PHILADELPHIA -- During Bawitha Tlings tumultuous journey fleeing war and forced labor under Myanmars dictatorship -- first to a Malaysian refugee camp, and eventually to Philadelphia -- one of the few constants in his life was soccer.We played every day in our country at school ... in recess time or after school, Tling said. I came here, and play every day, every weekend. Soccer is my favorite way to relax myself, to escape depression.Tling, 18, now a business major at a community college, is one of around 800 players participating in a newly created soccer tournament for immigrants organized by the city of Philadelphia. The first match, between Vietnam and Mexico, is scheduled for Friday.The 32 teams represent countries from India to Ireland, Cambodia to Congo. In the months running up to the tournament, named the Unity Cup, theyve been practicing several times a week and holding dozens of friendly matches.Interest in the inaugural event was strong. Within five days of opening registration, all the team slots were taken, with captains delivering commitment letters by hand to the citys Office of Immigrant Affairs.There were people waiting outside the office before they opened at 8 oclock in the morning, said Bill Salvatore, Unity Cup organizer with the citys Department of Parks and Recreation. It was pretty intense.Philadelphias foreign-born population has been booming, growing from barely 100,000 in 1990 to over 200,000 this year -- about 13 percent of the population, according to a report by the Pew Charitable Trusts. Still, the citys professional soccer team, the Union, gets only a fraction of the attention showered on its football and baseball franchises.The Unity Cup championship will be held Nov. 5 at Citizens Bank Park, home of Major League Baseballs Philadelphia Phillies, and city officials expect at least 5,000 people to attend. The winning team will receive a trophy modeled on the National Hockey Leagues Stanley Cup, with names of the victors engraved each year.Organizers are planning an international festival in the stadiums parking lot, with food trucks, craft stalls and performances.The Unity Cup is the brainchild of Mayor Jim Kenney, who says he got his inspiration from the World Cup.Remember, soccer is in every neighborhood, said Kenney, the descendent of Irish immigrants fleeing famine. The trash talking and the competitions already started between Mexico and Italy, between the Irish and the Polish, the Germans are calling out the Senegalese -- I mean its awesome, its going to be fun.The teams arent restricted by nationality, either. The Indian team has players from Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Morocco and Egypt -- giving Indian players a chance to build comradery with other immigrants, not just play against them.I really enjoy meeting new guys, forming new networks. The game is a really beautiful game for bringing people together, said Thorne Holder, a Trinidadian living in Philadelphia and the goalie for team Germany. Soccer is a team sport. I think thats what gives it its allure -- friends, friendship, common interests.Immigrants have long played soccer through grassroots organizations, but the Unity Cup appears to be the first immigrant soccer tournament organized by a government body in the country, according to city officials and U.S. Soccer, the countrys governing body of soccer.Demand has been so high that plans are already being drawn up for next year, with the potential for knockout preliminary rounds by continent -- Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas -- in order to accommodate more teams. The city envisions the Unity Cup will become a yearly event, Salvatore said.Players are enthusiastic about the chance to chat with people from ethnic enclaves all over Philadelphia whom they never would have met otherwise.Its like family, said Indian team captain Matthew Varughese, an engineer who moved to the U.S. as a child. Were not competing for money ... Were like brothers. Its good, its fun, you know -- its family. Kevin Garnett Jersey . From filmmaker Nanette Burstein (On the Ropes), The Price of Gold revisits the saga that rocked the figure skating world ahead of the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games: the assault on Nancy Kerrigan, and the plot that led its way back to her rival Tonya Harding. 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He had a goal and two assists for a career-high three points as Columbus beat the New York Islanders 5-2 to snap a five-game losing streak. LAHAINA, Hawaii -- Oregon and Connecticut were both in the Top 25 at the start of the season, but both could be out of the rankings next week.The Ducks reached their highest spot ever in the Associated Press poll at No. 4 on Nov. 15, but then lost to unranked Baylor and Georgetown.Were unranked now, Oregon coach Dana Altman said after a 65-61 loss to the Hoyas in the first round of the Maui Invitational on Monday. I dont know who the heck we think we are.The 13th-ranked Ducks bounced back to beat Tennessee 69-65 in overtime Tuesday to improve to 3-2.We are not playing very well, but we had to find a way to win the game, Altman said.Oregon will wrap up its week at the Lahaina Civic Center on Wednesday against Connecticut (2-3), which beat Chaminade 93-82 on Tuesday. The Huskies were ranked No. 16 in the preseason but fell out of the polls after losses to Northeastern and Wagner.I thought our guys played extremely well, UConn coach Kevin Ollie said after the win over Chaminade. They did not get down on themselves.Sophomore guard Jalen Adams nearly had a triple-double with 25 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds against Chaminade. He is averaging 29.5 points in two games during the tournament as he prepares to face the Ducks.We aare definitely looking forward to playing a Top 20 team, Adams said.dddddddddddd It is a good challenge to see where we are at. We think we can play with the best teams.Oregon and Connecticut were both disappointed after losing their opener in Maui, but the winner will go home with a two-game winning streak.Theyve got a good team, Ollie said of the Ducks. They havent been playing well as of late, but theyve got a lot of great guys. Weve got to come in and focus on our game plan.Oregon got all-conference forward Dillon Brooks back after he missed the first three games of the season following foot surgery. The 6-foot-7 junior led the Ducks with 17 points in the win over Tennessee.Im feeling great, Brooks said. My foot doesnt hurt at all. Im just ready for the next game and ready to get back and work with these guys and get better to get to that level that we need to be at.Altman would like to see his team get back to the level that took the Ducks to the Elite Eight last season.We obviously read too many press clippings and we are not playing anywhere near that level were capable of playing, he said. 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