Ben Newton Portland, Ore. Is David Regis originally from Mozambique or Martinique? I suspect the latter because of his current French nationality, but I have seen at least 4 or 5 articles that refer to him as ‘a native of Mozambique’ Paul Kennedy: USA Today had on a number of occasions referred to Regis as being from Mozambique. It was wrong. Regis was born in Martinique, the French island located in the Caribbean. Martinique is a French department, the equivalent of an American state, which is why Martinique does not enter the World Cup (though it now plays, just like Guadaloupe and French Guyana, is some CONCACAF competitions). Mozambique is a former Portuguese colony located in southeast Africa. Regis is a product of French soccer, not German soccer, as has also been published. He began his pro career with Valenciennes (1991-93) and has since been at Strasbourg (1993-96) and Lens (1996-97) before moving to Karlsruhe in Germany last summer. He had five goals for Karlsruhe — quite an accomplishment since he had just three goals in six years in France. All but his first year in France was in the First Division. He isn’t that tall for a defender — about 5-10 — but he is considered a very good man-marker with some quickness. After his last season at Lens, he attracted offers from Espanyol and Celta in Spain and Blackburn Rovers in England before signing with Karlsruhe on the recommendation of former Strasbourg teammate Marc Keller, Karlsruhe’s first French signing in 1996. He signed a two-year deal with an option for a third year, though his future is now up in the air due to the relegation of Karlsruhe. George Kagiavas Erie, Pa. I have played and officiated soccer in South Africa at a semi-professional level before immigrating to the USA. I am currently a grade 8 referee in PA West (I received my local license within 3 months of arriving in America in 1997). I will be officiating at the college level this year, but my ambition is to become a FIFA referee in time for the 2006 World Cup. I consider myself more “world-wise” than my fellow officials as I am used to a far more physical game than I have seen here. I am 35 years old and have no time to waste if I am to achieve this goal. I am in very good physical shape and still play competitively. I have aproached my state office but results are very slow in forthcoming. Do you have any information as to how I could speed up the process? I would really like to get into contact with MLS officials and perhaps take it from there. Any help and information would be greatly appreciated. Mike Woitalla: The U.S. Soccer Federation’s refereeing department told me that it welcomes experienced referees and that it accepts verifiable foreign credit to determine a referee’s grade. Going through the state office, however, is indeed the proper channel to take. (Going straight to MLS is probably futile, because MLS selects its referees through the U.S. Soccer Federation.) If you have further questions, I suggest you contact the U.S. Soccer Federation at 312-808-1300. Derek J. McCracken Pittsburgh, Pa. Marcelo Balboa’s incredibly high number of caps came mostly during a time when the U.S. national team was very thin on talent (early- to mid-90’s). Only in the past couple of years have we seen the talent of the second and third teams elevated to a point where the distinction between them and the first team is, many times, clouded. Because of the better number of players in the U.S. now, and in the future, I don’t think Balboa’s run will ever be equaled by a U.S. player. What do you think? Duncan Irving: I’m not sure where this better number of players is coming from — I thought Steve Sampson’s World Cup roster and his panting reliance on the whims of INS to process David Regis’ citizenship was borne more out of desperation than a huge pool of quality players to choose from. However, I don’t think Balboa’s caps total will be passed too often in the future. In the early 1990s, the U.S. national team played a lot of games. Period. MLS was a twinkle lurking deep within the bowels of Alan Rothenberg’s ego, and Bora’s get-togethers aside, there wasn’t much in the way of top-level soccer Players either went abroad or played semipro and waited for the phone to ring inviting them to one of many national team camps. A pro league with 30-odd dates a season gives the players a chance to play and reduces the need for U.S. Soccer to play the likes of Bayern Munich or Moldova. Before MLS came along, the joke ran of a player running into a foreign stadium to the introduction of “With 73 internationals and no club appearances, heeeere’s Joe Blow.” Now, thank God, that’s not the case. Tony Brasunas St. Louis, Mo. I was wondering if there’s been any developments in MLS regarding recognition of a regular season champion. In other leagues around the world it is a separate matter if you win the league, by demonstrating excellence over the course of the season, or if you win the cup, by demonstrating you are the hottest team. It seems there is room for both in MLS as well. While a division of the crown in this way would be ideal, perhaps MLS is too dependent on the “American Way” wherein the season is a protracted preseason (cf. NBA, NHL). Perhaps simply a granting of the second MLS spot in the CONCACAF Champions Cup to the club with the best regular season record would suffice. Is there any dialogue on this topic amongst MLS decision-makers? What’s the status? Paul Kennedy: MLS isn’t going to budge. The conference trophy goes to the playoff conference champion, not the regular-season champion. The second CONCACAF berth doesn’t mean much, unfortunately. John Gaughan Worcester, Mass. Jorge Campos has been recalled into the Mexican national side through the World Cup (and has made only one appearance for the Fire thus far). My question is what kind of compensation, if any, will Chicago receive from MLS and will MLS receive any compensation from the Mexican Federation? Pete Bailey: The Fire is eligible for roster relief (a chance to add an extra player to the roster), as are all of the MLS clubs who lose players to the World Cup, but neither they nor MLS will receive compensation from the Mexican federation — after all, this is the World Cup. Columbus, which loses four players (not counting Jamaican international Andrew Williams), will be able to add several extra players.