Tuesday’s Hot Clicks: Japan Cleans Dressing Room, Leaves Thank You Note After Crushing Loss

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Japan won the World Cup

Carl Court/Getty Images

The Japanese national team showed outstanding sportsmanship after losing an absolute heartbreaker to Belgium in the World Cup round of 16 yesterday. 

Japan took a 2–0 lead early in the first have after a pair of goals four minutes apart, only to see Belgium quickly even things up with two goals of its own just five minutes apart. The game seemed destined for extra time with the score still tied and stoppage time running out, but the Belgians scored a beautiful team goal on a counter attack to rip the hearts out of the Japanese. 

Most people would want to get the hell out of the stadium as quickly as possible after a loss like that, but not the Japanese. They made sure to salute their traveling supporters with a bow and also took the time to clear out the dressing room before they left. The team even left a thank you note in Russian. 

Amazing from Japan.
This is how they left the changing room after losing v Belgium: cleaned it all.
And in the middle, have left a message to Russia: “Spasibo” (Thank you) pic.twitter.com/lrwoIZt2pR

— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) July 3, 2018

And it wasn’t just the players. Japanese fans stayed after every game of the tournament to clean the trash out of their section of the stadium, and yesterday was no exception. 

Valery Matytsin/TASS via Getty Images

Valery Matytsin/TASS via Getty Images

Valery Matytsin/TASS via Getty Images

(Senegalese fans also cleaned up their sections during the tournament.)

Some fans even tidied up while fighting back tears. 

Valery Sharifulin/TASS via Getty Images

Valery Sharifulin/TASS via Getty Images

We could all learn something from the Japanese. 

Just when you thought you couldn’t hate the Warriors any more, they go ahead and add another All-Star. DeMarcus Cousins, one of the best centers in the league, has reportedly agreed to a one-year deal with Golden State.

With that addition, the Warriors become the first team in more than 40 years to have five players on the roster who were All-Stars in the previous season. 

Those five Celtics in 1975-76 who were All-Stars the previous season: Jo Jo White, Charlie Scott, Dave Cowens, Paul Silas and John Havlicek https://t.co/IZd67UmBKV

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 3, 2018

Boogie is coming back from a torn Achilles tendon so he’ll likely miss a big chunk of the regular season, but the Warriors have shown us that the regular season doesn’t mean anything. He’ll certainly be back in time for the playoffs to win Golden State yet another ring.

The only thing I like about this is that Cousins is joining the team he tried to fight last year.

KD and Draymond didn't forget 💀 pic.twitter.com/TqFQVkn38Y

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) July 3, 2018

Bits & Pieces

Former NFL running back DeAngelo Williams is returning to pro wrestling next week. ... Here is a cool look at which seats are most expensive for the Home Run Derby in Washington later this month. ... I still can’t believe how this MMA fight ended. ... I’ll just paste the lead of this news story from Texas: “A Texas man is accused of biting the rattle off a rattlesnake before releasing it into his neighbor's home after the two men got into an argument, authorities say.” ... As if running 100 miles wasn’t tough enough, this guy dealt with multiple bears and still set a new record. ... A former MMA fighter who is now a notorious criminal in Morocco has given a rare interview. ... Winston Duke, who you probably know as the enormous guy with the beard from Black Panther, has reportedly been cast to play Kimbo Slice in a new biopic. 

Get ready to see this photo approximately 500,000 times this season

I don’t even know what to say

My lasting impression of Rondo came in locker room scrum after Anthony Davis had 53 vs. Suns:

Me: You’ve played with & against a lot of great players in your career. Can you put into perspective what A.D. is doing right now?

Rondo: Whatcha want me to do? Suck him off?

Me: Uh.

— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) July 2, 2018

This still infuriates me

Go on...

The first sentence of tthis story is amazing. A very Alabama story. @abc3340 pic.twitter.com/tfE7B1udZD

— Ryan Brown (@RyanBrownLive) July 2, 2018

Here’s the full story.

This is a truly amazing Twitter thread

Guys I'm in Hungary and the zoo was one of the suggested things to see. The following pictures are from their website under the section "puppies and cats" (?) Something tells me the Magyar-English translate function needs work:

— Worrier Princess (@the_whole_half) June 15, 2018

You really have to watch this

#MundialTelemundo @NChadli le da la vuelta al marcador y pone a #BEL en cuartos de final. pic.twitter.com/2XWtpYJP5Q

— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) July 2, 2018

I know I referenced it above but this Belgium goal is pure art. 

I promise this is hilarious

If golf and soccer switched announcers... pic.twitter.com/W0qr4n3GWx

— John Crist (@johnbcrist) July 2, 2018

The only thing worse than bringing a normal glove to the game

How stupid do you have to be to try this?

Shocking video shows a shark biting the finger of a woman that attempted to feed it in Western Australia, dragging her into the water. She escaped with a fracture and a torn ligament. https://t.co/EWT1bFltDZ pic.twitter.com/C3cK488F2Q

— ABC News (@ABC) July 2, 2018

Man, I really miss this guy

This is actually amazing

I won my second ever US National Yoyo Championship today using the song “Freebird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd and felt like an actual rockstar for 3 minutes while playing with a child’s toy from r/videos

A good song

Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or ping me on Twitter. Click here for previous editions of Hot Clicks. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.