Sports News
Coming up in this review of sports news, a less than convincing return to league football for former national coach Josef Chovanec, Jiri Novak and Daja Bedanova line up for the opening day of the U.S. Grand Slam tournament, riders at Brno's motorcycling Grand Prix raise money for villages affected by the recent floods, and 30-year-old NHL star Jaromir Jagr swots up for his high-school leaving exams.
Poor start for Chovanec at Pribram
Starting with football, and a poor return to the league for the former national coach Josef Chovanec - his first match at the helm of Pribram ended in a 2:1 defeat to Blsany on Sunday. Chovanec admitted to having first night nerves before the match, his first league game for five years. Chovanec resigned as national coach last year after the Czech Republic failed to qualify for the World Cup. Under his reign the team lost 27 out of 45 matches.
Koller volley helps Borussia to victory over Stuttgart
Meanwhile, across the border in Germany things were going better for Borussia Dortmund's giant Czech striker Jan Koller. A fine volley from Koller in the 38th minute helped Borussia to a 3-1 victory over Stuttgart, their first win of the season.
Novak, Bedanova make U.S. Grand Slam opening day debut
The U.S. Grand Slam tournament gets underway in New York on Monday, and six Czech players will appear on the opening day. The country's top two favourites Jiri Novak and Daja Bedanova are both due on court - 14th seed Novak meets Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands, while 20th seed Bedanova has a date with Russia's Alina Zidkova. Jan Vacek, Jiri Vanek, Denisa Chladkova and Renata Voracova are also down for Monday's opening day matches.
Motocycling Grand Prix drivers raise money for flood-hit villages
Brno's Masaryk Motor Ring hosted the Czech MotoGP motorcycling Grand Prix at the weekend - in the end it was Italy's Max Biaggi who clinched the title, after rival Valentino Rossi was forced out with mechanical problems. Like many other sporting events, the race was touched by the flood disaster in the Czech Republic. Each of the 22 riders drew at random the name of a flood-hit village, and went round collecting money, with the winner's village receiving the proceeds. Valentino Rossi told reporters after what they saw on their way to Brno, the riders agreed they had to do something to help people whose homes had been devastated by the floods.
Jagr to sit high school leaving exams
Finally ice-hockey, and NHL star Jaromir Jagr may have notched up two Stanley Cups and an Olympic gold medal, but this week the 30-year-old Washington Capitals winger faces what could be an even tougher test: passing his high school leaving exams. Jagr, who left school at 15 to concentrate on ice-hockey, recently returned to his studies and hopes to graduate this week. The multi-millionaire who's spent the last 12 years in the United States told Mlada Fronta Dnes newspaper he was having no problems with economics and was working hard on his maths (counting his money probably helps). Czech literature, however, is giving him a bit of a headache. "I definitely won't get an A," he said.
