Is the Czech Republic Sneakily Building an Athletic Empire?

Last night Tomas Satoransky became the second Czech Republic product drafted by the Wizards in the last two years, along with last year's #6 pick and draft darling, Jan Vesely. But that's not the weird part. The kicker is that both of these Euros are fast-break happy, athletic slashers with serious ups. Neither is a 7-foot stiff or Nicoloz Tskitishvilli. Apparently the Wizards have some sort of oddball fascination with bouncy Czechs. But hey, who can blame them? Why not bring in a couple of crowd-pleasing, leaping, white boys who are most likely mandated by their rookie duties to bring in a different case of Czech beer to the lockeroom after every game. I guess the beer ain't the only thing coming out of Prague with Hops! *Accepts standing ovation* And now they're getting two years of this high-quality international brew? Play on Wizards.

But the influx of Czech thunder to Chocolate City brings a far more real, far more pressing issue to light- is the former Czechoslovakia the most under-the-radar "athletic" nation in the game? And by athletic I do not mean dominating swimming, gymnastics, and curling at The Olympics and racking up the medal count through sheer strength of population. It seems that the Czechs have quietly managed to become international players in sports that people all over the world don't just pretend to give a shit about every four years.

If you were to associate one sport with this vibrant European kingdom, it would have to be hockey. The Czechs are ranked as the third best team in the world by IIHF (coincidentally my second favorite shadowy international sports governing body), and won the 2010 world championships. They have produced a litany of NHL all-stars, including two of the top names of the past 20 years, "The Dominator" Dominik Hasek and Jaromir Jagr. And the soccer team is evidently pretty talented as well- the Nadorak (insert random mysterious pronunciation marks atop every letter in that nickname and that's how its pronounced) made the Euro Cup quarterfinals, losing 1-0 to Portugal, and are ranked by ESPN as the 27th best international club out of 213 teams. Mike Gorman: "Wikipedia, got it!"

Realistically, The Spaniards are Europe's top athletic dog at the moment- the futbol team is obviously dominant- they are defending World Cup Champions, and just took down Portgual in PK's to make the Euro Cup Finals vs Italy on Sunday. They also have a serious slew of NBA talent on their basketball squad with the Gasol brothers, Jose Calderon, Rudy Fernandez and now Serge Ibaka, and are probably the only team that can challenge team USA in London. The Germans and Brits are up there, but they also have the advantage of being massively populous nations. You would never think of the Czechs on that level, but they're right behind the traditional powerhouses, and with a much smaller population. Who cares, you ask? Quite possibly nobody. Now shut up and let me crush this beef stew, dumplings and Pilsner.