Sports News

In Sports News: just a few days before a World Cup qualifier against Macedonia, Czech striker Milan Baros scores the first hat trick of his senior career; in the Czech football league, second-placed Teplice are still unbeaten this season after a win over Olomouc, who are third; the Czech Republic finish third in ice hockey's Karjala Cup, while Jaromir Jagr is finding the training regime tough at new club Omsk.

Sports News

Baros hat trick encouraging sign ahead of World Cup qualifier against Macedonia

Milan Baros, photo: CTK

The Czech football manager Karel Bruckner was 65 on Saturday, and his players will give him something more to celebrate if they can take all three points in a World Cup qualifier away to Macedonia on Wednesday.

There was good news ahead of the Macedonia game, with striker Milan Baros returning from injury on Saturday to score his ever first hat trick for Liverpool. Two of his three goals were from penalties, with the second in time added on a real test of the player's confidence. But Baros was up to the challenge and left the field after scoring to an ovation from Liverpool's home fans, having secured all three points against Crystal Palace.

The 23-year-old from Gigantice in north Moravia now has seven goals in 11 league games this season, and ten in all competitions.

Milan Baros is only the second Czech to score a hat trick in the English Premiership: Patrik Berger netted three goals in one game, also for Liverpool, back in 1997. Berger has scored three goals this season for Portsmouth.

Czech league roundup

Teplice - Olomouc, photo: CTK

There was also a hat trick in the Czech league, with Stanislav Vlcek getting three for Slavia Prague in their 5:1 home win over Pribram. Elsewhere, league leaders Sparta Prague beat Brno 1:0 while Teplice - in second - beat Olomouc, third, also by one goal to nil. (Teplice have been the surprise package of the Czech league, and are the only team unbeaten this season). And Ostrava, last season's champions, were beaten 3:1 by Slovacko, the club formerly known as Synot.

Czech ice hockey off to uninspired start under new coaches

Karjala Cup, photo: CTK

The Czech Republic's ice hockey team have come third in Finland's Karjala Cup, the only tournament on the European tour they have never won. The Czechs beat the hosts in the opening game on Thursday, before losing to Sweden and Russia. Not a great start for new trainers Ondrej Weismann and Radim Rulik.

Jagr finding training regime tough at new club Omsk

Jaromir Jagr in Omsk, photo: CTK

Czech hockey megastar Jaromir Jagr is finding the training regime difficult at his new club, Russia's Omsk. Jagr says he is unused to spending so much time in the gym and that he is being made to skip, something he hadn't done since elementary school. Fans in the Siberian city have reportedly been gripped by Jagr fever, with his no. 68 shirt selling like hot cakes.

Meanwhile, another Czech star affected by the NHL lock-out Martin Havlat is currently waiting for a visa ahead of a move to Dynamo Moscow.

74th Velka Kunraticka cross country race held in Prague

The 74th annual Velka Kunraticka cross country race was held in Prague's Kuntraticky Forest on Sunday. The 3.1 km race, which attracts a lot of older runners and even has an over 70s category, was won for the fifth time by Pavel Faschingbauer, 31.