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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. Jim Leonhard Jersey . LOUIS -- Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St. Justice Hill Jersey . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. http://www.customravensjersey.com/custom-marcus-robinson-jersey-large-763d.html . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games. Nick Murphy Jersey . Following a lopsided 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Paul MacLean told reporters that "theres a lack of focus, theres a lack of leadership and theres a lack of preparation" with his struggling team. That came on the heels of Bryan Murray taking the unusual step of going into the locker room at the Prudential Center and addressing the players himself. Gus Edwards Jersey . Aduriz headed home Markel Susaetas cross in the sixth minute to open the scoring at San Mames Stadium. He bettered that with a long-range blast that went in off the goal frame in the 18th, and converted a penalty in the 72nd after Diego Mainz was sent off for fouling Aduriz with only the goalkeeper to beat. COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Texas A&M has done this before. The No. 9 Aggies beat South Carolina 24-13 on Saturday to start their third season in a row at 5-0.In 2014 and 2015, the Aggies (5-0, 3-0 Southeastern) finished 3-5, but this season, coach Kevin Sumlin sees a team prepared to handle adversity. After all, they overcame having four starters out for injuries and giving up a 75-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage to win a SEC game on the road.They settled down after that first play. There was never panic on the sideline. There was never guys pressing -- defense keeping us in the game, offense moving the ball in the second half, Sumlin said.Trevor Knight, who came into the game second in the SEC in total offense, threw for 206 yards and ran for 84 more. After that opening TD run from A.J. Turner, the Aggies allowed just 142 yards over the next three quarters and kept South Carolina (2-3, 1-3) from getting in the end zone again.Knight also had a fumble and an interception, but the senior said that didnt dampen his enthusiasm at the Aggies start.Theres no such thing as an ugly win. Every time you get a win its a big time deal. We still have a zero after that dash, Knight said.The Gamecocks had chances to end their six-game losing streak to ranked opponents, but kicker Elliot Fry missed two field goals and Jamarcus King fumbled a punt with 3:12 left in the game.Were doing a lot of things better but we dont have a lot of margin for error, South Carolina coach Will Muschamp said.THE TAKEAWAYTEXAS A&M: The Aggie offense remains quite balanced. They ran for 216 yards and passed for 206 yards. Texas A&M came into the game joining Louisville and Oregon as the only teams with 1,000 yards passing and rushing. Armani Watts keeps being a critical cog in the defense. After causing a fumble and recovering it on his own goal line against Arkansas, Watts tipped a pass then dove to pick it off against South Carolina.SOUTH CAROLINA: A quarterback controvversy returns for the Gamecocks.dddddddddddd After coach Will Muschamp spent September praising Brandon McIlwain, the freshman entered the fourth quarter with fewer yards passing (34) than punter Sean Kelly who gained 36 yards on a fake punt pass. Muschamp put in season opener starter Perry Orth, who went 11-for-18 for 138 yards in the final quarter. Muschamp said he only pulled McIlwain to spread the field in the fourth quarter and he will evaluate both quarterbacks to see who plays next week.POLL IMPLICATIONSAt least three teams ahead of Texas A&M in the AP Top 25 will lose Saturday, giving the Aggies room to move up. But No. 10 Washington had an impressive 44-6 win over No. 7 Stanford on Friday, and No. 11 Tennessee beat No. 25 Georgia on the road quite improbably on a last play Hail Mary after a Georgia Hail Mary so Texas A&M may get jumped too.INJURIESFour starters were out for Texas A&M, including last years SEC sack leader Myles Garrett, two receivers in Speedy Noil and Ricky Seals-Jones and right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor.Knight expects everyone to be back next week. Those guys needed a week to heal up, he said.UP NEXTTEXAS A&M: The Aggies can show they are playoff contenders in their next two games. No. 11 Tennessee comes to College Station next week and Sumlin and his players said they saw the final game-winning pass when South Carolina showed it on the stadiums giant screen during a timeout.I turned around just in time to see the catch and somebody told me it was the last play of the game. I said `wow, that must have been something else, Sumlin said .Then after an open date, Texas A&M is off to No. 1 Alabama on Oct. 22.SOUTH CAROLINA: The Gamecocks five-game home stand continues as No. 25 Georgia makes an unusual October trip to South Carolina.---AP college football coverage at www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '