Your independent news and commentary outlet for the Olympic sport of Team Handball
John Ryan and Christer Ahl discuss the European Championships results through the opening Main Round Group matches (e.g. Sunday night). They also make a few predictions and voice their frustration with the shortcomings of the YouTube video offering. Sometimes you get what you pay for.
John Ryan and Christer Ahl discuss several topics to christen the New Year. Highlights include:
– A review of the Women’s World Championships
– Some predictions on the upcoming Men’s European, Asian and African Championships
– The Big Apple tournament and why this unique event isn’t better promoted in the USA
– The apparent “holding pattern” the USA Team Handball Federation is currently in.
Preliminary Group Play is complete and the first four matches of the Round of 16 have been played. John Ryan and Christer Ahl look at the results so far, Brazil and Angola’s performance, crowds (or lack of), the 16 team knockout format and make a few predictions on what’s to come.
John Ryan and Christer Ahl discuss two topics in this latest edition of Handball Talk. First up is a brief discussion highlighting the great strides the British Women’s program is making in their run up to the 2012 Olympics in London. Then in the wake of the recent tragic death of the Methe brothers in a car accident we discuss some of the challenges European referees have in terms of balancing their officiating careers with their family and professional lives.
THN (25 Nov 2011): Good British performance in Olympic test event: https://teamhandballnews.com/2011/11/good-british-performance-in-olympic-test-event/
THN (11 Nov 2011): World class referees killed in traffic accident en route to Bundesliga game: https://teamhandballnews.com/2011/11/world-class-referees-killed-in-traffic-accident-en-route-to-bundesliga-game/
The 22nd edition of the Handball World Championships concluded on Sunday in Malmö with the French emerging as victors. Karabatic & Co defeated Denmark 37:35 in extra time, in one of the closest contests in recent memory. France’s fourth world title ties them with Sweden and Romania who each have four as well.
In his latest podcast, Bogdan Pasat is joined again by former Romanian International Cristian Zaharia to discuss and break down the final contests, France’s dynasty and what the rest of the handball world must do in order to dethrone the mighty French. Tune in for another 45 minutes of expert analysis available to you, only on THN.
With the Sweden 2011 main round completed and the Semis just hours away, THN’s Bogdan Pasat talks to former Romanian International and 1993 World Championship bronze medalist Cristian Zaharia about the ongoing men’s World Championship competition, the Pan Am representation, the upcoming semis and the psychology of winning at the highest level.
Don’t miss it as there is something for everyone in this 55 minutes long interview.
Christer Ahl and John Ryan discuss the final preliminary round results and look ahead to the Main Round. Again, we apologize for the sound quality. Occasionally, there is a little echo on Christer’s end.
Also, our memories were a little short in regards to a few players and where they play. After the fact here’s some info:
Danish Backcourt, Kasper Sondergaard, plays for Danish Club, KIF Kolding.
Iceland Goalie, Bjorgvin GÚSTAVSSON plays for Swiss Club, Kadetten
Argentina Goalie, Matias Schulz, age 28, plays for Badajoz in Spain’s 2nd Division. Four other players for Argentina play in Spain’s Liga Asobal. Sebastiean Simonet, 24; Diego Simonet, 21; Federico Vieyra, 22 play for Torrevieja. Gonzalo Caro, 31 plays for Ademar Leon. It’s worth noting that not only are they playing in Spain’s top league, with the exception of Caro, they should be around a while.
John Ryan and Christer Ahl discuss the first 3 days of the 2011 Men’s World Championships. Christer is in Malmö, Sweden and he recounts the action he’s seen and what to expect in the remaining preliminary round matches. Catch a listen as you watch the matches at www.livehandball.tv
(Our apologies for the audio quality. At times, there’s a bit of an echo at times on Christer’s line)
The USA Women shrugged off a 23-18 loss on Tuesday in Lake Placid and turned the tables on Canada with a 26-21 victory in Montreal. The aggregate for the 2 game series was a 44-44 tie, but the U.S. Women qualify due to a higher “away goals” total, 26-23.
The Canadian Men also reversed a loss on Tuesday, by beating the USA 25-21. By coincidence, this was the exact same score as the Lake Placid match, resulting in aggregate 46-46 tie. And as the away goals (21-21) were also equal the USA and Canadian Men played a 10 minute overtime with Canada winning 5-2.
The USA Women and the Canadian Men have qualified for the PANAM Games next October in Guadalajara, Mexico. The USA Men and Canadian Women have the option of qualifying for the 8th and final PANAM Games via a “second chance” tournament later in 2011.
Christer Ahl was at all four matches and he provides an overview of what happened.
USATH: Triumph and Heartbreak
USATH: The pain of defeat
USATH: Running written commentary and chat
Podcast: USA-Canada Post PANAM Games qualifier analysis
Team Handball News talks with USA Men's coach, Darrick Heath in Lake Placid, NY about the team's preparation for the upcoming 2 game series with Canada.
Interview: https://teamhandballnews.com/request74.html (9 Minutes)
Left click to play; Right click to save and download to your MP3 Player
Team Handball News talks with USA Women's coach, Chris Cappelmann in Lake Placid, NY about the team's preparation for the upcoming 2 game series with Canada.
Interview: https://teamhandballnews.com/request73.html (10 Minutes)
Left click to play; Right click to save and download to your MP3 Player
After the match Saturday, German National Team Player Oliver Roggisch and Polish National Team Player Mariusz Jurkiewicz discussed the match, handball in the U.S. and Major League Baseball. Roggisch is a defensive specialist known for his physical play. Jurkiewicz is a backcourt player, who plays professionally in Spain.
Interview: Oliver Roggisch (2:49): https://teamhandballnews.com/request71.html
Oliver Roggisch Official website: http://www.oliver-roggisch.de/
Oliver Roggisch Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Roggisch
Interview: Mariusz Jurkiewicz (8:06): https://teamhandballnews.com/downloads72.html
Mariusz Jurkiewicz Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariusz_Jurkiewicz
Last Saturday, I recorded the Town Hall meeting held during the USA Team Handball National Championships. USATH GM Steve Pastorino and Board Chairman Dieter Esch spoke for about 25 minutes to around 50 members in attendance. A few details concerning U.S. National Team planning were revealed/confirmed. Resources are focused on 2016 Olympic qualification, but U.S. players will be allowed to self-finance an attempt for 2012 qualification. The first step in that process will be qualification matches vs. Canada later this year. It was also announced that there are preliminary plans for a USA match prior to the 17 July, Poland-Germany match in Chicago.
After the meeting I sat down for a short interview with David Thompson, the Men’s Athlete’s Advisory Council (AAC) Representative. As the AAC rep David also sits on the Board of Directors. During the interview David expresses his “total disagreement” with the Board decision to not provide financial support for 2012 Olympic qualification.
USA Federation Town Hall Meeting (21:07): https://teamhandballnews.com/request69.html (Left click to play/right click to download)
Interview with David Thompson: (22:57): https://teamhandballnews.com/request70.html (Left click to play/right click to download)