Sports
See also: Sports in Portland, OregonOregon is home to two professional sports teams which are both based in Portland: Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA and the Portland Timbers of MLS.
Until 2011, the only major professional sports team in Oregon was the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association. From the 1970s to the 1990s, the Blazers were one of the most successful teams in the NBA in terms of both win-loss record and attendance. In the early 21st century, the team's popularity declined due to personnel and financial issues, but revived after the departure of controversial players and the acquisition of new players such as Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Greg Oden.
The Blazers play in the Rose Garden in Portland's Lloyd District, which also is home to the Portland Winterhawks of the junior-league Western Hockey League.
The Timbers play at Jeld-Wen Field, which is just west of downtown Portland. The Timbers repurposed the formerly multi-use stadium into a soccer-only configuration in fall 2010, increasing the seating in the process.
Portland has had minor-league baseball teams in the past, including the Portland Beavers and Portland Rockies, who played most recently at PGE Park. Portland has also actively pursued a Major League Baseball team. It was announced in March 2009 that the Portland Timbers will begin MLS play starting in 2011.
Eugene and Salem also have minor-league baseball teams. The Eugene Emeralds and the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes both play in the Single-A Northwest League. Oregon also has four teams in the fledgling International Basketball League: the Portland Chinooks, Central Oregon Hotshots, Salem Stampede, and the Eugene Chargers.
The Oregon State Beavers and the University of Oregon Ducks football teams of the Pacific-12 Conference meet annually in the Civil War. Both schools have had recent success in other sports as well: Oregon State won back-to-back college baseball championships in 2006 and 2007, and the University of Oregon won back-to-back NCAA men's cross country championships in 2007 and 2008.
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Famous quotes containing the word sports:
“The whole idea of image is so confused. On the one hand, Madison Avenue is worried about the image of the players in a tennis tour. On the other hand, sports events are often sponsored by the makers of junk food, beer, and cigarettes. What’s the message when an athlete who works at keeping her body fit is sponsored by a sugar-filled snack that does more harm than good?”
—Martina Navratilova (b. 1956)
“Sweet smiling village, loveliest of the lawn,
Thy sports are fled and all thy charms withdrawn;
Amidst thy bowers the tyrant’s hand is seen,
And desolation saddens all thy green;
One only master grasps the whole domain,
And half a tillage stints thy smiling plain;”
—Oliver Goldsmith (1730?–1774)
“It is usual for a Man who loves Country Sports to preserve the Game in his own Grounds, and divert himself upon those that belong to his Neighbour.”
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719)