The American Football season may have been delayed by four months, but it starts with a bang this Saturday when the Brno Sígrs and the Brno Alligators square off in another of edition of their continuing rivalry. Photo credit: Brno Alligators.
Brno, Aug. 12 (BD) — Brno rivalry game starts gridiron season; Draci take commanding lead in baseball standings; Brno cricket splits matches in Prague; FC Zbrojovka schedule released – Sparta visits on Aug. 22; South African Binder wins the no-fan MotoGp; and the Brno sports schedule.
AMERICAN FOOTBALL
Alligators X Sígrs this Saturday at 3
American Football in the Czech Republic normally has a spring-summer season. This year, because of the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic, the opening games of the season will be this weekend.
Brno has two teams. Those two teams will start against each other. It’s big time!
The Brno Sígrs and the Brno Alligators, who have known and played against one another for years, will face off on Saturday at 3 p.m. The game is an Alligators home game, so it will be at Ragby Bystrc.
The Sígrs have beaten the Alligators in the previous three meetings. However, anything can happen, and usually does. The 2018 season started with a similar matchup, and the Alligators won on a blocked would-be-winning field goal, and returned it for the winning touchdown as the time ticked off the clock.
The two Brno teams are in the Eastern Division of the Paddock League, along with the Přerov Mammoths and the Ostrava Steelers. The season continues through the middle of October, with the postseason thereafter.
BASEBALL
Draci Take Dominant Four-game Lead
With two weeks left in the Top Six phase of the Czech extraliga baseball season, Draci Brno has effectively taken the top seed for the postseason. The South Brno team is 10-1, with a four-game lead over Kotlářka Praha (6-5) and a 4.5-game lead over Arrows Ostrava (6-6).
Cardion Hroši Brno (5-7), Tempo Praha (4-8) and Eagles Praha (4-8) still have a lot to play for in terms of seeding.
The Draci host Cardion Hroši Brno on Friday at 7 p.m. and on Saturday at 2 p.m. The third game of the series will be on Wednesday in Jundrov at 5 p.m.
CRICKET
Rangers Split Matches, Raiders Drop One
The Brno Cricket Club Rangers split matches on Sunday in the Czech T20 league. First, they beat the PCC Rooks by a run, while defending 118 runs. Naveed Ahmad, the captain of the Rangers, was named the Man of the Match for his exceptional bowling of five wickets in four overs and giving up only 19 runs.
Then, against the top team in the league, the Rangers lost to PCC Kings by 9 wickets, when defending a score of 102 runs.
The Raiders lost to Bohemian CC.
Both Brno Cricket Club teams play in Prague this weekend: On Saturday, the Raiders are at Vinohrady at 3 p.m. and on Sunday, the Rangers are at Bohemian CC at 11 a.m.
MEN’S FOOTBALL
Zbrojovka Season Starts with Sparta at Home
FC Zbrojovka will begin its 2020-21 Fortuna Liga season with, arguably, the biggest game of the season: Sparta Praha at home on Saturday, Aug. 22.
The league schedule was released last week. Sparta, the historically dominant team of the league, will offer bookends to the season, with the Prague game scheduled for the last weekend of May.
In between there are 32 rounds because the league will have a total of 18 teams this year.
The highlights of the fall half of the season are:
Round 3 (tentatively Sept. 12) — at Zlín
Round 4 (tentatively Sept. 9) — Olomouc
Round 5 (tentatively Sept. 26) — at Viktoria Plzeň
Round 9 (tentatively Oct. 31) — at Slavia Praha
Round 11 (tentatively Nov. 21) — at Pardubice
Round 12 (tentatively Nov. 28) — Slovácko
Round 14 (tentatively Dec. 12) — Baník Ostrava
MOTOGP
Binder Wins MotoGP
The South African anthem played across the vacant stands of the Masarykův Okruh (Masaryk circuit, Automotodrom Brno) on Sunday when Brad Binder won the Monster Energy Grand Prix České republiky.
There were no on-site fans out of precaution against the spread of the coronavirus. Television was the only option to view the race.
Binder, who rides for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, won his first MotoGP race. It was just his third MotoGP start. The 24-year-old averaged 153.4 km/h and won in 41 minutes, 38.764 seconds.
Italian Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT/Yamaha) was 5.266 seconds back in second and Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing / Ducati) was 6.470 seconds back in third.
Local favorite Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha) finished fifth, 7.517 seconds behind the winner.
Notably, Italian Andrea Dovizioso, who finished 11th, set a record for top speed in Brno when he topped out at 316.7 Km/h.
BRNO SPORTS RESULTS
Quick results for various Brno professional and recreational sports for the past week. Home team listed first (where applicable).
Friday, Aug. 7, 2020
— Baseball: Eagles Praha 2, Draci Brno 8
— Baseball: Cardion Hroši Brno 8, Tempo Praha 5
Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020
— Baseball: Eagles Praha 2, Draci Brno 15
— Baseball: Cardion Hroši Brno 1, Tempo Praha 7
Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020
— Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix: 1, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing / KTM), South Africa, 41 minutes, 38.764 seconds; 2, Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT/Yamaha), Italy, +5.266; 3, Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing / Ducati), France, +6.470.
— Cricket: PCC Rooks L 117/7, Brno CC 1st XI Rangers W 118/6
— Cricket: Brno CC 2nd XI Raiders L 102/9, Bohemian CC W 170/6
— Baseball: Draci Brno 11, Eagles Praha 1
— Baseball: Tempo Praha 2, Cardion Hroši Brno 10
— Cricket: PCC Kings W 105/1, Brno CC 1st XI L 102/8
BRNO SPORTS SCHEDULE
The schedule for various Brno professional and recreational sports for the next two weeks. All dates and times subject to change. Home team listed first (when applicable).
Friday, Aug. 14, 2020
— Baseball: Draci Brno X Cardion Hroši Brno, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020
— Baseball: Draci Brno X Cardion Hroši Brno, 2 p.m.
— American Football: Brno Alligators X Brno Sígrs, Ragby Bystrc, 3 p.m.
— Cricket: Vinohrady CC 1st XI X Brno CC 2nd XI Raiders, 3 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020
— Cricket: Bohemian CC, Prague 1st XI X Brno CC 1st XI Rangers, 11 a.m.
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Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020
— Women’s Football: Lokomotiva Brno H.H. X SK Slavia Praha, Hrušovany u Brna, 11 a.m.
— Men’s Football: Zbrojovka Brno X Sparta Praha, 7:30 p.m.
— American Football: Brno Sígrs X Přerov Mammoths, Brněnské Ivanovice, 6 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 23, 2020
— American Football: Ostrava Steelers X Brno Alligators, 3 p.m.
The Brno Sports Report is published every Wednesday. All dates and times are subject to change. Most of the stories are about the traditional “English-speaking” team sports — football, hockey, baseball, basketball, American football, cricket, rugby, etc. — but it is also about the interesting local spectator and participation sports — tennis, badminton, running, horse racing, swimming, rock climbing, biking, etc. If you have any suggestions for what should be included, please comment below or send an email to bruno@brnodaily.cz.
