Your independent news and commentary outlet for the Olympic sport of Team Handball
Team Handball News talks with USA Women's coach, Chris Cappelmann in Lake Placid, NY about the team's preparation for the upcoming 2 game series with Canada.
Interview: https://teamhandballnews.com/request73.html (10 Minutes)
Left click to play; Right click to save and download to your MP3 Player
A further review of Pan American qualification matches reveals that the both the USA and Canada Women are in the midst of significant dry spells. Team Canada has not participated in a senior women’s event since the summer of 2007 when they finished 6th in both the PANAM Games and Pan American Elite Championships. In 2009 the Canadian Federation decided not to participate in the 2009 Pan American Championship as they felt they could not field a competitive team for the event. This relegated Canada to Div 1 status, but they chose not to field a team at the recent Div 1 Championship in Cuba.
Team USA has participated in Div 1 Championship events, but did not fare well in either the 2010 or 2008 Championships, losing all 7 matches that they played. There was, however, minimal preparation for either of these tournaments as the new Federation did not encourage participation in either event.
Prior to the 2007 hiatus, Canada had gotten the better of the USA, beating them 2 games to zero in 2007 PANAM Games qualification and in a pool play match at the 2007 PATHF Elite Championships. These results from 2007 probably don’t mean a whole lot as both teams are rebuilding and have several new players on their rosters. A series win and a trip to the PANAM Games, however, will be a welcome start to either program.
[b]Canada Women Results since Jan 2007[/b]
Jan 07: PANAM Games Qualification: Beat USA in best of 3 series; 2-0-0 Record; Beat USA (28-22); Beat USA (25-16)
Jun 07 PATHF Elite Championships: 6th out of 8 teams; 2-0-3 Record; Beat USA (31-29) in pool play
Jul 07 PANAM Games: 6th out of 8 teams; 1-0-4 Record
Jun 09 PATHF Elite Championships: Chose not to compete
Nov 10 Div 1 Championships: Chose not to compete
THN (21 Jun 09): Canada to not compete at Women’s PATHF Championship: https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.780
[b]USA Women Results since Jan 2007[/b]
Jan 07: PANAM Games Qualification: Lost to Canada in best of 3 series; 0-0-2 Record; Lost to Canada (28-22); Lost to Canada (25-16)
Mar 07: PANAM Games 2nd Chance Qualification: 3rd out of 3 teams; 0-0-2 record; Lost to Mexico (29-20); Lost to Chile (31-30)
Jun 07: PATHF Elite Championships: 7th out of 8 teams; 1-1-3 Record
Jul 07: PANAM Games: Did not qualify for event
Nov 08: PATHF Div 1 Championships: 4th out of 4 teams; 0-0-5 Record; Lost to Chile (17-27) Lost to Puerto Rico (24-32); Lost to Mexico (31-23); Lost to Mexico (33-14); Lost to Puerto Rico (26-21)
Jun 09: PATHF Elite Championships: Did not qualify for event
Nov 10: Div 1 Championships: 3rd out of 3 teams; 0-2 Record; Lost to Cuba (40-20); Lost to Venezuela (32-21)
The Semifinals are set for the Women’s 2010 EHF Championship. Sweden-Romania and Denmark-Norway. The EHF has been providing free web streaming throughout and that will continue through this weekend for both the semifinal matches on Saturday and the Finals on Sunday. As an added benefit, veteran Handball broadcaster Paul Bray will be calling the games from Denmark.
Also, if you’ve haven’t already noticed the EHF has added video reports to their website. The short videos, hosted by Adolf Ingi Erlngsson, include highlights, post match interviews and behind the scenes features. These videos can be accessed here: http://www.ehf-euro.com/EHF-EURO-WebTV.2915.0.html#
Women’s Semifinals
Sweden vs. Romania Saturday, 18 Dec, 1430 CET (0830, U.S. East Coast)
Denmark vs. Norway Saturday, 18 Dec, 1700 CET (1100, U.S. East Coast)
Finals
3rd Place Sunday, 19 Dec, 1430 CET (0830, U.S. East Coast)
1st Place Sunday, 19 Dec, 1700 CET (1100, U.S. East Coast)
Direct Link to Video Player: http://player.cdn.tv1.eu/player/_v_/_s_handball/_x_s-411205637/handball/dates.html
EHF: Live English commentary from EHF EURO 2010: http://www.eurohandball.com/article/13600
THN (Jan 07): Audio Interview with Paul Bray: https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.250
For many years now, neutral observers of women’s handball might tend to describe Denmark-Norway as some kind of ‘dream final’ in a EURO event. (Of course, in a World Championship Korea tends to enter into the picture). And if a Championship is jointly hosted by Denmark and Norway, then it is not surprising if a lot of the media speculation has been about a possible final between these two teams. And for the most part, the results have been pointing in this direction.
But then came this strange ‘blip’ a few days ago, when the Norwegians lost on home court against Sweden. If at least it had been one of the ‘usual suspects’, i.e., Russia or Hungary, but Sweden…. So when Denmark and Norway now play each other, it will be on Saturday in the semi-final and not in the final on Sunday. Sweden gets to play another traditional handball power ‘in yellow and blue’, namely Romania, in the other semi-final.
In a neutral setting it would have been harder to mention a favorite but, playing at home in front of a fanatic crowd, the Danish team will be tough to beat. Indeed, it has caused strong reactions from many directions, when opponents and TV viewers have observed not just a strong positive support for the home team but also determined efforts to disturb the opponents. This kind of behavior may have become more and more ‘normal’ these days in many parts of the world, but I think the reactions are the result of a tradition and expectation that Danish crowds always seemed to be too sportsmanlike to behave like this…
Of course, it did not get better when the Danish coach did not seem to ‘remember’ that is clear considered illegal behavior, when he himself gets involved in agitating the crowd, and it also seemed it took a bit long for the EHF supervisors to remind him about it and stop the nonsense. If the ‘only’ effect is on the opponents, perhaps the whole issue is less drastic. (And in fact, the Norwegian players have shrewdly been heard saying that they look forward to the crowd behavior! True or not, that is of course the right attitude). But a major part of the problem is that some less ‘hardened’ referees may also become affected by the crowd. Clearly the game Denmark-Romania was a bad example of this effect.
Naturally, it is up to the EHF (and next month the IHF) to ensure that these events are handled by referees who have the experience and personality to ignore the crowd pressure as much as possible. But this is easier said than done. First, the world handball is currently undergoing a generation change in the top level of refereeing and, moreover, even the sturdiest of our elite referees can be made to hesitate for a moment. After all, as we sometimes conveniently forget, they are human beings! And a couple of moments of doubt or hesitation is all it takes in a close game.
So let us keep our fingers crossed for a weekend of pure handball propaganda!
The upcoming USA – Canada “Home and Away” series is a big event for a number of reasons. The first and most obvious reason this two game series is important is that it is the first step towards 2012 Olympic Qualification. The winner advances to the Pan American (PANAM) Games next October in Guadalajara, Mexico and the PANAM Games winner punches an automatic ticket to London 2012. A tough task for either Canada or the U.S., as Brazil and Argentina have totally dominated North American Men’s and Women’s competitions for years. Still, you can’t win if you don’t try.
Secondly, setting aside the Olympic Qualification aspect the PANAM Games are a worthy competition in and of themselves. Even if the North American entrant has little chance of winning the event, competing there will help either program, particularly their up and coming players, as the experience will stand them in good stead for 2015 and potential qualification for the 2016 Olympics.
Finally, for the [b][u]American players[/u] [/b]these matches are easily the most important they have played since the new Federation came into being in 2008. And if you’re wondering why I’ve underlined players it’s because USA Team Handball (the new Federation) has been sending a very mixed message in regards to the importance of this event. On the one hand they are prominently promoting the matches and players on the Federation website. To their credit they’ve acquired new uniform sponsors and even arranged an online video feed for the matches in Lake Placid and hopefully, for the return leg in Montreal. On the other hand, though, the Federation chose not to fund the team’s participation in this event and as “money talks”, this is tantamount to saying that a whole lot of other activities and expenses have been deemed more worthy. Only a substantial grant from the independent USA Team Handball Foundation has allowed U.S. players to avoid reaching into their own pockets to pay for airfare to Lake Placid. This mixed message is essentially a half-hearted endorsement and players probably can view it as an implicit statement of their perceived place in USA Team Handball’s future.
The beauty of athletic competition, however, is that these players now have the opportunity to respond to this implicit statement of their worth with an explicit and undeniable statement on the scoreboard. For the past decade or so Canada has beaten both the American Men’s and Women’s teams on a regular basis and they have shown that they belong in Pan America’s 2nd tier (Not good enough to beat Argentina and Brazil, but good enough to fight for 3rd place in most PATHF events). Meanwhile, the U.S. has slid into Pan America’s 3rd tier, struggling and often failing to even make the elite championships. Beating Canada and qualifying for the PANAM Games will send a strong message to USA Team Handball and the USOC that this is a program making progress. In short, a program that deserves more funding and support so that it can be even more competitive at the 2011 PANAM Games and yes, even if it’s a long shot, the 2012 Olympics. On the other hand, failing to beat Canada probably calls into question even the limited support some of these players are receiving now and makes the case that even more resources (if not all) need to be placed in youth development programs.
Opportunity is knocking. It remains to be seen as to whether the U.S. Men and Women can answer the door.
The USA and Canadian Men’s and Women’s teams will play the first leg of matches in Lake Placid, NY on Tuesday, 21 December (1300 and 1530). The 2nd leg will be played in Montreal, on Thursday 23 December (1430 and 1630). The winner will be decided on aggregate goal difference counting both games.
USATH: Ustream to Broadcast Pan American Games Qualifiers: http://usateamhandball.org/news/2010/12/15/ustream-to-broadcast-pan-american-games-qualifiers/40038?ngb_id=42
Without a doubt, the German Bundesliga (HBL) matches that I most look forward to watching on the “My Sports Germany” channel are the big showdowns like Hamburg – Kiel and Rhein-Neckar Lowen – Hamburg. The world’s best players playing pivotal matches in packed arenas. You can’t beat it and it’s truly a joy that I can now watch matches like that from my couch in Las Vegas.
But, while those matches are a treat, I’ve also enjoyed seeing some of the other clubs in the HBL’s 2nd and 3rd tier play. It’s clear that while these clubs are a rung below the big dogs, they still have passionate supporters and they can play some quality handball. And despite their smaller budgets these clubs still have their share of mercenaries from other countries. Having previously seen a lot of French league play, I’m not surprised to see that the usual suspects from Scandinavia and the Balkans are peppered throughout the league. I’m not certain if it’s true, but I’ve been told that some European leagues even have a mandatory roster requirement for each club to carry at least one left hander with their last name ending with “ic”.
I’ve also noticed, however, that there are more than a few mercenaries from less traditional handball nations. Here are few of the more notable examples:
The Dutch contingent
Fabian van Olphen: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabian_van_Olphen This 29 year old left Back for Madgeburg has been plying his trade in Germany for 7 years. According to the German Wikipedia article he was principally noted for his defensive prowess, but having seen him play a few times, it seems that he has also developed into a pretty decent backcourt player
Gerrie Eijlers: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrie_Eijlers This 30 year old starts in the goal for Madgeburg and has worked his way up through the ranks with 7 years playing for several clubs
Nicky Verjans: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicky_Verjans This 23 year old right wing has been playing in Germany for 5 years. First with Nordhorn and now for Lubbecke.
Editor’s Note: In the original posting of this article I failed to mention several other Dutch players (see below) currently playing in the HBL. With this many players in the HBL I’m thinking it’s only a matter of time before they qualify for a European or World Championships.
Mark Bult: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Bult This 28 year old Right Back plays for Berlin
Bartosz Konitz: 26 year old Left Back (Luebbecke): http://www.tus-n-luebbecke.de/category/tus-team/spieler-portraits/
Tim Remer: 25 year old Left Wing (Luebbecke) http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Remer
Mark Schmetz: 33 year old Left Wing has been playing in Germany for 12 years. He’s played in the HBL’s 1st Division for Essen, Lemgo and now Ahlen-Hamm. http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Schmetz
The Israeli contingent
Avishay Smoler: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avishay_Smoler This 25 year old right winger starts for Lemgo and has already been playing in the HBL for 3 years. Not to mention he made his national team debut at the tender age of 15.
Flensburg website (2007): Avishay Smoler: The first Israeli in the Bundesliga: http://www.sg-flensburg-handewitt.de/hsg46.html?&L=0
Chen Pomeranz: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chen_Pomeranz: Pomeranz, 26, first made a name for himself when he led the Swiss league in scoring during the 2007-08 season. Following that campaign, the Center Back move to the HBL, first with Wetzlar and now with Ahlen-Hamm.
The Georgian backcourt
Sergo Datukaschwili: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergo_Datukaschwili Nope, I’m not referring to Mabelton, Georgia native, Gary Hines. Instead, I speak of Tbilisi native Sergo Datukaschwilli. When the Soviet Union broke up in the 1990’s, handball remained relevant mostly in the republics closer to Northern Europe. Russia, particularly, the women’s team has been a power while the Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic Republics have been to varying degrees respectable. Further south, they must still play handball, though, otherwise Datukaschwilli wouldn’t have found his way to the HBL. Although, it’s been quite a circuitous route for the 32 year old Datukaschwilli, who’s playing his first season in the HBL’s top league. Prior to signing with Lemgo he spent twelve years playing in Germany, Lebanon, Serbia, Italy, Greece, Spain, Sweden, Slovenia and Dubai. Interestingly, enough Datukashvilli and Gary Hines share a former club, as both found their way to the Canary Island’s Tolimar Tres de Mayo.
Sergo Datukashvili, new player Expo Tres de Mayo: http://www.eldia.es/2003-07-04/jornada/jornada29.htm
USATH: Gary Hines: http://usateamhandball.org/athletes/gary-hines
THN (15 Jan 07): Gary Hines Joins Tolimar Tres de Mayo: https://teamhandballnews.com/2007/01/gary-hines-joins-tolimar-tres-de-mayo/
THN (18 May 10): Get this guy a contract!: https://teamhandballnews.com/2010/05/get-this-guy-a-contract/
What’s worth noting about these unlikely mercenaries is that it provides clear evidence that if a player is good enough, some club in Europe’s top league will find him and put him on their roster. The fact that these players have made it, should be heartening to Americans, Brits, Australians and others toiling away in the lower divisions in Europe. While Germans might lament or resent foreign players taking roster spots from Germans it clearly benefits developing handball nations to have their top players playing regularly at levels that can’t be duplicated in their home countries.
That being said these mercenaries still haven’t been able to put the Netherlands, Israel or Georgia into a World Championships and with the exception of Israel in 2002 the final round of the European Championships. A quick review of their recent national team results shows some respectable scores in qualification play, but not enough wins to move them into the next tier. In Europe it would seem that 2 or 3 players in the HBL is insufficient to take that next leap.
In my posting below from earlier today, I hinted at the possibility that the Swedish team might try to surprise the Norvegians; and I mentioned the rumors about stomach problems on the Norwegian side.
Well appararently it was more than rumors, as three Norwegian players were unable to participate today. So this is now a 'popular' explanation, when the Norwegians (including the King, who was present) try to understand how it could happen that the Swedish women left the Norwegians without a chance. The half-time score was 14-6, and the final result was 24-19 after the Swedes had an eight-goal lead at one point. This is likely to be the best, and most important, handball result for Sweden against Norway, since the union between the two countries was dissolved in 1905…
Of course, for the Swedes it is slightly amusing to hear about the stomach virus or food poisoning on the Norwegian side. Clearly that Norwegian food must be pretty bad and dangerous; probably the Swedish team escaped just by eating food brought from home or by going to McDonalds….
Today, when one half of the Main Round is starting, it may be appropriate to offer some comments on the preliminary round. A major women’s handball event in Denmark and Norway is always likely to cause a festive mood, especially if the home teams do well. And when we get to the semifinals in Denmark later in the week, it would be a major surprise if both host teams are not there.
The preliminary round started out in a way that made it look as if we would have predictable results and no particular excitement. But in the end, this is not how it came out. The heading already reveals the main story for those who have not followed events in their daily media. The last thing I read in a German web site before the start was that ‘getting to the semi-finals is fully realistic’. And while a loss against Sweden in the first game was a bit of a setback, the situation at the start of the last group match was highly favorable. Germany could afford to lose by 7 goals against the winless team from Ukraine and still move on.
But the German women collapsed completely. They described themselves as ‘statues’ and ’paralyzed’. In an incredible manner they managed to lose by 10 goals so they are out; not the normal image of German handball! But Ukraine, who had won a qualifying group ahead of the strong Romanians, suddenly showed some qualities. And the Dutch benefited also. They had just lost against Sweden, but with Ukraine advancing instead of Germany, the Dutch now bring two points into the main round.
The Swedish team may be seen as the main positive surprise so far, but now they face tougher opponents in the form of Norway, Hungary and France from the neighboring group. After three straight wins, they will have to fight to avoid three straight losses, as discussed by the more pessimistic experts in Sweden.
Norway ‘obliterated’ Hungary in what had been anticipated as a close fight for the top spot in the group. But especially the performance of the goalkeeper, Katrine Lunde Haraldsen, caused the Hungarians to become desperate. She allowed only 13 goals by the strong Hungarian, and had a save percent of 68 in the first half! Perhaps her playing for the Hungarian club Gyoer this season gave her an edge!? Today we will have Norway playing Sweden, and even the rumors of a major stomach bug in the Norwegian camp cannot prevent them from being the favorites; but who knows…
In the groups played in Denmark, the home team got solid wins against Serbia, Romania and Spain. This should put them in a good position, although they now face Russia and Montenegro, two of the overall favorites. Montenegro showed that their impressive run in the qualifying group was not a fluke, as they prevented Russia from getting revenge. But then the Croatians, who had lost against Russia, brought their Montenegrin neighbors down to earth with a narrow victory in the final group match. All in all, these results seem to play into the hands of the Danish team. Tomorrow’s match pitting Denmark against Russia will be decisive.
Denmark has indeed benefited from a tremendous crowd support. And this should help them a lot the rest of the way. By contrast, there was some embarrassment in Norway, where the first two group matches drew very thin crowds in the huge Lillehammer arena with 11.000 seats. Christmas shopping, school exams, and bad winter weather (in Norway!?) were mentioned as excuses, but many also blamed it on exorbitant ticket prices.
Finally, it seems that, generally speaking, the refereeing has not been a problem area so far. The mixture of the top women couples and a number of couples with substantial experience has been adequate. However, the difficult part of the event remains. And, apropos, ‘tremendous crowd support’, this can unfortunately affect the refereeing as well, not consciously but at least subconsciously. Let us hope that controversies can be avoided, so good luck to all the referees!
In case you missed it, the EHF is making every single match of the ongoing Women’s European Championship available for viewing online. And not only is it free, they are even offering it at 1.0 Mbits/second, which allows for a pretty decent picture.
Link to Video Page: http://www.ehf-euro.com/Stream.2860.0.html#:
– Click on Program Overview
Direct Link to Video Player: http://player.cdn.tv1.eu/player/_v_/_s_handball/_x_s-411205637/handball/dates.html
– You can select matches by date, round or nation
Sorry, though for Handball fans in Germany, France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Belarus, Serbia and Russia. Due to license restriction, you’ll be limited to the matches on your local TV networks. Hats off to the EHF for providing these games free of charge to the rest of the world. Now, if we could only get them to provide the same web streaming quality for the Champions League matches.
In ‘handball-world.com’ there was an article on December 3, which was at the same time worrisome and almost amusing. On the surface, it was primarily a statement from the referee chief Peter Rauchfuss in the German Federation (DHB), apropos a pronouncement from the German Bundesliga (HBL) boss Frank Bohman regarding the need for professional referees. http://www.handball-world.com/news-index.php?LID=1&GID=1&auswahl=28751
As I would have expected from Peter Rauchfuss, who is very experienced and always seems to demonstrate common sense, he points out how impossible or undesirable it would be to try to make a sudden switch to professional (= full-time employed) referees. He notes, among other things, that the demands of the refereeing function at the elite level require individuals with strong personal talents and important career experience, ideally with some managerial competence. Handball in Germany or elsewhere does not have a situation like in the NBA or NHL, where young referees with demonstrated talent can be recruited and built up for a solid long-term career situation, in a setting where the financial circumstances make it realistic to give up on an alternative professional career.
Regrettably, the HBL representatives seem to understand too little about the world of refereeing to help carry on a constructive debate. Statements which imply that the Bundesliga referees do not spend more time on refereeing and preparations than the time they spend on the court actually refereeing the HBL games show a totally unrealistic understanding and constitute an insult. But it is also clear from other statements that the issue of professional referees is really a ‘bogus’ issue. What really seems to be at stake is just one more aspect of the battle for power and prestige between HBL and DHB.
What HBL should appreciate is that they enjoy the benefits of strong traditions and a situation where DHB is one of the absolute top organizations in providing high-quality education and management of handball referees. Peter Rauchfuss and many of his colleagues are really first rate. What HBL instead might ask is if they contribute sufficiently to a situation where DHB, in its responsibility for refereeing from the HBL at the top down to the very bottom of the ‘pyramid’ in Germany, really needs solid resources to handle the specialized training and monitoring at the elite level, not just in terms of manpower but also for instance in terms of technology. But this is a very different matter from HBL suddenly wanting to seize control over an area where they do not have any particular expertise.
Not just HBL, DHB and German handball want high-quality refereeing in the Bundesliga. What goes on there is a major issue of propaganda for our sport globally. So, although I speak without knowing exactly what resources Peter Rauchfuss currently has at his disposal and how advanced his operations are in a scientific and technological sense, I am sure that there must be room for improvements. So clearly HBL could and should assume a responsibility for contributing, rather than focusing on power and prestige.
But the training of the existing referees is not the only consideration. The Bundesliga has become the strongest league in the world by having the resources, through its clubs, to recruit the very best players and coaches in the world. In a similar way, it would seem natural to reinforce the resources available to DHB and HBL by also utilizing top referees from outside Germany. Surely they are many IHF referee couples within easy reach who could surpass the quality of the bottom half of the group currently used by the HBL. It would be quite realistic for a dozen such couples to handle one or two games per month in the Bundesliga. Moreover, this would be logical, in the sense that the exodus of players from many countries to HBL has lowered the quality of the national leagues in those countries, to the point that it is detrimental to a number of top IHF/EHF referees who do not get enough real top quality matches in their own countries.
Recently, I had the opportunity to watch an outstanding documentary titled “Once Brothers”. Part of ESPN’s awarding winning 30 for 30 series, this documentary chronicles the friendship (and it’s breakup) of Vlade Divac and Drazen Petrovic. Divac, a Serbian (and now the President of the Serbian Olympic Committee) and Petrovic, a Croatian were teammates and friends on Yugoslavia’s national team. At the 1990 World Championships, despite rising tensions in Yugoslavia, they were able to win the Gold medal. The celebration, however, was marred and a friendship was broken, when Divac pulled a Croatian flag from one of the celebrating fans. I won’t rehash the whole documentary, which is told mostly through Divac’s eyes, but I’m pretty confident that most of you will find it a moving story, regardless of your nationality and connection to the former Yugoslavia.
Watching the documentary also reminded me of the first time I came to the realization that the Yugoslavian Republics had their very own distinct national identities and it was in probably one of the more unlikely places you’d expect: Calabasas High School in the San Fernando Valley, north of Los Angeles.
In the spring of 1991, word got out that the Croatian State team would be visiting Southern California so a match was scheduled against the local West regional team that would be participating in the upcoming Olympic Sports Festival. In typical U.S. fashion not a whole lot of planning took place and when Ivo Petranovic, then one of Cal Heat’s players (now more known as a referee) mentioned that he could probably get 300-400 Croatians to attend, it was met with a grin and a “Yeah, whatever you say, Ivo.” I’ll never forget rolling into the parking lot a little early to help mark handball lines on the floor only to see the parking lot full and all these people waving strange looking flags with the Purina Cat Chow symbol.
The West regional team was hopelessly outclassed, but it was fun to see a match played in from front of a passionate crowd. Now that may not seem like a big crowd to you, but I would bet it’s one of the most highly attended matches (outside of the Olympics) in U.S. history. And now having seen the “Once Brothers” documentary it’s even clearer to me why the outpouring of National pride was so strong on that day nearly 20 years ago.
Once Brothers will be rebroadcast on ESPN this Sunday, 12 December. Set your DVR’s up now.
ESPN: Once Brothers website: http://30for30.espn.com/film/once-brothers.html
There are some short videos from the documentary at this site and I’m sure that there are copies of it available elsewhere on the internet. It also wouldn’t surprise me if a Serbo-Croatian version has been made. As it’s mostly Vlade doing the narrative it wouldn’t have been too hard for him to record another version in that language.
Finally, I would like to know if there were similar stories back in the 1990s with the Yugoslavia National Handball team. Please share your thoughts and insight on our Facebook page or send me an email at john.ryan@teamhandballnews.com
[img][/img]The world’s best national rugby team (New Zealand) recently met the world’s best national handball team (France) for a cross promotional photo op in Paris. I’m guessing Ritchie McCaw or Dan Carter became the first ever New Zealander to score on Thierry Omeyer.
For Americans wanting a little context, this meet and greet would be roughly the equivalent of the U.S. National Basketball team or the Super Bowl Champions hanging out with French National Team. Oh, to have that kind of publicity opportunity. I’m guessing the folks in Salt Lake can only contemplate such an occurrence at this point in time.
As a side point, it’s interesting to note that France is the only country in the world where there are significant fan segments for both rugby and team handball. Many countries play both, but nowhere else are they anywhere near par in terms of interest. The 2nd place country for these loose criterions is probably Argentina.
French Handball Federation website: When “les experts” meet the “All Blacks”: http://www.ff-handball.org/detail-news/article/quand-les-experts-rencontrent-les-all-blacks.html
ESPN Scrum photos: http://www.espnscrum.com/new-zealand-tour-2010/rugby/image/130408.html?object=104316;page=1
Last year’s Champions League finalists will meet in a key Group A clash. For once, a so called Group of Death has proven to be an accurate moniker as this group has been ultra competitive from top to bottom through 6 rounds. Kiel is in first place with 10 points (4 wins and 2 draws) while Barca is tied for 3rd with 6 points (2 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses). A loss for Barcelona at home could slip them into 4th place and with tough road matches at R-N L and Celje remaining it’s conceivable to start talking about a disastrous failure to advance out of Group Play. Yikes! Usually when teams of this caliber meet in Group Play it’s for pride and a better seed. That’s not the case here. Barca has some serious incentive to win this match.
Fortunately for them, Kiel continues to be plagued by injuries with circle runner Marcus Ahlm being the latest stalwart to be put on the sidelines for an extended period of time. The match is at 5:15 PM (Central European Time), 11:15 AM (U.S. East Coast) on Sunday, 5 December. Barcelona is a 2.5 goal favorite.
ehfTV Live Broadcast: http://www.ehftv.com/ec/cl/men/2010-11/live/high/001251
ehfTV Tape Delay Broadcast: http://www.ehftv.com/ec/cl/men/2010-11/video/001251 (Usually available a few hours after the match)
There is also a tape delayed broadcast on the MHz Network in the U.S. at 4:00 PM (U.S. East Coast), Sunday. For information on how you can watch MHZ see this http://www.mhznetworks.org/mhzworldview/carriage/