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And by that read younger viewers, those most prized by advertisers since they represent the future.

It's always interesting to put TV ratings for soccer in a broader context with other more established American sports.

So why don't American newspaper editors and producers of sports television shows devote more attention to soccer in line with its ratings than they do?

Beats me. And yet they wonder why newspaper readership and the number of eyeballs glued to TV are steadily eroding.

Here are the details via the Associated Press:

NEW YORK (AP) -- Chelsea's penalty-kicks win over Bayern Munich in last weekend's Champions League final had a 1.1 rating and 3 share, according to final ratings from Nielsen Media Research, down from 2011 but up over 2010.

Chelsea's 4-3 shootout victory following a 1-1 tie was seen by 2 million viewers, Nielsen said Thursday, with the audience rising to 2.4 million from 5-5:30 p.m. EDT.

Among men 18-34, the Champions League final averaged a 1.6, between the 0.8 for the New York Rangers' 3-0 win over the New Jersey Devils in the NHL playoffs on NBC and the 1.8 for San Antonio's 96-86 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA playoffs on ABC. The Preakness on NBC had a 0.6 among men 18-34.

Barcelona's 3-1 win over Manchester United last year, a game involving teams with bigger U.S. followings, had a 1.4 rating and 4 share, and was watched by 2.6 million.

Inter Milan's 2-0 win over Bayern in 2010, involving teams more comparable to this year's
finalists, received a 1.0 rating and 3 share, and was seen by 1.6 million viewers. That was the first Champions League final televised by a U.S. over-the-air network.

The Los Angeles-based Fox Soccer cable channel said it averaged 185,000 viewers for its 118 live Premier League telecasts this season, about the same as 184,000 for 112 matches in 2010-11.

Fox averaged 54,000 for its 96 live Serie A broadcasts this year from Italy and 53,000 for its four Ligue 1 showings from France. Its one live Scottish Premier League match, between Glasgow Celtic and Rangers, had 86,000 viewers.

Among individual English clubs, Manchester United averaged 266,000 viewers for 20 live games, Manchester City 218,000 for 22, Arsenal 215,000 for 16, Liverpool 208,000 for 11, Chelsea 194,000 for 21 and Tottenham 185,000 for 18.

Good Kompany? Depends on your point of view I guess. But this is the goal that likely seals the title for Manchester City over their closest rivals (AP Photo). More in the column link below.

A friend and work colleague who is a Chivas USA season ticketholder conceded to me last year that Chivas USA is a tough team to love.

And now the challenge of following a franchise that has underwhelmed in MLS since its formation, despite having the potential for being so much more in a nation and sport with a future inexorably tied to the increasing Mexican American population, is taking its toll on the club's most loyal fans. Read more here in today's column.

Chivas USA play the Chicago Fire (2-2-2) Friday at Home Depot Center, a club they have failed to beat in eight games, although their opponents lost 2-1 at home last weekend against the team the Galaxy face Wednesday in Seattle, the 4-1-1 Sounders.

Former Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid's team is unbeaten in its last three games for its best-ever start to a season. The mind games have already started with Schmid declaring he wants to measure his team against the defending MLS club champions, although whether they remain the best team in the league is something I think few of even their most ardent fans believe at this point in the season.

And in case you hadn't yet heard, "disaster" has befallen the New York Red Bulls ahead of Saturday's contest with the Galaxy at Home Depot Center.

*Post updated below
Down and out? Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea reacts after Everton's fourth goal and second in two minutes to deny Sir Alex ferguson's men the win -- and possibly the EPL title (APF Photo).

Don't you just love this time of year when it comes to soccer?

Today at 11:30 a.m. we have the first of three Champions League games this week -- two from Europe, the other from CONCACAF - when Barcelona attempt to overcome a 1-0 deficit to Chelsea in the second leg of their semifinal (live on Fox Soccer and Fox Deportes).

Personally, I've barely had time to catch my breath from a stunning turn of events Sunday in the EPL and if you don't know what I'm talking about click here to read this week's column.

Now comes the question -- where are you going to watch Monday's pivotal game?

At least that was on the mind of one Harbor Area reader (I'll keep his identity a secret in case he has to call in sick to work Monday) who sent this email that landed in my inbox at 6:05 a.m.:

Just read your article on Monday's game. Love your soccer coverage and wish we could get more of it. My brother and I are two of those Americans who have become huge EPL fans the past few years. Usually we TIVO the Monday games and watch at night but we are both planning on taking Monday off work and watching the game live. We want to watch it at a pub and soak in the atmosphere. Can you recommend one? We were thinking of the Cock and Bull in Santa Monica but we live in San Pedro. I am not sure if there is a good place closer than S.M. Any recommendations?

Ah, the age-old dilemma: Watch from home in comfort and peace, but miss the camraderie of fellow fans or head out to a local bar or pub and hope you can actually find a seat for a big game.

Well, a list of soccer-friendly pubs in Southern California I made for the last World Cup still lives on here, but always call before you go because by now some of the information is outdated.

If I lived in San Pedro I'd give this pub a call and see how many football fans they're expecting, while the San Pedro Fish Market made a special effort to welcome soccer fans during the 2010 World Cup.

Anyone else have any other specific suggestions?

And a general word of warning to anyone trying to get through the door of an English pub in Santa Monica or The Underground in Hermosa Beach on Monday -- get there early.

And, of course, MLS announced today that top English (and clubs from other nations) will again play in the U.S. this summer in the 2012 World Football Challenge for those who just can't get enough.

Update

ESPN announced today it has moved coverage of the game from ESPN2 to ESPN, marking the first time the channel has aired a midweek EPL game.

"Given the magnitude of this match, we wanted to take advantage of the live SportsCenter lead-in to incorporate our on-site resources in previewing what will be the biggest match of the season in the Barclays Premier League," said Brian Kweder, ESPN senior director, programming and acquisitions.

The Galaxy will play Robbie Keane's former club Tottenham Hotspur July 24 at Home Depot Center, part of Spurs' U.S. summer tour that also includes a July 31 game against the New York Red Bulls.

Single tickets for the club's first-ever visit to Southern California have yet to go on sale, with the MLS club hawking packages as usual initially.

The Galaxy-Spurs connections surely didn't hurt setting up this game.

"We are delighted to have the opportunity to open our U.S. tour against the current MLS Cup Champions, LA Galaxy," said Tottenham Hotspur Chairman Daniel Levy. "With one of our former strikers Robbie Keane and David Beckham, who spent time training with us at Tottenham Hotspur, lining up for the Galaxy, there is a strong relationship between the two Clubs and we are looking forward to the chance to renew old friendships."

Spurs currently sit fourth in the EPL, just out of the UEFA Champions League slots, although the club is winless its last four games.

From the Galaxy:

This will be the fourth consecutive season in which the Galaxy host a major international friendly at The Home Depot Center and the second straight season that the club will take on one of the Premier League's top clubs. Last year, the Galaxy played to a 1-1 draw with Manchester City before falling on penalties as part of the Herbalife World Football Challenge. In 2009, the Galaxy played to a 2-2 draw with AC Milan at The Home Depot Center while they beat Boca Juniors 1-0 there a year later.

Does this mean Spurs are the MLS All-Star game opponents, too, I wonder?

I'm under a directive to burn some vacation hours so will take an extended break through next Tuesday.

That means no column next week, but one of this country's best soccer writers has stepped in with an apt Galaxy-centric column that breaks down the past and, hopefully, future sucess of the club.

In other local soccer news:

*No fewer than seven - yup, seven - MLS teams including the Portland Timbers, Houston Dynamo, Montreal Impact, Colorado Rapids and Chicago Fire (I'll let you guess the other two) are training at Home Depot Center this week.

Want to see some upcoming scrimmages?

Here's a (partial) schedule:

*10:30 a.m. Friday HDC Portland-Montreal
*Noon Saturday Oxnard College Chivas USA-Chicago Fire.
*10:30 a.m. Sunday HDC Portland-Houston
*11 a.m. Wednesday HDC Portland-Chicago.

Games involving the Galaxy are open to the media, but remain closed to the general public, BTW (the Galaxy and Dynamo meet at 10:30 a.m. Friday at the HDC).

*Rolling Hills Estates' Robbie Rogers reflects on signing for Leeds - and then seeing the coach that signed him promptly getting fired.

*No, Aston Villa you don't get to keep the Galaxy's Robbie Keane until a couple of days before the March 7 CONCACAF CL quarterfinal season opener (which isn't mentioned in this story). Villains, indeed.

*Guess which Galaxy player just got picked for their national team?

*If you only watch one game this weekend...make it Manchester United-Liverpool (4:30 a.m. Saturday ESPN2).

Also of note:

Landon Donovan and Everton against Chelsea (6:30 a.m. Saturday Fox Soccer)
Robbie Keane and Aston Villa against Manchester City ( 8 a.m. Sunday Fox Soccer)

*Finally, The U.S. exhibition game against Brazil will be played May 30 at Landover, Md., U.S. Soccer announced today.

Robbie Keane scores against Newcastle United Sunday, but couldn't prevent the Birmingham club losing 2-1 on Tyneside (AP Photo).

*An uninvolving Super Bowl Sunday on this side of the Atlantic Ocean (even the commericials were pretty dull, I thought) was saved by a gripping game on the other side of the pond, as Manchester United fought back from 3-0 down to tie Chelsea in a game (among the best we've seen in the EPL this season) seen live nationwide on Fox.

*The Galaxy's Robbie Keane had got things rolling earlier Sunday with his third goal in four games since joining Aston Villa on loan in a 2-1 loss to Newcastle United. Incidentally, the latest unsubstantiated tabloid rumor has Villa's Stephen Ireland allegedly joining LA on loan.

Similarly, Landon Donovan was unable to prevent Everton gaining only a 1-1 draw with lowly Wigan Athletic this past weekend.

*Former Galaxy and Chivas USA midfielder Marcelo Saragosa has joined D.C. United, his fourth MLS, the club announced today, after spending two seasons in the Azerbaijan first division.

*Looking ahead this week, several MLS teams are heading to Ventura County to train where they will be hosted by the PDL Fusion.

*Inglewood's Jose Villarreal, who signed for the Galaxy just days ago, has surgery today for what appears to be a long-standing medical issue, while the process of winnowing draft picks has begun at the club.

*I'll have more in Tuesday's column about Edson Buddle rejoining the Galaxy; I'm off this morning to his first training session/press conference with the club in a year.

Chelsea-Manchester United is live on Fox at 7:30 a.m.

A preview is here.

The "game before the game" marks the second live Barclays Premier League game in two weeks on Fox. On Jan. 22, Fox drew 1.3 million viewers nationwide for Arsenal's 1-2 loss to Manchester United, making it the most watched live EPL match ever on U.S. television.

Rob Stone, Eric Wynalda and the insufferable Piers Morgan host.

Also:
Arsenal-Blackburn Rovers is at 4:55 a.m. Saturday on ESPN2
Norwich City-Bolton Wanderers is at 11 a.m. Saturday (delayed) on Fox Soccer Plus.

Disher Donovan: The Galaxy's Landon Donovan, seen here tackling Manchester City's Aleksandar Kolarov, led Everton to another victory with yet another assist today against the Mancunians in England (AP Photo).

You remember that old "Seinfeld" episode about the proctologist with the license plate that read "Assman"? Maybe Landon Donovan should consider getting that vanity plate after his stellar goal-creating performances in England with Everton, although, of course, that would stand for Assist, in this case.

Former Manchester United man Darron Gibson, who left Old Trafford in January, scored the game's lone goal in the 60th minute off a short pass from the Galaxy playmaker. The MLS loanee has assisted on Everton's last three goals and four in seven games. Don't get too attached though Liverpudlians, the Galaxy want him back.

*Another Galaxy player making headlines in Europe is Edson Buddle, given his unconditional release by his second tier German club today in a money-saving move. The Galaxy still hold his MLS rights and if you follow my Twitter feed @LAsoccerblog you would have learned that former Galaxy GM Alexi Lalas tweeted earlier this afternooon: "I'm hearing Edson Buddle is coming back to @LAGalaxy."

Well, the Galaxy could do with offensive cover what with Robbie Keane heading off for what he hopes is a long time at Euro 2012 next summer and David Beckham presumably playing in the Olympics. Buddle, incidentally, has failed to hook on with a couple of European clubs who took a look, including West Ham United.

No word from the Galaxy yet on Buddle.

BTW, A.J. DeLaGarza, Brian Perk and Michael Stephens have returned to camp from national team duty meaning only Donovan and Robbie Keane are missing. The club has 34 players in camp.

*Former Galaxy defender and now Chivas USA assistant coach Greg Vanney and Los Angeles/Fontana native Ante Razov, who starred for Chivas USA before slouching moodily off into what turned out to be an unannounced retirement, are among a dozen former players eligible for the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame ballot for the first time, it was announced today. Among the veterans on the ballot: late former LA Aztecs ball wizard George Best.

*The Galaxy announced their English-language and Spanish-language radio schedules today, which can be found here.

From the Galaxy press release:

KTLK 1150 AM, the sister station of Fox Sports Radio, AM 570 KLAC, will return for their fifth consecutive season of broadcasting Galaxy games in English. Joe Tutino and Ralph Perez will once again call the games for KTLK, who will broadcast 24 of the club's 34 regular season games. In addition to being able to hear all games on KTLK across the Southland, the Galaxy will also make those games available to stream online at lagalaxy.com. Through their website, the club will also stream the 10 games that KTLK are not slated to cover this season, meaning that fans can listen to every Galaxy MLS game all season long in English either on the radio or online.

*Chivas USA announced today that they will will unveil their 2012 jersey on Feb. 12 - at 30,000 feet while flying between Guadalajara and LA on a flight by Mexican airline Volaris.

*San Jose announced Monday that former defender Chris Leitch, who retired rather than join the Galaxy, which took him in the Re-Entry Draft, has been named technical director of the Earthquakes' youth development academy.

Dempsey vs. Donovan: The two Americans faced off today in the FA Cup (AP Photo). Wonder if they exchanged jerseys.

Landon Donovan continues to excel for Everton with a headline-grabbing game today. Associated Press sports writer Stuart Condie has the story:

LONDON (AP) -- On-loan forward Landon Donovan led Everton to its first ever FA Cup win over Fulham and a place in the fifth round on Friday, setting up both goals in his team's 2-1 win at Goodison.

Fulham had progressed in the FA Cup on all four previous occasions it had been drawn against Everton, and led again against the Toffees through Danny Murphy's 14th-minute penalty.

But Donovan, in the sixth game of his second loan spell from the Galaxy set up a 27th-minute equalizer for Denis Stracqualursi and then provided the assist for Marouane Fellaini's 73rd-minute winner.

"Landon's been great since he's been here," Everton assistant manager Steve Round said. "He's a real diamond of a guy, he's a very intelligent footballer and the lads all like him. You've seen the quality of his end product, whether it be from crosses or set plays. "He's a top player."

Rafael van der Vaart scored a 42nd-minute goal for Tottenham in a 1-0 win at League Championship side Watford in Friday's other fourth-round match.

But Donovan provided arguably the day's standout performance, helping his side to victory over a Fulham side containing his United States teammate, Clint Dempsey.

Teammates on the last two U.S. World Cup teams, Donovan and Dempsey had not faced each other since May 2006, when Dempsey's New England Revolution beat the Galaxy 4-0.

This was only the seventh time they had played against each other overall.

After Murphy scored a penalty awarded for a handball by Netherlands defender John Heitinga, Donovan crossed for Stracqualursi to head firmly past Fulham goalkeeper David Stockdale.

Dempsey, who has scored two hat tricks in his last three games for Fulham, headed over the bar at the start of the second half following a cross by Bryan Ruiz before Donovan went close with a shot across goal from distance.

Donovan set up the decisive goal with a deep cross to the far post, from where Fellaini guided a header back across Stockdale and into the top corner.

Fulham beat Everton on its way to the 1975 FA Cup final -- one of only two finals the west London club has ever reached -- and edged out the Toffees in a replay in the teams' most recent tournament meeting in 2004.

*Galaxy defender A.J. DeLaGarza and the U.S. plays Panama at 5:30 p.m. today live on Galavision.

*Mexico faces Chivas USA's Alejandro Moreno and Venezuela in Houston (live 6 p.m. KMEX). More here.

*FOX Soccer announced today it will air live the FA Cup showdown between Americans Landon Donovan, Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey when Everton and Fulham meet at noon Friday in the fourth-round game. JP Dellacamera and Eric Wynalda will commentate marking the first time Americans have called an FA Cup match on the channel.

*Individual tickets went on sale today for the Group B matches of 2012 men's Olympic qualifying in Carson.

Here's the details from the HDC: The group consists of Mexico, Honduras, Panama and Trinidad & Tobago. Doubleheader events involving these four teams will be held March 23, 25 and 27. The top two finishers from each group will advance to the elimination round in Kansas City.

Fans can order tickets online at ussoccer.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000, at local Ticketmaster ticket centers in the venue cities, and at the respective stadium ticket offices during their local business hours.

*USMNT goalkeeper Hope Solo is a doubt for the crucial Olympics qualification decider _ and her "Dancing with the Stars" stint was a contributing factor in the injury. AP Sports Writer Joseph White has more:

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- Hope Solo has an ailing leg, the result of some extra work she was putting in to get back into playing shape after "Dancing With the Stars."

The timing isn't the greatest. The U.S. women's soccer team is about to play the game that determines whether it goes to the Olympics.

"We have to make a decision whether she is 100 percent to go or not," coach Pia Sundhage said Wednesday. "And if she isn't, we have a tremendous backup goalkeeper."

The United States plays Costa Rica on Friday in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament. The winner goes to London; the loser stays home for the summer.

Solo was clutching her right leg during the Americans' 4-0 win over Mexico on Tuesday and was wearing on ice pack on the leg after the game. She said she had a "little quad pull," suffered a few days earlier in practice and aggravated during the first half against the Mexicans.

Cold as Ice: U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo adjusts an ice pack on her leg following a 4-0 win over Mexico Tuesday in Olympic qualifying (AP Photo).

"Toward the end of the game I was a little worried that I was going to have to come out, but being qualifying and only having three subs, you don't really want to sub the goalkeeper," Solo said after the game. "So I definitely knew I could maintain for another 15 minutes."

Solo has said she lost some of her muscle strength during her two-month run on "Dancing With the Stars," an appearance that capitalized on the U.S. team's popularity following last summer's World Cup. She finished in fourth place with partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy, but the moves involved in executing the perfect cha-cha aren't the same as the ones needed to stop a header at the far post.

"I'm trying to get my quickness back, and my sharpness back, and my kicking back, so I've been focusing a lot on my kicking," she said. "And I think it just fatigued and it pulled a little bit."

Solo has played every minute of the Americans' three games at the tournament, but she hasn't had to do much. The U.S. team has outscored its opponents 31-0, and Solo didn't have to make a save against Mexico.

And, on paper at least, a less-than-100-percent Solo or backup Nicole Barnhart should be more than enough to hold off Costa Rica.

Las Ticas are ranked No. 41 in the world have never beaten the U.S., having been outscored 34-0 in seven meetings.

But the Americans are wary about the game because they slipped up in the semifinals of World Cup qualifying 14 months ago, losing to Mexico for the first time ever. The defeat forced the U.S. into a playoff to earn a trip to the World Cup in Germany.

There is no such playoff available in Olympic qualifying, so an upset on Friday would keep the world's top-ranked team out of the Summer Games.

Solo and her teammates got a needed day off Wednesday following a grueling stretch of three games in five days.

"Luckily going into the next game, the most important game, I'll have an extra day of rest,"
Solo said Tuesday night. "So I think things should be fine. I'm hoping things will be fine."

While Solo's dancing stint brought invaluable attention to women's soccer, Sundhage admits she was apprehensive after finding out that her goalkeeper was taking part.

"I was scared. High heels?" the coach said with a laugh. "It doesn't matter what I think.
Obviously she wanted to do it. Obviously it was fun for her, and a lot of attention to the
goalkeeper of the national team. But, honestly, I was scared. That outfit? It was so different from the soccer player Hope Solo I know."

So was the coach rooting against Solo, perhaps hoping for an early elimination?

"I didn't vote for her," said Sundhage, laughing again. "I'll tell you that."