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■ FORMULA ONE

Schumacher drops hints

Former Toyota driver Ralf Schumacher dropped heavy hints yesterday that he would leap at the chance to fill the McLaren seat vacated by Fernando Alonso, calling it the most desirable in Formula One. "It's no secret that the seat at McLaren-Mercedes is by far the most coveted there is," Schumacher told Bild am Sonntag newspaper. "Every driver out there in the market would love to sit in their super car." The 32-year-old Schumacher said there had been no contact with McLaren "so far," but that he felt he was good enough to challenge and even beat McLaren's Lewis Hamilton. The German won six grands prix at Williams before moving to Toyota, where he was a disappointment. He was replaced for next season by compatriot Timo Glock.



■ GOLF

Teshima wins Casio Open

Japan's Taichi Teshima birdied the last two holes to beat overnight leader Chris Campbell of Australia for a one-stroke victory at the Casio Open men's tournament in Kochi, Japan, yesterday. Starting the day three strokes behind Campbell, Teshima carded eight birdies against one bogey for a 65 to finish with a four-round total of 13-under-par 275. South Korea's I.J. Chang was third on 277, followed by Japan's Yusaku Miyazato on 279 and Tomohiro Kondo on 280, while American rookie Brandt Snedeker was tied in sixth place with three Japanese golfers on 281. "I've been playing overseas this year and this is my fifth tournament in Japan. I played terrible in the previous tournaments, but this victory brushed aside those bad memories," Teshima, 39, said.



■ CRICKET

Atapattu takes parting shot

Marvan Atapattu made his final goodbye to Sri Lankan cricket yesterday with another scathing attack on the selectors he had earlier described as "Muppets headed by a joker." The 37-year-old, who retired from international cricket earlier this month during the Australian tour, flew out of Colombo to play in the rebel Indian Cricket Twenty20 League, which begins on Friday. Atapattu told local media yesterday the selection process had to be overhauled. "The entire process of selection is highly subjective," the former Test captain said. Atapattu, who had a running feud with chief selector Asantha de Mel over the past year, was quoted saying. "An objective selection process needs to be adopted. Personal feelings and vested interests should be set aside and cool judgements made."



■ Soccer

Rafa asks for understanding

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said the club's American owners need a better understanding of the European soccer transfer market. Benitez is reportedly feuding with George Gillett Jr and Tom Hicks, who bought Liverpool in March, over how much he can spend on new signings in January's transfer window. "They don't understand what the transfer window means in Europe," Benitez said on Saturday. ``They need to understand how difficult it is to sign players. I was trying to explain, now we try to keep focus and win games. If they understand what the market means they will understand we are trying to do the best for the club.'' Gillett and Hicks released a statement Thursday asking Benitez to concentrate on the players he has rather than look to the month-long transfer window in January.
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