The monthly BEAT: Hollywood. The Cat & Fiddle.

Among the clubs and glitzy restaurants, the Cat & Fiddle finds itself nestled quietly among them all. Quietly for Hollywood, at least. The restaurant takes up a huge large space with a spacious and pretty patio, but proudly calls itself a pub, which means soccer (erm, football) and other sports games being broadcast on TV screens, there's often live entertainment by bands (jazz on Sundays!) and the general sort of shenanigans you'd expect from a good old fashioned British spot. And that's what can often make it a sort of oasis in Hollywood. Gone are all the pretensions and shallowness this area can sometimes inhabit. This is just a honest-to-goodness pub. Drop into the Cat & Fiddle and you can sit back and just enjoy a cold pint, maybe even play some (free) darts or a game of pool. The waiters and waitresses and bartenders are always friendly, and ready to serve you a good serving of fish and chips, or bangers and mash.

And hey, you can still get a taste of Hollywood here: scenes from Casablanca were filmed there, when it used to act as commissary for surrounding film studios back in the day.

The Cat & Fiddle is located at 6530 Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood.

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: The Cat & Fiddle

Do It. UCLA vs. USC women's soccer.

College sports are always a lot of fun--from football to swimming, to basketball and soccer.

This Friday night, Los Angeles rivals UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans play each other in women's soccer at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. They're hoping to break an attendance record and get more than 7,804 people in the stands! Both Pac-10 teams have high ranks (19 for USC, 23 for USC), so this will definitely be a good game. The first 2,500 fans will receive a free commemorative scarf.

Friday October 22 at 7:00 p.m.

The Coliseum is located at 3939 South Figueroa Street in Los Angeles. Tickets are $5 for general admission, and are available online, and by calling (213) 740-GOSC.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: soccer-picture.net

Do It. The Smell soccer league.

For those who miss the old days of club soccer (who didn't do AYSO?), the small concert venue The Smell is organizing its third annual non-competitive soccer league.

Starting next Sunday those interested can meet up with other adult soccer players at the North Hollywood Park.

The soccer club will be meeting at 6 p.m. at 5211 Tujunga Ave. For directions call (510) 517-5339.

-- Lauren Williams

Check It. World Cup 2010 - USA vs. England.

The game we've all been waiting for is today - USA vs. England in the World Cup. Kickoff is 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time, but the program will begin at 10:30 a.m. on ABC (7 in Los Angeles).

Celebrate with food and drink from the country you're going for--or a bit of both. English Breakfast tea or Starbucks coffee (hey, it's before noon), and maybe an English breakfast or a pancake breakfast.

While it seems like England is probably better at soccer/"football" than the U.S., I have some hope we can win--or at least play a good game.

Photo credit: shine2010.co.za

Check It. World Cup commercials [The Monday Download].

Football (or as we Yanks would call it, 'soccer') isn't much of a big deal here in Los Angeles or in the U.S., but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the fun promotion and hype coming out of the upcoming World Cup. To wit, both sports apparel empires Nike and Adidas have recently put out creative and amusing ads--with cameos to spare--that'll make everyone feel like a sports fan.

First up is Nike's 'Write the Future' commercial, or rather, near-cinematic masterpiece. The three-minute piece was helmed by 21 Grams and Babel filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu, who definitely leaves his dark and swift-moving directorial mark as he takes you on the field for the ultimate football star match-up: Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba versus England's Wayne Rooney versus Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (swoon). Throw in some fun cameos by Kobe Bryant, Roger Federer and Homer Simpson, plus the thrill of football fanaticism, and you'll be confused why you never followed the sport in the first place.

Then we have Adidas' input, which really has nothing to do with football at all--although it is apparently "an intergalactic 2010 FIFA World Cup viewing party that you'll never forget," and does features a bit role by David Beckham. Either way, the ad creates a fun game of I Spy by mixing actual footage from the original Star Wars' famous Cantina scene with interactive appearances by Snoop Dogg, Daft Punk, Noel Gallagher and Jay Baruchel, among others. Definitely wish my World Cup viewing party were this fun (Chewbacca included).

The World Cup begins this Friday.

-- Chau Tu