[b]Semi-Final Start Times and Point Spreads[/b]

[b]5th – 8th Place Semifinals[/b]
1200 Russia vs. Denmark (-1.5)
1415 Poland (-2.5) vs. South Korea

[b]Semifinals[/b]
1800 France (-2) vs. Croatia
2015 Iceland vs. Spain (-1.5)

– MSNBC is scheduled to show part of one of the semifinals from 1300-1400 on Friday (USA East Coast Time)

[b]Semi-Final Start Times and Point Spreads[/b]

[b]5th – 8th Place Semis[/b]
1200 Sweden vs. China
1415 Romania (-2.5) vs. France

[b]Semifinals[/b]
1800 Norway (-3) vs. South Korea
2015 Hungary vs. Russia (-3)

– MSNBC is scheduled to show almost the entire match for both semifinals from 1200-1330 and 1530-1700 on Thursday (USA East Coast Time)

As some of you may be planning to watch the match on NBC rewind, please click “read the rest” for the story.

[b]French Protest Following Double Overtime Loss is Rejected by IHF[/b]

The French Handball Federation filed an official protest following their double overtime 32-31 loss to Russia and sough a replay of the match. This protest was rejected by the IHF and France will now play for 5th place

Specifically, the French protested two calls made by the Chinese referees. The first claim relates to the free throw awarded to the French as time expired in the first half of the 2nd overtime period. The complaint is that the free throw call was too slow and that the Russian were allowed two changes in personnel after time expired. Previously, this was allowed and team would always send in their tallest players to form the wall at 6 meters. This rule has since been changed to not allow substitutions.

The second claim was that a free throw should have been awarded a the very end of the game when Veronique Pecqueux-Roland was fouled. The French Federation reports that a decision will be made by Noon on Wednesday.

The plays in question can be reviewed at the NBC website. Additionally, after the match French head coach, Olivier Krumbholz can be seen complaining to the IHF Chairman of Playing Rules and Competition (PRC), American Christer Ahl. The audio is hard to hear, but sounds like “Incroyable!…They’re professionals; working for all year for this….”

[b]Commentary: [/b] The French appear to have a case for the first complaint as the substitutions shouldn’t have been allowed. Shorter players on the wall can make a difference as was proven in the Denmark-Russia match. The second claim is strictly a judgment call and from my perspective it may have been a 9 meter, but it also could have been a charge. Together, these calls do not warrant a replay, which would be totally impractical anyway. When would you play it and how fair would it be with the other semifinal team resting?

Underlying all of this, however, is a legitimate question as to why a pair of Chinese referees officiating such a critical match. China does not have a strong handball tradition and by inference it’s usually a good assumption that correspondingly, the officials from a non traditional handball nation are not as good and lacking in experience. This is, of course, an inference and there are exceptions to this rule of thumb. I haven’t watched the whole match, so I can’t rate their overall performance. Bogdan Pasat, however, saw the entire match and felt that the Chinese pair actually did a respectable job and made some good tough calls in the overtime period. His bottom line was that the officials were not a factor in the outcome of this match.

[b]NBC “rewind” of France-Russia Match:[/b] http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/player.html?assetid=1348182&channelcode=sporthb
[b]French notes on Protest: [/b]
http://www.femmesdedefis.com/info/news.php?id_news=230
http://www.femmesdedefis.com/info/news.php?id_news=234

[b]Quarter-Final Start Times and Point Spreads[/b]
1200 France (-4.5) vs. Russia Video: http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/player.html?assetid=hb1h-bj-sd01-082008-115002&channelcode=sporthb
1415 Iceland vs. Poland (-1.5) Video: http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/player.html?assetid=hb1h-bj-sd01-082008-140503&channelcode=sporthb
1800 Croatia vs. Denmark (-0.5) Video: http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/player.html?assetid=hb1h-bj-sd01-082008-175004&channelcode=sporthb
2015 South Korea vs. Spain (-2) Video: http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/player.html?assetid=hb1h-bj-sd01-082008-200504&channelcode=sporthb

– MSNBC is scheduled to show a portion of one quarter final match from 9:45a-11:00a Wednesday (USA East Coast Time)

Below are the most current odds to win the Olympic Tournament
(Note: pre-tournament odds are in parentheses)
France: 1.25 to 1 (2.75 to 1)
Denmark: 4 to 1 (3.5 to 1)
Spain: 5 to 1 (9 to 1)
Poland: 10 to 1 (17 to 1)
Croatia: 11 to 1 (6 to 1)
Iceland: 20 to 1 (66 to 1)
South Korea: 28 to 1 (1000 to 1)
Russia: 50 to 1 (50 to 1)

The bookmakers are clearly saying that this is France’s tournament. Pool B is also perceived as weaker than pool A, as 3 of the 4 teams from Pool A are favored in the quarterfinal crossovers.

Somewhere, perhaps is Seoul, someone with a South Korea "to win Group B" ticket is smiling. Not sure what the odds were, but a guess is that it was in the neighborhood of 200 to 1. The bottom bracket of the 8 team tournament (Iceland v Poland; South Korea v Spain) is wide open. Only Spain was expected to compete for a medal, now one of those teams will play for Gold.

We've added a Men's tournament prediction at bracketmaker.com

You will need to register with the bracketmaker site first. Then you can click on "predict it" to enter your picks. 1 point is awarded for each correctly picked quarterfinal game, 2 points for the semifinals and 4 points for the final.

Men's Contest: http://www.bracketmaker.com/tlist.cfm?tid=289773
Women's Contest: http://www.bracketmaker.com/tlist.cfm?tid=289667

[b]Quarter-Final Start Times and Point Spreads (Beijing Time)[/b]
1200 Norway (-5) vs. Sweden
1415 Romania (-3.5) vs. Hungary
1800 South Korea vs. China (No line posted)
2015 Russia (-5.5) vs. France

– The “USA Network” Cable channel is scheduled to show a portion of one quarter final match from 9:45a-10:15a (USA East Coast Time)

Below are the most current odds to win the Olympic Tournament from bestbetting.com
(Note: pre-tournament odds are in parentheses)
Norway: 1.75 to 1 (2.5 to 1)
Russia: 2 to 1 (1.25 to 1)
South Korea: 4 to 1 (16 to 1)
Romania: 7 to 1 (4.5 to 1)
Hungary: 33 to 1 (10 to 1)
France: 99 to 1 (40 to 1)
China: 149 to 1 (200 to 1)
Sweden: 149 to 1 (100 to 1)

As can be seen by the changing odds, Norway and South Korea’s performance in Group Play has improved their odds, while Russia’s stock has gone down slightly.

Think you know your Olympic Handball? Fill out your bracket for the Women's 8 team knockout tournament here:
http://www.bracketmaker.com/tlist.cfm?tid=289667

You will need to register with the bracketmaker site first. Then you can click on "predict it" to enter your picks. 1 point is awarded for each correctly picked quarterfinal game, 2 points for the semifinals and 4 points for the final.

No prizes this time around other than bragging rights.

[b]Scheduled Matches (Beijing Local Time)[/b]
0900-1030 Match 1: Iceland vs. Egypt
1045-1215 Match 2: Spain vs. Brazil
1400-1530 Match 3: Russia vs. South Korea
1545-1715 Match 4: Croatia vs. China
1900-2030 Match 5: Denmark vs. Germany **MSNBC Monday 12:30p-1:30p (Eastern Time US)
2045-2215 Match 6: Poland vs. France

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

[b]Group A (Standings thru 4 Rounds)[/b]
Rank Team Pts MP W T L GF GA Diff
1 France 8 4 4 0 0 118 85 33
2 Poland 6 4 3 0 1 117 98 19
3 Croatia 4 4 2 0 2 107 93 14
4 Spain 4 4 2 0 2 116 110 6
5 Brazil 2 4 1 0 3 94 117 -23
6 China 0 4 0 0 4 82 131 -49

[b]Scenarios for Group A Seeding:[/b]
– China: They are locked into 6th place
– Brazil: A win over Spain would give them 4th place.
– Spain: Needs a win or draw against Brazil for 4th place. They could place higher depending on tiebreakers with Poland and/or Croatia
– Croatia: Assuming a win vs. China, they will be 2nd, 3rd, or 4th depending on tiebreakers with Spain and/or Poland
– Poland: Will take 1st if they beat France, otherwise it will depend on tiebreakers with Spain and/or Croatia
– France: Will take 1st with a win or draw against Poland. If they lose they will take 2nd

[b]Group B (Standings thru 4 Rounds)[/b]
Rank Team Pts MP W T L GF GA Diff
1 Korea 6 4 3 0 1 100 100 0
2 Iceland 5 4 2 1 1 119 114 5
3 Germany 5 4 2 1 1 105 103 2
4 Denmark 4 4 1 2 1 110 110 0
5 Russian Fed. 3 4 1 1 2 107 109 -2
6 Egypt 1 4 0 1 3 95 100 -5

[b]Scenarios for Group B Seeding:[/b]
Editor‘s Note: Updated after the Iceland – Egypt draw in the first match on Monday
– Egypt: 6th place
– Russia/Denmark/Germany: If Russia beats South Korea, then the results of Denmark-Germany will determine who goes home in 5th place. If Germany beats Denmark, Denmark will get 5th place. If Denmark beats Germany, Germany will get 5th place (assuming that Russia has made up the 4 goals in overall total goal differential. (Germany and Russia had a draw in their match and the next tiebreaker is Goal Differential in all matches played.) And, conspiracy theory alert, if there is a draw between Denmark and Germany, Russia will get 5th place. Although, as has been pointed out in the Kometal forum, Denmark will be highly motivated to win and avoid 4th place and its likely matchup against France.
– Iceland/Korea: These teams are through to the next round and their final seeding involves several scenarios.

[b]Betting lines: [/b] According to betting comparison site, bestbetting.com, these are the point spreads for Sunday’s matches: Iceland (-2.5), Spain (-6.5), Russia (-1.5), Croatia (-11.5), Denmark (-0.5), and France (-3.5)

Stefan Fatsis wrote this previous Handball story, “A game we ought to play” http://www.stefanfatsis.com/writing/weoughttoplay/ for the Wall Street Journal while he was covering the Athens Olympic Games in 2004. He’s in Beijing for this year’s games and while giving an update on the Olympics to NPR, he made a point to discuss Team Handball at the Olympics and in the United States.

NPR Interview: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93644058

[b]Scheduled Matches (Beijing Local Time)[/b]
0900-1030 Match 1: Sweden vs. Brazil
1045-1215 Match 2: Angola vs. Kazakhstan
1400-1530 Match 3: Norway vs. Romania
1545-1715 Match 4: France vs. China
1900-2030 Match 5: Russia vs. Germany **12:30p-2:00p USA Network (USA East Coast Time)**
2045-2215 Match 6: Hungary vs. South Korea

[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]Group A (Standings thru 4 Rounds)[/b]
Rank Team Pts MP W T L GF GA Diff
1 Norway 8 4 4 0 0 130 83 47
2 Romania 8 4 4 0 0 127 88 39
3 France 4 4 2 0 2 103 107 -4
4 China 2 4 1 0 3 101 117 -16
5 Kazakhstan 2 4 1 0 3 85 113 -28
6 Angola 0 4 0 0 4 85 123 -38

[b]Scenarios for Group A Seeding:[/b]
– Norway: If Norway beats or draws against Romania they take 1st, if they lose they take 2nd
– Romania: If Romania beats Norway they finish 1st, otherwise they take 2nd .
– France: If France beats or draws against China, they will take 3rd. If they lose, they will likely slip to 4th. And in the event of a 3 way France, China and Kazakhstan a 4 goal loss would slip them to 5th place
– China: The simplest way for China to qualify is for Kazakhstan to lose to Angola. If that doesn’t happen they can still advance if they can beat France by 4 goals
– Kazakhstan: If they beat Angola they will likely get 4th place. A draw will put them in 4th place if China loses or draws against France. A loss to Angola puts them no better than 5th
– Angola: They need a 13 goal victory over Kazakhstan and China to lose to France in order to take 4th place

[b]Group B (Standings thru 4 Rounds)[/b]
Rank Team Pts MP W T L GF GA Diff
1 Russian Fed. 7 4 3 1 0 118 96 22
2 Korea 5 4 2 1 1 122 105 17
3 Hungary 5 4 2 1 1 107 109 -2
4 Brazil 3 4 1 1 2 102 112 -10
5 Germany 2 4 1 0 3 94 104 -10
6 Sweden 2 4 1 0 3 98 115 -17

[b]Scenarios for Group B Seeding:[/b]
– Russia: If they beat or draw against Germany they will take 1st. Even if they lose, they will probably take 1st unless South Korea can overtake them on Goal differential
– South Korea: If they beat or draw Hungary they will likely take 2nd. If they lose, they could be either 3rd or 4th.
– Hungary: If they beat Korea they will take 2nd. If they lose they could be either 3rd or 4th depending on their tiebreakers if they are level with Brazil
– Brazil: If Brazil beats Sweden they will place either 3rd or 4th depending on the outcome of the Korea – Hungary match
– Sweden: If Sweden beats Brazil they will get 4th place.
– Germany: They need a miracle. The only scenario by which they get 4th is a Sweden – Brazil draw, combined with them upsetting Russia.

– Betting lines: According to betting comparison site, bestbetting.com, these are the point spreads for Sunday’s matches: Brazil (-x), Kazakhstan (-x), Norway (-x), France (-x), Russia (-x), and South Korea (-x)

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

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

[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: The top 4 for this Group is almost decided. Brazil still has an outside chance if they can beat China today and Spain on Monday.
– Group B: Things might get a little clearer in this extremely tight group. South Korea, Germany and Iceland are tied for 1st with 4 points each. Wins by those side, should maker their qualification for the quarterfinals all but certain. But each of their respective opponents, Egypt, Russia and Denmark can also still qualify
– Just in case you missed it: Here’s the youtube video of the last shot in the Denmark -Russia match: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Corm5rgstro&eurl=http://www.sportensverden.dk/handball/item.asp?id=13128
– Another article on America’s need to discover handball: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/lopresti/2008-08-14-handball_N.htm (some interesting quotes from the Danish coach, Ulrik Wilbek and player, Joachim Boldsen on handball in America.

[b]- Betting lines:[/b] According to betting comparison site, bestbetting.com, these are the point spreads for Sunday’s matches: Brazil (-4.5), South Korea (-1.5), France (-2.5), Germany (-2.5), Croatia (-1.5), and Denmark (-1.5)

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

[b]Scheduled Matches (Beijing Local Time)[/b]
0900-1030 Match 1: Kazakhstan vs. China
1045-1215 Match 2: Brazil vs. South Korea
1400-1530 Match 3: Germany vs. Sweden
1545-1715 Match 4: Romania vs. Angola
1900-2030 Match 5: France vs. Norway**MSNBC, Fri 1145-1315 [East Coast, USA Time]
2045-2215 Match 6: Hungary vs. Russia

[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: France will battle Norway for seeding, while China will look to put themselves in the quarterfinals with a victory over Kazakhstan. Romania should have no trouble with Angola.
– Group B: South Korea, Russia and Hungary have all but advanced to the quarterfinals. Germany, Sweden and Brazil are in a battle for fourth place. Germany will likely advance with a win over Sweden today. Sweden is in virtual control of their own destiny and will probably qualify if they can beat Germany and Brazil on Sunday. Brazil will likely advance if Sweden beats Germany and then loses to Brazil on Sunday.

[b]- Betting lines:[/b] According to betting comparison site, bestbetting.com, these are the point spreads for Sunday’s matches: China (-4.5), South Korea (-6.5), Germany (-2.5), Romania (-10.5), Norway (-5.5), and Russia (-4.5)

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]
Kazakhstan 29 – China 26 (14:10)
Romania 28 – Angola 23 (16-7)
Norway 34 – France 24 (15-12)

[b]Group B[/b]
Brazil 33 – South Korea 32 (17:12)
Sweden 27 – German y 26 (13-13)
Russia – Hungary ( – )

[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 8 4 4 0 0 130 83 47
2 Romania 8 4 4 0 0 127 88 39
3 France 4 4 2 0 2 103 107 -4
4 China 2 4 1 0 3 101 117 -16
5 Kazakhstan 2 4 1 0 3 85 113 -28
6 Angola 0 4 0 0 4 85 123 -38

[b]Group B[/b]
Rank Team Pts MP W T L GF GA Diff

[b]Quarterfinal Matches (based on current standings):[/b]
Norway vs. 4B
2B vs. France
1B vs. Kazakhstan
Romania vs. 3B

[b]Scheduled Matches (Beijing Local Time)[/b]
0900-1030 Match 1: Germany vs. Egypt
1045-1215 Match 2: Poland vs. Brazil
1400-1530 Match 3: South Korea vs. Iceland
1545-1715 Match 4: China vs. Spain
1900-2030 Match 5: Denmark vs. Russia
2045-2215 Match 6: France vs. Croatia**MSNBC, Thu 1345-1430 [East Coast, USA Time]

[b]Video Links:[/b] http://www.nbcolympics.com/handball/video/index.html
Suggested match(es) to watch: All the Group B Matches, but the Denmark – Russia match was truly exciting.

[b]Notes: [/b]
– Group A: This group looks to be somewhat settled. China and Brazil have not impressed and don’t look like they have much of a chance to beat any of the other four teams. This means the other 4 teams, France, Croatia, Spain and Poland are likely to make the quarterfinals, with the only question as to where they will be seeded 1-4. Today’s France – Croatia match should help decide that today.
– Group B: This may well be the most wide open group in Olympic history, with all 6 teams still having realistic expectations for making it to the quarterfinals. Egypt and Denmark are in nearly must win situations. Perhaps Egypt will get a break against Germany today, who will be smarting from the injury and loss of Pascal Hens for the rest of the tournament
– Group B’s wide open status might be giving the top 4 teams in Group A some second thoughts on winning the group, particularly if Denmark slips in as the 4th seed in Group B.

[b]- Betting lines: [/b]According to betting comparison site, bestbetting.com, these are the point spreads for Sunday’s matches: Germany (-3.5), Poland (-9), Iceland (-2), Spain (-14.5), Denmark (-2.5), and France (-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]
Poland 28 – Brazil 25 (14:15)
Spain 30 – Poland 29 (16-12)
France 23 – Croatia 19 (11-9)

[b]Group B[/b]
Germany 25 – Egypt 23 (14:14)
South Korea 22 – Iceland 21 (10-9)
Denmark 25 – Russia 24 (10-10)

[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 6 3 3 0 0 90 64 26
2 Croatia 4 3 2 0 1 83 66 17
3 Poland 4 3 2 0 1 90 74 16
4 Spain 4 3 2 0 1 95 82 13
5 Brazil 0 3 0 0 3 65 95 -30
6 China 0 3 0 0 3 60 102 -42

[b]Group B[/b]
Rank Team Pts MP W T L GF GA Diff
1 Iceland 4 3 2 0 1 87 82 5
2 Germany 4 3 2 0 1 81 79 2
3 Korea 4 3 2 0 1 76 78 -2
4 Denmark 3 3 1 1 1 78 78 0
5 Russian Fed. 2 3 1 0 2 83 85 -2
6 Egypt 1 3 0 1 2 73 76 -3

[b]Quarterfinal Matches (based on current standings):[/b]
France vs. Denmark
Germany vs. Poland

Iceland vs. Spain
Croatia vs. South Korea