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BATON ROUGE, La. -- The topic of discussion in Les Miles second-floor office at LSUs expansive football complex centered on how the coach intended to handle the ever-heightening scrutiny upon him this season -- particularly in light of the raging speculation that he was on the brink of being fired last November.At one point, Miles casually leaned forward from the sofa he sat upon, peaked inside a crinkled paper bag on the coffee table in front of him and uttered, Thats a bummer.Either his wife, Kathy, or 13-year-old daughter, Macy, had finished the tortilla chips while dining with Miles following LSUs evening practice, and the coach asked, How the heck are you supposed to eat guacamole without chips?That might have been the toughest question facing LSUs charismatic, hat-wearing, grass-chewing coach that evening. When it came to how hell deal with the perception of uncertainty swirling around him heading into his 12th season with the Tigers, Miles offered a straight-forward response that seemed obvious to him.Our plan would be to win and to play very, very well and not to really worry or commiserate and waste time about things you cannot control, Miles said in an interview with The Associated Press. You can only put the plan in place to win. ... You cant be the best you can be if youre not fully consumed with that very, very specific goal.In Baton Rouge, many fans are fed up with the Tigers five-game losing streak against Alabama and question why a program with LSUs profile, highly rated recruiting classes and first-class facilities hasnt played in an elite bowl game for four seasons. Thats why pressure mounted on LSUs administration to fire Miles during a three-game skid late last season.But Miles and his famously unconventional syntax are back for what many see as make-or-break campaign.In terms of pure numbers, the Miles era has involved plenty of winning -- 112 victories in 11 seasons, second only at LSU to Charlie McClendons 137 victories in 18 seasons (1962-79). Miles highlights include the 2007 national title. Hed never lost three straight at LSU before last year.Miles backers see him as a friendly, funny, well-grounded family man who is committed to his community for the long-term. All four of his children have spent at least part of their childhood in Baton Rouge, and the 62-year-old Miles doesnt sound inclined to entertain leaving, even if his tenure as LSU coach ends before hed prefer.I see four kids who grew up here and have lifetime friends here and will always want to come back to Baton Rouge, Miles said. Ive had tremendous experiences in Tiger Stadium with young men Ive been fortunate to coach and I am not going to minimize that for a moment.Kathy Miles said her husband has always been steady through rough patches, even last season.In terms of Les, (last season) never felt any different at all from the first day we got here, she said. You just put your head down, you just try to win and you hope that you do that a great majority of the time -- especially at LSU -- because the expectations are high. But Les knew that when he got here.Similar sentiments echo from Miles players.All the speculation that was going on, I know he had to feel some type of way about it, receiver Malachi Dupre said. But through that whole process, seeing him stay the same just shows the way you have to handle things in life.He did a great job of handling it and taught us all a lesson about fighting through it and doing the best you possibly can.Miles said that when he travels around Louisiana, fans continue to greet him graciously.Some thank him for making LSU football a bright spot during tough times, such as in his first season in 2005, when the Tigers had a strong season amid disruptions caused by devastating hurricanes Katrina and Rita. More recently, Miles has sought to lend moral support to law enforcement in the wake of a deadly police shooting in Baton Rouge in July. Now Miles is eyeing ways to help victims of flooding that has damaged an estimated 40,000 south Louisiana homes; LSU players were helping out at a shelter for flood victims this past week.Miles backers were out in force during LSUs regular season finale last season, when his job status appeared in doubt. They roared for him when he walked from the team bus to the stadium, and again when he appeared on the field.But it wasnt until after the Tigers triumph in that game that LSU confirmed Miles return in 2016 -- an unpopular decision among fans who believe LSU should have won more in recent years -- particularly against rival Alabama and coach Nick Saban, a former LSU coach who has won four national titles with the Crimson Tide since 2009.The reason LSU fired Charlie McClendon was he couldnt beat Bear Bryant, but nobody would take a step back and realize nobody else could beat Bear Bryant, either, said Baton Rouge sports talk radio host Derek Ponamsky. Now people are saying Miles has got to beat Saban. Who else is consistently doing that?The Tigers host Alabama on Nov. 5. Before that, LSUs slate includes a challenging season opener against Wisconsin at Green Bays Lambeau Field and a visit to resurgent Florida.Most starters have returned to a Tigers squad that won nine games last season, including a lopsided bowl victory over Texas Tech. Those back on offense include junior running back Leonard Fournette, who is a Heisman Trophy candidate, along with junior quarterback Brandon Harris and his top two receivers, senior Travin Dural and Dupre. The defensive standouts returning include linebacker Kendell Beckwith, cornerback TreDavious White and lineman Arden Key.Yet, if LSU falls short of the College Football Playoff, Miles could be blamed for squandering what many view as LSUs best team since 2011.Harris grinned when asked if hes noticed anything different about Miles this season and called Miles the chilliest coach Ive ever been around.A lot of fans dont like me, either, but I dont think me or coach cares, Harris said. The only thing that matters is what your family thinks about you and were his family and we love the dude to death.---AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org Michael van Gerwen defeated Peter Wright 6-4 in the final to defend his German Darts Masters title in Munich. Van Gerwen battled back from a 3-1 deficit to beat his Scottish opponent in a repeat of the Coral UK Open final in Minehead earlier this month.The world No 1 was somewhat fortunate to even make the final, as he was strongly challenged in his quarter-final clash with Chris Dobey. Dobey and Van Gerwen averaged over 100 in a superb match, which the Dutchman managed to edge through courtesy of an 11-dart finish in the deciding set.The quarter-finals also saw the end of world champion Gary Anderson after a shocking display, as he was beaten 6-0 by Joe Cullen in under 10 minutes - the Scot averaging less than 80. Joe Cullen produced a huge shock against Gary Anderrson Wright coasted past James Richardson 6-2 to reach the semi-finals, where he fought off a tough challenge from Michael Smith before winning 6-4.ddddddddddddCullen took on Van Gerwen in the other semi, but could never match his earlier performance against Anderson and was on the verge of a whitewash before taking the fifth leg - the Dutchman would go on to win 6-1.Wright battled back from losing the opening leg of the final to reel off the next three, but Van Gerwen was in no mood to