bounce back from their first regulation home loss of the campaign

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 one and half 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.---AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell contributed to this report.---For more college football coverage: http://www.collegefootball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Cody Zeller Hornets Jersey . - Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, J. Percy Miller Jersey . Denis Coderre, the former federal MP who was elected mayor on Nov. 3, has drawn the ire of some Montreal Canadiens. During last nights game he tweeted: "Hello? Can we get a one-way ticket to (minor-league) Hamilton for David Desharnais please. http://www.hornetsteamproshop.com/Cheap-Bismack-Biyombo-Hornets-Jersey/ .S District Court against Major League Baseball, the Office of the Commissioner and his own union, the MLBPA. Frank Kaminsky Jersey . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Jersey .com) - The Calgary Flames aim to bounce back from their first regulation home loss of the campaign on Friday night when they host a Detroit Red Wings club that they swept in three meetings a season ago. BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- Fred Coppet rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns, including a 52-yarder, and Bowling Green survived a wild finish to beat Buffalo 27-19 in both teams season finale on Friday.Bowling Green lost a fumble on a first-down play with 1:43 left at the Buffalo 23-yard-line. The Bulls drove with Grant Rohach hitting Jamari Eiland with a 14-yard pass to the Falcons 1 with 28 seconds remaining and no timeouts. A running play lost 2 yards and the Bulls scrambled back to the line with Rohach throwing an incomplete pass to Mason Schreck, apparently ending the game.ddddddddddddBut after review, one second was put back on the clock with Rohach again throwing incomplete to Schreck.Coppet went over 1,000 career yards in his final game. Josh Cleveland added 109 yards and Donovan Wilson 107 with the Falcons (4-8, 3-5 Mid-American) finishing with 346 yards rushingRohach threw for 334 yards and two touchdowns for Buffalo (2-10, 1-7). ' ' '