The new Thailand Professional League has been set up in an attempt to improve the footballing standards in the country, but at least one club is using the services of a non-professional player.

Famous TV star Saksit Thaengthong is usually seen on screen, but the Surat Thani Roosters team included him in their first-team squad and he played in their match last week – and the Roosters trounced Chachoengsao 6-1. So if professional actors can get a start in one of the teams, how can the league be called professional? – The Nation.

Tennis squad in snowball fight

After the Thai team’s Davis Cup match against Uzbekistan finished in a 3-2 win for the Thais, the Bangkok-based players tested their skills in a different kind of sport in the freezing cold of the northern European country – a sport they certainly can’t play at home. The team decided to check out the snow and went to the top of a nearby mountain where they ended up having a snowball fight.

The team and officials as well as Thai reporters decided to drive out of town to get a glimpse of the snow, and then chaos occurred. It was started by Thai men’s No 2 Danai Udomchoke, who threw a snowball at the media for fun, but the press pack quickly hit back. A volley of snowballs were fired at him and even team-mates Sonchat and Sancha Ratiwatana joined in the media bombardment. Despite being outnumbered, Danai ended up the victor because no one could hit the target except him. – The Nation.

Gold at long last for Nongnuch

Thai sprinter Nongnuch Sanrat was over the moon when she won her 60-metre sprint race, and a gold medal, at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Pattaya last Friday. But a mix-up by the announcers at the Pattaya Indoor Athletics Stadium spoiled her moment of glory on the podium. Because of the international field at the event there were two announcers – one speaking in English and the other in Thai.

The race ended with three Thais filling the first three places, with Nongnuch first, Sangwan Jaksunil second and Orrnut Klomdee third. But as the three waited to step onto the podium to collect their medals, the Thai announcer made a blunder and told the crowd that Nongnuch had finished second. Nongnuch refused to step up onto the podium’s second-place spot and stood her ground until the error was corrected. In the end she was very relieved to finally be awarded the gold medal. – The Nation.

Anti-diving campaign off and running

In the wake of Chelsea winger Arjen Robben’s highly publicised theatrics against Liverpool, English newspaper The Times launched an anti-diving campaign to stamp out the growing problem of players diving and feigning injury. The Times distributed posters saying “Say no to diving” which would be going up in dressing rooms all over the country. The paper also contacted every club in the Premiership to see if they would back its campaign to give diver a red card, and the majority agreed.

Arsenal, Manchester United and Aston Villa said they would back the campaign only if it was sanctioned by Football Association (FA). However, Manchester City showed no interest in joining the campaign. Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Charlton Athletic, Everton, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Portsmouth, Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur, West Bromwich Albion and Wigan Athletic all joined. But there has been no word from Chelsea, Fulham and West Ham. – Agencies.

Beckham’s smalls are a big deal

He already has multimillion-pound sponsorship deals with Adidas, Gillette, Pepsi and Police sunglasses and launched his own perfume last November, now England skipper and Real Madrid star David Beckham looks set to sign on as Calvin Klein’s latest underwear model in a deal worth £1 million. Beckham will be replacing Arsenal’s Freddie Ljungberg, whose contract ends during the next European summer.

Company sources reveal Beckham is ready to do a photo shoot and the deal is close to being finalised. It was revealed last month that Beckham spends a stunning £1,000 a month on 60 pairs of CK underwear at Spain’s swanky El Cortes Ingles department store. The reason the dad-of-three spends so much on his underwear is that he never wears the same pair twice. A source at the shop said: “He buys 30 pairs every time and spends £545 to £615 a fortnight. He never purchases anything other than Calvin Klein from the Pro Stretch range. He doesn’t stick around very long and normally looks quite sheepish.” Now many are wondering what Beckham does do with his old underwear? – Agencies.