Sport | Topic Archive

The Czech Republic has kept its hopes of advancing at the Ice Hockey World Championship alive after beating Latvia 3:1 on Monday, but they will have to earn one more point in the final stage if they are to qualify for the knockout rounds. On Tuesday afternoon the team will face Canada and will need a win or at worst a tie in regulation time.

In Sports News: Sparta Prague win the Czech football league after one of the most dramatic season finales in recent years, setting a couple of impressive records along the way; defender Tomáš Řepka is the hero of the day after his goal seals the title; and the Czech Republic are on the ropes at the Ice Hockey World Championship in Germany.

Thirty-eight-year-old Czech hockey star Jaromír Jágr is far from happy with the situation on the national team following the squad’s shock loss to Norway at the World Championship. Speaking to reporters afterwards, the centre-forward, who has played for the national squad on many occasions, was highly critical of key players who this year declined the World Championship in Germany. He suggested they should “kiss the behinds” of big-name players who had selflessly played for their country before.

In Sports News: the Czechs win their opening game at the Ice Hockey World Championship in Germany; Kenyan Eliud Kiptanui comes first at the 16th Annual Prague International Marathon; Čech’s Chelsea demolish Wigan to capture the Premier League title; Bohemians 1905 fans see their team’s final match at Ďolíček stadium - but post-game violence leads to 17 arrests; Sparta look likely to clinch league title.

The Czech hockey team is gearing up for the Ice Hockey World Championship in Germany, departing for Mannheim on Friday. A day earlier the team dispatched Belarus in a final warm-up match 5-2. What will it take for the Czechs to do well in Germany, after a disappointing finish earlier this year at the Vancouver Olympics? We look at a number of key factors.

The song Růže mezi trny, or Rose among Thorns, by the star singer-songwriter Jaromír Nohavica, is a tribute to female football referee Dagmar Damková. On Sunday, she refereed one of the highlights of the season, a game between title contenders Baník Ostrava and Sparta Prague. The match ended in a 1:1 draw, but for many, including big Ostrava fan Jaromír Nohavica, she was the obvious winner for her smooth handling of the heated game. Radio Prague spoke to Dagmar Damková and asked her how she liked the song.

In Sports News this Monday: the Czech Republic’s ice hockey players come second in Sweden’s LG Hockey Games – decent performances by less well players will please coach Vladimír Růžička, after 25 NHL players declare themselves unavailable for the imminent World Championship; with Baník Ostrava and Sparta Prague playing out a 1:1 draw, only two points separate the top four teams in the Czech soccer league with three games to go; Iveta Benešová wins the second WTA title of her career; and pole vaulter Kateřina Baďurová retires at 27.

Earlier this month four professional Czech skiers set out for the trip of a lifetime: skiing some of the steepest peaks in the world in Thompson Pass, Alaska. The team included former world skicross champion Tomáš Kraus, Olympian snowboarder Michal Novotný, snowboarder Martin Černík, and freeride skier Robin Kaleta. For seven days or so the four tackled some of the toughest faces in the area for a short documentary.

In Sports News this Monday: the Czech women’s tennis team are trounced by Italy in the Fed Cup semi-finals; Patrik Eliáš and Petr Sýkora pull out of the Czech squad for next month’s ice hockey World Championship, while there are calls to call up Dominik Hašek (45); and reports Tomáš Rosický could return to the Bundesliga are denied.

The Czech hockey club Pardubice are one step away from winning the playoff final in the Czech hockey league’s Extraliga. On Wednesday, the team, boasting legendary goalie Dominik Hašek in net, trounced opponents Vítkovice 5:2, to take a stranglehold on the best-of-seven series. One more win and they’ll sweep their opponents, winning the title for the first time since 2005. If they do, it will be Hašek’s first hometown title in 21 years, to add to earlier successes such as Olympic Gold and two Stanley Cup rings.