Czech-American tennis legend Martina Navrátilová is one of 60 celebrities from all over the world to appear in Time magazine's special issue "60 Years of Heroes." Navrátilová, 50, who ended her career in September, appeared with former president Václav Havel, another of the few Czech-born subjects to get much Time ink.

RESIGNED

The youngest head coach in the top-flight Gambrinus liga resigned after facing pressure from frustrated fans. Jiří Plíšek, 34, who guided FC Slovácko, announced his resignation Nov. 7, despite the club management's public support for him one day earlier. Plíšek said he could not work in the hostile atmosphere that the club's fans were creating. The team currently sits in last place.

FINE

Slovan Liberec captain Tomáš Zápotočný received the highest fine in Gambrinus liga history. The Czech Football Association ordered him to pay 150,000 Kč ($6,862) Oct. 26 for libel. Last May, Zápotočný said that, before Liberec's last-round game the previous season, an anonymous caller had attempted to convince the team to throw the game against Mladá Boleslav. He denied the call after the disciplinary committee started investigations. Zápotočný appealed against the ruling.

LEADERS

The head coaches of the 2006 World Cup finalists — Italy's Marcello Lippi and France's Raymond Domenech — arrived in Prague Nov. 6 to participate in a seminar of soccer coaches from all over the world. The two coaches once again reviewed Zinedine Zidane's controversial head butt against Italy's Marco Materazzi in the World Cup finals. While Lippi insisted that Zidane's response to Materazzi's provocation was "unacceptable," Domenech said that the French's captain's attack was "understandable."

COMEBACK

Thirty-five-year-old goalie Roman Čechmánek made his return to the national ice hockey team at the Karjala hockey tournament in Finland, Nov. 9-12. Čechmánek, who spent four seasons in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers and the Los Angeles Kings, last played on the Czech team in the summer 2004. He is currently the top-ranked goalie in the Swedish league, where he plays for Linköping.

DEBACLE

Czech teams in the UEFA Cup were embarrassed in the competition's second round Nov. 2. Czech champion Slovan Liberec came home from Portugal's Braga with a 4-0 defeat. Meanwhile, Sparta Praha was upset in Belgium by Zullte Warege, 3-1. Mladá Boleslav lost at home to Panathinaikos Athens of Greece, 1-0.

SUMO

Jaroslav Poříz became the first Czech in history to win a medal at the World Sumo Championship after finishing second in Osaka, Japan, in mid-October. En route to the silver, Poříz beat eight out of nine opponents.

TABLE TENNIS

Prague's Sazka Arena will become a venue of the 2010 European Table Tennis Championship, the European Table Tennis Union decided in its session in St. Petersburg, Russia, Nov. 3. Prague will host a major table tennis championship again after 24 years.

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