Author: Ihor Stelmach

Rebrov working miracles as Dynamo coach On the bus from a 3-0 league victory at FC Vorskla Poltava last November, star Dynamo Kyiv striker Andriy Yarmolenko burst out singing the Serhiy Rebrov fans’ song. In a matter of seconds his teammates joined in as a tribute to a coach who has totally turned around the...

Step into the zone with Evan Longoria. It is an imaginary place he enters before every pitch – a place where expectations and past failures are not permitted, a place where the only thing that matters is the challenge before him. It could be the bottom of the ninth inning at Boston’s Fenway Park, to...

A first-round draft pick is usually two years from making his way onto an National Hockey League (NHL) active roster. Most return to their junior club for a final year of spirited competition before their second training camp. The rare super prospect occasionally makes the jump to the big club in his draft year. Three...

He was arguably the best goaltender ever to play in the National Hockey League. He was the best NHL’er to come out of Winnipeg, Manitoba. He played 21 seasons in the NHL and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1971, one year after his death. He won four Vezina trophies (top goalie...

NEW YORK – Wladimir Klitschko outboxed a game but limited Bryant Jennings in the Ukrainian champion’s first United States fight in seven years, and he succeeded in defending his five heavyweight titles with a unanimous decision on April 25. The world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden sounded and felt like Kyiv, Ukraine. It was...

Lomachenko and Usyk: amateurs go pro The Ukrainian boxing team won five of the country’s 20 medals at the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games, proving they were: 1) the world’s top boxing squad, and 2) Team Ukraine’s most valuable athletes. Four Ukrainians were heavily favored to win medals at the London Games – five succeeded,...

Svitolina a rising star  in women’s tennis Nineteen-year-old Elina Svitolina reigned supreme after the two-set contest in Baku, a final that saw two of the WTA tour’s rising stars collide. The Ukrainian youngster retained the maiden title she won at this same event in 2013 with a strong showing against Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia. At...

Olynyk shows future promise The word “disappointing” would not be a fair description of Kelly Olynyk’s rookie season with the Boston Celtics. Rookie seasons are for learning from many mistakes while slowly, steadily getting better. Olynyk’s team, like most who select early in the NBA draft, was awful. Indeed, the Celtics were so awful they...

Olynyk shows future promise The word “disappointing” would not be a fair description of Kelly Olynyk’s rookie season with the Boston Celtics. Rookie seasons are for learning from many mistakes while slowly, steadily getting better. Olynyk’s team, like most who select early in the NBA draft, was awful. Indeed, the Celtics were so awful they...