Bowled Over

Today is that most American of holidays. No, not Independence Day, or Thanksgiving, or even Labor Day. Today is Superbowl Sunday, the most-watched television event in the USA, and one of the most-watched programs in the entire world. Sports fans, spouses and partners of sports fans, and even non-fans will gather to watch the American football championship game.

We Are All Africans - World Cup Update

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, decked out in full Bafana Bafana regalia, launched the opening ceremonies of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Soweto with a wonderful speech welcoming people from all over the world in his inimitable way, saying:

Hope Is The Thing With Feathers

From the vantage point of Royal Street on a beautiful spring day, the resurgence of New Orleans was abundantly on display.  Choosing from the delectable fare at the New Orleans Roadfood Festival was nigh impossible:  roasted oysters, crawfish enchiladas, roast beef Po Boys, Texas barbecue, dark chocolate turtles, pecan pie, and more.

South Africa's Rocky Road to the FIFA 2010 World Cup - 63 Days and Counting

The South African government recently announced a drop in the country’s murder rate, as safety concerns persist ahead of the country hosting the biggest sporting event on the planet. At the same time, the UK-based Telegraph website published an article stating that, because the crime rate in South Africa is one of the highest in the world – only slightly lower than that of Iraq - some of the tens of thousands of English football fans who are expected to descend on the country for the games are virtually certain to die. On Saturday, the murder of Eugene Terre’Blanche, white supremacist leader of the AWB (right-wing Afrikaner political party) only added fuel to that fire.

March Madness

I am nothing if not conflicted about March and its Madness. For those of you outside the US, or unfamiliar with the term, "March Madness" refers to the annual college men's basketball tournament. The tournament starts with a field of 64 teams and whittles down to the eventual NCAA champion, crowned incongruously the first weekend in April.

Invictus - My Memory of the Game

INVICTUS

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul

William Ernest Henly


It is said that Nelson Mandela drew inspiration from this poem which he kept on a scrap of paper in his prison cell for 27 years.

Field of My Dreams

I don’t recall which my dad taught me first – to throw a curveball or hit a curveball. Both skills were necessary for a budding baseball fan like his only daughter. Later lessons, like when to try the hit-and-run and why Richie Ashburn was one of the most underrated boys of summer, cemented my love for the game. By college I was sure I could only fall in love with someone who also understood the infield fly rule.