Julia Beffon
No image available
/ 2 February 2007

Ali has gift of the gab to go with the jab

Cassius Green, cut man supreme, is probably quite glad that Laila Ali’s regular trainer, Floyd Mayweather Snr, does not enjoy long-distance flights. Mayweather has deputised Green and BB Hudson to work Ali’s corner during Saturday’s bout against Gwendolyn O’Neill at Emperor’s Palace in Kempton Park.

No image available
/ 17 November 2006

The boss of MeerKAT manor

Anthropomorphism and science are usually, at best, uneasy bedfellows — but, as the acronym for the Karoo Array Telescope is KAT, it is not surprising the astronomers involved have nicknamed the prototype antenna dish Kitty. The project, a fully-fledged radio telescope in its own right, is also an example of South Africa’s ability to build the â,¬1,5-billion Square Kilometre Array .

No image available
/ 10 November 2006

Legends are still playing the game

The middle-aged woman waiting patiently on the sidelines at the Atrec playing fields in Alexandra on Tuesday summed up the effect the influx of sports heroes had on South Africa this week. She’d driven up from Durban with the sole purpose of meeting and having her picture taken with Martina Navratilova.

No image available
/ 5 October 2006

High on the hog

Any South African who uses national highways or main roads in our cities will sooner or later run into a government convoy. Depending on the rank of the politician being taxied, the convoy can stretch from two to eight cars. At the last count, President Thabo Mbeki had eight. Jacob Zuma may be out of government, but he has almost as many.

No image available
/ 29 September 2006

The World Cup of science

On September 8 1966 Earth first made contact with the most famous split infinitive in the universe: ”To boldly go”. A decade after Star Trek hit the small screen South Africa finally joined the TV-watching world. Now the country is poised to challenge ”space, the final frontier”, to quote the series’s legendary voiceover.

No image available
/ 1 September 2006

Andre Agassi: Departure of a legend

I first took notice of Andre Agassi during the 1988 French Open, a tournament I particularly remember as it coincided with my last meaningful attempt to get fit. I’d installed an exercise bicycle in front of the telly so I could watch tennis while I pedalled my way to nowhere.

No image available
/ 11 August 2006

Cry mush and let slip the dogs of sport

As the first ”legally blind” entrant to complete the gruelling Iditarod dog-sled race through the frozen wilds of Alaska, Rachel Scdoris should have had no problems with a 7,8km jog through an Mpumalanga forest harnessed to a single dog. In truth, the run was a piece of cake for the 21-year-old Oregon native.

No image available
/ 21 July 2006

Of big whoppers and football

Burger King’s claim to be ”the home of the Whopper” has been challenged by Johannesburg in the past couple of weeks. Although the United States fast-food chain’s advertising slogan refers to its trademark huge hamburger, Egoli’s bid for the title is based on a different meaning of ”whopper”: that of a great big fib.