■ Soccer
Thaksin eyes Liverpool
Billionaire Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is eyeing a bid for English premier league club Liverpool after Fulham spurned his advances last year, an advisor said yesterday. "I believe the prime minister already had his aides checking Liverpool's financial position in the past four to five months," said Thawatchai Satchakul, manager of the Thai national soccer team who advised Thaksin during his pursuit of Fulham. "He is now in the process of deciding whether to bid for Liverpool," Thawatchai said. Thaksin, who made his money in telecommunications, told reporters on Sunday he was still serious about buying an English premier club. "It should be a bigger club [than Fulham]," Thaksin said, but he declined to elaborate. Thaksin expressed interest in Fulham last November after watching the club play in London.
■ Soccer
Celtic set new mark
Celtic routed Partick Thistle 4-1 away on Sunday to secure a 24th straight Scottish premier league victory and a new British record for successive wins. Chris Sutton (35, 52) and Stanislav Varga (38, 81) each scored twice as bottom side Partick failed to cope with the physical power of the unbeaten SPL leaders. Celtic maintained a massive 13-point lead over champions Rangers, who remain a distant second despite their 3-0 home win over Hibernian on Saturday. Martin O'Neill's side also usurped Scottish second division Morton's 40-year-old record of 23 straight wins set in 1963-64. "I'm delighted to have broken the record and I'm sure it will stand for a few years because it's a big achievement by the team," O'Neill told reporters.
■ Diving
China dominates event
Liang Tian of China won the 10m platform event while China's Wu Minxia and Guo Jingjing dominated the women's 3m synchronized springboard Sunday at the 14th FINA Diving World Cup. Tian scored 776.70 points and edged out compatriot Jia Hu by 30.18 points. Alexandre Despatie of Canada was third with 688.26 at Athens' Olympic sports complex. The competition serves as a qualifying round for the Olympics and a test for the venue that will host the sport during the Aug. 13 to 29 Games. Wu and Guo scored 360.30 points, beating second-place Vera Ilyina and Julia Pakhalina of Russia by 29.01 points. Germany's Ditte Kotzian and Conny Schmalfuss finished third with 315.33.
■ Baseball
Torre praises Matsui
New York Yankees manager Joe Torre likes outfielder Hideki Matsui just the way he is. A three-time home run champion during his 10-year career with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan's Central League, Matsui hit .287 with 16 homers and 106 RBIs during his first season with the Yankees in 2003. When asked Sunday if he's expecting more power from Matsui this season, Torre said no. "He's such a good hitter and good planner as far as having an at-bat, I don't want him to mess with anything," Torre said. "I liked exactly what we got last year. A guy who is able to pick a pitch from a pitcher and do something with it." Matsui hit a team-best .335 with runners in scoring position. His average with the bases loaded was .435. "To me, if you hit a home run with nobody on base or hit a single with a man on second base, it's one RBI," Torre said. "I just like the fact when he comes up with men on base, he knows what to do."
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