ISAIAH KIPLAGAT, who "gained wide notoriety when he was suspended as president of Kenya's athletics federation" amid reports that he and two other officials had diverted more than $700,000 of sponsorship money from Nike, died on Wednesday, aged 72. Kiplagat led Athletics Kenya for more than 20 years, "helping to transform track and field in the country from an amateur venture into a multimillion-dollar business." But the IAAF ethics commission, "investigating allegations of embezzlement and extortion, suspended him and two other Athletics Kenya officials in November." All three men "were accused of taking money from Nike for personal gain and asking athletes to pay to conceal positive doping tests" (AP, 8/24). ... Super Bowl winner MARSHAWN LYNCH said that JARRYD HAYNE "failed to make it in America because of the cultural divide" between the National Rugby League and NFL. Lynch, in Australia to promote the U.S. College Football season opener in Sydney this weekend, said on Thursday that "while he was in awe of Hayne's athletic prowess, there was too deep of a cultural chasm for him to cross." Lynch: "He's a good athlete. I just think the culture of the game out here didn't translate back in the states" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 8/25). ... FRANK SCHLECK will reportedly get €2M ($2.3M) "in damages from Leopard AG after the team fired him" in '13. The payment "will go to Schleck and his company Winfrank GmBH after the Swiss Federal court held up a previous decision from CAS." The issue stems from the '13 season "when Schleck was sacked by the RadioShack-Leopard team after a doping suspension following a positive test for the diuretic Xipamide." Despite his suspension, "Schleck had continued to train with the squad and he had been due to return to racing just days after the team announced his sacking" (CYCLING NEWS, 8/24).
CAREER REBOOT: MARIO BALOTELLI's "roulette of teams continues as he is now linked with Everton, Crystal Palace, Sunderland, Wolverhampton and QPR." The striker has "now been touted for a move to teams all over the continent, as he has no space for himself at Liverpool and is urgently trying to reboot his career." The latest and "most surprising" link was to ManU, where MINO RAIOLA was "trying to use his influence to persuade Balo's former Coach JOSÉ MOURINHO to take him back" (FOOTBALL ITALIA, 8/25).
