Portland Timbers Podcasts

Legends are made during legendary times. And Ann Schatz has worked through a few. From the Tonya Harding scandal through Sabrina Ionescu's greatness, the Thorns' original play-by-play voice has touched on some of the biggest (and strangest) stories in Oregon sports.

It's experience that gives her a unique perspective on what we're going through now. Checking in with Breaking Lines from her COVID-19 isolation, Schatz describes why, amid all the surreal moments she's seen, our current is incomparable.

Schatz also goes through her best Thorns memory, the team's impact on sports in Oregon, and, just under one week removed from the latest WNBA Draft, her view from courtside of the era in the history of Oregon Ducks women's basketball.

Direct download: 20200421_pod_schatz.mp3
Category:Soccer -- posted at: 4:35pm PDT

As we continue to shelter in place, many fans have seen a greater percentage of their sports entertainment come from their phones, with podcasting still going strong as game have paused. Within those podcasts, though, a few tropes have emerged, drowning the last four weeks of audio offerings in Mount Rushmores, random rankings and countdowns, and absurdist fantasy drafts …

None of which, we are above. On this episode of Breaking Lines, the show indulges in all three, with #Statman Mike Donovan joining us to share Timbers and Thorns Mount Rushmores, a draft of players into front office roles, as well as a ranking of the five best losses in the modern history of Portland’s two professional teams.

Direct download: 20200416_podcast_donovan.mp3
Category:Soccer -- posted at: 5:19pm PDT

Only two players have been with the Thorns longer than Emily Menges, making her, Christine Sinclair and Tobin Heath the most tenured NWSL players in Portland. Perhaps as relevant for the 2020 season, the trio are the only players who experienced the team’s other makeover - the one it undertook after missing the 2015 postseason.

On this episode of Breaking Lines, we talked to Menges about her team’s rebuilt squad, Portland’s new, clearer priorities for the 2020 campaign, and what it means to be a Thorn. Before that, though, we ask about what took her to the Australian league for the first time this offseason, what it was like trying to make her way back to the U.S. amid COVID-19’s spread, and what her life is life right now, with teammates at a distance.

Direct download: 20200408_pod_menges.mp3
Category:Soccer -- posted at: 1:47pm PDT

Amid an offseason of major acquisitions, Raquel Rodriguez's could prove one of the most important.

One of the most accomplished players in Costa Rican soccer history, Rocky Rodriguez spent the first four years of her professional career with Sky Blue FC, establishing herself as one of the more versatile midfielders in the National Women's Soccer League. Following a winter trade, she's relocated to Portland, where she's adapting to life in a new city and with a new club.

On Wednesday, Breaking Lines caught up with the former Mac Hermann Trophy winner to talk about Penn State connections, her time in New Jersey, and why she feels a new challenge in Portland is exact what her career needs, right now.

Direct download: 20200402_pod_rocky.mp3
Category:Soccer -- posted at: 3:19pm PDT

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