Things We Learned from Wikipedia This Week- How Many Titles DC United Has Won

We continue our examination of soccer clubs around the world by going to our own backyard today and focusing on the Major League Soccer team DC United(well, I do live outside the DC Metro area, but it is the closest MLS team to North Carolina).

I've decided to change the format of this entry series, by presenting information in the form of a trivia question, like one you might see on mentalfloss.com about who was on the cover of the classic Beatles record "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club" (Fred Astaire was on the cover?!).

So, here is the question: DC United has won more MLS titles than any other team in the league; how many titles have they won?

Is the answer:

A) 3

B) 4

C) 5

D) 6

DC United hosts the New England Revolution on July 20, which will be college night, so if you go to Georgetown, George Mason University or the University of Maryland, you can take in a soccer game for $15.

Talon the Eagle is the team's mascot; Josh Wolff is new captain for United. And, the team that started with the league in 1995 features a player from Zimbabwe named Joseph Ngwenya, 30.


SIDEBAR: Yes, assuredly 9,000 other bloggers are mentioning that Japan beat the United States team in a penalty shoot-out to win the 2011 Women's World Cup in Frankfurt, Germany.

The official score of the game is 2-2. On the American side, Alex Morgan and Abby Wombach contributed the two goals. For Japan, which trailed much of the game, the goals came from Aya Miyama and Homore Sawa, who also got the tournament's golden boot.

We will miss U.S. goalie Hope Solo, 30, but hopefully she will make it back for the next World Cup.

Incidentally, psychologists say those who win bronze medals tend to be happier than those who win silver since the silver-medal winners are likely to think about the gold they could have gotten. So, perhaps, it bears mentioning that Sweden won the third place game over France by a 2-1 score.

Quote of the Week-Umberto Eco

Today our quote of the week comes from Italian novelist Umberto Eco (b.1932) who is best known here for his debut novel "The Name of the Rose," which was the basis for a Sean Connery film of the same name.

Since, we were unable to quote four Italians for our series within a series this month, we will quote one more Italian next month.

This year, Italy is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the country's unification.

Here is the quote from Eco:

"Better reality than a dream: if something is real, then it's real and you're not to blame."

SIDEBAR: Interestingly enough, Italy and Argentina, two countries which are traditional powerhouses in men's soccer are not among the 16 countries at the 2011 Women's World Cup, which is currently underway in Germany.

Today, Team USA won a 2-0 victory over North Korea, one of George W. Bush's 'Axis of Evil' nations (which amazingly enough did not include Syria!). For Team USA, both goals came in the second half from Lauren Cheney and Rachel Buehler. Goal-tender Hope Solo, who is known for being outspoken, delivered the shut-out in Dresden.

In other Group C action, Sweden beat Colombia 1-0. Both Sweden and Norway are considered to be stellar teams when it comes to women's soccer.