Translated material
Chronicle
The entire leadership of the Polish Football Association (PFA) was dismissed by the country's Minister of Sports Miroslaw Drzewiecki. The reason for this decision was the reluctance of the top officials of the PFA to fight corruption in their department. During the audit of the organization, many violations were identified. “I asked the arbitration committee of the Polish National Olympic Committee to appoint an external manager to the federation,” Drzewiecki said. “It has already been decided that it will be Robert Dzawlocki.”
The new head of the PFA has already sent a letter to UEFA President Michel Platini, in which he assured that the current situation will not affect Poland’s preparations for Euro 2012.
In turn, the UEFA leadership has already expressed dissatisfaction with the government's interference in the affairs of the national federation. There is a possibility that Poland's national teams may be suspended from all football competitions, and the country will be deprived of the right to host Euro 2012.
Gonchar will undergo surgery
Russian defenseman of the NHL club Pittsburgh Sergei Gonchar will have surgery, after which he will not be able to go on the ice for at least six months. This is exactly how long it will take a hockey player to complete a rehabilitation course.
Let us remind you that Gonchar injured his shoulder in the preseason match with Tampa. In one of the game moments of that meeting, the opposing forward David Korchi crashed into the Russian. And as a result of this collision, Gonchar hit his shoulder hard on the side of the ice rink. It is noteworthy that, according to Gonchar himself, the opponent attacked him when the Russian had already passed the ball and was not in possession of the puck. And this is prohibited by NHL rules.
On Tuesday, Gonchar underwent a magnetic resonance examination, which showed that the injury was quite serious and surgery was necessary. Last year, Gonchar played 73 games for Pittsburgh and scored 65 points.
“Chicago” put Russian goalkeeper Nikolai Khabibullin into the waiver draft. The upcoming season is the Russian goaltender's final season on a four-year, $27 million contract with the club. Before the signing of defenseman Brian Campbell in July of this year ($56.8 million over eight years), Nikolai was the team's highest-paid player.
Chicago is probably considering goalkeeper Cristobal Hue, who signed a four-year agreement with the Black Hawks this summer, as their number one option, AP reports.
It is possible that Khabibullin may return to Russia and play in the KHL if NHL clubs do not express a desire to acquire the goalkeeper due to his rather high contract.
Karpov opened a chess academy in Poland
Former world champion Anatoly Karpov opened a Chess Academy in the small Polish town of Olkusz, which will operate under his patronage. The main task of the city chess “university” is not to find new champions, but to develop and spread the culture of playing chess among the residents of Olkusz. “Poland has become the 18th country in which such academies operate,” ITAR-TASS quotes Anatoly Karpov as saying. In his response, the head of Olkusz, Dariusz Rzepka, said that their city has now become the chess capital of Poland.
The starting list for the super final of the Russian Chess Championship, which opens on October 3 in Moscow, will be headed by the leaders of the national team Alexander Morozevich, Pyotr Svidler and Alexander Grischuk. They and nine other participants will have to compete for a set of championship medals and a prize fund of 5 million rubles. All the strongest chess players in the country will take part in the super final, with the exception of Vladimir Kramnik. He is currently preparing for a match for the world chess crown with Indian Viswanathan Anand). The competition will be held in a round robin system of 11 rounds and will end on October 15.
You can watch the Ski World Cup for free
All starts at the 2009 Alpine Ski World Championships, which will take place from February 2 to 15 in Val d'Isere, France, will have free entry. This was announced by the head of the province of Savoie, where the popular ski resort is located, Hervé Gaimard. Free tickets for the competition can now be booked online. In total, 5 million euros have been allocated from the Savoy budget for the championship, 400 thousand of which will go to cover the costs of free entry. The first person to receive an official invitation to attend the upcoming championship was three-time Olympic champion Jean-Claude Killy.
Kirilenko stumbled in the first round
The winner of the tournament in Seoul, Russian Maria Kirilenko, lost in the first round of the next tennis competition in Tokyo with a prize fund of 175 thousand dollars. The offender of our athlete was the Czech Klara Zakopalova - 4:6, 6:2, 7:5. Another tennis player from Russia, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, successfully completed the first round, in which she knocked out the Chinese Zhen Jie - 6:1, 6:2.
Meanwhile, this week the strongest athletes will compete for the championship title at a tournament in Stuttgart, Germany. The first racket of the world, American Serena Williams, did not hide that she would make every effort to perform well in these competitions. “I have never won this tournament, so my motivation is fine,” AP quotes Serena as saying. In turn, the best of the Russians, Dinara Safina, also noted that she does not intend to give up her position. However, Dinara’s intentions are driven by a slightly different motive. “I promised the coach that I would give him a Mercedes if I won the Grand Slam this year. However, it didn't work out for me. Now I intend to win in Stuttgart in order to present him with a Porsche,” said the Russian woman. Let us remind you that the winner of the tournament in Stuttgart, in addition to the prize money, also receives a Porsche sports car worth 98.5 thousand dollars.