And by hold the line I mean "keep raising prices." Neil deMause of Field of Schemes writing in Slate on the dip in demand for sporting event tickets in America:

Where we look to be headed, then, is a two-tiered system. A handful of top teams and events will be able to charge whatever they want, while most everyone else is forced to give away tickets.

It's at 7 p.m. Saturday at Home Depot Center (live on ESPN2).

In other local soccer news:

*Remember when the Galaxy foolishly shot their collective mouths off about being a so-called "Super Club," a hollow boast that roughly coincided with the worst period in the club's history thanks to Ruud Gullit, Alexi Lalas et al.

Yrsa Roca Fannberg, from the male bonding series (2009)David Lynch might have scripted some of the scenes in our experiment with the American Youth Soccer Organization. Some days, things would be that baroque, that strange. This was especially true when it came to the security guard hired by AYSO to monitor the field.

Yrsa Roca Fannberg, from the male bonding series (2009)David Lynch might have scripted some of the scenes in our experiment with the American Youth Soccer Organization. Some days, things would be that baroque, that strange. This was especially true when it came to the security guard hired by AYSO to monitor the field.

One of Pico Union's many murals (intersection of 7th and Westlake) A couple years ago, I helped establish an adult men's soccer league in a neighborhood just east of downtown Los Angeles. Our league was affiliated with the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) and only lasted two years. It has taken me a little time to gain some distance on what was both an incredible and depressing experience.

Watching Gold Cup matches that do not involve the U.S. or Mexico can often be a tough thing to endure. Exhibit A: Watching Grenada can resemble a local AYSO rec league match that ran out of Capri Suns. However, the late night matchup between Guatemala and Honduras had me rather intrigued. It was a chance to watch Carlos Ruiz and Marco Pappa take their MLS talents and represent Guatemala.

*With 12 days top go until MLS Cup 2011 in Carson, the trophy arrives in Southern California at 11 a.m. today at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier with a police escort accompanied by former Galaxy players Alexi Lalas and Mauricio Cienfuegos in a VW convertible.

*Meanwhile, Dynamo fans have gobbled up their allotment of tickets for a game the club insists it can win without star player Brad Davis - just as it has won big games without big names in the past.

Another season of AYSO is in the books. Once again I coached a U-14 boys team. That means the team consisted of 12 and 13 year-olds. We were the Honey Badgers.

This year was tough. We played 10 league matches. Our record was 0-9-1. Our goal difference was minus 26. We didn't score a goal until our 6th match, which coincided with out first lead of the season.

Revolution right back Kevin Alston keeps a close eye on Galaxy midfielder Miguel Lopez (Photo: Chris Aduama/aduama.com).

Heads down. Hands on hips. That was the unofficial pose of the Revolution defense in 2011.

After giving away goals at a philanthropic rate (58, the second-most in MLS last season) it's not a stretch to say that the biggest task head coach Jay Heaps faces this offseason is improving his team's porous D.