is miffed that the official

has taken some of his thoughtful comments out of context, and sensationalized them while chasing web hits and attracting eyeballs. Porter and I had a wide-ranging interview on Thursday in which we talked about the impressive turnaround of the

, his good leadership, and also, sexy but misleading headlines.

Porter will handle the soccer talk -- those words are real. I'll offer an intentionally misleading suggested headline and my analysis.

Here goes:

PORTER DRUNK ON WINE

"I don't get too excited -- ever. I understand it can turn in a minute. I understand, too, that we have a lot of season left. I'm always looking for more. We're not where we want to be yet.



"In a lot of ways, we could have had more points. We're about to play seven out of 10 games on the road. I don't ever relax. I just understand one minute you're drinking the wine, the next you're picking grapes."



ANALYSIS: A big part of Porter's influence on the Timbers has been how measured and grounded he is. That he comes with an NCAA-championship pedigree helps. He's won plenty, at every level now. Most of the Timbers haven't won except with Porter. So they're looking to their coach for how to handle it. Porter's been masterful so far.

PORTER TO MLS: I'M BORED BEATING YOU ALL

"As much as I'm a young guy, I'm not a young coach. For 14 years I've learned my trade. I know how to put the pieces together, how to manage the highs and the lows and all that. I have had to stand in front of my team 140 times in the pregame and halftime and postgame and spin things the right way.



"We won a lot of games, but I have an extremely high standard. When we win I don't get too excited, because I'm used to winning. I'm probably even more patient at this level because you can lose games at this level and it doesn't kill your season. You lose a game in college and it knocks you out. At this level, with 34 games, you have to be above .500 to make the playoffs. In some ways, that keeps me even more patient."



ANALYSIS: Porter makes a great point about the margin for error in MLS. There's a tricky balance between valuing each opportunity, and also, recognizing that playing tight isn't going to be beneficial. Porter has a nice feel for that.

PORTER KNOWS IN HIS HEAD HE'S GREAT

"It's important that you're more positive than negative with players. A quick way to lose a locker room is to act overly emotional and dwell on one game too much. Our consistency has come because we've built our team to follow a process and they're following it. They're methodical. We approach the day to day and week to week the same way.



"The fact that I played the game professionally helps me, but I didn't come in here like John Spencer, who had played professionally at the highest level. If you're not organized, methodical and don't have an organized philosophy, that quickly fades. You may know it in your head great, but if you can't organize it and present it to your players, forget it.



"I knew the game really well, but 14 years ago I had no clue how to coach. None. Zero. Clueless. It's taken time to figure out how to build a team and find balance."



ANALYSIS: Porter really didn't call out Spencer. In fact, he used the former Timbers coach as an example of how a former player turned coach can walk into the room and command respect. Porter has a professional background, but recognizing that he had a lot of growth as a coach was key to his success. He's a master motivator and studies his team's sociological makeup like a professor.

TIMBERS COACHING IS A FIVE-MINUTE JOB



"My first meeting with the team was five minutes long. Then, we got out on the pitch. Over time, how we relate to each other out there was what's going to be important. If I didn't know what I was doing, it would only work for a day. I would have lost the players from Day One if I didn't know what I was doing.



"I wanted to surround my players with professionalism and organization so they can flourish and be successful. Players want organization. They want a rhythm with what they do every day and every week. They don't want to be surprised. They want to show up and have it all sorted out. They want to know what you want out of them. They want to know there's a plan."

ANALYSIS: Porter would never say the Timbers had anything sewn up. His initial meeting with the team -- that five-minute briefing -- was intentional in nature. The players had endured a rough season last year in which they were ground up by Spencer behind the scenes. He was demanding and, often, emotional, according to players. Keeping that first meeting light, and demonstrating that the Timbers would do their learning on the pitch was a brilliant tactic.

PORTER SAYS YELLING AT WOMEN AND CHILDREN IS OK

"I'm a competitive and passionate guy. I don't portray that with the media. My guys will see that fire in the locker room and training. I get more credit for the tactical stuff, but my greatest strength is management. I don't make emotional, rash decisions. I don't yell and scream at them. There's a time I jam them and dig at them, but with pros you have to be careful about that.



"You can't yell at men. You can't treat a grown man like that, yelling at him, and mistreating him."



ANALYSIS: OK. Let's be clear: Porter isn't advocating that people shout at women and children. But that would get lots of page views if he did. He is, however, preaching about how to foster dignity, and also, letting us all know that his coaching technique isn't all tactical. He's fiery in spots, and cares deeply. His players would tell you they see it in his eyes, even as the Porter we've all publicly seen has mostly been measured in his comments.

PORTER: I DON'T APPRECIATE THE TARGET ON MY BACK

"I called the league out. Basically, MLS soccer is portraying a picture that is unfair of my team and myself with the MLS(soccer).com coverage. We're being labeled a cocky team. You read the stuff and see the quotes and it's very measured what they're doing. They're taking parts of my quotes and throwing those in the headlines out of context. I think they've been told to run their site that way so they can increase site traffic.



"I didn't appreciate it because I don't like to be painted in a picture that I'm that way. I'm not that way. 'Porterball' -- I hate that. I don't want the attention. I don't want a target on my back. I'd prefer to have a strong presence on the field. I'd prefer my players got the credit, not me."

ANALYSIS: I get that Porter wants his team to get credit, but let's face it, he's going to get fired if he doesn't win games. So coach, yes, take some of the love for the streak your team has enjoyed. Take a bow if you'd like, in fact. Your point is noted, but also, know you'll receive the bulk of the blame should things erode. Also, as much as it seems unfair, especially when words feel twisted, the coach doesn't get to write the headlines.

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