This NPR interview http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5563401 highlights how the “Long Tail” is changing the way media business is conducted. The old premise that 20% percent of your content makes 80% of your sales is no longer valid as niche markets become more and more important. Of course, team handball is one of those niche markets that could never crack into the crowded TV schedule. As more channels become available and broadband continues to improve in terms of quality and availability it’s only a matter of time until the niche Handball market is finally served.
Central American and Caribbean Games Handball Competition
Handball competition is underway at the Central American and Caribbean games. Handball is being played in the Dominican Republic. The top 3 teams in both the Men's and Women's competition will win bids to participate in the 2007 PanAm Games in Rio. The 4th place team (and possibly the 5th place team as well) will play in a repechage tournament with the loser of the Canada-USA competition and the 4th place team from the South American Championships. The Central American 4th place teams will have the first option of hosting the repechage tournament which is tentatively scheduled for February 2007
http://www.cartagena2006.gov.co/jucar/Home/defaultPage.aspx
http://www.cartagena2006.gov.co/jucar/Program/Consultas.aspx?c=3&d=BMA
2007 Men’s World Championships Draw
Last Friday, 14 July 2006, the draw for the Men’s World Championship in Germany was held in Berlin http://ihf.handball-wm-2007.de/front_content.php?idcat=57&idart=340
Analysis:
The Group of Death: As Team Handball is more a case of have’s and have not’s (when compared to soccer), this is a little bit of an exaggeration. Essentially, it means which group has ended up with 3 European teams (plus Tunisia). Those two Groups are Group B in Madgeburg and Group E in Kiel. As Ukraine is arguably the weakest European team, I’ll classify Group E as the Group of Death. Look for the loser of the Hungary – Norway matchup to be bitterly resigned to the President’s Cup.
Pan-American Region Slighted:
Pan American Region Slighted: The draw process called for performance rows 4,3, and 2 to first be placed in groups by a random draw. Then as the host country, Germany, got to select which of the 6 groups it wanted for the opening round. And in the opinion of German Head Coach Heiner Brand, Group C with Poland, Brazil and Argentina was viewed as the easiest group. A slight to be sure, but also arguably, this is an excellent draw for Brazil and Argentina. Beating Germany in Berlin will be difficult, but either team beating Poland is a distinct possibility. Poland’s recent performances on the International Stage have not been sterling. At the 2006 European Championships they placed 10th only managing 1 win (against Ukraine) and 1 tie (against Switzerland) to go along with 4 losses Slovenia(33-29), Spain(34-25), France (31-21), and Germany(32-24). Additionally, they had to come from behind to beat Greece on aggregate in a 2 game series to qualify for the World Championships. Both Brazil and Argentina can be optimistic about their chances to advance. And the Pan Am region will be cheering them on, as a 9th place finish will secure another bid for region in 2009. To secure 9th place they would either need to finish in 4th place (out of 6 teams) in their main round pool- thus qualifying for the quarter finals or finish in 5th place and win the cross-over game for 9th place.
Greenland: Greenland is in pool A and will play Tunisia, Slovenia, and Kuwait. A victory against Tunisia or Slovenia would be epic. Greenland’s best chance for a victory in the opening round will be Kuwait, the Asian Champion.
Australia Draws Tough Bracket: Australia will play in Pool B against 3 European teams: France, Iceland and Ukraine. A victory against any of those teams is unlikely and placing 2nd in the pool would be a major shock. Australia, as the Oceania’s best team has a relatively easy route for qualifying for the World Championships, but a much more difficult route for Olympic Qualification. Because the Oceania region is small and weaker, the Oceania representative must accomplish the following to qualify for the Olympics
– Place 1st-7th at the World Championships OR
– Place 8th- 12th at the World Champions AND place 1st or 2nd at an Olympic Qualification tournament http://www.handballaustralia.org.au/
President’s Cup: Unlike recent World Cup formats, teams that are eliminated in the opening round will not fly home immediately. Instead the 12 eliminated teams (2 from each group) will be divided into 4 new pools of 3 teams each. Two pools for the 3rd place teams and 2 pools for the 4th place teams. Each team will play the other two teams in their pool and then will cross over for placement. This format means that each team will have the opportunity to play against the world’s best in the opening round and then have the opportunity to see how they stack up against the other developing nations. Major kudos for the IOC adding the President’s Cup. http://www.handball-wm-2007.de/front_content.php?idcat=25
The Condor Bird League: A Step in the Right Direction
For the past 3 years the Condors in Atlanta have had an active Summer League for Team Handball. News, standings, and statistics are available at this link: http://condorhandball.com/news.php?extend.249
This league consists of 60 players on 6 teams. Each team’s roster was determined via a blind draft based on player ability. As a result each team is a mixture of veteran players and newcomers to the sport, thus providing a better learning atmosphere for those newcomers. And as the website boasts over half the players are under 21 years old. According to Mike Hurdle, this influx of newcomers can be attributed to clinics that have been conducted by former National Team player and coach Darrick Heath.
Commentary: Many Handball enthusiasts, and in particular, people who are new to the sport in the USA, have often wondered how somebody like Mike Hurdle ever got elected President of USA Team Handball. Certainly, I have been critical of many of the actions that Mike took as President and also feel that he bears a substantial amount of responsibility for the resulting decertification of the USATH.
An outside observer, with a precursory review of media articles and the decertification information posted on our website would most likely scratch their head and ask, “How on earth did this clown ever get elected?”
https://teamhandballnews.com/comment.php?comment.news.3
One principle reason why Mike was elected is that he and the Condor Organization have been doing much more than just talking about developing Team Handball. Many people involved in the sport recognized this and liked the idea of having a President someone who had also demonstrated with time and energy a commitment to developing the sport at the grass roots level. This is not to say that the Condors are the only ones who have been working hard to develop the sport in the US. But, the reality is that no other Club in the US has successfully and for an extended period of time developed a multi-faceted program with youth teams, senior teams and a city league. All too often, there is more talk than action. Players all too often retire from the National Teams, never to be seen again. Let alone spend the time and energy it takes to help existing clubs or establish new ones.
In simple terms, if the sport is to develop in the US, we need more Bird Leagues and more younger players picking up the sport. Bottom line- if you’d like to see Team Handball develop in the US, maybe it’s time to start thinking about what you can do to help develop the sport.
(Disclaimer: I played and practiced with the Condors when they were based in California (87-91) and routinely participated on Condor teams in tournaments in the 90’s and 00’s)
https://teamhandballnews.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.13
Interview with USA Womens Coach Latulippe (Post USA Cup)
The USA Cup recently ended with GOconnectIT from the Netherlands winning the tournament, USA taking second and Canada taking 3rd. John Ryan interviewes USA Women's National Team Coach Christian Latulippe and gets his thoughts on the tournament and what's ahead for the team. Podcast length: 16 Minutes.
[file=request.php?17]USACUP interview with Christian Latulippe[/file]
USA Cup results, statistics and news stories can be found at the USA Cup website: http://www.usacup.us/
Handball Videos at YouTube.com
If you follow the developments on the internet, you’ve surely heard about the phenomenal growth of YouTube.com: www.youtube.com This website allows anyone to post videos up to 10 minutes long on the web. A quick search of handball or balonmano (Spanish for Handball) in the YouTube search engine pulls us several items. Here’s a sampling:
– Norwegian club team showboats with multiple lobs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReLxWknKByM
– Anja Andersen Highlight Reel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG2Q5vB2Knk
– Highlights from 2004 European Championships in Slovenia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFgGIuWKHug
– Handball mix: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kOjgYncaS4
– Lucky goal vs slow reacting goalie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4RZFLHFrUg
– What Matt Van Houten wished had happened at the 2004 US Nationals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yOoy9M2qIw
While these highlight reels are fun, this free service certainly could have other uses. Here are a couple of ideas for you entrepreneurs out there:
– Short tutorials on different aspects of the game: goalie techniques, drills, set plays, etc
– Highlights of games for targeted audiences: 5 minutes of video from the USA Cup, Club matches at National tournaments, award ceremonies, etc
Champions League Dodges Private League Threat
On 24 May, the EHF released the following official statement concerning private league initiatives: http://home.eurohandball.com/ehf_files/ehf_news/st_Official_Statement_2405/default.htm
Courtesy of Mette from Mette’s Handball Corner: http://www.geocities.com/mettekj.geo/danish_teamhandball.html here’s the story behind the press release.
The unnamed Danish club in the EHF’s Official Statement is the Slagelse Handball Club. The “certain representative” is Slagelse Head Coach and former Danish National Team Player Anja Andersen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anja_Andersen Anja Andersen is considered to be one of the best ever Women Handball players and is also known for her outspoken and sometimes controversial antics. This past year she was suspended by the Danish Handball Federation and the EHF after apparently grabbing a referee during a match http://www.denmark.dk/portal/page?_pageid=374,919358&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
Andersen’s proposal called for a private league with 13 teams: Eight from Denmark and five from Europe. The league would be further divided into a Danish League and a European League with corresponding tournaments ending in a championship with the best team from each league. The league would also be totally separate from both the Danish Handball Federation and the EHF.
In principle, Andersen feels that women's handball is dying while the leaders are not doing enough to address this decline. She got the inspiration for the private league ten years ago when she visited Chicago and saw an NBA basketball game where Dennis Rodman was allowed to kick a chair in anger in front of a cheering crowd – something she has never been allowed to do without punishment. Essentially, she feels that a new, less stodgy league would allow her to show her feelings more freely.
Additionally, she also thinks the NBA structure, with the best teams in one league, higher salaries and forward looking rules is a better model. She feels that Europe should adopt the best aspects of American sports: professionalism and emotions. She has felt this for some time, but only recently felt that she had gained enough knowledge about economics, organization and strategies to make it come true.
Needless to say, the establishment, namely the Danish Handball Federation (DHF) and EHF did not welcome this proposal as it would directly conflict with the Danish League and the Champions League. As Andersen had previously successfully developed and marketed a “Dream Team” tour and established a working relationship with Danish TV3 there was also some definite legitimacy to this threat.
The key element for any new league to succeed is money and Andersen’s strategy was to secure sufficient funding via a TV contract. As Danish TV2 had an exclusive 5 year contract with the DHF, Andersen discussed the possibility of the alternative league with Danish TV3. TV3, however, also entered negotiations with TV2 (and perhaps using the alternative league as leverage) made a deal with TV2 to secure broadcast rights to 48 Danish league matches per season. Effectively, this appears to have ended the possibility of a new private league being developed in the near future.
USA Cup Competition Starts
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
USOC Olympic Assembly Meeting
This past week the United States Olympic Committee had its second annual meeting last week. Here are a few links to reports on the event: (We will add more as we find or hear about them)
USOC (Schedule of Events): http://www.usolympicteam.com/117_47331.htm
LA Times: USOC Draws Up a New Strategy: http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-newswire24jun24,1,7366511.story
– Mentions that the USOC is eager to explore the feasibility of an Olympic Sports Channel on Cable TV
Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph: USOC Taking Conrol of NGBs: http://www.gazette.com/display.php?id=1318679&table=story_archive&sec=3
– Mentions Team Handball’s decertification
– Notes that international perception that USA NGBs are poorly run hurts US bids to host Olympics as NGBs are responsible for organizing the competition
Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph: USOC Opts for a New Bid Approach: http://www.gazette.com/display.php?id=1318701&table=story_archive&sec=3
– Highlights changes to the USA selection process for Olympic City Bids
– Notes the Olympic TV Channel that is being considered
Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph: USOC fears that young people don’t care about Games
http://www.gazette.com/display.php?id=1318731&table=story_archive&sec=3
Matt Van Houten Myspace: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=73440975&blogID=139200389&MyToken=2a4ef497-ac6b-4bc0-966f-de04cde0aff4
– Matt Van Houten's report on the meeting
Houston Chronicle: US Olympic Channel May Be Coming Soon: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/4001293.html
– Highlights that the USOC would like the channel to be availabile prior to 2008 Olympics
USA Women’s National Team Update
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]
Matt Van Houten Myspace Website
Matt Van Houten, a recently retired USA Goalkeeper, and the USOC’s Athlete Advisory Council AAC Representative for Team Handball has created a Myspace.com website: http://www.myspace.com/teamhandballrep
The site is intended to keep USA athletes informed of important information that he receives in his role as the AAC rep and should be another good link to add to your “favorites.”
Former Oregon Basketball Player to Join US Womens National Team
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
Euro Play-Offs for Men’s World Championships: Sweden Fails to Qualify
The past two weekends determined the final 8 spots for the World Championships
http://home.eurohandball.com/report.asp?bid=227&rnr=2&pha=1086
Notably, Sweden was knocked out by Iceland. Both teams won on the road with Iceland surprising Sweden 32-28 in the first match. Sweden, however could only manage a 1 goal victory in Iceland, so they will be staying home once again. With their failure to qualify for the 2004 Olympics, 2006 European Championships, and the 2007 World Championships might they be looking for a new coach?
The other interesting matchups saw Poland overcome a 5 goal deficit to beat Greece while Norway held off Romania with a tie in Stavanger for a one goal aggregate win.