■ BaseballYankees eye `Little Matsui'
The New York Yankees are keeping a close eye on Seibu Lions shortstop Kazuo Matsui, widely regarded as the next Japanese player who could make the transition to the major leagues. John Cox, the Yankees' director of Pacific Rim scouting, was in the stands on Friday as the Lions defeated the Orix BlueWave 7-4 in Kobe. Matsui, who will officially become a free agent on Aug. 24, connected for his 23rd homer of the season -- a game-tying solo shot in the top of the third. Scouts from five major league teams, including the Boston Red Sox, have attended Seibu games this season. The 28-year-old Matsui, known as "Little Matsui," currently has a .294 batting average along with 126 hits and 53 RBIs for the second-place Lions.
■ Soccer
Fabien Barthez defended
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson came to the defense of goalkeeper Fabien Barthez on Friday, saying the French international is being unfairly criticized. "The criticism Fabien is getting at the moment is a bit unfair, and I don't like it," Ferguson told the club's official TV station. Barthez was United's first-choice 'keeper for most of last season, but Ferguson replaced him with Roy Carroll after a quarterfinal loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League. Barthez was also in goal for United's only preseason loss this summer -- a 3-1 defeat to Sporting Lisbon -- and made a blunder against Stoke in a reserve game Wednesday. A Marc Goodfellow lob hit the crossbar, bounced off Barthez's head and went into the net. American goalkeeper Tim Howard is expected to start Saturday when United plays Bolton as the Premier League season begins. "There is something wrong when you start having a go at someone for conceding the kind of goal he did on Wednesday," Ferguson said. "It was an absolute freak. It is purely because of who he is."
■ Boxing
Jesus Chavez wins decision
Jesus "El Matador" Chavez won a unanimous 12-round decision over Sirimongkol Singmanassuk to take the WBC Super Featherweight Title on Friday night. Two judges scored the bout 117-11 and another had it 118-110. Chavez (40-2, 28 KOs) controlled the fight from the outset, outpunching Singmanassuk with a flurry of shots to the head in the first two rounds. Singmanassuk (43-2, 26 KOs) of Thailand tried to use his counter-punching style to offset the aggressive Chavez but his punches landed few and far between. Both fighters weighed in at the maximum allowed 59kg.
■ Soccer
Ranieri not optimistic
Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri said Friday his star-studded team wasn't good enough to win the Premier League this season, even though the club has spent more than P?70 million (US$111 million) on players over the summer. "Only a stupid man would think that we can win the title this season," he said. Earlier in the offseason, Ranieri suggested Chelsea would be in position to win the league in two years. He expects defending champion Manchester United, runner-up Arsenal and fifth-place Liverpool to compete for the top spot. "An intelligent man would know that there are three big teams -- Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal -- who are settled and have been around for years. It's impossible to compare us with them. We have only just started building here, and there is a big difference between them and us."
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