Starting an entirely new LLC just for that seems a bit overkill, honestly, though I can see how expanding what you’re already offering through your current business makes total sense. Don't forget that if you go the online store route, you'll have to factor in all those shipping costs too.
I really hope the whole Cement Works situation is finally a closed chapter, especially since he’s gone on record calling himself a total washout. Honestly, he seems to be at his absolute lowest point mentally right now; he just can't hold his own on the field anymore, and he's past the age where you can just play through it on pure instinct. It is what it is. I mean, look, he clearly possesses some genuine talent—otherwise, there's no way he would have ever suited up for a top-tier club like that—but man, his time with the national team is clearly over, and even he knows it. He really should have been looking into getting some mental coaching or working on his headspace five or six years ago, rather than trying to fix everything today when the damage is already done.
The betting lines have the Americans at 1.80 and the Norwegians at 2.40. I honestly can't wrap my head around the logic there; those Norwegians have been absolutely dominating both us and the French lately.
dustypanther6 said:Who exactly do you think didn't give their all? Look, there's a massive difference between individual players having a bad night or just being outclassed, and actually lacking effort. I wouldn't call it nonchalance; if anything, I’d say they were overextending themselves too much in certain moments, trying to force plays that just weren't there.
The real danger here is that if we manage to scrape by and qualify for the tournament—which will likely be at least 4th place—everyone might try to sweep the recent failures under the rug. This specific result doesn't reflect our actual level, much like how things looked back when we finished 7th despite only having one loss. If the French had managed to beat Norway, we'd be sitting here looking like total pushovers against Denmark right now, and nobody would be celebrating this as a successful championship run.
neonviper8 said:you're talking total nonsense digging up arguments from thin air instead of just accepting what's staring you right in the face...
I'd suggest looking up the concept of "Occam's razor" on Google
genetic predisposition🤦
Having spent plenty of time involved in sports myself, I've seen countless instances where someone who was just a sluggish, out-of-shape mess managed to train themselves up to look like Apollo, yet they remained just as dim-witted as before. At the end of the day, physical conditioning really is the least of your concerns.
Honestly, we could really use a solid psychologist on the staff. I’m being dead serious here—it seems like every single tournament, we end up choking right when the pressure hits its peak during those critical matchups. If our game had been scheduled at the same time as the Fra-Nor matchup, we probably would have choked against the Polk team, too. At the end of the day, the reality is that our greatest sporting achievements always happened when we had true motivators leading the way, like Lin and Chico.
Dennis Doyle3 said:Honestly, I’d really love to hear a coherent explanation as to why Alilović was given the start. It’s one thing if we’re talking about Omeyer or Šterbik—fine, or even Stanić or Szmal—where you could just say they were having an off day and hope things turn around today. But with Mirko Alilović, it feels like he’s always having an off day (especially when we're facing teams like North Mexico and similar). In about 90% of the high-stakes games, Mirko Alilović plays exactly how he played today. I just can't wrap my head around the decision to put him in the net from the very first minute.
I’m convinced the whole team starts feeling that tension in their muscles the moment they see him out there in the first frame, because they know deep down there isn't a damn chance he's making a save.
Honestly, if anyone had predicted we’d be playing in the semifinals before this tournament even started, everyone would have called them crazy. I’m actually pretty happy with how things turned out, and I’m feeling optimistic about the new guys coming into the fold. If I have one gripe, though, it’s seeing Cementar standing in the net and Kopljar holding down the captaincy. A lot of things just didn't line up for us this time around, but let's be real—we didn't exactly have a championship-caliber roster ready to go for the finals. It’s a shame, really, because when we finally do get our full, top-tier squad back together, we all know there's going to be some team out there ready to absolutely demolish us for the 48th time in a row.
Maybe we should just tell the folks at the concrete plant that they absolutely smoked us, so we don't end up making excuses about how it was a close call by just a hair.
Move those guys out of the paint so we can actually break them down; what we really need right now is some solid defense, rather than waiting until we're already trailing by a dozen points.🙂
Even if we aren't looking at a massive win from the cement plant, there's still a real shot at pulling this off if about half of those "underperformers" actually step up and play their game, which honestly wouldn't be surprising given how things are looking
Aaron Gray said:I took a little dive into the stats for their goalkeepers during those high-stakes games—specifically against Denmark, Germany, and Sweden.
The standout performance was definitely against Denmark. Šterbik managed to pull off 21 saves, which works out to about 45%.
Against Germany, they were at 13/35, or roughly 35%.
When they faced Sweden, Perez had to step up because Šterbik was sidelined with an injury. That ended up being 15/37, or 41%.
My takeaway here is pretty simple—if we want to stay competitive in these matches, we really need our goalkeepers hitting that 30-35% mark.
In that case, we might just have to lock the guys from the cement plant in the locker room.
If we just keep the guy on the bench, everything will turn out fine. Honestly, Štrlek is playing out of his mind right now, and Marić is looking sharp too. We could really benefit from giving Duvnjak more room to breathe on the court. Plus, after that performance yesterday, Šebetić is absolutely brimming with confidence. Karačić seems to have things under control, if Chokić can just find his rhythm and drop a few shots, and Zlajo? Well, he’s never really let us down when it counts. I truly believe the guys won't let us down, provided that the coach stays sidelined.
Paul Jones7 said:They have an incredible pipeline of talent, honestly offering a much deeper pool than we do. It might be quite a shock for them when Omeyer finally moves on, especially since replacing him will feel like night and day.
Around here, people don't quite grasp what makes the French system tick. Now, I’m just a guy who knows a little bit about soccer, but to us, they seem like scientists. The reason the French national team always looks physically superior isn't because they’re naturally "tougher" guys; it’s because they have elite specialists and actual science backing them up, fully integrated into their physical training. I haven't heard much about this level of detail in handball specifically, but from what I know, the French really understand the nuances of conditioning and employ plenty of experts. For them, things like constant monitoring and customized training programs based on specific biometric data are just standard practice.
When you actually have those kinds of experts in your corner, players can sustain their peak performance for a much longer period and stay at their absolute best well into their later years.
They also have a genuine culture of athletic living. Sure, they’ll probably grab some drinks now—that’s expected after winning gold—but I’m talking about the daily habits, like smoking or constantly drinking beer. That’s why someone like Balić struggled toward the end; despite having enough pure talent and presence to still be a mainstay on the national team, he couldn't quite keep up. It's the same reason you don't see Čupić in the big games lately; he gets hampered by injuries, and then you see the backup goalkeeper having to bail him out or shots flying wide of the net.
Honestly, I’m glad we lost to the Poles. They always seem to be hovering right there on the edge, just a step away from being the main favorites for a medal. Goluža can talk all he wants about "superior forces" or "just having an off day" with those spikes, but let's be real. Just imagine if we had been taken out by a team like the US today. It was a squad made of leftovers, really, but they had a world-class coach and clearly possessed incredible team chemistry. And to provide that extra bit of motivation in the form of dollars, luxury apartments, and Maseratis, the Sheikh made sure they were well taken care of. Sure, they got a little nudge from the refs, much like how we dealt with Brazil or the Poles, except since the Poles actually beat us, nobody is complaining about biased officiating. What does this tell us? Well, it means that motivation is a massive factor—for those who think Lino was just shouting "let's go, USA!" over and over—and it proves that the coach is truly the linchpin of any success, which counters the argument that our players don't need to listen to someone like Goluža because they play for top-tier clubs. After seeing what the US just pulled off, I feel like calling anyone on our team who claims they "left their heart on the court" a total hypocrite.
The other thing that's becoming glaringly obvious throughout this championship is that European handball simply doesn't have an answer for the "wild" defense used by even mid-tier teams. The US cruised all the way to the finals, and Brazil almost knocked us out. If France doesn't absolutely steamroll them in the final by at least ten points, I think the next Olympics are going to get very interesting.
Paul Jones7 said:The answer is actually quite simple: they were at their absolute best when they operated as a cohesive unit because they balanced each other out so well. Honestly, both of them acted like they were head coaches in their own right. It’s such a shame that their massive egos kept clashing; things just couldn't last much longer than they did with that kind of friction. I seem to recall a time when pipa was actually running the national team solo during a tournament where we just couldn't stop losing, which pretty much sums up his whole "lone genius behind American success" persona perfectly.
Smajlagić's role is being way more blown out of proportion than it deserves. Lino wasn't losing because of the opposition; he was losing because Kasper Hvidt and Omeyer were absolutely tearing us apart. No, let me rephrase that—they were just damn good goalies doing exactly what they were supposed to do against us. The real problem was the gaping hole in our own defense. We'll lose a game 26-24, and Alilović ends up with single-digit save numbers.