Author Archives: John Ryan

Champions League Week 6 (Our Picks)

Posted on by

[b]Last Week[/b]
[i]Ciudad Real (-9.5)[/i] vs Pick Szeged Bet 200 on Ciudad Real at 1.72 (32-25) LOSE 200
[i]Kolding (-7.5) [/i]vs. Chambery Bet 100 on Kolding at 1.57 (32-32) LOSE 100
[i]Zagreb (+1.5)[/i] vs. Flensburg Bet 200 on Zagreb at 1.85 (21-23) LOSE 200
[i]Veszprem (-1.5)[/i] vs Portland San Antonio Bet 100 on Veszprem at 1.75 (23-21) WIN 75
Gain/Loss: -425 Euros

[b]Season[/b]
200 Euro Bets 4-4; -170
100 Euro Bets 4-4; -70
Current Bankroll: 760 Euros (Started with a 1000)

Back down to earth this week with a disappointing 1-3 performance last week. I still can't believe Chambery pulling out a draw at
Kolding with Vuckovick on the bench. I guess that's why they play the game on the court instead of on paper. The last weekend has some interesting matchups with qualifying and seeding both at stake. The picks are mine, but with some key advice from betting tipster Miguel.

[b]This Week's Picks[/b]

Odds courtesy of Nordicbet: www.nordicbet.com

Celje vs Gummersbach
This is the match of the weekend as first place and in all likelihood an easier round of 16 matchup is at stake. Celje is truly a tough
place to play, but I think Gummersbach is up to the task. The fast style of play they are using this year has them on the top of the standings in the German league. They might lose the match, but they will keep their aggregate 3 goal lead. Take Gummersbach and the 3.5 goals
[b]BET: 200 Euros on Gummersbach (+3.5 goals at 1.85)[/b]

Kadetten Schaufa vs Szeged
A true showdown between a Cinderella upstart and a traditional power from Hungary. Although, some would argue that Kadetten with several top Swiss players, Christian Rose from Germany and Martin Kovar from the Czech Republic is hardly a Cinderella. Kadetten also has the homecourt, but this is balanced out by the tradition and experience of Szeged, who is currently leading the Hungarian league. In my opinion it's a 50-50 toss-up, but since the books are giving Szeged an extra 1.5 goals, I'm going to take them.
[b]BET: 100 Euros on Szeged (+1.5 goals at 1.85) [/b]

Chehovskie Medvedi vs Flensburg
Medvedi needs to tie or win to advance while this game has no bearing on Flensburg as they already have 1st place locked up. There's a lot of debate as to how Flensburg will play. Words off the court rarely have a real impact on the outcome of a match, but I think this game is an exception. Zagreb Coach Klajic's inflammatory comments insinuating that Flensburg wouldn't try very hard to win will come back to haunt him. Flensburg will start out with full motivation to win, but if Medvedi can extend the lead to 4 or 5 goals at some point in the match, chances are Flensburg will ease up a bit. Psychologically, under the surface, they are just not going to feel very bad about not being able to help out Zagreb.
[b]BET: 100 Euros on Medvedi (+3.5 goals at 1.70)[/b]

Montpellier vs Valladolid
This match will decide who wins Group H. Montpellier played well last weekend against Bregenz without Hmam and Burdet and they
should be back for Valladolid. Valladolid managed a 9 goal win in the first match in Spain, but threw the aggregate tie breaker out the window with their draw against A1 Bregenz. This match will be close, but I expect Valladolid to fall behind by a couple of goals at some point in the second half. When they overcompensate with aggressive offensive play the game will turn into a fast break duel. Which is never a battle you want to fight at Rene Bougnol as Monpellier celebrates their 100th game in European competition. Add in the fact that Valladolid managed just a 1 goal win at home against 15th place Almeria in their midweek Asobal match and the signs point to Montpellier. Look for them to blow the game open at the end of the match and cover the 4.5 goals.
[b]BET: 200 Euros on Montpellier (-4.5 goals at 1.90)[/b]

Champions League Week 6 (Betting Lines)

Posted on by

Courtesy of NordicBet www.nordicbet.com here are the lines for week 6 of the Champions League. (Please note that some of these lines are preliminary and may not yet be officially posted at the Nordic Bet site)

Key to the betting line: Handicap, 1st Team Win, Draw, 2nd Team Win, 1st Team Handicap Price, 2nd Team Handicap Price

Need Help on Understanding European Betting Lines: Check this tutorial: https://teamhandballnews.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.15

Saturday, 11 November 2006
16:00 Ciudad Real vs Brest 11.5 1.01 19.20 16.00 1.70 2.00
16:15 Veszprem vs Sarajevo 9.5 1.01 19.00 16.00 1.70 2.00
16:15 Chehovskie Medvedi vs Flensburg 3.5 1.30 13.20 3.85 1.70 2.00
16:30 Barcelona vs Athens 14.5 1.01 19.00 16.00 1.85 1.85
17:00 Reykjavik vs Sandefjord DC 1.82 11.25 2.15 x x
17:15 Celje vs Gummersbach 3.5 1.38 12.25 3.35 1.85 1.85
18:00 Povazska vs Portland San Antonio DC 11.00 17.00 1.05 x x
18:00 Kadetten Schaffhau vs Szeged DC 1.60 11.50 2.50 x x
18:00 Yuzhny vs Bregenz 4.5 1.25 13.25 4.40 1.85 1.85

Sunday, 12 November 2006
10:30 Karvina vs Svendborg 3.0 2.95 12.00 1.43 1.90 1.80
14:15 Kolding vs Belgrade 10.5 1.03 18.00 13.00 1.70 2.00
17:00 Zagreb vs Skopje 8.5 1.01 19.20 16.00 1.65 2.10
17:15 Kozina vs Hammarby 4.0 1.22 14.00 4.70 1.85 1.85
19:00 Kiel vs Constanta 11.5 1.01 19.20 16.00 1.85 1.85
17:00 Montpellier vs Valladolid 4.5 1.30 12.75 3.90 1.90 1.80

South American Games Underway

Posted on by

The South American Games Handball Competition will take place from 9-13 November 2006 in Mar del Plata, Argentina. Four nations (Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Paraguay) are participating in both the Men’s and Women’s tournaments. The top 2 nations will qualify for the PANAM Games this summer in Brazil, while the third place teams will qualify for the second chance tournaments in February. (Note: I'm guessing that Brazil is not participating due to the fact that they've already qualified for the PANAM Games and they will be hosting the World Beach Handball Championships very soon.)

Schedule/Results: http://www.balonmanoargentina.org.ar/compinternac/odesur/principal.htm

[b]Current PANAM Games qualification status:[/b]

[b]Women[/b]
1) Brazil- Host
2) Cuba- 1st Central America/Caribbean
3) Dominican Republic- 2nd Central America/Caribbean
4) Puerto Rico- 3rd Central America/Caribbean
5) TBD- 1st South America
6) TBD- 2nd South America
7) TBD- 1st North America
8 TBD- 2nd Chance Tourney Winner

[b]2nd Chance Tourney Participants[/b]
– Mexico- 4th Central America/Caribbean (Host)
– El Salvador- 5th Central America/Caribbean
– TBD- 3rd South America
– TBD- Canada vs US Loser

[b]Men[/b]
1) Brazil- Host
2) Dominican Republic- 1st Central America/Caribbean
3) Cuba- 2nd Central America/Caribbean
4) Mexico- 3rd Central America/Caribbean
5) TBD- 1st South America
6) TBD- 2nd South America
7) TBD- 1st North America
8 TBD- 2nd Chance Tourney Winner

[b]2nd Chance Tourney Participants[/b]
– Puerto Rico- 4th Central America/Caribbean (Host)
– Honduras- 5th Central America/Caribbean
– TBD- 3rd South America
– TBD- Canada vs US Loser

USA Goalie Loses Congressional Race

Posted on by

Former USA National Team goalie and USA Team Handball Board Member, Italo Zanzi, has lost his election bid for New York’s 1st Congressional District. Faced against a 2 term incumbent and an election tide that will swing control of the House or Representative to the Democrats, the outcome is no surprise. Various press reports on Zanzi’s campaign were favorable, including this Long Island Newsday editorial http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-vpbis314954395oct31,0,4891008.story?coll=ny-editorials-headlines, While the newspaper endorsed his opponent they note that “Zanzi has tremendous potential. Down the road there should be a place for a bright, energetic man like him in public life.”

Election Results
Timothy Bishop (D) 96,921 votes (61%)
Italo A. Zanzi (R) 61,271 votes (39%)

Italo Zanzi Official Site: http://www.zanzi2006.com/

Great Moments in Bone-Headed Reverse Psychology

Posted on by

Zagreb Coach Nenad Klajic at the press conference following his team’s 21-23 loss to Flensburg: “I do not expect amazing things from Flensburg in Tschechow (Russia). We would rather come third in the group and gain international experience in the Cup Winner’s Cup. A top club in the last sixteen is still too early for this young team.”

Flensburg player, Johnny Jensen, who heard these words in the press conference, was flabbergasted: “Actually, we also want to win in Russia…”

As Zagreb needs Flensburg to win at Chehovskie Medvedi next weekend, Klajic’s comment are probably intended to incite the Germans into giving a 100% effort in a game that is meaningless to them now that Flensburg is assured 1st place. At least, I can’t imagine anyone in the world really wanting to play in the 3rd string Cup Winner’s Cup instead of the Champions League Round of 16.

Memo to coach Klajic: If you really want to go to the Cup Winner’s you don’t need to rely on a less than amazing Flensburg performance. All you have to do is lose to winless Skopje on Sunday. Here’s hoping that is exactly what happens.

Source: http://championsleague.eurohandball.com/index.asp?page=20071071X,1410#scroll

Champions League Analysis (A Rundown on the Scenarios)

Posted on by

Week 5 has concluded. Here’s a rundown on the scenarios that will determine who’s in, who’s out and who gets a top seed:

[b]GROUP A [/b]
W D L (GD) Points
1. Portland San Antonio 4 0 1 (40) 8
2. MKB Veszprém KC 4 0 1 (37) 8
3. RK "Bosna" Sarajevo 2 0 3 (-11) 4
4. MSK SIRS Povazska Bystr… 0 0 5 (-66) 0

Portland San Antonio lost in Veszprem by 2 this past weekend, but wins the aggregate tie breaker due to winning the first head to head match by 7. Both teams have qualified for the round of 16 and barring a huge upset loss next weekend Portland San Antonio will be in the first pot for the draw on 14 November.

[b]GROUP B[/b]
1. BM Ciudad Real 5 0 0 (34) 10
2. Kadetten Schaffhausen 2 1 2 (0) 5
3. SC Pick Szeged 2 1 2 (-1) 5
4. Brest HC Meshkov 0 0 5 (-33) 0

Ciudad Real has 1st place locked up. Schaffhausen pulled off the biggest surprise of the Champion’s League earlier this season with their away tie at Szeged and will seek to continue their Cinderella story when they host Szeged on Saturday. Schaffhausen – Szeged are level on points, so the winner of the match will advance to the round of 16. In the event of a tie Schaffhausen will also advance due to their 1 goal lead in the next tiebreaker that would apply (Goal Differential in all group games).

[b]GROUP C [/b]
1. KIF Kolding Elite A/S 4 1 0 (35) 9
2. Chambery Savoie HB 3 1 1 (9) 7
3. Crvena Zvezda Beograd 1 0 4 (-14) 2
4. Wisla Plock S.A. 1 0 4 (-30) 2

Despite playing without their leading scorer, Nenad Vuckovick, an inspired Chambery team pulled off an away tie at Kolding. This away tie and Wisla Plock’s loss propels Chambery into the round of 16. Kolding, due to its aggregate 6 goal advantage is guaranteed to finish 1st.

[b]GROUP D [/b]
1. SG Flensburg-Handewitt 5 0 0 (41) 10
2. Chehovskie Medvedi 3 0 2 (12) 6
3. RK Zagreb 2 0 3 4
4. RK Metalurg Skopje 0 0 5 (-50) 0

Flensburg took care of business on Saturday with an away win at Zagreb to guarantee a 1st place finish in the group. Zagreb must now hope that Flensburg will still play hard and win at Chehovski Medvedi on Saturday. If Medvedi wins or ties they will take the 2nd seed. If they lose Zagreb (assuming they take care of Skopje) will advance as they won the head to head aggregate vs Medvedi.

[b]GROUP E [/b]
1. THW Kiel 5 0 0 (58) 10
2. C.S. HCM Constanta 2 1 2 (-17) 5
3. GOG Svendborg TGI Gudme 2 0 3 (18) 4
4. HC Banik OKD Karvina 0 1 4 (-59) 1

Kiel has won the group and barring a colossal upset by Constanta vs Kiel on Sunday, Svendborg will control their own destiny when they play at Karvina, also on Sunday. A Svendborg win or tie will give them 2nd place. A loss will put Constanta in the round of 16.

[b]GROUP F [/b]
1. VfL Gummersbach 5 5 0 0 183 : 146 (37) 10
2. Celje Pivovarna Lasko 5 4 0 1 174 : 141 (33) 8
3. Sandefjord TIF 5 1 0 4 148 : 174 (-26) 2
4. Fram Reykjavik 5 0 0 5 135 : 179 (-44) 0

Gummersbach and Celje will both advance and 1st place will be decided on Saturday in Slovenia. Gummersbach won the first match by 3 so Celje will need to win by 3 to take 1st place. (Note: In the event of a 3 goal win by Celje, Celje will also advance due to the lead they will then have in the next applicable tiebreaker (Goal Differential in all Group Games). While they are currently behind by 4 goals, if they were to win by exactly 3, they will move ahead of Gummersbach, +36 to +34)

[b]GROUP G [/b]
1. FC Barcelona-Cifec 5 0 0 (43) 10
2. RK Gold Club Kozina 2 0 3 (-14) 4
3. Panellinios AC Athens 2 0 3 (-27) 4
4. Hammarby IF HB 1 0 4 (-2) 2

Barcelona has 1st place all wrapped up. 2nd place, however, is still in doubt. Athens is out of the picture unless they pull off a major upset in Barcelona. Which means 2nd will come down to the Gold Club Kozina – Hammarby match on Sunday. If Gold Club wins or ties they will advance on points. If Hammarby wins there will be a 3 way tie in points between Gold Club, Hammarby and Athens. The three way standings are currently

1. RK Gold Club Kozina 2 0 1 (+6) 4
2. Pannellinios AC Athens 2 0 2 (-12) 4
3. Hammarby IF HB 1 0 2 (+6) 2

The resulting 3 way tie would give Hammarby 2nd place due to the fact that they would move ahead of Gold Club on Goal Differential.

[b]GROUP H [/b]
1. CBM Valladolid 4 1 0 (35) 9
2. Montpellier HB 4 0 1 (29) 8
3. HC Portovik Yuzhny 1 0 4 (-26) 2
4. A1 Bregenz HB 0 1 4 (-38) 1

Valladolid and Montpellier will advance and 1st place will be decided on Sunday in Montpellier. Montpellier must win, while Valladolid will take 1st with a draw or a win.

[b]Projecting the Seeds[/b]
(Bold indicates teams that are mathematically locked in as a #1 or #2 Seed)

Top Seeds
[b]Ciudad Real
Kolding
Flensburg
Kiel
Barcelona[/b]
Portland San Antonio

#1 or #2 Seed
Gummersbach or Celje
Montpellier or Valladolid

Likely #2 Seeds
[b]Chambery [/b]
GOG Svendborg
Veszprem

Battle for #2 Seeds
Kadetten Schaffhausen or Pick Szeged
Zagreb or Chehovskie Medvedi
Hammarby or Gold Club Kozina

2007 Women's World Championship Website Launched

Posted on by

The Official Website for the 2007 Women's World Championship has been launched.
http://www.handball2007.fr/cm/

The English portion of the site is still in development. One interesting piece of news that I learned is that the African and Asian qualifying nations have already been determined: http://www.handball2007.fr/cm/spip.php?article26

Champions League Week 5 (Our Picks)

Posted on by

[b]Last Week[/b]
[i]Yuzhny (+4.5)[/i] vs Montpellier Bet 200 on Yuzhny at 1.85 (24-27) WIN 170
[i]Chehovskie Medvedi (-4.5) [/i]vs. Zagreb Bet 200 on Chehovskie Medvedi at 1.70 (29-24) WIN 140
[i]Svendborg (-4.5)[/i] vs. Constanta Bet 100 on Svendborg at 1.90 (33-17) WIN 90
Chambery vs. [i]Belgrade (+7.5)[/i] Bet 100 on Belgrade at 1.95 (34-28) WIN 95
Gain/Loss: +495 Euros

[b]Season[/b]
200 Euro Bets 4-2; +230
100 Euro Bets 3-3; -45
Current Bankroll: 1,185 Euros

Well, it’s always nice to go 4-0 and climb out of debt. However, I’ll chalk up at least part of this success to simple good fortune. I’m not ready to quit my day job just yet. Miguel and I have teamed up for this week. Let’s hope we can continue the lucky streak.

[b]This Week's Picks[/b]

Odds courtesy of bwin: www.bwin.com

Ciudad Real vs Pick Szeged
Real still has some injured players (Fis and Stefanson) but, Davis and Belaustegui have recovered. This Szeged squad isn’t as strong as last years. Evidence of this includes Kadetten Schaffhausen's draw and Ciudad Real's earlier 5 goal win in Hungary. The score for that game might have been worse, but the refs were a little bit more permissive than usual on defense. In Ciudad Real, the refs will rediscover that their whistles work and Ciudad Real will run up the score accordingly. 9.5 goals is a lot, but they should be able to do it.
[b]BET: 200 Euros on Ciudad Real (-9.5 goals at 1.72)[/b]

Kolding vs Chambery
Kolding has already beaten Chambery by 6 in France, so they should be able to do the same thing on their home floor. Kolding is in control of the group, and while there might be some danger of complacency I don’t think Chambery is currently capable of a strong road performance. Certainly their second half meltdown in Paris(13-13 at halftime, 31-23 loss at full time) in a key LNH match on Wednesday, doesn’t forecast any reason for a better performance in Denmark.
[b]BET: 100 Euros on Kolding (-7.5 goals at 1.57) [/b]

Zagreb vs Flensburg
Flensburg is undefeated in Group D, but they have two tough matches ahead (this week at Zagreb and next week at Medvedi). Zagreb should be highly motivated to win and strengthen their hold on 2nd place in the group. While they can still qualify with a loss, they run the risk of Medvedi beating an unmotivated Flensburg (they will have 1st locked up) the following week. Add the fact, that Flensburg will have the tough task of playing in front of the Dom Sportova faithful and you have the makings of an upset.
[b]BET: 200 Euros on Zagreb (+1.5 goals at 1.85)[/b]

Veszprem vs Portland San Antonio
This match will decide 1st place for Group A. Portland San Antonio currently has a 7 goal lead against Veszprem on aggregate, but they are not at full strength with Kristian Kjelling out due to injury. And their away draw Wednesday night at 11th place Logrono is not a good sign. Nothing against this bottom of the table Spanish side, but I’d expect that Veszprem is more than just a little bit tougher place to play. Look for Portland San Antonio to hang on to its aggregate lead, but they should lose this match and lose by more than a goal and a half.
[b]BET: 100 Euros on Veszprem (-1.5 goals at 1.75)[/b]

Tri-Nations Tournament- Ireland Men and English Women Win Titles

Posted on by

This past October saw the reinstitution of the Tri-Nations Tournament between England, Scotland and Ireland. A round-robin was played over 3 days in Scotland. The surprise result was the Ireland Men, defeating both England and Scotland to take the title (hey, I didn’t even know they played Team Handball in the “Old Country.“). Both the English and Scottish sides, however, were missing key players who are currently playing in Denmark. http://www.sportfocus.com/webpro/handball/nlstory.cfm?ID=20924&NLID=42045 The English Women secured the women’s title, by also sweeping the competition.

England Report Women): http://www.sportfocus.com/webpro/handball/nlstory.cfm?ID=20928&NLID=42045
England Report (Men): http://www.sportfocus.com/webpro/handball/nlstory.cfm?ID=20925&NLID=42045
Scotland Report: http://www.scottishhandball.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=97&Itemid=2
Ireland Report: http://www.olympichandball.org/news/news/225/00239.html

Side Note: In case you are wondering why there are separate England, Scotland and British Handball Federations it’s related to the rather complicated sporting and national relationships that exist. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. For many sporting competitions, (e.g. world cup soccer) England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have separate teams. The IOC, however, only recognizes the UK for Olympic Competitions, so a British team has to be fielded. Hence, the three separate federations with a linked relationship. For Handball, the IHF recognizes the British Handball Federation and British teams (if they qualified) would participate in IHF events.
The EHF recognizes the British and Scottish Federations and they have played in the European Challenge Tournaments. At some point in the future, however, the combined team might seek to participate in EHF tournaments as it would provide a consistent roster in preparation for the 2012 Olympics.

Handball Web Forums

Posted on by

From time to time, I surf the web to find out what other handball sites are online. Recently, I’ve recently discovered two English language web forums with a lot of good online discussion. These two forums have been added to our links section on the right hand side and a short description of what you will find in the forums is below.

The Betting Advice Forum http://forum.bettingadvice.com/viewforum.php?f=67 as you can guess by the title is very much focused on handball betting. But even if you never make a wager, you’ll probably find it’s interesting to see the viewpoints expressed on who’s going to win the major National Team and Club Team competitions.

The Kometal Fan Forum, http://www.kometalfans.com/forum/index.php is a broader forum with English language discussion on a variety of topics. Kometal is a top Macedonian club, but the nearly 1,000 forum members have addresses all over the world. If you’re looking for the results of a tournament, some background information on the latest EHF/IHF press release, or whether a live internet broadcast is available on the web this forum is often a good place to start.

Results from Last Week’s National Team Competitions

Posted on by

Several National Team Competitions took place last week while the Champions League and many National Leagues took the week off. The results of these competitions should be taken in context as some teams were not at full strength and in some cases coaches were experimenting with their line-ups in preparation for the World Championships next January.

[b]Statoil World Cup[/b]: This competition took place in Sweden and Germany and included pool play, crossovers and placement games. Croatia defeated Tunisia 33-31 in overtime to take the championship and Sweden took 3rd place with a 26-24 victory over Denmark. Anybody thinking that Tunisia’s 4th place finish at the 2005 World Championships was a one time result due to playing at home might want to rethink that assessment. They have a solid team with most of their top players playing in France. I’m not sure what happened to the Spain at this tournament. Even if they weren’t at full strength this is a very disappointing result.

Final Ranking
1) Croatia
2) Tunisia
3) Sweden
4) Denmark
5) Germany
6) Serbia
7) Spain
8 Greece

Statoil World Cup: http://www.handboll.info/t2.aspx?p=107237&x=1&a=440937 (in Swedish)
Summary of Results from Tunisian Federation: http://www.handballtunisie.org/interne.php (in French)

[b]Grundfos Cup[/b]: Poland hosted a round robin tournament with Denmark, Norway, and Portugal. Denmark was able to win this tournament with their 2nd team. Poland’s less then impressive performance at home should give some optimism for Pan American Handball watchers. Poland, along with Germany, Brazil and Argentina will play in the same group at the World Championships. Based on Poland's results at last year’s European Championships and these results it's not outrageous to suggest that Brazil or Argentina could beat Poland and make into the Main Round.

Results
26 Oct 2006
Denmark – Norway (33-29)
Poland – Portugal (36-28)
27 Oct 2006
Norway-Portugal (33-26)
Poland-Denmark (33-35)
28 Oct 2006
Denmark- Portugal (29-25)
Poland-Norway (31-29)

Final Standings
Denmark 3-0-0
Poland 2-0-1
Norway 1-0-2
Portugal 0-0-3

Polish Federation Site: http://www.zprp.org.pl

[b]Qatar International Tournament[/b]: Qatar hosted and won a round-robin tournament with Macedonia, Algeria, and Italy
Goalz Website: http://www.goalzz.com/main.aspx?c=2657&stage=1

[b]France – Russia Friendly Matches[/b]: France hosted Russia in two friendly matches. France won both games, 31-28 in Marseille and 35-27 in Toulouse http://www.lnh.fr/asp.net/main.news/news.aspx?newsid=549. I saw most of the 2nd match and France appeared to be in fine form. With Spain’s poor performance this past week, I think they’ve emerged as the clear favorites for the World Championships.

[b]Hungary – Iceland Friendly Matches[/b]: Hungary hosted Iceland for two friendly matches. Hungary won the first match 32-28
http://mksz.handballnet.hu/DesktopDefault.aspx?menuid=111

[b]Czech Republic Tournament[/b]: The Czech Republic hosted and dominated this tournament. Egypt’s loss to Belgium would seem to indicate that Egypt is continuing to slide further away from the Handball elites.
Czech Federation: http://www.chf.zdarsko.cz/aktualita_detail.aspx?IDPrispevek=168

Final Standings
1. Czech Republic 6 Pts
2. Belgium 4 Pts
3. Egypt 2 Pts
4. Fiinland 0 Pts

[b]Switzerland Tournament[/b]: Slovenia is the only participant headed to the World Championships. They won the tournament, but failed to impress. Most indicative was a one goal win vs Israel.
http://www.handball.ch/EasyGateWebBase/DesktopPages/DisplayNews.aspx?LangID=1&ItemID=3309&mid=721
Final Standings
1. Slovenia 3/6 (101:92)
2. Romania 3/4 (109:100)
3. Switzerland 3/2 (91:92)
4. Israel 3/0 (81:98).

The Wired Fan Can Stay Local but Dream Global

Posted on by

International Herald Tribune sports reporter, Christopher Clarey, illustrates how it’s now possible to be a fan of any sport, practically anywhere. http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/10/26/sports/arena.php

Handball is certainly making inroads in this direction, particularly with the EHF’s broadcast of Champions League games last year, but the technology isn’t quite there yet. Sooner than you might think, however, the day will come when you will be able to view handball matches from around the world, anywhere in the world, any time you want to.

[b]The wired fan can stay local but dream global[/b]

Christopher Clarey / International Herald Tribune
Published: October 26, 2006

BOSTON: It was a Tuesday in Massachusetts, but it could just as easily have been a Tuesday in Paris or Dubai.
On the television screen in my home office, Liverpool was playing Bordeaux in Europe's Champions League, with Barcelona-Chelsea and Madrid's Masters Series tennis tournament already on the digital video recorder's hard drive and set for later viewing.
On the laptop screen, in leisurely succession, were Web sites that are the quotidian touchstones of my business: chinadaily.com for Chinese sports; marca.com for Spain; asahi.com for Japan; lequipe.fr for France and beyond.
Then there were the Web windows into single sports: golfobserver.com; skiracing,com; thedailysail.com, truehoop.com, iaaf.org for track and field and home.cogeco.ca/~courtcoverage for tennis.
It is the bubble in which I live when I am not on the road this time of year, and though there was a period, far from sepia-hued, when immersing myself in the international sports scene to this degree would have been impossible in any time zone, it is now possible in just about any time zone.
Globalization has its downsides, from homogenization to west Nile virus in cold climates to the difficulty of keeping a great, low-key beach resort in Asia a secret for long. But one of the upsides is that it allows you to order a la carte from the vast menu of life.
As usual, this is more expensive than the prix fixe menu. Broadband Internet and the right cable or satellite television package can take a bite out of the budget – well over $100 a month in my case. But the bubble is as much a hallmark of modern life among the border- crossing, culture-snacking class as a triband cellphone or frequent-flier points.
Food set the tone long ago, with cosmopolitan cities allowing their inhabitants the buzz of choosing between Chinese, Thai, Mongolian, Provençal, Tuscan, Japanese and more, sometimes all in the same neighborhood.
But it took until now for the technology to allow you to dislocate yourself thoroughly in your own home, giving you the possibility to surround yourself not only with those paintings you bought in Spain but with those radio stations you listened to in Spain when you were trying to keep track of Real Madrid or Real Betis before driving the kids to dance class.
That you are outside the culture now is beside the point. Of course you can't duplicate the feeling of community that comes with watching Spanish sports in Spain, immersed in the collective groans and cheers and next-day analysis. But what you can do is create your own personalized sports culture, and the truly remarkable part is that you can do it whether you live in the woods well out of day-tripping distance of a major sports stadium or whether you're just a short stroll from the Parc des Princes.
You can't quite have it all yet. Though the Internet continues to build virtual real estate, it is still not filling some of the niches and needs that sports television is ignoring.
My brother-in-law, an American in London, would like to watch his beloved Nebraska Cornhuskers play college football live every week in the autumn but has to settle for listening to their games on Internet radio unless the North American Sports Network happens to showcase Nebraska as one of its two or three college games a week.
Even when the Web is filling niches and low-level demand by putting any Champions League game on your computer screen for a price in North America or NFL games on your computer screen for a price in Europe, the picture often remains too fickle and small to qualify as true value for money.
But there is no question that you can still inflate your own bubble, filling it with the sights and sites, the cheers and jeers of your choosing.
When I first moved to France in the early 1990s, your best hope for following Major League Baseball from afar was the line score in a daily newspaper. Now you have a fine chance of being able to watch the regular-season game of your choosing on the Internet or even on television, now that North American Sports Network has started up its channel as part of a satellite service in France.
"I can now live here," e-mailed my friend Ron Halpern, a New Yorker turned longtime Paris resident, after North American's announcement this month.
The question for the sports fan with international tastes is fast becoming, "Where can't you live?"

EHF/IHF Impasse and the Proposed World League

Posted on by

The EHF website recently released an interview with the EHF President discussing the current impasse between the IHF and EHF: http://home.eurohandball.com/ehf_files/ehf_news/sr_IHFINTERVIEW/default.htm

The controversy stems from the IHF’s proposal to reorganize qualification for the World Championships, as well as the development of a new World League for Clubs: https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.124
http://www.ihf.info/front_content.php?idcat=132&idart=383

Apparently, I’m not the only one to have rhetorically wondered about the feasibility of a World League for Clubs. Here’s some commentary from the Editors of French Magazine, HandAction:

G14, New Champions League, World League, What’s Next?

Fallacies abound in the Handball world. A proposed competition of clubs from the 4 continents, a so-called World League is the latest imagined proposal of the IHF and which, according to some of our sources, is even planned for inauguration in time for the 2007-2008 Season. The competition would be divided into several zones:: two tournaments in the Pan-American region: Sao Paulo (Brazil) and Buenos Aires (Argentina), one in Africa (Tunis), one in Asia (Korea or Japan) and finally a European mini-league. In June 2008, eight teams representing the four geographical areas, would participate in a mini-tournament of two pools of 4 teams. Miquel Roca, treasurer of the IHF and former President of the Association of the Spanish clubs (Asobal), is reportedly one of the instigators of this new competition in spite of his own denials. Whereas Handball aspires to more media credibility, this appears to be and irrational concept. Ciudad Real vs River Plate and Montpellier vs El Ahly in the quarterfinals, sound like a dream doesn’t it?

"To travel to other continents to play lower level teams doesn’t appear to make much sense,” according to Robert Molines, the president of Montpellier Handball, who indicated that he is “vaguely familiar” with the subject. “I haven’t discussed this yet with Roca and I just recently found out he had left the ASOBAL. There are a couple of other developments that will also need to be considered. These are the G14, a grouping of 14 top European Clubs to defend club interests as well as the reformatting of the Champions League in 2007 to include 2 phases of pool play before the semifinals.”

Without a doubt, the idea of a World League, is a vast illusion at this point in time, when you consider that the EHF and top European Clubs also have their differences.

Original Text (in French)

G14, nouvelle Ligue des Champions, Ligue mondiale… et puis quoi encore?

L’hérésie libérale gagne également le handball… Une compétition mettant aux prises des équipes de quatre continents, voici ce que serait la Ligue mondiale, dernière imagination de certaines éminences grises de la Fédération internationale (IHF) et qui, selon certaines de nos sources, rêveraient de l’inaugurer pour la saison 2007-2008 ! Cette épreuve se répartirait en plusieurs zones mondiales : deux tournois entres les pays américains a Sao Paulo (Brésil) et Buenos Aires (Argentine), un en Afrique (à Tunis), un en Asie (en Corée ou au Japon) et enfin une mini-ligue européenne regroupant deux poules en juin 2008 avec la participation de huit équipes représentant les quatre zones géographiques. Miquel Roca, trésorier de l’IHF et démissionnaire de la présidence de l’Association des clubs espagnols (Asobal) est considéré comme l’un des instigateurs de cette novelle compétition malgré ses propres dénégations. Alors que le handball aspire à plus de crédibilité médiatique, on rentre ici dans les sphères de l’irrationnel. Ciudad Real/River Plate et Montpellier face à El Ahly en quarts de finale, ca vous ferrait rêver, vous ? « Traverser les continents pour jouer des équipes de bs niveau, cela n’a pas de sens », nous a répondu illico Robert Molines, le président du Montpellier Handball qui a « vaguement entendu parler »du sujet. « Je n’arrive plus à joindre Roca. J’ai juste appris qu’il était parti de la Asobal. Il ya a, en revanche, deux choses que avancent, ce sont le G14, un regroupement des meilleurs clubs européens qui permettra de mieux défendre nos intérêts, ainsi que la réforme de la Ligue des Champions pour 2007 avec 32 équipes et deux phases de poule avant les demi-finales. » Incontestablement, l’idée d’une Ligue mondiale est à ce jour une vaste illusion au moment où l’EHF et l’Association des clubs européens commencent à peine à s’entendre.