Posts by Samuel Baker3

Daniel Cooper40 said:From what I can gather looking at the EHF website, there isn't any mention of a crossover, yet they haven't explicitly stated whether there will be a draw either.
It’s actually the first season we're seeing this specific format in action.

There are plenty of other clubs still in the running for the semifinals too. In Group One, the Czech Bear are still technically in the hunt, though their chances seem pretty slim; meanwhile, in our Group 3, Pistol is still fighting for a spot, and over in Group 4, you have Barcelona and the Danish side Svendborg tied up, with Celje from Canada and Pick Szeged from Canada sitting just two points behind them.

The Czech Bear actually lost both of their matches against Kiel, and since they still have to travel to face Ademar Leon, I suspect that group won't be decided until the final round when Kiel meets Ademar Leon—though if I had to bet, I'd give Kiel a massive advantage thanks to playing on their home court.

Hamburg should be able to settle the question of who takes first place in their group today.

Barcelona still has two home games left against Svendborg and Pick Szeged, so they probably shouldn't run into much trouble securing that top spot.

If teams end up tied in the standings, does the tiebreaker go to head-to-head results or is it based on overall goal difference?😕, because I noticed the EHF tables seem to emphasize the goal difference prominently.

If you ask me, we’re probably looking at a showdown between Spanish and German clubs for the final again; last year, the semifinalists were Portland, Flensburg, Kiel, and Ciudad Real, but this year I’m predicting it'll be Barcelona, Ciudad Real, Kiel, and Hamburg

Does anyone happen to know how the semifinal matchups are actually decided? Is it set up so the winner of Group 1 faces the winner of Group 2, with Group 3 taking on Group 4, or does it work differently, maybe through some kind of random draw? 😕

frozentiger6 said:I can't speak to what the Pistol front office is thinking, but it seems pretty clear that Blaž isn't exactly itching to move to Washington, D.C. If you remember those old stories involving Metkovica—the bans, the friction between Gobac-Lackovic and the establishment—you’d understand why he might be hesitant.

At the very least, I'd say the desire just isn't there, though I won't go so far as to say it hasn't crossed his mind.

On the flip side, he's a massive fan of Barcelona, and they are reportedly eager to bring him on board. It looks like a nearly certain deal; in fact, a German commentator mentioned last night that the transfer is basically already a done deal.

Then again, I highly doubt Balic has much interest in playing for the Pistol either, especially when you consider how Ivano practically boycotted the national team back in the day because of how the central authorities treated Metkovica, which was Balicev's club at the time.

To put it simply, the former players from Metkovica hold a pretty low opinion of Gopac and his state-backed project known as the Pistol.

Well, both Caleb and Jerkovic were part of that Metkovica era too, and if you look at where they ended up, it seems like once the money starts flowing, everyone tends to forget the past, doesn't it?😉
The only point I really agree with is that we probably won't see Lackovic in Washington anytime soon; maybe he'll show up at the very end of his career, just like a total afterthought.

Casey Martinez6 said:So, does anyone happen to know how much tickets for the game are going for?

around $83 😁

I wonder if anyone else feels like we’re just scratching the surface when it comes to how much potential this squad actually holds? It seems like every time we think we've seen the ceiling, there's some new development that makes you rethink everything about our trajectory. Does it ever feel like the momentum is building more quietly than people realize, or am I just being overly optimistic about where we're headed? Daniel Cooper40 says:
Didn't Goblin announce that they were setting aside about five million dollars for next season's budget?😁

So, according to the Germans, they're sitting on about 4.5 million dollars now, aren't they?

I was really hoping the Green Bay game would go their way just so there wouldn't be such an insane rush on the Kansas City Chiefs, but I guess not, so now we're looking at another absolute frenzy to grab tickets 🙄

It honestly feels like Chicago is playing at a much higher level than Washington, D.C., doesn't it? Wouldn't it be more fair if the matchup for the semifinals was decided between them and Bayern Munich instead?

Susan Barrett62 said:Does anyone happen to know when tickets go on sale for the Chicago-New York game this coming Sunday, February 24th?
If anyone has any info, could you please let me know? I actually missed out on getting a ticket last time!
Thanks so much

They usually go on sale about two days before the game, which was the case for the San Antonio Spurs matchup too.
Since the game is this Sunday, sales should start around five o'clock.

boldhound17 said:San Antonio Spurs - Chicago 30-22

Chicago actually got off to a decent start, even pulling ahead 4-2 early on, but by the 15-minute mark, the Spurs had already flipped the script and taken a 4-point lead. They ended up walking away with a solid 8-point win, which pretty much spells the end of the road for Chicago if they want to advance. To be honest, I wasn't glued to the screen for too much of it since Ančić was playing at the same time 🙂.
If I remember the rules correctly, only the top team from the group moves on—no quarterfinals this year, just straight to the semifinals—but please feel free to set me straight if I've got that wrong 😕
.

At this point, Chicago would need to win every single remaining game to stay alive. They still have two matchups against the Chicago Bulls, where they've already secured 4 points before the games even started, plus a home game against the San Antonio Spurs and an away game against New York City
.
The Bulls have already lost to them once this season during their domestic league play, but I suspect everything really hinges on that New York City vs. San Antonio Spurs matchup; if New York pulls it off, wouldn't that pretty much put them halfway to the semifinals?

I honestly think Portland is in the toughest spot right now; after that performance against the Los Angeles Lakers, I don't think anyone is going to take them lightly anymore, and I’m genuinely worried we might see this kind of struggle in every single game until the season ends.

rapidbison42 said:this could easily go down to -15.

If about 90% of the second half hadn't been played by the second unit, wouldn't it have been even more than that?

It honestly feels like New York City is just on another level compared to Washington, D.C. right now; I don't think anyone could argue that the officiating was the issue here, because New York City plays such a deep, fast, and aggressive style of defense that Washington, D.C. just isn't equipped to handle, wouldn't you agree?

swiftbison2 said:Give me a break, there weren't any extra tickets available at all.

If there were empty seats left in the arena, you really can't blame anyone for having sold too many tickets, can you? It seems more like we should just find out who actually gave the police the order to stop letting people inside. Was it some official from the police department, the security firm, or maybe someone over at the THL management? Shouldn't we be looking for whoever made that call and holding them accountable?

mellowgardener20 said:I’m not even going to get into talking about those SWAT teams and the police officers I actually respected until yesterday!

Why are people calling them scum? Honestly, I find it hard to wrap my head around how anyone could be so shortsighted as to blame them for what happened with the crowd staying outside. Do people really think those folks just decided to stay out there for some kind of joke? They were simply doing the job they were ordered to do by someone higher up, and if they wanted to keep their paychecks, they had to follow orders. It seems a bit silly to see people picking fights with them over it, don't you think?

steelbison14 said:I was actually at the game, and honestly, it was such a blast! Pistonball played out of their minds!!
And the halftime entertainment was, I think,those models in swimsuits at the intermission🙄🙄
Let's go Pistonball!!!

If we're being honest, that highlighted part was really the only reason to show up, wasn't it?

Steven Johnson96 said:At least a thousand people were left standing outside the arena with tickets already in hand. First, the security teams just passively pushed them toward the sports plaza, which only led to total chaos about 15 minutes later when around 60 of the most aggressive fans—about 80% of whom were actually minors—started throwing rocks at the guards before being chased through the nearby side streets.

It’s honestly such a shame that they sold that many tickets in the first place...

Reading this today, I still find it hard to believe; even a friend of mine mentioned she ended up stuck outside. I managed to get inside about 50 minutes before tip-off, seemingly among the last ones in, even though there was still room left in the arena. I actually had to use one of the empty seats just to hold my jacket on 😁, and if you look closely at the game footage, you can see those scattered empty seats tucked away in the corners of the arena

Looking at this San Antonio roster, I can't help but notice they're operating without Hvidt now 😢
. Honestly, aside from Balić and Jorgensen, they don't really have anyone left who stood out during the recent European Championships, so isn't it any surprise they've slipped down to third place in the Spanish league?

Mark Ruiz8 said:I'm thinking about finally making the trip down to the arena to catch our guys playing live, especially since we have a legend like Lionel Messi there who truly deserves a standing ovation for giving his absolute all for the national team.

Got my ticket 🙏, so after wanting this for such a long time, I'll finally get to experience a high-level handball game in person.

Chris Lopez59 said:yeah, Karabatic took it...
he picked up quite a few assists toward the end and certainly put up some goals, though he definitely earned those points through his own hustle. If you look at why he actually deserved that MVP, it was really about his impact on defense, which was top-tier. But when you consider everything involving Ivano Balić, there’s just no comparison... Ivano Balić decided more games than anyone else, whereas I don't see Karabatic deciding matches; he's just one part of the engine—a vital one, sure—in that French system.

It just goes to show that my take on who the most complete player is today remains pretty much unchanged.😁

Nathan Kern9 said:Ivano Balić is certainly incredible—his ball control and court vision are on another level—but is he truly in the same stratosphere as someone like Ole Einar Bjoerndalen or Roger Federer?😲😠

You mention how Balić comes from a "niche" sport played seriously by maybe ten countries,

but just how many nations actually take Biathlon as seriously as they do?🙄

And don't even get me started on Federer, or on a sport like Tennis, which tends to be a bit more of a privilege for wealthier social classes, wouldn't you agree?

It feels a bit misplaced to compare athletes from completely different disciplines, and honestly, isn't it also a stretch to compare athletes within the same sport if there is a gap of more than ten years between their eras?