Sports News
Czech ice hockey coach Slavomir Lener says the core of his squad for next week's Swedish Games will go to the World Championships next spring. Czech tennis has been rocked by a drugs scandal, with Bohdan Ulihrach failing a test for the banned substance nandrolone. And injury-prone former Czech international footballer Patrik Berger has announced that he is finally calling it a day at Liverpool.
Ice hockey coach Lener banks on experience for Swedish Games
"We tried to make the selection a kind of summing-up of what we've tried out during three tournaments of the Euro Hockey Tour, and it should be the core of the squad for the World Championships in Finland. A good half of the players have a chance of going to the World Championships. It depends of course on form, on the player's health, if they are tired from the playoffs. But from the current perspective it's safe to say ten of the players have a chance."
The Czech Republic's first game at the Swedish Games is against Finland on Tuesday. One player who won't be in the team is Radek Duda. The Slavia Prague forward has just been banned for two league games and fined 50,000 crowns for punching a Liberec player and then claiming he hadn't.
Czech tennis rocked by drugs scandal as Ulihrach fails dope test
Moving on to tennis, and the news that leading Czech player Bohdan Ulihrach has tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid nandrolone. Ulihrach, who failed the drugs test in Moscow in October, says he does not know how the substance got into his body. Czech tennis was last rocked by a doping scandal in 1999 when Petr Korda tested positive for nandrolone at Wimbledon and was banned for a year. The 1998 Australian Open winner subsequently retired.
Stepanek puts Novak out of Milan Open before exiting himself
Radek Stepanek was knocked out in the second round of the Milan Open on Wednesday. The Czech player fought hard but was eventually overcome 6-3 3-6 6-7 by Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands, two days after he himself had knocked out fellow Czech Jiri Novak 6-4 6-3.
Berger finally calls it a day at Liverpool
After seven years at Liverpool the injury-prone footballer Patrik Berger has announced that he is finally calling it a day at the club. Berger, who scored for the Czech Republic in the final of Euro 96, is the longest-serving player at Liverpool, but persistent knee problems have meant that he has not had a regular first-team place for the last three seasons. Now 29, the elegant midfielder says he hopes to get fit by the end of the season and give it a shot at another club. Meanwhile Liverpool, who also have Czech internationals Vladimir Smicer and Milan Baros on their books, have been trying out another Czech, 16-year-old Pavel Malcharek of second division Vitkovice.
