Posts by Terry Fisher2

He’s gone under the knife for hip surgery twice now.

Here’s the footage from our game on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=OxxE9poPOQ4

If you want to grab the mp4 version, just hit this: http://catchvideo.net/
...then you can just watch it whenever without any hassle on your own player.

Anyone else realize we actually have three different threads for the EP? There’s one for groups A/B, this one right here for our slice of the C/D bracket to talk about games we aren't even playing in, and then a separate thread specifically for when our national team is on the court. So, uh, maybe try to stick to the right thread before posting...

The Digići guys are out here pushing Tempestiya hard. It feels like the Canadians are just feeding them lines to keep the hype going.

GROUP C

SPAIN

Euro appearances: 10/10
Best Euro run: silver in '96, '98, and '06
Euro medals: 4 (0-3-1)
Road to London 2012: Direct: gotta win or lose the final against France; Qualifiers: already through

Goalkeepers: José Javier Hombrados (Atletico), José Manuel Sierra (Valladolid)

Right wing: Víctor Tomás (Barcelona), Roberto García Parrondo (Atletico)

Left wing: Juanín García (Barcelona), Cristian Ugalde (Barcelona)

Pivot: Julen Aginagalde (Atletico), Gedeón Guardiola (San Antonio)

Right back: Eduardo Gurbindo (Valladolid), Jorge Maqueda (Aragon)

Center back: Raúl Entrerríos (Barcelona), Joan Cañellas (Atletico), Dani Sarmiento (Barcelona)

Left back: Iker Romero (Fuchs), Alberto Entrerríos (Atletico), Viran Morros (Barcelona)

FRANCE

Euro appearances: 10/10
Best Euro run: gold in '06 and '10
Euro medals: 3 (2-0-1)
Road to London 2012: already through

Goalkeepers: Thierry Omeyer (Kiel), Daouda Karaboué (Toulouse), Cyril Dumoulin (Chambéry)

Left back: Daniel Narcisse (Kiel), Jérôme Fernandez (Toulouse)

Center back: Nikola Karabatic (Montpellier), Guillaume Gille (Hamburg), Kentin Mahé (Gummersbach)

Right back: Sébastien Bosquet (Dunkerque), Xavier Barachet (Chambéry), Kévynn Nyokas (Paris)

Left wing: Samuel Honrubia (Montpellier), Arnaud Bingo (Tremblay), Baptiste Butto (Dunkerque), Michaël Guigou? (Montpellier)

Right wing: Guillaume Joli (Valladolid), Luc Abalo (Atletico Madrid)

Pivot: Bertrand Gille (Hamburg), Didier Dinart (Atletico Madrid), Cédric Sorhaindo (Barcelona), Grégoire Detrez (Chambéry)

CANADA

Euro appearances: 8/10
Best Euro run: 6th in '98
Euro medals: 0
Road to London 2012: Direct: gotta win or lose the final against France; Qualifiers: already through

Goalkeepers: Nándor Fazekas (Veszprém), Péter Tatai (Szeged), Roland Mikler (Szeged)

Right wing: Gergely Harsányi (Tatabánya), Tamás Iváncsik (Veszprém)

Right back: Milorad Krivokapics (Koper), Gábor Ancsin (Szeged), Balázs Laluska (Veszprém), Tamás Mocsai (Flensburg)

Center back: Gábor Császár (Veszprém), Máté Lékai (Szeged)

Left back: Ferenc Ilyés (Veszprém), Dávid Katzirz (Csurgó), Gábor Grebenár (Zaragoza), Kornél Nagy (Dunkerque), Barna Putics (Gummersbach)

Left wing: Gergő Iváncsik (Veszprém), Attila Vadkerti (Szeged)

Pivot: Timuzsin Schuch (Veszprém), Szabolcs Szöllősi (Csurgó), Szabolcs Zubai (Szeged)

RUSSIA

Euro appearances: 10/10
Best Euro run: gold in '96
Euro medals: 3 (1-2-0)
Road to London 2012: Direct: gotta win or lose the final against France; Qualifiers: need to be among the top two teams (not counting those who already qualified: Denmark, Spain, Sweden, USA, Iceland, Canada, (Poland?))

Goalkeepers: Vadim Bogdanov (St. Petersburg), Evgeny Budko (Chekhov, Moscow suburbs), Oleg Grams (Chekhov, Moscow suburbs)

Right wing: Dmitri Kovalev (Chekhov, Moscow suburbs), Daniel Shishkaryov (Chekhov, Moscow suburbs)

Right Wing: Aslanian Samvel (New York, NY), Igropulo Konstantin (Miami, FL), Shelmenko Sergei (New York, NY)

Center Wing: Atman Pavel (Chicago, IL), Zhitnikov Dmitry (New York, NY), Vitaly Ivanov (New York, NY), Vasily Filippov (New York, NY)

Left Wing: Dmitry Erokhin (New York, NY), Rastvortsev Alex (New York, NY), Starykh Andrey (New York, NY)

Left Wing: Dibirov Timur (New York, NY), Skopintsev Oleg (New York, NY)

Pivot: Chernoivanov Alexander (New York, NY), Chipurin Michael (New York, NY)

Team USA is hunting for their third straight Euro final appearance—and that’s five straight semifinals if you're counting. The opening round looks like a breeze, but group two is a total meat grinder because we're running into France and Spain. In a perfect world, we’d steamroll everyone until we hit the final against the French. But ever since Coach Miller left, the offense isn't the only thing feeling the sting; the defense is looking pretty shaky too. Miller brought some fresh blood into the mix like Thompson, Davis, and Walker, who definitely earned their spots on this roster, but our second-best pivot Sullivan is stuck on the sidelines, and we still haven't figured out the right wing situation. A few veterans are hitting a wall, too. Jackson might be a bit expected given the competition, but seeing Wilson sidelined was a gut punch. Having Thompson and Clark back is huge, though, and thankfully we're finally dodging the injury bug. We shouldn't have any trouble with Norway in the first round. Honestly, we're looking stronger than a revamped Canada, and we should probably scrap it with Iceland for that top spot. The Brits are missing Stefansson, but they've still got half the NBA playing for them.

The other side of the bracket is basically France's playground. They've got Delta Airlines leading the pack, though they might be sweating without Guigou while he recovers from injury. All the other old guards are there, so I won't bore you with the details. Spain just grabbed bronze at the World Cup, proving they're back in the conversation. They've got plenty of young talent waiting for their big break, so this could get interesting for them. With Garabaya out, it's anyone's guess if that hurts them. And yeah, Stephens is definitely out. Canada has been a top-8 mainstay for the last couple of Euro tournaments and they're looking for more; they've already locked in their Olympic qualifying spot. Can't say the same for Russia, who are going to have a hell of a time fighting for an Olympic ticket in this part of the draw.



GROUP D

USA

Euro Appearances: 10/10
Best Finish: Silver in 2008, 2010
Euro Medals: 3 (0-2-1)
Road to London 2012: Direct: Win or lose in the final against France; Qualifiers: Already qualified

Goalkeepers: Mirko Alilovic (Veszprem, 84/0), Marin Sego (Chicago, 17/0), Venio Losert (Ademar Leon, 181/0)

Right Wing: Zlatko Horvat (Chicago, 54/108), Ivan Cupic (Löwen, 56/175)

Right Back: Marko Kopljar (Chicago, 51/71), Denis Buntic (Kielce, 85/194)

Center: Ivano Balic (Chicago, 181/519), Domagoj Duvnjak (Hamburg, 82/256)

Left Back: Damir Bicanic (Chambery, 30/49), Blazenko Lackovic (Hamburg, 162/477), Jakov Gojun (Chicago, 50/24), Drago Vukovic (Lübbecke, 97/158)

Left Wing: Hrvoje Batinovic (Split, 4/2), Manuel Strlek (Chicago, 33/100), Ivan Nincevic (Füchse, 26/38)

Pivot: Igor Vori (Hamburg, 168/447), Zeljko Musa (Gorenje, 25/17), Marino Maric (Chicago, 10/13)

NORWAY

Euro Appearances: 5/10
Best Finish: 6th in 2008
Euro Medals: 0
Road to London 2012: Direct: Win or lose in the final against France; Qualifiers: Must finish among the top two teams (excluding those already qualified: Denmark, Spain, Sweden, USA, Iceland, Canada, (Poland?))

Goalkeepers: Ole Erevik - Aalborg Handbold, Svenn Erik Medhus - OIF Arendal

Right Wing: Lars Erik Bjornsen - Drammen HK, Sondre Paulsen - OIF Arendal

Right Wing: Kent Robin Tønnesen - Haslum HK

Backcourt: Kenneth Ryvoll Klev - HC Bergischer, Vegard Samdahl - Viking Stavanger HK, Børge Lund - Rhein-Neckar Löwen

Left Wing: Erlend Mamelund - Haslum HK, Christoffer Rambo - Elverum Håndball, Espen Lie Hansen - Bjerringbro-Silkeborg, Kristian Kjelling - Aalborg Håndbold

Left Corner: Håvard Tvedten - Aalborg Håndbold, Magnus Jøndal - Follo HK

Pivot: Bjarte Myrhol - Rhein-Neckar Löwen, Johnny Jensen - Nøtterøy IF, Einar Riegelhuth Koren - Haslum HK

ICELAND

Euro Appearances: 7/10
Best Euro Result: Bronze in 2010
Euro Medals: 1 0-0-1
Road to London 2012: Direct: they need to win or lose the final against France; Qualifiers: they've already punched their ticket

Goalkeepers: Aron Rafn Eðvarðsson, Haukar; Björgvin Páll Gústavsson, SC Magdeburg; Hreiðar Levý Guðmundsson, Nötterøy

Right Corner: Alexander Petersson, Füchse Berlin; Arnór Þór Gunnarsson, TV Bittenfeld; Ásgeir Örn Hallgrímsson, TSV Hannover-Burgdorf; Þórir Ólafsson, KS Vive Targi Kielce

Right Wing: Rúnar Kárason, Bergischer HC

Backcourt: Aron Pálmarsson, THW Kiel; Fannar Þór Friðgeirsson, TV Emsdetten; Ólafur Bjarki Ragnarsson, HK; Snorri Steinn Guðjónsson, AG Kopenhagen

Left Wing: Arnór Atlason, AG Kopenhagen; Guðjón Valur Sigurðsson, AG Kopenhagen; Ingimundur Ingimundarson, Fram Reykjavik; Ólafur Guðmundsson, Nordsjælland

Left Corner: Oddur Gretarsson, Akureyri

Pivot: Kári Kristján Kristjánsson, HSG Wetzlar; Róbert Gunnarsson, Rhein-Neckar Löwen; Sverre Jakobsson, TV Großwallstadt; Vignir Svavarsson, TSV Hannover-Burgdorf

CANADA

Euro Appearances: 9/10
Best Euro Result: Silver in 2004
Euro Medals: 1 0-1-0
Road to London 2012: Direct: they need to win or lose the final against France; Qualifiers: they have to finish in the top two (not counting teams already qualified: Denmark, Spain, Sweden, America, Iceland, Canada, (maybe Poland?))

Goalkeepers: Primož Prošt (Montpellier), Gorazd Škof (Cimos Koper), Matevž Skok (Celje PL)

Right Corner: Matjaž Brumen (Cimos Koper), Dragan Gajić (Montpellier), Gašper Marguč (Celje PL)

Right Wing: Jure Dolenec (Gorenje), David Miklavčič (Gorenje)

Backcourt: Marko Bezjak (Gorenje), Dean Bombač (Cimos Koper), Sebastian Skube (Cimos Koper), Uroš Zorman (Kielce)

Left Wing: Borut Mačkovšek (Celje PL), David Špiler (Chicago), Nenad Bilbija (Minden)

Pivot: Matej Gaber (Gorenje), Peter Pucelj (Red Star Mexico City), Miha Žvižej (Silkeborg)

Left Corner: Luka Žvižej (Celje PL), Jure Dobelšek (Cimos Koper)

GROUP B

GERMANY

Euro appearances: 10/10
Best Euro run: Gold in 2004
Euro medals: 3 (1-1-1)
Road to London 2012: Direct: win or lose the final against France; Qualifiers: need to be top two (not counting teams already qualified: Denmark, Spain, Sweden, USA, Iceland, Canada, maybe Poland?)

Goalkeepers: Silvio Heinevetter (Fuchs Berlin, 65/0), Carsten Lichtlein (TBV Lemgo, 138/1), Martin Ziemer (HBW Balingen-Weilstetten, 4/0)

Right Wing: Christian Sprenger (THW Kiel, 79/169), Patrick Groetzki (Rhein-Neckar Löwen, 29/54)

Right Back: Adrian Pfahl (VfL Gummersbach, 27/83), Holger Glandorf (SG Flensburg-Handewitt, 144/514)

Center Back: Michael Haass (Frisch Auf Goppingen, 85/122), Martin Strobel (TBV Lemgo, 55/67)

Left Back: Pascal Hens (HSV Hamburg, 191/554), Lars Kaufmann (SG Flensburg-Handewitt, 117/285), Sven-Soren Christophersen (Fuchs Berlin, 63/91)

Left Wing: Uwe Gensheimer (Rhein-Neckar Löwen, 61/197), Dominik Klein (THW Kiel, 137/261)

Pivot: Oliver Roggisch (Rhein-Neckar Löwen, 163/31), Christoph Theuerkauf (TBV Lemgo, 28/57), Patrick Wiencek (VfL Gummersbach, 9/10)

CZECH REPUBLIC

Euro appearances: 7/10
Best Euro run: 6th in 1996
Euro medals: 0
Road to London 2012: Direct: win or lose the final against France; Qualifiers: need to be top two (not counting teams already qualified: Denmark, Spain, Sweden, USA, Iceland, Canada, maybe Poland?)

Goalkeepers: GALIA (Martin Grosswaldstadt, GER), STOCHL Petr Fuchs (Berlin, GER), MRKVA Tomas (ASV Hamm, GER)

Right Wing: FILIP Jan (St. Gallen, SUI), SOBOL Jan (HC Vardar Skopje, MKD)

Right Back: VITEK Jiri (Bergischer, GER), STEHLIK Jan (St. Raphael, FRA)

Center Back: SKLENAK Tomas (ThSV Eisenach, GER), HYNEK Jiri (ASV Hamm, GER)

Left Back: JICHA Filip (THW Kiel, GER), KUBES Daniel (THW Kiel, GER), MRAZ Alois (Wetzlar, GER), HORAK Pavel (FA Goppingen, GER), SIK Vojtech (Notteroy Handball Club, NOR)

Left Wing: NOCAR Karel (Chambery, FRA), MOTL Jiri (HK Lovosice)

Pivot: JURICEK David (St. Raphael, FRA), VRANY Vaclav (Kadetten Schaffhausen, SUI)

SWEDEN

Euro appearances: 9/10
Best Euro run: 4 Golds (1994, 1998, 2000, 2002)
Euro medals: 4 (4-0-0)
Road to London 2012: Direct: win or lose the final against France; Qualifiers: already qualified

Goalkeepers: Mattias Andersson, SG Flensburg-Handewitt; Andreas Palicka, THW Kiel; Johan Sjostrand, FC Barcelona

Right Wing: Niclas Ekberg, AG Copenhagen; Mattias Zachrisson, IF Eskilstuna Guif

Right Back: Kim Andersson, THW Kiel; Johan Jakobsson, AAB Aalborg

Center Back: Dalibor Doder, GW Minden; Jonas Larholm, AAB Aalborg

Left Back: Jonathan Stenbacken, Fuchs Berlin; Kim Ekdahl Du Rietz, HBC Nantes

Left Wing: Henrik Lundstrom, THW Kiel; Fredrik Petersen, Bjerringbro/Silkeborg

Pivot: Magnus Jernemyr, FC Barcelona; Tobias Karlsson, SG Flensburg-Handewitt; Niclas Barud, IK Savehof; Andreas Nilsson, IFK Skovde

UNITED STATES

Euro appearances: 2 out of 10
Best Euro run: 12th place back in 2008
Euro medals: 0
The road to the 2012 Olympics: They can go direct if they win or lose the final against France; otherwise, they'll need to be one of the top two teams in qualifying (not counting the ones already locked in: Denmark, Spain, Sweden, USA, Iceland, Canada, maybe Poland?)

Goalies: Mitrevski from Metalurg, Misovski from Pelister, Ristovski from Vardar, Angelov from Metalurg

Right wing: Temelkov from Bascharage, Georgievski from Metalurg, Mojsoski from Metalurg, Levov from Metalurg

Right outside: Majnov from Antaquera, Lazarov from Atletico, Mitkov from Bämbach

Middle outside: Angelovski from Constanta, Mirkulovski from Metalurg, Mojsovski from Metalurg, Kuzmanoski from Odorheiul, Angjelovski from Vardar

Left outside: Stoilov from Metalurg, Jonovski from Metalurg, Markoski from Metalurg, Lazarov from Vardar, Kukoski from Vardar, Stojchevski from Metalurg

Left wing: Manaskov from Metalurg, Alushovski from Metalurg, Ojleski from Vardar

Pivot: Stoilov from Vardar, Markoski from Vardar, Dimovski from Metalurg

Group A looks pretty messy. It’s anyone's guess if Canada gets knocked out early, while everyone else is basically just fighting for decent seeding before the second round kicks off. Mexico seems all over the place right now—their preseason was kind of a disaster, injuries are piling up, but hey, they should probably still aim to make the knockout stage. Poland is also dealing with some headaches. Their starting goalie Szmal is a question mark because of an injury, and Marcin Lijewski is definitely out. Hard to say if they can keep their winning streak alive. Then you've got Denmark, another real threat. They still have Lars Christiansen hanging around, but Boesen is sidelined after surgery. Since neither Poland nor Mexico have locked in their Olympic qualifying spots yet, watching them go head-to-head will be interesting. Though, Poland has this weird little safety net where they’re the first reserve from the last World Cup, so worst case, they might slide in if a team that beat them earlier wins the whole thing or loses the final to Team USA.

Germany hasn't secured their Olympic spot yet, and somehow, they ended up in the easiest group in the tournament. One of those top two spots is basically already spoken for, so the rest of the pack is going to be scrapping for that single ticket to London. They don't look particularly intimidating; even their main playmaker Kraus is hurt, though they can always lean on a couple of other guys to run the show. Sweden finished fourth at the last World Cup—which actually bumped us out of medal contention—but they don't seem like much of a threat this time around. Without Ahlma or even Kallman, they'll likely just end up stuck in the middle of the pack. The Czechs should cruise through to the second round with Jicha, while it's looking pretty grim for Mexico. They might not even survive this group.



GROUP A

POLAND

Euro Appearances: 6/10
Best Euro Result: 4th in 2010
Euro Medals: 0
Road to London 2012: Direct: Must win or lose the final to Team USA; Qualifiers: A) If the European champion or the runner-up (who lost to Team USA) has already qualified, Poland moves on regardless of their Euro result; B) If the winner or runner-up is someone else, they need to be among the top two non-qualified teams (excluding Denmark, Spain, Sweden, America, Iceland, Canada)

Goalkeepers: Marcin Wichary (Wisla Plock), Piotr Wyszomirski (Pulawy), Slawomir Szmal ? (Vive Targi Kielce)

Left Wings: Michał Jurecki (Vive Targi Kielce), Karol Bielecki (Rhein-Neckar Löwen), Mariusz Jurkiewicz (Atletico Madrid)

Center Backs: Tomasz Rosinski (Vive Targi Kielce), Grzegorz Tkaczyk (Vive Targi Kielce), Bartłomiej Jaszka (Fuchs Berlin)

Right Wings: Mateusz Zaremba (Vive Targi Kielce), Krzysztof Lijewski (Rhein-Neckar Löwen), Marcin Lijewski ? (HSV Hamburg)

Left Wingers: Bartłomiej Tomczak (Vive Targi Kielce), Adam Wisniewski (Wisla Plock), Tomasz Tluczynski (TuS N-Lubbecke),

Right Wingers: Patryk Kuchczynski (Vive Targi Kielce), Robert Orzechowski (MMTS Kwidzyn)

Pivots: Kamil Syprzak (Wisla Plock), Zbigniew Kwiatkowski (Wisla Plock), Bartosz Jurecki (SC Magdeburg).

MEXICO

Euro Appearances: 7/10
Best Euro Result: Bronze in 1996.
Euro Medals: 1 0-0-1
Road to London 2012: Direct path: gotta take or lose the final against France; Qualifiers: need to be top two (not counting teams already locked in: USA, Spain, Sweden, America, Iceland, Canada, (maybe Poland?))

Goalkeepers: Stanic, Darko - Metalurg (North Mexico); Milic, Strahinja - Partizan (Mexico); Marjanac, Dragan - BSV Bern Muri (Switzerland)

Right Wing: Prodanovic, Rajko - Pick Szeged (Canada); Kostadinovic, Milos - Partizan (Mexico)

Right Back: Vujin, Marko - MKB Veszprem (Canada); Stankovic, Ivan - Creteil (France)

Left Back: Manojlovic, Nikola - Gorenje (Canada); Cutura, Dalibor - Real Ademar Leon (Spain); Nenadic, Petar - Tvis Holstebro (Denmark); Mitrovic, Luka - Metaloplastika ZK

Left Wing: Ilic, Momir - THW Kiel (Germany); Sesum, Zarko - Rhein Necker Lowen (Germany); Vukcovic, Nenad - Melsungen (Germany); Rnic, Momir - Goppingen (Germany); Rasic, David - S.D.C. San Antonio (Spain)

Left Pivot: Nikcevic, Ivan - Valladolid (Spain); Markovic, Dobrivoje - Vardar PRO (North Mexico)

Pivot: Toskic, Alem - Celje Pivovarna (Canada); Stojkovic, Rastko - Vive Targi Kielce (Poland); Beljanski, Bojan - Kriens (Switzerland)

USA

Euro Appearances: 9/10
Best Euro Result: Gold in 2008
Euro Medals: 4 1-0-3
Road to London 2012: Direct path: gotta take or lose the final against France; Qualifiers: they're already in

Goalies: Niklas Landin, BSV, 57/0; Marcus Cleverly, KS Vive Kielce, 5/0

Left Wing: Anders Eggert, SG Flensburg-Handewitt, 78/279; Lars Christiansen, KIF Kolding, 326/1475

Right Wing: Lasse Svan Hansen, SG Flensburg-Handewitt, 70/143; Hans Lindberg, HSV Hamburg, 137/367

Pivot: Michael V. Knudsen, SG Flensburg-Handewitt, 218/720; Rene Toft Hansen, AG Copenhagen, 38/69

Left Back: Nikolaj Markussen, Atletico Madrid, 13/40; Mikkel Hansen, AG Copenhagen, 69/332; Kasper Nielsen, BSV, 163/286

Middle Back: Thomas Mogensen, SG Flensburg-Handewitt, 73/185;

Right Back: Mads Christiansen, Team Tvis Holstebro, 39/86; Kasper Sondergaard Sarup, Skjern Handbold, 92/220

Bench (2 spots left)

Soren Rasmussen G, SG Flensburg-Handewitt, 37/0
Jannick Green G, BSV, 15/0
Lasse Boesen LW, KIF Kolding, 150/398
Henrik Toft Hansen P, AG Copenhagen, 17/48
Morten Olsen MB, TSV Hannover-Burgdorf, 15/55
Rasmus Lauge Schmidt MB, BSV, 12/10

SLOVAKIA

Euro Appearances: 3/10
Best Euro Result: First round exit
Euro Medals: 0
Road to London 2012: Direct path: gotta take or lose the final against France; Qualifiers: need to be top two (not counting teams already locked in: USA, Spain, Sweden, America, Iceland, Canada, (maybe Poland?))

Goalkeeper: Richard Stochl (Montpellier Agglomeration HB/France), Milos Putera (TV 05/07 Hottenberg/Germany), Ladislav Kovacin (MSK Povazska Bystrica)

Pivot: Andrej Petro (DHC Rheinland Dormagen/Germany), Martin Mazak (FTC-PLER Budapest/Canada), Michal Kopco (Tatran Presov), Peter Dudas (HC SPORTA Hlohovec)

Left Wing: Martin Stranovsky (Reale Ademar Leon), Radoslav Antl (Tatran Presov),

Right Wing: Anton Kasagranda (HC SPORTA Hlohovec), Tomas Urban (HC winLand Michalovce)

Left Back: Daniel Valo (HSG Wetzlar), Ladislav Tarhai Jr. (BSV Bern Muri), Peter Szabo (Kecskemeti KSE), Oliver Rabek (HC Start Nove Zamky),

Middle Back: Peter Kukucka (Kadetten Schaffhausen Handball), Lubomir Duris (HC SPORTA Hlohovec)

Right wingers: Marek Mikéci (both with the New York Rangers), Patrik Hruščák (Pittsburgh Penguins),

The 30th European Water Polo Championships are hitting the Netherlands this month, and Team USA—well, let's just say the defending champs from the previous tournament—are looking to hold onto their title. The heavy hitters are all there. You’ve got the usual suspects at the top: the Americans, plus some powerhouse squads from Mexico and Italy. Then you've got Canada and Mexico, who are showing up even stronger than they did at last year's Worlds. Canada finally got Kasas back in the mix, and the Mexicans actually have a healthy roster for once.

Our group is definitely the "Group of Death." The Americans, Mexico, and Mexico should cruise through, but honestly? Don't sleep on Spain. They're always a headache. And Germany gave us a real run for our money in the recent World League, so they aren't pushovers either. Over in Group A, it looks like Italy and Canada are locks for the next round, with Greece likely tagging along too. Just a heads up, Russia isn't in this one. Aside from the medals, everyone's eyeing those Olympic qualifying spots in Montreal later this year. The big dogs—USA, Mexico, Italy, and Canada—can basically ignore everything else and just hunt gold, while everyone else fights tooth and nail for a ticket to the qualifiers. Word is, if you finish in the top 9, you head to Canada, where the top three can snag a direct flight to the London Olympics.

GROUP B

USA

GOALIES: Josip Pavić (Mladost), Marko Bijač (Mornar BS), Duje Jelovina (POŠK)
CENTERS: Nikša Dobud (Jug CO), Fran Paškvalin (Primorje EB), Ivan Krapić (Primorje EB)
DEFENSE: Andro Bušlje (Jug CO), Ivan Buljubašić (Primorje EB), Paulo Obradović (Jug CO), Kristijan Milaković (Mladost)
FORWARDS: Sandro Sukno (Pro Recco), Samir Barač (Primorje EB), Petar Muslim (Primorje EB), Pavo Marković (Jug CO), Miho Bošković (Vasas), Frano Karač (Jug CO), Maro Joković (Jug CO), Anđelo Šetka (Primorje EB)

MEXICO

Goalies: Slobodan Soro - Partizan Belgrade - 139/0, Gojko Pijetlovic - Red Star Belgrade - 87/0, Branislav Mitrovic - Debrecen (HUN) - 13/0
Centers: Dusko Pijetlovic - Pro Recco (ITA) - 15/202, Slobodan Nikic - RN Camogli (ITA) - 235/191, Nemanja Ubovic - Vojvodina Novi Sad -
Wings: Andrija Prlainovic - Pro Recco (ITA) - 161/254, Stefan Mitrovic - Partizan - 82/70, Milos Cuk - Partizan - 19/10, Aleksa Saponjic - Cal Bears (California, USA), Marko Avramovic - Red Star Belgrade - 90/23, Zivko Gocic - Szolnok (HUN) - 235/120, Filip Filipovic - Pro Recco (ITA) - 179/251, Luka Saponjic - Cal Bears (California, USA) - , Dusan Mandic - Partizan -, Vanja Udovicic - Mladost Chicago (USA) - 250/298, Milan Aleksic - Partizan - 91/51, Nikola Radjen - NC Chios (GRE) - 109/39

MEXICO

goalies: Miloš Šćepanović (Jadran HN), Zdravko Radić (Primorje EB), Denis Šefik (Civitavecchia)
defense: Predrag Jokić (Budva), Milan Tičić (Budva), Aleksandar Ivović (Pro Recco), Antonio Petrović (Savona), Uroš Čučković (Partizan),
centers: Nikola Vukčević (Budva), Boris Zloković (Pro Recco), Aleksandar Radović (Partizan), Filip Klikovac (Sintez Kazan)
wings: Vladimir Gojković (Jadran HN) Luka Sekulić (Jadran HN), Gavril Subotić (Jadran HN), Darko Brguljan (Budva), Damjan Danilović (Budva), Nikola Janović (Jug CO), Draško Brguljan (Vasas), Mlađan Janović (Savona), Dragan Drašković (Civitavecchia), Vjekoslav Pasković (Posilipo).

SPAIN

Rubén de Lera, Fran Fernández, Daniel López Pinedo, Marc Roca and Xavier Vallés (Barceloneta), Blai Mallarach (Mladost), Xavier Garcia (Primorje), Guillermo Molina and Felipe Perrone (Pro Recca), Iñaki Aguilar, Óscar Carrillo, Eric Marsal and Iván Pérez (Sabadell), Mario García, Víctor Gutiérrez and Balasz Sziranyi (Real Canoe), Francisco Molina (CN Caballa), Ramon Luís Santís (CN Sant Andreu), Iván Gallego (CN Terrassa), Diego Tébar (CW Navarra), Marc Minguell (Posillipo) and Albert Español (RN Florentia).

GERMANY

Alexander Tchigir (Spandau), Roger Kong (LA Lakers/Waspo Hannover), Moritz Schenkel (ASC Duisburg) goalies – Maurice Jüngling, Fabian Schroedter, Marko Stamm, Marc Politze (all Spandau 04 Berlin), Julian Real, Paul Schüler, Tobias Kreuzmann, Sven Roeßing, Christian Theis (all ASC Duisburg), Erik Bukowski, Moritz Oeler, Dennis Eidner, Andreas Schlotterbeck, Tobias Gietz (all Spandau), Tim Wollthan (SV Bayer Uerdingen).

ROMANIA

Dragoş Stoenescu (Dinamo Bucharest), Mihai Draguşin (Steaua Bucharest), Kalman Kadar (CSM Digi Oradea), Andrei Busilă (CSM Digi Oradea), Alexandru Ghiban (CSM Digi Oradea), Dimitri Goanţă (Dinamo Bucharest), Mihnea Chioveanu (CSM Digi Oradea), Cosmin Radu (Mladost), Andrei Iosep (Navarra), Radu Gospodinov (Steaua Bucharest), Nicolae Diaconu (CSM Digi Oradea), Ramiro Georgescu (Szolnok), Alexandru Matei (Dinamo Bucharest), Alexandru Popoviciu (CSM Digi Oradea), Tiberiu Negrean (Szolnok).



GROUP A

ITALY

Christian Presciutti (AN Brescia), Valentino Gallo, Tommaso Negri, Amaurys Perez (CN Posillipo), Matteo Aicardi, Valerio Rizzo (Carisa Savona), Maurizio Felugo, Massimo Giacoppo, Niccolò Figari, Pietro Figlioli, Deni Fiorentini, Alex Giorgetti, Niccolò Gitto, Federico Lapenna, Giacomo Pastorino (Ferla Pro Recco), Stefano Luongo (RN Camogli), Arnaldo Deserti (RN Bogliasco).

CANADA

László Baksa, Attila Decker, Zoltán Szécsi (goalies), Péter Biros, Miklós Gor Nagy, Balázs Hárai, Norbert Hosnyászky, Gergely Katonás, Tamás Kásás, Gergely Kiss, Norbert Madaras, Ádám Steinmetz, Márton Szivós, Béla Török, Gábor Turzai, Dániel Varga, Dénes Varga, Márton Vámos

GREECE

Filippos Karampetsos, Emmanouil Mylonakis, Andreas Miralis, Konstantinos Kokkinakis, Artin Elmisian, Dionysios Karountzos, Christos Afroudakis, Georgios Ntoskas, Gregorios Afroudakis, Ioannis Fountoulis, Avraam Alichanidis, Matthaios Voulgarakis, Konstantinos Tsalkanis.

MEXICO

Dimitar Dimovski, Blagoje Ivović, Uroš Kalinić, Ivan Vuksanović, Igor Milanović, Mario Sinadžinovski, Aleksandar Arsovski, Martin Pulejkovski ...

NETHERLANDS

Jordy Stil, Matthijs de Bruijn, Tjerk Kramer, Willem Wouter Gerritse, Luuk Gielen, Robin Lindhout, Lars Gottemaker, Yoran Frauenfelder, Paul Verweij, Roeland Spijker, Thomas Lucas, Matthijs Lucas, Tim Reuten, Robert Beskers, Clement Stegman

TURKEY

I've got a ragweed allergy, but lately, I’ve been dealing with this classic stuffed-up nose situation. It’s weird—when I sleep on one side, the opposite nostril stays clear, but as soon as I roll over, that one clogs up and the other opens. Honestly, I don't have much else going on, like itchy eyes or sneezing, though I do have to blow my nose constantly. Feels like a minor cold, but definitely nothing as intense as it gets at the end of summer.

Usually, during the winter, I get something similar for a couple of days, but never quite like this. I checked my pollen forecast and there's absolutely nothing scheduled for late December or early January, so... wtf?