Dein erstes Forum » Angelique Kerber of Germany in second-round play

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Les Miles turned down an offer to coach at his alma mater, Michigan, in 2011, according to former LSU?athletic director Skip Bertman.Les Miles turned that job down for more money at Michigan. He turned it down, Bertman said Wednesday during a two-hour interview on the Sports Today radio show on Baton Rouges ESPN Radio affiliate, 104.5 FM. He would never say that because hes a very humble guy. But I was there; he turned it down.Will-he-or-wont-he Michigan rumors surrounded Miles LSU tenure for many years, with his name popping up each time the Wolverines had a coaching vacancy. Miles famously denied interest in the job at an impromptu news conference before the 2007 SEC championship game, and he remained at LSU for 11-plus seasons through his firing on Sunday.Then-Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon -- previously the CEO of Dominos Pizza -- indicated at the time that he opposed hiring Miles, but Bertman reiterated that Miles truly could have returned to Ann Arbor, where he played and coached under the legendary Bo Schembechler.I swear to God thats true. He turned it down, Bertman said. LSU had just given him this new contract, and the president of Dominos Pizza flew down on a Dominos plane and offered him [the Michigan job], and he says, Youve got to tell me tonight, Les, because if you dont say yes, Im going to get Brady Hoke. And sure enough, he took off and the next day you read in the paper that he hired Brady Hoke.The Miles-Michigan connections were among the subjects Bertman covered in a wide-ranging interview that offered insight into his seven years as LSUs athletic director -- a period that included Nick Sabans time as football coach in Baton Rouge and Bertmans 2004 search to find Sabans replacement. Bertmans account was particularly relevant, given that LSU is now in the middle of another coaching search, and names such as former LSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher and even Saban himself are being floated.When Saban arrived at LSU in 2000, he was not the coaching heavyweight he is today. Bertman called Saban LSUs miracle man for turning an underperforming Tigers program into the 2003 BCS champion.Bertman said the Miami Dolphins offer to Saban in 2004 was too lucrative for LSU to match, and the coach departed for the NFL despite not wanting to leave LSU.I went to Nick and we spoke and I said, Look at Bobby Petrino, Steve Spurrier, Lou Holtz, said Bertman, who won five NCAA titles as LSUs baseball coach. I gave him all the coaches. I said, I could never do Major League Baseball, because Im a screamer like you are. ... I tried my best. You know what he said? He said, If I dont take this offer, Ill never get another one, because this is the best offer ever given to a college football coach. Although Bertman said he is fond of Saban and his wife, Terry, he admits Saban was not the easiest person to work with. That made the sunnier Miles, who had a young family when Bertman hired him in late 2004, a stark change of pace.[Saban] deserves a lot of credit in his five years. He did what we asked him to do, and we did what he asked us to do, and he asks a lot, Bertman said. I would say at the end of five years, he can wear you down. At the end of five years, I knew exactly what was going to happen: I couldnt get another guy like Saban. That wasnt going to happen. But I needed a guy that had the maturity to [ignore] where somebody says, Hes not Saban, and [Miles] handled it.?And Les is a wonderful family guy, hes got a lot of maturity, hes got great character. And no, he didnt change the offense, OK, enough to make those people happy. On the other hand, he did do a wonderful job for 12 years.Bertman rattled off a long list of candidates that LSU considered in some capacity when Saban left for the Dolphins:* Louisville coach Bobby Petrino rubbed him the wrong way.* Bertman liked the idea of hiring Steve Spurrier if Saban left, but Spurrier was impatient and accepted the South Carolina?job in November, a month before Bertman hired Miles.* Virginia Tech?coach Frank Beamer did not seem interested in the job.* President George H.W. Bush personally called to vouch for ex-Texas A&M?coach R.C. Slocum, but Bertman didnt consider him a viable candidate.Other possibilities he mentioned included Houston Nutt, Rich Rodriguez, Bobby Williams and Jack Del Rio. In fact, Bertman said he finally sold LSU search committee members on Miles while they sat waiting for Del Rio to gain permission from Jacksonville Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver to even speak with LSU.I said, Lets drop the football for just a second and lets just take character, so we dont have an incident or a scandal like theyve had at Alabama and Arkansas and many other places, Bertman said. In other words, Gary Barnett had just been in this scandal, and I said, This guys not going to run away with a cheerleader, and couple other examples that I used. Well, everybody liked that. I said, This guys promised me that hes going to graduate players. Hes going to discipline those that [misbehave]. So I had a chance to speak for him.Bertman said he angered Fisher, who was LSUs offensive coordinator at the time, by not interviewing him to replace Saban because he wanted a candidate with head-coaching experience. However, he remains fond of Fisher and said, If they can get him to come back, its worth every penny.Bertman strongly advised Miles to retain Fisher as his offensive coordinator in 2005, although he now believes that was an error in judgment. Fisher worked under Miles for two seasons before leaving to become Florida States offensive coordinator and, later, head-coach-in-waiting, after the 2006 season.It didnt work well because they were two offensive guys that had different offensive philosophies, which was my mistake, Bertman said.As for LSUs job opening, Bertman expressed doubt that athletic director Joe Alleva could lure heavyweights such as Saban, Fisher, Ohio States Urban Meyer or Michigans Jim Harbaugh to the school.He said, though, that LSU will almost certainly aim for a sitting head coach, adding that it would be complicated to pursue a coach such as Houstons Tom Herman or any other prospective candidate with so much time left in the season.Im certainly not second-guessing this move -- Im for whatever LSU does -- but in this case, Joe will make his own decision based on the people who are available, Bertman said. Now, you may not know, I may not know, who all those people are because they dont want their names out there. So if Tom Herman is the guy, he doesnt want to hurt the Houston backing by saying, Im looking for this, and then not get the job and go back. So its a very hard thing to do. Fake Air Max 270 For Sale . -- Yogi Ferrell orchestrates pretty much everything in Indianas offence. Nike Air Max 270 React Triple Black . Gather a group of friends, or find a league to join online, draft your team, set your lineup and compete in a number of different formats. http://www.max270cheap.com/nike-men-s-air-max-270-react-electro-green-ao4971-300.html . What general manager Dave Nonis called "short and productive" negotiations ended with Kessel signing a US$64-million, eight-year contract on Tuesday. Air Max 270 Black And White Cheap .C. United of Major League Soccer. United chose the defender in the second round of the 2013 MLS re-entry draft. Nike Air Max 270 Womens Discount . Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs tonight at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. The four All-Star teams will play for $100,000 in prize money during TSNs annual skins game, airing live this weekend on TSN from The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre.TORONTO -- A large banner featuring Serena Williams hangs prominently on the side of the Rexall Centre stadium for this weeks Rogers Cup. The north side of the stadium may belong to the top-seeded American, but the east side is reserved for one of the rising stars of the womens tour. Eugenie Bouchard cuts a steely pose on her banner, with fist clenched and a look of intensity that appears to go against the grain of the soft-spoken Canadian. Bouchard is being given her share of the spotlight at this US$2.369-million tournament. On Tuesday night, she showed that shes ready. The 19-year-old from Montreal was in fine form for her first-round singles match, posting a tidy 6-3, 6-1 over Alisa Kleybanova. Bouchard mixed up her effective ground strokes with some slick cut shots that left her Russian opponent stymied. There were more service breaks than holds early in the 79-minute match, which forced the Canadian to adjust her style. "I just decided to go for it and started to play aggressive," Bouchard said. "That definitely helped me." It has been a busy week for the 2012 Wimbledon junior champion. Bouchard teamed with Monica Seles for an exhibition against the Williams sisters and dropped her first-round doubles match with partner Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium. Bouchard battled some early nerves when she appeared on centre court for her opening singles match Tuesday but quickly settled in. The 62nd-ranked wild-card entry looked smooth and quite comfortable for someone in her first full season on the pro circuit. "Yeah, I am relaxed," she said. "Its fun. Its just fun being home where people know you a bit more. But besides that I know I need to stay focused on what I need to do or else I will lose my concentration. "So I put pressure on myself and thats really all I think about -- my own expectations." Bouchard has had some big moments this year. She posted a third-round victory over U.S. Open winner Samantha Stosur last April at the Family Circle Cup and upset Ana Ivanovic to reach the third round at Wimbledon. Shell have her work cut out for her in the second round on Wednesday. Bouchard is scheduled to meet defending champion and No. 6 seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic. "Yeah, time to take the defending champ down," she said with a smile. "Obviously shes a great player. Shes won a (grand slam tournament). But you know, Im just really excited I will play at home on centre court in front of the crowd. Its always so fun for me. "Im going to try my best and well see what happens." Kleybanova currently holds the No. 599 position in the world rankings. The former top-20 player is a cancer survivor who was playing her first WTA Tour match in over a year. "I was pretty excited to go out there," she said. "I love playing on stadium court and beiing in front of the crowd.dddddddddddd Its a great experience for me every time I go on the court. You know today I went out, tried to do my best and obviously did, you know. But she played really well." Torontos Sharon Fichman advanced with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 win over Stephanie Dubois of Laval, Que. The Canadians are friends and have played doubles together in Fed Cup competition in the past. "It really is a shame that we had this draw and obviously it was a really tough match because we know each others game so well," she said. "It was three sets and it was definitely a tough one, but Im happy to get through it." There was only one mild upset on the day as Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia eliminated eighth-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany in second-round play. The unseeded Cibulkova, ranked No. 20 in the world, needed almost three hours to complete the 6-7 (0), 6-2, 7-5 victory. "It was a really tough match," Cibulkova said. "Angelique, she was putting everything back. Her defensive game is really good and I just had to be patient and aggressive today. "So it was not easy. My serve was not working like I was expecting but in the end I made it, so I was really happy." Flipkens, the No. 13 seed in the singles draw, started slow before defeating American Venus Williams 0-6, 6-4, 6-2. "I wasnt really expecting to play that well in the first set," Williams said. "So I think that in the second, I just kind of didnt handle it well. But I was pretty close there to closing that match out and then got down in the third." In other first-round matches, No. 11 seed Maria Kirilenko of Russia beat qualifier Petra Martic of Croatia 6-2, 6-1 while Ivanovic, the No. 16 seed from Serbia, defeated Su-Wei Hsieh of Taiwan 6-1, 6-2. "Its good to be back here," Ivanovic said. "Im really looking forward to consistency and especially coming off how I played well last week. "I hope (to) keep that momentum going and to keep playing well here." Ivanovic reached the semifinal at the Southern California Open last weekend before losing to Victoria Azarenka of Belarus. Also Tuesday, No. 15 seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia topped Georgian qualifier Anna Tatishvili 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-3, Ekaterina Makarova of Russia beat Anastasia Rodionova of Australia 6-1, 7-5 and American qualifier Lauren Davis edged Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 7-5, 7-5. Frances Alize Cornet beat Russias Elena Vesnina 6-3, 6-3; Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia defeated Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania 6-4, 6-3 and Italys Francesca Schiavone defeated South Africas Chanelle Scheepers 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. In the late matches, third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland beat Belgiums Yanina Wickmayer 6-2, 6-3 while Stosur, the No. 12 seed from Australia, defeated Julia Glushko of Israel 5-7, 6-2, 6-3. ' ' '