A dramatic late equalizer from Ivorian star Didier Drogba put Chelsea in the driver's seat in Champions League Group A, and dropped defending champion Barcelona into the danger zone, as the top two teams on the continent fought to a 2-2 draw in the Catalan capital on Tuesday. Barca now faces a must-win against German side Werder Bremen in two weeks.

Meanwhile, a handful of teams clinched spots in the round of 16: Bayern Munich in Group B, with a lackluster scoreless draw against Sporting Lisbon, Liverpool and PSV Eindhoven in Group C, eliminating Bordeaux and Galatasaray, respectively, and Valencia in Group D, with a tough 2-2 draw in Ukraine.

Click below for the up-to-date standings, and a look at tomorrow's action in Groups E-H.

The precisely-monikered AustinContrarian raises an interesting point today regarding Prop 5, the affordable housing bond. Our author thinks they will do some good for the city's oft-overlooked (umm, more like invisible) renters, but additionally, "will give the City Council the cover it needs to do the right thing on housing... Proposition 5 will allow Council members to say they support both dense redevelopment and affordable housing. It will be easier for them to approve infill projects without being accused of hurting the low-income."

I'm not sold on the Contrarian's insistence that the only way to keep prices affordable is by tearing down admittedly "cheap housing" to make room for bigger infill projects that will supposedly drive prices down by keeping up with demand (demand I just don't see– I'd like to see condo occupancy rates downtown in a few years, once everything is built). However, this nugget about the Austin Neighborhoods Council bears repeating:

You can count on the neighborhood groups, who hijack the affordability cause whenever it suits their purpose, to keep affordability front and center. (To my knowledge, ANC has not endorsed Proposition 5, which is significant considering its public handwringing over affordable housing.)

Good question. Any answers, ANC?

This article about the League of Conservation Voters was previously published in our paper version of the paper, but it bears repeating here as you head for the voting booth. If environmental issues are key in helping you make picks for Congress and Senate, the LCV scorecard is mighty illuminating.:

Enviros Say Doggett Shines, Others ... Stink
Just in time for the November elections, the League of Conservation Voters has issued its voting scorecard for the second session of the 109th Congress (that is, the 2006 session). Unfortunately for environment-minded Texans, it is depressingly similar to previous scorecards.

From Austin Chronicle cartoonist Doug Potter

You've probably seen the ads by 3rd Court of Appeals Place 5 Democratic candidate Mina Brees invoking the name of her famous son, NFL quarterback Drew Brees. Well, you won't be seeing them any longer. KXAN-TV is reporting that son and mother are estranged, and Drew has asked Mina to pull his name from the ads. Brees is challenging Republican incumbent David Puryear.

The Houston Texans may have to come to terms with the fact that David Carr is not the franchise QB that they have been counting on him to be. After re-signing Carr in the offseason and thereby passing up Vince Young, Jay Cutler, and Matt Leinart in the draft, the Texans placed all their hopes in Carr and the tutelage of first-year head coach Gary Kubiak. While Carr's play has improved under Kubiak, he is still prone to turning over the ball, the most heinous sin an NFL QB can commit. Carr turned the ball over three times last Sunday, including a crushing fumble with eight seconds left in the first half that Tony Brown ran 40 yards into the end zone.

Replacing Carr in the third quarter of the Texans 28-22 loss to VY and the displaced Oilers, Sage Rosenfels completed 18 of 25 for 186 yards and three TD passes.

Congratulations to the Rick Perry campaign for managing to call the kettle black in a creative, humorous, and vaguely sexist fashion. Just in time for Halloween, the camp rolled out an interactive Web tour of Grandma's Attic, a lively exploration of Carole Keeton Strayhorn's "secret" records stashed away in the bowels of the state comptroller's office.

The Attic clip got us thinking about all the fun we could have with Perry’s skeletons, too. Oh, if only we had big lobby money to burn on such a venture! If we did, here’s a rough cut of what we’d find in... (cue pipe organ) Perry’s Pantry!

Interactive imagination required below the fold...

The New Orleans Saints typically don’t fare well in games following a bye week. The extra preparation time tends to give both coaches and players just enough rope to hang themselves. Sunday against the visiting Baltimore Ravens, the Saints did everything they could in an all-out attempt to shed their newfound reputation as a surging division leader. Running back Reggie Bush not only coughed up an early fumble, but also threw an interception on a halfback pass play that fooled not a single Ravens defensive player. Quarterback Drew Brees suffered through what Saints fans can only hope was his worst game of the season, throwing not just one, but two interceptions that were returned for 12-yard touchdowns by Ravens defensive backs. Why head coach Sean Payton decided it would be wise to underutilize running back Deuce McAllister in favor of trick plays and ill-advised passes up field only shows that the Saints went into the game with a lack of confidence.

For more on the Saints, UT football, and high school football ...

Seven days of early voting are behind us, and now my early predictions of nearly 50% turnout are looking a little rosy. Thus far, 37,427 Travis County citizens have voted early, including a high of 6,852 on Friday (people shopping for their weekend party snacks?). Another 3,735 ballots have been received by mail, for a total of 41,207, or 7.42% of Travis' registered voters. At this pace, I'd estimate final turnout will be in the 35-40% range. Highest turnout has been at the Randalls grocery at 10900 Research, 4,012 voters; lowest has been, sadly but predictably, in the poorer Eastside neighborhoods that need representation the most.

Early voting is easy, so there's no excuse if you are registered: You may cast your ballot at any early voting location.