ABOUT THE SPORT: This is not your father's handball, the kind played one-on-one against a wall. This is a seven-on-seven game that is a combination of basketball, water polo and ice hockey and is contested on a field similar to indoor soccer. It requires skills such as running, throwing and jumping. Like basketball, players dribble, shoot and pass the ball with their hands and play on a small hardwood court. The ball is similar to a small soccer ball, and players score by throwing it past a goalie.
WORLD'S BEST: On the men's side, there is no clear-cut favorite. Croatia won the last World Championship. Germany finished second, then won the European Championship. France, Spain and Russia also are considered contenders. For the women, Denmark enters as the two-time defending Olympic champion, although the team had a poor showing at the 2003 World Championship.
WHAT ABOUT THE AMERICANS?: In consecutive Olympics, neither the American women or men qualified. The best finish for the men was ninth at the 1984 and 1996 Games. The women were fourth in 1984.
BEST PLAYER?: Germany's Stefan Kretzschmar might be the best player in the world. NBC's Olympic Web site refers to him as the "bad boy of handball" because of his dyed blond hair, multiple body piercings and tattoos. One of the most popular athletes in Germany, Kretzschmar had his own TV show for a time. He had seven goals in the 1996 Olympics before leaving with an injury and 22 in 2000 despite playing in just six of Germany's eight matches.
Kretzschmar, 31, started playing handball when he was 6 years old, and he joined the German national team in 1993 at 20. His position on the court is left wing, but he plays other positions as well. He is considered a strong playmaker and typically posts big assist totals. At the 2003 World Championships, Kretzschmar tied for second on the German team with 48 goals. He was tied for eighth overall in goals scored and had 14 assists.
A big fan of the NBA and golf, Kretzschmar's father, Peter, played for the German national team, as did his mother, Waltraud. She won a silver medal for East Germany at the 1976 Olympics and a bronze in 1980.
RABID FANS: While the sport draws yawns in the United States, it is huge in Europe. Nine of the top 12 men's teams in the Olympics are from Europe, with the women's side boasting six of 10. Perhaps it has something to do with the game's origination in Europe in the early 1900s.
HISTORY: There are more than 140 countries recognized as part of the International Handball Federation. The sport was first played in the Olympics in 1936, with 11 players on a team in an outdoor game. It did not return until 1972, when it was played indoors with seven on each side. Women's team handball was added in 1976.
