The recent Group Club Handball (GCH) press release http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.695 was mostly a rehash of several irregularities that have allegedly taken place over the past few years under the leadership of IHF President Hassan Moustafa. One aspect of the release, however, was particularly striking to me and that was news that the IHF Council had [u]unanimously[/u] voted to censure Secretary General, Peter Muhlematter. Muhlematter has been leading the charge in recent months to publicize the allegations of irregularities and this obviously has not sit well with the IHF leadership. The GCH release goes further to state that the leaders of the top 24 clubs in Europe unanimously agreed that Moustafa, not Muhlematter, is the problem.

What’s to make of all this? Well, I can’t vouch for the veracity of all the allegations, but as the saying goes, “where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire.” And one of the allegations, the Asian Olympic Qualification scandal, can be considered fact as far as I’m concerned, since it is very well documented in the independent CAS report. I would challenge anyone who has read the report http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.535 to not come to the conclusion that President Moustafa’s actions and inactions were scandalous and not what one would expect from the President of an International Sport Organization. Quite frankly, maintaining the integrity of the sport is the #1 responsibility of the IHF President. Simply having something like that happen under your watch is grounds for replacement. Actively taking part in its actual occurrence is unconscionable.

So, it’s not surprising to me that President Moustafa would seek to silence Mr Muhlematter. But it is bewildering that it was not just Moustafa, as the IHF Council unanimously agreed to seek his resignation. The Council membership (see below), includes several representatives that know or should know better.

[b]IHF Council[/b]
Dr Hassan MOUSTAFA (EGY), President
Mansourou A. AREMOU (BEN), Vice-President Africa
Bader AL-THEYAB (KUW), Vice-President Asia
Tor LIAN (NOR), Vice-President Europe
Manoel Luiz OLIVEIRA (BRA), Vice-President Pan-America
Peter MÜHLEMATTER (SUI), Secretary General
Miguel ROCA MAS (ESP), Treasurer
Christer AHL (USA), PRC President
Naser ABU MARZOUQ (KUW), CCM President
François GNAMIAN (CIV), MC President
Carin NILSSON GREEN (SWE), CPP President
Nicole Christiane ASSELE (BEN), Representative Africa
Yoshihide WATANABE (JPN), Representative Asia
Jean BRIHAULT (FRA ), Representative Europe
Mario Garcia DE LA TORRE (MEX), Representative Pan-America
Source: IHF: http://www.ihf.info/front_content.php?idcat=109

A lot of analogies and references to popular culture strike me as appropriate: The Emperor’s new clothes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_emperor_has_no_clothes and ostriches with their heads in the sand http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2006/11/02/1777947.htm are a couple. Perhaps the best one is the climactic scene in the movie, Spartacus, (video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOCsNrzlV2k&feature=related) where the slaves are offered leniency if they turn in Spartacus. As Spartacus, rises up to turn himself in someone else calls out that he is actually Spartacus. Others join in and a chorus of “I am Spartacus” ensues. Only those that attended the Council Meeting can fully attest to what occurred, but it’s pretty clear that “Spartacus” was turned in at this meeting as no one joined the chorus. The other IHF Council members when given a chance to stand up for what some of them surely felt was right, stayed quiet. And even worse, they took the other side.

Why? That’s the question I’m asking. Most likely, the underlying reason, is that the Council members believe that despite the irregularities, President Moustafa is not going anywhere, anytime soon. There may be a IHF Presidential election coming up in June, but it appears that he has the requisite votes for re-election. And with the deadline (4 March) for candidates to apply fast approaching and no one stepping forward as an alternative his re-election could be a foregone conclusion. Faced with this ”inevitability”, one can infer that the Council members decided that they would rather have a seat at the table than follow Mr Muhlematter out the door. There’s a number of reasons why someone might rationalize such a choice. One reason, could be the personally selfish one to continue the benefits that IHF Council membership provides. Sure, there’s work involved, but attending premier handball events for free is a pretty nice side benefit. Undoubtedly, there are also organizational concerns and continental representatives want to continue to ensure that their regional interests are served. Finally, others probably feel that maybe they can be a force for good on the inside and that if they leave, someone worse will take their place.

I can understand the rationale for these reasons, but at some point you just have to say, “Enough is enough. Can we really not do any better than this?” What’s more, if there’s more than one lonely voice out there, more people will usually speak up. Say what you want about the Spartacus analogy, but I’ve seen versions of it play out in both my personal and professional lives. Sometimes the majority is silently waiting for someone else to speak first or even more critically for a couple of respected individuals to “second” what the original voice has started. And then once that critical tipping point is reached everyone starts wondering what all the fuss was about in the first place.

Call me naïve, but I have a hard time believing that a qualified and respected member of the International Handball community couldn’t win an election against the current President. Heck, such a candidate should be able to win on a simple pledge to keep continental qualifying events clean and to fill out a travel voucher with receipts on every trip. But perhaps I am naïve, as no such candidate is stepping forward. And more importantly some individuals who should be looking for and supporting such a candidate are instead complacently lining up with the current President.

Be forewarned IHF Council Members, you reap what you sow.

Normally, my handball viewing options are an internal debate between watching the best scheduled HBL match of the week at HBL.tv www.hbl.tv or one of the Champions League matches at EHFtv www.ehftv.com. I like the Champions League better, but the video quality with my HBL.tv subscription is far better. So Lemgo – Rhein Neckar or Kiel – Ciudad Real? Well, how about Berlin – Essen instead?

Yes, I couldn’t resist the novelty of watching the British foreign legion play in their first scheduled match on HBL.tv. Certainly, novelty is all that the scheduled match had going for it as Essen is stuck in last place and Berlin is an improving side trying to crack into the top tier of the Bundesliga.

It’s clear from watching the match that the Brits are truly being given a unique opportunity to play in the World’s best league. All 5 player with Essen saw action and 3 of them scored. Merlin Braithwaite scored two and Sebastian Prieto and Chris McDermott each scored one. The game was never in doubt as Essen lost 35-21. Based on previous scorelines this match was some improvement and perhaps they will pick up some points against one of the other “also rans” later in the season. Additionally, the Brits are being given a great opportunity to be seen as players and it’s possible that they might latch on with another club. Maybe not in the HBL, but in one of the lower leagues.

Handball clubs should also take note of the potential marketing opportunities that foreign players could bring to their club. It’s not a coincidence that the San Antonio Spurs (avec Tony Parker) is shown on TV in France more than any other club. Should an American ever reach Bundesliga stardom there would be at least a trickle of paid subscriptions to watch his matches via web streaming. I like watching great handball no matter who‘s play, but there’s something special about watching a compatriot make good. In the mean time I’ll check in on the Brits to see how they are doing this season.

For more on the Brits in Essen check out this in-depth interview at Handball-World.com:
http://www.handball-welt.de/news-index.php?GID=1&auswahl=19015

Since Sweden won back to back to back titles (1998 EC, 1999 WC, 2000 EC) no team has been able to repeat a major championship. That is until now since France has now won back to back with their recent Olympics and WC titles. Are we seeing the beginning of a French Handball Dynasty destined to last through to the next Olympic Games or is this a mere blip on the radar screen and major handball titles will revert to ping-ponging back forth amongst the European Powers?

Recent history: Below is the recent order of top 3 finishes for the major Handball competitions: European Championships, World Championships and Olympics

2004 Olympics: Croatia, Germany, Russia
2005 WC: Spain, Croatia, France
2006 EC: France, Spain, Denmark
2007 WC: Germany, Poland, Denmark
2008 EC: Denmark, Croatia, France
2008 Olympics: France, Iceland, Spain
2009 WC: France, Croatia, Denmark

Can they continue the string with a European Championship next year and beyond or will they drop down a few notches to the parity that has been the norm in recent years? Frog Lover (FL) and Frog Hater (FH) take up the debate:

FL: Bien sur. We have the best players in the world and therefore the best team! Who else could beat Croatia in Croatia? Karabatic at Center Back, Ohmeyer in the goal, Dinart on defense. Not to mention Abalo and Guigou at the wings and Narcisse with his athleticism. My goodness it’s not even fair to have so many good players from the same country.

FH: Vraiment? I notice you didn’t brag about your Right Back or Circle Runner? Yeah, Jerome Fernandez is world class, but he’s a righty and you Frogs don’t have any lefties to properly play that position. Sooner or later that’s going cost you. Also, Cedric Sorhaindo was barely adequate at Circle in the absence of Bertrand Gille at the WC in Croatia. You really could have used Gille at Circle.

FL: Uh, hello? We still won in Croatia. And isn’t it wonderful that we can still win while missing a top player like Gille (in Croatia) and Fernandez (in Beijing) with his broken wrist. It’s called depth and boy do we have it. What other nation can lose a major cog in the wheel and still win a major title without missing a beat?

FH: All true now, but you frogs won’t stay young forever. I say again, Fernandez is playing out of position and he’ll be a little creaky at age 35 when London rolls around in 2012. Dinart will also be 35. The Gille brothers will be 34 (Bertrand) and 36 (Guillame) Nobody is on the horizon to backfill those positions. Those players are already past their prime and there old bodies will be struggling under the weight of all those games 3.5 years from now.

FL: Ha. Ha. I notice you didn’t mention Karabatic and Abalo as being creaky old men in London. They’re 24 now and will be 28 and 27, resepectively in London. That’s right, they will be in their prime and Narcisse will still be in relatively good shape at 32. Not to mention, the fact that Karabatic’s performance was somewhat ordinary in Beijing and Croatia. Surely, you don’t think that will continue for all the championships coming up in the next 3 years. And we’ll let our old timers take some strategic breaks. Perhaps we’ll let Fernandez take off the EC next year in Austria, but make sure Bertand Gille’s back playing. We’ll just rotate our old guys until 2012. Besides, 35 is old for a Handball player, but it’s not ancient. Judicious use of playing time, plus a few up and comers and we’ll be fine.

FH: So, who are those up and comers? You’ve got some good backcourts now, but nobody on par with Narcisse, Karabatic, Gille and Fernandez. Even in Croatia, you had to call back Joel Abati (38 years old) to fill in the gap.

FL: Well, give us a couple of years to find someone. Also, my friend, expect even more from Abalo in the coming years. He’s too much of a talent to keep hidden on the wing for an entire game. Every time he comes round to the backcourt area he creates havoc for the defense. Something tells me it’s only a matter of time before we start seeing him play a little right back or maybe even center back.

FH: Ha. Ha. My turn to laugh. He’s too small and slight of build to play back court. Guys like Roggisch will eat him for lunch.

FL: I didn’t say he will play there full time. I’m just saying he will play there some to mix it up. Guys like Roggisch can’t stay in front of him. They’ll get their two minute penalty and then we Frogs we’ll play 6 on 5. Try covering him then.

FH: We are digressing. The real issue here is that you guys are, you know, French. It doesn’t matter if you have the best players. Some way, some how, you guys will find a way to lose. Not to mention, there is the traditional European way of equality. We’ll see to it that you guys are knocked down a peg.

FL: Perhaps. We will see. I will say this though. Who’s going to beat us? You can have this same basic discussion with every team in Europe. The same basic discussion, except that every other national team has a lot more flaws than we do.

FH: Touche! I don’t have an answer for that. Except to say every story needs a villain. Handball now has one. If France isn’t the team everyone was rooting against before, they certainly are now.

While the World Championships is Handball‘s premier event, there’s a lot to be said for the quality and level of play in the European Champions League as well. Most of the same top players are featured in this competition and if Ciudad Real or Kiel were a country, I would have to like their odds of making the final.

With the first round of the competition over there are a lot fewer pretenders left. The new format this year with the top 16 teams playing in four groups of four also means that there will be some pivotal matches in the next 4 weeks. Some clubs are in the hole, based on the two matches they took with them from the first round, but every club still controls their own destiny.

One matchup this weekend brings back memories of what has to be the most compelling match I’ve ever seen. I am, of course talking about Montpellier’s miraculous 32-19 loss versus Flensburg back in 2005. No, there’s no typo in that last sentence. Having beaten Flensburg 36-22 a week earlier in France, Montpellier saw a determined Flensburg team slowly peck away at their 14 goal lead on the return leg to take over on aggregate in the 59th minute.

Montpellier had one last chance to cut the lead to 13. You have to ask yourself, how does the shortest player on the court, a lefty no less from the left hand side, score this goal?

Video: Gregory Anquetil last second 9 meter throw vs. Flensburg: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxwlwul4G70

Also, subject to EHFtv video availability and my own schedule I will call either the Zagreb – Chambery or the Montpellier – Flensburg match. If you wait for the on demand video to become available at EHFtv.com www.ehftv.com you can even watch/listen without knowing the final score.

[b]An [u]Odd[/u] Coincidence[/b]

If you have ever lived in the United States then you already know that the Super Bowl (the Championship of American Football’s professional league) is the most over-hyped sporting event in the world. For two weeks the entire U.S. media market is saturated with so many stories on the Super Bowl that it becomes mind numbing. The actual event is watched by so many Americans that companies pay 3 million dollars for 30 second commercial spots.

As one of the few Americans who follows Handball, I’ve always though it somewhat amusing that in recent years Handball’s World Championships Final shared the same date on the calendar. And living in Europe, I was also one of the few Americans that could partake in both events, even if I time shifted the Super Bowl to Monday night. And yes even the Super Bowl, finds it way into European homes. Nothing more annoyed the French two years ago then the fact that they could watch the Super Bowl on free, over the air television (albeit at 12:15 in the morning), but they could only watch the Handball final on cable or satellite. (fortunately rectified this year, since France played in the final)

This year, with ESPN360 and Handballworldcup.tv a few more Americans also took part in the daily double of two championship games. Both of these were internet options, but perhaps the ESPN 360 exposure will lead to an ESPN broadcast. With an 11:30 AM start time the championship final would be a nice diversion before the pregame shows, which start several hours before the game.

[b]An [u]Odds[/u] Coincidence[/b]

As a Las Vegas resident, I was also amused at a strange “odds” coincidence. As most sporting fans know the Super Bowl is the number one betting event in the U.S. And you can bet on more than just the game. You can bet on a number of “proposition” bets. One of the more common bets is the “over/under” or total points scored in the game. For the Super Bowl this number was 46.5, which by a strange quirk of fate was the total score over/under being offered by online sports books for the France-Croatia match.

This coincidence got me thinking about the bizarre multi sport proposition bets offered in Vegas, that allow punters to bet on whether Dwight Howard will have more rebounds in an NBA game then the Steelers and the Cardinals will score in the first quarter. And it got me thinking that maybe some day, just maybe I’ll go to my sports book on Super Sunday some day in the future, look up on the big board and see a prop bet for Daniel Narcisse goals vs. Larry Fitzgerald receptions. Trust me, if we ever see that we’ll know that Handball has hit the big time in the U.S.

Article on Super Bowl prop bets: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/28916244/