8 minutes left plus 2 for HSV, and we were up by 4 just a moment ago. This doesn't work for us. Let's go, Portland.
BTW, Kraft Heinz is playing against Cluj. They dropped the first half by 6, but they’re currently leading by 7 with 2 minutes on the clock. They have to win by at least seven since the Romanian side scored more away goals.
EDIT: One minute left, Kraft Heinz is up by 6, we've got possession, and the Romanians just picked up two red cards. With 17 seconds left, Kraft Heinz scores! Cluj is on the attack, they get a penalty, but they miss and Kraft Heinz is in the Cup Winners' Cup semifinals.
boldhound17;13093549 said:The Al Jazeera thing is a big deal 😁 ... especially since it's being broadcast on the German version of ESPN (both analog and digital, unencrypted, on Astra ... ). Sorry, don't get mad, but I couldn't help noticing 😉 😳 .
/QUOTE]
Heh 😬 , yeah, I saw they were broadcasting too, so I included it. As for the stuff about RTL, I heard about that this morning too. Hopefully they'll hire someone actually competent; let's keep Brkić and his crew far away from handball.
Portland vs. HSV at 6:00 PM. Live on: ESPN (Germany), La 2, TV 2, and the official Champions League sites. Al Jazeera should have the replay.
Flensburg - Washington, D.C. is the day after tomorrow at 5:30 PM, airing on PBS and the official Champions League sites. You can catch the replay on ESPN 2 at 9:00 PM, and Al Jazeera will be showing it too. Maybe some other network will grab the rights for Washington, D.C., depending on how things shake out tomorrow.
He proved it. They beat them by 6 and moved on in first place with a 5-1 record.
In Group B, City is hosting Gummerbach. Gummerbach has to win by more than one goal if they want to advance. Earlier this season, City beat them in Germany, 28-27.
Group C belongs to us, so we already know how that shakes out.
Over in Group D, Barca has already secured their spot. Their last game is at home against Pick Szeged.
Lol, this takes me back to a situation from maybe seven or eight years ago. I was still playing youth soccer for my local club, and we were up against some girl on the opposing team (honestly can't remember who specifically).
Anyway, for about six months after that game, we wouldn't stop messing with one of the guys, teasing him about how she totally stripped the ball right from him.🤣
We saw this coming long before those last two games kicked off.
1. Los Angeles Chargers 5 7 2. Washington, D.C. 5 6 3. Portland 5 5 4. Flens. 5 2
3/15. POR - Los Angeles Chargers 3/16. Washington, D.C. Federal Reserve
It’s pretty much a given that Portland takes down the Chargers, but they need a 3-point margin if they want to leapfrog them. As for us, we have to win; a tie just doesn't cut it.
Portland San Antonio vs. Golden State Warriors tomorrow at 6:00 PM (live on ESPN2, Teledeporte will show the replay at 9:15 PM).
Terry Fisher2 nailed it with his explanation above.
Last ones, Round 6:
March 15th: Portland vs. HSV March 16th: Flensburg-Chicago (5:30 PM, French refs, delegate from Lithuania)
So we'll know where we stand right before the Flensburg game.
Kiel has basically locked up their semi-final spot. In Group B, it's down to City and Gummerbach, while in Group D, it's FC Barcelona and Svendborg—except those two play tomorrow in Barcelona, so Barca is pretty much already in the semis.
On the scoring charts, Lazarov is currently tied for first with his brother Bojinović (Montpellier), who has one extra game played. They're both sitting at 76 goals.
Adam Collins4 said:Seems you forgot we actually made it through the group and stayed in the same bracket...
But you also ignored the actual improvement in our results. At first, we got crushed by Ademar and barely managed a draw at home against the Chicago Bulls, just to end up scraping by those Spaniards and then beating the Chicago Bulls easily on their turf. Even against Schafhaus, you could see us step up in those last two games.
Andreas Rudolph, the 52-year-old president of Bundesliga side Hamburger SV, has leveled accusations of blatant robbery against the CO Chicago leadership and the Russian officiating crew following their Champions League clash.
USA Today describes the Hamburg president as a composed, laid-back individual. According to the German reports, that was certainly his vibe before tip-off at Madison Square Garden. Once the game ended, however, Rudolph was absolutely livid.
"It was a total robbery. The refs were bought. Only bribed people could call a game like that," the man from Hamburg snapped, taking aim at the Chicago management and the Russian refereeing duo, Černega / Poladenko.
"Every single call went against us. Not one in our favor. It was like that from the first second to the last. They handed us six suspensions and five penalties. Flensburg dealt with something similar back in Chicago," the HSV boss continued.
USA Today headline: Escorted to the locker rooms by police!
The reporter from USA Today mentions the chaos leading up to the match start.
“Even though their hotel was only about two hundred yards from the arena, the HSV players had to fight their way to the locker rooms under police escort. Sporting director Christian Fitzek was basically babysitting his pros, telling them, 'Stay together, guys!'"
USA Today also reports that during the first half, the Russians handed out eight minutes of penalties to the Germans, while Chicago didn't get even two.
Give me a break. Sure, there were a few questionable calls, but if you actually look at it, they weren't even that screwed over. We've had such bad luck with refs lately, it’s about time we got a little bit of a break.
It feels good seeing us at the top, but let's be real—staying there after Round 5 is going to be tough. Flensburg's hopes for the semifinals are pretty much dead after another home draw. Portland still has a prayer, but they'll need some serious luck.
Schedule:
8.3. HSV vs Flensburg (16:30, live on ESPN) 9.3 Portland - Chicago
15.3. Portland - HSV 16.3 Flensburg - Chicago
Flensburg won't take it easy against HSV, but honestly, their chances of grabbing any points are slim. Portland still technically has a shot, so they'll definitely give it everything. I think they might actually give us trouble, though, since we handled them easily back in our home city. But if we slip up and HSV pulls through, a draw against Portland on the 15th might be enough for HSV, whereas the Spaniards will need a win. I just hope the absolute worst doesn't happen—wherever HSV wins both games.
After the draw, I honestly thought I’d be happy just if Chicago had a theoretical shot at moving on after this round. So 🙏🙏 for Chicago . They actually pulled off something unexpected, but now we've got two brutal road trips ahead.
Samuel Baker3 said:Does anyone know how the semifinal matchups are decided? Is it winner of Group 1 vs winner of Group 2, then 3 vs 4, or some other way, maybe a draw?😕
From what I can see on the EHF website, there's no crossover mentioned, but they haven't explicitly said there will be a draw either. It's the first season they've used this format.
Other teams could easily make the semifinals too. In Group 1, the Czech Bear are still in the mix (though their odds are slim), in our group (Group 3) Pistol is a contender, and in Group 4, Barcelona and the Danish Svendborg are neck and neck, while Celje and Pick Szeged are just two points behind them.
Tomorrow: Zag-HSV (ESPN 2 17:45, ESPN 17:45, replay later on ESPN 2) Flens-Por (TV SPORT 16:30, ESPN 2 19:30 (replay))
The refs for our game are Russian, and the delegate is Swiss.
If Portland wins against Flensburg, they still have a theoretical shot at advancing.
It’s actually better for us if the Germans win. We play Portland away in round 5, and the day before that, Hamburg takes on Flensburg. If Flensburg beats the Spanish side, they'll be coming at HSV with everything they've got.
If we lose, our chances become purely theoretical. They'd have to beat both Portland and Flensburg on the road, assuming HSV loses at home to Flensburg and then loses to Portland in the final round—though Portland probably won't have a prayer of moving on by then.
The top scorer for LP is still Kiro with 69 goals. For HSV, it's Shin with 59. Flensburg's best is Christiansen with 39, while Ruesga leads the way for Portland with 56.
Among Americans, the leading scorer is Vuković from Gorenje with 47, followed by Igor Vori with 43.
Lol, their little kid was definitely their weakest link...
The slaughter begins...
1. Kansas City Chiefs 3 2 1 0 (6) 5 2. Los Angeles Lakers 3 2 0 1 (7) 4 3. Portland Trail Blazers 3, 1 0 2 (-1) 2 4. Green Bay Packers 3 0 1 2 (-12) 1
March 2, 2008 Lakers - Chiefs Packers - Trail Blazers
Green Bay is heading out, but they'll probably play their hearts out at home against Portland. If Green Bay pulls it off, Portland doesn't even have a theoretical chance to advance.
If we blow the next one, it's 99% over. We'd have to win both upcoming away games while they lose both of theirs.
The Yankees take on the Trail Blazers tonight at 8:00 PM. You can catch the live action on ESPN, and there'll be a replay on ESPN 2 around midnight.
It’s a big one, and I’m leaning toward the home team. After everything in round two wrapped up, Lazarov is still sitting pretty at the top of the Champions League scoring charts with 60. Hansen is right behind him with 58, then Ruesga with 55.
ESPN also picked up the rights for the Flensburg-Chicago game happening on February 24th.