Flyers hire Tortorella as their next coach

The Flyers hired John Tortorella as their new coach Thursday according to reports, hoping the fiery veteran can help lead them to their first Stanley Cup championship since 1975.

Tortorella, who turns 64 next week, coached the Lightning to a Stanley Cup title in 2004, and he also coached the Rangers and Canucks. He was fired in May 2021 after six seasons with the Blue Jackets.

The second-winningest American-born coach in NHL history, Tortorella is the sixth Flyers coach in the last 10 years and he will try to revitalize a franchise that has just one playoff series victory since 2012.

The Flyers finished with a 25-46-11 record this season under Alain Vigneault and Mike Yeo and were last in the Metropolitan Division.

Colleges: The American Athletic Conference’s six new members will enter the league next summer, Commissioner Mike Aresco announced Wednesday. Charlotte,

Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA will join the AAC on July 1, 2023.

Soccer: Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Philadelphia, Seattle and Kansas City, Missouri, were the newcomers among the 11 U.S. sites picked to host games at the 2026 World Cup, while Baltimore, Cincinnati, Denver, Nashville, Tennessee, and Orlando, Florida, were left out. Arlington, Texas; East Rutherford, New Jersey; Foxborough, Massachusetts, and Inglewood and Santa Clara, California, were the holdovers. FIFA announced its selections for the first World Cup with three co-hosts, also picking three Mexican cities (Mexico City, Guadalajara) and two in Canada (Toronto, Vancouver).

Tennis: Coco Gauff reached her first grasscourt quarterfinal by beating Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu 6-0, 6-4 at the Berlin Open. The 18-year-old American reached her first Grand Slam final earlier this month at the French Open.