Posts by boldhound8

casualfox112 said:From what I've seen, even the Americans aren't exactly killing it lately. This game is gonna be a weird one, for sure.😁

We’re absolutely crushing it! Luck is totally on our side!😁

The Danes and the French always shut us down the exact same way: heavy-duty, aggressive, physical defense paired with a goalkeeper who somehow pulls off a miracle save just because he’s had a stroke of luck. That’s the only play in their playbook, and honestly, that's exactly what they're going to do this time around. If Hvidt starts getting into a rhythm with those saves, we might as well start packing our bags and heading home.
Look, this championship is a total disaster because we don't have a single decent perimeter player to speak of. Balić can't carry this whole damn team on his back by himself. Vuković hasn't played a real game since that matchup against the Norwegians, and Buntić? He’s all over the place—one minute he’s there, the next he’s totally checked out. It’s the same story with Lacković and Valčić too. Just inconsistent, frustrating stuff.

I honestly have no clue what to predict here. Our performance in this tournament has been a total mystery, a complete wildcard. But let me tell you one thing: I’m expecting a brutal fight. This might just be our toughest game yet.

Henry Rodriguez5 said:Look, let's wrap this up. Just like how it was totally unfair for the US to finish fifth in Germany with only one loss, it would be just as unfair if we limped into the semifinals playing like complete garbage without actually beating Denmark.

They count the points, they remember the medals...
All those little opinions..."good, bad, deserved, undeserved" get forgotten in a heartbeat and don't mean a damn thing. Or what, you think handball fans in Europe are crying about the injustice the Americans faced in Canada or how we ended up 5th in Germany after one loss? Give me a break, shut up already.🙂

Not to mention you guys are totally overreacting... saying it’s "undeserved" if we move on, while everyone else gets a pass. Like, people are freaking out over Iceland because they barely scraped by with draws against Mexico and Austria, even letting in three goals in forty seconds. And Poland deserves it too, since they barely survived a draw against Canada and are struggling against the Czech Republic today. Even France deserves it after drawing with the Canadians and then scraping a tie against the Spaniards. Everyone deserves it—it's just the US that doesn't. You guys are exaggerating, seriously.🙂

David Taylor13 said:Come on... you gotta win some damn games if you want to make it to the semifinals😁

Give me a break, we already played Norway in the first round😁

We still have a shot, though. We play our last game tomorrow, and hey, hope dies last😁

There’s no easy road ahead for Americans🤮

Stick it where the sun don't shine, Hvidta🤮

Samuel Baker3 said:let's go Denmark👋 yeah, let the final round be actually interesting 🙏

Or sad😁

Man, seriously, give us a break! Let luck kiss us for once instead of every single tournament being the exact same nightmare... Seriously, it feels like we’re the only team on the planet where the universe decides we absolutely have to win everything🤮 And then, predictably, we end up sitting at 2, 4, or 5 wins after just one loss.🙄
Damned Poland was in our group, and if they didn't cheat their way into the second round with 0 wins, they moved on. Meanwhile, we stomp in with 4, grab another 3, and the way things are going, we might still need 2 more just to survive.🤦

rapidbison42 said:Dealing with the Danes will be a breeze compared to Iceland

Yeah, right. We’re gonna get absolutely crushed by White.😠 The Danes mostly play well if he's on the field, but when he sits out, you could probably score 10 goals on them easily...

Honestly, the Danes and the French scare me the most, even though neither side is actually playing great right now. But truthfully? What scares me most about this whole mess is our own damn game. Sure, we haven't lost, we're technically undefeated, but let's be real—not a single person on this team has played a decent match since this tournament started. Maybe against Norway, but everything else? It’s been a total disaster. That game against the Ukrainians was a joke and they walked all over us. Against the Russians, those last ten minutes were pure chaos. Today was more of the same garbage; we just got lucky enough to scrape by with a draw...

Everything is going according to plan😁
Code:

Look, Austria is basically out of the running, but don't go thinking they're easy targets. They're gonna fight tooth and nail tomorrow and the day after until the final whistle...

Chris Lopez59 said:Look, I believe him, but man, back a few years ago—or whenever it was when he could barely even get on the court without some serious help from the bench—he got absolutely crushed. He hasn't been the same player since.

Honestly, he isn't even that bad, he just got totally shaken up.😉 Every single team we face plays right in his face. They'll send two or even three guys out just to shut him down. That's fine because it opens up lanes for everyone else, but damn it, we aren't capitalizing on it. We’re lacking experience on the perimeter and basic chemistry...

Chris Lopez59 said:We clearly aren't watching the same game. Honestly, the guy has balls—maybe too many balls—because he keeps taking these totally forced shots. He plays with this reckless, zero-respect kind of energy. But hey, maybe there's some truth to what happened at the end of the match. I'll try to keep my eyes peeled next time so I can catch him on film better.

Anyway, I don't have much respect for him either, but when you're playing this well, it’s actually smart that he started slowing down and controlling the ball. This first game was a total wake-up call for him... so, whatever.

On the flip side, if we didn't have Ivan, someone would HAVE to step up. We used to rely way too much on our star player, but we don't have that luxury anymore. It's obvious he isn't that unstoppable force who could just drop 10 points and run the perimeter by himself like he used to. Sadly, his back is catching up to him. He'll still pull off something occasionally, but he can't just carry the whole damn team on his back alone anymore. Everyone sees it, so people are finally learning to take some responsibility, and honestly, that's a good thing.

No matter how you slice it, the fact remains: whenever our star sits on the bench, we lose all momentum. When he's sitting out, it feels like a completely different team is out there on the floor.

And about the back issues, I told you once and I'm telling you again... his back has been killing him since he started training in high school.😉 So I don't get why we keep bringing it up during every tournament, especially since he looks more prepared than he did in the last two or three. You could even say he's looking better than he did back in Athens; the only issue is, damn it, he's getting older. If Ivan were in the same shape he was last year, things would be a lot easier. Right now, we're totally dependent on him, whether we want to admit it or not...

vividbadger182 said:Forget all those math equations and projections. We just need to focus on Iceland.

I just gotta say, things have opened up for us big time, and it’d be a massive waste if we don't seize this chance... But yeah, obviously all those calculations go straight out the window if we screw up against Iceland or heaven forbid lose two games in a row...

Anyway, when you mentioned that France-Poland matchup, man, I wouldn't even give it a second thought, regardless of how much Poland is crushing it lately... I watched them play Spain today and they absolutely destroyed them. Mind you, Spain might not be the perfect benchmark since they're struggling to keep pace with Portugal😁 but hey, they aren't nothing to write off. As for France... I don't know, they basically have the cheat code for our style of play. They mess us up the exact same way every single time. It's like what we do to Russia... always the same pattern... So if it were up to me, I'd dodge them in a heartbeat.

Chris Lopez59 said:I don't buy the idea that he's the only one with any guts. We’re basically riding on Balić's coattails because Dule looks absolutely terrified out there—his game is non-existent right now. But he isn't the only one willing to take a shot. Vuković has balls. Buntić has balls. And honestly, the pivots and wings are totally dependent on whether anyone actually bothers to feed them the ball or not.

Buntić is the perfect example of a guy who lacks the stones to shoot when things get intense. It's not even just about shooting, though; he doesn't have the nerve to actually make a play. Everything just boils down to dumping the ball to Balić and praying this magician pulls something out of his hat this time.

Look, don't get me wrong, I’m not even expecting much from Buntić yet. He’s still green. That's why I say Balić is the only one (not counting the wings, since they can't play solo) because we don't have Metla or Laco. Even with Lac... man, he'll just keep shooting until he enters the game, but once he misses twice? Forget it. There's no way he's taking another shot. It's such a waste because he's got an insane vertical and a leap that could wreck any goalie, easily dropping ten goals a game if he actually played with some confidence...

Chris Lopez59 said:I don't see us relying on him (Balić) for scoring all that much right now—if anything, that’s the upside, we actually have some depth. But look, we haven't run into a brick wall of a defense yet. The Norwegians were dealing with Mamelund's issues, and the Ukrainians and Russians weren't even playing at this level. Once we hit a real, physical defense, we're going to be in deep trouble because Balić can't just bulldoze through people solo like he used to, and our ball movement is way too slow. We have zero transition game, no counter-attacks, nothing.

We rely on Balić way more than it looks on the surface... When Balić is on the court, the whole team steps up. When he's out, we're dead in the water. And I'm not even just talking about goals, though he's the only one with the guts to take a shot when things get ugly, especially since Pere isn't around anymore... He sets up plays, draws defenders toward him, keeps the rhythm going. When he can't even do that, he'll literally headbutt a wall, get a red card, or draw a penalty just to make something happen.
And you gotta realize that Duvnjak has been absolutely criminal during this tournament, which only makes Balić's performances even more vital. There is a massive, earth-shattering difference whether he's playing or not, no matter how good everyone else is doing.😉

casualfox112 said:Knowing Lina, we're gonna hit that 100% efficiency mark. No doubt about it.😁

Screw Lina! I've had enough. We can't keep losing just because Balić keeps playing like absolute garbage. Enough is enough!😁

The second group really nailed their positioning. We’re sitting pretty right now and have a killer vantage point to run the numbers, so we better make the most of this advantage🙂

rapidrider3 said:^^So according to you, we should just let things stay exactly how they are? Anyone selling stuff can just bump their thread ten times a day, or open ten different threads every single day for a couple of sneakers, a t-shirt, or whatever tiny crap...

Instead of actually implementing some order, we shouldn't bother at all...

The people who hate having rules will always complain about it!!!
They’re perfectly happy living in total chaos and a complete mess... meanwhile, us "newbies" who actually give a damn about this kind of nonsense unfortunately have to wait until we "grow up" here and wait for some new kids to show up... maybe then something will finally change....

Whoa, why are you getting all defensive with me?😁 I was just stating my opinion since I stumbled onto the topic🙂 And I didn't say it's great that everything is a mess, but yeah, you've got a point regarding what matters personally to me—honestly, I couldn't care less about the state of things. I realized I can't change the world, so I stopped trying, and honestly, if I don't even care about the Tech sub anymore—I haven't even followed it for ages (except for checking PDFs on the web)—even though my very first post was in Tech, and even though I've dropped like 15k mostly constructive posts in that sub over the years, and even though it's literally my job and profession... If I don't care about the Sports sub—which is arguably the most important secondary thing in the world, and a sub I moderated for years and wrote way more in—then I really, truly, deeply don't give a 😁
Because I've been trading on other forums for a long time, and I was actually kicked off MO a while back along with a few buddies, treated like an enemy instead of someone who actually wanted to make that forum better, stronger, the best. And I don't doubt I could have succeeded, but whatever... what's done is done. I wouldn't go back to it because people would think I haven't gotten over being kicked and that I'm just using this opportunity for old grudges or whatever... don't worry, I'm totally over it. It's better for me without you guys, and it's better for you without me, so it's a win-win situation :-)

Basically, what am I even supposed to tell you? You've only been here a minute... man, once you put in 5 or 6 years of seniority, things start making more sense. I'm not saying this condescendingly, God forbid🙂 But look, five years ago, people were saying the exact same thing to me that I'm saying to you now, and I didn't want to listen then, and now I'm telling you what they told me😁 Don't stress it so much, it's just a forum, after all🙂 A giant forum run by an owner who has no clue what's actually happening, managing too few staff, and moderating over 200 different people, all listed for $0.00, all on a volunteer basis. As such, it can't be perfect. To be honest with you, it's actually way better than perfect considering everything. Just look at his closest competitors and you'll see what I mean.... Can it be better? Sure. It seems like it could, but when you start digging deeper...

Look, here's a concrete suggestion while we're talking about digging: if they ever give you and Brian Mitchell44 (who's been around longer😍) a spot as moderators for MO, then get in there with the current mod team and start a real reform. Try to actually implement all those ideas you wrote down... you'll realize real quick what I mean by "grumbling from above"😉I figured this out ages ago, so now I’m just sitting here grumbling and honestly, I don't give a damn about any of it. And you know what? I love it.😍

Angela Flores76 said:@boldhound8 - look, it doesn't have to be a total dictatorship over there, but seriously, there's no reason for one single user to have five different threads going. They could easily just cram all that into one post. It's ridiculous to start a whole new thread for one single item of clothing when there's already a massive dedicated clothing thread for stuff like that. You know, just common sense.

I've been through this exact same crap on three different Reddit communities, including this one (which you should probably remember), and believe me, it's necessary. If you don't have some level of authority, you can't maintain any kind of order on a niche community like this.

rapidrider3 said:And it’s been totally out of control over there for days now.....

Look, back when we actually had some order—or what people called "dictatorship" in a milder sense—and we established a rulebook that everyone followed strictly from point 1 to point 101, you wouldn't have had 50 people whining about why the hell we even bother. 😁Granted, you didn't complain, since I see you're a relatively "new" member here.😬

MO is a specific kind of place. It’s a Reddit, not some social club where people hang out, share news, or just chat. It exists for one thing: buying and selling. And as such, it can only stay organized if the moderation is absolute. Period. You follow the rules to the letter, and anything that breaks them gets deleted or flagged immediately.
Take this for example... honestly, what does user XYZ even need to post in my thread? To lowball the price? Ask stupid questions? Or just troll because they're bored? If they want the item, they should send me a PM. If they don't, they should just scroll past. That's how buy/sell boards work.🙂

Back in the day, I set up an "IT hardware marketplace," and it ran like a well-oiled machine for about nine months under my reign (honestly, I have no clue what it's like today, I haven't been around those parts in ages...). The newbies were crying and complaining, while the veteran users were actually thanking me—and I'm not just saying that, I could practically list their names if they wanted to vouch for me. The marketplace was so clean, organized, and well-maintained you could practically eat off the floor.🙂 But what happened after that? Eh, whatever... let someone else tell that story. My time has passed, and frankly, whoever's running things now can deal with the mess.🙂 Though, you shouldn't even have to sweat it that much; with a few clicks in the admin control panel, the admins can set a marketplace up so well that a moderator only needs to peek in once in a while to make sure everything is still on track.😉

Jerry King11 said:Me? Is it just me, or does nobody actually know how to report a moderator? 😕
So, let me get this straight—you should never, ever challenge a moderator’s take because their word is final and they’re basically above the law?! 🙄(Especially if they happen to belong to the same clique. 🙄) In other words, is it perfectly fine for users to belittle you without consequence, while the Reddit rules just become optional whenever it suits them???

Wait, didn't you already report him by making this thread?🙄😁
Are you seriously pissed off because nobody said a damn thing at 9:57 AM?

slywolf45 said:And now suddenly it's 100.☕

Can't even be surprised anymore☕

slywolf45 said:boldhound8, man, you think I’m actually gonna be up at 2 AM just to keep you company? Hell no.

Send me a pic and all the details via DM so I can see if you even meet my standards.☕

So, what’s even the difference between that and a regular link? Honestly, there isn't one. 😁