Chará said with a grin outside Portland’s training facility. “In my opinion, that one wasn’t. But that happens. It’s what the referee decides.”

Chará has given officials plenty to work with over his 16-year career with the Timbers. While the club captain has celebrated milestones like playing the most games for the Timbers and winning an MLS Cup, the meaning of this record brings with it a little bit of nuance.

On one hand, setting a record for getting booked the most isn’t exactly one Chará is ready to put on his resume. There are some bad fouls in there. But there were plenty of necessary ones, too. And after playing more MLS matches than all but eight players in league history, the midfielder was bound to find his way into the record book somewhere.

Remember: LeBron James has missed the most shots in NBA history, too.

“It’s not a record that a player is looking for,” Chará said. “But at the same time, it’s part of my position. I enjoy it because I have to be aggressive in a good way.

“It’s difficult for me to pick (a favorite), but I think any time I got a yellow card because maybe I stopped a transition, I think that’s a good yellow card.”

Chará’s card against Vancouver didn’t just set the record — it was his last foul as someone in his 30s. Chará, who has played 368 minutes and started four of Portland’s eight games, turned 40 the next morning.

And, other than suddenly being alone in MLS history, he said things don’t feel a whole lot different than they did before.

“The most difficult part right now is the recovery. It takes a little bit longer than before,” he said. “At the same time, having the opportunity to compete — that feels great.”

— Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor

Looking for Oregon Ducks coverage? Lookout Eugene-Springfield is the new home for Tyson Alger’s coverage of University of Oregon athletics.

Who cares about the fan base or the momentum of a playoff run when there’s a bottom line to attend to, right?

Then, Tyson and Justin break down the new “Jail Blazers” Netflix documentary and close with a look ahead to Oregon’s upcoming spring game.

For more, listen to this podcast in the player above or find us over on Apple or Spotify.

OK, so maybe we haven't talked much about one of — we're looking at you, Netflix — Portland's professional sports teams, but seeing as Portland is playing in the NBA Playoffs on Sunday, we figured now is the time to jump on the bandwagon.

Tyson and Justin talk about what it means for the city, Oregon spring ball, “Win the Day" and review Justin's trip to Bandon.

Then, Erik Anderson joins to break down the Blazers' series.

For more, listen to this podcast in the player above or find us over on Apple or Spotify.

Looking for more Oregon Ducks coverage? Lookout Eugene-Springfield is the new home for Tyson Alger’s coverage of University of Oregon athletics.

Kevin Kelsy admits the haircut came out of boredom.

It’s been a rough start to the year for his Portland Timbers, and the first six games of the season weren’t what the forward envisioned for his second year with the club.

He’s still splitting minutes with Felipe Mora, and the last time the Timbers played at Providence Park, he lasted just 22 minutes before a Kamal Miller red card forced Phil Neville to take him off the pitch.

Looking to change things up, the 21-year-old shaved his head.

On any other Saturday, that might have gone unnoticed. But it was impossible to miss in the 96th minute, when Kelsy’s closely-cropped dome met a ball that changed the momentum of Portland’s young season.

The Timbers (2-4-1, 7 points) beat LAFC (5-1-1, 16 points) 2-1, taking three points from a team that not only hadn’t lost in 2026, but had yet to surrender a goal. And it was a roller coaster even before Kristoffer Velde fed a cross to Brandon Bye, who headed it over to Kelsy for the goal that handed LAFC its first defeat of the season.

“Breaking their unbeaten streak felt great,” Kelsy said. “But the most important part is we’re getting a victory in this very tough stretch.”

Portland’s path to three points began with a bit of overconfidence from the visiting side.

The Western Conference leaders came into Saturday with a 14-0 goal differential and fresh off a 3-0 win Tuesday over Cruz Azul in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinals. With the return leg coming Tuesday, LAFC figured it could heavily rest its roster against a Timbers club that hadn’t won since February. Star forward Son Heung-min didn’t make the trip, nor did starting goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

Velde made that look like a mistake in the 32nd minute.

Taking a pass from Cole Bassett, who played 89 minutes after missing the last four games due to injury, Velde quickly surged up the middle of the pitch, crossed up a pair of defenders as he cut to his right and ripped a low shot that beat Cabral Carter at the far post.

In celebration, Velde jumped over the stadium ad boards and momentarily onto the Victory Log in front of the Timbers Army. He threw both arms into the air before losing his balance and hopping off.

“I wasn’t thinking straight,” Velde said. “I don’t know if it’s legal to jump on the log or if it’s holy. I don’t know. But I should have stuck to the log because I lost my balance.

“Next time, maybe I grab the chainsaw and cut the log myself.”

Velde’s third goal of the season came against LAFC’s third-string goalkeeper. Just minutes before the tally, Thomas Hasal left the match following a collision with teammate Artem Smolyakov.

The Timbers looked to be in control.

Then, as has so often been the case this season, Portland’s late-game demons returned.

The Timbers surrendered the equalizer just three minutes into the second half when 17-year-old Jude Terry ripped a shot from outside the box for the first goal of his career. And a week after a win turned into a loss in the final minutes against Vancouver, it appeared disaster had struck again for Portland when LAFC found the back of the net in the 87th minute.

Then the goal went to review.

As officials watched the replay, Neville said he thought back to a lunch he had earlier in the week with Timbers owner Merritt Paulson. After the Vancouver result left the coach frustrated with the refereeing, Neville said the two talked about shifting their mentality.

“We spoke about that attitude and not thinking that the world’s against us,” Neville said.

His first sign that maybe things were turning came that morning, when Neville got emotional after seeing a post from the Timbers Army calling on supporters to rally behind the team amid its struggles.

His second sign came when the goal was waved off for offsides.

With new life, Neville subbed Kelsy on for Mora. And seven minutes after debuting his new look to the home crowd, Kelsy sent 24,686 into jubilation for the first time in far too long.

But Neville said it’s more than just a new haircut that Kelsy is sporting. It’s the growing maturity of a young player finding his way.

“Yesterday when I left him out, he said to me, ‘The team is more important than me for this game tomorrow,’” Neville said. “... I think when you have that kind of spirit of togetherness, eventually the tide will turn.”

— Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor

Calls for his job weren’t about to stop Portland Timbers manager Phil Neville from appreciating a little bit of well-timed dark humor.

For those needing a refresher, the Timbers were leading Vancouver late on Saturday, then were tied late, then lost by the end — a turn of events so sharp that a Vancouver media member asked Neville about the status of his job after Portland’s 1-4-1 start.

Meeting with local media for the first time since on Tuesday, Neville was asked about the team’s vibe after such a dismal weekend. And as the coach began to speak, a dump truck at a neighboring construction site decided it was time to loudly expel its load.

“That’s how it feels,” Neville said. “That was the moment that summed up my life.”

Neville was in a good mood. He was joking. And the Timbers largely looked relaxed as they began preparations for Saturday’s home match against LAFC. The coach still believes his team showed progress on Saturday, and he continues to preach that once the club has time to acclimate after injuries and roster turnover, the Timbers can be good.

There are still 28 matches to play, after all.

But Portland’s poor start has been very real. The team sits at the bottom of the Western Conference, with a fan base that has grown increasingly vocal about the club’s direction. And while it can’t all be chalked up to injuries — or calls made by officials — Timbers general manager Ned Grabavoy spoke of patience Tuesday when asked about Neville.

There are eight games until the league takes a two-month pause for the World Cup, Grabavoy said, which gives the club a natural checkpoint for evaluation.

“Despite the injuries, despite some of the questionable and bad calls that we’ve had over the last couple of weeks that have put us in a bad position, we have not met expectations and standards for where we want to be and the position that we want and need to be in the table,” Grabavoy said. “Coaching staff is aware of that. Players are aware of that. Ultimately, it’s my job to continue to support and be committed to them, and I also want to give them the opportunity through this first 14 games to really have the full group together as well and correct and find the answers and solutions that we need to better position ourselves in the table, to get results, to pick up points. Those things need to happen.

“Everyone is being assessed. Everyone is being monitored. We’ll continue to do that and we’ll have time to make decisions if we need to. We’ll evaluate those things when we get through this first 14-game stretch.”

Unfortunately for the Timbers, they are currently in the teeth of that schedule. Saturday’s loss came against the No. 2 team in the Western Conference. Next up is LAFC, a team that has yet to allow a goal this season. A week later, Portland travels to Minneapolis to face Minnesota, another playoff contender. Then comes San Diego, the team that eliminated Portland from the 2025 playoffs.

“I’ve always found throughout my life that these are the situations that I tend to really enjoy and really thrive in,” Neville said. “You go back on all experiences and you trust yourself and believe in yourself.

“My players are giving absolutely everything and I just need to give a little bit more.”

— Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor

Tyson and Justin get together to talk pimento cheese sandwiches, Augusta, the college basketball title game and whether we should feel bad for CB Bunknor.

Then, Kevin Palmer, our 2024 Masters Correspondent, shares his unsolicited thoughts on the upcoming tournament.

For more, listen to this podcast in the player above or find us over on Apple or Spotify. If you enjoy watching this podcast on YouTube — I can’t believe I’m saying this — please mash that subscribe button. It really helps us out.

Looking for more Oregon Ducks coverage? Lookout Eugene-Springfield is the new home for Tyson Alger’s coverage of University of Oregon athletics.

— Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor

It was after his sixth game of his third season with the Portland Timbers that Phil Neville faced the question that’s become a not-so-scarce topic online.

The Timbers (1-1-4, 4 points) had just lost 3-2 to Vancouver. After beginning the year by saying “we’ve got to deliver,” all the Timbers have delivered is a lone win in February and a spot in the bottom of the Western Conference.

It’s been a dreadful start — so much so that discussions that had mainly been saved for social media leaked into Neville’s postgame press conference.

“I’m wondering, as a coach, what level of concern do you have about your own job security? Some fans are calling for a switch,” asked a member of the Vancouver media.

“Who’s calling for my head?” Neville replied.

“The fans.”

“Are they?”

“Yes.”

“Which fans?”

“Timbers fans.”

Neville didn’t seem to care much for the question. In his mind, his Timbers had just played a hell of a match that was taken from them by a questionable call from the referee. Had the official not whistled Antony for protecting his face on a rocket of a shot, Portland likely wins 2-1 on Saturday and the narrative is about how, after a first month of injuries and roster transition, the Timbers went to Canada and came home with three points against the league’s best offense.

Neville listed eight players he thought played really well, including new addition Jose Caicedo, who made his debut in the midfield. Juan Mosquera scored in his season debut. David Da Costa put one past the keeper for the first time since July. This wasn’t a match where Portland was outgunned or outmanned on the pitch.

But it was another match where Portland crumbled when it mattered most.

The handball decision ultimately led to Thomas Müller’s equalizing penalty in the 91st minute. What the Timbers had — and then lost — control of was everything that followed. Instead of coming away with a point, Portland lost all of it when Sebastian Berhalter thumped in a rebound in the dying moments.

And instead of talking about a win that could have changed the momentum of the season, Finn Surman was asked whether the Timbers need a new manager.

“No, I don’t think that’s an appropriate question. And I don’t think that’s something that we need to happen,” Surman said. “I think it’s down to us players. We know in that locker room that we have not been good enough and we can’t be conceding these late goals. We need to, first of all, play better in the second half, we need to keep the ball better, and we need to manage the game slightly better. Especially when you do get to those last 5, 10, 15, 20 minutes where, if you are holding on to the lead for whatever reason or holding on to a draw, whatever the situation is, we need to do better.”

In response to the question about his job security, Neville said Portland fans are passionate and that he wants success as much as they do. He said he welcomed the blame as long as it shielded his players from it.

Then he made clear where he thought the blame belonged.

“I told them in the locker room, sometimes you think the world is against you, and it feels like that with the decisions that were made,” Neville said of the officiating. “Without a shadow of a doubt, Jimer Fory shouldn’t have been sent off in Colorado. Kamal Miller shouldn’t have been sent off against LA Galaxy. And that shouldn’t have been a handball tonight. But that will change. Once it changes, then we’re going to be a really good team.”

The problem for Neville is that officiating has drawn his ire for much of his three seasons in Portland. There’s reason for that — the Timbers have had a handful of high-profile decisions go against them in recent seasons, and Neville hasn’t always been unjust in calling them out.

But it doesn’t seem like there’s going to suddenly be a league-wide referendum on the way the Timbers are refereed. And the fanbase doesn’t have a voice in the league office.

It does have one at Providence Park, though, a place where those online conversations could once again transition into real-world voices if the Timbers don’t play a full 90 against LAFC on Saturday.

— Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor

No, it’s not time for the Masters yet. But it is time to welcome back the Boys of Summer.

On this week’s Traffic Report, Tyson and Justin are talking baseball. We’re talking opening day, we’re talking streaming and, eventually, we get to the news of the transfers of Jackson Shelstad and Kwame Evans Jr. from the Oregon men’s basketball program.

For more, listen to this podcast in the player above or find us over on Apple or Spotify.

Looking for more Oregon Ducks coverage? Lookout Eugene-Springfield is the new home for Tyson Alger’s coverage of University of Oregon athletics.

Then, we’re talking brackets and the men’s tournament descending on Portland.

For more, listen to this podcast in the player above or find us over on Apple or Spotify.

Looking for more Oregon Ducks coverage? Lookout Eugene-Springfield is the new home for Tyson Alger’s coverage of University of Oregon athletics.

The Timbers dominated possession. They generated far more chances on net, capitalized on a pair of opportunities and fought back on the road to tie Houston in the 80th minute.

Heck, even Kristoffer Velde finally scored.

“I think the frustration is that for all the good plays — our structure I thought was fantastic — it was a couple of mistakes that have really cost us,” Neville said.

Oh yes, the mistakes.

See, Portland was minutes away from escaping Houston with a 2-2 draw. The Timbers were up a man, the match had stretched deep into stoppage time and all that stood between them and snapping a two-game losing streak was the clock.

Or at least it should have been.

But as stoppage time stretched well beyond its allotted nine minutes following a collision that left Portland keeper James Pantemis bloodied and bandaged, Houston still had time for one final push. And the Timbers gave the Dynamo all the space they needed to find it.

It was Mateusz Bogusz who made Portland pay, corralling a long pass from Jack McGlynn and beating Pantemis in the 105th minute for the winner.

And while it may have been a momentary lapse in an otherwise improved performance, it produced a result that’s becoming far too familiar. Sunday marked Portland’s third consecutive loss. After a month of play, only St. Louis (0-3-1, 1 point) sits below the Timbers in the Western Conference standings.

Yes, the Timbers may have played better on Saturday than they did in their previous two defeats — notable considering Portland played without Antony and Alex Bonetig. Yes, David Da Costa returned to the lineup and looked sharp in his first game back from shoulder surgery. Yes, Gage Guerra’s rebound goal after a blocked Velde penalty in the first half continued to highlight the progress of the club’s young players.

“You have to keep faith, and you have to believe in each other and continue to work and trust that it’s going to pay off,” Guerra said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t tonight. It was last-minute. We couldn’t get a result on the road. But we’re that close.”

But for a season Neville opened by saying it was time to “deliver” — and that “delivery for me is winning” — the Timbers have yet to turn performances into results. In Year 3 of Neville’s tenure, being close isn’t cutting it.

“We’re going through a tough moment and the dressing room’s hurting,” Neville said. “I take full responsibility for that. The players are giving absolutely everything.”

— Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor

No, Eric Izoita didn’t envision a debut like that.

The 18-year-old did his best to prepare for every situation. With Portland down six players from its lineup going into Saturday’s match, the Vancouver, Wash., native got the heads up Friday that he’d been called up from T2 to the first team. It was just hours before kickoff that Portland manager Phil Neville informed Izoita he’d be the second-youngest Timber in the MLS era to start a game.

Talk about getting thrown into the deep end: waiting for Izoita and the Timbers were the Vancouver Whitecaps, a team that hadn’t lost to Portland in its last four tries and came into Providence Park with stars in the midfield such as Thomas Müller and Sebastian Berhalter.

“I wasn’t really nervous or anything,” said Izoita, who played the entire match in midfield. “It was just, for me, like a regular game.”

Sort of.

While Portland (1-2-0, 3 points) lost 4-1 — which is starting to feel like a “regular game” in this one-sided Cascadia matchup — it was Izoita who provided the match’s most unexpected moment. In the 72nd minute, he collected the ball just outside the box and ripped a left-footed shot that curled into the top-right corner of the net.

Providence Park erupted, and the rest of the Timbers appeared stunned as Izoita repeatedly lifted his arms into the air in celebration of his first professional goal.

“I never scored,” Izoita said. “I didn’t score a single goal last year with T2. I’m not the goal-scorer.”

That didn’t stop people like teammate Sawyer Jura or Izoita’s brother from telling him before the game that that’s exactly what he was supposed to do.

Given the state of the match — and the Timbers’ otherwise nonexistent attack — Izoita said he was simply doing his job.

“It came today,” Izoita said. “I knew I had to shoot from there.”

Izoita’s manager wished some of the veterans on his squad were as good at identifying what they needed to do.

The Timbers have now been outscored by Vancouver 13-2 in their last three meetings at Providence Park and were all but done early in the second half when a 1-0 deficit turned into a 3-0 hole after goals by Tristan Blackmon in the 49th minute and Berhalter in the 64th.

Until Izoita’s strike, the Timbers had just one shot on target all match.

“We were playing against a really good team. And when you play against men, you’ve got to play like men. Not play like little boys,” Neville said. “And I thought some of our players played like little boys. I really did — and these are the experienced players, the players that have been with us. I thought they played with too much fear.”

It didn’t sit well with the manager that one of the few players playing with confidence — along with new signee Alexander Aravena — was the one who became the youngest goal scorer in club history.

That, the manager said, puts Izoita in a strong position to start Saturday again when the Timbers return to the pitch in Houston.

“There’s going to be ups and downs,” Neville said. “Tonight was a down, but he was a shining light.”

– Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor

For the record, James Pantemis thinks the Americans got lucky.

He’s a bit biased, though.

The Timbers starting goalkeeper is one of a handful of Canadian players on Portland’s roster who enjoyed bantering with their American teammates throughout the men’s hockey tournament of the Winter Olympics.

Pantemis is from Montreal, played hockey until he was 12 and clearly showcases his bona fides in acknowledging Sidney Crosby as a top-five player of all-time. He thought Canada had the better roster going in — and still does, even after the USA’s overtime win for gold.

“Definitely a sour taste with losing to the U.S.,” Pantemis said. “I backed Canada to the end. I still back Canada to the end. I still think it was very unlucky. But hopefully we can flip the script when we get another chance to play the U.S. and get the bragging rights back.”

Pantemis has been feeling patriotic as of late — it’s hard not to be in this sort of year. He was thrilled with Canada’s 21 medals and felt swept up in the same national spirit that only comes around every so often.

“It’s always special,” he said. “You want to relate to them and in a way you feel more Canadian when you see someone on that podium or you’re cheering for a speed skater to cross the line first or a skier to land their jump.

“Or in a hockey sense, make sure you win gold.”

It’s also why Pantemis is taking the coming months so seriously. This summer doesn’t just bring the World Cup, it brings the World Cup on Pantemis’ home turf. Along with the U.S. and Mexico, Canada is hosting matches in Vancouver and Toronto.

As a host nation, the Canadian men have already qualified — marking the country’s second consecutive Cup after qualifying four years ago in Qatar. Pantemis was on that roster and understands the opportunity — and responsibility — awaiting the Canadians this summer.

“The country rallies around national athletes and I think that’s something we got a taste of when we went to Qatar,” he said. “Now the fact that we have the opportunity to host a World Cup in our country and to obviously compete and inspire a younger generation that watches us and wants to be in our shoes one day … it’s an honor to feel that every time I wear the badge and crest on my chest.”

Pantemis’ route to the World Cup isn’t set. Canada will take three keepers with it into the tournament. Two of those are likely to be Dayne St. Clair and Max Crepeau — now with Orlando after Pantemis won the starting job in Portland in 2025.

That third spot, however, is up for grabs. And Pantemis, who was called up for Canada’s 10-day training camp in January, has time to prove himself.

With Crepeau gone, there’s no longer any 1A and 1B to Portland’s lineup. At 28, Pantemis is the guy, and he’s coming off a 2025 season that saw him rank in MLS’ 96th percentile in saves per 90 minutes. Last month, he made a brilliant diving save to keep Portland alive early in a 3-2 season-opening win over Columbus. Last week, his eight stops on 10 shots against Colorado was one of the few things that kept the Timbers’ 2-0 loss close.

Saturday, he faces a Vancouver Whitecaps side that’s scored a lot of goals against the Timbers over the last two seasons. With Canadian eyes watching, Pantemis could put quite the stamp on his resume if it helps the Timbers put an end to that trend.

“I have a lot of goals personally. I have a lot of goals for the team,” Pantemis said. “It’s not hard for me to find motivation.”

— Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor

Cole Bassett has been in MLS long enough to know one can’t get too high or too low.
Yes, the Timbers looked great in their season-opening win over Columbus last week, but after seven years in the league, Portland’s 24-year-old midfielder has learned success comes from treating every game the same.

Still, he knew Saturday against Colorado was different from the start — beginning with the tribute video the Rapids showed on the videoboard at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City.

“It was weird,” Bassett said. “Just because it happened so quick. Four weeks ago, you’re in preseason with them, and then you’re traded here.”

The unique start then segued into a match that looked nothing like Portland’s season opener. A week after beating Columbus 3-2, the Timbers were thoroughly handled by the Rapids 2-0.

It was a beating so convincing that the eight minutes of added stoppage time felt like punishment for the previous 90 minutes. Portland (1-1-0, 3 points) had already been bombarded with long shots — including a low 22-yarder from Hamzat Ojediran in the game’s seventh minute that deflected off Finn Surman and crossed up keeper James Pantemis to give Colorado a 1-0 lead. And it had been under siege on set pieces, conceding 12 corner kicks that brought varying levels of danger to Portland’s side.

The Timbers survived most of them — but Colorado finally broke through in the 53rd minute when Lucas Herrington headed home a corner.

It was the first goal of Herrington’s MLS career. Ojediran’s was his first, too. And that was another frustration for Phil Neville in a match where veterans such as Kristoffer Velde squandered the few good opportunities Portland had.

The mistakes added up.

There was Velde blasting a ball over an open net after a nifty pass from Gage Guerra. There was a Portland free kick that turned into a Colorado corner after Jimer Fory overhit a pass back to Pantemis. Then there was the red card. With the Timbers already gasping for air at high elevation, Fory tackled Paxten Aaronson from behind and was immediately sent off.

“We had two massive opportunities, and we’ve got to put them away. So that was a disappointment,” Neville said. “Thing is that our best players didn’t put the ball in the back of the net and that’s disappointing, which is what we pay them to do.

“Jimer Fory — unacceptable. Unacceptable. I’ll defend my players to the hilt, but that’s unacceptable because that’s a pattern. It’s not the first time. He’s obviously been told that this is sort of the last time.”

It wasn’t quite the smile and ringing eardrums Neville left Providence Park with last week after an opening match where the Timbers showed heart, grit and a little bit of flair. This time, Portland’s defensive midfield offered little resistance to Colorado’s attack. The Rapids ripped 12 shots on net. Portland had just three.

For the ninth straight time, dating back to July of last season, the Timbers left an opponent’s stadium without a win.

“Coming away from the comfort of Providence was a big test for us. And I thought we failed the test today,” Neville said. “I felt the players now need to start living in that vulnerability stage, living in that stage where they’re feeling uncomfortable, where it puts pressure on, where they’re feeling uncomfortable. And that’s the next stage for the team.”

Next up is Vancouver, and the Whitecaps certainly know how to make the Timbers uncomfortable. The last time Portland faced Vancouver at home, the Whitecaps handed the Timbers a loss that felt a bit like Saturday.

It was early in the season. The Timbers were dominated. And the hope was that things would settle out and that low would rebound back into another high.

“It doesn’t matter who the opponent is,” Bassett said. “After tonight’s result, we want to bounce back in any way we can.”

— Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor

How much can one take away from the first game of the season?

Well, Portland’s 4-1 loss to open last season felt emblematic of a year that again fell short of expectations.

But that simplistic summary ignores the way the Timbers responded. Despite offseason Evander drama and injuries to star players, Portland shook off that loss to Vancouver and posted its best 10-game start (5-2-3) in club history.

So no, just because Portland beat Columbus 3-2 Saturday night in come-from-behind fashion, it doesn’t mean 2026 is going to go great.

It doesn’t mean it’s going to go poorly, either.

What Ariel Lassiter will tell you, though, is that this year’s start is an indicator of a team that’s far more comfortable with itself than it was at this time a year ago.

“Everybody knows their role and everybody knows what to do,” said Lassiter, who scored the go-ahead goal in the 88th minute — his first league goal with the Timbers. “We’re going to need everyone. Everyone that starts. Everyone that’s on the bench. Everyone that’s rostered. We know it’s going to take a full team effort.

“I think last year was a little bit different. I think we expected to be a little more individualistic and try to win games that way.”

On Saturday, it was James Pantemis’ diving save in the ninth minute that kept a 1-0 Columbus lead just that. It was the chemistry Gage Guerra and Felipe Mora found with each other in the preseason paying off with a one-two equalizer in the 14th. And it was newcomer Cole Bassett drawing in a defender before crossing to Antony for the go-ahead in the 20th.

Diego Chara played a full 90 minutes in the midfield for the 400th start of his Timbers career, then tied Kyle Beckerman for the most yellow cards (123) in MLS history with his foul in the 64th.

Alex Bonetig and Brandon Bye played solid defensively in their Portland debuts. And then it was Lassiter. After Columbus tied the game in the 44th, the 31-year-old came on as an attacking substitute in the 74th. Fourteen minutes later, he pounced on a headed drop from Kevin Kelsy in the box.

“I think we all have moments where we are going to need to step up,” Lassiter said, “and I think a lot of guys did that today.”

No, one shouldn’t make too much of one match. But the early schedule makes a fast start valuable: Portland plays 14 times before the league breaks for roughly two months this summer.

And while the Timbers still aren’t at full strength as David Da Costa works his way back from shoulder surgery, manager Phil Neville saw a lot to draw from his team’s debut. Specifically, Neville was impressed with Bassett, who the team acquired earlier this month following its sale of David Ayala to Miami.

Bassett played the entire match, assisted on Antony’s goal, and made an impact in all thirds of the field.

“His performance tonight was outstanding,” Neville said. “He was probably our best player. And he’s a multi-function midfield player. He’s a throwback. You know, people talk in modern day football, where people say, ‘Oh, he’s a six, or an eight.’ I see [Bassett] as a central midfield player. He can play six and play eight. He can play 10. He’s a throwback to 10 years ago when people just played central midfield. He can do every job that’s asked of him.”

Bassett drew Portland’s highest match rating (8.1, per FotMob) and finished with a match-high 98 touches.

Next Saturday, he’ll face Colorado, his former team, for the first time. Bassett grew up with the Rapids, signing with the club as a 17-year-old in 2018. He spent seven seasons with the squad, with his only time away being a year on loan in the Netherlands in 2022.

“Moving overseas for the first time, moving out of your parents’ house for the first time, it was a big learning moment for sure,” Bassett said. “It’s simple stuff in football, but I think the way they taught the game over there was stuff that I’ve never seen before over here. A lot of it had to do with rondos and the way you manipulate your hips as a center midfielder — just little stuff that I think I find very helpful to my game nowadays and I don’t have to constantly work on with coaches because it’s ingrained in me.”

Bassett will be a key figure if Portland can get out to a 2-0 start next Saturday with a win over Colorado — and the team gets reinforcements with the return of defender Juan Mosquera, who was suspended for Saturday’s opener due to a red card in Portland’s season-ending finale.

Fortunately for Portland, the way last season ended (a 4-0 loss to San Diego in Game 3 of Round 1) didn’t carry any momentum into the start of 2026.

The Timbers won’t hate it if the electricity Providence Park carried late into Saturday night hangs around for a while, though.

“I thought it was a brilliant night of football,” Neville said, “with two teams that wanted to play football the right way.”

— Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor

During a recent walk around downtown Portland, Phil Neville was struck by how different it felt.

This city was still going through the thick of it back when the Timbers manager was hired in November of 2023. And while things haven’t improved overnight, they have with time.

“It was Valentine’s. I took my wife into the city and I can see from where it was three years ago, how the city is in a miles better place now than what it was three years ago,” Neville said on Wednesday. “And yes, there’s still so much that we can do in and around the city, but I hope my team and the city are mirroring each other, where we’re just on a trajectory that’s going only in one direction.”

If that analogy holds true, Portland has a lot riding on 2026.

The Timbers begin the regular season on Saturday at Providence Park against Columbus. Neville is entering the third and final year of his contract and has two up-and-down seasons to show for it.

Yes, the Timbers made the wild card round in 2024 and the first round of the MLS playoffs in 2025. But they’re also 29-28-24 in 81 games under his direction. His first year, the offense was historic and the defense was dismal. In his second year, those two things flipped.

Three days before the first match of Year No. 3, Neville said it’s time for the day-to-day improvement he’s seen over the last two years to show up where it matters.

“If you’re at a club where you feel like you’re making inroads, where it feels like the team’s improving year-to-year, there becomes a time when you’ve got to deliver,” Neville said. “I feel like me and the staff have delivered to a certain extent over the last two years, but delivery for me is winning. Other people have different barometers, different types of KPIs. And I’ve always thought that my KPI in my life has always been that nothing is success until you win.”

At the very least, the Timbers seem to be in a better position to do that than a year ago.

Portland has exchanged the Evander-filled chaos of last year’s offseason for one of relative calm. Its best player — forward Kristoffer Velde — is healthy, in camp and has assumed a leadership role. Yes, the Timbers lost midfielder David Ayala to Inter Miami — but they were going to lose him anyway after this season, and they were able to flip the money from that sale to acquire Cole Bassett from Colorado.

Neville, as he does, was quick to heap praise on his new American midfielder.

“I think we’ve got one of the best central midfield players in the Western Conference and hopefully in the MLS,” the coach said.

Bassett is only 24, but has more than 131 MLS appearances after beginning his career as a 17-year-old with Colorado. He’s expected to play an attacking midfield role.

“It’s great to be in that locker room, I’ll tell you that,” Bassett said. “I think I only had one win here in seven years and it was during COVID so no fans were here.”

It’s not all sunshine for the club. Designated Player forward David Da Costa is still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery and will miss the start of the season. And the club is still looking to add a couple of pieces to the roster to supplement a group that has a 14-game sprint before the league takes a two-month break for the summer’s World Cup.

“When you look at trying to round out the roster, the two positions for us is an attacking-piece winger and a center midfielder,” general manager Ned Grabavoy said.

But for the most part, the Timbers know what they have. The offense is going to feature Velde, they’re going to take advantage of Felipe Mora’s versatility, Antony’s speed and hope that players such as Kevin Kelsy take a step forward in their second year with the club.

The defense, led by Finn Surman and bolstered by the addition of Australian Alex Bonetig and New England’s Brandon Bye, is as deep as it’s been during Neville’s tenure.

Max Crepeau is gone and it’s James Pantemis’ net now. And while that midfield does feature some new faces, it still has the old foundation of the club in Diego Chara returning for his 16th season.

It wasn’t the flashiest offseason. And the Timbers don’t go into Saturday’s opener harboring a new star international signing.

But Neville believes it was an offseason of progress. And now, he says, it’s time for the club to start catching up to the city.

“This is my third year, and you know, I’m not embarrassed to say, I think this is a year when we’ve got to deliver,” he said. “And I’m super excited.”

— Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor

A month ago, Phil Neville wasn’t ecstatic about the state of his midfield. But the Timbers manager being who he is — and this being the preseason — it wasn’t tough for the third-year manager to hype up a group that came into camp in 2026 without dynamo mainstay David Ayala.

The 22-year-old, who Neville routinely called the best midfielder in the Western Conference, now plays for Miami. And while that deal ultimately made sense for Portland (more on that in a minute), a pessimist could say it was a bit telling when the player most praised at the position by the manager before the Timbers left for preseason camp was 39-year-old Diego Chara.

“Everyone in my office, this building and in this football club should be looking at Diego Chara no different than what they looked at him five years ago,” Neville said. “If you do that, it’s disrespectful to the guy that’s come into training back with less body fat than what he was at last season, more strength in his legs and is still the first one out on the field.”

Chara was really good down the stretch for the Timbers in 2025. He also played a career-low 1,181 minutes and is coming into his 16th year with the club.

And yes, Neville expects more out of Joao Ortiz in his second year with the club after moving from Ecuador. Even so Neville had to concede “the center midfield is probably our weakest area at the moment.”

That was Jan. 15.

Things have changed in the three weeks since.

Taking the $2 million they made from the Ayala deal, the Timbers spent $2.65 million to buy midfielder Cole Bassett from Colorado. He’s 24. He’s American. He’ll occupy a U22 roster spot in 2026, is under contract through 2027 and has already started 130 matches in his career.

He’s a different player than Ayala — Bassett is an offensive-minded midfielder who keeps things moving forward — but his impact could be just as significant.

“Cole is a box-to-box midfielder with great energy and a nose for goal — a role that needed to be filled within the squad,” Neville said upon Bassett’s signing. “He’s joining us at the right time and the right age, and we believe the club will help realize his full potential.”

Bassett has yet to speak with local media, but he’s wasted little time getting acquainted with his new teammates — he started Portland’s first match of the Coachella Valley Invitational on Saturday.

Neville noted him as a standout from the 0-0 draw with DC United, along with Kristoffer Velde, Jimer Fory and Finn Surman.

“The boys put in a really good shift,” Neville said.

In Portland’s 3-2 loss to San Jose on Wednesday, Chara and Ortiz started in the midfield. Chara played 46 minutes – though Neville knows what he’s going to get out of those. Ortiz, a 29-year-old, played 72.

“What I did in the offseason, I looked back at all of our games, and there’s a lot of games where we brought Joao off the field that, in retrospect, we probably should have left him on,” Neville said. “I was probably a little too eager to rotate in that position…So I think this is a big preseason for Joao Ortiz.

“I think when you talk about somebody coming from Ecuador, there has to be some leeway for adaptation. But he’s here now. His family are settled. His wife is about to give birth to a new child and he’s going to be a big part of what we’re building in the preseason.”

Extra time

Velde starts hot

While Portland may have lost on Wednesday to San Jose, Neville saw one big positive. With two goals from Kristoffer Velde, the manager saw an offense that’s starting to show some life after its muted end to the 2025 schedule.

“He was the best player on the pitch again,” Neville said. “I thought he was the same on the weekend. He’s really getting some good rhythm and we’re really pleased. I thought the wingers played really dangerous for the first 60 minutes.

“I thought for the first time this preseason we looked exciting. We looked like we’re going to be a goal threat.”

Goodbye to Rodriguez

Jonathan Rodriguez’s run with the Portland Timbers officially came to an end earlier this week. The designated player who signed with the Timbers in 2024, led the team in scoring then missed most of 2025 due to a knee injury, was waived by the team on Monday.

Rodriguez played in 35 matches over two seasons for Portland, scoring 17 goals and tallying eight assists.

“We are incredibly grateful for Jonathan’s contributions during his time with the Portland Timbers. Even during this challenging and uncertain time while dealing with an injury, he has remained a great teammate and professional,” Timbers General Manager Ned Grabavoy said in a release. “Jonathan is the ultimate competitor, and we will continue to support him during his recovery process.”

Rodriguez’s departure clears the way for the club to operate in 2026 under the two designated player/four U22 model – with Velde and David Da Costa occupying Portland’s two DP slots.

— Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor

Back from vacation, Tyson and Justin download on Seattle’s Super Bowl win, Oregon MBB’s 10-game skid, that one Steve Lyons blooper and the Winter Olympics.

They also unbox the newest kit from the Portland Timbers.

For more, listen to this podcast in the player above or find us over on Apple or Spotify.

Looking for more Oregon Ducks coverage? Lookout Eugene-Springfield is the new home for Tyson Alger’s coverage of University of Oregon athletics.

With that, the 2025 College Football season has officially come to a close.

And, as we all predicted back in the fall: The Indiana Hoosiers are national champions.

OK, so maybe we didn’t have that one. But on this week’s Traffic Report, Tyson and Justin try to take a stab at who might be the next team to come out of nowhere to shock the college football world.

Plus: Justin has some issues with the War on Janauary.

For more, listen to this podcast in the player above or find us over on Apple or Spotify.

Looking for more Oregon Ducks coverage? Lookout Eugene-Springfield is the new home for Tyson Alger’s coverage of University of Oregon athletics.

BEAVERTON — Kristoffer Velde returned to Oregon with the same energy he departed with back in November.

Remember, it was two months ago when Portland’s 2025 season came to an end and the Norwegian DP left the Timbers’ exit interviews with a departing message:

“I think the standard needs to be higher,” Velde said then. “What we do in the training ground. What we do in the gym. We have so many players with so much quality. The potential is there. We just need to get it out of them.”

Velde had just played two months with Portland at that point — and left for Norway frustrated. He arrived in August as a signing from Olympiacos, and playing on the European calendar, his year was just beginning when he joined the Timbers.

Then it was over.

So yes, Velde said, he approached this offseason differently than in years past. Instead of simply getting in shape, he wanted to make sure he was as sharp as possible heading into his first full season in MLS.

“I don’t think I was on the treadmill for one time,” Velde said. “I was just playing soccer back in Norway with my hometown clubs since they were in season. I don’t know if I broke any rules by doing that. But I came back healthy. I came back strong.”

And he came back ready to lead.

The Portland Timbers are just a week into preseason training for the 2026 season, and while there are some notable changes to the roster, much of the group from the team that fell to San Diego in the first round of the playoffs returns.

Stalwarts like Diego Chara and Finn Surman are back. So, too, are Antony, Felipe Mora, Juan Mosquera, David Da Costa, Kamal Miller and goalkeeper James Pantemis. This isn’t like the run-up to the 2025 season, when the Timbers were dealing with the uncertainty of Evander and retooling the roster to get younger.

This is an experienced, veteran club that, according to manager Phil Neville, is ready for someone like Velde to take charge.

“I saw those comments and loved his comments,” Neville said of Velde’s exit interview. “What I would say is, going back to my playing career, the players have to drive the intensity. It’s up to Kristof. He’s now been at the club for three, four months and we absolutely love him. I think everybody in Portland loves this player.

“He has to grab hold of the club and go take us to a championship.”

Part of that starts with himself.

Velde joined during Portland’s stretch run, when the club needed him to score goals. And while he was often around the net, Velde didn’t score until his 10th match with the club and finished the year with just two goals.

“Was a little bit ashamed that I started to play so good — or scoring goals — in the last games,” Velde said. “I wish we could go further, but now I got the feeling of how it is being in America, playing soccer here and getting to know my teammates. I don’t need that adaptation now.”

Scoring goals will be massive for the Timbers in 2026. After potting 65 goals in 2024, Portland scored just 41 in 2025 — with zero goals in four of the club’s final six matches.

Velde is expected to be the team’s primary attacking weapon, especially with Da Costa — the club’s other DP — potentially missing the first few weeks of the season while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. And while the back line looks solid with the returns of Surman, Miller, Mosquera and the addition of New England’s Brandon Bye, the one clear hole heading into training camp in Coachella is in midfield.

Last week, the Timbers sold midfielder David Ayala to Miami for $2 million.

General manager Ned Grabavoy said the club was faced with a simple decision: keep Ayala, who was in the final year of his contract and had expressed interest in playing outside MLS in 2027, or cash in now.

“I think we were left with a decision of, do we keep a good quality player here who is a good professional and a good kid, knowing that he’s ultimately going to walk for free,” Grabavoy said. “Or do we try and at least find the ability to bring back in some funds and some money and try to use those immediately, and in the future, to strengthen this squad? I think it got to a place in terms of the money, and taking everything else into consideration, where we felt like we should probably stay aggressive with it, make the deal, then retool from there.”

Ayala, 23, joins a Miami squad that won the 2025 MLS Cup and features his childhood hero, Lionel Messi — a club that doesn’t retool so much as reload for another title run.

That’s fine, Velde said. He wished Ayala the best.

But now that Velde has a feel for his own club — and the ball, after what he called a very different offseason — the 26-year-old isn’t about to pull any punches.

Not in his own locker room. And especially not against the competition.

“We’re going to kill them in May when we play against Miami,” Velde said in Spanish.

It was a spicy quote — exactly the type Neville expects from his new team leader.

“He’s got the personality to do it. We haven’t had that in a while, since the Diego Valeri days,” Neville said. “We haven’t had a DP that’s gone, ‘Right, this is my club, this is my stage and I’m going to make us to a championship and put my name in the rafters.’”

— Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor

Justin Myers and I got together yesterday to put a bow on the 2025 Oregon Ducks season and look forward to 2026. It was great. It was thrilling.

It had about an hour-long shelf life — because just after we hung up the microphones, well, Dante Moore announced his decision to return to the Oregon Ducks in 2026.

Such is the business here in the high-stakes podcast world.

With that disclaimer at the top, here is our episode with our still valid thoughts about how things wrapped up for the Ducks in Atlanta.

For soccer fans: The I-5 Corridor will be covering the Portland Timbers again here in 2026. I was at Thursday’s season-opening press conferences and will start rolling out stories here later this week.

Looking for more Oregon Ducks coverage? Lookout Eugene-Springfield is the new home for Tyson Alger’s coverage of University of Oregon athletics.