Drew Donlin and Leon will take on the World’s top club, Barcelona at 6:00 AM (US ET). Worth getting up early for on a Saturday morning.
Yes, the Women’s European Championship continues this weekend, but at the same time, there’s still plenty of Men’s pro club action. And, get this Americans will be playing against Barcelona and Veszprem this weekend. I can hardly believe it. Odds courtesy of Bet MGM.
American Athletes in Action
Spain Liga Asobal: Barcelona (-12.5) vs Leon (Saturday, 1200 CET): Link
Circle Runner, Drew Donlin plays for Leon. Leon takes on undefeated and probably the best handball club in the world right now, Barcelona in Barcelona.
Hungary K&H League: Veszprem vs. Gyöngyös (Saturday, 1615 CET): Link (VPN may be required)
Pal Merkovszky is a backup GK for Gyongyos. Wow. Americans taking on 2 of the top clubs in the world on the same day. Who da thunk it.
Germany HBL 2: TuS Fürstenfeldbruck vs. TSV Bayer Dormagen (Saturday, 1930 CET): Link (VPN required)
Ian and Patrick Hueter play for Dormagen. 8th place Dormagen will look to pick up 2 points vs last place TuS Fürstenfeldbruck
Other Matches this Weekend
EHF European Competitions: ehfTV
There are no EHF club matches this weekend, but plenty of Women’s European Championships action. which will start this Thursday, 3 December. However, there are plenty of on demand matches from this past week’s Men’s Champions League. Options include Flensburg v Szeged (English commentary); Veszprem v Kiel; and Aalborg v Barcelona
Title holders France take on Montenegro in Group A action.
The 2020 Women’s European Handball Championships starts today with 2 matches each from Groups B and D. Here are the video links, odds and some preview articles that were written before these matches were played.
Note: While all the matches are on ehfTV you might want to consider watching the beIN Sports Xtra feed as well. beIN Sports Xtra is free and my experience is that the picture quality is better and more reliable. It also makes watching 2 matches at the same time easier. How to watch beIN Sports Xtra: Link
Friday, 4 December All Times Local (CET) / US ET is -6 hrs) Odds courtesy of BetMGM
Group A (Herning, Denmark)
18:15 France (-5.5) vs Montenegro (Live on ehfTV and beIN Sports Xtra: How to watch) Match Video (On Demand): Link (Commentary: Paul Bray)
20:30 Denmark (-4.5) vs Slovenia (Live on ehfTV) (beIN Sports Xtra may pick up this match as well since the Netherlands – Serbia match was postponed) Match Video (On Demand): Link (Commentary: Paul Bray)
Group A Daily Preview at the Euro 2020 official site: Link
Group C (Kolding, Denmark)
18:15 Hungary (-5.5) vs Croatia (Live on ehfTV) Match Video (On Demand): Link (Commentary: Clayton Lucas)
20:30 Netherlands vs Serbia (Postponed to Saturday; A player for Serbia tested positive on Thursday (the rest of the team tested negative and will be tested today and Saturday prior to the match) Match Video (On Demand): Link (Commentary: Clayton Lucas)
Group C Daily Preview at the Euro 2020 official site: Link
Spain was the big surprise team last December at the World Championship. Can they do it again? They take on a Russian team missing some star power in the match of the day.
The 2020 Women’s European Handball Championships starts today with 2 matches each from Groups B and D. Here are the video links, odds and some preview articles that were written before these matches were played.
Thursday, 3 December All Times Local (CET) / US ET is -6 hrs) Odds courtesy of BetMGM
Group B (Herning, Denmark)
18:15 Russia (-1.5) vs Spain (Live on ehfTV and beIN Sports Xtra: How to watch) Match Video (On Demand): Link (Commentary: Paul Bray)
20:30 Sweden (-5.5) vs Czech Republic (Live on ehfTV) Match Video (On Demand): Link (Commentary: Paul Bray)
Group B Daily Preview at the Euro 2020 official site: Link
Group D (Kolding, Denmark)
18:00 Romania vs Germany (-2.5) (Live on ehfTV) Match Video (On Demand): Link (Commentary: Clayton Lucas)
20:30 Norway (-11.5) vs Poland (Live on ehfTV and beIN Sports Xtra: How to watch) Match Video (On Demand): Link (Commentary: Clayton Lucas)
Group D Daily Preview at the Euro 2020 official site: Link
The 2020 EHF Women’s European Handball Championships start Thursday, 3 December. Here’s some info on how to watch, what the odds are, and this time around, just one prediction.
How to Watch
All matches will be available for viewing on efhTV, the European Handball Federation (EHF) online web streaming platform. Availability, however, might be restricted in nations that have a TV network contract. Depending on how each contract is structured some matches on ehfTV might be geo-blocked in some countries. (Note: ehfTV is free of charge, but requires online registration.)
In the U.S. the beIN Sports network has the TV rights and to start the tournament they will be web streaming matches on both their free channel (beIN Sports Xtra) and their pay channels (beIN Sports Connect). As the tournament progresses some matches may be on their traditional cable/satellite channel. The beIN Sports schedule can be seen here: Link
There are multiple ways to watch beIN Sports Xtra including Roku, Xumo, Redbox, Samsung TV Plus, Fanatiz, Pluto TV and “Over the Air” in 15 U.S. markets. More info: Link
How to Watch on Roku
To watch on your Roku, go to your home screen and look for the “Roku Channel” icon. It’s a streaming channel just like Netflix or Hulu and should be readily available. (If not, you can add it just like you would any other channel.) Click on the Roku Channel icon and then scroll down until you see “beIN Sports XTRA” icon. Click on it and the channel should start playing. It’s live so, there are commercials just like what you would see on a TV channel.
So, why might you watch beIN Sports XTRA instead of ehfTV?: Well, your experience may vary, but last year my picture was crystal clear HD. Not to mention, no HDMI cable and laptop hook up.
All Matches with English Language Commentary
Paul Bray informs me that he will be providing commentary for Groups A and B in Herning while Clayton Lucas will be in Kolding for Groups C and D. Presumably that will continue for the Main Round and then Bray will likely cover the Finals as well.
Player Interviews: The Uninformed Handball Hour has conducted several interviews leading up to the tournament:
As with other recent tournaments I plan to have a short daily post with the schedule and odds for the matches that day. I will also include some direct links to articles previewing the matches. That way if you don’t have a chance to see the matches live you can always start with the daily preview without finding out the scores by accident. I will also post direct links to the on demand matches that were played that day as soon as they are available (typically a couple of hours after the match is played).
Tourney Format: The European Championships will start with round robin play in 4 groups (A,B,C and D) with 4 teams each. After the preliminary groups the top 3 teams from Groups A and B will form Main Round Group I and the top 2 teams from Groups C and D will form Main Round Group II. Matches with common opponents will carry though to the Main Round. The top two teams from Groups I and II will then qualify for the semifinals.
Overall Odds: The bookmakers have Norway as the clear favorite with France, Russia and the Netherlands projected to join them in the semifinals.
Matches in Herning: Here are the odds for Groups A/B and then for Main Round Group I. Group A is pretty straight forward while Group B is projected to have Sweden, Spain and the Czech Republic battling for the two spots behind Russia.
Matches in Kolding: Here are the odds for Groups C/D and then for Main Round Group II. With Croatia and Poland seen as big longshots to make the Main Round, one might argue that the Main Round starts immediately.
A Prediction
What can we say about this tournament… other than that it should be unpredictable. Why so?
Multiple top players missing due to injury
Very little real preparation for the teams participating
Sporadic individual preparation for players due to club match postponements
Potential for positive tests during the tournament
All of these factors should lead to a very wide open tournament. Why, if there are COVID problems in either the Herning or Kolding bubbles this tournament could get crazily unpredictable. Regardless, I don’t think we’ll get a good idea as to which teams have adjusted to these unique circumstances until a couple of matches have played. I could be wrong, but I think we could be in for some real surprises.
Team USA’s Rene Ingram plays for IFK Kristianstad.
The 2020 EHF Women’s Handball European Championships start Thursday and I’ll have my usual preview with streaming links and odds posted soon. But, there’s still plenty of men’s club handball matches to watch this week as well. Here’s a summary of the next 3 days.
American Athletes in Action
EHF European League: IFK Kristianstad (-3.5) vs Tatran Presov (Tuesday, 1845 CET): Link
Goalkeeper, Rene Ingram, plays for Kristianstad. Ingram subbed in for a penalty shot last week. I say we give him a half vs Tatran Presov to see what he can do.
EHF European League: Fivers vs Leon (-2.5) (Tuesday, 2045 CET): Link
Leon will look to stay unbeaten vs Austrian side, Fivers. Side note: Several players on the Fivers side will likely be part of the Austrian national team side that will the U.S. on 14 January at the World Championship
Liga Asobal: Puerto Sagunto vs Leon (-4.5) (Thursday, 2010): Video Link
A busy week for Leon continues. On Saturday they take on Barcelona.
French ProLigue: Dijon (-4.5) vs Angers (Thursday, 2030) Video Link
Abou Fofana plays for Angers. A draw this past weekend got Angers out of last place. They need more points to edge their way out of the relegations zone
Six matches on tap this week. Veszprem vs Kiel is the big match on Wednesday. If Kiel is going to make a run for a round of 16 bye they need to start that run with a victory here. On Thursday Paris S-G is pretty much in the same situation. They are a disappointing 3-0-3 in Group Play and a victory vs Group leaders Kielce could jump start a return to the top. No spoiler preview: Link
Aalborg vs Barcelona (-7.5) Brest (Wednesday, 1845 CET)
Veszprem (-1.5) vs Kiel (Wednesday, 1845 CET)
Meshkov Brest (-3.5) vs Elverum ( (Thursday, 1845 CET)
Paris S-G (-1.5) vs Kielce (Thursday, 1845 CET) <<English Commentary>>
Flensburg (-1.5) vs Szeged (Thursday, 1845 CET)
Zaporozhye (-2.5) vs Celje (Thursday, 1845 CET)
Liga Asobal
Liga Asobal: Puerto Sagunto vs Leon (-4.5) (Thursday, 2010): Video Link
Abou Fofana and Angers take on Billere Friday at 20:00 CET / 14:00 US ET. Watch the match live on Angers Facebook page.
Plenty of handball viewing options this weekend, including some Friday mid-day options for Americans with a long Thanksgiving weekend. Odds courtesy of Bet MGM.
American Athletes in Action
France Pro Ligue: Angers (-0.5) vs Nice vs Billère (Friday, 2000 CET): Link (What? Bet MGM is posting 2nd Div French betting lines? They sure are)
Left back, Abou Fofana plays for Angers. Currently in last place, Angers could really use a win vs 11th place Billere.
Germany HBL 2: Dormagen (-3.5) vs Groswallstadt (Saturday, 1930 CET): Link (VPN required)
Ian and Patrick Hueter play for Dormagen. 9th place Dormagen will try and make it 3 wins in a row against 14th place Grosswallstadt
Other Matches this Weekend
EHF European Competitions: ehfTV
It’s the calm before the storm this weekend as there are no EHF Women’s Champions League matches this weekend. Instead Women’s National Teams are getting ready for the Women’s European Championships which will start this Thursday, 3 December. However, there are plenty of on demand matches from this past week’s Men’s Champions League. Options include Barca v Kiel; Paris v Porto; and Veszprem v Aalborg
Toulouse hosts Leon in a key EHF European League match on Tuesday
Plenty of handball matches to watch the next 3 days. What’s also fun to think about: The switch to midweek means that American fans will be able to start a new Thanksgiving tradition on Thursday: Dual screen Champions League Handball/NFL viewing after their turkey dinner.
American Athletes in Action
EHF European League: Toulouse (-1.5) vs Leon (Tuesday, 2045 CET): Link
Were at the halfway point of the Champions League and that means we get return legs from last week’s matches. This is generally interesting in that we get to see how coaches make adjustments in the intervening weeks to fix problems or pile on with what worked last week. I’ll be watching to see if Flensburg can rebound from their surprise draw with Brest and whether Barca will have no problems with Kiel again. No spoiler preview: Link
Veszprem (-6.5) vs Aalborg Brest (Wednesday, 1845 CET)
Kielce (-5.5) vs Vardar (Wednesday, 2045 CET) <<English Commentary>>
Celje vs Nantes (-2.5) (Wednesday, 2045 CET)
Paris S-G (-5.5) vs FC Porto (Thursday, 1845 CET)
Szeged (-4.5) vs Elverum (Thursday, 1845 CET)
Barcelona (-3.5) vs Kiel (Thursday, 2045 CET)
Liga Asobal
Valladolid vs Irun (-2.5) (Wednesday, 2000 CET) Link
Aranda vs Angel Ximenez (-2.5) (Thursday, 1830 CET) Link
Plenty of handball viewing options this weekend. Odds courtesy of Bet MGM.
American Athletes in Action
French Pro Ligue: Nice vs Angers (Saturday, 2030 CET): Link
Left back, Abou Fofana plays for Angers. Angers lost to Strasbourg on Tuesday and really could use a win vs Nice which is the only club below them in the standings. The winner of this match will move out of the relegation zone
Liga Asobal: Viveros Herol BM. Nava vs Leon (-3.5) (Sunday, 2000 CET): Link
Circle Runner, Drew Donlin, plays for Leon and has been getting some extended playing time lately on defense. Leon had a huge victory on Thursday over previously unbeaten Irun and will look to continue their winning streak.
Other Matches this Weekend
EHF European Competitions: ehfTV
There’s a jampacked schedule of 25 matches on ehfTV this weekend. 2 on Friday, 12 on Saturday and 11 on Sunday. Most of the matches are lower level European League and European Cup fixtures, with the exception being 5 Women’s Champions League matches.
Abou Fofana and Angers take on Strasbourg today at 2000 (CET) / 1400 (US ET) Watch live on the Angers Facebook page
While the Coronavirus pandemic has resulted in several matches getting postponed this week, for the most part the European Leagues are marching on with a near full slate of matches. And, this has got to be a first: 3 Americans with 3 different club will be playing simultaneously later today.
American Athletes in Action
French Pro Ligue: Angers vs Strasbourg (Tuesday, 2000 CET): Link
Left back, Abou Fofana plays for Angers. Both Angers and Strasbourg are near the bottom of the table and could use a win. This video will be on Facebook and is the first opportunity we have this season to see Abou Fofana with his new club
EHF European League: Leon (-5.5) vs Metalurg (Tuesday, 2045 CET): Link
Leon lost to Logrono on Saturday and will look to bounce back vs Metalurg. It will be interesting to see how ready Metalurg after their 40 hour bus drive from North Macedonia to Spain.
EHF European League: USAM Nimes (-3.5) vs IFK Kristianstad (Tuesday, 2045 CET): Link
Goalkeeper, Rene Ingram, plays for Kristianstad. Ingram is Kristianstad’s 3rd keeper and is on the roster due to an injury to their top keeper.
HBL 2: TSV Bayer Dormagen vs. HSG Konstanz (Wednesday, 1930 CET): Link (may require VPN)
Hosts, Dormagen (Ian and Patrick Hueter) should be solid favorites over 17th place Konstanz
Other Matches this Week
EHF European League
10 matches on Tuesday at either 1845 or 2045 CET
Top Matches: Both of these matches are interesting in that they feature more well known top clubs as 3.5 goal favorites on the road
Nexe vs Montpellier (-3.5) (Tuesday, 1845 CET)
GOG vs Rhein-Neckar (-3.5) (Tuesday, 1845 CET)
EHF Champions League
Top Matches: It will really be very interesting to see how struggling Paris (only 1 win) does against Porto. Kiel vs Barca is the other standout match. No spoiler preview: Link
Aalborg vs Veszprem (-4.5) (Wednesday, 1845 CET)
Flensburg (-4.5) vs Meskov Brest (Wednesday, 1845 CET)
FC Porto vs Paris S-G (-2.5) (Wednesday, 1845 CET)
Zagreb vs HC Motor (-1.5) (Wednesday, 2045 CET)
Vardar vs Kielce(-2.5) (Thursday, 1845 CET)
Kiel vs Barca (-1.5) (Thursday, 1845 CET) <<English Commentary>>
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.
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.
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).
MOTW: FC Porto (POR) vs MOL-Pick Szeged (HUN) (On Demand Video)
HC Vardar 1961 (MKD) vs SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER) (On Demand Video)
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) vs Elverum Handball (NOR) (On Demand Video)
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.
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 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.
