Number Seventeen

Greetings, gentle readers.
So Canada's ladies faced off against the World Champions in the only sport that matters - twice. And lost both times. But that's not surprising. The Germans are very, very good. And they've never dropped a game against the Canuck females. That being said, Kara Lang scored in both games, showing that there is some fiesty competitive spirit amongst the fairer sex in the True North Strong and Free. No disrespect to Charmaine Hooper, Canada's most capped athlete, but Kara is the future of Canadian Women's Footie. More about Ms. Lang later...
For now, let's look at who was in seventeenth place last season, and we'll see who currently holds that position. So for the season 2004-2005, 17th place was held by...
Ali Landry
The former Miss Louisiana has done admirably well for her state, following the distastrous visit of Hurricane Katrina.
In the aftermath of New Orleans nearly being wiped from the face of the globe, Ali heroically spearheaded a number of relief efforts and celebrity fund-raisers to help bring food, medical assistance, and shelter to thousands of damp Cajuns. Makes me want to settle down with some jambalaya and crawdad pie.
Rest assured that being no longer being ranked 17th has not diminished Ali's status in any way. She's dodged relegation. However, the place in the table that she held last season has now been taken by someone else. Last season, this lass held 11th place, but has dropped somewhat in the rankings. The holder of the last place safely above the relegation zone is...
Natalie Portman
Yes, Darth Vader's girlfriend is still kicking in the tables. We'll see how she fares as she has gone on to film "V for Vendetta" as Evey Hammond. Depending on the faithfulness of the depiction and the overall quality of the production, her status is still very volatile. Thus far, no Alan Moore graphic novel has survived a translation to the cinematic screen, and there are some very disturbing reports of the producers of this latest effort losing the plot somewhat. Oh well.
At the very least, Natalie has left behind some very positive performances in "The Professional", "Beautiful Girls" and... erm... "Mars Attacks!" She's also a dedicated student and a charming personality. So hats off to Miss Hershlag.
I've been trying to post this for over three days now, and I just don't have the stamina to crank out more lines of text. Hopefully, I can try and dedicate more time in the future to try and do more justice to the subjects I'm depicting in this little space. Incidentally, Rosamund Pike and Tina Fey were strong candidates for promotion, but hey - not everyone can be a winner. Back soon, and hopefully feeling a tad more hale and/or hearty.
Cheers,
-mARKUS
^+Justice for the 96+^