Comeback kings
Hockey: Russian won the Karjala Cup in Helsinki - but did it the hard way after overturning big deficits in two of their three games. Starting against the hosts, the world champions trailed 3-0 after the first period but recovered - thanks largely to Alexei Morozov - to win on penalties. After a straightforward 4-2 win over Sweden it was a similar story against the Czech in the final game. Recovering from 2-0 down to 3-3 in regulation time it was Morozov again who settled matters with an overtime winner. Not surprisingly he was named the best forward of the competition, while the team of the tournament partnered him with Ak Bars Kazan clubmates Danis Zaripov and Jarrko Immonen (Finland).
Valuev beaten
Boxing: The Beast from the East found himself unable to make hay in Nuremburg as Nikolai Valuev lost his WBA Heavyweight crown to Britain's David Haye. Following a full 12-round trial the Russian - nine inches taller and seven stones heavier than his opponent - lost out on a majority decision and admitted that going the distance took its toll. "From my point of view, the main thing which went wrong was the pace," he told reporters. "It was like a marathon for me. It was like a track event. I wasn't ready to run that much." Haye is now looking to fight the Ukrainian Klitschko brothers as he bids to unite the four world heavyweight belts.
Stadium war
Football: CSKA's hopes of building their own stadium at Khodynskoye Pole have been frustrated - by CSKA. A civil war within the army's sporting regiments has broken out over plans to include commercial facilities in the football club's new home. And now Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov has fired off a law suit against the football club, claiming plans to add a hotel and office block to the 30,000-seater arena breach the contract agreed with the Federal Army Sporting Club to construct a stadium on their land.
Backyard bullies
Basketball: CSKA may be struggling in Europe but they showed they are still the team to beat in Russia with a controlled 67-62 win over Triumf Lyubertsy on Sunday. From the moment Trajan Langdon landed a three-pointer with the first attack of the game they never trailed their previously undefeated opponents, and move to the top of the Superleague with a third straight league win. But on the continent it's a different story, with a second successive Euroleague loss - this time away to Maccabi Tel Aviv - putting them under pressure as they seek to qualify from group C. A win on Wednesday at home to Olimpia Ljubljana is vital to get the campaign back on track (starts 8:15 pm).
Record low
Football: Khimki's horrible season hit a new low point on Saturday when just 420 paying fans turned up to watch their top flight match with Tom Tomsk. The team, which plays in the impressive new 20,000-seater Arena Khimki, has suffered a terrible season and is bottom of the league with just 10 points from 28 games - 15 adrift. Fed up fans prefered the Mega mall to mediocre football as Khimki lost yet again, 3-1.
