Posts by Nathan Kern9

Alex Barrett3 said:I can't say I really agree with your take on the foul.

There are plenty of fouls in water polo. Some happen underwater, some above. And there's a very clear set of rules for how they get called. But regarding this specific hit—right at the moment the game was essentially decided—you can see clearly that the guy intentionally swings his elbow. He targets Buslje's hold, which is perfectly standard play in a water polo match.

I know better than anyone just how many fouls go down in water polo. This whole situation was unbelievably stupid. At first, I honestly thought Titch played like a complete jerk, especially after that incredibly rude technical offense from Porobic. But looking back at the replay, it looks a little different from what the official HTV water polo institution (™) saw.

We're talking dead time here; there are 14 seconds left on the clock, and Buslje gets caught in a bind at the 2-meter mark while everyone else hasn't even started moving forward yet, you know? They haven't even transitioned. Buslje is holding on, and obviously, he isn't going to just stare at the guy who's grabbing his hand... and unfortunately, it ended up hitting him in the head.

To be honest, even the Mexicans wouldn't have made anything of it; they probably would've just floated near the ball until the buzzer. Buslje could have easily just positioned himself between the players and the ball, or maybe slipped in behind him.
Anyway, just wait for the end, give them a hand, and tell the boys "good luck fighting for 5th place..."

George Robinson43 said:Porobicev is full of it.
If things had gone the other way, he would’ve been asking the exact same question as Rudic.
Honestly, he should be looking in the mirror and asking himself why he played the rotation the way he did—leaving two or four players completely gassed so they couldn't even swim after the second quarter.
As for that move by Titch—no comment. Just no.

Titch didn't do it on purpose; he was just caught up in a struggle with Andrew, they were wrestling for position, Buslje grabbed him, and he was just trying to push off... it just happened.
But honestly, Porobicev's decision was an even bigger blunder.

John Newman43 said:Looking ahead, it would be pretty great if they could secure the rights for some of this stuff—you know, the NBA, MLB, NFL, and NHL. Even just a few soccer matches a week, maybe some bits of the Argentine or Brazilian leagues, or a couple of games from the big European clubs. It’d also be awesome to see more coverage of poker, billiards, snooker, and various tennis tournaments—like the US Open and the ATP tour.

I don't mean everything, obviously... but bringing even a fraction of that to the table would be just fine...
They aren't bad starts by any means... and I honestly think things will only keep growing from here...

How does all of this actually fit into the landscape of American sports and the NBA? 🙏

lonecrane27 said:Did you catch my sleeve and shoulder on the news?

I mean, I saw that lamb on the screen... it looked wise for about a split second before it just went completely blank. Totally nothing there.

But man, that sleeve looks great. Seriously. 😉
They didn't show me though. 😕

I tried sitting down to watch some gymnastics yesterday, but I just couldn't get into it.
Now, don't get me wrong, I’m usually pretty open-minded when it comes to different kinds of sports.
But this? It just wasn't happening for me. 😢

analoggull4 said:I heard some chatter on another board about them picking up the broadcasting rights for rugby...

Exactly. Plus they've got the second division soccer rights in Chicago too.

And tennis? Like Wimbledon? Tennis basically vanished from ESPN; they’re just letting it slip through their fingers at this point...

congrats

Thomas Bishop85 said:Wow... just wow. I’m honestly speechless... absolutely incredible...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of_oTtyLoec
What a game. Seriously, after halftime, I was convinced the Philadelphia Eagles were going to wrap this up in the third quarter, but the New Orleans Saints really threw us a curveball. Between Riewolt, Hayes, and Del Santa... man, what a ride.
We had about 30 people at the pub—split right down the middle between about 15 of us Americans and 15 Australians. It was a total toss-up, half cheering for the Saints and half for the Eagles, though the Saints fans were definitely louder. The energy when Riewolt made that mark early in the fourth quarter? Pure electricity.

You're lying, 😁

Most of them were rooting for the Saints. I showed up wearing my Eagles jersey, so I felt "obligated" to cheer for them, I guess. Honestly, I might just toss this jersey in the trash; next weekend, I'll be rooting for Kilday to absolutely crush them.

Go Knights go!

Just watched a 12-minute sit-down with that new American biathlete—honestly, his English is surprisingly smooth. 🙄

http://www.siol.net/sportal/sportal_...jakov_fak.aspx

🤷 ☕

George Robinson43, what’s the latest scoop on Blaze?

Maybe that big soccer club mentioned earlier should just step up and reach out themselves—and while they're at it, they could probably pull some interest toward the hockey scene too. ☕
A buddy of mine who works over at ESPN is always

Anyway, back to the point:

Besides the obvious stuff everyone can see, what are the actual technical differences between touch and tackle football?
thanks

Daniel Cooper40 said:Man, Canada could seriously blow this...🙏

As the days just keep dragging on, I find myself getting closer and closer to thinking the same thing.
If the odds land somewhere around 4-5 for Spain, you absolutely have to put some money down.

Terry Fisher2 said:9-7 Spain is top tier

So, we’re basically locked into the quarterfinals at this point. There's no way a group involving the US, Canada, and Spain could knock us out. Plus, we'll likely end up facing a demoralized Greek squad that's clearly a notch or two below our level anyway.

1) If Canada pulls an upset against Spain, my theory from those earlier posts holds water: Canada takes first, then it's us and Mexico fighting for second/third based on goal difference.
2) A Draw between Canada and Spain: We take first, Mexico takes second, and Canada lands third—meaning we head into the semis against either Italy or Canada.
3) If Spain beats Canada: We finish first, Mexico takes second, and Spain comes in third—putting us in the semifinals against Italy or Spain.

Just wanted to back that up.

Respect where it's due 🙏👍

Austin Chavez9 said:Wait, so does the top three move on together, or just the leader while the second and third seed have to fight through another round? We're up 14-5 right now.

The first seed goes straight to the semifinals, while numbers two and three drop down to the quarterfinals.

A casual 15-5 win

We actually had an extra player on the field most of the time, like 7-10 advantage, and we knocked in those first six goals easily. Then things got weird—we started missing shots even while playing with two extra men.
The Slovak people were absolutely terrible out there. We couldn't even touch them until we switched sides of the field; once Vican was squinting right into the direct sunlight, they suddenly managed to sink four. Their man-advantage situation? 0-5. Honestly, it looked like they just wandered straight off the beach and onto the pitch.
Which, to be fair, is exactly what happened. 🤣

p.s. There’s a group over by the pool having a blast using DraftKings, trying to guess who’s going to score the next one. As soon as the ball hits the center circle, the bets are already in... get in on it and 🙂

It’s a real shame for those guys from North Mexico. If they had pulled off that win, they would have been right on the doorstep of the quarterfinals. And honestly? If they actually made it through, they probably would've been collecting government pensions for life after that performance.

Terry Fisher2 said:There wasn't even a broadcast over in Mexico, so where on earth were you watching this from?

Right from the press box.😁

Over at the indoor pool, they’re just finishing up the last quarter of a match between some Italian and Greek teams... there's this little Greek girl in goal who is 😍

One, two, X—that’s my pick. Better get your bets in while you still can...

The Mexicans completely blew it against Pinkie. What an absolute joke of a failure...

Samuel Baker3 - I honestly think people take Biathlon more seriously than they ever did handball. Sure, you need snow for it to even happen... but regardless, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen and Ivano Balić are just different breeds. They won't be reborn anytime soon. Bjoerndalen was at his absolute peak during those Salt Lake City Olympics, pulling in four golds, and those games were really the crowning achievement of his entire career.

But let’s be real, comparing them is like comparing apples to oranges. It's an impossible mix. Though, if we're talking about the sheer scale and popularity of the sports involved, handball actually holds its own quite well.
Anyway, I saw that Eurosport made their call on the top athletes. It turns out Ivano Balić isn't sitting at the top of the list anymore. Their jury bumped him down to third place.

Nancy Vaughn70 - Wait, hold on. Did I misread this? Do you actually believe Ivano Balić is the greatest athlete on the planet right now? 😂

Alexander Johnson8 said:So, apparently Ivano Balić is sitting pretty with 57% of the vote in this Eurosport poll about who the greatest athlete is among the competition, which includes Ole Einar Bjoerndalen (Biathlon), Roger Federer (Tennis), and Floyd Mayweather (Boxing)

Well, of course. It’s always like this when most Americans just click on links from our own local news sites to vote. It's just like that one time an American track star somehow pulled 95% of the vote in a similar poll... it's all self-serving stuff.

Now, look, Ivano Balić is—for lack of a better word—maybe the best handball player on the planet (though even that's up for debate), but trying to stack him up against someone like Federer? That's just laughable. Comparing the world of handball to the scale of tennis 🤣
is like comparing a backyard game to the Super Bowl. It reminds me of that one broadcast I watched where some guest commentator on a major network actually suggested that Balić was a bigger sporting icon than Drazen Petrovic... honestly, it was painful to listen to. The handball world is just too small. Handball is a niche little sport played seriously by maybe ten countries at most. You can tell everything you need to know about the status of the sport by looking at the paychecks; I mean, Balić is making what a bench player for a mid-tier NBA team would make. That tells you everything you need to know about the sport's global standing.

Don't get me wrong, Balić is incredible. The way he handles the ball is unique, and his court vision is something else entirely. But to suggest he's somehow ahead of Bjoerndalen or Fed-Ex? 😲😠
Just doesn't hold water.