plying Bae was at fault, saying he had been drinkin

TOKYO -- The Czech Republic advanced to the semifinals of the Davis Cup on Saturday, beating Japan in the doubles match to give the defending champions an insurmountable 3-0 lead. Radek Stepanek and Lukas Rosol backed up their wins in Fridays singles by combining to beat Tatsuma Ito and Yasutaka Uchiyama 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 at Ariake Colisseum. "This was our first Davis Cup doubles together," Stepanek said. "We did well and found our range together. We had it under control from the first set." The reverse singles matches are played on Sunday. The Czech Republic will play the winner of the quarterfinal match between France and Germany in the last four in September. Both teams were without their top players. Tomas Berdych sat out following two tough tournaments in the United States, while Kei Nishikori was sidelined after hurting his groin in a quarterfinal victory over Roger Federer in the Sony Open in Miami last week. The meeting between Japan and the Czech Republic is the first since 1935 and third in total. The nations split their two previous matches that were both played in Prague, with Japan winning the first in 1930. Aaron Donald Rams Jersey . Nix is a career .218 hitter in 425 games over six seasons. The 31-year-old right-handed hitter batted .270 with a homer this spring for Tampa Bay. Marshall Faulk Womens Jersey . "If we could score a six in every game, obviously I would be pretty excited," Jones said. "Its a long week but a short week. Its a pretty short round robin from what were used to so you dont want to get behind the eight ball early. http://www.footballramsshop.us/authentic-eric-dickerson-rams-jersey/ . The Mariners ace allowed just one hit over eight innings while striking out nine, and Robinson Cano backed him with a two-run homer as Seattle earned a 3-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday. Kurt Warner Jersey . -- Kurt Buschs Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, in some ways, was like his career wrapped into one afternoon. Jack Youngblood Jersey . Globo TV and other news outlets said early Monday that Scolari will not remain as coach after the national teams failure to win the World Cup at home.BEIJING -- Former basketball star Dennis Rodman apologized on Monday for not being able to help an American missionary detained in North Korea while he played there to celebrate the birthday of his friend and leader Kim Jong Un. "Im sorry, Im sorry I couldnt do anything," Rodman told media on his arrival at Beijing airport from a weeklong trip. "Its not my fault. Im sorry. I just want to do some good stuff, thats all I want to do." He said he would return to North Korea next month, but gave no details. Rodman and the squad of retired NBA players he took to North Korea for an exhibition game marking Kims birthday have met with criticism in the U.S. because of North Koreas human rights record and its development of nuclear weapons. Acknowledging the controversy surrounding the trip, one of the players, Charles D. Smith, said Rodman "opened the door and he did some missteps along the way." In an interview in Beijing, Smith said Rodmans singing of "Happy Birthday" to Kim before the exhibition game at a Pyongyang stadium was something that he alone had decided to do. "I think that it might not have been the right thing to do, but he did it ... if it was done in private it would be different, but when its done in the open like that, people are going to have opinions." During the trip, Rodman was also slammed for not using his influence with Kim to help free Kenneth Bae, thhe missionary in poor health who has been detained for more than a year for "anti-state crimes.dddddddddddd" Rodman apologized last week for comments he made in a CNN interview implying Bae was at fault, saying he had been drinking and was upset because some of his teammates were under pressure to leave. Smith said the controversy surrounding Bae was a "bad situation" that "overshadowed some of the things that we were doing." "Dennis is not a member of the State Department, he is not a member of the UN," Smith said. "For them to put the flag in his hands and say go and negotiate and talk about it, he probably would have made it worse, you know." He said North Korean officials had invited the team back "at any given time." On Monday, Rodman reiterated that his trip was one of goodwill. "This is not a bad deal," he said. "I want to show people that no matter whats going on in the world, for one day, just one day, no politics, not all that stuff. "Im sorry for all the people and whats going on, Im sorry," he continued. "Im not the president, Im not an ambassador, Im just an individual that wants to show the world the fact that we can actually get along and be happy for one day." Rodman and Kim struck up a friendship when the basketball-player-turned-celebrity first travelled to the secretive state last year. ' ' '