Sports News
Czech international football player Vladmir Smicer has been offered a new contract by Liverpool, while promising young goalkeeper Petr Cech looks set to join Everton if he gets a work permit. The Czech ice hockey league's player of the year, Petr Cajanek, is on his way to the NHL. All those stories and more are in Sports News.
Smicer offered new contract at Liverpool, Everton chasing Cech
We start with football and good news for Czech international Vladimir Smicer, who has been offered a new contract at English Premier League club Liverpool. The offer comes just weeks after Smicer's Czech club-mate Patrik Berger also extended his contract, contradicting press reports earlier in the summer that both players were going to be let go. Vladimir Smicer had this to say about Liverpool's offer.
"It has to be a good thing when Liverpool offer me a contract for another three years. Now I'm weighing up the offer and then in a week I go back to Liverpool and we start back into training. Then we'll deal with the matter of my contract. I'd like to stay at Liverpool so I'm sure we'll come to an agreement somehow."
And another Merseyside club, Everton, are close to signing the young Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech, who you may recall played an absolute blinder in the final of the European Under 21 Championships. The mooted move to Everton depends on Cech getting a work permit.
Czech ice hockey league player of the year Cajanek bound for NHL
Our next story has an air of inevitability about it - the player of the year in Czech ice hockey's Extraliga, Zlin forward Petr Cajanek, is leaving for the bright lights of the NHL. Cajanek is currently on his honeymoon in Greece but he still found the time to sign a one-year contract with the St Louis Blues. And playing in the NHL will not be Petr Cajanek's first taste of the big time - he was a member of two Czech World Championship winning sides.
In other hockey transfer news, Robert Lang is to team up once again with fellow-Czech Jaromir Jagr, as he joins the Washington Capitals from Philadelphia. And another Czech Robert, Robert Holik, is also on the move - he has left New Jersey to sign with the New York Rangers.
New Czech international hockey coach Slavomir Lener, who officially signed a two-year contract on Wednesday, says one of his priorities will be to make as much use as possible of Czech NHL stars in the national team. Two players he has his eye on are Jiris Slegr and Fischer, who played with Dominik Hasek in the Detroit team which just won the Stanley Cup.
Young Czech tennis players impress at Wimbledon
Czech tennis player Jan Vacek's great run at Wimbledon ended in the fourth round, when he went down 2-6 5-7 5-7 to the Dutch seed Sjeng Shalken. Still, many Czech tennis fans will no doubt have been encouraged by the good performances produced by Vacek and other young players Radek Stepanek and Daja Bedanova.
