Panama and the Dominican Republic aren't the only teams who have players that formerly played on professional teams in Taiwan.
Australia has a trio of players who have played in the Taiwan Major League -- utility fielder Paul Gonzalez (Chiayi Luka), pitcher Shane Tonkin (Taipei Gida) and infielder Gavin Fingleson (Chiayi Luka).
Fingleson played for the Luka this year, hitting .369-1-15 in 103 at-bats. After the Luka released him and fellow Aussie Matt Buckley to make room for import pitchers, Chiayi went in a free fall, winning one of their final 26 games to finish the season 13-47 -- the worst record ever for a Taiwan pro-baseball team.
Language Exchange
No need to go to school today.
There are plenty of free language lessons at the World Cup.
A total of 323 persons, mostly college students, volunteered to be interpreters to assist the foreign 15 teams during the tournament.
Another 273 volunteers are helping in other positions, such as grounds crew. And yet another couple of hundred students from the neighboring Lanyu Middle School went to the Canada-Australia game for a field trip.
Their numbers boosted the attendance significantly, but expat Canadians were only partly successful in teaching cheers to the the kids to urge on the Canadian team.
Blacked Out
In a country where just about every television set is wired for cable, just about everyone in Taiwan can watch the World Cup games -- except the teams. According to the team from the Netherlands, the Grand Hotel, where many of the teams are staying, does not provide access to the local cable channels showing the games.
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
Lewis Hamilton on Thursday said there was a “racial element” to International Automobile Federation (FIA) president Mohammed ben Sulayem’s recent comments regarding drivers swearing during Formula 1 races. In an interview with motorsport.com, Ben Sulayem said: “We have to differentiate between our sport — motorsport — and rap music” when referring to drivers having a responsibility to stop swearing on the radio. “We’re not rappers, you know,” Ben Sulayem said. Responding to those remarks ahead of tomorrow’s Singapore Grand Prix, seven-time champion Hamilton said: “With what he said, I don’t like how he has expressed it. Saying ‘rappers’ is very stereotypical.” “If you