Seasons Coming to a Climax

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.

Man U will be trying for a double; they lead the English league by three points and a huge goal differential, with five games to play.

And with just four games to go in the second division, Stoke has slipped to third place, with eight or nine teams still in the hunt for three promotion spots.

A pair of unlikely finalists in the May 17 FA Cup final: Portsmouth and second division Cardiff, both of whom won on the road in last weekend's semifinals.

Argentine clubs continue to struggle in the Copa Libertadores group stage. Boca Juniors lost their second straight game on Tuesday, and it's entirely possible that we could see only one Argentine club among the continent's final 16. The group stage continues through April 23, heading toward the Final, June 25 & July 2.

2008 Soccer State Championships
Thursday - Saturday, April 10-12

Girls 4A
Semifinals April 11
11am: Wichita Falls Rider (29-0-1) vs Dripping Springs (21-2-2)
1pm: McKinney Boyd (23-2-1) vs Friendswood (24-1-5)
Final: April 12, 4pm

Girls 5A
Semifinals April 10
11am: San Antonio MacArthur (24-1-1) vs Southlake Carroll (22-4-4)
1pm: Plano East (23-3-3) vs Houston Clear Lake (17-2-4)
Final, April 12, 11am

Boys 4A
Semifinals April 11
4pm: Brenham (22-2-2) vs Lewisville The Colony (16-5-4)
6pm: El Paso Del Valle (25-3-3) vs Cedar Park Vista Ridge (20-3-2)
Final: April 12, 6pm

Boys 5A
Semifinals April 10
4pm: Katy Cinco Ranch (22-0-6) vs Lewisville Marcus (24-3-3)
6pm: Klein (19-2-2) vs San Antonio Churchill (18-3-5)
Final: April 12, 1pm