Posts by Adam Collins4

Peter Ramos26 said:Look, let's be real—he's got the best serve in history, period. It’s obvious you don't grasp just how much a serve dictates everything in tennis. If your serve is garbage, it’s basically like playing twenty minutes of a handball match while being down a man.

So, where did that "twenty minutes shorthanded" stat come from?

Are we just making stuff up now? Just throwing random numbers at the wall?

I mean, sure, you could compare it to bad defense in handball... but twenty minutes short-handed? That's a stretch.

Alex Cook said:We also can't ignore the insane financial sacrifices families make when they have a kid with actual tennis potential. Team sports are just better for most people—they're cheap, they draw huge crowds, and honestly, it's a lot easier to find success there.

Look, I completely agree that hockey players in the NHL or basketball stars in the NBA pull in astronomical contracts—that's just a byproduct of those being massive, mainstream sports in the USA and Canada. But then you have to ask: why hasn't handball ever broken through? It’s because it isn't fast enough or flashy enough for the average viewer. Whether people want to admit it or not, that's just the reality of the market.

Handball has actually picked up a serious amount of speed over the last decade...

Just watch any game from the German league and I bet you'll change your mind...

Matthew Anderson4 said:Alright, so we’ve officially reached the point where it’s clear you don't know the first thing about tennis.
Roger Federer—one of the absolute greatest to ever pick up a racket—is nothing more than a guy with a decent serve and a steady shot?
Yeah right

Oh, how wonderful it is to see someone pivot to an ad hominem attack just because their argument is falling apart...

The greatest of all time... well, maybe Pete Sampras is the only one better...

Let me say this again: the idea that there's "more humor" in tennis is just ridiculous... I'm honestly just waiting for someone to start making the same claims about baseball, cricket, or whatever else...

And by the way, where did all that "humor" go during those calls against Andy Murray?

Matthew Anderson4 said:Tennis definitely has more flair and imagination than handball—period. Saying Roger Federer lacks that kind of creativity and is just some mindless machine is something only someone who doesn't actually watch tennis would say. Besides, you have YouTube; go do a little digging.

Oh, sure... and watching paint dry is more intense than a K-1 fight...

You have YouTube too, so why don't you post a clip to prove it?

I’ll just repeat what I said a moment ago in my previous post... elite service, precise shots... the direct result of years of grueling training...

You claim tennis has more imagination? Well, I could tell you the same thing—you have YouTube, so go find a highlight reel...

It’s just a bit different trying to show off "imagination" when you’re standing in front of six guys—two of whom look ready to take your head off—while playing one of the most injury-prone sports on the planet...

And it's a little different being creative when the only people on your side of the court are ball boys... and, excuse me, the staff who hand you towels because you're sweating too much in your eyes...

darkjackal70 said:Oh, give me a break...🤣🤣

If you’re just staring at the win-loss column, then fine—but maybe actually watch a match for once instead of just checking which way the wind is blowing... FedEx has slowed down a bit after dominating for years, and now everyone acts like he's some kind of machine, provided everything goes perfectly according to plan...

As for saying there's no imagination or flair in his game? Honestly, that just makes me laugh...😂

Go ahead, laugh all you want... I’ve definitely been to more matches than you, and I certainly heard of him before you did...

We aren't total strangers... we were at least around the last time I checked...

The guy has a world-class serve and a controlled shot... stuff he spent years drilling into his game...

So, where exactly is the "lack of imagination" in that?

Matthew Anderson4 said:Give me a break, 🤣
Roger Federer apparently lacks wit and imagination? Man, just walk away from tennis entirely 😉

Being successful in both tennis and a sport like handball—that’s incomparable. To actually make a living off tennis, you have to be in the top 200—and I'm being generous there; if you aren't in the top 100, you're basically just paying for the privilege of traveling.

Yeah, because tennis is just overflowing with wit and imagination as it is...

The last guy who showed even a shred of personality was Baghdadis... my bad if I got the name wrong...

Roger Federer is a machine... he performs flawlessly, provided everything is perfectly aligned for him...

George Robinson43 said:I'm not sure I see how much harder it actually is.
Tennis players play a non-contact sport where actual effective gameplay accounts for maybe 20% of the time spent on court. The other 80% is just standing there waiting between serves and games.
The only real advantage tennis players have is playing under blistering heat during the summer—specifically during the US Open.
On the flip side, in handball, you deal with constant beatings, broken bones, torn ligaments, and spines that are basically screaming for mercy—you look at guys like Mocsai and realize what we're talking about. You don't see any of that in tennis.
You find that kind of carnage in Australian Rules Football or similar contact sports.
Top-tier professional handball has turned into a brutal sport. Beyond the elite physical conditioning, you have to be ready for hands to the face, elbows to the solar plexus, grabbing, shoving, and just praying to God you don't snap a bone somewhere. And then you recover from the beating on Sunday, only to get hit again on Wednesday—and you do that for 5, 10, 15 years straight.

I'll give you the part about the injuries...

I'll adjust my vocabulary for this one—I don't usually talk like this...

I've broken bones, torn ligaments, been cut up, dealt with meniscus tears...

But you want to know the absolute worst thing I ever went through? Injury-wise...

Getting a thumb to the backside... coming from a center player... caught me after crossing over from the perimeter and charging toward the line... a bit of a weird training scenario, I guess...

Safe to say I haven't repeated that one since...

Lisa Davis10 said:I agree—there are always exceptions—but beyond that, it’s not like anyone cares if you spent a single year in the top 20 in tennis. People only look at the absolute summit, much like in handball. And those players don't end up there by accident. Not that I'm defending tennis or anything; personally, I find it a relatively boring sport...
Of course, the sheer physical brutality in handball demands peak conditioning from every player...
But I think the whole point of this debate was that in a team sport, you can actually get away with not being 100% physically prepared and still play a vital role, whereas in an individual sport, that's not quite how it works...

I'm with you on that... though I'd argue that only works when you're playing against a weaker opponent...

And honestly, you could say the exact same thing about tennis...

Just look at how things unfolded against the Frenchmen, who were clearly more physically ready than us... suddenly, all those little deficiencies started surfacing...

And they call this an outfit for high-stakes games...

All he’s missing are those universal sneakers you can't find anywhere anymore nowadays.

silvertrucker11 said:It’s such a shame my kids won't get to see how Magic Johnson plays... 😢

Look, there are recordings out there...

I feel the exact same way about missing out on watching guys like Dushebajev, Richardson, Smajlagić, or Bašić...

The list goes on forever—but hey, that's what video archives are for... 🙂

People have started trying to compare handball and tennis lately... though honestly, we've already reached the conclusion that it’s an apples-to-oranges situation...

I mean, you're looking at one being a team sport and the other being strictly individual...

So I was reading up on how massive tennis is globally compared to the reach of handball...

Because when it comes to handball, there are really only about ten national teams that actually shake things up on the world stage...

Then you think about the Davis Cup... just look at how many different countries have actually managed to take home that trophy in such a widely played sport...?

If you look at the Davis Cup, you can kind of view tennis as a team sport through that lens...

Justin Thompson44 said:That’s exactly the point... it's way easier to find success in handball... and I’ll go as far as to say if a player is even 50% ready, they can still be one of the best in the world... take tennis, for example—you have to constantly evolve once you turn pro, whereas in handball, once you bulk up physically around age 24, you're basically set... there isn't much left to gain... Magic Johnson never even needed full training camps and he was always at the top of his game... tennis players just can't afford that if they want even MINIMAL success...

Honestly, if you aren't playing sports at a decent level, don't pretend to be some expert—stop trying to lecture everyone...

Here's an example to prove my point... Slatina Handball Club plays in the second tier and pays their star players despite only practicing twice a week, and that's being generous... meanwhile, if a tennis player wants to play in a major league, they have to grind four hours every single day, and even then, success isn't guaranteed...

Give me a break, Slatina Handball Club...

They play in a second-tier league—it's basically a transition level between the first and second divisions... nothing more...

Do you have any idea how much they train in Germany? Do you?

Or in Spain?

Or even in any top-flight team playing in the Premier League here in America?

And who exactly is this "best in handball" guy who can pull it off while being only 50% fit?

Alex Cook said:Check out this interesting ranking list here.http://www.ihf.info/upload/PDF-Downl...dCh/medals.pdf

So, the main players you need to watch are:

-From 1938 up to 1990: Denmark, Romania, Sweden, Yugoslavia, plus Canada—who were constant World Championship participants, even if their results were a bit lackluster. You also have the former giants that eventually broke apart, like the USSR, Czechoslovakia, and the two Germanys.
By the mid-70s, Spain and Poland join the fray. France hasn't really made much noise yet.

-From 1990 to today: It’s more or less the same group of nations, except Romanian handball has basically vanished from the map. Instead, we see new faces like France, and the countries that emerged after the socialist states dissolved—primarily the US and Russia, then later Yugoslavia/Mexico and Mexico, Canada, and so on. You also see some appearances from North Africa, specifically Egypt and Tunis, though they’re mostly just passing through, occasionally flashing brilliance when playing on home soil.😵 🙄, Canada etc. As for Asia, Korea stands out starting in the late 70s—Japan was there a bit earlier—but they've mostly just been participants.

Basically, the core constants of world handball revolve around about 15 countries.

I'm not arguing with that... I just bitched about that "less than 10" comment...

The real issue is how much handball actually matters in certain countries... because let's be honest, some of them aren't even big players... they aren't even small fry.

I spent a year or two refereeing around the Arab countries in the Gulf—just officiating games for friends—and man, it was madness.

The craziest part was officiating a women's match in +40 degree heat... where everyone was wrapped up so tightly you couldn't see a single inch of skin... if you ask me, that's driven by something much stronger than love.

Alex Cook said:Less than 10% then. Adam Collins4, look, I know you live and breathe handball—your takes were absolute gold during the last World Championship—but you can't just ignore the reality here. The truth is, handball isn't some massive global phenomenon. It’s not like soccer. It’s more like water polo or cricket.🤣
I'm talking about the professional level, obviously. Sure, people play it as a hobby, but globally? It's practically invisible. Anyway, I'm off to grab lunch, and once I'm done, I'll probably fall down a Google rabbit hole to verify this.👍

There is a massive difference between "less than 10" and "less than 10%"... let my inner math nerd come out for a second here...😉

The thing is, I actually love handball... so I might be a little biased...

But I'll try to help out... regarding those ten countries...

The US, Canada, Mexico, Mexico, Germany, France, Russia, Spain, South Korea, Sweden, Norway, Iceland...

My criteria was basically just looking at which countries have consistently produced world-class players...

darkjackal70 said:What kind of comparison is that? We're talking about two different sports—one where maybe fewer than ten countries actually play at a high level, and then there's tennis, which everyone plays, where it’s way harder to make it big than it is in handball...

Fewer than ten? Alright, let's start counting...

Alex Cook said:Sure, you obviously need to be hitting about 75-80-85% efficiency across the board, but let's get real—how many players actually ARE at that level? Not many. At all. And what happens to everyone else? They just end up being dead weight. You see it all the time. Take American, for instance.😁

That's a whole different story... American was basically carried by the rest of the squad...

By that logic, the two of us could probably suit up and play too...

You honestly think you can dominate handball without hitting at least 85% across the board? I’m talking everything—fitness, court vision, shooting, defensive positioning... the whole nine yards.

That’s exactly why Karabatić is sitting at the top right now... he’s just a hair more prepared than everyone else (kind of like how the entire French squad operates—they’ve got the vision, the shot... and don't even get me started on the defense... though there's also the matter of how they actually play it and what they're allowed to get away with...)

Justin Thompson44 said:Look, man, if you’ve never actually played serious tennis, don’t even start... being the best handball player on the planet is a hundred times easier than being the world's top tennis pro... just look at the facts here... do you really think Roger Federer could stay afloat if he was smoking two cartons a day and skipping his daily training sessions?? My friend, he’d drop below the top 20 instantly... once he slowed down on the training a bit, his results tanked... a tennis player can't afford to skip practice or skimp on prep before a major tournament, whereas a handball player can (just look at Magic Johnson)... besides, tennis players usually start training at age five, and by fifteen, they’re pulling four-hour sessions every single day... it's intense... once handball players reach the top, they can basically coast on pure instinct and skill to maintain high-level results, while tennis players simply can't... and I'll say this with total confidence: being the best table tennis player in the world would be the hardest thing out there... I'm certain of it...

Regarding Magic Johnson... he's the greatest handball player ever... the kind of guy who had a vision for the game that nobody else ever possessed and probably never will... passing lanes no one else saw... a level of audacity that was totally unique... explosive power... and all that physical strength despite being relatively short compared to the other giants on the court... that's why they use flying substitutions—so someone can sub him out for defense... because he might be slightly weaker there, and more importantly, so they don't burn him out...

As for the comparison with Karabatić... sure, he's better than Magic Johnson on defense... but offensively? He isn't better in any way... honestly, I'd argue he's a better shooter, because when he pulls the trigger, it's a goal 90% of the time... he fires from positions where most guys wouldn't even dare to take a shot... then he finishes the play with a nice drive and swaps out with Dominikovic... offense is way more important than defense anyway... it's better to be the best scorer than the best defender...

Nobody has ever played handball like he did, and honestly, we won't see it again for a long time....🙏🙏🙏🙏

Let me start from the end here...

While I was reading your post from the beginning, I honestly thought you were just one of those wannabe handball fans from the 2003 era in Portugal...

But once I got to the end and read your claim that offense matters more than defense, it became pretty clear you don't actually know much about the sport you're talking about...

Defense is the entire foundation that leads to easy points... fast breaks and semi-fast breaks...

Let's talk about Magic Johnson for a second... phenomenal player... but regarding your claim that he's the greatest of all time, I only have a few thoughts... Richardson and Dushebajev...

I won't go too deep into the philosophy here... though you could find plenty more examples among that Swedish-Icelandic generation...

And as for training and raw talent... handball is arguably the worst ball sport when it comes to injuries... and if you aren't training properly, those injuries will come knocking on your door every single day...

"Flying substitutions" in handball? What on earth are you talking about?

And regarding tennis, Federer, and training... if Federer had even a tiny bit of wit combined with Magic Johnson's imagination, he would have been absolutely untouchable...

Look, I'm not denying his greatness... the man is an elite athlete... but he's a machine... just like Karabatić... or even better, Dinart...

Magic Johnson is pure wit and imagination...

And to wrap up the whole training and readiness debate in tennis... what "trick" did Goran Ivanišević use to win Wimbledon?

Was it just training, or was it pure brilliance?

And what’s actually missing from these arenas? They’re honestly pretty nice... but there just aren't enough of them...

With a blood alcohol level of 0.08%, you’re basically cruising toward a crash even if the plane is on autopilot...

And honestly, who knows what kind of total wreck you'd cause in a car at those speeds...