The U.S. women’s national soccer team trekked to a sold-out BMO Field in Toronto over the weekend for a contest with the Canadian national team. Each squad was headlined by members of the Portland Thorns, with Alex Morgan suiting up for the U.S. and Christine Sinclair answering the call for Canada.
The school year is winding down, and for most of the athletes at Portland State, so are the spring sports. But for graduate student Joenisha Vinson, the biggest accomplishment of her career could be still to come.
Can you believe that in a little more than a month we’ll be at the halfway point of the Major League Baseball season? The All-Star break comes in the middle of July, and every team in the league will get a well-deserved rest—except, of course, for those players who have distinguished themselves enough to earn a spot in the All-Star game. And if stats are any indication of aptitude, the St. Louis Cardinals have enough talent to take on the best of the American League all on their own.
The Portland State women’s volleyball team had an outstanding season in 2012, taking home the Big Sky regular-season title. This month, they’ll say goodbye to two graduating seniors: outside hitter Megan Ellis and setter Dominika Kristinikova. Both players crossed borders to get to the Park Blocks—Ellis is from British Columbia, Kristinikova from Slovakia—but they found a home on the Viking squad over the last four years, establishing themselves as leaders on a deep and talented roster.
Last week, as the wind whipped down the Park Blocks, I strolled up to a white Volvo and slid into the passenger seat. Behind the wheel was Paul Raglione, a 26-year-old junior at Portland State who walked away from the life of a major league pitching prospect with the Kansas City Royals five years ago. As we cruised away from the PSU campus into the Southwest hills, Raglione opened up about his past, why he left baseball and his desire to get a second chance at the pros.
FRIDAY, JUNE 7 International Men’s Soccer U.S. @ Jamaica National Stadium, 6:30 p.m. Forecast: high of 89 degrees, isolated thunderstorms/wind MLB Seattle vs. New York Yankees Safeco Field, 7:10 p.m….
Last month, San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was asked to comment on the remarkably consistent play of Tim Duncan, the 37-year-old future Hall of Famer who has spent his entire career with the Spurs. The team was in the midst of its sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the NBA playoffs, and Popovich stated his intention to follow his star player into retirement when Duncan decides to leave the game for good.
The Portland Timbers played host to the United Soccer League’s Wilmington Hammerheads on Saturday in the third round of the 100th annual Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, a nationwide tournament for all teams within the United States Soccer Federation. The Hammerheads faced a tall order as they tried to best the Timbers at home, but had a bit of help in the effort as Portland sat several starters, including goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, striker Ryan Johnson and midfielder Diego Valeri.
I grew up in what most people would consider a small media market. As of September 2012, my hometown of Indianapolis was ranked 26th in the country in the number of households with a television. In all sports, but especially in professional basketball, this is said to be a very important aspect of a franchise’s ability to position itself as a consistent winner.
Since she was a teenager, PSU senior Bianca Martin has always loved competing in an oft-avoided sport: distance running. The Beaverton native’s track and field career began at the University of New Mexico, where she redshirted through her first year. Plagued by injuries and not fitting in well with the program, Martin left the Lobos after her second year and came home to Oregon, where she started running with a private club after enrolling at Portland State.
THURSDAY, MAY 30 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, Game 5 Miami 90 Indiana 79 Top performers LeBron James: 30 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists SATURDAY, JUNE 1 NWSL Chicago 2 Thorns…