*Soccer in insignificant compared to the misery inflicted by earthquakes and other natural disasters. But the power of sport is its ability to inspire, uplift and unite as the Japanese well know in the wake of their magnificent World Cup win. I’ll have more on the tournament in Tuesday’s column.

*How much did this tournament capture the public’s imagination? ESPN earned a massive 8.6 overnight rating for the game, its highest ever for any World Cup game, men or women’s, according to Sports Business Daily. To put that in perspective, the network’s previous overnight high was for last years U.S.-Algeria game – which came in at 4.4.

*Relive the World Cup final in Long Beach in pictures.

*Check out the beach soccer tournament in Long Beach last weekend in this picture gallery.

*West Bromwich Albion may not be an EPL power, but they are still a different class as the minor league Ventura County Fusion learned Sunday in Oxnard.

*Manhattan Beach-based Doxa Italia just missed out on the national amateur title this past weekend.

Updated

*MLS this morning confirmed the game day roster for the All-Star Game.