Barcelona at Celje

OK, there’s only one official game of the week with live English commentary from Tom O’Brannagain.  That would be the Group A match between Slovenia’s, Celje and Barcelona.  With Barcelona locked into a third place seed, however, it’s debatable as to how good of match it will be.  Barca is clearly the better side but they won’t have any incentive to win.  Celje, on the other hand will be fully motivated as they are currently tied with France’s Chambery for the fourth place seed.  A win guarantees that Celje will advance, but they will also qualify if Chambery loses to Rhein-Neckar.  As the Chambery match starts 30 minutes ahead of time, don’t be surprised if there is some scoreboard watching in Slovenia.

The match is at 6:00 PM (Central European Time), 12:00 Noon (U.S. East Coast) on Saturday, 5 March.  Barcelona is a 3 goal favorite.

On Demand broadcast at ehfTV:  http://www.ehftv.com/ec/cl/men/2010-11/video/001451

There is also a televised tape delayed broadcast on the MHz Network in the U.S. at 4:00 PM (U.S. East Coast) on Sunday 6 March. For information on how you can watch MHZ see this: http://www.mhznetworks.org/mhzworldview/carriage/

Interview with Celje right wing Gasper Marguc: http://www.ehfcl.com/men/2010-11/article/13725/Margu%C4%8D%3A+%22As+big+as+the+universe%21%22

 Veszprem at Montpellier

The unofficial game of the week is clearly the Group B showdown between Montpellier and Veszprem for first place.  Veszprem won in Hungary 27-26, so Montpellier will need to win by 2 goals (or just 1 goal if they keep Veszprem under 26).  There’s a lot of incentive to finish first as the potential round of 16 opponents on the fourth rung are a significant step down from the third rung.  Not to mention the first seed opponents are also guaranteed not to meet each other until the Final Four in Cologne, thus avoiding a potential quarter-final pairing vs. Kiel or Ciudad Real.  Montpellier definitely has the edge here, but with Michael Guigou out and Vid Kavticnik questionable due to injuries, Karabatic will need to carry the load in this match. 

The match is at 5.30 PM (Central European Time), 11:30 Noon (U.S. East Coast) on Sunday, 6 March.  Montpellier is a 3 goal favorite.

On Demand broadcast at ehfTV:  http://www.ehftv.com/ec/cl/men/2010-11/video/001456

EHF: Interview with Veszprem backcourt player,Gabor Csaszar:  http://www.ehfcl.com/men/2010-11/article/13724/Cs%C3%A1sz%C3%A1r+to+steal+points+in+France

Audio recording links are below.  Open the on demand video in one window and then click on the podcast link.  I do a countdown of the ehfTV clock in the lower left hand of the screen.  Pause the audio when I start the countdown and then play the video.  Then unpause the audio when you get to the appropriate time on the clock.