Posts by Chris Lopez59

The folks over at the NBA finally got back to me, saying the payment actually cleared and everything should be smooth sailing from here on out... 🤣

The league has officially opened an investigation into those games where officials were being pressured, which means they’re going to be putting that matchup in Flensburg—and even the one in San Antonio—under a massive microscope. It looks like the Golden State Warriors won't be able to just grease the palms of the refs in Flensburg anymore. 😉

Flensburg isn't going to be playing relaxed, but honestly, I don't think they'll have any real motivation either. Everything is going to hinge on our defense, and then, of course, our goalies. It would be great if someone on our side just went absolutely ballistic and cleared everything off the line, though that's probably asking too much. Still, it's not strictly necessary. If we can just maintain some defensive consistency for the whole match without leaving any gaping holes, we’ll beat them; eventually, they're bound to crack under the pressure somewhere.

I honestly can’t wrap my head around how we completely fell apart in the second half. It wasn't just one thing; you can't just pin this on the goalie. And yeah, the refs were screwing us over in the first half too, but that's not the whole story. Our offense was totally stagnant, though even that isn't the main culprit. The real disaster was our defense—they just completely checked out and left us hanging...

I mean, I know we basically let them run up the score for the first ten minutes of the second half, which is just plain embarrassing...

It really sucks because we had such a decent vibe going during that first half, and now that impression is totally ruined.

So, looking past whatever happens with the rest of this season, here is what we absolutely have to fix next year:
- the defensive line
- our ability to finish when we have a man advantage

And we really need to plug those holes by bringing in two high-caliber players:
- a top-tier right wing (maybe someone like Steph Curry if we could get him...)
- a solid left wing

Plus, having some absolute elite talent in the net would do wonders.

If we land two great signings and actually sort out those two big issues, the Golden State Warriors are going to be an absolute powerhouse, ready to go out and win the championship.

I guess I should probably say my two cents about Duvnjak too, because honestly, I'm just not feeling it. Every time I watch him play, his style feels so sterile and disconnected, you know? It’s like there's no soul in it. Even Lazarov was putting up better assists back in the day than what Duvnjak is delivering now. His shooting is just mediocre at best, and if you ask me, along with their left wing, he's pretty much the weakest link in the Golden State Warriors lineup.

Just look at HSV for a second. They dig this Brazilian guy out of obscurity—someone who's probably just their third string option for that position—and the guy goes out there and drops five goals like it was absolutely nothing. Just pure insanity.😕

rowdywolf26 said:Man, I’ve been grumbling this whole time about how the top two should move on. What a joke.

I didn't quite catch that. Honestly, even I was under the impression until just a moment ago that the top two were advancing.

If those three teams actually get knocked out, it’ll be an absolute bombshell...

Adam Collins4 said:@Chris Lopez59/">@@Chris Lopez59

That whole stunt with pulling on Henson’s jersey could have easily been called a disqualification... I mean, he was pulling it and holding onto it... there's a massive chance for player injury there... plus you have to consider we were in the final minutes of the game with the score practically tied up...

Even if they had handed out a red card, it wouldn't have changed much because you'd just be down one man for two minutes, and since the game ended almost immediately after, it wouldn't have been a huge handicap like losing a key starter for the entire duration of the match, like if someone got tossed in the first half.

The biggest blunder, though, was calling that non-existent goal on the very last free throw for the Golden State Warriors... the ball didn't fully cross the line... at least that's how it looked from where I was sitting...

You make a fair point about the red card not really shifting the needle, although personally, I never would have pulled the trigger on a red for that. He wasn't mid-air or anything, just running around on the grass, so there wasn't an immediate danger, but the foul itself was pretty obvious, especially happening during those deciding moments of the game.

Calling that goal might have been a mistake too, though it's hard to say for sure from the camera angle we saw—whether the whole ball crossed or not. But in my book, that's just a judgment call error rather than some intentional stalling tactic. Sure, maybe the refs were more inclined to give the goal to the Golden State Warriors, but that's just that gray area where you can't really lodge a formal complaint.

Overall, I didn't have many complaints about the officiating in the first half. Maybe we should have gotten a two-minute advantage in one specific spot, but that's about it.

rowdywolf26 said:I mean, wouldn't it be perfect if the New York Yankees just swept both games?
Then we'd end up with two losses ourselves—which, let's be honest, isn't even out of the question given where we're playing.

Look, if the Yankees pull off both wins, they'll sit at 4 wins and 1 draw, giving them 9 points. We're sitting on 6 right now, so for us to actually leapfrog them, we’d need to grab both road victories to hit 20 points; just getting to 9 won't cut it because our head-to-head tiebreaker is pretty weak.

There really isn't much to overthink here. We go into every single game hunting for a win, plain and simple. If we manage to snag one, there's a 95% chance we take the top spot, but if New York City sweeps their matches and we don't, then we just have to swallow our pride, admit they were the better team, and accept that they earned their spot moving forward.

I mean, let’s be honest, the refs were definitely bought 😉

Specifically, that move where they yanked Hens by the jersey on his back right at the end of the game? That was a textbook ejection, and honestly, you’d have to be blind not to see it. We would’ve walked away with a loss instead of a win if that hadn't happened. Basically, the ref decided the outcome of this game for us.

As for everything else, maybe we could’ve squeezed out one more penalty ourselves, and maybe New York City shouldn't have picked up that one ejection. But otherwise, it was clean. The New Yorkers were getting penalized constantly in the first half because, frankly, they earned them, so they shifted their defensive style in the second half once they realized the officials weren't going to let that slide anymore.

Mind you, New York City played some incredibly sharp, focused defense throughout the whole match; they aren't easy to break through. They didn't have many lapses, and even when they did, they were brief. If anything, we earned our points through solid play rather than New York City leaving holes in their line. They play smart, disrupting attacks and fast breaks with ease. Their coaching is top-tier.

Regarding the gap in quality between the clubs, it isn't massive, but there is one glaring difference. New York City plays fantastic defense whether they are down a man, attacking shorthanded, or playing with a man advantage. In those specific areas, they are way ahead of Washington, D.C. In standard 6-on-6 play, though, we're pretty much on par.

Looking at our guys, Jumbo finally put on a clinic like only he can, Vori was absolutely masterful, Kiro was stepping up and taking charge brilliantly, and our goalies did exactly what was expected, pulling off some crucial saves. I especially want to give props to the defense during those first 25 minutes—they were rock solid. If we had maintained that level for the rest of the game, we would’ve beaten them by five.

So, what’s next? There won't be any bread left to fight over in the Spanish league. After that, we head into the final round against a totally unmotivated Flensburg, which is where our real shot lies. It might actually be worth greasing a few palms with the officials then. 🤣

Man, if we manage to get past these three teams, it’ll be pure madness—a total sensation...

By the way, for me, New York City is the most dangerous threat. They could go beat Portland on the road and take first place regardless of how we do in Flensburg. Portland doesn't really stand a chance; they've already finished their away games and only have one point from Flensburg. They have to win at home, and the best they can hope for is to boost their goal differential. If we pull off the win against Flensburg, we’ll finish one point ahead of them.

But hey, New York City still has to face Flensburg, and Flensburg absolutely demolished them in their league matchup. This is all happening in Germany, and Flensburg isn't going to just roll over; they still have a fighting chance, and if they can take down New York City, everything stays wide open. So yeah, it’s going to be an interesting ride...

rodjo, this guy is such a jerk...

Don't go underestimating Algeria or Morocco; about ten years ago, those squads were playing at a top-tier European level, and while they’ve slipped a bit since then, they’re still hovering somewhere around the quality of a high-end US minor league side. I definitely wouldn't throw our youngsters into the deep end against them—they'd likely get absolutely slaughtered if we did.

Japan isn't going to be a threat to us, and while we shouldn't sleep on Algeria, we're clearly the stronger side here—we're definitely better than Russia... even if we happen to mess up one game, there's no way we'll blow it twice, especially since the competition has basically handed us everything on a silver platter

James Garcia22 said:Nači didn't even mention anything about how Norway plays dirty. He was only talking about that "rough" style from France that the refs kept letting slide, and honestly, even Dominikovć admitted they weren't exactly playing saintly themselves either ☕

As for those Norwegians, Božek already said everything there needs to be said...

If I recall correctly, a few of the players were actually talking about getting absolutely leveled by those Norwegians...

James Garcia22 said:And just how many Norway games have you actually sat through besides that one against us if you're gonna claim they're some kind of hooligan squad?

There wasn't any real dirty play or smashing happening when they played us...

I mean, alright, maybe if you're watching it with Bog Sušec doing the commentary...☕

So what, are our guys just lying through their teeth whenever they claim some national team played them dirty or physically overwhelmed them?

Norway and France are definitely part of that club of teams that play a pretty gritty, dirty game.

Samuel Baker3 said:you're going on about how Ivano Balić comes from some "niche" sport played seriously by maybe ten countries

but just how many nations actually take Biathlon seriously?🙄

and don't even get me started on Roger Federer, or on sports that are basically just a luxury for the upper class

it's honestly pretty silly to compare athletes from completely different disciplines, and frankly, it’s just as misguided to compare athletes within the same sport if there's more than a decade separating their eras

Look, it's the truth—all of these involve limited competition pools. I guess you could give Tennis an edge because it's truly global, with so many different countries pouring resources into developing pros, but let's be real: tennis isn't exactly a mass-participation sport either, though I'd definitely rank it higher than handball, unlike Biathlon

That's why our biggest claim to fame in the sporting world is that third-place finish. In a sport packed with the highest number of active professionals and where the absolute most money changes hands globally, we should be damn proud that a nation of only 4.5 million people managed to pull off what we did🙏

We have every right to be proud of Janica, and we certainly have the foundation for it, but if we're being honest, skiing is a sport for the few and the privileged, especially when you look at women's skiing

Samuel Baker3 said:Just wanted to go on record one more time and double down on my take about who actually stands as the most complete player on the court today. 😁

I’d say it was just pure lobbying that pushed Karabatic over the line. Honestly, the award should have gone to Hvidt, but if we're being completely real about it—regardless of how much anyone likes him—I think Ivano Balić deserved it way more than Karabatic did, simply because he was the one actually deciding the outcome of so many games.

Karabatić’s real superpower is just how insanely high his level was at such a young age. Because he hit that peak so early, he’s mastered the art of using that raw, explosive power to his advantage. From what I can see, he starts pulling ahead in the second half of the game when everyone else is basically running on fumes and hitting a wall physically. Honestly, the guy is just an absolute beast.

It’s a solid spot, honestly—smart move considering how much those tornadoes can tear things up—though I suppose if you were looking for a real powerhouse, maybe somewhere like Miami would have been a better bet since they’re such a massive hub for handball.

you just can't escape pretentious or plain old bad officiating

Look, I trust McAuliffe; if he sat down to break down the match, he’d likely find three or four calls that went against us, and then probably a few that actually worked in our favor. But you can't really fight those "fifty-fifty" calls—those gray area moments where a ref can rule one way or the other and nobody can truly complain. We're talking about situations that are half-breakthrough and half-defensive foul, or messy instances of grabbing and pulling. If you notice a specific official consistently ruling all those ambiguous moments in favor of the same team, then you’re looking at pretentious, biased officiating. No officiating commission is ever going to issue an official reprimand for that kind of thing, yet any objective spectator or player on the court will see exactly what's happening

I wouldn't go so far as to call the semifinals and finals a "robbery," because most of those games were actually fairly officiated, despite the occasional unavoidable mistake. The real headache starts when you stack several questionable calls against you in a row—like three consecutive breakthroughs (two of which were highly debatable), or having two goals wiped out due to fouls (and honestly, even that first goal; I’ve seen dozens of similar plays that usually get counted, whereas our guy just happened to tap the floor with his foot before releasing the ball; in handball, that’s usually ignored, so it feels ridiculous when they call it twice in a final, especially when one instance was totally clean). At the end of the day, even Lino didn't have to serve that two-minute suspension after a yellow card; not every coach gets handed that after a warning.

But that sense of pretentiousness only popped up during a small slice of the game, and frankly, compared to some previous officiating we've endured—especially those blatant robberies—this was actually decent, and we'll have to wait much longer for anything better. To me, the issue wasn't so much pretentiousness as it was a very specific set of criteria that seemed to tolerate excessive roughness. It would be great if they finally defined dangerous fouls—things like pulling or pushing a player at full sprint, or intentional body hits that the refs somehow "miss." A referee should focus on that; instead of staring at the ball, they need to watch the players and what they're actually doing to one another. The rules need to be updated to protect the players, their health, and their career longevity. Our own guys said they "weren't being treated fairly," so clearly, these current standards aren't serving anyone

And I'll say it again... the referee didn't win the final; the team that was (intellectually) capable of playing better handball won it.

So this bioenergeticist actually managed to win a medal for the US... Domančić. Seriously, after just three sessions, Nikola Balic’s months-long abdominal tendon inflammation vanished like it was never even there.

Look, let’s just cut to the chase here—the refs definitely blew some calls, sure, but they didn't hand anyone the trophy. Even those two-minute suspensions didn't change the ultimate outcome. The cold, hard truth is we simply didn't have the legs to keep up with the high-octane pace they forced on us, and we couldn't stop their momentum. Between the 10th and 30th minute of the first half, we surrendered 13 goals; if we had kept defending at that disastrous rate for the rest of the game, they would've cruised to 40. That defensive collapse is exactly what cost us a spot in the finals. Going from a 4-0 lead to trailing 10-13? That’s a seven-goal swing in just twenty minutes of play...

Alilović managed to snag some massive steals against the French squad—which, honestly, was probably just as vital as Somić’s clinical performance from the seven-meter line—but if we're being totally real here, he was absolutely nowhere to be found when we were facing the Danes...