| The European Volleyball Confederation (ECV) has announced the regulations and composition of the groups for the preliminary stage of the new continental tournament for men's teams. In the Euroleague, the Russians were in the same group with the Czech Republic, Croatia and Turkey. The second quartet consisted of Holland, Germany, Finland and Slovakia. The tournament involves teams that, for various reasons, were left out of the 2004 World League. At the first stage in May-June, double matches are held at home and away; the two best teams from each group advance to the Final Four, which will be hosted by the Czech Republic on July 9-11. The All-Russian Volleyball Federation proposed the EVC to host home matches in Moscow, Belgorod and Yekaterinburg. Ilya TRISVIATSKY
Khimki helps Samara make it to the playoffs
At the end of the Basketball Super League championship, when the fight for getting into the playoffs has become extremely intense, in a number of matches the outcome can be predicted even before they begin. The defeat of the titled Ural Great to the Super League debutant Rostov Lokomotiv was followed by another rather strange match. It was held in Samara by CSK Air Force and Khimki near Moscow. The guests, who included a number of players and candidates for the Russian national team, lost to the Volga team practically without resistance - 73:88.
Both Perm and Khimki have already solved all their problems in the regular season, but Lokomotiv, CSK VVS and Tula Arsenal, occupying places from seventh to ninth, are trying to complete the Super League tournament in the top eight. The Rostovites have already played all the matches, they have 11 wins. Arsenal is one win behind and has a home match in hand against an outsider, Lokomotiv Novosibirsk. In order for CSK VVS (11 wins) to avoid the unfavorable “triple twist” and guarantee itself access to the playoffs, the Samara team needs to win one more time - either on March 28 against the capital’s Dynamo, or on the last day of the month against the Perm team . Surely this will happen, as a result of which Arsenal will end up in ninth place. With equal points with Rostov, Tula has the worst balance of head-to-head matches.
In the meantime, Dynamo Moscow, together with UNICS, pleased us with their uncompromising play. In the capital, the teams needed two overtimes to determine the winner - 114:109 in favor of the “blue and white”. Ilya TRISVIATSKY
Yartsev managed without surprises
On the last day of March in Sofia, the Russian national football team will play a friendly match with the Bulgarian national team. The coach of the Russian team, Georgy Yartsev, invited 20 football players to this game. The national team's coaching staff decided to do without surprises. Of the newcomers to the national team, only Roman Sharonov from Rubin Kazan was invited. Lokomotiv has the largest representation in the national team - six players. The champion and vice-champion of the last championship, CSKA and Zenit, each delegated three players to the national team. It is possible that after the next round of the Russian Championship, which will take place next weekend, the list of invited players will undergo some changes.
Team composition: goalkeepers - Sergei Ovchinnikov (Lokomotiv) and Igor Akinfeev (CSKA); defenders - Vadim Evseev, Dmitry Sennikov (both Lokomotiv), Sergei Ignashevich (CSKA), Viktor Onopko (Saturn), Andrei Solomatin (Kuban) and Roman Sharonov (Rubin); midfielders - Alexey Smertin (Portsmouth), Dmitry Alenichev (Porto), Rolan Gusev (CSKA), Marat Izmailov, Dmitry Loskov (both Lokomotiv), Alexander Mostovoy (Celta), Igor Semshov ( "Torpedo"), Vladimir Bystrov and Vladislav Radimov (both Zenit); forwards - Dmitry Bulykin (Dynamo), Dmitry Sychev (Lokomotiv) and Alexander Kerzhakov (Zenit). Andrey VDOVIN
The Olympic flame is lit
Yesterday, a torch with the Olympic flame was lit in front of the ancient temple of the Goddess Hera in Ancient Olympia. The role of the priestess of the goddess was played by the Greek actress Talia Prokopiou, and the first athlete to receive the torch with the Olympic flame from her hands was the Greek javelin thrower Kostas Gatzioudis. The Olympic torch relay will cross all five continents and finish in Athens in 141 days. Olesya KOMAROVA
Two people caught up with Kovalchuk at once
Hockey. NHL. Regular season. “Columbus” – “Minnesota” – 2:0 – Zherdev “K” (0+1) , “Buffalo” – “Montreal” – 2:1, “Atlanta” – “Washington” – 3 :2 - - Kovalchuk "A" (0+2) , "Phoenix" - "Calgary" - 0:4, "Vancouver" - "Los Angeles" - 1:0, "Edmonton" - " Dallas" -- 3:4 -- V. Bure "D" (0+1).
Ilya Kovalchuk failed to score a goal in the match against Washington, which allowed Columbus forward Rick Nash and Calgary forward Jerome Iginla to catch up with the Russian in the scorers' dispute. Now the three leaders have 39 goals each. Two assists from Kovalchuk helped Atlanta win the match and maintain their chances of reaching the playoffs. True, these chances are theoretical. To catch up with the Islanders, who are in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, Atlanta needs to close a 10-point gap.
Basketball. NBA. Regular season. Seattle - Utah - 84:77 - Kirilenko (16 points + 8 rebounds + 1 assist) , Philadelphia - Phoenix - 99:94, Orlando - Miami - - 90:105, "New York" - "Memphis" - 97:111, "Indiana" - "Dallas" - 103:99, "Houston" - "Toronto" - 90:89 (OT ), “Denver” — “Minnesota” — 101:92, “Portland” — “Clippers” — 91:85, “Golden State” — “Milwaukee” — 98:89, “Lakers” — “Sacramento” - 115:91.
Having lost, Utah lost eighth place in the West to Denver. Kirilenko’s team has one less victory than its competitors, but the “jazzmen” played one less match. Konstantin IVANOV
Lokomotiv continues its campaign for the Russian Cup
The capital's Lokomotiv retains its chances of qualifying for European competition. Yuri Semin's team will receive a guaranteed place in the tournament, which will replace the UEFA Cup next season if they win the Russian Cup. But already in the 1/8 finals, Loko faced fierce resistance from Rubin. The Kazan team managed to achieve a draw at home, and only in the second match were the “railroad workers” able to win with a minimal score of 1:0. The only goal was scored by Dmitry Sychev. Terek (the Chechen club drew 1:1 with Kuban, but won 3:0 in the first meeting) and Shinnik, which won big against Alania, qualified for the next stage of the tournament. 3:0.
In the quarterfinal matches, which will take place on April 14 and 21, there are: Lokomotiv - Shinnik, Terek - Rotor, CSKA - Krylya Sovetov, Torpedo-Metallurg - Rostov. Andrey VDOVIN
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