Author Archives: John Ryan

Handball Web Streaming Options this Weekend (14-15 Nov 2020)

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Rhein-Neckar takes on Lemgo in a Bundesliga Clash

The pandemic appears to be ramping up again, so you might want to catch some handball action online… while you still can.  Thankfully, there are a plethora of options this weekend.  Here’s some links to online streams with the goals handicap betting odds courtesy of Bet MGM.

EHF Women’s Champions League: Round 8 includes 3 matches on Saturday and 3 on Sunday.

  • Where to watch:  Link
  • Preview: Link (no spoilers)
  • CSM Bucuresti (-6.5) vs RK Krim Mercator, Saturday, 16:00 CET
  • HC Podravka Vegeta vs Brest (-4.5), Saturday, 16:00 CET
  • Buducnost (-6.5) vs SCM Ramnicu Valcea, Saturday, 18:00 CET
  • Bietigheim vs FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (-1.5), Sunday, 14:00 CET
  • Team Esbjerg vs Rostov-Don (-1.5), Sunday, 14:00 CET
  • Odense (-1.5) vs CSKA, Sunday, 16:00 CET

German Bundesliga (HBL and HBL 2):

  • Rhein-Neckar (-5.5) vs TVB Lemgo (Saturday, 1800 CET): Link (may require VPN)
  • Hüttenberg (pick em) vs. TSV Bayer Dormagen (Saturday, 1930 CET): Link (may require VPN)
    • (Note: Of interest to USA fans as Dormagen features 2 Americans: Ian and Patrick Hueter)

French LIDL Star Ligue

  • Montpellier (-5.5) vs Cesson-Rennes (Saturday, 1700 CET): Link
  • Tremblay vs Saint-Raphael (-1.5) (Sunday, 1600 CET): Link
  • Creteil (-1.5) vs Istres (Sunday, 1600 CET): Link

Spanish Liga Asobal

  • Aranda vs Vallodolid (-3.5) (Saturday, 1700 CET): Link
  • Cangas vs Huesca (-2.5) (Saturday, 1900 CET): Link
  • Cuenca (-3.5) vs Guadalajra (Saturday, 2100 CET): Link

The USA Gets a 2021 WC Slot, While Greenland (and Others) Stay Home (Part 2): The Competitive Case

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Greenland vs USA All Time Record:  All very interesting, but how relevant is it?

In Part 1, I endorsed the first five “business case” reasons that the IHF listed as rationale for selecting the U.S. to participate in the 2021 IHF Handball World Championships. I won’t, however, endorse the 6th listed reason:

  • From those teams that have registered for the planned qualification event and showed interest in playing the qualification (Canada, Greenland, Puerto Rico, USA), USA are the best-ranked team at the last official competition, namely the 2019 Pan American Games.

Why? Because, while true, it’s a tone deaf slap in the face to Greenland handball since Greenland is not allowed to participate in the PANAM Games. And, if you can’t compete in a competition it’s impossible to get ranked at that competition!

A Primer on National Team Handball Tournaments in the Americas

When it comes to national team competitions in the Americas a lot of folks get confused, and, for good reason as these competitions have similar names and participants. The best way to understand how everything is structured is to know which sport’s organization has overall jurisdiction for that competition. Or, to put it another way, what final tournament are the nations trying to qualify for?

For the IHF World Championships the IHF is ultimately responsible and until the Pan American Team Handball Federation (PATHF) was split into two confederations the event that qualified teams for the World Championships was the Pan American Championships. These Championships were held every 2 years and Greenland was able to participate because they are member of the IHF.

For the Olympic Games, the IOC is ultimately responsible and Greenland cannot participate because they are not a member of the IOC. Working with the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO), PATHF decided in 1987 to have the PANAM Games, which is essentially a mini-Olympics for the Americas as the handball qualification event for the Olympics. The PANAM Games are held every four years and Greenland cannot participate because they are not a member of the IOC or PASO.

As to why Greenland isn’t a member of the IOC it relates to Greenland’s semi-autonomous status as part of Denmark. The IOC currently requires full independence for new memberships. Which, incidentally, is why Puerto Rico competes in the Olympics despite their semi-autonomous state as they were “grandfathered” in as member prior to the change in policy.

Incidentally, since the North/South split of PATHF there has been no indication of any IHF plans to grant both the NACHC and SCAHC an Olympic slot. This status quo regarding Olympic qualification implies that the North and South will continue to share an Olympic slot that will be awarded at the PANAM Games.

The Tale of the Tape (All Time GRL-USA Competition Record)

So, while Greenland and the USA have never met in a PANAM Games competition they’ve met eight times in Pan American Championship tournaments, once in a North American Championship and once even at the World Championships. Here’s the all time match record based on Wikipedia results pages.

As an American, all I can say is, “Wow, this head to head summary pretty much summarizes the dismal performance of our men’s national team in the 21st century. 1-0-9 vs Greenland. A 330,000,000 population vs 55,000. This isn’t a rivalry. This is an ass whuppin. Seriously, what is wrong with handball in our country?”

At least that’s how it feels emotionally as someone who really, really cares about handball in this country. Putting on my analytical hat, however, none of this should be that surprising. So what if our population is almost 6,000 times larger. That doesn’t matter if more Greenlanders than Americans are actually playing handball. And, while our total GDP as a nation is massive, I suspect that Greenland spends more on handball than the U.S. does, from grass roots all the way to national teams.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Looking at this historical record is quite the trip down memory lane and it really does mirror the decline of handball in the U.S. since the 1996 Olympic Games.  Note, how the sole U.S. victory is the very first match between the two countries in 1998. A ten goal victory with a roster that surely had some holdovers from that Olympic team.  But, as those players got older and nothing was really in place to develop athletes with traditional grass roots or a residency program the balance of power shifted.   In 2001, thanks to Cuba bowing out, the U.S. got a ticket to the World Championship where the U.S. was totally uncompetitive losing by an average of 22 goals, including an 8 goal loss to Greenland.  A year later with a trip to the 2002 World Championships on the line Greenland steam rolled over the U.S. 27-7.  The score at halftime:  11-2.  Two goals in 30 minutes?  To Greenland? When I first heard that result I was astonished.  When I asked an old teammate, “What the hell happened?” I got kind of a shrug and no real explanation.

And, for me personally, it was the beginning of a wakeup call, that the times they were a changin’.  A wakeup call, that was further realized by living 5 years in France and getting a close up view of what we up against on the world stage.  With support from the U.S. Olympic Committee being drastically cut and with no real grass roots structure in place it was the start of some real lean years for USA Team Handball.  Gone were the days when we could recruit some great athletes, train them up with a residency program and go take on the world.  At least that’s what was ridiculously obvious to me.  However, it was not so obvious to others and we attempted to recreate our “glory days” with an underfunded residency program that struggled to recruit athletes and couldn’t afford to travel to Europe for the competition that was needed to improve.

A Wakeup Call and a Change in Direction

Poor results continued as did the U.S. losing streak to Greenland.  In 2018 came the low water mark.  At a North American Championship, the U.S. finished 5th out of 6 nations and failed to even qualify for the Pan American Championships.  It did, however, finally elicit a wakeup call for USA Team Handball

Coincidence or not, my plea to shift to dual citizens was heeded and a totally revamped roster was put together to qualify for the 2019 PANAM Games.  Overnight the U.S. had a much better team and they qualified with relative ease over Canada winning a 2 match aggregate qualification by 12 goals.  And, having witnessed both matches in person, I would argue that it wasn’t even as close as the scores suggested.  The U.S. didn’t do as well as I would have liked at the PANAM Games, due in part to some injuries, but the score lines were better and we notched a victory over a Cuban team that’s also improved significantly.  The U.S. also performed well at the 2019 North American Emerging Nations Qualifier and the 2019 Emerging Nations Championship.

Is this new U.S. team World class?  No.  Our top prospects are playing in the German 2nd Divisions (Ian and Patrick Hueter) and the French 2nd Division (Abou Fofana).  And, then we have several players (thanks to support from the Forum Club Handball) are playing with top clubs like Spain’s Leon (Drew Donlin), Flensburg (Ty Reed, Tristan Morawski), Elverum (Nico Robinson) and Kristianstad (Rene Ingram).  With the exception of Donlin, these athletes are playing with 2nd teams, but also are training some of the time with the first team.  Those are all great training environments and every one of these athletes has improved since their PANAM Games opportunity last year.

They are not going to beat Norway and France, but they should put up a credible fight and we’ll see some flashes of real promise.  And, likely some wins in the President’s Cup.  Several of these athletes are also in their early 20s and will also likely be representing the U.S. in Los Angeles come 2028.

Better than Greenland?  (Or, Cuba for that Matter?)

Well, first to reiterate with emphasis:

No one.  I repeat no one is happy that no championship could be held to decide a winner on the court.  No one.

That being said, my educated guess if the North American & Caribbean Championship had been held this is the percentage odds as to who would have won.

  • Cuba: 40%
  • USA: 33%
  • Greenland: 25%
  • Another team 2%

Of course, this is just an educated guess, and we’ll never ever know for real, but here’s some more rationale.  Cuba and the U.S. played 4 times last year and split the matches 2-2, but I would assess that Cuba are a little deeper in terms of overall talent.

Neither the U.S. nor Cuba have played Greenland recently so it’s harder to extrapolate.  One might argue that Greenland’s performance at the 2018 Pan American Championships would make them the better team.  After all, they almost knocked off Chile to qualify for the 2019 WC, but those results are a bit tempered by the home crowd atmosphere they had pulling for them.  Further, their team is getting older with their top 3 players, Minik Dahl Hoegh and the Kreutzmann brothers all in their 30s and stepping away from full time handball.  And, there is no depth whatsoever on the Greenland roster.  Doesn’t mean they can’t overcome these shortcomings, just suggests that it would be a bit tougher for them to do so.

Does it Matter? Shouldn’t the IHF Just Look at Recent Results?

But, why just spitball how good the current teams are?  Let’s just look at the recent results.  I guess I could go along with that logic if it was written down somewhere that is the process that has to be followed.  But, lacking an established process it becomes a bit of gamesmanship.  Like the gamesmanship of using the PANAM Games as criteria to exclude Greenland.  How far back does one go in order to determine relevant results?  Should one factor in that both Cuba and the U.S. are dramatically different teams now?  Why or Why not?  Again, when one establishes criteria after the fact, one can select criteria that makes their case better.  Lacking such criteria, I would suggest that the business case for the U.S. couple with their recent improvement in performance makes the U.S. the logical, best choice to represent the NACHC.

An Awesome Set of Rivalries Shaping Up

I guess to end on a positive note, this little confederation is shaping up to be quite interesting.  Cuba and the U.S. have already renewed their rivalry and Greenland will be joining them.  I suspect the next GRL-USA match will be a hard fought one.  Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic are surely thinking don’t forget about us.  Yes, one can really look forward to a real championship played on the court.  The sooner, the better.

Austria vs Estonia: A Glimpse of What a USA vs Austria Match Might Look Like

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The U.S. may have an outsider’s chance against Austria at the World Championships. Check out how well another outsider, Estonia, fares against them today.

Austria hosts Estonia today at 8:25 PM (CET) / 2:25 PM (US ET) in an European Championship Qualification match. The match can be seen on ehfTV. (Requires free registration). The oddsmakers have Austria as a 6.5 goal favorite. (Bet MGM)


The U.S. has drawn France, Norway and Austria and without a doubt that’s some stiff competition. It’s pretty hard to imagine the U.S. having any chance whatsoever vs France and Norway, but one can at least speculate on the possibility of the U.S. putting up a decent fight vs Austria.

Austria’s Roster

Austria is a 2nd tier European handball nation that sometimes challenges 1st tier European nations. Case in point: hard fought matches vs Croatia and Spain on home soil this past January at the European Championships. And, at the other end, they are a nation that has slipped up against lesser opponents. Case in point: A 32-24 loss to Chile at the 2019 World Championships.

Further, with their best player, Nikola Bilyk, out due to injury, the team participating in Egypt will be a notch down in quality from the side that participated in the most recent tournaments. Their roster features a handful of players playing in Germany, most notably Robert Weber, and other countries, but the bulk of their team plays in Austria. The Austrian League is a solid competition, but it’s not as strong as the leagues in other nations.

Estonia: A European Outsider

Austria’s opponent, Estonia, is a European outsider that’s never had any real success in handball. They’ve never qualified for the World Championships or European Championships and I don’t think they’ve ever come close. Their roster is mostly composed of athletes playing in Estonia or for 2nd tier foreign pro teams in other countries. The notable exception is Mat Patrail who currently plays for Rhein-Necker in the German Bundesliga.

An Estonia – USA Comparison

While Estonia has had no real success against Europe’s best teams, they’ve shown their better than Europe’s minnows. To get to this stage of qualification they easily beat Luxembourg 69-53 on aggregate. This same Luxembourg team easily defeated Great Britain, Bulgaria and Ireland and, those 3 nations were all at the 2019 Emerging Nations Championship which the U.S. also participated in. The U.S. beat Ireland 37-32 and lost to Bulgaria, 38-35, but the U.S. was missing some key players from their roster. I’m pretty certain a full strength U.S. roster would have won those matches and probably convincingly.

If one compares where the top U.S. players are currently playing club handball to Estonia you’ll see some similarities in terms of the level of play. The U.S. has the Hueter brothers (Ian and Patrick) playing in the German 2nd Division, Abou Fofana playing in the French 2nd Division and Drew Donlin playing a supporting role for Leon in the Spanish Liga Asobal. And, then several players playing in lower divisions throughout Europe, including 3 athletes (Ty Reed, Rene Ingram and Nico Robinson) that are also getting some practice time with Champions League Clubs.

Overall, based on these common foe comparisons and club assignments I would say that the current U.S. squad probably is somewhere between Estonia and Luxembourg in quality. Of course, that’s just a paper assessment based on limited information. It will be interesting to see how Estonia fares today and how the U.S. can do in January.

The USA Gets a 2021 WC Slot, while Greenland (and Others) Stay Home (Part 1): The Business Case

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Yes, the IHF is a business and business concerns are rightly part of the decision making process

Yesterday, the IHF nominated the U.S. to participate in the 2021 IHF World Men’s Handball Championship as the North American & Caribbean Handball Confederation (NACHC). It didn’t take long for a firestorm of protest to emerge pointing out that this wasn’t deserved and that Greenland should have been selected instead. It was very predictable and on the surface it seems pretty unfair. If one digs deeper, however, one can also conclude that it was clearly the right decision.

Establishing some Bonafides

For the record, I’m an American and former U.S. National Team player. I bleed red, white & blue and, of course, one could consider me as ridiculously biased. How could I possibly be objective here?

Well, let’s take a trip down memory lane to the 2006-2007 timeframe when Greenland was unceremoniously removed from the Pan American Team Handball Federation (PATHF) for essentially being too good. (And, yes, I regret to say that my own nation was part of those machinations.) Why, on two occasions (2002, 2006) Greenland beat the U.S. to secure World Championship spots. The 2006 defeat was a real bummer because I was living in Europe and looking forward to covering the U.S. at the 2007 World Championships in Germany.

Instead, I got to watch Greenland play instead. As you can see and hear from this 2007 article/podcast I became a pretty big fan. For sure it was very obvious that the whining I had heard in the states that Greenland’s team was just a bunch of Danish mercenaries, was totally hogwash. This was a legit team with real fans that were proudly Greenlanders. That’s why I was outraged when Greenland was kicked out of PATHF and used my soap box to lobby for their reinstatement. Whether this little website played any role is debatable, but thankfully the IHF forced PATHF to reinstate Greenland.

13 years later I still am a big proponent of Greenland handball. In 2018, I watched Greenland almost pull off a big upset over Chile on home soil to secure a 2019 WC slot. What a match and atmosphere! Check out this interview with Minik Dahl Hoegh regarding that match and handball in Greenland.

Anyway… If all this doesn’t convince you I can be objective… Nothing will. Moving on.

The IHF Role: They Decide and There’s No Established Criteria

So, why is the IHF making this decision? Well, due to the COVID-19 and probably the limited budgets of the nations involved it became impossible to hold a NACHC Championship. And, let’s be absolutely clear here:

No one. I repeat no one. Is happy that no championship could be held to decide a winner on the court. No one.

So no championship. How is this resolved? Does one turn to the NACHC regulations to see what it says under force majeure? No… not even if such regulations exist. As the IHF announcement points out, the applicable regulation is IHF Competitions, Section 2.8, World Championships: Non Appearance which states in part:

“If a Continental Confederation does not use its performance or compulsory places, the IHF Executive Committee shall decide on the reallocation of such places.”

So, with no championship being held, technically, the IHF didn’t even have to give this World Championship slot to a NACHC nation. They could have decided (as some have suggested in social media) given this slot to North Macedonia.

IHF Rationale for Selecting the U.S.

So, basically this was a free ticket for the IHF with no actual requirements dictating a solution. The IHF, however, provided some rationale, which I mostly agree with. That rationale is listed below:

  • USA are a very important handball nation for the worldwide handball development;
  • In view of the size of the population, a specific strategy was developed to accelerate the progress of handball in USA, aiming to grow the IHF’s TV audience worldwide and increase the social network impact of handball, which will help to maintain the status of handball in the Olympic system and ensure the future of handball at the Olympic Games;
  • The former Pan American continent was split in order to increase the number of handball activities and offer the countries in NACHC better chances to reach IHF major events. A special focus was placed from the very beginning on the USA being a major market. 
  • An agreement with major TV broadcasters in the USA has been made to show handball matches.
  • As Los Angeles, USA is hosting the 2028 Olympic Games, having strong host teams should be an overall target;
  • From those teams that have registered for the planned qualification event and showed interest in playing the qualification (Canada, Greenland, Puerto Rico, USA), USA are the best-ranked team at the last official competition, namely the 2019 Pan American Games.

The first five sets of rationale listed all relate to U.S. development and growing the U.S. market. Strictly from a business standpoint it’s hard to find fault with this rationale. And, make no mistake, the IHF is a business. Honestly, after years of shaking my fist in frustration at the lack of effort to develop a U.S. market, it’s refreshing to see criteria I’ve championed before being listed as reasons to give the U.S. an opportunity on the world stage. To promote the sport in this country.

A Rising Tide Lifts all Boats

It’s also worth noting that what’s good for USA Team Handball is also good for handball, in general, both in North America and the World. I get how the other nations of the NACHC might be resentful of the economic weight of the U.S. dictating this decision. Even if it is a unique, one off decision that’s only be made due to a global pandemic it still can leave a bad taste in one’s mouth.

But, make no mistake if the U.S. becomes a handball nation it will help everybody, much the same way the U.S. development as a soccer nation has helped the development of the CONCACAF. Yes, the CONCACAF isn’t UEFA, but make no mistake the U.S. caring about soccer now means some big paychecks for that organization. Big paychecks that have trickled down to all the CONCACAF nations.

Could the same thing happen with the NACHC? Yes, it could. Nicer competitions with a crowd and a TV contract. The U.S., Cuba, Canada, Greenland and others battling on the court for a WC slot in a nice arena in front of cheering fans.

So that’s the business case, but there’s actually a pretty solid case to be made that the U.S. is also the better team on the court. In Part 2, I’ll take a deep dive to explain why I think that is also true.

Commentary: Re-Imagining The U.S. Collegiate “Olympic” Sport Model (Part 1): The Enormous Disparity between Varsity and Club Sport Funding

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Yearly expenses for several sports programs at Ohio State University. Team Handball actually does have a bar, but at $3,376 it just doesn’t register at this scale.

The COVID-19 Pandemic has been a catalyst for several colleges and universities to reevaluate their collegiate sports programs. And, that reevaluation has resulted in 90 sports teams being dropped from the athletic departments of 26 schools. All told, around 1,500 athletes will no longer be competing at the Varsity level. (Source: NBC Sports: College sports cuts in the wake of Covid-19 are clouding the future of Olympics participation)

As you might expect a number of people are very upset with this development. This includes the 1,500 athletes who in many cases have lost a partial college scholarship, the college coaches who have lost jobs and the Sports National Governing Bodies (NGB) that have lost multiple sources for the development of potential future Olympic athletes. Not to mention the entrepreneurial $30 Billion dollar youth sports industry that has sprung up in part to develop athletes to get those scholarships.

Many articles and comments are along the lines of what a shame it is that this collegiate support for “Olympic” sports is being lost. And, that it will inevitably impact Team USA performance in future Olympics. My gut reaction to all this hand wringing is…

Hold on a second…You’re not talking about “all Olympic” sports here.  Cry me a river and welcome to my world, fencing, shooting, etc.

This visceral feeling is well founded, both as a former college handball player and coach.  I’ve seen first hand the disparity in terms of resources and support with what an Athletic Department “Varsity” sport receives and what a Club Activity sport receives.  It’s night and day.  Varsity sport athletes have scholarships, full time coaches, dedicated practice space and substantial travel budgets.  Club sports typically have no scholarships, volunteer coaches, often compete for gym space and sometimes get a little funding to defray a portion of their travel costs.

As I started working on this commentary, however, I realized that I needed to go beyond the gut reaction and that it would be better to quantify just exactly what the financial disparity actually is.  This resulted in a trip down the rabbit hole only to discover that it’s even worse than I had imagined.

Ohio State University Support to Sports Programs

There are many colleges and universities in the U.S., but only 19 collegiate handball clubs in the U.S.  For my initial investigation I chose Ohio State University which has an extensive NCAA sports program and a team handball club. 

It took a little digging and some reorganization of available data, but here is a table which lists the total expenses for every varsity sports program and the team handball club. 

Sources: Ohio State University Equity in Athletics Data Analysis (EADA) 2018 submittal; Ohio State Handball Club Financial Summary (avg of last 2 seasons)

Time to Rethink These Allocations… You Think?

For me, this data was a real eye opener. I always knew that club sports were getting the short end of the stick, I just didn’t realize how short it was. Seriously, handball’s budget is over 1,000 times smaller than men’s ice hockey. Or, just 44 times smaller than women’s pistol. Pick your varsity sport. It doesn’t matter. It’s a big difference. A really big difference.

Does such a big difference make sense? Should there perhaps be some reimagining about how this funding is allocated?

Of course, there should be. And, I’m not alone when it comes to such thinking. Recently, the New York Times published an essay by Tom Farrey of the Aspen Institute, “Colleges Are Cutting Varsity Sports. That Could Be a Good Thing.” In the essay he make several great points about why indeed it could be a good thing. How such a shift could lead to fewer parents chasing scholarships for their kids and how club sports can often provide a better balance for students between athletics, academics and just being a college student.

Overall he concludes that:

“Reducing the number of varsity teams will mean fewer athletic scholarships, but also potentially less money spent pursuing them and more university support for other forms of campus sports.“

I’ve added the italics and boldface, because the words “potentially more university support for other forms of campus sports” are music to my ears… except for that pesky word, potentially. Because such a reallocation is easier said than done.

In Part 2, I’ll take I’ll examine what it might take for the word potentially to become reality. At the same time I’ll try and play devil’s advocate to justify why sports like Ohio State’s Synchronized Swimming program should continue to expend resources at a $1.1M/year clip.

Handball Web Streaming: No Thursday Night NFL?: ehfTV has you Covered with the EHF Champions League Match of the Week

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Antonio AREIA RODRIGUES and FC Porto take on Szeged in the Match of the Week.

There’s no Thursday NFL game this week so why not take the opportunity to watch some Champions League handball later today. There are 3 matches on tap starting at 8:45 PM (CET) / 2:45 PM (US ET).

Live Video Link (Free Registration);

On Demand Full Match Video Page: Links for individual matches will also be added below when they are made available.

All 3 matches should be interesting, but the Match of the Week (MOTW) between Porto and Szeged will include English language commentary so you might want to start there.

The matches will be live early afternoon in the U.S., but I will post links to the full match video when they are available so hopefully you’ll be able to watch later tonight without knowing the score.

And, if you live in a state where it’s legal here are the odds for today’s contests courtesy of Bet MGM.

Team Handball Betting Guide: Where and How to Bet in the U.S.

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The Green States: Where you can Legally Bet on Handball in the USA

Team Handball is a great sport to watch and it goes practically without saying that it’s also a great sport to bet on. Here’s a guide for would be handball bettors in the U.S.

Where You Can Legally Bet on Handball in the U.S

The map above (updated on 9 Oct 2020) depicts the current legal status and availability of handball betting in the U.S. Currently, there are 10 states (depicted in green) where betting is 1) legal and 2) handball betting lines are readily available. Those 10 states are Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Depicted in Yellow are several states where sports betting is legal, but for a variety of reasons handball betting is not yet available. The most common reason is that several states have not yet authorized mobile/online betting and require all sports bets to be made in actual casinos where the focus is typically the major sports. Perhaps handball lines are available for “off the board” bettors, but I doubt it. The good news is that many states, including New York, seem likely to add mobile betting in the near future.

Depicted in White are several states that have pending legislation to authorize sports betting. And, finally in Red are a number of states where there is either no legislation in the works or legislation to legalize sports betting failed to get passed. This website keeps a tally as to the current status of legalization: Link

US Mobile/Online Sports Books which Post Handball Odds

The following mobile/online sportsbooks currently post handball odds:

And, then there are a number of online sportsbooks which apparently aren’t posting handball lines yet. Those US sportsbooks include the following: Fan Duel, Fox Bet, Points Bet, Sportsbetting.com, William Hill, SBK, Barstool and the Score.

Which Sportsbooks are Available in Each State

It’s the wild west early days for mobile sports betting in the U.S. and accordingly it’s a real hodge podge as to which sites are authorized to operate in each state. Here’s a current list, but be forewarned it’s constantly changing.

  • Colorado: Bet MGM, Bet Rivers, DraftKings
  • Illinois: Bet Rivers
  • Indiana: Bet MGM, Bet Rivers, DraftKings, Unibet
  • Iowa: DraftKings
  • Nevada: Bet MGM
  • New Hampshire: DraftKings
  • New Jersey: Bet MGM, Bet Rivers, DraftKings, Unibet, Bet 365, 888 Sports
  • Oregon: Oregon Lottery
  • Pennsylvania: Bet Rivers, DraftKings, Unibet, Parx
  • West Virginia: Bet MGM, DraftKings

Where you can Watch the Matches

There are currently several major European Professional Competitions that broadcast matches online. Those competitions include

  • The EHF Men’s Champions League: Video Link
    • Matches on Wednesday/Thursday
  • The EHF European League (2nd tier below the CL): Video Link
    • Matches on Tuesday
  • The EHF Women’s Champions League: Video Link
    • Matches on Saturday/Sunday
  • The French Pro League (LIDL Star Ligue): Video Link
  • The Spanish Pro League (Liga Asobal): Video Link

The Men’s and Women’s World Championships and the Men’s and Women’s European Championships are typically available for viewing in the U.S. Some matches can be seen on TV and some are available online. Currently, the TV rights are open and when they have been sold this page will be updated.

Handball Web Streaming: No EHF Champions League Matches this Week, but the French and Spanish Leagues have got you Covered

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LNH TV: A great new online handball web streaming option

The EHF Champions League is taking a break this week, but will be back in action next Wednesday (14 October). In the meantime there’s plenty of great handball action, courtesy of the French and Spanish leagues that can be seen online. Here’s a rundown on where and how to watch.

French League (LIDL Star Ligue)

The top level of French Handball, the LIDL Star Ligue will be playing two match days this week and thanks to their new Youtube platform, LNH TV you can catch several matches online. Unfortunately, the more interesting matches tend to be on traditional beIN Sports TV channels in France and aren’t available for viewing. This means missing out on a lot of Paris SG, Nantes and Montpellier matches. Because of this, I’m thinking of adopting a 2nd tier French team. Perhaps Dunkirk? Or maybe Istres?

Tuesday, 6 October

  • Istres – Aix, en direct à 20h Video Link
  • Cesson-Rennes – Tremblay, en direct à 20h30 Video Link
  • Chambéry – Limoges, en direct à 20h30 Video Link

Wednesday, 7 October

  • Créteil – Chartres, en direct à 20h30 Video Link
  • Ivry – Dunkerque, en direct à 20h30 Video Link
  • Nantes – Toulouse, en direct à 20h30 Video Link

Spanish League (Sacyr Liga ASOBAL)

Spain’s top league, the Liga ASOBAL will be playing a midweek match day this Tuesday and Wednesday. Three matches (below) can be seen on the La Liga Sports TV Handball Channel. This viewing option used to require VPN, but currently there is no Geoblock. The Irun vs Leon match tomorrow should be a good battle between two sides that often fight for 2nd place behind Barcelona. USA National Team player, Drew Donlin also plays for Leon so you might consider adopting them as your favorite Spanish Side.

Tuesday, 6 October

  • Valladolid vs Cangas 20:25 (CET) / 14:25 (US ET) Link

Wednesday, 7 October

  • Irun vs Leon 19:55 (CET) / 13:55 (US ET)   Link
  • Cantabria vs Logrono 21:25 (CET) / 15:25 (US ET)  Link

Betting Odds

Believe it or not, one can now bet on handball in several U.S. states. But, even if you can’t it’s interesting to see who is favored.

Here are links to the current betting lines courtesy of Bet MGM:

  • French League Odds: Link
  • Spanish League Odds: Link

The EHF Champions League is Back and with Some Important Changes

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The 2020-2021 EHF Champions League throws off this Wednesday and there are some important changes that handball fans will need to get used to.

Midweek Appointment Viewing

First and foremost, the biggest change will see all matches being played on Wednesday and Thursday. Whoa. Come Again? Champions League matches won’t take place on the weekend anymore?

Yes, that’s right. All matches will be on Wednesday and Thursday. And, further all matches will take place at two consistent throw off times. In Europe throw offs will be at either 1845 (CET) or 2045 (CET). That means these matches, depending on your time zone, will take place late morning to mid afternoon in the U.S. For reference on the east coast the first matches will throw off at 12:45 PM (US ET) and the second matches will throw off at 2:45 PM (US ET).

While some folks might whine at this change overall it’s a really smart move for the sport and the change in time won’t

Podcast (Episode 70) Andreas Hertelt and his Efforts to Support USA Player Development in Europe

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:11:40 — 65.6MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS

Andreas Hertelt (on the right) with USA Men’s Head Coach, Robert Hedin
(Photo: Markus Hausdorf)

Andreas Hertelt played 13 seasons in the German Bundesliga and represented his country in 10 international games. He has been a Team Leader for the U.S. Men’s National Team and he has been facilitating the placement of U.S. players with European clubs. On the podcast we discuss this program which is financially supported by the Forum Club Handball (FCH) and the U.S. players currently participating in it.

Podcast on YouTube: Link

Wikipedia (DE): Andreas Hertelt: Link

Don’t miss an episode:
– Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: Link
– Or use this RSS Feed to sign up for the podcast in your favorite podcast aggregator: Link

And, be sure to check out the podcast archive with interviews and great handball discussion going all the way back to 2006: Link

Forum Club Handball (Part 1): An Overview of this Influential Organization

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Forum Club Handball: An organization quietly influencing handball behind the scenes.

Recently, I’ve fielded some questions regarding the Forum Club Handball (FCH). What is this organization and why are they helping the development of U.S. players.

Fortunately, a couple of podcasts were aired recently to help educate handball fans about the FCH. First, Xavier O’Callaghan was interviewed by Bini Mustafa on the Straight Handball Talk podcast and was asked about it. O’Callaghan was the President of the FCH and he provides a great top level explanation from a European perspective.

Then, on this Shootin’ Straight podcast I was also asked about the FCH. To answer that question, though, I first went on a bit of a diatribe to explain how U.S. and European pro sports are organized differently. This is because understanding those differences first is fundamental to understanding why there was a need for an organization (FCH) to represent Europe’s top clubs. I also elaborate on why it’s a “loose confederation” or forum and why initially the EHF was a bit wary of this upstart organization.

More Information

  • Forum Club Handball Website: Link
  • FCH Key Message: Link
  • FCH Member Clubs: Link (Note: voting rights shift based on participation/performance in European club competitions)
  • FCH Wikipedia Page: Link

Side note: There was lots of great discussion on a variety of topics (U.S. challenges and college development are a couple) in the Shootin’ Straight podcast that’s worth checking out.

In part 2, I’ll take a closer look at the FCH’s support to U.S. player development

ehfTV with a Fresh New Look… but are the Days of Free Handball Numbered?

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Things that make you go Hmm?: “Free” registration at an “ehfpayments” url.

<IMPORTANT UPDATE (3 July, 2020)>

The EHF has informed me that the answer to this question is “No. There are no plans whatsoever to change ehfTV to a paid subscription service. The misleading URL is a result of the switch to a new streaming partner which serves other entities that charge a subscription. The URL has been flagged for an update. The EHF, however, noted that handball fans will need to register and login to ehfTV to watch live matches. A small requirement, though, to watch the world’s best handball free.

<Original Article (Posted 2 July, 2020)>

ehfTV: The Best Thing Ever for Handball Fans in Far Flung Countries

Big things are a foot with the European Handball Federation (EHF). A new 10 year contract for TV and Marketing rights is now in full swing. The result: a revamped Champions League format, fresh new web pages and a new look ehfTV.

If you’re reading this article and are any kind of a handball fan you already know what ehfTV is. Why, it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me as a fan of the sport here in the U.S. All of the Champions League matches, European Cup matches and even the European Championships available* for free viewing. Free! What a deal.

Are the Days of a Free Ride Coming to an End?

ehfTV is such a good deal that I’ve been wondering for years just how long it would last (Article from 2016). I mean we have to credit the EHF for being so forward thinking with this positive promotion of the sport, but they are a business and “free” generally is not a smart long term business move.

And, indeed in some countries the free ride ended a few years ago. There’s an asterisk on “available” and that’s because some matches are geo-blocked in some countries if the TV rights have been sold. That’s totally understandable. If I was a TV network owner I wouldn’t want the match being shown for free elsewhere. I would want viewers watching my channel.

But, it’s only understandable if the match can actually be seen in the country in question. In the U.S., beIN Sports (the previous rights holder) usually only aired 1 match a week on a delayed basis on Wednesday mornings. But, because they had a TV contract that match and many others were geo-blocked. This was extremely frustrating and forced handball fans like me to use VPN to watch matches on line. VPN is a less than desired workaround, but as a paying beIN Sports subscriber I had no moral qualms with using that alternative.

A New U.S. Network?

With a new 10 year contract kicking in there is now a chance for the EHF Champions League being seen on a new network. There are several possibilities that hopefully are being considered. NBC is a possibility and they’ve already shown the 2019 Men’s and Women’s on the NBC Olympic Channel. Other possibilities include Fox Sports, CBS Sports Network, TNT, 11 Sports or yes, a return to beIN Sports.

My preferred choice, however, is ESPN and specifically a combination of ESPN linear channels and ESPN+. As this earlier commentary highlight ESPN+ practically begs for a dedicated handball sub-channel: Link

Maybe Everybody Pays?

But, there’s another model that might at some point come into play. If you’ve checked out the new ehfTV platform you may have noticed that it invites you to register for free: Link

But… the url is for ehfpayments.streamamg.com. Yup. The “free” registration is at “ehfpayments”. Which is certainly a “Hmm” moment. As in, “Why would you call it that?”

Pure speculation on my part, but I can envision the EHF eventually transitioning ehfTV to a tiered service with some matches still being free, but adding a subscription to watch more matches and additional content.

Assuming such a subscription was reasonably priced this would actually be a good solution. Some matches on regular TV, some matches on free ehfTV and some matches on premium ehfTV. Actually I could get real used to that. HBL, LNH… are you listening?

In the Time of COVID-19 Handball Podcast Options Increase Exponentially

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Handball Podcast Options Expand Dramatically

For many years handball fans had limited options for getting their handball fix via podcasts. I started occasionally doing podcasts with this website back in 2006 and then the (Un)Informed Handball Hour arrived on the scene in 2017.

Now with many folks trapped at home and Zoom and other platforms making the task of creating a podcast a lot simpler there are now several podcasts to choose from. Here are four new options to check out.

Straight Handball Talk

This new podcast is the brainchild of New York City Team Handball Club’s, Bini Moustafa, and he has already dropped 24 episodes seemingly out of nowhere. The podcast features 1 on 1 interviews with a mix of U.S. and International handball athletes and personalities including some big names like Laszlo Nagy and Jerome Fernandez. The theme of the podcasts is the power of handball to connect people and create friendships through competition.

  • Straight Handball Talk Website: Link
  • New York City Team Handball Club YouTube Channel: Link

Shootin’ Straight

Shootin’ Straight is a joint effort of Ohio State Coach and Columbus Armada GK, J.D. Orr, and Detroit Handball Club’s, Joey Williams. This podcast is broadcast live on Twitch on Saturday nights and also can be seen later via YouTube. As a weekly podcast they typically have a variety of topics and they’ve even experimented with some non-handball guests talking to get some feedback from other sports about how to grow handball in the U.S. Also, of note: as a live broadcast it’s even possible to interact directly with the hosts.

  • Shootin’ Straight (handballguy93) Twitch Channel: Link
  • Shootin’ Straight YouTube Channel: Link

Alberta Team Handball Federation Podcast

Alberta Team Handball has been creating content for years on their social media channels, often with Video Logs (Vlogs) highlighting their overseas trips. Recently, they started a podcast with ATHF Director, Mike Nahmiash interviewing players like Greg Chauvet about how they got started with handball and playing in Europe.

  • Alberta Team Handball YouTube Channel: Link

Danilo Rojevic Instagram Interviews

While not branded as a podcast, San Francisco Cal Heat‘s Danilo Rojevic has conducted several interviews recently on Instagram. I enjoyed listening to his interview with Dallas Team Handball‘s Sascha Kiehne.

  • Danilo Rojevic Instagram chats: Link