Best weekend ever for soccer in Texas. While penalty-kick shootouts are still a terrible way to end a soccer game, this week I've gotta say: 'They're a lot better when you win 'em.'

First, the Houston Dynamo nabbed the state's first Major League Soccer Cup (see below). And then on Monday, the UT Lady Longhorns edged past host Connecticut – 3-1 in spot kicks after a 1-1 draw through regulation and overtime – to advance to the NCAA Sweet 16. The Horns had beaten Long Island University, 4-0, in the first round on Friday.

This weekend, UT will host the NCAA third round, as the No. 1-seeded Horns take on the defending national champion Portland Pilots, a rematch of the 2004 NCAA third round, when the Pilots ended UT's season, 2-0, also here in Austin. 1pm Sunday, Nov. 19, Mike A. Myers Stadium. $7, $4 students.

Game Notes:

The Houston Dynamo nabbed the state's first Major League Soccer title with a 1-1 (4-3 shootout) win over the New England Revolution, after Brian Ching's electrifying goal to tie the game with just six minutes left in the second overtime. And the city celebrated like it had won ... well, a major sports championship.

After 112 minutes of tense, scoreless soccer, Taylor Twellman scored what looked like a winner for the Revs with just seven minutes to go. But Ching broke loose almost directly from the restart, heading home a cross from Brian Mullan to tie the game at 1, reignite the rowdy home-state crowd at Frisco's Pizza Hut Park, and send matters to the shootout.

Euro 2008 qualifying headed into its winter break with a light schedule Wednesday – seven games, in three of the groups.

Highlights included Croatia's 4-3 win on the road in Israel, behind a hat trick by Brazilian-born striker Eduardo da Silva; they and Russia established themselves as the leading contenders along with England in Group E. And also, Poland's 1-0 win in Brussels – another dagger in the heart for the once-proud Belgians, who were booed off the pitch by their own fans at the end.

Results for Wednesday, Nov. 15

Group A
Finland 1, Armenia 0
Portugal 3, Kazakhstan 0
Belgium 0, Poland 1

Group D
Cyprus 1, Germany 1
Ireland 5, San Marino 0

Group E
Israel 3, Croatia 4
Macedonia 0, Russia 2

Sarah Wheat, long-time reproductive rights advocate, will be starting a new job next week when she takes over as public affairs director for Austin Planned Parenthood. For the past six years, Wheat has worked in a similar capacity with NARAL Pro-Choice Texas, where she served as political director for five years before taking over as the group’s executive director last year. In short, Wheat’s new job means moving to a new office where she’ll continue the same fight to ensure reproductive rights for all women.

Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, on Tuesday sliced the state’s Board of Pardons and Paroles during an intense hearing to review the Sunset Commission’s report on the Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice. Whitmire, a member of the Commission, took the BPP to task for its parole decision inconsistencies. “If you’d just followed your own guidelines, we wouldn’t have a [prison] capacity problem right now,” Whitmire told BPP members, reports the Houston Chronicle. Indeed, according to the Commission’s report, the BPP has failed to follow its own guidelines when making decisions regarding parolees – perhaps this shouldn’t come as such a shock, after all, these are the same people who think its perfectly fine to review death penalty cases without ever meeting together as a board, and who apparently think it is perfectly peachy to simply fax in their votes when deciding whether to grant clemency to the condemned.

As is being reported all over Left Blogistan, isn't there a certain troubling irony in having Sen. Trent "We wouldn't have had all these problems" Lott take the title of Minority Whip?

Earlier this week, an item on the forthcoming City Council agenda raised some eyebrows. Item 40 was a vaguely worded ordinance naming the Congress Avenue Bridge – yet for who or what, it didn't say. Well, the cat's out of the bag. At their Thursday meeting, City Council will move to christen the famous structure the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge.

At approximately 11am Thursday, following adoption of the consent agenda (normally a rote matter), Council will take top the "Mayor's Balcony" outside for a press conference, with members of the Richards family in attendance.

In a press release Mayor Will Wynn, Item 40's sponsor, had this to say: “Ann Richards was my friend, an adviser, and an inspiration ... Ann always worked to bridge the divides that separated people and I think it is very fitting that we honor her memory by naming the bridge where she began her inaugural parade in 1991, particularly knowing that we frequently refer to Congress Avenue as the ‘Main Street’ of Texas.”

The rest of the release, including reaction from all council members, continues below the fold.

Oh, how did we miss this one? Thanks to the Houston Chronicle for pointing out that while Gov. Rick Perry won 215 of Texas' 254 counties, the county of his birth – Haskell – wasn't one of them. Haskell County results: Bell 32.68%, Perry 30.61%, Strayhorn 27.48%, Friedman 8.86%.

Austin Business Journal: Cap Metro Goes Wireless

Granted, it's only for Express buses, but I guess the Metro pendulum has swung from broke-ass to cash-flush again. (It's so easily swayed, especially during labor negotiations!)

Grits for Breakfast: Red Light Cameras Targeted for Ban

Scott Henson sifts traffic-camera banning legislation from all the bills freshly filed for the next legislative session. Take that, Jennifer Kim!

ACLU Students Rights Forum

The stalwart freedom defenders host attorney Susan Heiligenthal to discuss zero tolerance policies, safety, searches and more. Thursday, 11/16, 6-7pm, ACLU of Texas headquarters, 1210 Rosewood.