Jeff Hunt and the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group are preparing for a press conference Monday to announce an NASL expansion club for the Capital region.And, like FC Edmonton, the Ottawa side won’t have any affiliation to another Canadian pro club. That was confirmed by league sources Thursday.

Forget about the power rankings.If you are betting on MLS games, and aren’t putting money on draws, you aren’t looking at the stats.The combined record of MLS teams this season is 78-78-100. Of the 128 games played this season, 50 have ended in ties.

FC Edmonton took advantage of a travel-weary Puerto Rico Islanders side, winning 3-0 Wednesday at Foote Field.FCE simply dominated, outnumbering Puerto Rico midfield and bossing possession. Puerto Rico, which played Sunday night and then had to make the 5,600-km trek from the Caribbean to Edmonton, didn’t look like it could keep up with Edmonton’s pace.

Toronto FC has played some poor games in its four-year history. It has had (a few) bright moments, too. But, if you’ve already forgotten Wednesday’s 0-0 draw on the road to the New England Revolution, you’re forgiven.A game between a Toronto FC squad that struggles to score and a New England Revolution team that’s anonymous outside of midfield star Shalrie Joseph didn’t make for compelling viewing, especially when sports fans in the Boston area had something better to do — something about a hockey game and a Cup.

Luis Tejada scored in injury time to give Panama a 1-1 draw with Canada in their final group-stage game at the Gold Cup in Kansas City. With the U.S. beating Guadeloupe 1-0 in the second half of the doubleheader, the draw relegated Canada to the role of the worst-positioned third-place side of the three groups — and the players and coaches earned tickets home.

FC Edmonton has more bad news on the injury front.The club will now have to cope without veteran central defender Paul Matthijs for the long term. There are fears that the Dutch defender could miss the rest of the NASL season with a hernia

Now that Group A has completed its schedule, the picture for Canada and what it needs to do to qualify out of Group C has become crystal clear.If Canada beats Panama on Tuesday evening — even by a single goal — it will get through to the quarter-finals of the Gold Cup. And, barring a miracle result Monday night from Grenada, a draw will likely see the Canadian side going home early.

In a season marred by some ugly tackles, injured stars and star suspension, Beckham’s awful challenge that knocked TFC’s Tony Tchani out of the game was the talking point of the match.And, no doubt, it will be looked at by the MLS disciplinary domos later this week. This isn’t unusual, MLS, as a rule, reviews all major incidents from the weekend’s matches.

Canada is used to being on the short end of controversial referees’ decisions at the Gold Cup. On Saturday, the calls went Canada’s way —helping Les Rouges to a tense 1-0 win over Guadeloupe in Tampa.Dwayne De Rosario converted a second-half penalty-kick attempt to give Canada a win in a game in which it held a man advantage for 86 minutes plus stoppage time.

FC Edmonton’s 1-0 loss to the Carolina RailHawks was made all the more painful due to a serious injury suffered by keeper Lance Parker.Parker was carried off a stretcher, right arm immobilized, to a waiting ambulance on the sidelines after colliding with Carolina striker Etienne Barbara and falling awkwardly to the hard Foote Field artificial surface.