USA Eliminated

The US national team has been eliminated from the World Cup due to a 2-1 loss to Ghana. Like the draw against Italy, this game was marred by bad refrereeing. After Clint Dempsey tied the game for the US, Ghana was awarded a penalty kick at the end of the first half on a non- foul. The goal scored by this illegitimate PK made the difference in the game.
Ghana, however, deserves credit for playing well. ESPN commentator Eric Wynalda directly blamed Bruce Arena for the elimination. I am not sure I agree, but not everything is going right if the American offense scores only a single goal in three games.

USA Embarrassed!

Czech Republic 3

USA 0

Team Handball's needs replaced on the Olympic schedule: We suggest Dodgeball

While many sports, even those with few enthusiasts, enjoy formal recognition, others remain without respect. Dodgeball, that great multiple-ball combat played on gym floors across the USA, is one such disrespected sport. As far as we know, not a single high school varsity program exists in this country. Yet many high school athletes enjoyed the sport during PE class in elementary school. The International Dodgeball Federation is not recognized by the International Olympic Committee. ( The IOC does recognize many international federations of sports which it does contest.)
Dodgeball's profile was raised by a movie, though the movie was rather stupid. This is a great and popular sport in need of more promotion.

Why team handball is lame: Nothing distinctive

A decade ago this reporter traveled to Atlanta for the centennial Olympic games. A small budget restricted him to sports with the cheap tickets. Among the cheap tickets was Team Handball, so in he went. Team Handball can be described as football (soccer) on a basketball court where handballs are legal. Nothing about the game strikes the observer as difficult or challenging. It has nothing to make it distinctive.
Basketball has a horizontal goal plane , different from every other goal sport. Also, it requires the dribble. Field Hockey requires players to control the ball with a stick. Ice Hockey does also, plus it makes competitors skate on ice. Polo requires players to control the ball with a stick while mounted. Water Polo allows the handling of the ball, but makes players swim. Every other successful sport has some element which makes it difficult to master and distinctive from other sports. Team Handball allows players to handle the ball on a hard surface and no dribbling, does not allow the defense to tackle, and has a decent sized ground-based, vertical-planed goal. Nothing about the sport is hard!
Despite the lameness and lack of originality of this sport, the International Olympic Committee continues to contest this sport at its quadrennial tournaments. Every goal sport needs a distinctive element to set it apart and make it challenging to the players. (Two more examples: Lacrosse has the netted stick; Ultimate replaces the ball with a flying disk)
Team Handball lacks this but somehow retains enough popularity to remain Olympic.

What makes a sport?

What are the definitions of a sport? The Sports Reflector has two requirements: physical demand and competition.
First, for an activity to be considered a sport, it must be physical. A participant must have to make use of his physical body in some way. Billiards rarely raises a sweat, but it demands a physical skill, so it is a sport. Chess requires no physical skill and is not a sport. Just because poker is on ESPN does not make it a sport.
Second, the activity must be competitive. Hiking requires cardiovascular activity and balance and oil painting requires hand-eye coordination, but neither of these pursuits are competitions, and they are not sports.