Euro play-off?
Football: The season ended with Lokomotiv unable to nip into third place ahead of Zenit St. Petersburg, missing out on a shot at the lucrative Champions League on goal difference alone.
The Moscow side won their final match at Khimki 3-1, but couldn't score the improbable 10 goals needed to inch ahead of Zenit, who beat Spartak 2-1.
However, a sense of bitterness remains at Cherkizovsky Stadium, where Zenit secured a 1-1 draw early in the season - but fielded too many foreigners in their team.
A league committee chose not to over-turn the result and award Loko a 3-0 technical victory, opting to fine Zenit and let the result stand.
Current Loko head coach Yury Syomin said: "We are super-gentlemen. We accepted the draw in the first game. I was working in Kiev, and I was surprised at the decision.
"Now the situation is different. Zenit have a chance to behave as ‘super-gentlemen' too and take the initiative by proposing a play-off match for third place. But so far this hasn't happened."
At the foot of the table Kuban Krasnodar joined Khimki in the relegation zone. A 3-0 home defeat to champions Rubin sealed the Cossacks' fate after just one season in the top league. Anzhi Makhachkala and Sibir Novosibirsk will replace them in the 2010 season.
Nikolai the First
Tennis: Russia's Nikolai Davydenko landed the most prestigious title of his career, taking the ATP World Tour Finals in London with a straight sets win over Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro.
The seventh seed, nicknamed the Iron Man for his famous endurance on court, had battled hard to overcome the likes of Rafa Nadal in the group phase and imperious world No. 1 Roger Federer in semis.
But after his first victory in 13 meetings with the Swiss master there was no stopping him in the final as he raced to a 6-3 6-4 win in barely 80 minutes.
A strong show from the baseline, and well-timed approaches to the net were the key to success against Del Potro, while Davydenko kept his service game relentlessly strong, landing 70 per cent of his first serves.
The 28-year-old becomes the first Russian to win the showpiece event - rated as second only to the grand slams - reinforcing his place as one of the world's top players after several seasons in the top 10.
Battling Russia beaten
Rugby: Russia warmed up for next year's crucial World Cup qualifiers with a tough friendly against Canada - and produced a battling display before going down 22-6.
Canada, regular World Cup qualifiers despite a small rugby-playing base, are among the sides Russia hope to emulate as they aim to reach their first ever World Cup finals in New Zealand in 2011.
And for the first half in Burnaby, British Columbia, they held their own to turn around level at 6-6 thanks to a pair of penalties from Yury Kushnarov. But after the break the greater experience of the hosts - who featured players from British professional leagues in their ranks - proved decisive as they grabbed the game's only try.
Russia are currently second in the six-team European qualifying group, with the top two booking a place to the World Cup. Their next qualifier is on February 6 when they host third-placed Portugal.
CSKA look strong
Basketball: Defending champions CSKA retained their early lead in the Russian Superleague with a 77-71 win at local rivals Dinamo.
Now the Army Men's attention switches to Europe, with a home game against struggling Marussi on Wednesday night (8:15 pm) as they look to clear their qualifying group.
