Wednesday, January 13, 2010

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World Cup 2010 Blog: “How to Watch African Cup of Nations 2010 in the USA, UK and Australia” plus 1 more

World Cup 2010 Blog: “How to Watch African Cup of Nations 2010 in the USA, UK and Australia” plus 1 more

Link to World Cup Soccer - South Africa 2010

How to Watch African Cup of Nations 2010 in the USA, UK and Australia

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 09:32 PM PST

6a00d83451c73369e201287679cfaa970c-320wiUnless you have a ticket to an Angola 2010 game, there are basically three ways to watch the African Cup of Nations 2010. Option One is to watch it on TV. Option Two, you can watch a legal, high quality internet stream. Option Three, you take your chances with a barely legal pirated internet stream. Let’s start with Option One.

1. Watching African Cup of Nations 2010 on Television
The news isn’t great I’m afraid. If you want to watch the Africa Cup of Nations 2010 on American television, it seems the only channel (that I know of) showing the tournament is the Malian channel ORTM, which is only available via certain satellite providers.

In you’re in the UK then the bad news is that the BBC aren’t offering the coverage they offered in 2008 (when games were live on either BBC Three or via the red button). Good news is that British Eurosport are showing games live (also on British Eurosport HD) but you’ll need Sky or Virgin or similar to see it. Basically, it’s not on freeview. The BBC will show both semi-finals and the final live though.

If you’re in Australia, then you’re in luck if you have Setanta. Details of Setanta Australia’s Africa Cup of Nations coverage can be found here.

Now onto Options Two and Three…


2. Paid-For Internet Streams

If you’re in the United States, then you can pay to watch live via MyAfricanFootball.com. It costs $7.20 per game, $28.81 for the Group Stage package, and $21.60 for the Final Stages Package (ie, the knockout rounds). It’s pricey, but it’s legal, reliable and apparently good quality. If you’re outside the USA, be aware that this coverage is unavailable in most European, Middle Eastern and some African countries. More details here.

If you’re in the UK and don’t have Eurosport as part of your television package, then you can watch online fairly cheaply via the Eurosport Player, which will simulcast Eurosport’s coverage online. It’s just £3.99 for a one month pass, which will get you through the 2010 African Cup of Nations. I’ve never tried this service, but suspect it’s reliable.

3. “Other” Internet Streams

After that, it’s all about your semi-legal options. Basically internet streaming. The obvious upside is that these streams are free. The downside is that the quality is sometimes questionable (though sometimes decent) and not always reliable. Beggars can’t be choosers. But if you’re going down this route then I would suggest trying the following links:

Myp2p.eu – Provides a listing of games available as streams, including African Cup of Nations games. Clicking on a game takes you to a page of viewing options. Some options require downloading software to your computer in order to watch, some (usually the ones branded “mediaplayer”) will play directly.

Iraqgoals.net – Provides a list of streams for current games. Just click and the stream (usually via justin.tv or similar) will open. Sometimes it’s very watchable, sometimes not.

Atdhe.net – Similar to Iraqgoals.net, but less football focused.

If anyone has anymore information on how to watch the African Cup of Nations, please share it in the comments.


Capitalism Gone Wild: Survive Stabbings At World Cup 2010 With Country-Identifying Proktektorvest.

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 12:00 PM PST

front showThis is possibly in incredibly poor taste, but it’s also incredibly hilarious. PROKTEKTORVEST (must be capitalized) is the newest fashion statement to be made at South Africa 2010 as a personalized knife-proof vest. That’s right, you too can prevent stabs while rooting for your favorite team for only $69.95.

But that’s not all!

Wait, yes it is.

Of course while this is obviously in response to the crime in South Africa, just wait until Wimbledon gets a grass-inspired vest named The Monica Seles. Or a giant puffy punch-proof vest in the shape of a basketball called The Ron Artest. Or body armor called Joey Barton’s Teammate.

Suddenly, there’s an incredible market for these things, eh?

They’ll also be donating $1 from the purchase of each vest to a “knife crime charity”. Does this involve things like getting a packet of plastic silverware sans butter knife? No one knows.

The PROTEKTORVEST has been manufactured to highest standards and wearing a vest can reduce the risk of being injured by a knife or other sharp object. The armour is flexible, multi-adjustable (sizes S – XXXL) and comfortable to wear for substantial periods of time. Most importantly it protects you from knife attacks in a world that is becoming increasingly dangerous.

Our PROTEKTORVEST offers effective protection from potential attacks from blades, knives, bottles and broken glass and turns your stab vest into a special and exclusive fan article.

* – Why would anyone buy anything other than XXXL? Isn’t the idea to maximize surface area protected from stabbings?

Incredibly, nowhere on the website does it say this product is FIFA-approved.

EnglandFront

That red cross looks suspiciously like a target. And no doubt Japanese fans should stay well away from these.

ProtektorVestEN

To be perfectly honest, at first this seemed a joke. It appears that’s not the case. So do you need a stab-proof vest in South Africa? Probably not. Should you be careful? Probably. And what should you do if someone tries to stab you? Run like the wind and scream like a little girl.


Coaching craziness: Kiffin bolts Vols for USC

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Tuesday, January 12, 2010

World Cup 2010 Blog: “If A Tree Falls In An Angolan Wood…” plus 1 more

World Cup 2010 Blog: “If A Tree Falls In An Angolan Wood…” plus 1 more

Link to World Cup Soccer - South Africa 2010

If A Tree Falls In An Angolan Wood…

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 09:51 AM PST

FBL-AFR2010-MAW-ALG

Every news story to come from the actual games will likely come second to anything involving Togo, as it should. So easily the second biggest of the CAN’s second day is the thrashing Malawi gave Algeria, proving World Cup participation means nothing. But on the grander scale, the game itself may mean nothing compared to the gate.

Look at the photo above. No, that is not the team shoot days before the game, nor is it a back file photo from yesteryear. The photo was taken today, mere moments before Malawi and Algeria kicked off at the Estadio 11 de Novembro in, as the caption says, “ghostly silence”.

The caption claims the stadium was dotted with a few hundred spectators, while a match report claims it at a solid 1,000. To get a definitive answer, let’s see if you can count in the highlights – shouldn’t take too long:

[101gg]

At least this gave them an opportunity to flash the lovely seating designs.

This is, as you would expect, something of a mini financial disaster for Angola, who built the stadium in time for the tournament and opened it all of weeks ago. It housed plenty who were treated to a wonderful show Sunday (well, depending on which side they were on), but ticket revenue is supremely important to the tournament organizers whose initial outlay was undoubtedly huge, and they’ll need that turnover from every game, not just a few here and there.

Yet now, watching Burkina Fase and Cote d’Ivoire do battle, the stadium is thoroughly packed to the brim. That match review nailed it on the head, then: the “unpredictability” of this tournament. Was there a reason why that stadium looked at though it was on timeout? Did everyone expect Algeria to win that easily? Are precious moneys being saved for the bigger games – the Angolan games?

Given the games, the off-pitch happenings and everything in between, perhaps there’s a new motto for this tournament: expect the unexpected.

And as we tail off, Didier Drogba has been left scoreless in a nil-nil draw with Burkina Faso, only confirming the theory. Here’s to future champions Mozambique.


Togo’s Request to Return to Angola 2010 Apparently Rejected

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 06:53 AM PST

15518709The question of whether Togo will play in the Africa Cup of Nations following the fatal attack on their team bus in Cabinda has taken another turn, with the team’s request to re-enter the tournament after a three day mourning period apparently being rejected by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

“We have ordered a three-day [period of] mourning,” said Togolese Sports Minister Christophe Tchao. “The players are leaving with the bodies of their fallen brothers and we have asked the Confederation of African Football to find an arrangement so we can catch up with the competition later.”

According to reports cited in both The Guardian and The Times, CAF has rejected this request, presumably because it wold require rescheduling a few games.

Togo are/were in Group B with Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Ghana, which is due to kick off today. Togo were scheduled to play Ghana at 19:30 local time, but obviously won’t be competing as the team is home and observing a three day national mourning period. Without Togo, Group B will simply go ahead with three teams.

But if Togo are willing to play, then surely CAF should make the effort, pull out the stops, and find a way to let Togo catch up and play their games. Yes, it would take some rescheduling and yes that would be a pain in the arse. But after the events of the past few days, rescheduling should be the least of everyone’s worries.

Update: Breaking news as I type this post, the Prime Minister of Togo Gilbert Huongbo is now saying that Togo do not want to return to the tournament. He’s also pretty scathing about the way CAF has handled the whole thing.

“We will have hoped that one can have serene discussion with the host country, with the Confederation, to assess what has happened, assess what one has to do. We received no co-operation from the Confederation in terms of any kind of assessment.
“Our analysis is that they want it [the shooting] to be seen as a non-event and the show must go on as planned; there mustn’t be an official change and Togo is causing problems to the festival.”

All of which leaves me feeling very conflicted. In many ways I’d like to try and get past the shooting and just enjoy the tournament. But it feels unfair to Togo to just brush aside what happened, which – if Gilbert Huongbo is right – is what CAF wants us to do.