McLaren Formula 1 team driver FERNANDO ALONSO's "troubled" relationship with Honda is "under fresh scrutiny after McLaren's Japanese engine partner hinted he may have retired from the Belgian Grand Prix on purpose." Alonso will be out of contract with McLaren at the end of the season. He described the situation as "embarrassing" over the team radio before he pulled out of the race altogether on lap 27, citing an "apparent engine problem" (SCOTSMAN, 8/28). ... Russian figure skater YULIA LIPNITSKAYA, who won Gold as a 15-year-old at the 2014 Winter Olympics, retired from the sport at the age of 19. Lipnitskaya helped Russia win Gold in the team event in Sochi in '14. That made her the youngest Winter Olympic Gold Medalist in figure skating "for 78 years" (BBC, 8/28). ... Jockey GORDON RICHARDS, who in '33 rode 11 consecutive winners at Chepstow Racecourse, was "officially remembered by the track's management." A race was named in his honor at the Welsh course on Monday. The two-mile race, with prize money of £20,000 ($25,900), was sponsored by Oakgrove Stud (WALES ONLINE, 8/26). ... Women's world featherweight boxing champion ANGÉLIQUE DUCHEMIN died on Tuesday, aged 26, following "discomfort during training." Duchemin was also the French and European super-featherweight champion (L'ÉQUIPE, 8/29).
ON THE MOVE?: PHILIPPE COUTINHO was "told he will be a Barcelona player before the end of this week" after Liverpool agreed to a British and Spanish record transfer fee for the Brazil int'l. Barça will pay up to €160M ($191.4M) for the attacking midfielder "if all performance-related variables are met" (YAHOO SPORTS, 8/29).
ATTEMPTED MURDER: Dortmund, Germany, prosecution charged a 28-year-old German-Russian man with attempted murder following the attack on Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund's team bus ahead of a Champions League match in April. Borussia Dortmund "narrowly escaped tragedy when three explosions rocked the club's team bus" as it drove to the Westfalenstadion for a Champions League match against Monaco. In late April, police said that "SERGEJ W." was arrested in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg. He has now been charged with "the attempted murder of the 28 people on board and with causing an explosion and serious bodily harm in two cases," Dortmund public prosecution said in a statement on Tuesday (ESPN.com, 8/29).
