Soccer Night_ MLS Run-Down

Yes, yes, yes.....we aware that a new week of soccer is underway both here in America and around the globe, but we do have scores and standings as of LAST week in Major League Soccer.

The Montreal Impact are standing strong in the Eastern Conference, which includes teams from Houston and Kansas City (?!), but at least the San Jose Earthquakes play in the West. They won a home game over the Chicago Fire by a 2-0 score in the NBC Sports Network Game of the Week. We actually watched a tape of the game, but we can't recall who kicked the goals.

But, the Imapct feautre the likes of Matteo Ferrai (pictured top), and Italian player who also played for the Turkish team Besiktash, Dany Arnaud, an American national who is the captain, and Sanna Nyassi from Gambia.

All the way over in Portland, Ore., the Portland Timbers, a team that is in third place in the West, featured another Gambian player Mamadou Danso and a roster of players from over 15 countries, including Diego Chara (pictured botton) who is one of four Timbers players from Colombia.

Amazingly enough, DC United, one of our favorite teams and the winner of four MLS championships, is in dead last in the east with a mere 4 points, and a 3-0 loss to the Columbus Crew didn't help matters.

Here are the standings:

East

1. Montreal Impact 16

2. New York Red Bull 14

3. Houston Dynamo 14

4. Sporting Kansas City 14

West

1. FC Dallas 20

2. L.A. Galaxy (pictured) 14

3. Portland Timbers 14

4. Chivas USA (Los Angeles) 11

5. Real Salt Lake 11


Scores:

Montreal 2 Chicago 0

Vancouver 2 Dallas 2, tie

Houston 1 Colorado 1, tie

LA Galaxy 2 Real Salt Lake 0

New England 2 Philadelphia 0

Chivas 2 San Jose 2, tie

Portland 3 Sporting Kansas City 2

Columbus 3 DC United 0

http://www.impactmontreal.com.en

http://www.portlandtimbers.com

http://www.lagalaxy.com

Top 10 List- Obscure World Capitals, Africa Edition

We learned from the ever-hip magazine "Mental Floss" last year, that apparently a man-eating crocodile named Gustave (not the one pictured here) resides in native habitiat somewhere in the central eastern country of Burundi.

That country shares a border with Rwanda, which we learned from the BBC, is trying to re-establish from its very dark recent history to bring tourists in for bird-watching. Apparently, Rwanda is indeed one of the best places for bird-watching in the world.


And, both Zambia and Gabon have been in the news as Zambia pulled a huge upset over Ivory Coast to win the African Cup of nations in Gabon. To make matters even more confusing, there is also an African country called Gambia which is pretty far from Zambia.

Put, at any rate, here are a list of ten African countries that most 11th graders at Franklin County High School in Rocky Mount, Va., (hey, we had to pick on some school) probably couldn't locate on the map. But we still wish the FCHS Eagles' basketball team bonne chance this year.


1. Banjul, Gambia (western Africa)

2. Libreville, Gabon (central Africa)

3. Lusaka, Zambia (east Africa)

4. Kigali, Rwanda (east Africa)

5. Lome, Togo (west Africa)

6. Maputo, Mozambique (east Africa)

7. Bujumbra, Burundi (east Africa)

8. Gaborone, Botswana (southern Africa)

9. Antananariuo, Madagascar (southern Africa)

10. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (western Africa)

Yes, should numberrs 9 or 10 be asked as a Final Jeopardy question, our thoughts would be with the contestants.

And, on a more somber note, many countries in Africa, including Somalia and Burkina Faso, are currently expeirencing crippling famines.

CARE is one of many relief agencies working to resolve this horrific problem.