Lisa Bhathal Merage, Alex Bhathal, and the entire Bhathal family have done it again. According to reports, the Portland Thorns governors, will bring the WNBA back to the Rose City.
I would hope that they would do a better job with the WNBA team in regard to the front office and coaching then they have with our wonderful Thorns team.
STF is unusual in that the discussion here is a lot more thoughtful and respectful than most places on the Internet, but we still react pretty strongly when things go south (like now). I'm with keilbj - for sure the Thorns have big issues, but firing everyone at this stage would be too much too soon. I'd hate to have owner(s) that fire a coach after a relatively short run of bad results, or fire two coaches in a season, or generally react too quickly. I'd much prefer to have management that takes a relatively long view, even if I'm steaming mad. Of course fans can feel however they like and argue it on message boards, but I do occasionally have to remind myself, "If you didn't want instant overreaction, what are you doing on the Internet?"
The key thing to remember re: ownership is that there are VERY few trigger-happy, meddling-in-the-day-to-day pro sports owners that end up being successful. While I don't like that Gale was the choice, I'm not sure I love the idea of two coach firings in the same season! That's not how stable orgs run their processes! What if we were in the same position results-wise but had a GM that everyone loved and the owners decided to fire that person because the results weren't there?
Whether we like it or not, they've let KK do her job so far, including the coaching hire. While I do wish they had pushed her to an external candidate, the ENTIRE onus is now on LeBlanc to show that her decision was the correct one. If it doesn't work out, ownership can --and should-- see her as the one to blame. Idk how much time they'll give her or whether we can trust them to bring the hammer down when it's needed, but, as you say, it's possible to be mad about what's happening and acknowledge that sometimes the long view is the best view.
We could have avoided firing two coaches in a season if we had just NOT SIGNED Gale until the end of the season (when we could just take a pass without drama). This is the worse soccer business decision the club has made in years and was an entirely self-inflicted wound. Kicking Norris upstairs was almost as bad. Both moves indicate an absence of strategic thinking by, presumably, LeBlanc. I don't know if this loyalty-over-performance culture can be fixed without a serious housecleaning.
Well, that's kinda what I'm saying. Instead of deciding to take over and do Leblanc's job for her (or bully her into making other decisions), they've allowed her to do her job....which in turn makes her directly responsible for the results.
Therefore, the biggest question (for me) about ownership is whether they will hold her accountable if the results continue in the wrong direction, and how quickly they pull the trigger if they do.
I'm ok suffering thru a down year(s) if I feel like the team is headed in the right direction. Players are giving it their all on the field, the coach has a background of success they are trying to bring to the new team, and the GM is out trying to get the best players. That aint this.
I'm with you. I don't particularly enjoy working for a micromanagement, and the Bathals have shown that they aren't micromanagers.
I don't think this stretch of games reflects poorly on the owners because I agree that they are letting people do their jobs.
This season makes me sad as a fan, but I think in the long run, I'm ok with this season being sad as long as the team and the culture is doing the work to heal and get better.
I'm just going to drive the sad bus because I'm also an FSU fan and these two seasons have been difficult so far.
Completely different circumstances. The WNBA team is an expansion team and they will need to build an entirely new FO and staff from scratch.
But also, they quite literally have done nothing wrong at all with the Thorns and have actually done a lot of objectively good things (massive expansions to the staff and FO, bringing in local investors, working towards a training facility, helping convince Smith to re-sign early on) already. Regardless of what impatient fans think, as new owners who aren't experts in soccer, giving KK time to show what she can and can't do a is a perfectly reasonable approach to take. If nothing has changed next season and they don't make a change, I'll be much more concerned about ownership apathy.....but in the mean time, we have to remember that it's been EIGHT MONTHS since they bought the team and pressing the "fire everyone" button just because some fans can't stomach a few months of losing and disagree with the coaching hire is unlikely to happen. Decisions like choosing to hire Gale are those ownership will be judging KK on. If it doesn't go well for the team, I imagine her job will be under threat next season.
The operable words being "they have done nothing". The vibe of this team is the worst I have seen it since Riley's last year. If ever leadership from the top is needed, it is now.
I mean you ignored the list objectively good things they have done to make your point, but sure. I also think you’re forgetting both 2018 and 2019 where they weren’t even close to competitive in a much less competitive league. Vibes were pretty damn bad then!
Anyway, my point is not to say that "things are rosy." The vibes ARE objectively pretty icky. I just think it's fair to give a new group a little time to see if they can turn things around, and then come in with the pitchforks if they show they can't.
They put in no effort to find and hire a world class coach and this has led to disastrous performance on the pitch. This is something objectively wrong that they have done with the Thorns. Perhaps they're willing to sacrifice this season and will make some corrective moves in the winter? That's my most optimistic take on it.
Your issue is that they let their GM do her job and make the decision instead of strong arming her into a different candidate. But yes, I agree that they probably should have insisted that KK look elsewhere.
And yeah....I think this has been a transition season in many respects. If they (ownership, FO, players) don't start putting it together next season, I'll join everyone on the panic bus.
Lol as someone who has been a Blazer and Mariner fan my whole life, I refuse to engage in panic over a rough season or two from the Thorns after a decade plus of the most trophy-rich pro sports era a Portland team has ever had. While I'd love for the Thorns to be the best every season, it doesn't kill me that they're struggling in a league that's come so far competitively in such a short amount of time. I won't say I'm enjoying their performances because I'm certainly not, but struggle comes with the territory.
My general rule is that I like to enjoy my pro sports fandom. I think people often confuse pessimism with realism and optimism with delusion, and I consider myself a realist. I'll never get the doomer perspective because I just can't imagine consuming sports in a way that assumes the worst at every turn.
Hard agree, I've been a longtime Minnesota Vikings fan which means both consistent decent success coupled with inevitable heartbreak, the survival tactic has been to embrace when you're winning, accept when you're not, and revel when your bad team does unexpectedly well and you get to play with house money. It'd be rational to go into a season assuming that they Vikings will disappoint, they've got 60 odd years of history to back it up, but where's the fun in that?
Well, it's been longer than that. KK was given the green light to spend money and negotiate signings before they became official, which happened right when the Bhathals ownership became official. I'd say the Bhathals have been in the saddle, to some degree or other, for closer to 11 months than 8 months. But, potatoe potato.
Not that it really matters (the point is that there's only been one abbreviated offseason in charge), but I doubt they were to the point where they were engaging with the soccer ops side at least until the December report identifying them as the prospective buyers, which means that I doubt they were freeing up any funds until the new year. I'm sure the Thorns FO was doing scouting work etc etc, but it's pretty unlikely the Bhathals were actually doing any day to day work with KK until the sale was finalized.
I know that somebody gave KK clearance to go up in salaries and add extra years in negotiations in November. Sale was finalized in January, and those deals were announced in January. Now, was that Merritt spending money that he was never going to see, on behalf of some club he had already all-but-sold and was just waiting on closing? Or was that the new folks giving Karina the green light? Or was it some combo thereof? Don't know, but I do know that she wasn't inactive during the waiting period while the sale was being finalized.
I thought transfer fees were paid at the time of transfer. Merritt basically was a minimal steward until he sold the team. I doubt he put in an extra dime
Transfer fees can be paid anytime. It's pretty normal for a player deal to have future payments; for example, it just happened with Bay FC's acquisition of Penelope Hocking, in which they're paying $250k this year and $100k next year. So a binding promissory note in December saying "I'll pay you in January" wouldn't be unusual, nor would a binding deal saying "both the player transfer and the payment happen in January."
Only Obaze was announced right after the sale- The other two big ones (Fleming and Muller) were on 1/31 and 2/2 respectively. This entire site was in a "why aren't we signing anyone" meltdown throughout January because folks assumed there would be a bunch of signings announced right after the sale completed and there weren't.
But yes, I imagine sometime in December someone gave her the go-ahead to start negotiating. I don't think it happened much before that though, which probably chopped off potential in-league free agent signings at a minimum.
Not sure there's enough fan base for both without cannibalizing one or the other.
Also not sure how well they can start an expansion franchise and give it a solid base while attempting to rebuild the Thorns, which appears to be what's now needed.
Is there more money in the WNBA? NWSL attendances are (still) generally better, aren't they? And both have had pretty poor TV/streaming viewership relative to MLS and especially NBA, though the numbers are getting better.
Could be a little erosion given the seasons overlap (unlike Blazers/Timbers), but I think cannibalizing is a little far, especially since there's only one Thorns game per week and basketball/soccer fanbases are often pretty different. I imagine the Blazers and WNBA team will have a pretty high rate of overlap, especially those that aren't into soccer (which is a pretty substantial group).
Regarding the second point, every sports owner in the world has a pretty wide business portfolio --as the Bhathals already do-- often including multiple sports teams. I highly doubt that will be an issue. As is the case for most sports owners, their main task for both franchises is going to be hiring the right people. If anything, this shows investment in Portland as a sports city, which is very good imo.
I owe credit to Sacto Rick for making this observation about overlapping seasons and two teams being owned in the same market by the same group.
WNBA season runs May to October. NWSL season runs March to November. Thorns haven't returned to 2019-level attendance. Now you're adding another women's professional franchise into the mix.
Yes, a WNBA team won't just attract enthusiasts of women's professional sports, and yes, women's hoops is growing right now too. But these two franchises will also compete for fans, not just bring in new ones or draw in different fan bases.
I know that I can't commit to two teams playing at the same time, despite my love of both basketball and soccer, my appreciation for the similarities and differences between the games, and my support for women's team sports.
Then again, Thorns and Timbers play largely overlapping seasons and were owned by the same dude, and folks turned out to support both as well as each team having their own fans. So maybe I'm overstating the worry?
I think it's a fair worry that some of the fans that do overlap will choose to go to the hot new thing in town and the Thorns attendance could drop --especially if they don't improve by 2026-- but I don't think it's going to be something that's going to have a *massively detrimental* impact. Different sports, different days of the week, not 100% market overlap.
They didn't look as good without Bethune last week, but they do have a pretty good replacement in Santos. They can just start Kouassi on the wing and move Santos inside.
They can't sign anyone though, the window's closed.
I just saw this and was coming here to post the news as well.
Man, what a bummer....she was SO fun to watch (when not playing Portland.) Also is tied with Heath for the assist record. Totally would've taken it if she remained healthy.
But yeah, as you say....I honestly was expecting this to happen this season. 3 ACL's is more than just bad luck. And def also the reason why drafting her was a BIG gamble. Still, probably the reason the Spirit are currently in 2nd place. Don't think they'll have a huge hole, with Santos there now, but wow what a bummer. This is why you don't build your club around just one player!
When you say "The new facility that was announced at their introductory press conference seems to be almost finalized and could be home to both Portland Thorns and WNBA team", do you mean at the Thorns/Bhathals intro press conference? And do you mean that the site for it is almost finalized?
Would love if you could expand slightly on what you mean re: the facility! Thanks Phuoc!
If there was a question as to whether the Thorns would try to qualify for the club World Cup, they posted their lineup for tonight against club America, and the answer is apparently no.
OK, I intend this to be the last I say on a couple of things. Feel free to hold me to it.
Back in October, IIRC, reports indicated that the Bhathals were the prospective new owners.
Serious negotiations involving KK and at least one new player were happening in November. I know that for a fact.
The annual member ticket price increase, which was steep in many instances, was announced before the ownership change. Perhaps Merritt was driving up the valuation or otherwise squeezing out some last bucks, but I can't imagine this wasn't done absent consultation with -- and perhaps even to benefit of -- the new ownership with an eye toward operating the Thorns as separate from the Timbers.
So, I think the Bhathals were in the loop about some things well before they took the keys.
Now, here's the thing....
I think they thought it was largely a move-in ready situation on the soccer side, and that the work to be done was on the operations side.
Turns out it's work on both sides -- new construction on the operations side, and a significant remodel/renovation on the soccer side.
Not tear it down and start over, not take it down to the studs, but more like they discovered some things that were not caught during inspection and that need to be fixed or replaced before they're getting what they thought they were getting.
The hard part is that it's happening on their dime, and time, and it'll be messier than expected for longer than expected.
Hopefully it turns out to be worth the wait. Given that they're already on to starting a WNBA franchise from scratch, I'm a little skeptical.
Am I incorrect in assuming that, compared to other operations costs, the salary of players in the NWSL is (unfairly) a virtual rounding error?
I know nothing about sports business, but my guess would be that the Bhathals have very little to do with this year’s slump, and it’s a confluence of factors including KK’s negotiating and scouting ability, failure to anticipate improvement in the rest of the league, key players nearing retirement, Portland perhaps being less desirable a city to live in than 5 years ago, etc. But not because of the Bhathals unwillingness to invest.
The first collab should be a joint season ticket package offered exclusively to existing Thorns season ticket holders, maybe even in order of seniority, that is compelling (this presuming that the Blazer ST list is not available). A name is tougher, but very important to get right. Rip City Roses jumps to mind but surely there are others better.
I would hope that they would do a better job with the WNBA team in regard to the front office and coaching then they have with our wonderful Thorns team.
STF is unusual in that the discussion here is a lot more thoughtful and respectful than most places on the Internet, but we still react pretty strongly when things go south (like now). I'm with keilbj - for sure the Thorns have big issues, but firing everyone at this stage would be too much too soon. I'd hate to have owner(s) that fire a coach after a relatively short run of bad results, or fire two coaches in a season, or generally react too quickly. I'd much prefer to have management that takes a relatively long view, even if I'm steaming mad. Of course fans can feel however they like and argue it on message boards, but I do occasionally have to remind myself, "If you didn't want instant overreaction, what are you doing on the Internet?"
The key thing to remember re: ownership is that there are VERY few trigger-happy, meddling-in-the-day-to-day pro sports owners that end up being successful. While I don't like that Gale was the choice, I'm not sure I love the idea of two coach firings in the same season! That's not how stable orgs run their processes! What if we were in the same position results-wise but had a GM that everyone loved and the owners decided to fire that person because the results weren't there?
Whether we like it or not, they've let KK do her job so far, including the coaching hire. While I do wish they had pushed her to an external candidate, the ENTIRE onus is now on LeBlanc to show that her decision was the correct one. If it doesn't work out, ownership can --and should-- see her as the one to blame. Idk how much time they'll give her or whether we can trust them to bring the hammer down when it's needed, but, as you say, it's possible to be mad about what's happening and acknowledge that sometimes the long view is the best view.
We could have avoided firing two coaches in a season if we had just NOT SIGNED Gale until the end of the season (when we could just take a pass without drama). This is the worse soccer business decision the club has made in years and was an entirely self-inflicted wound. Kicking Norris upstairs was almost as bad. Both moves indicate an absence of strategic thinking by, presumably, LeBlanc. I don't know if this loyalty-over-performance culture can be fixed without a serious housecleaning.
Well, that's kinda what I'm saying. Instead of deciding to take over and do Leblanc's job for her (or bully her into making other decisions), they've allowed her to do her job....which in turn makes her directly responsible for the results.
Therefore, the biggest question (for me) about ownership is whether they will hold her accountable if the results continue in the wrong direction, and how quickly they pull the trigger if they do.
I'm ok suffering thru a down year(s) if I feel like the team is headed in the right direction. Players are giving it their all on the field, the coach has a background of success they are trying to bring to the new team, and the GM is out trying to get the best players. That aint this.
I'm with you. I don't particularly enjoy working for a micromanagement, and the Bathals have shown that they aren't micromanagers.
I don't think this stretch of games reflects poorly on the owners because I agree that they are letting people do their jobs.
This season makes me sad as a fan, but I think in the long run, I'm ok with this season being sad as long as the team and the culture is doing the work to heal and get better.
I'm just going to drive the sad bus because I'm also an FSU fan and these two seasons have been difficult so far.
Completely different circumstances. The WNBA team is an expansion team and they will need to build an entirely new FO and staff from scratch.
But also, they quite literally have done nothing wrong at all with the Thorns and have actually done a lot of objectively good things (massive expansions to the staff and FO, bringing in local investors, working towards a training facility, helping convince Smith to re-sign early on) already. Regardless of what impatient fans think, as new owners who aren't experts in soccer, giving KK time to show what she can and can't do a is a perfectly reasonable approach to take. If nothing has changed next season and they don't make a change, I'll be much more concerned about ownership apathy.....but in the mean time, we have to remember that it's been EIGHT MONTHS since they bought the team and pressing the "fire everyone" button just because some fans can't stomach a few months of losing and disagree with the coaching hire is unlikely to happen. Decisions like choosing to hire Gale are those ownership will be judging KK on. If it doesn't go well for the team, I imagine her job will be under threat next season.
The operable words being "they have done nothing". The vibe of this team is the worst I have seen it since Riley's last year. If ever leadership from the top is needed, it is now.
I mean you ignored the list objectively good things they have done to make your point, but sure. I also think you’re forgetting both 2018 and 2019 where they weren’t even close to competitive in a much less competitive league. Vibes were pretty damn bad then!
Anyway, my point is not to say that "things are rosy." The vibes ARE objectively pretty icky. I just think it's fair to give a new group a little time to see if they can turn things around, and then come in with the pitchforks if they show they can't.
Overreaction is all I have. Lol
They put in no effort to find and hire a world class coach and this has led to disastrous performance on the pitch. This is something objectively wrong that they have done with the Thorns. Perhaps they're willing to sacrifice this season and will make some corrective moves in the winter? That's my most optimistic take on it.
Your issue is that they let their GM do her job and make the decision instead of strong arming her into a different candidate. But yes, I agree that they probably should have insisted that KK look elsewhere.
And yeah....I think this has been a transition season in many respects. If they (ownership, FO, players) don't start putting it together next season, I'll join everyone on the panic bus.
cmon Kielbj, hop on board! it's a very comfy bus
Lol as someone who has been a Blazer and Mariner fan my whole life, I refuse to engage in panic over a rough season or two from the Thorns after a decade plus of the most trophy-rich pro sports era a Portland team has ever had. While I'd love for the Thorns to be the best every season, it doesn't kill me that they're struggling in a league that's come so far competitively in such a short amount of time. I won't say I'm enjoying their performances because I'm certainly not, but struggle comes with the territory.
My general rule is that I like to enjoy my pro sports fandom. I think people often confuse pessimism with realism and optimism with delusion, and I consider myself a realist. I'll never get the doomer perspective because I just can't imagine consuming sports in a way that assumes the worst at every turn.
Hard agree, I've been a longtime Minnesota Vikings fan which means both consistent decent success coupled with inevitable heartbreak, the survival tactic has been to embrace when you're winning, accept when you're not, and revel when your bad team does unexpectedly well and you get to play with house money. It'd be rational to go into a season assuming that they Vikings will disappoint, they've got 60 odd years of history to back it up, but where's the fun in that?
Jeezus, a Blazer and a Mariner fan your whole life? Your parents aren't cousins, are they?
Well, it's been longer than that. KK was given the green light to spend money and negotiate signings before they became official, which happened right when the Bhathals ownership became official. I'd say the Bhathals have been in the saddle, to some degree or other, for closer to 11 months than 8 months. But, potatoe potato.
Not that it really matters (the point is that there's only been one abbreviated offseason in charge), but I doubt they were to the point where they were engaging with the soccer ops side at least until the December report identifying them as the prospective buyers, which means that I doubt they were freeing up any funds until the new year. I'm sure the Thorns FO was doing scouting work etc etc, but it's pretty unlikely the Bhathals were actually doing any day to day work with KK until the sale was finalized.
I know that somebody gave KK clearance to go up in salaries and add extra years in negotiations in November. Sale was finalized in January, and those deals were announced in January. Now, was that Merritt spending money that he was never going to see, on behalf of some club he had already all-but-sold and was just waiting on closing? Or was that the new folks giving Karina the green light? Or was it some combo thereof? Don't know, but I do know that she wasn't inactive during the waiting period while the sale was being finalized.
I thought transfer fees were paid at the time of transfer. Merritt basically was a minimal steward until he sold the team. I doubt he put in an extra dime
Transfer fees can be paid anytime. It's pretty normal for a player deal to have future payments; for example, it just happened with Bay FC's acquisition of Penelope Hocking, in which they're paying $250k this year and $100k next year. So a binding promissory note in December saying "I'll pay you in January" wouldn't be unusual, nor would a binding deal saying "both the player transfer and the payment happen in January."
Only Obaze was announced right after the sale- The other two big ones (Fleming and Muller) were on 1/31 and 2/2 respectively. This entire site was in a "why aren't we signing anyone" meltdown throughout January because folks assumed there would be a bunch of signings announced right after the sale completed and there weren't.
But yes, I imagine sometime in December someone gave her the go-ahead to start negotiating. I don't think it happened much before that though, which probably chopped off potential in-league free agent signings at a minimum.
Not sure there's enough fan base for both without cannibalizing one or the other.
Also not sure how well they can start an expansion franchise and give it a solid base while attempting to rebuild the Thorns, which appears to be what's now needed.
I don't have any figures in front of me but there's probably a lot more money in WNBA so that's probably where the most effort is going to go.
Is there more money in the WNBA? NWSL attendances are (still) generally better, aren't they? And both have had pretty poor TV/streaming viewership relative to MLS and especially NBA, though the numbers are getting better.
Very true. I'm reading that NWSL is becoming more popular and surpassing WNBA.
Could be a little erosion given the seasons overlap (unlike Blazers/Timbers), but I think cannibalizing is a little far, especially since there's only one Thorns game per week and basketball/soccer fanbases are often pretty different. I imagine the Blazers and WNBA team will have a pretty high rate of overlap, especially those that aren't into soccer (which is a pretty substantial group).
Regarding the second point, every sports owner in the world has a pretty wide business portfolio --as the Bhathals already do-- often including multiple sports teams. I highly doubt that will be an issue. As is the case for most sports owners, their main task for both franchises is going to be hiring the right people. If anything, this shows investment in Portland as a sports city, which is very good imo.
I owe credit to Sacto Rick for making this observation about overlapping seasons and two teams being owned in the same market by the same group.
WNBA season runs May to October. NWSL season runs March to November. Thorns haven't returned to 2019-level attendance. Now you're adding another women's professional franchise into the mix.
Yes, a WNBA team won't just attract enthusiasts of women's professional sports, and yes, women's hoops is growing right now too. But these two franchises will also compete for fans, not just bring in new ones or draw in different fan bases.
I know that I can't commit to two teams playing at the same time, despite my love of both basketball and soccer, my appreciation for the similarities and differences between the games, and my support for women's team sports.
Then again, Thorns and Timbers play largely overlapping seasons and were owned by the same dude, and folks turned out to support both as well as each team having their own fans. So maybe I'm overstating the worry?
I think it's a fair worry that some of the fans that do overlap will choose to go to the hot new thing in town and the Thorns attendance could drop --especially if they don't improve by 2026-- but I don't think it's going to be something that's going to have a *massively detrimental* impact. Different sports, different days of the week, not 100% market overlap.
https://x.com/WashSpirit/status/1831438941964398936
Yeah this sucks ass. Insane that it happened while throwing out the first pitch for the Nats.
(Butttt it’s also the exact reason why she didn’t go first overall in the draft, sadly)
Not following. She wasn't drafted #1 because she can't pitch without getting injured?
It will be interesting to see how the spirit handle this. As opposed to KK when we lost weaver and got pretty much nothing.
They didn't look as good without Bethune last week, but they do have a pretty good replacement in Santos. They can just start Kouassi on the wing and move Santos inside.
They can't sign anyone though, the window's closed.
I just saw this and was coming here to post the news as well.
Man, what a bummer....she was SO fun to watch (when not playing Portland.) Also is tied with Heath for the assist record. Totally would've taken it if she remained healthy.
But yeah, as you say....I honestly was expecting this to happen this season. 3 ACL's is more than just bad luck. And def also the reason why drafting her was a BIG gamble. Still, probably the reason the Spirit are currently in 2nd place. Don't think they'll have a huge hole, with Santos there now, but wow what a bummer. This is why you don't build your club around just one player!
Not just 3 ACLs. That's 3 ACLs ALREADY. As in, maybe she needs to stop playing for awhile, or maybe altogether.
Pretty sure they were all in the same knee also…
I see Soph finally got nominated to that balloon door thingy. Good on her.
No Girma, however, which shows how serious the Balon d'or really is.
(not very)
No Naomi is WILD!!!
Very happy to see Naher get some love.
She was nominated last year too.
Yeah lost track of time.
Welp, here's where folks find out if the Bhathals can ambulate and masticate gum simultaneously.
Secondarily, will PDX support overlapping professional women's sports, one indoors and one out?
ambulate, masticate, and (in case of the Thorns) resuscitate.
Great news, Phuoc.
When you say "The new facility that was announced at their introductory press conference seems to be almost finalized and could be home to both Portland Thorns and WNBA team", do you mean at the Thorns/Bhathals intro press conference? And do you mean that the site for it is almost finalized?
Would love if you could expand slightly on what you mean re: the facility! Thanks Phuoc!
I would love it if the WNBA team became the permanent tenants of a remodeled Memorial Coliseum.
Wonder what snazzy name they reveal. Fire wasn't a great name for a place covered in forests. I hope it fits whatever it is.
Sasquatch is still out there, I'm just saying!
Bigfoot! But it fits a men's team better than a women's one. Still, someone needs to use this.
Bigfeet? Bigfootses? Bigsfoot?
The Bigfootii.
I would be okay with bringing back the Fire.
If there was a question as to whether the Thorns would try to qualify for the club World Cup, they posted their lineup for tonight against club America, and the answer is apparently no.
OK, I intend this to be the last I say on a couple of things. Feel free to hold me to it.
Back in October, IIRC, reports indicated that the Bhathals were the prospective new owners.
Serious negotiations involving KK and at least one new player were happening in November. I know that for a fact.
The annual member ticket price increase, which was steep in many instances, was announced before the ownership change. Perhaps Merritt was driving up the valuation or otherwise squeezing out some last bucks, but I can't imagine this wasn't done absent consultation with -- and perhaps even to benefit of -- the new ownership with an eye toward operating the Thorns as separate from the Timbers.
So, I think the Bhathals were in the loop about some things well before they took the keys.
Now, here's the thing....
I think they thought it was largely a move-in ready situation on the soccer side, and that the work to be done was on the operations side.
Turns out it's work on both sides -- new construction on the operations side, and a significant remodel/renovation on the soccer side.
Not tear it down and start over, not take it down to the studs, but more like they discovered some things that were not caught during inspection and that need to be fixed or replaced before they're getting what they thought they were getting.
The hard part is that it's happening on their dime, and time, and it'll be messier than expected for longer than expected.
Hopefully it turns out to be worth the wait. Given that they're already on to starting a WNBA franchise from scratch, I'm a little skeptical.
In any case, please excuse our dust.
Am I incorrect in assuming that, compared to other operations costs, the salary of players in the NWSL is (unfairly) a virtual rounding error?
I know nothing about sports business, but my guess would be that the Bhathals have very little to do with this year’s slump, and it’s a confluence of factors including KK’s negotiating and scouting ability, failure to anticipate improvement in the rest of the league, key players nearing retirement, Portland perhaps being less desirable a city to live in than 5 years ago, etc. But not because of the Bhathals unwillingness to invest.
Very interested to hear why I might be wrong.
If Thorns beat Club America tonight (big IF), given their success against Club TJ should they consider transferring to Liga MX Feminil?
I made a similar joke while watching the USLSL last week haha. I said "well if the Thorns move to the Super League, they'll be best-in-league again!"
Let's hear it for Intracontinental Relegation!
Of the Mexico teams I watched in Liga MX, only TJ seemed slow, chaotic and hopeless. Guessing Club America will be the motivated squad tonight.
Yeah Club America will be a very different beast than TJ. *Should* win....but, should've won last weekend also....
Curious to see the lineup he runs with and how serious they're taking this game.
The first collab should be a joint season ticket package offered exclusively to existing Thorns season ticket holders, maybe even in order of seniority, that is compelling (this presuming that the Blazer ST list is not available). A name is tougher, but very important to get right. Rip City Roses jumps to mind but surely there are others better.
IIRC Rip City is a Blazers trademark, from the days of Bill Schonely.
Rose City Riveters is probably available, if they made a wise deal with the supporters club.
This would be a great idea.
That would sure help.