‘CLEAN SLATE’: GULLS FIRE BOUCHARD
The San Diego Gulls are about to have a new head coach — again.
Joel Bouchard was fired Wednesday, just 10 months after he replaced Kevin Dineen, who coached the NHL Anaheim Ducks’ top minor league affiliate for only two seasons, both of which were cut short by COVID-19.
Bouchard was 28-33-4-3 in his one season, with the Gulls finishing seventh in the nineteam AHL Pacific Division, then getting swept in a best-ofthree playoff series by the Ontario Reign.
Dineen and Bouchard both were hired by Bob Murray, who resigned as Ducks executive vice president and general manager in November after an investigation into his professional conduct.
Pat Verbeek, who was named GM in February, made the decision to replace Bouchard and his assistants, Daniel Jacob and Max Talbot.
“This was a tough year for everyone and we feel a clean slate is needed in San Diego,” Verbeek said. “These are extremely difficult decisions, but we are committed to returning to our winning ways in San Diego for our great fans. We wish Joel, Daniel and Max the best of luck in the future.”
JAY POSNER
Soccer
FIFA opened a disciplinary case looking into whether Ecuador fielded an ineligible player during World Cup qualifying, a case that could see the country thrown out of this year’s tournament in Qatar.
FIFA opened a disicplinary case after Chile filed a formal complaint last week alleging that Byron Castillo is Colombian and should not have been allowed to play for Ecuador in eight qualifying games. Ecuador now risks having to forfeit those games — including one win and a draw against Chile — as 3-0 losses.
Ecuador finished fourth in South American qualifying to grab the continent’s last automatic berth for the World Cup. It was drawn into a group with Qatar, the Netherlands and Senegal.
Kevin De Bruyne produced a string of devastating finishes in scoring four of Manchester City’s goals in a 5-1 win at Wolverhampton to restore its three-point lead over Liverpool in the Premier League title race with two games to go.
Tennis
Throughout his career, Rafael Nadal has never lost consecutive matches on his favorite surface and the Spaniard extended that perfect record by beating John Isner 6-3, 6-1 to reach the third round of the Italian Open.
Nadal was coming off a loss to 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz in the Madrid Open quarterfinals last week. After a firstround bye, he improved to 44-0 in matches on clay following a loss on the surface.
Ukrainian Elena Svitolina says Russian and Belarusian players should speak up about whether they are against the war and Russia’s actions, and no longer stay silent.
Local colleges
San Diego State softball head coach Stacey Nuveman Deniz was named the Mountain West Coach of the Year, while redshirt freshman Mac Barbara and senior Maggie Balint were selected as the conference player and pitcher of the year, respectively. It is just the fifth time in league history that a team has swept the three awards and the second time by the Aztecs (Patrice Jackson, Rebecca Arbino and Kathy Van Wyk in 2013).
UC San Diego baseball lost 15-6 at Oregon (29-20) to split the series at a game apiece. The Tritons (22-25) were led by Ryan McNally, who finished 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, two RBIs and a run scored. Luke Glascoe went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and Matt Halbach went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.
SDSU’s Bernice Olivarez Ilas shot a 71 in the final round of the NCAA Albuquerque Regional, one of seven golfers to be under par Wednesday, to finish in a tie for 42nd. Sara Kjellker, who was tied for 18th, withdrew due to an illness.
WNBA
Rookie Rhyne Howard scored 21 points, including five of Atlanta’s 13 3-pointers, and the Dream held off the visiting Los Angeles Sparks 77-75.
Howard made a 3-pointer in the corner with 3:07 left in the fourth quarter for a sevenpoint lead.
Also
The jockey of Kentucky Derby upset winner Rich Strike is serving a four-day suspension that was handed down by Ohio racing stewards for careless riding but his agent says it won’t prevent him from riding the horse in next week’s Preakness.
Tourism officials in Las Vegas have committed $19.5 million over the next three years to sponsor Formula One races on a course that includes the Las Vegas Strip.