Going the distance

The Czech Republic's top squash player, Jan Koukal, took on all comers in a unique late March exhibition in which he spent more than 10 hours on the court playing against 100 different opponents. Each opponent entered one competitive set with a 4-0 lead, attempting to be the first to reach 11 points and beat Koukal. None, however, managed to taste victory.

The list of challengers was lengthy, but included professional athletes like former NHL hockey defenseman Karel Pilař and the Beijing Olympics silver-medal rower Ondřej Synek.

Koukal began shortly after 8 a.m. March 25, defeating his 100th opponent just after 6 p.m. The most frequently occurring score was 11-7, which Koukal repeated 31 times. Two opponents pushed Koukal to the brink of defeat before he closed them out with close 12-10 wins. All told, Koukal covered about 40 kilometers, burnt 12,800 calories and hit the ball 5,122 times.

"It was difficult to concentrate all the time. ... I sometimes let the opponent reach the ball on purpose, but then I had to pay extra attention to be ready," Koukal said.

Obama inconveniences

U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Prague is cause for concern among organizers of the European Volleyball Final Four Champions' League slated for April 4-5 in Prague. The anticipated security measures in the city are forcing organizers to rearrange team accommodations, including Italy's Macerato and Trentino, Russia's Odincov and Greece's Thessaloniki. Transport from the airport also had to be rescheduled as Obama and EU leaders were expected to arrive at the same time.

"Obama's visit brought about some last-minute worries to us," said Czech Volleyball Federation Chairman Antonín Lébl. "We're especially worried about the logistics of transporting the teams from the airport without any delays."

Already affected by the Obama visit was Sparta Praha's league soccer game against Liberec. Officials with the country's top-flight Gambrinus liga decided to reschedule the April 5 game for the following day, after the U.S. president has left town.

From Russia with love

Hockey news off the ice continues to fuel rampant sports-page speculation.

As the Extraliga playoffs enter their final phase, one of the two finalists, HC Karlovy Vary, now denies it is preparing to switch to Russia's Continental League (KHL) next season. Representatives of both the Extraliga and the KHL had repeatedly said in the past that they were negotiating to include the west Bohemian side in the Russian league. But HC Karlovy Vary owner Karel Holoubek now denies that such is going on.

"I still hear rumors that I'll go somewhere to negotiate, but it's not true," Holoubek said. "It's not going to happen now, or in five years."

Meanwhile, 44-year-old retired goalkeeping legend Dominik Hašek is rumored to have received an offer to play with KHL's Avangard Omsk. The goalie retired last season after winning his second Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings. It was the third "retirement" of his career. While he had insisted that he would never again play in North America's National Hockey League (NHL), he has yet to confirm the ultimate end of his career.

Avangard demonstrated its financial might last summer after making another star player, Jaromír Jágr, move from Manhattan to Siberia. Jágr joined Avangard after three seasons with the New York Rangers.

"Omsk has been bombing Dominik with requests," said Hašek's business partner Jiří Ponikelský.

Hašek himself attempted to play down the situation. However, he did not deny Avangard's interest.

"I heard something, but I never received any particular offer," Hašek said. Still, he did not rule out his comeback. "I've never said that I quit hockey for good. There is a chance that I'll return, but it's premature to talk about it now. … Right now, this is merely speculation."

Josef Bruk, who for years worked as the goalie's personal trainer, says that Hašek is still in top shape. "He now plays for an amateur team as a defenseman," Bruk said. "Should he return to the goal, however, he would surely pay full attention to the game. He's not used to stopping the pucks just for fun."

František Bouc can be reached at
fbouc@praguepost.com