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For all of Les Miles good qualities, the way he related to his players, the way his players swore by him and the way he made college football fun with his quirkiness, it was his stubbornness that brought about his demise.He was the Mad Hatter, the guy who would munch on grass during tight ballgames, but he was also the guy who squandered a maddening amount of talent, according to his critics, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.And in a nutshell, thats how a coach was sent packing?after winning a national title, two SEC championships, 10 or more games in seven of his 11 full seasons and 77 percent of his games.On Sunday morning, LSU athletic director Joe Alleva told Miles that the coach would no longer represent Louisiana State. Only hours earlier, LSU had lost 18-13 at Auburn, the third time in four games that LSU had failed to score more than 23 points.Alleva told Miles the decision was made late Saturday night. In reality, it was probably made last year, when Miles survived a coup in the final hour after beating Texas A&M late in the season. It was only a reprieve, though, because the same power brokers who wanted Miles out didnt go anywhere. And Miles was either too hardheaded or too loyal, and maybe both, to make any sweeping changes on offense.Sure, he changed quarterbacks earlier this season, going from Brandon Harris to Danny Etling, but the approach, and the result, was still the same.Miles loves physical, shove-it-down-your-throat offense. He loves fullbacks and tight ends and running the football. There was a time during his career when that style was good enough to remain nationally relevant, particularly with the way the Tigers recruited under Miles.But as the college game started to change, Miles dug his heels deeper in the Louisiana soil, and while everybody else was spreading it out, running tempo, finding ways to be creative and scoring points, Miles was still trying to do it his way. The hard way.It cost him his job.Miles offensive coordinator, longtime pal Cam Cameron, didnt buck the system. He ran what Miles wanted to run, how he wanted to run it and when he wanted to run it. Some of the other offensive coordinators under Miles (Jimbo Fisher, to be specific) were more willing to fight Miles and branch out and be more imaginative offensively.Rarely, if ever, did Miles meddle with the defense. But he was a master meddler with the offense, which was all the more frustrating for LSU fans.Go back and look at some of the receiver talent that has come through LSU over the years -- comparing what those players did at LSU and what theyve done in the pros. Granted, there were some nice passing numbers when Zach Mettenberger was throwing to Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry, but that was more the exception than the rule.The Tigers were never able to develop a quarterback out of high school under Miles (Mettenberger was a transfer) and, for the most part, were never able to get it right offensively.In this age of wide-open offensive football, thats a tough way to make a living, even when youre pulling in top-10 recruiting classes every year.Lets be honest. The shadow of Nick Saban didnt help Miles cause, either. Saban has set a dizzying standard at Alabama with four national championships in the past seven years. Having Saban in your same division is hard enough, but coming in behind him the way Miles did at LSU makes it even more daunting.Early on, Miles stood his ground, on the recruiting ground and on the field. But once Saban got Alabamas machine rolling, the Tigers havent been much opposition. Alabama has won five in a row against LSU.The hardest part in all this, especially for those who really know Miles, is that hes such a likable guy, refreshing in a lot of ways because he never seemed to take himself too seriously. He was deeply involved in the Baton Rouge community. Miles also genuinely cares about people and always had his players backs.At times, you needed a special Les Miles thesaurus to decipher what he was really trying to say at news conferences, but he was good for the game and provided a nice break from some of the stoicism that grips the coaching fraternity.Having talked to countless players who played for Miles over the years, its obvious they loved him and loved playing for him. Miles is eternally devoted to his own family and treated his players the same way. Patrick Peterson, now a cornerback with the Arizona Cardinals, probably said it best a few years ago. Peterson was a coveted prospect coming out of high school in Pompano Beach, Florida, and could have gone anywhere he wanted.If I had it all to do over again, Id go back and play for coach Miles every time, Peterson said. Hes always going to be there for you no matter what.Miles will no longer be at LSU, and maybe its not a surprise that it ended the way it did.But nobody can ever say he didnt do it his way. Carlos Gomez Jersey .500 on the season. The Jets are now 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. Steven Souza Jersey . Louis Blues teammates who would also be participating in the Olympics, Alex Pietrangelo felt right at home, no different in some ways to the travel experience of any old road trip – save for the length of the journey, that is. http://www.officialraysgearshop.com/Rays-Alex-Cobb-Kids-Jersey/ ., for the next three years with the signings on Monday of Daryl Townsend and Michael Carter. Nathan Eovaldi Jersey . The quest begins with what is supposed to be an easy one, although Germany has traditionally been a stubborn opponent to Canadian teams at international tournaments. Custom Tampa Bay Rays Jerseys . Ivanovic was leading 7-5, 1-0 when Hantuchova withdrew after falling 0-40 behind in the second game. The match started slowly for Ivanovic, who surrendered her first two serves as Hantuchova took a 5-3 lead. NEW YORK -- Brad Brach picked up Austin Romines bat behind home plate and slammed it to the turf. On the verge of moving into position to clinch no worse than a tiebreaker game for a playoff berth, the Baltimore Orioles let the opportunity slip away.Tomorrow is what weve been playing the whole season for anyway, Matt Wieters said after Baltimore wasted a three-run lead Saturday in a deflating 7-3 loss to the New York Yankees. It shouldnt be hard to get ready for a game tomorrow.Fittingly in this season of alternating promise and frustration, game No. 162 will be needed to determine the Orioles fate.They had a 3-0, fifth-inning lead against an already eliminated opponent and an 81.5 percent probability of winning the game, according to Fangraphs. A victory plus a loss by Toronto or Detroit later Saturday would have clinched a wild-card berth.New York closed with a run each in the fifth and sixth, and Tyler Austin tied the score in the seventh when he drove Wade Mileys slider into the Yankees bullpen in right center. Romine then dumped Brachs slider over a drawn-in infield and into short left for a tiebreaking, two-run single in the eighth, and Brett Gardner followed with a two-run double against Oliver Drake.It seemed like we were in control there for six innings, and all of a sudden you look at the scoreboard and its tied, Brach said.Baltimore dropped into a tie with Toronto for the ALs two wild cards at 88-73, with Detroit 1 1/2 games behind at 86-74. Seattle was eliminated Saturday night with a 9-8, 10-inning loss to Oakland.Brach planned to watch the other games on television.Not Orioles manager Buck Showalter.Ill find something else to do. Maybe even sleep, he said. Theres an interesting thought.Despite Saturdays disappointment, Baltimore could clinch with a victory over the Yankees on Sunday.Mark Trumbo tied his season high with four hits, and the Orioles built a 3-0 lead against Luis Severino on Michael Bourns two-run single in the second and Manny Machados 37th home run. Machados third-inning, opposite-field drive to right ended an 0-for-17 slide.Austin sparked the comeback with an RBI single in the fifth and a home run in the seventh around Chase Headleys run-scoring double in the sixth.With the score 3-all, Brach (10-44) relieved with one out in the eighth and walked pinch-hitter Jacoby Ellsbury.ddddddddddddHeadley doubled again, just past the glove of diving first baseman Chris Davis and down the right-field line.When things are going bad, its whats going to happen, Brach said. Chase just placed it right. Sometimes its better to place it right than hit it hard.Brach walked Ronald Torreyes with two outs, Drake relieved and Gardner doubled to left. Brach was charged with a season-high four runs, and the All-Star setup man has allowed 13 hits and five walks over 12 1/3 innings since the start of September,Its almost impossible to continue at the level he was pitching for about three-fourths of the season, Showalter said.Tyler Clippard (2-3) pitched a perfect eighth, and Dellin Betances struck out the side after an infield hit in the ninth. The Yankees stopped the Orioles three-game winning streak and sent them to their second loss in eight games.Wieters planned to focus on the other contenders before getting ready for Sunday.Ill watch `em, he said. It would have been nice watching them with the win today.THE EXTRA MILEYComing off an 11-strikeout win over Arizona, Miley fanned nine, walked one and allowed nine hits in six-plus innings.Just a couple of mistakes I made later in the game, he said.Austin fell behind 1-2 in the seventh and worked the count full before the fateful slider.Kind of spun over the middle of the plate, Miley said. He hammered it.EXPANDED ROSTERSShowalter is not a fan of the expansion of active rosters from 25 to 40 from Sept. 1 on, which allows streams of pinch hitters and relief pitchers.This convoluted thing called September, youre just picking your poison, he said, pointing out the Yankees had Gary Sanchez, Brian McCann, Didi Gregorius and Ellsbury on their bench. Its why guys on the field shake their head about the way it is now.STUBBORN MULE?Showalter talked about how his wife had bought a pair of miniature donkeys.She says now she has three jackasses, he cracked.UP NEXTRHP Kevin Gausman (8-12) is scheduled to start Sunday for Baltimore. RHP Luis Cessa (4-3) is slated to pitch for New York. ' ' '