Who Will Be the Next Oregon Sports Champion?
As far as major league sports teams go, it is fair to say that the state of Oregon is not particularly well represented. Whereas Seattle completed the set of the big four this season, with the Kraken starting life in the NHL, Oregon – or rather, Portland – does not feature as heavily on the nightly sports shows.
Many other states have more major league teams than the Beaver State. But are fans in other regions going to be worried that a Portland team will beat them to a championship? Will online sports betting California sites be offering up the Timbers or Trail Blazers as favorites in the next few years? Read on to find out which team looks like having the best chance of coming out on top.
Portland Trail Blazers
Anyone with any interest in basketball will know that it has been a season to forget for the Trail Blazers. It missed out on the playoffs for the first time since 2013, with only two teams – Oklahoma City and Houston – posting worse records in the Western Conference.
But it was no surprise that Portland did so badly this season. It has been largely first round exits in the playoffs for the last few years and this was just the culmination of a very poor run. The gamble to trade away players to receive a high pick in the 2022 NBA Draft lottery also failed miserably. So things are not looking good for hoops in Oregon at the current time.
Now Portland needs to decide on trading the pick for an established player that might be able to help Damian Lillard take the Blazers back to the postseason. He is 31 and does not have that many years left to turn this organization around.
Portland Thorns
Soccer has been the main hope for Oregon’s major sports league success in recent years – and the Thorns have been at the forefront of that. After winning the NWSL Championship in its inaugural year, the Thorns have been one of the most consistent teams in the league.
Last season promised a lot after the Thorns finished top of the league in the regular season, claiming the Shield after the cancellation of the league the year before. The new NWSL season has only just begun, but the Thorns have already found that there will be some stern competition this year.
All eyes have been on the newly formed Angel City in Los Angeles, but there is also the other expansion team – San Diego Wave – who will be pushing for honors. There is still no reason why the Thorns cannot make the postseason, however. From there they just have to keep their heads to go all the way.
Portland Timbers
The Timbers continue to enjoy some of the most passionate support in MLS – and US major league sports – but ended last season with a profound sense of disappointment. Although reaching the MLS Cup final was unexpected,defeat on penalties to NYCFC was a bitter blow. That was made even worse with Seattle’s recent Champions League triumph.
With Diego Valeri returning to Argentina in the offseason, the Timbers would have been hoping for a good start to the new campaign to give the fans some hope of another deep run in the playoffs. It is fair to say that it has been a muted start though. Goals have not been that common (until the thrashing of SKC anyway) and there have been too many draws.
MLS is a notoriously difficult league to win as well. There are so many other teams to overcome that there is the danger of getting lost in the middle of the conference – something that looks like being a problem at the moment. A good run of wins should sort that out though. It is only early days but the Timbers should be good for the playoffs – and hopefully to go one better than last year.