A really super bowl
February 2nd, 2008
I’ll be watching the Super Bowl with one of my sons tomorrow afternoon, but the match I’d really love to watch is the African Cup of Nations quarterfinal between Ghana and Nigeria. This pits two of the most exciting teams in the game most of world calls football, playing in a high-stakes match on Ghana’s home turf. But my options for watching it in the US, despite the hundreds of channels on my television, are pretty poor.
If I could get Canada’s TV5 on my Comcast cable I’d be set. But I can’t. Given the success of the World Cup last year on both ESPN and Univision, I can’t understand why neither of those channels picked up the Cup of Nations. Or why not Fox Soccer Channel? In Europe, it’s recognized as perhaps the most exciting of the international competitions. So I’ll be reduced to watching the match streaming on the web thanks to LiveSoccerTV. Not high-def, but better than nothing.
Brazil’s minister of ideas
February 2nd, 2008
There’s a fascinating profile of Roberto Mangabeira Unger in today’s New York Times. He’s the Brazilian minister for strategic affairs. I enjoyed this snippet:
Some of [president Lula ] da Silva’s top advisers view Mr. Unger as a political wild card, somewhat awkward and eccentric. He speaks Portuguese with a decidedly American accent. During a tour of Africa last summer with the president, Mr. Unger could often be seen engrossed in Milton’s “Paradise Lost.”
I think the world would be a better place if more ministers were engrossed in Paradise Lost.