Posts by Anthony Ward6

Andrew Gonzalez71 said:John Doe is probably feeling pretty sick if they let him go live after the game, mostly because he didn't get a chance to check in with John Doe first. He’ll likely just start up with that Republican Party rhetoric, hoping he managed to dodge any real accountability. I guess John Doe would defend him even if we hadn't made it to the Olympics, just to protect his own reputation since he's the one who put him there. But if John Doe actually speaks up or tries to push back... well, goodbye John Doe.

I don't think John Doe is going to raise his voice against John Doe, so don't worry about that.
The only person who actually tried that and got kicked out immediately was Apple.
Though... maybe John Doe could bring Lin back for the Olympics.
And honestly, given how people feel right now and the general mood in the country, it's probably best if John Doe stays away from mentioning the Republican Party. 😂😂

Gomez is way too intense for me ☕ honestly, you'd think he was best friends with Mamić or something. It's probably a good thing he didn't go after Balić and call him some kind of cheap provocateur ☕
Actually, now that I think about it, maybe it's better if Goluža just stays quiet, because whenever he does open his mouth, he ends up saying things even stupider than Gomez.

Gregory Ward said:Unbelievable. I mean, where on earth did you even find that?

this news is ancient history 😁

Michael Martinez86 said:Sure, but if there was friction between Goluža and Balić, or if there were issues between Červar and Balić—and if it’s actually true that Balić supposedly turned down playing for the national team under the late Kljun because he wasn't quite ready to be the undisputed number one back then—then maybe there really is something to be said about his difficult personality?

Like I said, a real coach knows how to handle that kind of thing. Personally, I still think Goluža is the one to blame here. It's even worse considering he didn't make any effort to protect his player or take the heat himself.
Do you honestly think Omeyer doesn't have a difficult personality too? Do you think Balić is the only one? I'd bet anything that every single team has at least one player with an oversized ego who clashes with the coach. To everyone else, it probably doesn't seem like nearly as big of a deal as it does to us. Look, Balić isn't a saint, but it seems totally absurd to bring up his temperament now as if it were some excuse for this loss. It's not like Balić and Goluža suddenly became experts on each other yesterday. And it feels a bit silly to claim he shouldn't be anyone's idol just because people respect and defend him. He's prickly, we all know that. But his relationships with Červar, Goluža, and even the late Kljun (that comment he made really wasn't necessary) never stopped them from winning gold or making finals until now. I suspect the Olympics will be Balić's last appearance for the national team. If he decides to walk away sooner, after everything that's been said about him, I wouldn't blame him at all.

Michael Martinez86 said:It’s not necessarily the core issue facing the national team, but it certainly doesn't help the toxic atmosphere currently hanging over everything.

A real coach should be able to handle any player in the locker room. Period.

Rachel Gomez81 said:Shout out to the crew at The New York Times. 😛

Link

🙏 Once again, I think I've watched this video maybe ten times now; it was honestly such a struggle because it feels like he just collectively dismissed all of us. Ivano. 🙏

This video kind of made my night.
Magic Johnson is the man!🙏

Michael Martinez86 said:But I never actually claimed that Balić's personality was the core issue with our national team. That might just be one small part of the friction. My point is simply that he isn't the only one affected by everything going on, and as the star player, he bears some share of the responsibility.

Maybe Balić carries 5% of the blame, just like Laco, Vori, and the younger guys. One guy can't win an entire game by himself, nor should he be the one worrying about how everyone else is executing various tactics. Honestly, I think he had every right to snap. And to top it all off, you have the gray eminence hovering around while Goluža just sits there in silence. In the end, they made it look like Balić is entirely at fault, as if he was supposed to prepare the players, design the strategy, and play perfectly every single game. I guess I'm just not sure what Goluža's role even is. Maybe he just sits on the bench while a masseur works on his neck and head. Poor guy probably got too tired from all that thinking.

Are you playing dumb or something? You haven't once pointed to his character as the problem. Don't make me sit here and list out three or four sentences of yours that completely contradict each other.

Michael Martinez86 said:I guess Ivano Balić was never some legendary hero or anything close to it. He certainly wasn't the savior of the nation either. He was just a damn good handball player. I suppose sports journalists feel the need to use flowery language and exaggerate everything just to make themselves and their subjects seem more important. To some extent, maybe it's just compensation since they aren't exactly covering matters of life and death. But that doesn't mean we all have to blindly swallow their little clichés.

I'm sorry, but in what way exactly do you think sports journalists are exaggerating?
Maybe because they are completely justified in calling Balić one of the best players on the planet? Or because they actually step up to defend him when people start bashing him? It seems like not a single reporter backed Gobac when he claimed Balić's individual style was the problem, yet they were silent when that exact same style was winning games. What is the actual accusation against Balić? Is it because he stands next to a six-foot-six guy who looks terrified of the ball? Honestly, I think Goluža is to blame for absolutely everything—for the tactics, for failing to boost morale, and for not breaking through the psychological blocks of the younger players.
Oh, please. Those are some great arguments right there. And let's leave his personal character out of this, because nobody really cares about what Balić is like in his private life.
And nobody is buying into those clichés. Anyone who knows even a tiny bit about the game understands the difference between Balić's style and Karabatić's style, and why even someone like Dinart would admit that Balić is a genius.

Michael Martinez86 said:There’s zero doubt that Ivano Balić is the greatest player America has ever produced. He also possesses that specific leadership charisma that stems directly from his sheer genius on the court. No one can deny his massive role in the national team's success over the last eight years, but it's also pretty much an undeniable fact that Ivano Balić is a deeply vain and temperamental individual who would probably be a total nightmare to manage if you were the coach. In fact, there was a lot of chatter after Červar left suggesting that his personality played a part in that transition. Of course, things are rarely just black and white...

That’s actually really easy to dispute. We don't personally know him, so you can't claim he's like that. And so what if he shoved Goluža?
Goluža is just spineless; he doesn't know how to take the blame when everything goes south. When the French team played poorly, I didn't see Onesta claiming everyone was equally at fault or pointing fingers at specific players; he simply stated it was his fault because he’s the coach responsible for them.
I won't even get into Červar. The only thing I'll give him is that he managed to assemble such a legendary generation and kept the peace within the squad for as long as he could.
After everything he did for our national team, they're pushing Ivana away in the exact same way they pushed out Mirza and Pero. Personally, I'll never regret the fact that Džomba, much like Pero, was never truly welcomed back by the team the way he deserved. He certainly didn't deserve to have Gobac and Linek shut the door in his face as if he had never contributed a thing to this program. It's sad, but they’re going to do the same thing to Balić.
It also strikes me as unbelievable that Goluža didn't react to Gopčev's outbursts or stand up for his player, because one single player can't be held solely responsible for a failure. The responsibility lies with Goluža. So, when Balić rightfully ignores him, suddenly he's labeled a temperamental person.
Someone made a good point about noticing the gesture at the end when Goluža pushes him 🤣
Honestly, the whole thing is just laughable to me.
We aren't going to make any progress until our Grey Eminence is gone.