RETIREMENT - Jiří Zídek has announced his retirement from professional basketball, citing a chronic knee injury. In 1995, the center for Nymburk became the first Czech to play in the National Basketball Association. The 32-year-old spent three seasons in the NBA, playing for the Charlotte Hornets, Denver Nuggets and Seattle Supersonics.

RESIGNATION - Matthew Collecott, chairman of the board at Slavia Praha, resigned March 29. Collecott, who represented Slavia's majority owner, English National Investment Company (ENIC), said he wants to focus on his work with Tottenham Hotspurs, a club in the English Premiership that is also a part of ENIC's soccer empire.

STADIUM - About 54 percent of respondents in a public opinion poll conducted by research company STEM/MARK in late March said the Czech Soccer Association (ČMFS) should go forward with a project to build a 47,000-seat national stadium in Prague. The ČMFS said the project would cost 3 billion Kč ($126 million), around a third of which could be paid for with government funding.

TENNIS - The No. 1 Czech tennis player, Radek Štěpánek, has said he will not play in the Czech Davis Cup team's match against Morocco, to be held April 7–9 in Africa. Štěpánek said he will not play for the team unless his personal coach, Petr Korda, is hired as captain.

LAWSUIT - Dukla Praha handball player Petr Brabec will face a lawsuit for hitting Ivan Hargaš, the coach of rival Zubří, with his elbow during a playoff game in mid-March. Hargaš has launched the Czech handball league's first lawsuit.

CYCLING - Cycling's eight-stage Course de la Paix (Peace Race) has been resurrected after being cancelled last year because of a lack of sponsorship. The 58th race will start in Linz, Austria, May 13 and will take riders through Germany and the Czech Republic.

HOCKEY - Communication problems between players and coaches on the Czech national ice hockey team during the Winter Olympics in Turin have brought about changes in the team's management. While head coach Alois Hadamczik will remain in his position, assistant coaches Mojmír Trličík and Ondřej Weissmann have been replaced.

PLAYOFFS - Prague cross-town rivals Sparta and Slavia have advanced to the Extraliga hockey playoff semifinals. Sparta will face HC Znojmo, and Slavia will take on HC České Budějovice in best-of-seven-game series. If Sparta and Slavia win their series, it will be the first time the Extraliga finals will feature two teams from Prague.

BASKETBALL - Czech women's basketball champion Gambrinus Brno celebrated a historic victory in the Euroleague's Final Four tournament in Brno, held March 31 to April 2. After beating Valenciennes of France in the semifinals, Brno defeated Russian champion Samara 68–54 in the final game April 2.