Sports Digest: Blackhawks fire coach Luke Richardson in his 3rd season after league-worst start

HOCKEY

The Chicago Blackhawks fired coach Luke Richardson on Thursday, with the team off to the worst start in the league nearly a third of the way through his third season.

The Blackhawks are 8-16-2, two standings points behind the next-worst team, Nashville. Richardson went 57-118-15 with Chicago.

Anders Sorensen of the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs was named interim coach.

“Today I made the difficult decision to move on from Luke as our head coach,” GMr Kyle Davidson said in a statement. “We thank him for his efforts and contributions to the organization and our community. As we have begun to take steps forward in our rebuilding process, we felt that the results did not match our expectations for a higher level of execution this season and ultimately came to the decision that a change was necessary.”

HIGH SCHOOLS

GIRLS’ HOCKEY: Caroline Rousseau scored four times and Lucy Johnson added a hat trick for Cheverus/Windham/Medomak in a 9-1 win Wednesday over Portland/Cape Elizabeth/Deering/South Portland/Waynflete at Troubh Ice Arena in Portland.

Anna Bowie chipped in with two goals and an assist. Kaylee Radford, Grace Townsend and Zoey Radford each had two assists.

Alexis Turner scored late in the second period for the Portland co-op team, which got 25 saves from Mya Clark. Cheverus goalie Ellie Skolnekovich also made 25 saves.

GOLF

EUROPEAN TOUR: Defending champion Max Homa birdied his last two holes to shoot a 6-under 66 and take a one-shot lead over South African Ockie Strydom in the first round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge at sun City, South Africa.

Pablo Larrazábal, Andy Sullivan, Matthew Jordan and Thorbjorn Olesen were in a tie for third, two shots behind Strydom.

SOCCER

CLUB WORLD CUP: Lionel Messi and Inter Miami now know their path for next year’s Club World Cup.

The host team — invited by FIFA to compete despite criticism from many in the soccer world — will play the tournament’s first match on June 15 against Egyptian club Al Ahly, as part of a group that will also feature Palmeiras and Porto.

The draw was held Thursday in Miami, with the 32 teams finally finding out their first three opponents in the newly expanded event.

The tournament will be held in the U.S. from June 15 to July 13, using 12 stadiums in 11 cities. The final will be at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the same stadium that will play host to the 2026 World Cup final.

NWSL: Domenec Guasch, a former executive at FC Barcelona, has been named the first general manager for Boston’s National Women’s Soccer League expansion team.

The Boston team, BOS Nation, is set to begin play in 2026 as the league’s 15th team. The NWSL is expected to add a 16th team by the end of the year.

BOXING

HALL OF FAME: Manny Pacquiao, who won titles in a record eight weight classes from flyweight to super welterweight while becoming one of boxing’s biggest draws, was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Pacquiao, who fought in some of the blockbuster bouts of the 2000s before returning home to the Philippines to serve in its government, will be enshrined June 8 as the headline name in the 2025 class.

Vinny Paz, who overcame a broken neck sustained in a car crash to resume his career, and two-division champion Michael Nunn were the other fighters elected from the men’s modern category.

FOOTBALL

NFL: Dallas Cowboys right guard Zack Martin is set for ankle surgery that will end an injury-filled season for the seven-time All-Pro.

Martin missed the past two games after injuring an ankle late in a 34-10 loss to the Houston Texans on Nov. 18. Martin also battled shoulder, back and knee issues this season, but didn’t miss any games until after injuring the ankle against the Texans.

BASKETBALL

WNBA: Jewell Loyd has asked to be traded from Seattle.

The six-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic champion requested a trade, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Loyd’s request for a trade came hours after the Storm completed an investigation into internal allegations of workplace policy violations by the coaching staff.

“No findings of policy violations or any discrimination, harassment or bullying,” a statement from the team said. “To protect the integrity of the process, and to preserve confidentiality, we chose not to comment while the investigation was ongoing. The Storm will continue to provide a work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect.”

Loyd has played her entire career in Seattle and helped the team win two WNBA championships since she was drafted No. 1 in 2015 by the franchise. She won the league’s Rookie of the Year that season.

NBA: Milwaukee forward Khris Middleton is expected to make his 2024-25 debut Friday after missing the Bucks’ first 21 games while recovering from offseason surgeries to each of his ankles.

The Bucks released an injury report that listed the three-time All-Star as probable for the road game with the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics.

COLLEGES

FOOTBALL: Eric Bieniemy’s return to UCLA lasted only one season.

The Bruins let go of Bieniemy after fielding one of the nation’s worst offenses this season.

Bieniemy was hired as associate head coach and offensive coordinator shortly after DeShaun Foster was hired as coach in February. Bieniemy was also on the Bruins’ staff from 2003-05 as running backs coach.

Jason Fletcher, Bieniemy’s agent, said in a statement that Bieniemy planned to stay only one season in Westwood and termed it a “mutual parting of the ways.” However, Bieniemy signed a two-year contract at UCLA and did have a retention bonus if he was on staff for the 2025 season.

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