Traditional thinking about American sports is an obstacle for handball?

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When I settled in the United States 36 years ago, I was already more of a sports fan than the average person. I had been a handball referee for 13 years and a football referee for almost 10 years, and I watched a lot of top games in both sports. Among many others sports, I particularly enjoyed icehockey. And when I came to the U.S., I continued this involvement. I was immediately roped in by the U.S. Team Handball Federation, where my experience was needed, and I signed up as a football referee in the leagues in the mid-Atlantic area. I was also happy to note that my arrival coincided with the start-up of the Washington Capitals in the NHL.

BUT, I also found it fascinating to get familiar with the top three American sports: baseball, basketball and (American) football. For me it was exciting to have a chance to see ‘real’ basketball, not the version that was available in Sweden. (International NBA broadcasts did not exist in those days). I also got hooked on American football (although I could never understand why it is called football…), and this remains my favorite among the three sports. I have to admit that, by comparison, my enthusiasm for baseball has never really grown, but part of the reason may be that I have never tried very hard to understand the fine details. In any case, my point is that these three sports, which were essentially new to me, were an interesting, [b]positive[/b] discovery!

During the World Cup in football (soccer) it has been nice to see the enthusiasm among people in this country and the enormous attention it has been given in the media. I wonder how many other countries in the world have been broadcasting all the 64 games live. But I know that much of the excitement will quickly abate, and that football will be a very modest topic in the sports pages and in the discussions among sports fans for the next 3 years and 11 months. What has made me think of the obstacles that handball encounters in the U.S., however, is the abundance of[b] negative [/b]reactions to football that have appeared on TV, in major newspapers and web sites, mixed in with the enthusiasm.

People have used very nasty words to comment on football, describing it as a boring and ridiculous sport that does not deserve attention and TV coverage. It has been said that it does not require many of the basic skills that make American sports so fascinating, and that there is far too little action. The fact that not many goals are scored in a typical game has been seen as evidence that football is a meaningless activity, and the fact that most games are allowed to finish without a winner is seen as laughable. It has been pointed out that other big countries such as India, China, Japan and Indonesia are not very big on football, so this is used as an alibi for the suggestion that the U.S. must resist football. In fact, I have seen comments essentially suggesting that involvement in soccer amounts to engaging in some kind of ‘un-American’ activity.

Over the years, I have heard similar, although perhaps not equally harsh, comments about [b]handball[/b]. People have wondered why it was necessary to come up with one more sport that involves moving a ball with your hands from one end of a court to the other, when we already have the beautiful game of basketball. Others have suggested that the game is too dainty, because it is not permitted to tackle an opponent or to tear the ball out of his/her hands. Then there are complaints about the lack of frequent time-outs, presumably as it removes the opportunity to go to the refrigerator or bathroom, whichever urge is the greater. And then people ask: ‘how could someone be so stupid to come up with a game where the court does not fit into a typical American high school gym’. Along the same lines: ‘why do you call it handball; don’t you know that there already exists a sport by that name (in the U.S)!?’

I am not unrealistic enough to believe that anything else will successfully compete for attention with the formidable combo of baseball, basketball and football. But would it be too much to ask for a little more tolerance and open-mindedness?? Here in America there is a lot of interest in things such as international food, music, movies; not to mention consumer products from all over the world, even foreign-made cars!!! So why does it have to be so awkward and even seemingly unpatriotic to broaden one’s horizons and get curious about a sport, for instance handball, that is NOT All-American??

I sometimes wonder if the lack of interest and tolerance is related to the fact that we Americans are used to winning in international competition in virtually all sports. So does this lead to a lack of interest in a sport where no gold medals are within sight and where we may be beaten by some ‘obscure’ country? Should this not instead, in the traditional American mindset, make us ‘roll up our sleeves’ and see it as a matter of prestige to catch up with those who have a head start on us in this Olympic sport!?

Awaiting the draw for the 2011 World Championship

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On Friday it will be determined in a ceremony in Goteborg how the 4 groups of 6 teams each will be composed. This tends to be the moment where the speculation about the outcome of the Championship gets started in a serious way. We in THN also intend to ‘stick our necks out’ and offer our early predictions.

While media love this kind of speculation, in fact even now before the draw has taken place, the coaches of the participating teams tend to prefer to downplay the importance of the seeding and the draw. Media talk about potential ‘dream groups’ and ‘groups of death’, while the coaches note that ‘in the end we will need to be able to beat all the strong teams to become champions’.

Yet there is some debate: for instance, is it more important for a top team to avoid a strong ‘number 4’ team in the group, so that the risk for an early elimination is reduced? But who is then a strong ‘number 4’ (or ‘number 5’) team? This is sometimes very hard to predict, especially when it involves the better non-European teams. And is it perhaps more important to avoid certain other top teams in the neighboring group, the one that will be combined with your group in the main round etc. We will come back to this after the draw!

Sweden has organized the Men’s World Championship three times before, in 1954, 1967 and 1993. I should know, as I was there on all three occasions, but the reality is that the first time I was too young to have any memories. On the second occasion, I already had a few years experience as a local referee, and in 1993 I came to Sweden as a member of the IHF Rules & Referees Commission. So I certainly hope to be there next January…

But it may be more relevant to you to be reminded about the results in the past, and the evolution it shows. In 1954 there were only six teams, and Sweden used the home court advantage to get the gold medals ahead of Germany and Czechoslovakia. The 1967 event took place during a strong period for the Czechs, so they moved up to the top position. Denmark and Romania got the other medals. There were a total of 16 teams, with Canada, Japan and Tunisia representing their respective continents; but only Japan managed to win a game, against Norway.

In 1993, the Russians fielded a very strong team and won the final easily against France. Sweden got the bronze medals ahead of Switzerland. Spain had then joined the top group and won 5th place against Germany. Egypt got the 12th and final place in the main round, while Korea and USA (with a certain John Ryan on the team) found themselves at the bottom of the rankings. Well, let’s not blame that entirely on John… But at least I can say that I watched him and the USA team play against Sweden in my old home town.

Goteborg will again be supporting the Swedish team in the preliminary round, in the now aging but large Scandinavium arena. Another group will be split between the ‘twin cities’ of Norrkoping and Linkoping, boasting relatively large and modern arenas , which admittedly exist thanks to presence of icehockey teams and not because these cities are handball hotbeds. It is worth noting that Stockholm is not among the host cities this time. It remains the capital of Sweden, so that’s where royal weddings take place and so on, but it is hardly the handball capital.

Handball has stronger traditions in the very south, where moreover three classic old handball locations now have new and modern arenas. Those in Lund and Kristianstad are smaller, whereas Malmo’s arena can hold over 12.000 spectators. This is where the final and one of the semi-finals will be played. And, much to the delight of the Danish team and their supporters, this is where they will play their matches in the preliminary round, just across the bridge from Copenhagen.

So pay attention to the draw, and we will be back and join you in the speculation afterwards!

Former IHF Head of Sports, Ekke Hoffmann, in demand for high-level assignments as instructor

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We reported earlier in the year that actions by the current IHF regime had brought the very experienced and highly regarded Ekke Hoffmann to resign from the important position as Head of Sports. https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.920 This caused bewilderment around the handball world, as Ekke Hoffmann is widely known as a strong manager and instructor, apart from his top-level career in coaching. He combines the coaching side with a great affinity also for the refereeing, something that is a great combination for any federation that needs to bring up its top referees to a level where they also appreciate the finer points of the tactics and techniques on the part of teams and players.

Therefore, it does not exactly come as a surprise, when it is now reported that the EHF has begun to use Ekke Hoffmann for important functions as an instructor in the EHF’s program for the development of talented referees. It is great to see that someone is sensible enough to ensure that the qualities of such a highly competent person are not lost for the world of handball. Clearly this collaboration will be beneficial for the new generation of talented referees in Europe. They are to be congratulated and Ekke Hoffmann is wished the best of luck in his new endeavors.

USA Team Handball Development: Why it matters

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Christer‘s commentary a few weeks ago on international skepticism regarding USA Team Handball did a good job of summarizing what he‘s seen from 32 years experience. I won‘t repeat his analysis, as it is a pretty good summary of the somewhat misinformed perspectives that Americans and non-Americans have on USA Team Handball. I will offer up though, my favorite non-American assessment courtesy of French Coach Claude Onesta, who when asked by reporter Stefan Fatsis at a 2004 Olympic press conference why the U.S. isn’t very good at handball, replied in perfect, dismissive French: “As far as I am concerned, there are a lot of games at which the United States does not excel.” He might just as well have said, “Who cares and so what?”

Here’s my attempt to answer that question and there’s probably no better way to do so then to first take a look at how much headway soccer has made in the U.S. in the last 30 years or so. Back in 1980 soccer was played in a few high schools and colleges, but there was no pro league and virtually no matches on TV. Perhaps the World Cup final was shown on TV via tape delay, but I certainly have no recollection of seeing it on TV.

In the past few weeks as I‘ve worked on this commentary, I‘ve seen constant reminders of how the World Cup actually matters in this country now. For instance, at an airport terminal I sat next to a father and son watching Paraguay – Italy via webstream on their laptop. As little as 12 years ago that World Cup match couldn‘t have even been watched on TV anywhere in the U.S. Now every World Cup game is shown live and European Club football is available on multiple soccer focused cable stations. Clearly, there‘s a significant percentage of Americans who actually care about all these games.

But, while there‘s a significant slice of Americans who now care about soccer, it still doesn‘t even approach the passion in the rest of the world. The vast majority of Americans still either don‘t care or like me, have just a passing interest. But while that percentage is small, we are still a nation of 308 Million affluent people. We can argue about what the percent is exactly, but let’s say it’s 5%. That’s still 15 million fans and advertisers and overseas clubs have started to take notice. You may be shocked to find out (as I was) that behind the host country of South Africa, the #2 country in ticket purchases for the World Cup matches was the U.S. Yes, a sizable percentage of those buyers were expats living in the U.S. and Mexico fans, but still this is a surprising development.

So if soccer has a 5% slice of America, where does Team Handball currently stand? Depending on what criteria you want to use to count up the faithful, the number of people who really care about the sport in the U.S. is very, very, very small. Shockingly, this number probably ranges from perhaps 300 to 2,000 people. And if you don’t count the Expats living in this county the number truly is paltry.

Yes, if you are a true handball aficionado and own an American passport, it‘s not a stretch to think of yourself as literally “1 in a million.”

This startling fact, is generally not fully conceptualized by non-Americans, be they fans, coaches or administrators. There’s a couple of ways to look at this. First, you can be dismissive and have the so what attitude: The sport of Handball has been doing just fine and dandy without American fans, it can continue to do so.

Or you can look at the reality that Handball might actually be plodding along (at best) compared to the progress being made by other team sports. And you can look at those examples of success like the NBA’s aggressive campaigns that have gained market share in Europe and China. Or the fact that millions of American care about soccer now and actually know what Manchester United and Barcelona mean to the sport.

Is it really possible that Team Handball can find its way to the upper tier of American Sports like basketball and American Football? Or perhaps even to the 2nd tier level of popularity that soccer has? Sure it‘s possible, but I wouldn‘t bet the farm on it happening any time soon. No, if that’s ever accomplished it will take decades.

But, what I would bet on is the prospect of changing “1 in a million” to let’s say “1 in 10,000.” Seriously, the fact that only 1 in a million people really care about handball in the U.S. is absolutely ridiculous. Call me an optimist, but I think that if you expose 10,000 Americans to Handball, you’re going to get at least 1 fully engaged convert. A modest goal, for sure, but one that would still mean 30,000 T-shirt, hat buying, sports channel subscribing, ticket buying Americans. Real fans spending real money.  That’s why it matters if you are a European administrator. Start with a few fans and then grow that base.

The key then is promoting the sport to as many Americans as possible. Signs are pointing in the right direction as the U.S. Federation has been successfully courting different European entities into seeing the light. Most notably Germany and Poland will be playing a match in Chicago in two weeks and it will be broadcast in several U.S. markets. Outside of the Olympics this is the best promotion of the sport since a USA-Brazil match was aired on ESPN in 1996.

A small step for sure, but a notable one. Here’s to that first step in changing “1 in a million” to “1 in 10,000”.

FIFA (30 May 10): US soccer fans ‘phenomenal’ SA support: Link
Wall St Journal (12 Jun 10): Can the U.S. Be a Soccer Nation?: Link
THN (26 May 10): AUDIO: Interview with USA Team Handball Chairman, Dieter Esch:  Link
THN (14 Jun 10): The long (and frustrating) history of international skepticism about U.S handball: Link
Video: American reaction to Donovan goal in 91st minute against Algeria: Link
USA Team Handball (24 Jun 10): Comcast to air Battle of Chicago in first-of-its-kind handball broadcast: http://usateamhandball.org/news/2010/06/24/comcast-to-air-battle-of-chicago-in-first-of-its-kind-handball-broadcast/36786?ngb_id=42

Unexpected turnaround by FIFA — surely now handball must follow!?

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Sometimes it is a bit frustrating to find the enthusiasm for writing about something, even if I feel strongly about it, simply because I am so sure that those who must to be convinced about the need for a change will not listen. Only two days ago, after the devastating mistakes by referees and linesmen in high-profile matches in the football World Cup, I insisted on the need for a renewed investigation of the feasibility of introducing some form of a video review system, that would enable referees to get some help in making a decision or in reviewing a preliminary decision that they had taken. If you read my article, you noticed that my focus was on getting [u]handbal[/u]l and IHF to learn from the mistakes of football and FIFA, by moving on with the investigation that has been discussed for some time (also during my years as IHF Chief Referee) and that I wrote about more in detail some months ago.

Of course, a major reason why I wrote about video review in the context of handball is that handball is the main focus of our web site, But the other reason was that it never really occurred to me that FIFA, being stubborn and arrogant and full of prestige, would suddenly change its attitude, after having publicly and firmly 'slammed the door' on any kind of use of technology. Instead, the suggestion a few months ago, when that statement of principles and policies was announced, was that the only new approach to be considered would be the experimenting with additional goal-line referees. The human factor must prevail, was the slogan repeatedly used.

So a lot of people around the world of football must have thought there was some kind of mistake, when earlier today a bulletin was issued by the FIFA president, where he essentially admitted that the FIFA's old insistence on accepting human errors as an unavoidable, or even positive(!), part of the game could no longer be defended in light of what happened in the Germany-England and Argentina-Mexico games. He even issued apologies to the disadvantaged teams. http://www.aipsmedia.com/index.php?page=news&cod=4805&tp=n

It would be nice to be able to take credit for this sudden and unexpected development; but I was obviously not alone in the last couple of days in pointing out the absurdity and demanding action. FIFA's top management may not have much appreciation for the finer points of refereeing or concern for protecting their top referees, but they do have a very strong sense for the protection of their own political and financial well-being. Getting on the wrong side of some of the top countries of the football world, and letting the entire global audience see the effect of their poor decision-making, that could become just a bit too costly also for the self-suffiicient FIFA. At the same time, FIFA also decided to show off their newly found decisiveness by also publicly making scapegoats out of a group of their World Cup referees. As only eight games remain, they clearly do not need to keep all the 29 referees around, so they sent home ten of them.

This included those five who had only served as reserves and '4th referee'. Then the search for politically suitable scapegoats was on. Of course the two referees from the fatal Sunday matches had to be sacrificed conspicuously. The others included the referee from Mali who seemingly 'stole a goal' from the U.S team. Also sent packing was the French referee who had the nerve to give a red card to an unsportsmanlike 'star' on the Brazilian team. You just do not do that. And then the Swiss referee, who was one of the favorites for the final or at least a semifinal, because it was seen as his 'fault' that the home team was eliminated early. This involved a correct interpretation of a rule that FIFA knows is untenable but decided to leave in place until after the World Cup! By contrast, several referees with performances that were clearly weaker from a technical standpoint are now allowed to stay on, because their weaknesses were not so conspicuous from a PR or political standpoint…

So when I now, one hopes, close the chapter on football/handball refereeing and video review for this time, then of course I do it with my main point: now that even FIFA has 'seen the light', surely handball and the IHF must be prepared to move ahead without delay. I am not asking for the sudden and poorly founded implementation of technological aspects, such as video review and goal-line technology, but I am urging that a serious investigation get started immediately! This should be so much easier now that it is clear that, after all, FIFA is indeed taking the lead. But please do not follow FIFA's example of making some top referees into scapegoats in the meantime, just because you are not doing everything possible to support them!

French Professional League President Ousted: Miami tournament seen as catalyst for move

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Alain Smadja, the architect who oversaw the incorporation of France’s top professional league, the Ligue National du Handball (LNH) was unceremoniously voted out last Friday after 6 years in office. Replacing him will be, Philippe Bernat-Salles, a former international Rugby player with few ties to Handball. According to French Handball news site, handzone.net the decision to replace Smadja was at least partially tied to the failed LNH Final Four tournament held last year in Miami. The event was poorly attended and fans in France complained that the overseas location made it too costly for them to attend. The daring tournament was largely driven by Smadja’s vision to export handball to the U.S. Despite the lack of attendance, Smadja was still exploring the possibility of returning the event to the U.S. With his ouster, though, the possibility of a return has likely diminished.

THN (18 Apr 09): If You Build It, Will They Come?: https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.734
THN (23 Sep 09): USA Team Handball and LNH explore possibility of French Final Four in New York: https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.828
Handzone.net (26 Jun 10): LNH Facelift: http://www.handzone.net/asp.net/main.news/news.aspx?id=54247
HandAction: Alain Smaja: The American: https://teamhandballnews.com/docs/Miami_Alain_Smadja.pdf

Disastrous day for football and FIFA – are handball and IHF learning from it?

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Not so long ago I wrote an article https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.977 urging that the feasibility and desirability of different forms of ‘video review’ in handball should begin to be investigated. I do not see it as a foregone conclusion that such reviews should be introduced, because there are certainly arguments both for and against, but at least an investigation should be initiated as soon as possible. In my article I commented on FIFA’s refusal to consider introducing technology in any form for the purpose of assisting the referees or allowing for a review, and I was suggesting that this must not be an argument for the IHF to be against changes.

Today, when football should have celebrated a great day at the World Cup with two exciting match-ups, Germany-England and Argentina-Mexico, we saw instead the pleasure and the fairness ruined by two terrible mistakes that it would have been possible to correct. The only positive thing was that in both matches the team that was given a one-goal advantage was in any case superior and won with a larger margin. I am also pleased to see that the teams/federations who lost were ready to admit that the opponents were better, but clearly they were also agonizing over the injustices they had suffered.

In Argentina-Mexico, the first goal for Argentina was scored from an off-side position that was very obvious also without waiting for any replay. The excuse could be made for the linesman that the goalkeeper position was somewhat unusual for a situation where off-side needs to be checked. But this is not the point; mistakes are human and will be made, and in this sense FIFA is right. Whether they are right in insisting that we should ignore mistakes that can be discovered and corrected, that is another story. Here we now had a situation where the Mexican players could point to the video screen in the stadium and immediately show the referee that the decision was wrong. But this evidence had to be ignored. (At least we can be content in handball that off-side is not an issue for us…).

In Germany-England, it is now unfortunate that some first-rate action by the German players will seem diminished by a terrible mistake in a critical moment. Germany had taken a 2-0 lead, whereupon England first narrowed the lead and then scored a goal that would have been the equalizer. But what was instantly clear to many and became 110% clear from the replay, this was not clear to the linesman. He had been caught out of position and somehow thought that the ball rebounded from the crossbar outside the goal-line, when in fact it was very clearly inside. If the goal had been correctly given, leading to a 2-2 score, the rest of the game could have developed very differently. What is intriguing is that the incorrect decision in some absurd sense amounted to a late revenge for the World Cup 1966, where England in the final defeated Germany largely thanks to a ‘goal’ that a linesman invented. (I know because I was there, in a better position than the linesman!)

One aspect that deserves highlighting is the awkward combination of making the referee aware of his mistake during the game but still preventing him from doing something about it. In the GER-ENG game, the referee saw his mistake on TV at half-time; in the ARG-MEX game, the referee could see it on the video screen even before the game had restarted after the incorrect decision. How might this, however subconsciously, affect the referee and linesmen during the rest of the game?

Also, FIFA argues that video review in a World Cup is inappropriate because ‘the rules must be the same at all levels’, and clearly it is only in the international and national top events where adequate equipment would be available. But we are not talking about different rules; a goal is a goal and the off-side rule is the same everywhere. It just does not seem reasonable that FIFA shows off the benefits of technology by showing replays of all the questionable decisions on the stadium screens and on TV, while the referees are prevented from being helped by similar technology. At least in handball the IHF regulations prevent such replays from being shown in the arenas…

There is a cynical expression that it is always better to learn from someone else’s mistakes. So the question is now: [u]is handball prepared to learn, at least to the point of seriously and thoroughly investigating the concept of video review[/u]?? I do not want to push for a particular outcome, but I eagerly await the result of an urgent study! After all, as some of our readers might be aware, I was the match supervisor in the 2008 Olympic semifinal Korea-Norway; and I would have loved to have had access to a goal camera replay at that time. As it now is, I assume I will never know the right answer: I have one still photo showing ‘goal’ and another showing ‘no goal’…

Some interesting links regarding the incidents in GER-ENG and ARG-MEX:

From the web site of Jens Weinreich, where he offers commentary but also includes a video clip from the 1966 ENG-GER game and a humorous take on why the linesmen did not give a goal:

„1966 in reverse“: von Wembley nach Bloemfontein

Then a more truthful rendering of the disallowed English goal, together with the player's call for goal-line technology to be introduced: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8766423.stm

And finally a photo from the sports paper Ole' in Argentina that clearly shows the off-side 'goal': http://www.ole.com.ar/mundial/vio-mundo_0_287971338.html

Interesting interview with Ralf Uhding

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A few days ago, the German web site Handball-World published an interview with Ralf Uhding. http://www.handball-world.com/o.red.c/news.php?GID=1&auswahl=26283 He is a member of the Supervisory Board of the German Bundesliga and he is also on the Board of Directors with USATeam Handball. In other words, he brings a wealth of handball experience but he has also taken a very special interest in the task of developing handball in the U.S.

The interview has a strong emphasis on the much anticipated exhibition game between Germany and Poland in Chicago on July 17. But there is also a focus on the overall situation for handball in the U.S., and it is then reassuring to note that Ralf Uhding clearly has made an effort to get to understand the realities of the situation in the U.S., which is very different from what he has been used to in Germany.
In the past it has been more common that handball experts from abroad have offered ideas and solutions without first taking the trouble to understand the basics.

This is obviously very important in a situation where USA Team Handball has concluded that bilateral agreements with top European handball countries is a much more realistic way of obtaining support than the seeming illusionary approach of hoping for a serious collaboration with the IHF.

It is the A, B and C of handball in Panamerica: Argentina wins after overtime against Brazil; Chile takes 3rd place and will be in their first men's World Championship

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In the football World Cup it could come to a battle between archrivals Argentina and Brazil only if both of them qualify for the final. But in PanAmerican handball it has become a matter of routine to have a final between these two teams, and for a number of years now a frustrated Argentine team has had to be content with the silver medals. This time it looked as if there would be the same outcome, as Brazil was leading by as many as 7 goals. But Argentina managed to tie the game, 23-23, in the final seconds, and then they went on to win 28-27 in overtime.

Both teams were of course already qualified for the 2011 World Championship by virtue of winning their semifinals. So for the Chilean spectators the main excitement came already early in the day, when the home team took on Cuba for the bronze medals and the last qualifying slot. Cuba has a much longer history of participation in world events in handball, whereas Chile has until now never participated in a men's World Championship. However, this time they took advantage of playing at home by beating the Cubans 34-31. Cuba had a one-goal lead at half-time, but they were not able to maintain that edge. Cuba has an athletic and talented team, but they are still very young and inexperienced; perhaps this made the difference in a pressure situation, where Chile could rely on a handful of players with international club experience.

Uruguay, who had just missed out on getting to the semifinals, at least won the consolation of 5th place by beating Greenland 30-27. Canada took 7th place by beating the Dominican Republic with a good margin, 33-22.

The draw for the groups in the World Championship will take place in Goteborg on July 9, during Partille Cup. The top seeds are France, Croatia, Poland and Iceland, with hosts Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Spain in a second tier.

Bomb scare cuts PanAmerican semifinal short + NEW: CHILE TO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

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P.S CHILE WON 34-31 AGAINST CUBA AND ARE QUALIFIED FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, TOGETHER WITH ARGENTINA AND BRAZIL; more later in separate article!

When I already predicted that Argentina-Brazil would be in the final, with Chile and Cuba fighting it out for the third slot in the World Championship, at least I thought that the semifinals would be played to their completion. This did happen in the Brazil-Chile game, where Brazil won easily with 33-21 after a 15-5 half-time lead. The Argentina-Cuba match had a very similar development with Argentina leading comfortably 17-8 in the 29th minute. BUT, that is as far as it went. Police then entered the stadium, stopping the game and ordering an evacuation due to a bomb threat!!! Apparently it turned out to be a 'false alarm', but long before that could be firmly established, an emergency decision had to be taken about what to with the continuation of the game.

With the final and bronze medal game scheduled for today Saturday, without any chance for a postponement, and with no hope of finding another handball court very late in the evening, the federation and the teams, in consultation with the IHF supervisor Manfred Prause, had to come to a decision. And it was a drastic one: the game was declared finished! One can assume that neither one of the two teams had any objection. The expected victory for Argentina already seemed confirmed by the 9-goal lead just before half-time. Not even the most optimistic Cuban could expect that result to be turned around. So it might in fact be an advantage for both teams, ahead of today's important games, to have been able to avoid playing the remaining 31 minutes…. The only inconvenience was really that players and referees had to go out into the street in the Chilean winter, with + 2 C, without being able to get hold of warm-up suits or other clothes.

By the way, the consolation games had already been played earlier in the day without any incident. Uruguay defeated the Dominican Republic with 28-24, and Greenland won the 'North American' match-up against Canada with 38-36 after double overtime. The winners play for 5th place today and the losers for 7th place. Let's hope the event finishes uneventfully both on and off the court!

Men‘s Pan American Championships: Brazil, Argentina advance to final; Canada falls to Greenland in double OT

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As expected, Brazil and Argentina have advanced to play for the Gold medal today. Brazil easily defeated Chile 33-21. The Argentina – Cuba match was ended early due to what turned out to be a false bomb threat. Argentina was leading 17-8 when the gym was cleared and apparently it was decided to forgo the remainder of the match. This marks the 5th straight time archrivals Brazil and Argentina have played each other in the finals. Brazil has won the last two meetings including a 27-24 victory in 2008. Host Chile and Cuba will play for 3rd place and the last remaining World Championship spot.

In the consolation bracket semifinals, Uruguay defeated the Dominican Republic 28-24 while Greenland needed two overtimes to outlast Canada 38-36. Down 6 goals at halftime (18-12) Canada rallied to end regulation play tied at 28 all. With these defeats the Dominican Republic and Canada will slip back into Division 1 status. Both sides had qualified for the Men‘s Elite Championships by placing 1st and 2nd at the Division 1 Championships last November. To participate in the 2012 Championship they will need to do the same thing in November 2011.

Official Results: http://www.panamhandball.org/index.php?option=com_joomleague&func=showPlan&mode=1&p=15&Itemid=39
For additional information on the tournament check out the Mexico Handball Forum: http://handball.mforos.com/

Safe prediction: Chile and Cuba will play for the final spot in the 2011 WCh

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After the group play just finished, one can conclude that in the end there are no real surprises in this year’s PanAmerican Men’s Championship. In particular, Argentina and Brazil yet again seem quite dominant. They should offer an interesting final, which decides the gold medals and the better seeding for the 2011 World Championship.

As often in the past, the real excitement involves the struggle for the third place, which also carries with it tickets to the World Championship in Sweden. It is now rather obvious that the final fight for those tickets will be between the host country Chile and Cuba. Of course, either one of these teams still has the opportunity to cause a major upset in the semifinals. But until now it really seems that Argentina (against Cuba) and Brazil (against Chile) are much too strong to allow that to happen.

Cuba defeated both Greenland and the Dominican Republic but were completely without a chance against Brazil. An 11-goal half-time deficit had been extended to a 15-goal difference by the end of the game. Argentina was in a class by itself in their group, leaving it to the other three teams to compete for second place. There had been some speculation that the prospects of a solid victory for Uruguay against Canada, combined with a huge loss by Chile against Argentina somehow could offer Uruguay a bit of hope. But Canada put up a good fight and kept the Chilean victory to three goals; and then Argentina smartly took it a bit easy after their group win seemed secure and with two more important games to come, so the victory against Chile was limited to eight goals.

Thursday’s results and the final standings in the preliminary groups:

CAN-URU 29-32 and ARG-CHI 26-18; ARG 6 points, CHI 3 (+3), URU 3 (-15), CAN 0;

CUB-BRA 26-41 and GRL-DOM 25-20; BRA 6 points, CUB 4, GRL 2, DOM 0;

So, again, Friday’s semifinals are Argentina-Cuba and Brazil-Chile, while the placement matches have the pairings Uruguay-Dominican Rep. and then Greenland-Canada for what one might call the ‘North American Championship’.

Men‘s Pan American Championships: Brazil, Cuba and Argentina qualify for semifinals

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Brazil, Cuba and Argentina are each 2-0 in Group play and have secured tickets to the Semifinals on Friday. Brazil and Cuba have dominated Group A with both nations beating the Dominican Republic and Greenland. The matches against the Dominican Republic were not close, but Greenland put up a good fight losing by 7 to Cuba and 6 to Greenland. Brazil and Cuba will play for first place in the group tomorrow.

Argentina is clearly the class of Group A with an 18 goal victory over Uruguay and a 27 goal victory against Canada. Chile is currently in 2nd place thanks to a 36-25 victory over Canada on Day 1. On day 2, however Chile and Uruguay played to a 27-27 draw. The total goal differential in tomorrow‘s matches (Chile vs. Argentina) and (Uruguay vs. Canada) will likely decide the outcome. Chile currently has a 29 goal advantage. A large number, but one that could potentially be overcome.

Tournament Results and Standings: http://www.panamhandball.org/index.php?option=com_joomleague&func=showResultsRank&p=14&Itemid=39