Soccer City U.S.A. - A Day With The Timbers Army

Although my favorite MLS team has always been the Metros (Red Bulls), the team closest to my heart was the California Victory, a USL team that played in San Francisco in the second division of soccer for one season in 2007. I was part of the 1906 Supporters, the Victory's fan group and I always remembered the Portland Timber's fans that came down that year to support their team for a league game. They were passionate, they were animated, they were loud, and they were fun to hang out with after the game at Kezar Pub. Since they made it into the MLS this season I was fortunately enough to come up to Portland and experience what a home game with the Timbers Army was like.

The MLS soccer fans in the Pacific North West are changing the long standing view of soccer in America as a game for soccer-moms and kids. Even the Associated Press wrote a story about it. However, soccer has been huge for a long time in Portland, and the Timbers Army has always brought their passion to the matches, even when they were a second division side.

The first half the Red Bulls scored early leaving a lot of fans stuck to their seats..

Even at half-time the "scarf cart" vendor was looking like it would not be a positive result for the Timbers.

But Portland threw in two quick goals a the start of the second half which shocked most everyone in the Timbers Army section.
But they quickly celebrated their fortune.

With smoke bombs and deafening cheers, the Timbers Army was rocking.
And the Timbers mascot, "Timber Joey" sawed of a slab off a log following each time the team scored and held it up high to the cheers of the fans.
Portland had a chance to extend their lead to 2 goals with about 15 minutes left in the game...but missed a penalty kick to the dismay of the fans.
...but it still seemed like it would not matter and Portland would come out with the result.
To fans of all ages...
Flags waved and fans cheered.
But as time was about to expire, the Red Bulls' Dwayne DeRosario kicked a ball into the box that was handled by a Portland defender which set up a penalty kick that literally allowed the Red Bulls to escape with a point from the game.

After the game the Timbers Army members found the Empire Supporters Club fans (the supporters group for the New York Red Bulls) that made the trip out for the match from New York and invited them for drinks after the game. A class act by all involved.

I'm traveling up to Seattle for the match against the Red Bulls on Thursday evening and looking forward to seeing how the atmosphere ends up there. But I think its fair to say that after attending a match in Portland, it does live up to its moniker of "Soccer City U.S.A."

Can A Championship Baseball Game End in a Tie?

You never know what to expect when you watch a baseball game, whether its a Major League game or a High School game. But the one thing you always expect is that in the end of the day there is a winner and a loser. Well, yesterday, for the first time ever, I watched a baseball game, a championship baseball game, that ended in a tie.
San Marin was playing Acalanes High school for the CIF North Coast Sectional Division III Championship game on Tuesday evening.
It was a tight affair with both teams going for it. Acalanes took a two run lead into the bottom of the 7th inning (High School baseball games go 7 innings).

But San Marin put a couple of base runners and Mitchell Ho doubled them in to tie it up.
Ryan Schalch scored the tying run and was mobbed by his teammates. Acalanes got out of the inning and the game went to extra innings. From there each team had a few chances...
Acalanes had a chance in the top of the 10th inning but San Marin catcher Mitchell Ho tagged out Acalanes Aj Welsh who attempted to score at home.
Fans watched the game go into the bottom of the 10th where San Marin was unable to score. At the end of the inning the sun was starting to set and the umpires conferred with the teams head coaches and told them per California Interschoolastic Foundation rules they had to postpone the game because of darkness.
The San Marin team was irate. They were yelling, throwing gloves to the ground and yelling at the umpires.
The Athletic Director of San Marin and Acalanes tried to figure out a time to make up the game. At first they tried to resume the game on Wednesday afternoon, but it soon became clear that it wasn't possible.
Coaches stood around in frustration...
...and as the negotiations went on it became apparent that it would be hard to reschedule the game because both schools are in the middle of finals.
So the San Marin players had to sit around and await their fate. Later on it was decided that the teams would not be able to find a place to play again and they were awarded as co-champions of the Division. I was hoping to photograph that final celebration, or distress, for the team that lost the game but in the end, after watching the two teams battle the way they did, I could live with a draw. Just like an excellent soccer game.

For a more complete write up of the game, click on the Marin IJ story.

Last Rainfall of the Season??

I was on assignment for the Marin IJ on Saturday for an evacuation drill. The rain started to pour down during that event. I wanted to grab a shot of possibly (hopefully) the last rainfall of the season and took this on a street in downtown San Rafael through my driver's side windshield.

Re-engineering Journalism: 2011 Knight Fellows

I recently photographed the presentations of the 2011 Knight Fellows for the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships program. The 2011 Fellows are some of the brightest minds in journalism. Each one were asked during their fellowship at the university to focus on how to bring innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership to a rapidly changing industry.
Before the event, the fellows were given instructions by a Stanford drama professor on how to deliver their presentations and be comfortable on stage.
Each of the fellows gave their ideas on how to pursue journalistic innovations in a presentation titled "Re-Engineering Journalism: 20 Visions from the 2011 Knight Fellows."
Fellows from all over the world gave their presentations...
...and the crowd paid close attention.
After the event...
...there was a meet and greet outside the Cemex Auditorium at the new business school on the Stanford campus.
To learn more about the Fellows presentations and see video clips, check out the Knight Journalism Fellowship Website. They also have a link to more of my photographs of the event on their flickr page.

Bay to Breakers Turns One Hundred

Despite dire warnings of the death of Bay to Breakers, the one hundred year anniversary was still a fun, unique San Francisco experience. The big change this year was the booze and alcohol were hidden away (for the most part) in plastic bottles or paper bags.

Its been years since I attended the Bay to Breakers. Back then I lived on Divisadero and Fulton and could roll out of bed, walk two blocks, and join in.
This year I got up at the break of dawn and started photographing on Howard Street where some smurfs were cheering on runners...
...yes, people actually do run the Bay to Breakers.
Some people can just never get away from facebook...
This year carts were banned from the route, but this go-cart was able to briefly get in on the fun.
And Bay to Breakers was a lot of fun...
...with crazy costumes...
...audience participation...
...impromptu twister games...
...and inter-species boogie downs!
However, not everyone was impressed.
And yes, of course, there were naked people. Heck, it wouldn't be Bay to Breakers without them!

You can see some more of my photographs and the photographs of Chronicle photographers on the SF Gate Bay to Breakers photo gallery.

Earth Day

I covered for the Student Conservation Association their Earth Day event at Diamond Park in Oakland this past Saturday. It amazing to see what a group of volunteers can achieve in such a short amount of time.
The SCA members were tasked with pulling out an invasive non-native species of blackberries that was choking off life for native plants in the park.
Kids of all ages helped out...
with tools in hand.
It was hard, but rewarding, work.
And the volunteers were able to get rid of a ton of the invasive plants to help restore the creek area of the park to a natural state. Truly amazing to capture their work.

You can view more of my images, and other SCA Earth Day events on their Flicker account:

The 105 Year Old Survivor

Bill DelMonte is one of the final survivors of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, and the sole survivor to attend the Commemoration at Lotta Fountain in San Francisco on Monday for the 105 anniversary of the quake that destroyed much of the city.
I was assigned by the Marin IJ to cover the event which involved a moment of silence to honor those who lost their lives during the quake and subsequent fire that devoured much of the city. The fountain was the meeting point of old San Francisco, and was the location to try and find loved one's in the days after the quake.
A fire siren was played at exactly 5:12 AM, the moment the quake struck San Francisco 105 years ago.
Del Monte was only a 3-month old baby when the quake struck, and doesn't remember the event. Everyone wanted a moment with him to talk, thank him for coming, and ask him for advice how he has lived all these years (his answer: I don't know.)
But as a crowd of a few hundred (some gathered in period costume) gathered to past respect to one of the largest tragedies in the history of the city the question lingering in every one's mind was would this be the last year a survivor of the quake would attend the ceremony.
I know DelMonte told the Marin IJ he won't be back next year. I hope he does make it back.

You can view more of my photographs and read about the event on the Marin IJ website.