consistent third scorer to complement the Grant-Zouzoua backco

MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota coach Tracy Claeys will return next year, with an 8-4 season earning him the full support of the schools new athletic director.The Golden Gophers went 5-4 in the Big Ten in Claeys first full season running the program. He took over midway through last year after Jerry Kill was forced to retire due to health concerns.Claeys is 10-8 in 1? seasons with Minnesota. He was given a three-year deal last year by interim athletic director Beth Goetz during a tenuous time in the athletic department. The school was looking for a permanent athletic director to replace the disgraced Norwood Teague, so Goetz authored a contract that would give Claeys a little bit of stability to trumpet while recruiting but was also designed to give the new athletic director as much flexibility as possible in evaluating the football program.Mark Coyle took that post in May, and said Monday that he and Claeys have started to discuss this past season and the plan for our program moving forward.He is our head football coach, Coyle said in a statement issued by the school. As is the case with every one of our head coaches, he has my full support. I will do whatever I can to help him and our students achieve at the highest levels.Claeys made $1.4 million in total compensation during the first year of his new contract that runs through 2018. But the buyout for the university would have been only $500,000 had Coyle decided to replace him now.A soft schedule had the Gophers hoping to make a run at the Big Ten West title, but narrow losses to Penn State, Iowa and Nebraska hurt them, and they finished the season with a 31-17 loss at rival Wisconsin on Saturday.Athletic directors often like to make their own coaching hires rather than stay with people they inherited, especially at a high-profile program like football. But Coyle, who came to Minnesota from Syracuse and was also the athletic director at football stronghold Boise State, has decided to stick with Claeys in hopes that continuity will help.Our football program has now won eight games in the regular season three times in four seasons, Coyle said. We expect that our program will continue to grow and I am committed to putting us in a position to do so. This includes working with coach Claeys to evaluate where we need to improve and what each of us can do to ensure we meet our expectations.Coaches at power conference programs typically operate with more than two years remaining on their deals to help assure recruits of stability so it remains likely that Claeys will receive some sort of contract extension in the coming weeks. New Balance Scontate . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov. New Balance Outlet On Line . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. http://www.newbalanceoutlet.it/ .C. Lions has come to an end. Banks told TSN on Jan 2 that he had no interest in playing out the option year of his contract with the Lions in 2014, and he again made that clear in a conversation with Lions GM Wally Buono last week. New Balance In Offerta ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. New Balance Scarpe Offerta . -- Vincent Lecavalier got everything but the desired result in his return to Tampa Bay. EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern basketball teams arent known for their swagger, but Vic Law and the Wildcats are making noises that times are about to change.Law triggered a decisive 12-0 run early in the game on the way to a team-high 22 points and Northwestern rolled past Bryant 86-66 on Friday.Scottie Lindsey contributed 20 points for the Wildcats, while Gavin Skelly pitched in 15 more off the bench. Dererk Pardon had a game-high 10 rebounds and two blocked shots.Were really good, Law said. Weve showed that well come out and compete no matter who its against. This isnt the old Northwestern.How good the Wildcats really are wont be known for a while, of course, but coach Chris Collins already was certain that this was the most talented of his four teams to date.As a coach, this game had a lot of trappings, Collins said. We had three games on the road and one day to prepare for a game, and that day was Thanksgiving. We had the potential for a lot of distractions, but I was so proud of the way we started the game.Northwestern (4-2) took a 38-23 lead into halftime, but Bryant top gun Nisre Zouzoua went off for 14 points to close the gap to 42-39 five minutes into the second half. After a timeout, the Wildcats were able to regroup for their second victory in the last four starts.Zouzoua finished with a game-high 24 points and Adam Grant added 19 the Bulldogs, who shot only 39 percent in the field. Zouzoua came off career-high 30-point outburst in a 64-57 victory over Louisiana Monroe three nights earlier.After Grants jump shot tied the game 5-5, Northwestern seized control in the next 3:30.Law drained eight straight points, including a pair of 3--pointers.dddddddddddd Skelly followed with a pair of free throws before Pardon scored on a lay-up to cap the onslaught.Bryant (2-4) started no one taller than 6-foot-6 and just one upperclassman in the loss, its third in the last four starts.We did some good things, especially at the start of the second half, Bryant coach Tim OShea said. We have a young team and dont play in the Big Ten, so I think we had an impressive effort throughout the course of the game.BIG PICTUREBryant: The challenge will be to find a consistent third scorer to complement the Grant-Zouzoua backcourt, which accounted for 52 percent of their points thus far. We have (the talent), OShea said. But its young talent that will take time to develop. The Bulldogs were picked to finish third in the Northeast Conference preseason coaches poll.Northwestern: While the Wildcats have shot the longball well thus far, the jury remains out on their inside game. They entered the contest with a .451 success rate from beyond the arc, best among Big Ten teams. Law (.700) and Lindsey (.455) led the way among the regulars.ALL FOR ONEPaced by Lindsey and Skelly with six apiece, Northwestern had 25 assists on 31 field goals against an extended 2/3 zone defense. Thats a sign of good ball movement and guys who are willing to do it, Collins said.UP NEXTBryant: The Bulldogs travel to Providence, Rhode Island, for a date with Brown on Monday night.Northwestern: The Wildcats will get a big test against Wake Forest in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge in Evanston on Monday night. ' ' '