Fair and deserving awards.

Can't help but notice that this was a slavo-russian party and no one else was invited!!!!

:)

[color=#ff0000]Elite Division:

MVG: Ivan Ignjatovic (New York City)
MVP: Zoran Ostojic (New York City)[/color]

[color=#0000ff]Women Division:

MVG: Nataliya Mitrjuk (Chicago Inter)
MVP: Sladjana Prvanov (Chicago Inter)[/color]

[color=#ff00ff]Men's Division:

MVG: Mario Djokic (Chicago Inter)
MVP: Jugo Redzic (Chicago Inter)[/color]

Elite Top 10:

Zoran Ostojic (NYCTHC) 30
Brian Walsh (Army Black) 28
Vlad Grama (Houston Stars) 27
Jordi Ferrer (NYAC) 23
Muris Lucarevic (Chic. Inter) 22
Mark Orterga (Miami Sharks) 22
Sven Mayer (Cal Heat) 21
Milan Ciric (Chicago Inter) 19
Piotr Gospodarzec (NYCTHC) 18
Jess Jensen (Chicago Inter) 18

Women Top 5:

Kathy Darling (Cortland) 33
Sarah Gascon (Smurfs) 33
Sladjana Prvanov (Chicago) 32
Jolanta Kunicaite (Chicago) 25
Jennifer Robertson (UNC) 25

Men's Top 5:

Anxo, Otero (Chicago Inter) 36
Kevin Hutchison (Knight Air) 33
Scott Knox (Tar Heel) 28
Sergiu DeSouza (NE Freeze) 25
Jeff Gabel (Knight Air) 24

A good Easter Sunday afternoon from the University of Delaware Field House, in Newark, Delaware.
This is the super Sunday for all US Team Handball enthusiasts. The day when, for the next 12 months three teams in each division will claim supremacy over the rest of the participants.

As I write this, on Court 1, the Chicago Inter, to the light of a huuuuge Windy city contingent, have just won gold in the Men's Division, by defeating Knight Air 28:27. Joining them on the podium was the New England Freeze (a former Elite division team) who won their bronze medal game by doubling up Army Gold 38:16.

On Court 2, the Women's divison gold medal game is half way through the second half… Chicago Inter are 15 minutes away from defeating Cortland and a gold medal. An hour earlier the third place went to the Atlanta Condors Women, the lone Georgia representative, who won decisively over a heavily favored west coast Smurfs team. The final on that one: 30:21.

In the Elite division, the Inter of Chicago pulled away late in the game and withstood a wave of unsportsmanlike conducts and downright violent plays from NYAC. The referees were quick to punsih the the guilty parties and order was quickly restored. Let's face it, it wouldn't be "fun" without some fireworks of the "garden" city variety. It what is folks…

Court 1 is now hosting THE FINAL. The surprise team of the tournament, West Point's Army Black is down 6:1 to New York City… more on this game later.

Court 2 is all about Chicago. Chants of "Ole Ole Ole… Inter, Inter" fill the hangar looking Fiels House athletic arena. The Chicago Iner women have defeated Cortland by 3. 25:22. Gold to Chicago Inter, silver to Cortland who played very well and bronze to the Atlanta Condors

Miami Sharks Press Release

We are happy to announce that game footage from the 2007 United States Open National Championships in Newark, Delaware, will be available on an on-demand basis, courtesy of [link=http://www.livesportsvideo.com]LiveSportsVideo.com[/link]. At the current moment, the broadcast slate will include all five of the [link=http://www.miamisharksteamhandball.org]Miami Sharks[/link] games, which will be available for on-demand viewing within 24 hours of competition at [link=http://www.livesportsvideo.com]www.livesportsvideo.com[/link].

[link=http://www.miamisharksteamhandball.org]The Sharks[/link] will play two games on Friday (available for viewing by mid-day Saturday), with the first game against the [link=http://www.houstonhandball.org]Houston Stars[/link] and the second against [link=http://www.chicagointerhandball.org]Chicago Inter[/link]. [link=http://www.miamisharksteamhandball.org]Miami[/link] will play New York on Saturday morning (available for viewing by mid-day Sunday) and an opponent to be determined on Saturday night after re-seeding.

Please visit [link=http://www.livesportsvideo.com]www.livesportsvideo.com[/link] for the on-demand footage, and visit the site throughout the year as additional tournaments will be broadcast live and archived onto the first team handball broadcast network in the United States.

The games can be broadcast for $100 per game. Clubs interested in having their games available for viewing should contact [link=mailto:headcoachhandball@comcast.net]Cristian Zaharia[/link].

See you all in Delaware

Cristian Zaharia
Miami Sharks Team Handball Club

In a move that has shocked the entire Handball world, Stefan Kretzschmar has formally announced today that he is leaving his German Club, Madgeburg, and will play next year with the Los Angeles Team Handball Club. Details of the contract have not been revealed, but it is rumoured to be a 4 year deal, that with incentives and promotional opportunities will net the Left Winger close to $6 Million and make him the highest played Handball player in history. Known for his body piercings and tattoos as well as his handball skills, Kretzschmar is arguably, the most famous handball player in the world. The announcement has everyone in the Handball world talking and wondering whether this move is a stroke of genius or the craziest thing they’ve ever heard.

Below is a text of the press conference (translation courtesy of Bjoern Brembs)

Host: Thanks everyone; Stefan will now take a few questions.

Reporter: Stefan, Why the US? Why now?

Kretzschmar: Why the US? Why not? (laughter) But, in all seriousness, I’ve been a big fan of the NBA for years and I admire the way Americans present and promote their sports. I’ve also always been puzzled as to why Team Handball is not more popular in the US. I think that by playing in the US I can help raise the sports profile and the level of play in the US. If we can make the sport big in the US, it will help make the sport bigger world-wise. As to why now? I’m 34 years old and I think I have a few more good years left playing at a high level. I figured if I was to make this move, I needed to make it now.

Reporter: This sounds a lot like the David Beckham move to the US. Were you influenced at all by him?

Kretzschmar: Absolutely. In fact, as some of you might know, ‘Becks’ and I have been friends for years. When Claudia and I vacationed in LA over the winter break with Becks and Victoria we fell in love with the laid back LA lifestyle. The weather is great and everyone was so friendly. Becks at the time was contemplating his move and I was only joking then, but I said to Becks, “To bad there isn’t a Team Handball club in LA that I could play for. If there was then I could do the same thing for Team Handball that you are doing for Soccer.” It was only an off hand remark, but Becks talked with his agent and his agent contacted the LA Club, and one thing led to another, and well, here I am.

Reporter: Why do you keep saying ‘team handball’ instead of just ‘handball?’

Kretzschmar: That’s what the sport is called in the US, so that’s what I’m calling it now.

Reporter: I’m not an expert on handball on the US, but the level of play is at a very low compared to Germany. Aren’t you concerned that you’re new club won’t have other top flight players for you to play with?

Kretzschmar: Certainly, the level of play will be at a lower level, but the US has many talented athletes that can learn the sport. Also, we’re currently in discussion with DSF and ESPN, but there will likely be a couple of reality TV shows that will help. The German show will focus on my new life in LA, while the American show will focus on the club and the players. We will be recruiting talented athletes from basketball and other sports and the show will follow them as they learn how to play Team Handball. We’ll play games in the US, but we will also tour the world. We have plans to play games in Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Greenland, the Caribbean, Africa, Japan, Korea, and, of course, Europe as well. We’re also open to the idea of adding a few more handball veterans from Europe to the club, but this is still yet to be determined.

Reporter: Tell us a little bit more about the German Reality Show.

Kretzschmar: It’s going to be great. There will be some handball in it for sure, but it will also include my experiences on the LA scene. Trips and parties with Becks and Victoria, visits to the Playboy mansion, meetings with famous sports celebs like the LA Laker’s Kobe Bryant, etc.

Host: OK, thanks everyone. We’ll keep you posted as to future developments.

LA Team Handball: http://www.lateamhandball.com/
Stefan Kretzschmar Official Site: http://www.stefan-kretzschmar.de/

The Long Island Newsday recently had an article on USA Men’s National Team member Divine Jackson:
http://www.newsday.com/sports/college/ny-sphand0222,0,5671753.column?coll=ny-collegesports-headlines

Note: The article is incorrect when it states that the US has never qualified for the Olympics. While the US hasn’t qualified recently, the Men’s team qualified in 1972, 1976 and 1988 and the Women’s team qualified in 1988 and 1992. Both Men’s and Women’s team also automatically qualified when the US hosted the Olympics in 1984 and 1996.

The USA Cup’s first day saw the USA lose to GOconnectIT from the Netherland 25-24 and to Canada 29-24. The tournament will consist of a double round robin between the 3 teams over the first 3 days (27-29 June) followed by a semifinal match on 1 July and a Championship game on 2 July. More information is available at the USA Cup website: http://www.usacup.us/index.php

The Binghampton Press & Sun-Bulletin also has a nice feature article on 3 USA National Team players with connections to Binghampton: http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060627/SPORTS/606270333/1003

Team USA has returned home from their European Tour. They played a total of 19 games against several club teams and the Israeli National Team. Their overall record was 5-12-2.

I had the opportunity to watch two of those matches while the team played in the Arc-de-Seine tournament near Paris. The US beat a London club team 24-22 and lost to a Paris selection team 27-21. After the match, I had a short interview with head coach Christian Latulippe. Listen:
[file=request.php?12]John Ryan interviews Christian Latulippe[/file]

More information on their European tour is available here
– Press Release: http://www.usateamhandballwomen.com/News/June21_06.html
– Europe Trip Blog: http://www.wnteuropetour2006.blogspot.com/

The Women’s team is now gearing up for the USA Cup (26 June – 2 July) in Cortland, NY. They will play matches against Canada and a top club team from the Netherlands. For more information check out their dedicated website: http://www.usacup.us/

Finally, we have posted an interesting interview that Bogdan Pasat had with Women’s National Team Player Jennifer Farrell this past April. The interview covers several topics such as marketing, player recruiting, and what their expectations were heading into the European Tour and USA Cup. Listen:
[file=request.php?13]Bogdan Pasat interviews Jennifer Farrell[/file]
See Bogdan interview Jennifer:
[link=e107_images/newspost_images/b_j.jpg][img]{E_IMAGE}newspost_images/b_j_thumb.jpg[/img][/link]

The Oregon based Register-Guard Newspaper reports on new USA Women’s National Team Player Chelsea Wagner.

http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/06/17/b1.sp.chelseawagner.0617.p1.php?section=sports

The following are some brief notes that I’ve edited from an email I recently received from Tom Fitzgerald.

USA-Mexico Match: Tom indicated that Team USA had an extremely poor shooting performance with several shots hitting the post. With 1:52 remaining in the match the US was actually down 28-24. A foul on a wing shot resulted in a penalty goal and a two minute penalty. The US then repeatedly stopped Mexico on defense and rattled off 3 straight points in the time remaining. As described this is a remarkable comeback which salvaged the USA’s prospects.

USA-Puerto Rico Match: The US led the whole game and at one time pulled ahead 20-12. Puerto Rico got within 3 goals at the end and the US also had the luxury of getting some inexperienced players more playing time.

USA-Argentina: The USA was outmatched vs. an Agentina squad with 9 players playing in Europe and 2 in Brazil. As the outcome of the match was somewhat meaningless, the US started some of it younger player to get some of the starters some rest. At one time the score was whittled down to 22-15, but Argentina finished strong and ended up winning 38-20

USA-Brazil: No illusions here and Tom indicated that this will be a tough match for the US. The Brazilian has been training for the past 10 months and has a roster full of professional players.

USA-Greenland: This likely showdown for 3rd place should be interesting. The US and Greenland played a friendly match last Sunday and the US pulled out a 31-25 victory. In was during this match, however, that John Kelly, who had been playing very well for the US got hurt.

Player Performances: Tom indicated that Danny Caparelli and Gary Hines are playing exceptionally well and that Troy Steffen and Divine Jackson have been pleasant surprises. To win the match against Greenland they will definitely need some of the younger players to play well.

Coach Martinez: Tom noted that from his perspective Coach Martinez has been a good teacher and that the team is responding well to

From the Brazilian Federation Website: http://www.brasilhandebol.com.br/

Translation was done using Babel Fish: http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr

United States WIN the FIRST One In the PAN-AMERICANO OF IN ARACAJU

The United States had had work to win Rich Port in the first game of the second round of the Championship Pan-American of Masculine Adult Handebol. Placar was closed in 28 the 25 (10 the 8 in the first time). This was the first victory of the Americans in the competition. After that, Chile defeated Uruguay, for 27 the 26 (16 the 11). Brazil enters in squares this night against Greenland, to 20h, while, at this moment, Argentina faces Mexico, in the game that started to 18hs. Rich port started better and with more speed. To the few, the team of the United States if made right in the attack and passed to the front. In second time, the American team grew still more and went off in placar. Still with a reaction sketched for the Puerto Ricans, the teams of the North America guaranteed the victory. The American shipowner Tone Fitzgerald praised the performance of the adversary. "It is a fast team very young e. They run very and kick fort. In second time, our teams changed the game and, as they were tired, us we obtain the advantage." Chile made a game with sped up rhythm and was to the front in placar for almost all the confrontation. Exactly fighting, Uruguay did not obtain to pierce the Chilean blockade and lost many balls. Almost in the end of the departure, the climate esquentou when Uruguay leaned in the marker, but Chile obtained to remain itself in the front and closed the confrontation. "It was a very satisfactory departure. We could have strained more placar. Tomorrow, we wait to earn of Brazil ", commented the technician of the Chilean team, Rodrigo Bown. United States: Danny, Milan (2), Jeff (1), Tone (4), Gil (3), Gary (5) and Troy (8), beyond Muris (4), Divine (1) and Mark. Rich Port: Rafael, Omar, Isael (2), Joseph (2), Juan Cepeda (8), Freddie and Hector (3), beyond Dennis (3), Rafael Cepeda (1), Alberto (5), Jose (1) and Elvis. Chile: René, Landmark (5), Patrician (6), Emil (9), Philip Maurin (5), Guillermo (2) and Nicolas, beyond Alfredo, Landmarks, Jimmy, Fields, Rodrigo, Pablo and Philip Miholovic. Uruguay: Sebastian, Javier (2), Pablo Mounts (2), Diego (3), Pablo Marrochi (8), Maximiliano (3) and Expensive Pablo, beyond Mario, Gonzalo (1), Sebastian Noveri, Diego Viscava (4), Cristian, Gabriel (2), Hermann (1) and Nicolas.

The USA Women’s Team is in the midst of their 3 week European tour. They will be playing club teams in France, Germany, and the Netherlands. I saw 2 of their 3 matches in a local tournament in Issy-le-Moulineaux, just outside of Paris. They defeated an England based team 24-22, lost to Israel, and lost to Paris Select team 25-21.

I've posted a short 4 minute interview that I had with Coach Christian Latulippe at the handballusa Yahoo Group: http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/handballusa/files/

More information is also available at the Women's Team's sites:
Press Release: http://www.usateamhandballwomen.com/News/May23_06.html
European Trip Blog: http://wnteuropetour2006.blogspot.com/

[color=#0000ff]Part VI:[/color]

Settled scores.

Saturday. Time flies when you're playing handball. A full slate of games ahead. Too bad I can only be in one place.

Early in the AM, when the smell of fresh Starbucks coffee is still in the air, the ladies took front stage. For the second day in a row, the Smurfs end their game in a tie. 17:17 against Cortland. In the other two games, WP Black win their second game of the tournament by outrunning the Shooting Stars. Rock Handball on the other hand double up their oponent on the way to their 1st victory of the tournament against a lethargic Firehawks squad. Final 16:8.

The Elite games are next. The men look a bit slower than they did yesterday. Some of them seemed to have lost that spring on their steps. The competitive fire is still there. There are some scores to settle…
First up are the Condors who, after a humiliating loss to Miami less than 12 hours ago, have a lot to prove against their home town rivals, ATH. This time, the Condors came in and took care of business. ATH did make a a game of it but their swagger was gone. Behind Radji Mateen and Gary Hines' timely scoring, the Condor defense had also arrived. The 12:9 final score in favor of the Condors did more than just settle a [link=http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?extend.56]monthlong score[/link]. It rejuvenated an entire Condor Empire; Miami was now just a bump in the road.

While the Condors and ATH do battle on Court 3, Court 1 featured another marquee matchup. East Coast Vs. West Coast. NYAC Vs Cal Heat. This one was a thriller and may have been the game to watch but alas… NYAC won by one. 11:10. Somebody needs to tape these games…

Carolina took care of Chicago in a game that lacked the "built up" but delivered in quality. Another thriller. Another one goal win. 15:14.

The 11:00 AM games featured two games from the 9 thru 12 bracket and another veritable derby: Miami vs. LATH.
Salt Lake and Houston Stars win their first tournament games as they defeat the Firehawks and the Freeze respectively.
On Court 3, Miami confirmed their form by demolishing an experienced LATH team. 15:9 final. Miami is for real folks.