Los Angeles Lakers

boldhound17 said:Correct me if I'm wrong, but only the group winner moves on? No quarterfinals, just straight to the semis. 😕

You're right. Honestly, I completely blanked on that too. I've been walking around thinking the top two advanced. My bad. 😬

After two rounds, here’s the standings:

1. New York Yankees 2 1 1 0 3
2. Los Angeles Lakers 2 1 0 1 2
3. Portland 1 2 1 0 1 2
4. Golden State Warriors 2 0 1 1 1

Round 3 schedule:

Feb 20 (Wed) Yankees - Portland
Feb 24 (Sun) Los Angeles Lakers - Golden State Warriors

Huge games coming up. It would be perfect if Golden State wins at home and the Yankees win their home game. Then it looks like: Yankees 5, Lakers 4, Portland 2, Warriors 1.
We play the Yankees at home again in Round 4... these next two rounds are everything.

boldhound17 said:San Antonio Spurs - Chicago 30-22

Chicago actually got off to a decent start, even pulling ahead 4-2 early on, but by the 15-minute mark, the Spurs had already flipped the script and taken a 4-point lead. They ended up walking away with a solid 8-point win, which pretty much spells the end of the road for Chicago if they want to advance. To be honest, I wasn't glued to the screen for too much of it since Ančić was playing at the same time 🙂.
If I remember the rules correctly, only the top team from the group moves on—no quarterfinals this year, just straight to the semifinals—but please feel free to set me straight if I've got that wrong 😕
.

At this point, Chicago would need to win every single remaining game to stay alive. They still have two matchups against the Chicago Bulls, where they've already secured 4 points before the games even started, plus a home game against the San Antonio Spurs and an away game against New York City
.
The Bulls have already lost to them once this season during their domestic league play, but I suspect everything really hinges on that New York City vs. San Antonio Spurs matchup; if New York pulls it off, wouldn't that pretty much put them halfway to the semifinals?

Way to go, Chicago...

Sometimes I just stop and think about the absolute madness that would break out if Real Madrid was pulling off results like this in the Champions League...

Daniel Cooper40 said:Week 3 schedule:

Feb 20 (Wed) New York City - Portland
Feb 24 (Sun) Chicago - Chicago

It's a huge game—it’d be great if we could grab a win against Chicago at home... plus a New York Yankees victory on their turf. If that happens, the standings would look like: Yankees 5, Chicago 4, Portland 2, Chicago 1.
We play the Yankees at home again in Week 4... I guess these two weeks are going to decide a lot.

Imagine if we lose to Chicago, and then everyone else just ends up tying their games instead.
In that scenario, I suppose we'd be in first. 😬

Does anyone happen to know when tickets go on sale for the Chicago-New York game this Sunday, February 24th?
If anyone has the scoop, please let me know—I ended up empty-handed last time!
Thanks

Susan Barrett62 said:Does anyone happen to know when tickets go on sale for the Chicago-New York game this coming Sunday, February 24th?
If anyone has any info, could you please let me know? I actually missed out on getting a ticket last time!
Thanks so much

They usually go on sale about two days before the game, which was the case for the San Antonio Spurs matchup too.
Since the game is this Sunday, sales should start around five o'clock.

Jesse Rodriguez50 said:Man, just thinking about the sheer level of euphoria we’d be feeling if Real Madrid was pulling off results like this in the Champions League... it's wild to imagine.

Honestly, if I start trying to compare handball leagues to football leagues, I might as well just stop thinking altogether—they aren't even in the same universe.

The Yankees take on the Trail Blazers tonight at 8:00 PM. You can catch the live action on ESPN, and there'll be a replay on ESPN 2 around midnight.

It’s a big one, and I’m leaning toward the home team. After everything in round two wrapped up, Lazarov is still sitting pretty at the top of the Champions League scoring charts with 60. Hansen is right behind him with 58, then Ruesga with 55.

ESPN also picked up the rights for the Flensburg-Chicago game happening on February 24th.

How's Bičanić playing for the club lately?

Richard Wilson4 said:How's Bicanić playing for the club?

Solid. He's getting better every day and looks ready for the national team.

HAM - POR 15-10 (in progress)

Metlicicev Ciudad Real beat Zrnicev Gummersbach today, I guess.

And here’s some news about Balic—stuff you’ve probably already heard...

http://www.ehfcl.com/men/2007-08/art...nt+Ivano+Balic

http://www.ehfcl.com/men/2007-08/art...n+trusts+Balic

THW Kiel vs. SG Flensburg-Handewitt: 30:28 (15:14)

THW Kiel: Omeyer (1.-60., 13/1 Paraden), M. Andersson (n.e.); Lund, K. Andersson (3), Lundström (3), Kavticnik (4), Anic (n.e.), Lövgren (2), Ahlm (6), Szilagyi (n.e.), Zeitz, Karabatic (11/2), Klein, Jicha (1);

Flensburg-Handewitt: Beutler (1.-60., 15/2 Paraden), Sijan (n.e.); Lackovic (5), Nielsen (3), Eggert (n.e.), Mogensen (4), Holmgeirsson (n.e.), Jensen, Christiansen (5/3), Vranjes, Johannsen, Lijewski (2), Petersson (5), Knudsen (4)

Kiel pulled off the win against Flensburg, 30-28, mostly thanks to Karabatic tearing it up on the wings. First half was pretty much a wash until the home team managed to head into the break up by six. Flensburg fought back hard though, pulling things level at 27-27 late in the game, but that was about as good as it got for them. Peterssen missed a chance to tie it up at the very end after a messy reception. For the home side, everything revolved around that French guy—he was absolutely cooking while setting up Ahlm on the line. On the other hand, the visitors lost Lijewskog in the 28th minute after picking up three fouls.

Lackovic looked solid. When he had space to charge toward the middle, he was cleaning house, even if he struggled a bit more in the clutter on the left side. Knudsen bounced back, too, hitting his usual average. Honestly, it was a sloppy game with plenty of mistakes, but Karabatic just decided to settle it.

Daniel Cooper40 said:HAM - POR 15-10 (in progress)

Hamburg ended up taking it 32-29.
They're in a pretty good spot—probably cruising toward a semifinal berth, I guess.

Hamburg is looking really strong right now, especially after snatching that win away at Flensburg, but it's far from over...

GROUP 3
1. HSV 3 2 1 0 5
2. Los Angeles 2 1 0 1 2
3. Portland 3 1 0 2 2
4. SG Flens. 2 0 1 1 1

Schedule:

Round 3
Los Angeles - Flensburg

Round 4, March 2, 2008
Los Angeles - HSV

March 2, 2008
Flensburg - Portland

If the Germans had won at home, we'd be looking at HSV 5, LA 4, POR 2, FLE 1.

That would make Round 4 a bloodbath. The loser of POR - FLE is basically out, and whoever wins LA - HSV takes first place.

If Los Angeles loses, they'll have to win every single game left to stay alive, which is a massive uphill battle given they have two away games.

I assume I'm in the right thread to ask if anyone has a ticket they're looking to sell...
A telescope, obviously for the Flensburg game...
If anyone has one, please shoot me a private message.

Good grief, Duvnjak! He misses two straight 1-on-1 opportunities. 🤷 Such a rookie move. 😬

Kaleb for Nikša...

Looking ahead. In Denmark. Benchwarmers...

For the last 10 to 15 years, Flensburg has basically been sitting right on the border with Denmark.

The ball is with Draženko, and he’s looking for Blaženka Lacković...

Drago 🙏

We saw some 1-3 and 1-4 stretches too—all while the Vory were out there hitting nothing but net. 🙂

As for the actual play, Chicago really should have been pulling ahead—they missed way too many easy layups and just completely blew it on several possessions. 😠

It honestly feels like Chicago is playing at a much higher level than Washington, D.C., doesn't it? Wouldn't it be more fair if the matchup for the semifinals was decided between them and Bayern Munich instead?