Former NFL tight end Aaron Hernandez faces murder charge

NFL player Aaron Hernandez plotted the death of his friend, then shot and killed him in an industrial park in the early hours of June 17, authorities plan to prove when his case goes to trial.

Hernandez, who was released by the New England Patriots less than two hours after his arrest Wednesday, has been charged in the murder of Odin Lloyd, a semipro football player and friend of the former University of Florida football standout. He also faces five counts of weapons charges.

Aaron Hernandez was arrested Wdnesday for the murder of Odin Lloyd

Lloyd was discovered by a jogger in a remote area of the park, about a mile away from Hernandez' home, the Associated Press reported in a detailed account of the investigation.

If a series of texts, videos and eyewitness accounts are accurate, Hernandez executed Lloyd for talking to the wrong people at a night club on June 14, Bristol County Assistant District Attorney Bill McCauley said at his arraignment. Hernandez pleaded not guilty and has been held without bail.

McCauley said shortly before he died, Lloyd, who family members say was dating the sister of Hernandez' fiancee, sent a series of texts to his sister in attempt to confirm in whose company he had left his house.

"Did you see who I was with?" the first text read at 3:07 a.m. on June 17. "Who?" his sister replied sometime after.

"NFL," he texted back, then added: "Just so you know."

The last text was sent at 3:23 a.m. Moments later, authorities believe Lloyd was shot and killed by Hernandez or one of the two unidentified men with him.

Aaron Hernandez was released by the New England Patriots following his arrest

Hernandez also faces another legal issue as a man in Florida last week filed a lawsuit accusing the tight end of shooting him in the face at a strip club in February.

For more on the timeline of events, read the Associated Press detailed report here.

Hernandez is the 28th NFL player arrested since the Feb. 3 Super Bowl game marked the end of the season.

Cleveland Browns' Ausar Walcott, an undrafted rookie from University of Virginia, was arrested Tuesday and charged with attempted murder for allegedly punching a man outside a northern New Jersey club. He also faces charges for aggravated assault and endangering an injured victim.

Walcott punched Derrick Jones in the head outside The Palace Gentlemen's Club Sunday morning, authorities told the New Jersey Bergen Record. Jones remains in critical condition at a New York hospital.

It isn't the first arrest for Walcott, a linebacker for the Virginia Cavaliers. In 2011, he was charged with assault and battery stemming from a fight. He was suspended from the team, but allowed to return after charges were dropped.

Ausar Walcott faces attempted murder charges

Mug shot from Ausar Walcott's 2011 arrest for assault and battery.

He was cut by the Browns following his arrest.
The NFL bears no responsibility for adult males getting in trouble with the law, nor should it. Hernandez, by his own admission, was well aware of troubled path he was treading, admitting after the Nov. 6 birth of his daughter that he needed to put his reckless behavior in check and work harder at doing the right thing.

Those words seem more likely to have rolled off his tongue than to have come from a place of deep, reflective pondering, given what McCauley said about the timeline of events. You hear stories of star athletes teetering on the edge of the law, committing brazen crimes assuming that their status places them above the law. But this story, if true, is different. It says a lot about the mindset of a person who urges two friends to return from an out-of-state trip to accompany him on a trip to lure and kill another friend while leaving sloppy traces of evidence all over the place. It was pre-meditated, albeit poorly.

If the details are true, that Hernandez was seen on video walking out of his house with a gun, driving into the park shortly before the shooting, driving out of the park and to his house, where his 8-month old daughter resides, then it paints a much bigger picture of a deeply troubled man.

The Patriots made the right choice in releasing Hernandez, disassociating the team from the disgrace player even if it would cost the team a pretty penny. By not waiting for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to suspend the tight end, the Patriots could ultimately be responsible for a good chunk of the five-year, $40 million contract Hernandez signed last season.

But even if he gets it, Henandez would likely cough up all that money in a civil lawsuit in addition to spending the rest of his life imprisoned, if found guilty of killing his friend.

The struggle to assimilate

I planned to blog after work yesterday about my cooking struggles in Johannesburg. Unfortunately, NEPA struck. For non-Nigerians reading this, NEPA (National Electric Power Authority) was the former name for Nigeria's national power source, which has been renamed PHCN (Power Holding Company of Nigeria.) With Nigeria's constant and lengthy power interruptions, 'NEPA' became a colloquial reference indicating the absence or seizure of power.

The entire Melville area of Johannesburg lost power for about eight hours yesterday, and the timing couldn't have been worse for me. I've been relying on an electric blanket to help weather the cold nights here, but I didn't have that for the better part of last night. I went to bed without dinner since my cooker requires electricity to fire it up. Let's just say I was one very cold and hungry female last night. Thankfully, power was restored at about 12:30 a.m., which jolted me from my sleep immediately.

It struck me, how appreciative I should be to have access to what should be considered basic amenities today (water, electricity, good roads and transportation, and internet). I couldn't function without electricity for eight hours. By the time I left the office, there was already talk of turning over control to the London bureau if the generator failed to work. In the U.S. it was a similar experience when we lost power in the New York/New Jersey area due to Hurricane Sandy. I lost power at home for 24 hours, which was the best case scenario among affected households. A few of my friends camped at my place for more than a week, and despite not having phone or cable access, I was lucky to have electricity. Fuel scarcity, another normal occurrence in Nigeria, emerged and residents were asked to stay home unless in cases of emergency. We became powerless literally and figuratively.

If I was in Nigeria, it would be a different story. I would barely blink an eye if power outage occurs. Most, if not all, homes rely on gas-powered cooking stoves. And those who don't usually have some sort of back up available; likely in the form of a kerosene stove. Few people, typically those with 24-hour serviced generators, buy perishable food items that last longer than four days, and everyone walks around with a phone charger prepared to boost batteries wherever electricity is spotted.

This incident, and my initial proposed blog entry about my failed attempt to cook some beans, are a reminder on why home is always best. They make a case, though not that strongly, on why moving back home is ideal.

When I relocated to the U.S. (wow it's been 13!) years ago, it took a while to assimilate into the American way of doing things. Everything from the way I talked to how I dressed changed. My cooking habits also changed as I found myself experimenting with a variety of condiments and seasonings in an attempt to get as close to achieving that indigenous taste I was accustomed to. More than a decade later, I can say I've come quite close to perfecting it. Either that, or my friends visiting from Nigeria have lied to me. I learned to substitute the ugwu leaves from my mother's eastern Nigerian roots with collard greens or spinach, and replace the brown beans, common in Nigeria, with black eyed peas. 

In Johannesburg, there's a small selection of beans to choose from. You get the abundance of red kidney beans and one or two other types, but no brown beans or black eyed peas. When a friend suggested I try white beans, I was all too eager to accept since they looked similar to black eyed peas. I found them in the fourth grocery store I looked and attempted to cook them to go along with this really nice duck I had marinating. Ninety minutes later, the beans were barely any softer than when I first put them on the stove.

As my very cold apartment is hardly the place to experiment cooking on two small electric plates, I gave up trying to replicate my indigenous beans as I had done with black eyed peas. I settled for noodles and a piece of drumstick from my duck. Savoring a nice, big piece of duck didn't quite go well with noodles in my book. So they sit in my fridge (hopefully unspoiled,) waiting to be devoured on a later date.

Do you have any stories on the struggle to adjust in a new environment? Share them in the comment space.

No phone, no life?

What did we do before the advent of cell phones?

It's crazy to imagine life without a cell phone even though I didn't get my first one until 2004. At the time, I was a reluctant owner because I just didn't think there was much need for one when I had a home phone and few friends. In the nine years I've owned one, I have become extremely dependent on cell phones, and I wasn't more aware of this fact than last week when I lost my phone.

This time a week ago, I was in a sense of panic because I had lost the one device that kept me connected to my life back home. I accompanied a friend to the evening service at her church and somehow lost my phone. In Johannesburg, and frankly I'd imagine almost anywhere in the world, cell phone thievery is pretty common. So much that when I told my colleagues at work that I'd lost my phone, they were unanimous in telling me to "forget it, it's been nicked."

Last Monday was Youth Day, a public holiday in South Africa, in honor of the lives lost during the 1976 Soweto uprising when students protested the white racist apartheid government's decision to mandate classes be taught in Afrikaans (a Dutch-influenced language spoken by whites in South Africa.) So I had to sweat out an extra day of panic as I waited to get in touch with the church I attended. No phone meant no ability to call my "Tuk Tuk" (my primary mode of transportation to work,) so I had to walk. I've walked to and from work several times, but as it gets colder, it gets harder to commit to 1.2 miles of the frosty morning air. It also meant I couldn't communicate with my family and friends who have become even more important to me on this lonely journey I am undertaking. No Whatsapp, Viber or Google Talk. Further, I had lost all the pictures and videos I'd been taking since I arrived as my smart phone doubled as my camera.

A similar type of this Tuk Tuk is my main form of transportation

Thankfully when I called the church on Tuesday, they had the phone. Someone had found and turned it in at the church. Can I just say that while I realize thieves exist everywhere, including in churches, I always felt that it wasn't stolen. I held out hope that I'd be reconnected with my phone. Too bad the good Samaritan who hooked me up with a sim for my phone (you need proof of residency to purchase even prepaid sims in South Africa to minimize fraudulent crimes committed via phones) didn't share the same belief. He canceled my sim. It took another two days before I was able to reconnect with him to get a new one.  By that time, I had almost lost it mentally.

It brings me to my questions, how attached are you to your phone and long can you go without cell phone use? Share your stories.

Veronica Campbell-Brown latest track star facing drug ban

She is a seven-time Olympic medalist, who won back-to-back 200m titles at the Athens and Beijing Olympics, and is one of only eight track athletes to have won world championships at the youth, junior and senior levels of competition.

She grew up in Trelawny, a parish in Jamaica that has produced other speed greats such as Usain Bolt, Merlene Ottey, Sanya Richards-Ross and even disgraced track star Ben Johnson, among others.
Now Veronica Campbell-Brown, one of the most accomplished female track & field athletes is the latest athlete to test positive for a banned substance.

VCB, as she's known in track circles, tested positive for a banned diuretic at a meet in May and has been suspended pending an investigation. Her "B" sample also tested positive for the diuretic, which has not been identified by the Jamaican Anti-Doping Commission, though reports are that it is not considered a major infraction. Whatever suspension she eventually gets notwithstanding, VCB will not be able to defend her 200m title at this year's world championship or attempt to better her second-place finish in the 100m.

Diuretics are not classified as a steroid or performance enhancing drug, but work more as a masking agent by diluting the potency of urine samples, which could alter or conceal results of performance enhancing drugs by excreting lower levels of the drug.

Does this mean that one of the most successful women in the sport is a cheat? Who knows.

VCB supporters like fellow track stars Tyson Gay and Justin Gatlin point out that she has consistently won at the highest level from youth to adult competition. But you know who else fits this bill? Marion Jones. Her success as a two-sport athlete who qualified as an alternate for the 1992 Olympics at just 16 and won an NCAA basketball championship as a freshman at the University of North Carolina, was a big reason she was able to weather the scrutiny of being a drug cheat for so long. She was too good to have needed doping assistance, but ultimately admitted to buckling under the pressure to win gold in five events at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

But there are also questionable cases like 400m Olympic champion LaShawn Merritt, who embarrassingly tested positive for banned substances found in the male enhancement product ExtenZe. Though he had used the product during the out-of-competition period, Merritt served a 21-month ban. The IAAF determined he didn't use it to gain an advantage, but a positive test can only mean one thing: suspension. There's also Gatlin, who like Jones I defiantly defended because the two were just too talented to warrant steroid use. After a first ban in 2001 for amphetamines, which he successfully explained was contained in medication he had been taking since childhood for attention deficit disorder, he tested positive again in 2006 for elevated levels of testosterone. Despite claiming his innocence to this day, he was handed a four-year ban and stripped of his 100m world record set at 9.77s. Yet, like Merritt, he is back at the top of the sport, winning bronze in the 100m at 2012 London Olympics and recently beating Usain Bolt at the Golden Gala meet in Rome earlier this month.

Merritt and Gatlin are the examples VCB needs to identify with to prove this was an inadvertent case of doping. It may not drive away doubters, as Gatlin knows all too well (He wasn't allowed to compete at several European meets when he first returned from suspension and was sometimes booed by crowds, including before last year's Olympic 100m final and during his medal presentation.) But doing what she does best, which is consistently winning, can slowly eat away at the doubts. At 31, her career may be on the decline as she has been a top contender since she was 18, but finishing in the top 3 regularly can help restore any damaged reputation she may suffer from this suspension. Just look at Gatlin, he gets more cheers than jeers when he is announced at meets.

Jazz in the cradle

A jazz festival I attended June 2 at the Nirox Amphitheater in Sculpture Park. It featured two acts, the Young Lions Love Ensemble and a tribute to Zim Ngqaqana, a notable South African jazz musician.

I lost my phone (or it was stolen) yesterday so my original plans to blog has been scrapped since I have no accompanying pictures or videos. Fortunately, I had put these videos on a jump drive a week ago. So, I hope you enjoy.

How do we learn about Nigeria's history?

I had never heard of the name Benedict Odiase until two days ago when I came across a blog posting announcing his death. Judging by the comments, very few people had heard of this man.

Odiase, who died Tuesday in his sleep, is the man behind the most important Nigerian song– the national anthem, which he composed in May 1978. According to various reports of his death, he was once the music director of the Nigerian Police Band and retired in 1992 as a deputy commissioner of police.

Pa Benedict Odiase composed the Nigerian national anthem. He died Tuesday.

Here's what Nigerian newspaper The Sun says about Odiase.

As a composer per excellence, Odiase wrote and composed Nigeria’s National Anthem, Arise O Compatriots in May 1978. The Federal Government had in that year thrown open the competition to Nigerians to compose the National Anthem. Odiase, like every other Nigerian sent his entry and he was subsequently shortlisted along with two other great composers- Professors Laz Ekwueme and Akin Euba.

Eventually, the Federal Government through Mr. Christopher Oyesiku, leader of the then Federal Radio Corporation oF Nigeria (FRCN), announced Odiase as winner of the competition and this entry was formally chosen as the country’s National Anthem on October 1, 1978.

You can read The Sun's full story here.

I've sung Nigeria's anthem thousands of times, the words rolling effortlessly from my mouth without so much a thought about its origin. Odiase was so unknown at the time of his death that I couldn't find one report stating his age.

In my time here in Joburg (in addtion to my previous time spent in Cape Town and Joburg in 2010,) I've come to realize that South Africa's history is one of its most treasured valuables. You can find a museum or historical landmark at the turn of every street; each with a different highlight just as captivating as the next. But in my native country Nigeria, we run away from our history. We don't want to tell our story. While I've known about the national museum in Lagos since childhood, I've never felt compelled to visit. Not until I read the heavily criticized Chinua Achebe book, There Was A Country, about the celebrated author's personal experience and opinion about Nigeria's civil war, also known as The Biafran War.

Literary icon Chinua Achebe is best known for penning the acclaimed "Things Fall Apart."

 Achebe's detailed account of the darkest period in Nigeria's history, which was released last year, was viewed negatively by many Nigerians who questioned his decision to release a book that revisited the massacres of Igbos in the late '60s through the early '70s. To this day, many Igbos, my mother included, refuse to talk about what they went through during this period. Some of them still hold a grudge against the Yorubas, particularly Obafemi Awolowo, who they blame for deliberately starving innocent children to death. Varying reports of the number of deaths during this war range between hundreds of thousands to more than a million. Yet, we were never taught about this period in primary or secondary school. There were no school trips to the National Museum. the slave sections of Badagry or any historical site that would help keep the memory alive of how Nigeria came to be what it is today.

Upon his death in March, Achebe was celebrated by Nigerians as a literary icon and given a national burial attended by many dignitaries, including Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan. It was a far cry from what many felt Achebe would want since he had repeatedly turned down significant national honors bestowed on him by the country's leaders because of the poor state of its citizens.

Which brings me to one of the many problems in Nigeria. Why are the country's most intelligent and important figures not properly recognized or respected while alive? Why do we wait until their deaths to remember them for their achievements? Why do we run away from our past instead of embracing it like South Africans do. No doubt, much of Nigeria's history was birthed in turmoil and grief, but it is still important that we tell these stories in our schools. It is vital that we pass it on for generations to come so our children's children will understand how we became the Nigeria that they were born into and why we sing, "Arise O Compatriots, Nigeria's call obey."

Writer's note: I've made a mental note to visit the National Museum on my next trip to Nigeria and hope to share my experience here when it happens.

Visiting the Liliesleaf Heritage Site

I love my job!

I've been in Johannesburg for five weeks now and had been a bit down about not touring anywhere new. Thankfully, I had visited a number of places on my last visit so I figured the one place I hadn't toured was the Apartheid Museum. Thanks to my job, I got to go to the museum in Gold Reef City on Tuesday. Since I was working, I didn't get to tour the entire museum, which is why I have to go back. I'll share my experience much later.

I had never heard of the Liliesleaf Heritage Site until I accompanied the TV crew to interview officials on the day of the 49th anniversary of the Rivonia Trial verdict. If you haven't been there, it's a definite must-visit when you are in Johannesburg.

Liliesleaf farm, which was a secret safe house for many members of the Liberation Army and the African National Congress, who sought to fight against South Africa's racist apartheid rule, is in Rivonia in Johannesburg. It was at Liliesleaf, during a secret meeting on July 12, 1963, that leaders of the anti-apartheid movement were arrested following an informant's disclosure of the farm. Among those arrested were revered anti-apartheid activists Walter Sisulu and Govan Mbeki. Former South African President Nelson Mandela, though already serving a five-year prison sentence for inciting illegal strikes and leaving the country on a fake passport, was also charged for his role in plotting to overthrow the apartheid government.

The main house on Liliesleaf farm the day after the raid and today

The case became known as the Rivonia Trial, and its defendants, the Rivonia 12. In addition to Mandela, Sisulu and Mbeki, the government also charged Denis Goldberg, Ahmed Kathrada, Lionel 'Rusty' Bernstein, Raymond Mhlaba, James Kantor, Elias Motsoaledi, Arthur Goldreich, Harold Wolpe and Andrew Mlangeni. Goldreich and Wolpe escaped detention by bribing a security guard, and eventually fled the country. Bernstein and Kantor were acquitted and the rest were sentenced to life imprisonment.

The defendants in the Rivonia Trial

At the Liliesleaf site, visitors get an interactive account of the period leading up to the invasion of the farm, including a 12 minute movie presentation, video interviews from some of the key people involved, pictures and a telephone call that takes you through the conspiracy theory addressing how the hideout was discovered. To get the phone call, visitors need to step on a mat with two shoe prints inside Room 3.

Visitors can hear about the conspiracy behind the safe house leak by stepping onto the footmat, which causes the phone to ring

Hearing or in some cases watching actual interviews from those involved is an important part of the reenactment because it almost catapults you to the scene of the actual events taking place. I truly enjoyed learning about this significant period in South Africa's history. This is one thing South Africa's great for, its historic museums. Retelling its history through the many museums, centers and memorials that have become major tourist attractions, South Africans ensure that its past is never forgotten; the memories are never lost. My only regret was not having enough time to take in every interview or voiceover account onsite.

A man exits Room 3, where tourists can listen in on phones or watch interviews with those involved with the prison escape

A group of people were visiting from a center for people with disability and I met this man who told me about his family. He has a daughter in Pittsburgh, another in Canada and one set to relocate to London soon. But he was more interested in telling me about his son, an aviation engineer who happens to be in Johannesburg. He said he would tell his son about me and inquired about the possibility of me remaining in South Africa. He called me by a name, which sounded weirdly similar to my last name. It meant, "daughter in-law." Perhaps my other regret was not getting his son's contact details...

I was unofficially asked for my hand in marriage by the visitor in a wheelchair, who wanted me to marry his son

During the Rivonia Trial, Mandela addressed the court, delivering his famous speech that is often referenced perhaps as much as Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. This excerpt from Mandela's speech is the most widely quoted portion, and it ideally portrays the mindsets of the activists who fought to take down apartheid. It reads,

This is the struggle of the African people, inspired by their own suffering and experience. It is a struggle for the right to live. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society, in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunity. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and achieve. But, if needs be, my Lord, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.

Bryan Brothers win second French Open title

On the same day Serena Williams claimed her second French Open title in 11 years, the Bryan twins earned their second after a 10 year drought.

Bob and Mike Bryan took the men's double title in a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 battle over French pair Nicolas Mahut and Michael Llodra. The Bryans have no extended their Grand Slam record to 14,two more than the previous record set by Australians John Newcombe and Tony Roche.



Ten years ago, the Bryans were a struggling doubles pair on the ATP tour, sleeping on the floor of cheap hotels. Today, they've earned a combined $20 million in prize money alone, which will certainly increase after winning their 89th doubles title at Roland Garros.

The doubles tournament in tennis isn't really celebrated any more. Not since the top singles players stopped entering the draws. But the Bryans, identical twins separated by three minutes, have transcended the popularity, or lack of,of their peers. They are globally recognized tennis stars. The Williams sisters of men's tennis.



It's a lot harder to be successful at the doubles because it involves so much preparation and getting to know the ins and outs of your partner's playing style. If you've watched the William sisters, they tend to play more of an unconventional style where one of them positions at the net while the other stays back during play. The Bryans are so in sync that it's not uncommon to catch them saying the same things simultaneously. They even live together!

How did they become the most successful doubles pairing in men's tennis? It took Bob, the more successful singles player of the two, to sacrifice his singles career to focus entirely on building a dynamic duo with his brother.

When they're not killing it on the court, you can find them jamming on their rock band. Bob, who plays left handed plays the keyboard and Mike plays drums and guitar.

Life in Johannesburg

My second trip to South Africa has been nothing short of enlightening. I was here during the FIFA World Cup in 2010, which you can find some of my articles, video packages and documentaries on YouTube or here.

The most surprising thing is how difficult it is for a non-resident to get a local sim. I arrived May 10 and was able to get a sim at a Vodacom shop inside the OR Tambo International Airport. I would later find out it wasn't a Vodacom exclusive shop, but a franchise store. This proved crucial as I will explain later.

My communication ordeal
I was also bamboozled into buying a R1,500 router because the salesman claimed it was the only one that would work with a Mac. In hindsight, I remember thinking, how is that possible, but I think I was just so tired from the roughly 15-16 hour trip that I just went along with it. My friends and colleagues here all expressed shock at how much I spent on the router. I also bought 1GB of data and two sims (one for the router and another for my phone.) I didn't load any airtime on my phone because I'd forgotten to unlock it.

Within three hours of loading my data, I had used up the 1GB. I still don't know how that happened, though I suspect leaving my Skype running in the background and watching an NBA Playoffs first round game involving the Miami Heat had something to do with it.

Then my nightmare began.

I tried to contact the Vodacom customer service on my phone and couldn't get anywhere. The following day I walked to the mall closest to my house and after going through my phone, was told by the customer service rep that I had a bad sim. My options: buy another sim for R99 (my original sim cost R105) or go back to the airport shop and replace it because that store isn't a Vodacom store. In disgust I went across to the MTN store, determined not to pay for another Vodacom sim, and was surprised to find out its sim costs R1. Everything else was also cheaper. Unfortunately I couldn't buy a new sim because I needed to have proof of residence.

The proof of residence
Citing a need to curb criminal and illegal activities through pay-as-you-go phones, the South African government passed a law that states everyone who purchases a sim must be a resident. You can get away with this at the airport, or some hotels, but majority of the phone stores within the city won't sell you one even with a passport.

One week later, after existing without the ability to call (I could receive calls on my Vodacom, but couldn't add airtime to make calls) or use the internet outside of work, I finally got a sim and a new router with help from a friend. I currently using 8.ta, the cell phone branch of Telkom, the popular landline and internet service provider. My new router cost R1,000, but I got a much better deal on my sim (free with initial airtime purchase) and data (bought 2GB for R149, with an additional 1GB free, compared to R279 I paid for 1GB at Vodacom.)

My advice...make sure you do your homework before coming to South Africa, or anywhere for the matter, as a number of things could've changed.

The rest of my time here so far has been eventful at times and mundane at others. It's winter here so it tends to be a bit cold. While it's not so cold outdoors for me, compared to the cold I experience during winter in the U.S., it is very cold indoors. The walls don't seem to be insulated so I was freezing for my first two weeks in my apartment. Fortunately, my landlady gave me an electric blanket, which has become my best friend here. I don't go out much since I don't have a car and my only reliable cab driver has been unavailable the past two weeks. It's important that you try to get a trusted (as trustworthy as you can ascertain) cab driver especially if you plan on being out at night. Collective crime rate here is quite high, with violent crime (murder, rape, assault, kidnappings, muggings) high up the list. And sometimes, it could be the cab driver committing the crime.

Nevertheless, there are a lot of positive things about Johannesburg and I hope to show some of my positive experiences while here. To start with, I ate my first fried plantain today. Big deal? Well if you know me or my family, you'd know how much we'd die for 'dodo' and I can't believe how scarce it is here. I got a rotten bunch for R40, and barely scraped a few slices worth frying from it.

On a more serious note, I have become familiar with my surroundings enough to start jogging every Saturday. I'm determined to stay in shape while here so running, my fitness ball and stretching rope are my main activities. I'll include some pictures and videos from a jazz and wine outing I attended on Sunday on my next blog entry. It's one of a few outings I've made.

Thanks for sticking around, and I hope to keep giving you content worth reading.

I'm back!

I feel so ashamed that I haven't blogged since January. I can't quite say what happened as it won't matter. There's no excuse for the long drought. So I'm going to give it my best shot once more.

I am currently in South Africa, where I've been for the last month. I am here for a three-month internship with a news organization, and I think, despite this being a forum to express my thoughts about sports and entertainment, that I should document my stay in South Africa.

Since I'm a month behind, I'll probably summarize my stay so far in one blog entry, and then proceed from there on.

To my loyal readers, I'm sorry for stepping away for so long, especially since there's been plenty of sports and music stories going on.