The “Battle of Chicago” matched the national handball teams of Germany and Poland at the UIC Pavilion last Saturday afternoon. If you missed it, various Comcast regional sports networks will be showing it (and the USA/Los Angeles match) over the next few weeks, so check your local listings. But here are some highlights of the Germany/Poland match, which was a rematch of the 2007 World Championship final.

There may be more team handball on TV before year’s end. I’ll keep you posted.

If you missed last Saturday’s rare exposure for team handball on television, don’t worry, Comcast affiliates around the country will be showing it again over the next few weeks. But here are some highlights of the match between the US National Team and the Los Angeles Team Handball Club.

The US men’s and women’s teams must have two-legged playoffs against Canada before year’s end in an attempt to qualify for the Pan-American Games.

Team handball gets major exposure this weekend with two games on television. The US Men’s National Team plays the national club champions from Los Angeles at Noon Saturday from Chicago, followed by “The Battle of Chicago” as the national teams of Germany and Poland go at it in a rematch of the 2007 World Championship match.

You can watch both matches live on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic (channel 642 on DirecTV, 424 on DISH) and on tape delay Sunday on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, with other tape-delayed broadcasts to be shown on a variety of Comcast and Comcast-affiliated networks over the next couple of weeks. Check your local listings.

John Ryan, editor of Team Handball News, will be my partner for the broadcast of the USA/Los Angeles match. I’m still waiting to hear which former German international will be my partner on the second match (which will also be shown live in Germany at 8pm on Sport 1, and, hopefully, in Poland on PolSat.)

I’m still relatively new to the sport, but trust me: it’s a lot of fun to watch. Give it a tumble.

When Chicago hosts Germany vs. Poland in team handball next Saturday, you’ll see action like this.

That’s from the 2009 World Championships in Croatia. Saturday’s undercard is the USA National Team against the Los Angeles Team Handball Club, the current national club champions. Germany/Poland is at 1pm CT and will be carried on many Comcast regional sports networks nationwide. Check your local listings to see where and when you can see it.

We’re less than two weeks away from the huge team handball match in Chicago between Germany and Poland. If you’re not going to be in the Chicago area on July 17, you can watch the games of this historic doubleheader (in which the US national team plays the national club champions from Los Angeles in the opener) on nine different Comcast regional sports networks nationwide.

Team handball is fun, trust me. You’ll enjoy it. And you’ll be watching me work.

I have lots to write about our trip to Las Vegas this weekend, but before I (finally) go to bed, this dramatic ending to one of the semifinal matches at the National Team Handball Championships.

Quick scene-set: The New England Freeze (in white) and their regional/league rival and defending national champion New York City Team Handball Club are tied 26-26 late in overtime. A foul is called on New York as the clock runs out. New England gets one shot - and one shot only - from 9 metres to try to win, else we’re still tied and we’re going to penalty shots to decide who moves on to Sunday’s final. New England puts the ball in the hand of Marco Betsch. Here’s what happened:

Good stuff. The finals were fun, too. More later.

At least, it is if it’s 1pm Pacific on Sunday, May 23. You can watch the finals of the men’s and women’s Elite Division brackets at the 2010 USA Team Handball Club National Championships LIVE at this link. The setting is Las Vegas and the action should be fast and furious. I’m told you will be able to see the finals on Comcast On Demand in various markets around the country in the next week or so. But if it’s Sunday afternoon, click this link and watch it live.

I’ll be back in the booth for the 2010 USA Team Handball Club National Championships next weekend in Las Vegas. For the second straight year, they’ve tapped me to call the men’s and women’s elite championship games, and I’m really looking forward to it. The games will be carried live on TeamUSA.org and, potentially (I’m told) on some cable systems around the country. Check your local listings, or this space, for details.

Sorry I’ve been remiss in posting much of interest lately. Real life has intervened. Here are a few things in my brain today:

• I can sum up ESPN’s latest “30 For 30″ documentary, Straight Outta LA for you thusly: Los Angeles reflected the Raiders, the Raiders reflected Los Angeles, Los Angeles reflected gangsta rap, gangsta rap reflected Los Angeles, the Raiders reflected gangsta rap, gangsta rap reflected the Raiders, repeat those themes incessantly for an hour. Also, Al Davis apparently died somewhere around 2004 and his animated corpse is running the Raiders, and Ice Cube is not a filmmaker.
• Apparently there’s some bit of kerfuffle over the USA’s 30-man preliminary roster for the upcoming World Cup. Coach Bob Bradley left recovering forward Charlie Davies off the roster in favor of five other forwards who you could reasonably make the case are in form and weren’t, you know, in a coma seven months ago. Here’s the deal on Charlie Davies: We all wanted to see this story have a miraculous ending. We all like Charlie Davies. But he’s lucky to be alive, and it’s a huge step from “lucky to be alive” to “potentially ready to contribute meaningfully to a World Cup team.” For those of you who would say, “Well, why not bring him into camp and see where he is, how will you know otherwise?” I would say this: Bradley’s staff has monitored all of Davies’ workouts, they had people there, they observed him and they had information from his club that he hadn’t been given full medical clearance. Meanwhile, you followed Charlie Davies on Twitter. So there we are.
• Looks like there could be more team handball action in my future this summer. Which is good, because it looks like there will be less soccer action in my future this fall.
• Congrats to the Phoenix Thunder, who beat the Chicago Fire Department Blaze, 38-20 on Saturday. The Thunder will host the National Public Safety Football League championship on June 12 against an opponent to be determined.
• In Peter King’s world, if you take steroids, you should lose your Rookie of the Year Award, but if you murder someone, you shouldn’t be removed from the Hall of Fame. Okay, got it.
• How can a guy this utterly un-funny not still be writing for Leno?

What a great trip I had to Chicago this weekend. I got to see lots of old friends (like Steve Pastorino, Nico and Coz), see some team handball, work a terrific soccer game with people I like and eat food I can’t get here in the desert. Oh, and I met Willie the Northwestern Wildcat (above). But, boy, am I tired.