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Recent snowfalls have improved conditions ahead of the tough Jizerska padesatka cross-country skiing competition in north Bohemia. Katerina Holubcova has come third in the 7.5 kilometre biathlon sprint at the world cup in Oberhof, Germany. In ice hockey, Vsetin have been stripped of three points in the Extraliga after fielding a player who had been suspended after a sending-off in the previous round. And record six-time winner of the Paris to Dakar rally Karel Loprais will not be winning a seventh trophy, at least not this year, after his Tatra

The Czechs were knocked out in the semi-finals of tennis's Hopman Cup, but not without Jiri Novak taking a major scalp in the form of world number one, Lleyton Hewitt. Martina Navratilova is still going strong, and has just set a new world record. Sparta Prague's Jiri Jarosik has made a big-money transfer to CSKA Moscow football club, and stands to become the biggest star in the Russian league. And the leading Czech women's football player has made a historic move to the United States.

The Czech Republic's Under 20 ice hockey team have reached the quarter-finals of the World Junior Championships and coach Jaroslav Holik says it will be a grudge match for their opponents, the United States. Jiri Novak and Daja Bedanova have set up a semi-final clash with Australia in the Hopman Cup - Novak says he'll be hard-pressed to beat world number 1 Lleyton Hewitt. And the traditional New Year's Eve football derby between Sparta and Slavia's old boys ended in a draw.

In their first ever meeting, the Czech tennis team have beaten Slovakia - Jiri Novak tells us he's well satisfied with the 2:1 result. Czech ice hockey forward Jiri Dopita's NHL dream has ended in disappointment, and he himself has requested a move from club Edmonton Oilers. In football, Leeds and Spartak Moscow are said to fancy Sparta Prague's Jiri Jarosik, while erstwhile Czech hard-man international Tomas Repka has been sent off for the umpteenth time.

The freestyle aerial skier Ales Valenta has been named Czech Sportsperson of the Year, crowning a year in which he shot to fame, after taking the only Czech gold at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. And the Czech Republic's ice hockey team have ended a poor year with a win at the Baltic Cup in Moscow, taking them to second place in the Euro Hockey Tour.

There has been uproar in Czech ice hockey circles over a decision to overturn a previous ruling awarding Slavia Prague a default win when Sparta fans caused a game between them to be abandoned. A make-shift Czech national hockey team have been doing well at the Baltic Cup in Moscow, and footballer Tomas Rosicky has been talking about winning the Czech Golden Boot for the first half of the season. All those stories and more are in today's Sports New.

Czech skier Sarka Zahrobska, who is only 17, has caused a major sensation by coming fifth in her first ever World Cup down-hill race, in the new 'knock-out' slalom discipline. Czech swimmers haven't been doing badly either, taking three silvers at the European Short Course Championships. The Czech ice hockey coach has had problems assembling a squad for the Baltic Cup, and Slavia Prague have drawn a Turkish side in the fourth round of the UEFA Cup.

Ice hockey's Prague "S" derby (as they call it) ended prematurely when Sparta fans let off smoke bombs during the game; Slavia have been awarded a win by the Extraliga. The mighty Barcelona are reportedly keen to steal Czech boy wonder Tomas Rosicky away from Borussia Dortmund, while his old club Sparta Prague have welcomed back defender Vladimir Labant. And the only Czech in basketball's NBA, Jiri Welsch, is finding it hard but keeping his pecker up.

Both Prague hockey clubs score victories in weekend action. In football news, Sparta Prague lose striker Miroslav Baranek who suffered a broken leg during a car accident. The football club also transferred two players to the Russian league. The Czech women's handball team has qualified for the second round of the European Championships and could Czech hockey legend Dominik Hasek become a rally racer? These stories and more in Sports.

Sparta Prague have finally put manager Jozef Jarabinsky out of his misery and have wasted no time in replacing him with Jiri Kotrba. Patrik Berger's career is again on ice following a recurrence of the injury which has dogged him in recent years. Sparta Prague's ice hockey team also has a new manager, and he got off to a winning start on Tuesday. And the shortlist for Czech Sportsperson of the Year has just been announced. That's all in Sports News.