[b]Scheduled Matches (Beijing Local Time)[/b]
0900-1030 Match 1: Russia vs. Brazil
1045-1215 Match 2: Romania vs. France**MSNBC, Wed 1030-1115 [East Coast, USA Time]
1400-1530 Match 3: South Korea vs. Sweden
1545-1715 Match 4: China vs. Angola
1900-2030 Match 5: Norway vs. Kazakhstan
2045-2215 Match 6: Germany vs. Hungary

[b]Video Links:[/b] http://www.nbcolympics.com/handball/video/index.html
Suggested match(es) to watch: Based on match results, video we’ve seen and feedback from other Handball news sites we will suggest the top match of the day to watch.

[b]Notes: [/b]
– Group A: This group has diverged into 2 groups of 3. Romania, France and Norway are all undefeated and will likely take places 1, 2 and 3. The Romania vs. France match today should start to settle that placement. China, Angola and Kazakhstan are all winless and will battle it out for 4th place. The China – Angola match will help settle the battle for 4th place. Kazakhstan surprised France by keeping the game close on Monday. They will try be hard pressed to do the same against Norway.
– Group B: Brazil’s dramatic comeback against Hungary has thrown this Group wide open. Korea, Russia and Hungary are all tied for 1st with 3 points a piece. Germany has 2 points and will try to rebound from the 10 goal shellacking Korea gave them in their match Sunday. Brazil and Sweden will take on the other group leaders, Russia and South Korea, respectively.

[b]Betting lines:[/b] According to betting comparison site, bestbetting.com, these are the point spreads for Sunday’s matches: Russia (-6), Romania (-3), South Korea (-5.5), China (-2), Norway (-12.5), Russia (-x.5) and Germany (-1.5)

Click on “Read the rest” for match results, current standings and news concerning the matches for this day.

[b]RESULTS[/b]

[b]Group A[/b]
Romania 34 – France 26 (17:13)
China 32 – Angola 24 (14-12)
Norway 35 – Kazakhstan 19 (14:10)

[b]Group B[/b]
Russia 28 – Brazil 19 (12:10)
South Korea 31 – Sweden 23 (18-13)
Hungary 25 – Germany 24 (12-14)

[b]Detailed Results: [/b]http://www.ihf.info/front_content.php?idart=1452

[b]Standings:[/b] http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/INF/HB/C76/HBW400000.shtml#HBW400A02

[b]Group A[/b]
Rank Team Pts MP W T L GF GA Diff
1 Norway 6 3 3 0 0 96 59 37
2 Romania 6 3 3 0 0 99 65 34
3 France 4 3 2 0 1 79 73 6
4 China 2 3 1 0 2 75 88 -13
5 Kazakhstan 0 3 0 0 3 56 87 -31
6 Angola 0 3 0 0 3 62 95 -33

[b]Group B[/b]
Rank Team Pts MP W T L GF GA Diff
1 Korea 5 3 2 1 0 90 72 18
2 Russian Fed. 5 3 2 1 0 85 72 13
3 Hungary 5 3 2 1 0 83 76 7
4 Germany 2 3 1 0 2 68 77 -9
5 Brazil 1 3 0 1 2 69 80 -11
6 Sweden 0 3 0 0 3 71 89 -18

[b]Quarterfinal Matches (based on current standings):[/b]

Norway vs. Germany
Russia vs. France

South Korea vs. China
Romania vs. Hungary

You may have noticed plenty of empty seats at the Handball venue, and other sports, for that matter. Even the spectacular opening ceremonies had empty seats. The BBC has filed a report on this growing concern that there are too many half filled arenas when the events are supposedly all sold out. They spoke with Norwegian captain, Gro Hammerseng, after her team’s victory against Angola on Sunday night. Hammerseng expressed her frustration:

“Well, in the first game I was hoping for more, but I was prepared today that it wouldn’t be a full arena. But, I’m sorry that some of the Norwegian people, who are here. They can’t come into the arena. And they are in Beijing, but the can’t come in. And I don’t know why they can’t come in, because it’s not full. My mother, she can’t get in.”

According to an MSNBC story on scalping, this is a common occurence in Beijing as the supply of tickets can’t meet the demand. Speculation is that some tickets purchased by corporate sponsors are not finding their way to the scalping market. Beijing authorities are working to correct the empty seat phenomenon, though, and are considering solving it with free entry for students.

BBC Global News Summary Podcast (12 Aug,0300): http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/worldservice/globalnews/globalnews_20080812-0248.mp3 (The Olympics story starts at 08:30)
MSNBC Story on Scalping: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26134234/
Gro Hammerseng Bio: http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=763/bio/index.html

Addendum: The New York Times has the following story on fake fans: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/13/sports/olympics/13fans.html?hp
A Washington Post reporter helps Swedes buy scalped handball tickets: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2008/08/scalping_tix_with_swedish_wome.html

[b]Scheduled Matches (Beijing Local Time)[/b]
0900-1030 Match 1: Brazil vs. Croatia
1045-1215 Match 2: Egypt vs. Russia
1400-1530 Match 3: China vs. France
1545-1715 Match 4: Spain vs. Poland **MSNBC, Tuesday 1430-1530 [East Coast, USA Time]
1900-2030 Match 5: South Korea vs. Denmark
2045-2215 Match 6: Iceland vs. Germany

[b]Time zone addition/subtraction from Beijing[/b]
Sydney (Add 2 hours)
Berlin (Subtract 6 hours)
New York (Subtract 12 Hours) (First match starts at 2100 hrs, the day prior)
Los Angeles (Subtract 15 Hours) (First match starts at 1800 hrs, the day prior)

[b]Video Links[/b]: http://www.nbcolympics.com/handball/video/index.html
Suggested match(es) to watch: Egypt vs. Russia, South Korea vs. Denmark and Spain vs. Poland are all worth checking out

[b]Notes: [/b]
– Injuries. Ivano Balic’s right calf injury could put him out of commission for the next 3 matches. Danish Circle Runner Michael Knudsen is out for the Olympics due to appendicitis. His appendix is scheduled to be removed today. As he is one of the world’s top circle runner’s this is a major blow to the Danish team.
– The Kometal Handball Forum had a very spirited discussion concerning the Egypt – Denmark draw. Egypt was given a two minute penalty in the closing minutes of the match for purposely delaying the game with a shot on goal after the whistle. The debate centers on whether the player could have stopped the shot in time. I lean toward the penalty being excessive, but everyone’s entitled to their opinion.
– IHF: Celebrities visit Olympic Handball: http://www.ihf.info/front_content.php?idcat=269&idart=1490 Former US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger and IOC President Jacques Rogge visited the Handball Venue.

[b]- Betting lines:[/b] According to betting comparison site, bestbetting.com, these are the point spreads for Sunday’s matches: Croatia (-8), Russia (-1.5), France (-14.5), Spain (-1.5), Denmark (-4.5), Russia (-6.5) and Germany(-3)

Click on “Read the rest” for match results, current standings and news concerning the matches for this day.

[b]RESULTS[/b]

[b]Group A[/b]
Croatia 33 – Brazil 14 (18:9)
France 33 – China 19 (19-7)
Spain 30 – Poland 29 (16:17)

[b]Group B[/b]
Russia 28 – Egypt 27 (14:14)
South Korea 31 – Denmark 30 (13-14)
Iceland 33 – Germany 29 (17-14)

[b]Detailed Results: [/b]http://www.ihf.info/front_content.php?idart=1453
[b]Standings:[/b] http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/INF/HB/C76/HBM400000.shtml#HBM400A01

[b]Group A[/b]
Rank Team Pts MP W T L GF GA Diff
1 France 4 2 2 0 0 67 45 22
2 Croatia 4 2 2 0 0 64 43 21
3 Poland 2 2 1 0 1 62 49 13
4 Spain 2 2 1 0 1 59 60 -1
5 Brazil 0 2 0 0 2 40 67 -27
6 China 0 2 0 0 2 38 66 -28

[b]Group B[/b]
Rank Team Pts MP W T L GF GA Diff
1 Iceland 4 2 2 0 0 66 60 6
2 Germany 2 2 1 0 1 56 56 0
3 Russian Fed. 2 2 1 0 1 59 60 -1
4 Korea 2 2 1 0 1 54 57 -3
5 Denmark 1 2 0 1 1 53 54 -1
6 Egypt 1 2 0 1 1 50 51 -1

[b]Quarterfinal Matches (based on current standings):[/b]
France vs. South Korea
Germany vs. Poland
Iceland vs. Spain
Croatia vs. Russia

[b]Scheduled Matches (Beijing Local Time)[/b]
0900-1030 Match 1: Kazakhstan vs. France
1045-1215 Match 2: Brazil vs. Hungary
1400-1530 Match 3: Angola vs. Norway
1545-1715 Match 4: Germany vs. South Korea **MSNBC, Monday 0700-0830 [East Coast, USA Time]
1900-2030 Match 5: Romania vs. China
2045-2215 Match 6: Sweden vs. Russia

[b]Time zone addition/subtraction from Beijing[/b]
Sydney (Add 2 hours)
Berlin (Subtract 6 hours)
New York (Subtract 12 Hours) (First match starts at 2100 hrs, the day prior)
Los Angeles (Subtract 15 Hours) (First match starts at 1800 hrs, the day prior)

[b]Video Links[/b]: http://www.nbcolympics.com/handball/video/index.html
Suggested match(es) to watch: Hungary – Brazil

[b]Notes: [/b]
– Minor glitches still with the web streaming. My video quality wasn’t as good today, but that could be due to a number of technical reasons. In terms of what will be streamed and when the trend is that the game will be streamed live if it’s not going to be on MSNBC the next day. That hasn’t always been the case, though, and NBC’s webpage doesn’t clearly state whether a game will be streamed live or not until shortly before it starts. In terms of “on demand’ options, NBC has now made all 6 games from day 1 available for viewing in their entirety. Again the MSNBC games were the last ones added.
– A small note on the commentary box provided in the web stream. Currently, it’s running about 30 seconds ahead of the video stream, so unless you want to feel like an all-knowing prescient genius about who’s going to score next, you’re better off not clicking on it.
– A few news articles of interest:
Another article on MSNBC’s Andrew Catalon: http://alloveralbany.com/archive/2008/08/08/andrew-catalon
A feature on former US National Team player Tim Lawrence in Iraq: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/sports/display.htm?StoryID=78638
A Seattle Time reporter discovers handball: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/olympics/2008103276_olyjudd10.html

[b]- Betting lines:[/b] According to betting comparison site, bestbetting.com, these are the point spreads for Sunday’s matches: France (-11.5), Hungary (-4.5), Norway (-9.5), Romania (-6.5), Russia (-6.5) and Germany-South Korea is basically a “pick em”

Click on “Read the rest” for match results, current standings and news concerning the matches for this day.

[b]RESULTS[/b]

[b]Group A[/b]
France 21 – Kazakhstan 18 (10:8)
Norway 31 – Angola 17 (14-6)
Romania 34 – China 20 (17:11)

[b]Group B[/b]
Brazil 28 – Hungary 28 (12:17)
South Korea 30 – Germany 20 (12-9)
Russia 28 – Sweden 24 (14-12)

[b]Detailed Results:[/b] http://www.ihf.info/front_content.php?idart=1452

[b]Standings:[/b] http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/INF/HB/C76/HBW400000.shtml#HBW400A02

[b]Group A[/b]
1 Romania 4 2 2 0 0 65 39 26
2 Norway 4 2 2 0 0 61 40 21
3 France 4 2 2 0 0 53 39 14
4 Kazakhstan 0 2 0 0 2 37 52 -15
5 China 0 2 0 0 2 43 64 -21
6 Angola 0 2 0 0 2 38 63 -25

[b]Group B[/b]
1 Korea 3 2 1 1 0 59 49 10
2 Hungary 3 2 1 1 0 58 52 6
3 Russian Fed. 3 2 1 1 0 57 53 4
4 Germany 2 2 1 0 1 44 52 -8
5 Brazil 1 2 0 1 1 50 52 -2
6 Sweden 0 2 0 0 2 48 58 -10

[b]Quarterfinal Matches (based on current standings):[/b]

Romania vs. Germany
Hungary vs. France

South Korea vs. Kazakhstan
Norway vs. Russia

[b]Scheduled Matches (Beijing Local Time)[/b]
0900-1030 Match 1: Croatia vs. Spain **MSNBC Sunday, 1330-1530 [East Coast, USA Time]
1045-1215 Match 2: Russia vs. Iceland
1400-1530 Match 3: France vs. Brazil
1545-1715 Match 4: Germany vs. South Korea **MSNBC, Sunday 0500-0600 [East Coast, USA Time]
1900-2030 Match 5: Poland vs. China
2045-2215 Match 6: Denmark vs. Egypt

[b]Time zone addition/subtraction from Beijing[/b]
Sydney (Add 2 hours)
Berlin (Subtract 6 hours)
New York (Subtract 12 Hours) (First match starts at 2100 hrs, the day prior)
Los Angeles (Subtract 15 Hours) (First match starts at 1800 hrs, the day prior)

2008 Olympics Official Site Preview of Day's Matches: http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/headlines/handball/n214521618.shtml

[b]Video On Demand:[/b] http://www.nbcolympics.com/handball/video/index.html
Suggested match(es) to watch: Based on match results, video we’ve seen and feedback from other Handball news sites we will suggest the top match of the day to watch. Match of the day suggest: Egypt vs. Denmark

[b]Notes: [/b]
– Some minor glitches encountered with the online video, but overall NBC is off to a great start. The video quality is pretty good, but you may need to experiment some with your settings. For instance, I found that my laptop picture was not nearly as good as my desktop picture. This could be due to my wi-fi connection or it may be due to slower processor speed on my laptop. Rest assured, you can get a quality picture. If you can‘t the problem might very well be your computer and/or Internet provider.
– Web streams were provided for 4 of the 6 matches yesterday. Coincidentally, or not coincidentally, the 2 matches that were not web streamed will be shown on MSNBC
– NBC has added Germany – South Korea to their MSNBC schedule on Sunday
– Ivano Balic had the honor of bearing the Croatian flag in the opening ceremonies: http://www.javno.com/en/sports/clanak.php?id=170510 Romanian women's team captain, Valeria Bese did the honours for her country.
– Betting lines: According to betting comparison site bestbetting.com these are the point spread for Sunday’s matches: Croatia (-0.5 goal favorite), Russia (-0.5), France (-9.5), Germany -4.5), Poland (-10.5), Denmark (-6)

Click on “Read the rest” for match results, current standings and news concerning the matches for this day.

AP Summary: http://www.nbcolympics.com/handball/news/newsid=191749.html#croatia+wins+handball+opener
Beijing Official Site Summary: http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/headlines/handball/n214527241.shtml

Detailed Results: http://www.ihf.info/front_content.php?idart=1453

[b]Group A[/b]
Croatia 31 – Spain 29
France 34 – Brazil 26
Poland 33 – China 19

[b]Group B[/b]
Iceland 33 – Russia 31
Germany 27 – South Korea 23
Denmark 29 – Egypt 29

[b]Standings: [/b] http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/INF/HB/C76/HBM400000.shtml#HBM400A01

[b]Scheduled Matches (Beijing Local Time)[/b]
0900-1030 Match 1: France vs. Angola Video: Not Available
**TV Broadcast scheduled for 0930-1100 [East Coast, USA Time] on MSNBC
1045-1215 Match 2: Hungary vs. Sweden Video: http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/player.html?assetid=1006599&channelcode=sporthb
1400-1530 Match 3: Romania vs. Kazakhstan http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/player.html?assetid=1011335&channelcode=sporthbVideo:
1545-1715 Match 4: Russia vs. South Korea Video: Not Available
**TV Broadcast scheduled for 1330-1500 [East Coast, USA Time] on MSNBC
1900-2030 Match 5: Norway vs. China
2045-2215 Match 6: Germany vs. Brazil

[b]Time zone addition/subtraction from Beijing[/b]
– Sydney (Add 2 hours)
– Berlin (Subtract 6 hours)
– New York (Subtract 12 Hours) (First match starts at 2100 hrs, the day prior)
– Los Angeles (Subtract 15 Hours) (First match starts at 1800 hrs, the day prior)

[b]Video On Demand Links: [/b] http://www.nbcolympics.com/handball/video/index.html

[b]Suggested match(es) to watch: [/b]The match of the day was Russia – South Korea, but video is currently not being offered. Germany -Brazil is also definitely worth your time.

[b]Notes: [/b]
– In the USA, NBC will be broadcasting the Olympic Opening Ceremonies on Friday evening, 12 to 15 hours after they’ve already taken place. And it will already be Saturday morning there, so instead of watching a taped broadcast of a bunch of athletes walking into a stadium on your TV it might be more entertaining to check whether the first handball matches are available via live internet streaming. The first match will start at 2100 hrs on the East Coast. It’ll take a while to get use to, but for US fans their “Handball day” will start at that time for the first 10 days of Group play.
– The NY Times has a great feature on their website which will create an online schedule for your time zone. Additionally, it appears to be setup to support time shifting in that results are only shown if you click on that particular day.
NY Times Olympics Tracker: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/08/05/sports/olympics/2008_OLYMPICS_TRACKER.html#
– Right out of the gate, France – Angola .should be an interesting match to watch. Angola stunned the French women 29-27 in France at the World Championships, but has struggled of late. France is a consensus 3.5 goal favorite

Click on "read the rest" for match results, current standings and news concerning the matches for this day.

AP Summary: http://www.nbcolympics.com/handball/news/newsid=188131.html#russia+south+korea+deadlocked
Detailed Results: http://www.ihf.info/front_content.php?idart=1452

[b]Group A[/b]
France 32 – Angola 21
Romanian 31 – Kazakhstan 19
Norway 30 – China 23

[b]Group B[/b]
Hungary 30 – Sweden 24
Russia 29 – South Korea 29
Germany 24 – Brazil 22

[b]Standings: [/b] http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/INF/HB/C76/HBW400000.shtml#HBW400A02

Rank Team Pts MP W T L GF GA Diff Team
1 Romania 2 1 1 0 0 31 19 12
2 France 2 1 1 0 0 32 21 11
3 Norway 2 1 1 0 0 30 23 7
4 China 0 1 0 0 1 23 30 -7
5 Angola 0 1 0 0 1 21 32 -11
6 Kazakhstan 0 1 0 0 1 19 31 -12 1

Rank Team Pts MP W T L GF GA Diff Team
1 Hungary 2 1 1 0 0 30 24 6
2 Germany 2 1 1 0 0 24 22 2
3 Russian Fed. 1 1 0 1 0 29 29 0
3 Korea 1 1 0 1 0 29 29 0
5 Brazil 0 1 0 0 1 22 24 -2
6 Sweden 0 1 0 0 1 24 30 -6

[center][size=14][b]2008 Olympics Coverage Information[/b][/size][/center]

[b]A note on Time-Shifting: [/b] To support Handball fans world-wide, who may not have the opportunity to view matches live, we are hiding match results and other news information behind the “extended post” in each news article. Additionally, we may have not seen the matches we want to see either, so our results may or may not be up to the minute. For the rationale behind this policy check out this earlier article on Time Shifting: https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.539

[b]Complete Schedule of Olympic Matches:[/b] http://www.ihf.info/upload/Competitions/2008_Olympic_Games_Beijing/pdf/MatchSchedule_Beijing2008_final.pdf

[b]TV Schedules[/b]
– NBC Network Schedule (USA): https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.541
– Eurosport (UK): http://britishhandball.worldhandball.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?menuid=1093&itemid=2012
– SBS (Australia): http://www.handballaustralia.org.au/Latest%20News.htm#SBS_Olympic_Schedule

[b]Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Handball: [/b] https://teamhandballnews.com/page20.html
– Have a question that we didn't answer? Send us an email editors@teamhandballnews.com and we will consider updating the FAQ

[b]Other Handball News Sites[/b]
– International Handball Federation: http://www.ihf.info/front_content.php?idcat=264
– Beijing Olympics Official Site: http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/Schedule/HB.shtml
– NBC Network (USA): http://www.nbcolympics.com/handball/index.html
– Handball-World: http://www.handball-world.com/o.red.c/home.php?LangID=2&GID=0&LigaID=0&LID=0

[b]Recent Mainstream News Articles on Handball[/b]
– Kansas City Star: Raytown South grad was pioneer for U.S. in team handball http://www.kansascity.com/sports/olympics/story/733859-p2.html
– Reuters: Know thy enemy with France's spy software: http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSSYD10779620080807?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews&sp=true
– Time Magazine: Pascal Hens- Player to watch #16: [link=hyperlink url]http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1819129_1819134_1825732,00.html[/link]
– ESPN.com: 5 Most Underrated Olympic Sports: http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=3523021
– San Francisco Chronicle: Net Result of Team Handball: Mayhem: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/10/SPLD128LAB.DTL
– Seattle Times (Ron Judd): Team handball mania: Ground-level opportunities available : http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/olympics/2008/08/team_handball_mania_groundleve.html
– Time Magazine: Hey, America, What about Handball: [link=hyperlink url]http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1832052,00.html[/link]
—- THN Commentary on Time Article: https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.557
– MSNBC: Need a new sport? Try Handball: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26203101/
– USA Today: Team Handball America's Final Sports Frontier: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/lopresti/2008-08-14-handball_N.htm
– BBC: Never mind the golds, let’s hear it for handball: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/olympics/2008/08/never_mind_the_golds_lets_hear.html
– The Northern Echo(UK): Games offers a helping hand to minority sports: http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/3599285.Games_offers_a_helping_hand_to_minority_sports/
– NBC Olympics: Team Handball: Where is the U.S.?: http://www.nbcolympics.com/handball/news/newsid=239457.html?_source=rss&cid=
– Wall Street Journal: U.S. Hits a Wall Trying to Recruit: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121925091288656977.html?
– The Telegraph: UK Sport toughens up on handball in bid to compete for London 2012: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/london2012/2598218/UK-Sport-toughens-up-on-handball-in-bid-to-compete-for-London-2012—Olympics.html
– USATH GM Steve (Scott) Pastorino's WLW AM 700 interview (fast forward 25 minutes in): http://a1135.g.akamai.net/f/1135/18227/1h/cchannel.download.akamai.com/18227/podcast/CINCINNATI-OH/WLW-AM/080822_2_mcconnell.mp3?CPROG=PCAST&MARKET=CINCINNATI-OH&NG_FORMAT=newstalk&SITE_ID=1209&STATION_ID=WLW-AM&PCAST_AUTHOR=700WLW_&PCAST_CAT=Talk_Radio&PCAST_TITLE=Mike_McConnell_On_Demand
– CANWEST News Service: The Greatest Sport Canada has Never Heard About: http://www.canada.com/topics/sports/beijing2008/story.html?id=4dbec3f1-c0d8-4cb7-a8a8-ac5c200775a6
– Goldsboro News Argus: Local former Olympian talks about opportunity: http://www.newsargus.com/news/archives/2008/08/24/local_former_olympian_talks_about_opportunity/
– LA Times: Reporter gets her Olympics kicks from a hands-on game: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/olympics_blog/2008/08/reporter-gets-h.html

[b]Older News Articles of Interest[/b]
– Boston Globe: Give handball a sporting chance- Bob Ryan: http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/olympics/handball/articles/2004/08/25/give_handball_a_sporting_chance/
– Wall Street Journal: A game we ought to play- Stefan Fatsis: http://www.stefanfatsis.com/writing/weoughttoplay/
– ESPN.com: So you wanna be an Olympian?: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=olympianpart2

Here’s an article on Andrew Catalon, the play-by-play commentator for NBC handball telecasts. As described in the article NBC will actually call the matches from studios in New York city. Joining Catalon as an analyst will be former National Team player and coach, Dawn Allinger Lewis. Dawn’s voice should be familiar voice to USA Team Handball fans as she was also a part of the 2004 NBC team. Also part of the NBC team will be Team Handball News’ own Bogdan Pasat, who will be providing text commentary. Expect more on Bogdan’s role in a posting soon.

Schenectady Gazette Article: Behind the Broadcast: Catalon making long-distance call:
http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2008/aug/02/802_schott/

CNET, a popular computer technology website, has a new blog post which describes NBC’s plans for web streaming video in greater detail.

Some key points from the article:

– You won’t need Microsoft’s Silverlight video software to watch video, but you’ll have less functionality. I downloaded Silverlight and installed it on my computer and watched some of the highlight videos from 2004 to test it out. It didn’t seem to have any better picture than Adobe Flash, but that could also be due to the lower speed connection I currently have on the road.

– NBC won’t be providing any technical support to viewers. As the service is free, though, I don’t think anyone should have a problem with this.

– NBC will not be hiding the scores on their website. According to NBC Senior VP, Perkins Miller, “You will have to be somewhat disciplined in your navigation to avoid scores. We have found that, on balance, people want to know the scores quickly. If you hide the scores and results, you run the risk of disappointing the people that are using the Internet as a utility." NBC appears to be about 4 years behind in their thinking. As I recall, NBC didn’t put results on their Olympic website in the hopes that people wouldn’t find out prior to their evening broadcasts. TIVOs and DVRs and the concept of time shifting is much more prevalent now. Hopefully they will see the light and will make navigation simple instead of “somewhat disciplined” for those that want to watch without final score knowledge.

As previously indicated, Team Handball News will try our best to support time shifting by requiring you to consciously click on a non-descriptive news article title to get the scores. Additionally, if possible we’ll link directly to match videos.

CNET Article: 2008 Olympics: The Digital Games: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10002909-56.html

Addendum: Site member Mohamed investigated the TVTonic Windows Media Center capability for Windows Vista users. After a few headaches he was able to get it working. While he was impressed with the functionality and the quality of the video he also learned that Handball [b]is not [/b]one of the sports planned for this platform.

Microsoft blog article on TVTonic: http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsexperience/archive/2008/07/31/watch-nbc-s-coverage-of-the-beijing-olympics-in-windows-media-center.aspx

Courtesy of NBC Olympics Handball commentator, Dawn Allinger Lewis, here is a more detailed schedule of the Handball matches that will be broadcast on TV. Matches will be shown tape delayed on either MSNBC or the USA Network.

All times listed are USA East Coast and are subject to change.

Saturday 9-Aug
9:30a – 11:00a MSNBC Women – France vs. Angola
1:30p – 3:00p MSNBC Women – Russia vs. South Korea

Sunday 10-Aug
5:00a-6:00a MSNBC Men – Germany vs. South Korea
1:30p-3:30p MSNBC Men – Croatia vs. Spain

Monday 11-Aug
7:00a-8:30a MSNBC Women – South Korea vs. Germany

Tuesday 12-Aug
2:30p-3:30p MSNBC Men – Spain vs. Poland

Wednesday 13-Aug
10:30a-11:15a MSNBC Women – France vs. Romania

Thursday 14-Aug
1:45p-2:30p MSNBC Men – France vs. Croatia

Friday 15-Aug
11:45a-1:15p MSNBC Women – France vs. Norway

Saturday 16-Aug

Sunday 17-Aug
12:30p-2:00p USA Network Women – Russia vs. Germany

Monday 18-Aug
12:30p-1:30p MSNBC Men – Germany vs. Denmark

Tuesday 19-Aug
9:45a-10:15a USA Network Women – Quarterfinal

Wednesday 20-Aug
9:45a-11:00a MSNBC Men – Quarterfinal

Thursday 21-Aug
12:00p-1:30p MSNBC Women – Semifinal #1
3:30p-5:00p MSNBC Women – Semifinal #2

Friday 22-Aug
1:00p-2:00p MSNBC Men – Semifinal

Saturday 23-Aug
5:00a-6:00a USA Network Women – Bronze
9:00a-10:00a USA Network Women – Gold

Sunday 24-Aug
7:30a-9:00a USA Network Men – Gold

In a clever marketing move, the Danish Men’s National Team has released a new official photo of the team. As China is on the other side of the world, the new photo has the entire team upside down. Hi-res photos and a video of how the picture was made is at the Danish Federation website: http://dhf.dk/composite-2784.htm

NBC, the exclusive broadcaster for the Olympics in the United States, has released a basic schedule for all sports at their website: www.nbcolympics.com Handball is scheduled to be aired daily on the USA Network and/or MSNBC. As these networks will be broadcasting multiple sports, however, it is unclear as to how much Handball will actually be aired and at exactly what times during the broadcast windows.

NBC’s link to the schedule will interactively determine what your viewing options are based on your location and your cable/satellite TV package. This should immediately help you assess whether you might want to consider an alternative cable/satellite TV package. Additionally, if you were thinking about getting a TIVO or DVR player, the Olympics might be the impetus to go ahead and buy/rent one. DVRs with their capacity to record up to 80 hrs will be well suited for storing several hours of coverage and then searching for that Handball coverage you’re looking for.

NBC has also indicated that they will be providing extensive coverage of all sports via online streaming. The online streaming will be provided free of charge, but specifics such as whether all matches will be available and whether they will be provided both live and on-demand is currently lacking. Perhaps, most importantly, for Handball fans with a day job and other commitments, it’s also not clear if the NBC website will support “time shifting” with on demand viewing options that won’t prominently reveal the final score of matches.

Different news reports have also indicated that online viewing may require that your computer has the new Microsoft Vista operating system:
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080623-nbc-olympics-on-the-go-download-service-is-vista-only.html
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/services/2008-06-23-NBC-olympics-laptops_N.htm
At the official NBC Olympics site, however, there appears to be little or no information in regards to system requirements. I’m guessing that NBC has probably received some backlash on this, and it will surely only intensify as more people find out about this requirement; so I’d wait to run out and get a new computer. If Microsoft is truly engaged with this effort, though, we might be seeing online video at never before seen quality levels. And maybe, just maybe, the bar will be forever raised for future offerings by the IHF, EHF and other outlets.

Four members of the Dominican Republic’s Women’s team at the IHF Beach Handball World Championships in Cadiz, Spain have left the team for unspecified reasons. The Dominican Republic has not released the names of the four players and their whereabouts are unknown, although Spanish news sources have indicated they may be in Barcelona.

Diaro Libre Article (Dominican Republic – Spanish): http://www3.diariolibre.com/noticias_det.php?id=23855