FIFA suspended Iraq from all international competitions on Monday, after the Iraqi government dissolved its Olympic Committee and national sport federations. The Iraqis, in the middle of Asian qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, have until today (Thursday) to "stop interfering in sport to avoid being banned from international soccer and this year's Beijing Olympics," Reuters reported on Tuesday. Americans abroad: DaMarcus Beasley scored a key goal in his second game back from a six-month injury layoff, helping Glasgow Rangers win the Scottish FA Cup on Saturday... Meanwhile, Carlos Bocanegra was among eight players released on Friday by Fulham, who barely avoided relegation from the English top flight. And the U.S. men went down rather meekly to England, 2-0, in Wednesday's friendly at Wembley Stadium. South America's Copa Libertadores semifinals are under way. One is a Brazil-Argentina showdown: Fluminense against Boca Juniors. The other features two relative outsiders: Mexico's Club America against Ecuadorian champion LDU Quito. Catch the action on the Fox Soccer Channel. Euro 2008 kicks off on Saturday, June 7, and continues through the June 29 final; every game of this 16-team continental championship will be televised on ABC. ESPN, ESPN2, or ESPN Classic. See the full schedule below. Chelsea fired manager Avram Grant on Friday, after coming up second-best to Manchester United in both the English Premier League and the Champions League.

Manchester United won the European Champions League title on Wednesday, beating Chelsea 6-5 in a penalty-kick shoot-out… Portsmouth won the English FA Cup on Saturday, beating Cardiff City, 1-0… Though both were pushed to the last day of the season, Inter Milan won their third straight Italian championship on Sunday, and Lyon won their seventh straight in France… And in South America, the Copa Libertadores semifinals start June 4; quarterfinals are being decided this Wednesday-Thursday, after we go to press. The two Argentine clubs, Boca Juniors and San Lorenzo, are in trouble after home draws in the first leg; Mexico's Atlas and America had good results, a road draw, and home win, against South American giants Boca Juniors and Santos, respectively.

Official attendance for the Austin Aztex home opener last Saturday has been announced as 1,497. That blows away most predictions, and it sounds pretty accurate, based on how crowded the stands felt. As well as everything went, plans for further improvements are afoot, I'm assured, by both the team and a nascent supporters group, largely centered around making more fan noise. No official word from the Aztex, but I'm led to understand that if you show up with a drum, and the will to bang it, they'll treat you right.

Next up: the DFW Tornadoes, Saturday, May 17, 7:30pm at Round Rock High's Dragon Stadium, just off I-35 and FM 620. $8, $5 for kids. This is the third of four U.S. Open Cup qualifiers for the Aztex, who currently lead that race.

Below: Euro week in review/preview. Champs League, FA Cup, and more.

Stoke City, Austin's partner team in England, got their biggest result in a quarter-century on Sunday, as a 0-0 home draw against Leicester City guaranteed the Potters a second-place finish in the English League Championship, and their first-ever promotion to the English Premier League next season.

Overall, Stoke have a storied past, dating back to 1863 and the earliest beginnings of association football. And they were in the top division for 20 of 22 years between 1963-1985. But they hadn't been back in the 23 seasons since then, so they've never been in the Premier League, which was formed in 1992.

As it turned out, the draw was a killer for Leicester City, who dropped into the bottom three in the final standings, and are demoted to the third division for the first time in their club's history.

The promotion is a huge and somewhat unexpected boon for the nascent Austin Aztex, who just saw their partnership with Stoke go up in value tenfold. The Aztex, ironically, had played the first game in their history just about 12 hours earlier in El Paso, also a 0-0 draw.

The Austin Aztex will announce their 2008 roster today, in a media event at SoccerZone North in Cedar Park. We got a sneak peek, and recognized a few names that local fans may be familiar with: veteran local goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo; St. Stephen's grad A.J. Godbolt, who had a brief stint with Major league Soccer's Kansas City Wizards; Round Rock's Zack Pope, recently drafted out of Duke University by the Chicago Fire; and veteran defender Beto Papandrea, the oldest player on the squad at 32. Also making the cut: both Wes Allen and Marcellino Uriarte, the two center midfielders profiled in Thomas Hackett's "Playing Through" column April 4. Way to pick 'em, Thomas. The Aztex season opens the weekend after next, on the road in El Paso; the first home game is May 10 against the also-brand-new Houston Leones. Two draws in the first legs of the European Champions League semifinals this week: Chelsea came back to draw at Liverpool, 1-1, on an own goal by the normally dependable John Arne Riise, on virtually the game's final play, five minutes deep into extra time. And Manchester United settled for a 0-0 draw at Barcelona, after Man U star Cristiano Ronaldo missed an early penalty kick. Return legs are next Tuesday-Wednesday, 1:30pm, on ESPN2.

The U.S. Women beat Canada in a penalty kick shootout in the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying final last weekend in Juarez, Mexico. With both finalists already qualified for Beijing, the U.S. played several youngsters, and performed very well. Still, the draw broke up a couple of perfect records for the U.S.: they're now 27-0-1 all-time in CONCACAF competitions, and 10-0-1 under first-year coach Pia Sundhage. It was a good weekend for the DFW Metroplex at last weekend's state high school tournament, as McKinney Boyd, Lewisville Marcus, and Southlake Carroll all won state titles. (The other winner was El Paso Del Valle in Boys 4A, their second title in three years.) It was the third title in four years for Marcus; even more impressively, three different McKinney high schools have won the Girls 4A title in the last four years. Just two weeks until the Austin Aztex kick off their inaugural season in the USL Premier Development League. They played their first exhibition game this past weekend, beating St.Edward's University, 2-1. Three more exhibitions are planned for the next couple of weeks: the times and locations are "secret," but not very much so; if you want to catch one, look for hints online. Meanwhile, the European season builds to a climax; notably, Champions League semifinals are April 22-23, live on ESPN2: Liverpool vs. Chelsea, Tuesday, 1:30pm; Barcelona vs. Manchester United, Wed­nesday, 1:30pm.

State high school championships are this Thursday through Saturday at the Round Rock ISD Sports Complex, 10211 W. Parmer. There are two local entries in the 4A bracket – the Dripping Springs girls (playing at 11am Friday, against Wichita Falls Rider), and Cedar Park Vista Ridge boys (6pm Friday, against El Paso Del Valle).

Thursday: 5A semifinals: Girls: 11am & 1pm; Boys: 4pm & 6pm

Friday: 4A semifinals: Girls: 11am & 1pm; Boys: 4pm & 6pm

Saturday: Finals: 5A Girls: 11am, 5A Boys: 1pm, 4A Girls 4pm, 4A Boys 6pm.

See the full schedule below, and the UIL website for more info. As we go to press, the Houston Dynamo is in San Jose, Costa Rica, and D.C. United is hosting Mexico's Pachuca, in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup semifinals. For the second straight year, England has three of the four semifinalists in the European Champions League. Liverpool finally broke through to beat Arsenal in the pair's third game in seven days; with four goals scored in the last 20 minutes, the Merseysiders won 4-2 at home Tuesday night. Other winners were Manchester United over Roma, Chelsea over Fenerbahçe, and Barcelona over Schalke. The semifinals are April 22-30. Below: More England news, plus Copa Libertadores.

High school playoffs continue this weekend. Locally, Dripping Springs plays Hays in the 4A Girls regional final, and Leander Vista Ridge plays New Braunfels Canyon in the Boys 4A regional final on Friday; no local 5A schools made the third round. The UIL Championships are next Thursday-Saturday, April 10-12 at the Round Rock ISD athletic complex at 10211 W. Parmer. Get more info here. The Houston Dynamo lost their MLS opener, 3-0, to New England; they host Costa Rica's Saprissa in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal, Wednesday night as we go to press. Mexican champion Pachuca beat DC United, 2-0 in the other semi on Tuesday; return legs are Wednesday, April 9, live on FSC: Saprissa-Houston at 6:30pm, DC-Pachuca at 10:30pm. Mexico fired coach Hugo Sanchez on Monday after only 16 months in the job, two weeks after the U-23 team failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, and just three months before the tricolores open their World Cup qualifying campaign. Champions League quarterfinals this week, and Manchester United continues to look like the best team in the world, shutting out Roma, 2-0, in Rome; elsewhere, it was Arsenal 1, Liverpool 1; Fenerbahce 2, Chelsea 1; and Schalke 0, Barcelona 1. The return legs are April 8-9, live on ESPN2, 1:30pm: Liverpool-Arsenal on Tuesday, Man U-Roma on Wednesday. Below: more news from Jolly Olde...

The big news in these parts this week was that the Austin Aztex announced a home field for their inaugural season. They'll play all eight of their home games at Round Rock High's Dragon Stadium. There had been intense speculation about the venue; the team's announcement press release noted that a lot of stadiums they looked at "are unavailable in 2008, for one reason and another, but that doesn't mean we won't be re-visiting them for the 2009 season." With that hard choice behind them, the spirits were high at the team's kick-off party event Monday night. See Tuesday's posting for more. The U.S. men thumped Poland, 3-0, on Wednesday, in Poland, with a lineup heavy with Europe-based players. Solid showing, including goals from two defenders – Carlos Bocranegra and Oguchi Onyewu – who've been struggling this year with their club teams. England, meanwhile, went down tamely in France, 1-0, in the first game of the Fabio Capello era (and David Beckham's 100th appearance for his country). Back home, two different rumors this week had Beckham becoming an MLS owner – either buying the Galaxy when he retires in a few years, or buying in an expansion team. The MLS season kicks off this weekend. The Houston Dynamo open Saturday, March 29, at New England, in a rematch of last year's title game (6:30pm on FSC). CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals and UEFA Champions League quarterfinals both start April 1-2. See details, and England news, below.