Update on the latest sports
NHL-CANADIENS-JULIEN FIRED
Canadiens fire coach Claude Julien amid losing stretch
MONTREAL (AP) — The struggling Montreal Canadiens fired head coach Claude Julien (ZHOO’-lee-ehn) and associate coach Kirk Muller on Wednesday following a three-game skid.
Assistant coach Dominique Ducharme was appointed interim coach, and Alex Burrows was added to the Canadiens’ coaching staff.
After a one-week break in their schedule, the Canadiens have lost three in a row. They’ve lost five of six and six of eight since a strong start. The Canadiens were battling the Toronto Maple Leafs for top spot in the North Division earlier in the season but have since dropped into fourth.
A 5-4 shootout loss in Ottawa against the Senators on Tuesday night marked the end of the line for Julien, who returned for his second go-round as Montreal’s coach midway through the 2016-17 season.
Julien had to leave the team during the first round of the playoffs last year in Toronto when he had a stent installed in a coronary artery. Muller took over the head coaching duties and the Habs extended the top-seeded Philadelphia Flyers to six games before bowing out.
The Habs were the lowest-ranked team to qualify for the 24-team postseason last year and then upset the Pittsburgh Penguins in the qualifying round.
TIGER WOODS-VEHICLE CRASH
Woods has tough recovery ahead
LOS ANGELES (AP) — In a career filled with remarkable comebacks, Tiger Woods faces his toughest recovery yet.
Woods underwent surgery Tuesday after his SUV went off a road outside Los Angeles and toppled down an embankment. The chief medical offer at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center said Woods shattered tibia and fibula bones on his right leg in multiple locations that were stabilized by a rod in the tibia. A combination of screws and pins were used to stabilize additional injuries in the ankle and foot.
Authorities had to extricate Woods through the front windshield. They say he’s fortunate to be alive.
No charges were filed in the single-car crash and police said there was no evidence Woods was impaired. The accident happened on a sweeping, downhill stretch of road that authorities say is prone to crashes.
ORLANDO CITY SOCCER CLUB-ARREST
Orlando City soccer player arrested on sexual assault charge
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Sheriff’s officials say a player for the Orlando City Soccer Club is accused of sexually assaulting a woman.
Deputies arrested 24-year-old Jonathan Suarez-Cortes and his brother, Rafael Suarez Jr. late Tuesday. An Osceola Sheriff’s statement posted on Twitter says deputies were called Monday afternoon to investigate a sexual assault that a woman said happened the day before.
Detectives identified the brothers as suspects and made the arrests. A team statement says officials won’t comment until they have more information. Twenty-four-year-old Jonathan Suárez-Cortés is a defender acquired on loan from Querétaro FC earlier this month.
