Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Japan makes clean break out of Russia
Japan bowed out of the World Cup in the Round of 16 in heartbreaking fashion on Monday, but that didn’t stop the Japanese fans and players from showing profound respect for the event’s host country of Russia.
After a devastating 3-2 loss to Belgium — where Japan took a 2-0 lead in the second half before losing in stoppage time — the Japanese players made sure to leave their dressing room at Rostov Arena spotless.
They even left a note saying “thank you” in Russian.
And while the players and staff cleaned the team dressing room, the Japanese fans made sure to do the same in the stands — just as they have after every other match throughout the tournament.
To do that after losing in such brutal fashion shows the sportsmanship of the Japanese.
Japan took a surprising 2-0 lead in the 51st minute before the Belgians stormed back with two goals in a five-minute span in the 69th and 73rd minutes.
Still, the match looked destined for extra time when the Belgians executed a brilliant counter attack that was capped off with a game-winning goal by Nacer Chadli just seconds before the end of stoppage time.
Sleep tight
Rugby’s world governing body has intervened after Zimbabwe’s national team was forced to sleep on the street in Tunisia after problems with accommodations and visas.
World Rugby tweeted that “we are aware of an issue regarding the Zimbabwe team ahead of their Rugby Africa Gold Cup match on Saturday. We have received firm assurances from Rugby Africa that the issue has been quickly and effectively resolved.”
Zimbabwe’s rugby team, nicknamed the Sables, is in Tunisia for a test match in Beja that forms part of the 2019 World Cup qualifying campaign.
The Sables had landed in the North African country Monday night directly from Kenya.
The team initially was delayed for almost six hours at the airport in Tunis because it did not have the required 600 euros to pay for visas, and it later declined to check into a hotel in Beja that the squad deemed substandard. Players then slept outside the same hotel.
Six Feet Under
Andre Dawson’s second career is nothing like his first, but the former Montreal Expos and Chicago Cubs star does see a connection.
Dawson, 63, runs a funeral home near Miami with his wife Vanessa. It’s not like when a star athlete slaps their name on a car dealership or restaurant — Dawson actually works inside Paradise Memorial Funeral Home, doing almost any job that needs doing.
The funeral home business, as you’d expect, is a lot different than baseball. But Dawson said baseball prepared him for it.
“You gotta make yourself comfortable,” Dawson said. “You gotta keep your composure. You’re going to deal with a lot of emotion. I think the game itself prepared me, in a sense, for that.”