The opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy takes place today and the games run through February 26. There are high expectations for the Czech hockey team, which won the gold medal in the 1998 Olympics, the ski jumper Jakub Janda who won a silver and a bronze at the 2005 World Championships, and cross-country skier Kateřina Neumannová who won a gold medal at the 2005 World Championships.

The Prague Post has a good article on Team Czech and who to keep an eye on at the games. They also have an article on Jandamania.

Petr Čech was named the best football (soccer) goalkeeper in the world for the year 2005 by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics, an organization which has been ranking goalkeepers since 1987. The 23 year-old Czech plays in London for the Chelsea Football Club.

You can read more about Petr in an article on Radio Praha and in his profile on the Chelsea Football Club official website.

Congratulations Petr!