Sport | Topic Archive

In Sports News this Monday: Pardubice make home advantage pay to go 2:0 up in the Extraliga final, with young forward Daniel Rákos and veteran goalie Dominik Hašek making most headlines; Sparta Prague drop two points in the race for the Czech league title and have to see out season without goalkeeper Jaromír Blažek; and Czech javelin star Barbora Špotáková is named an “ambassador” for the new Diamond League.

For fans of the Prague soccer club Bohemians 1905, the year 2010 is shaping up to be the end of an era. Due to several architectural shortcomings that would cost millions of crowns to fix, the club will have to leave its storied Ďolíček stadium in Vršovice. But some Bohemians fans believe that the real reason behind the club’s move is a different one. Sarah Borufka reports.

In Sports News: sparks fly in the Czech football league as Bohemians Praha refuse at the last minute to play Bohemians 1905 in a first division game; Baník Ostrava go top, but for how long?; Milan Baroš bags a hat-trick for Galatasaray in his first start since October; and it’s Pardubice vs Vítkovice in the Extraliga playoffs finals.

In Sports News: Czech tennis player Tomáš Berdych is downed by American Andy Roddick in the final of the Miami Masters but becomes the country’s No.1 ranked player; Hockey’s Slavia win a crucial Game 3 in their semi-final series against Vítkovice, while Pardubice take a 2-0 lead in their series against Liberec; in football Sparta tie with Plzeň to hold on to a slim lead atop the league standings; and in Champions League action Tomáš Rosicky’s Arsenal eke out a 2:2 draw against Barca.

Freestyle skier Tomáš Kraus is one of the Czech Republic’s best athletes, specialising in the discipline of ski cross, which was featured for the first time this year at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. In the discipline, four skiers race each other to get to the bottom of courses full of banks and jumps, with the first two advancing to the next round. With the excitement of close jostling for position and sharp turns, it’s no surprise that the sport is quickly becoming one of skiing’s most thrilling.

The professional ski season has drawn to a close but four Czech athletes, including the Czech ski cross champion Tomáš Kraus, aren’t ready to pull out the golf clubs just yet. In a day’s time, he and a well-known freeride skier and two of the country’s best snowboarders will head to Alaska, where they plan to tackle extreme inclines and pristine powder over the course of 12 days. The result should be a short documentary about skiing or snowboarding at its very best.

In Sports News this Monday: there are upsets in the playoffs of ice hockey’s Extraliga, with the clubs who came first and second in the regular season both exiting in the quarter-finals for the first time ever; Sparta Prague pull ahead in the Czech soccer league with a 3:0 win over Brno; Vendula Frintová takes a top triathlon prize in Australia; and former European footballer of the year Pavel Nedvěd takes part in the Prague Half Marathon.

In Sports News this Monday: Martina Sáblíková crowns a dream season with victory at the World Allround Speed Skating Championships, though her coach says he may quit if the state doesn’t put more money into the sport; Lukáš Bauer also ends his season well, coming second in the cross-country skiing World Cup; Czech football is hit by allegations of match-fixing, though questions are asked about the timing of the controversy; and Sparta Prague go top of the league after they beat Olomouc and Teplice are beaten by Brno.

The Czech Republic’s Nicole Vaidišová – once ranked seventh in women’s tennis but currently 176th in the world – is retiring at the age of 20, reports have stated citing sources close to the player, including Aleš Kodet her stepfather and former coach. Vaidišová, who is the girlfriend of Czech men’s number one Radek Štěpánek, suffered a downward spiral over the last two years, after reaching two Grand Slam semi-finals in 2007. According to sources, the once promising player grew tried of losing matches and lost her drive to compete.

In Sports News: Czech downhill skiers clinch a sensational win in the World Cup Nations Teams event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen; football’s Sparta eke out last-minute win against Mladá Boleslav; Baroš scores in his first game back for Galatasaray; in hockey, Slavia and Liberec become the last two teams to reach the quarterfinals; Czech athletes post disappointing results at World Indoor Athletics championships.