SPORT'S EXPOSURE AT HAND GAMES GIVE HANDBALL A CHANCE TO EXPAND.Byline: Lauren Gustus Staff Writer Team Handball team handball n. A game played between two teams of seven players each, the object being to throw the ball into a hockeylike goal at either end of the rectangular court. The ball is moved by dribbling and passing with the hands. believes it can become the curling of the Summer Games This article is about the Epyx video game series. For the international multi-sport event, see Summer Olympic Games. Summer Games is a sports video game developed by Epyx and released by U.S. Gold based on sports featured in the Summer Olympic Games. . Handball handball Any of a variety games in which a small rubber ball is struck against a wall with the hand or fist. It can be played in a three- or four-walled court or against a single wall by two or four players (in singles or doubles games, respectively). is regularly confused with the ball-and-wall combo on display at playgrounds across the nation. and it flies far below the radar for most Americans. Like curling did before the Salt Lake City Games in 2002. ``We're hoping people will say, `What is this sport all about?' (Curling was) kind of boring, it seemed, but now everyone in the country knows what it is, not just Canada. I'm hoping team handball will do the same,'' said Dawn Lewis, a former Olympian who will do color commentary for NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. in Athens. Handball is a high-energy cross between soccer and basketball that's played with a ball the size of a grapefruit grapefruit, pomelo (pŏm`əlō), or pummelo (pum`məlō), citrus fruit (Citrus paradisi) of the family Rutaceae (orange family). . Its often billed as the answer to those who criticize soccer for its low-scoring games. And it has been well-received during its limited exposure. ``Most people that see it, like it,'' said Tom Schneeberger, a 1984 Olympian and head of the Olympic committee for the men's team. Most who watched the sport in Atlanta, where Lewis competed for the U.S. women's team, didn't know what they were getting into when they arrived at the handball venue. ``The first hump hump (hump) a rounded eminence. dowager's hump popular name for dorsal kyphosis caused by multiple wedge fractures of the thoracic vertebrae seen in osteoporosis. we always have to get over is the name'' Lewis said. ``Everybody always thinks handball is that game you play in the city park or that your uncle is playing in a club in downtown New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of .'' Because neither the men's nor women's program qualified for Athens, the U.S. might have trouble reeling in handball fans during these Games, even though NBC will broadcast at least one game a day. The qualifying process favors Europe, where in some countries the sport's popularity is close to that of soccer. North and South America South America, fourth largest continent (1991 est. pop. 299,150,000), c.6,880,000 sq mi (17,819,000 sq km), the southern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. countries compete for only one spot, which Brazil's men and women won. ``Brazil, Argentina, Cuba and Canada all have formidable programs,''said Mike Cavanaugh, USA Team Handball's executive director. ``Its not an easy route. As soon as a newspaper says, `Oh, you didn't qualify,' keep in mind that baseball and soccer didn't either.'' Olympic programs in the U.S. are awarded funding based on performance, but handball organizers insist more money is needed to improve results. ``We're stuck in a Catch-22 with the USOC (Universal Service Order Code) An equipment coding system created by AT&T. The number was applied to telephone equipment and to wire termination patterns. See 568A. ,'' Schneeberger said. ``Funding is provided based on your ability to win medals. We can't win medals if we can't lure players. If we can't win medals the USOC won't award us any money.'' For now, the U.S. is grooming young players with the expectation that the programs will be competitive in 2008. ``We put a plan together and it's more of a long-term plan to develop the younger players,'' Schneeberger said. ``Can we afford to go with a green team and sacrifice without using older players? We're trying to be more slanted toward getting young guys in, looking to the future and sacrificing some of our short-term goals, like Athens.'' Lauren Gustus, (818) 713-3607 lauren.gustus(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): box Box: HANDBALL |
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