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. 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CHICAGO -- Patrick Kane keeps finding new ways to score big goals -- and the Chicago Blackhawks keep on rolling.Kane, the reigning NHL scoring leader and MVP, scored a spectacular tiebreaking goal late in the second period and the Blackhawks beat Montreal 3-2 on Sunday night, handing the league-leading Canadiens just their second regulation loss of the season.Kane snapped a 2-all tie with 3:37 left in the second to cap a terrific individual effort. He skated down the slot, fooled Jeff Petry with a move and chipped a shot past Al Montoya -- while falling to the ice with Max Pacioretty checking him closely from behind.So where does that one rate in Kanes growing highlight reel library?It was a different one, thats for sure, Kane said. I dont know if Ive scored going to the ground like that. Pretty cool, for sure.That had the wow factor all over it, Chicago coach Joel Quenneville added. All of a sudden he makes a play with a guy draped all over him, makes a great shot falling to the ice.Even Montoya was impressed.Theres not many guys that can make that play, Montoya said. Hes one of two, and I think (former Red Wings star Pavel) Datsyuk is already gone. Heck of a goal.Marian Hossa added his team-leading ninth and rookie Gustav Forsling scored his first in the NHL as Chicago improved to 9-0-2 in its last 11 and ended Montreals four-game winning streak. The Blackhawks havent lost in regulation since Oct. 21 at Columbus.(The Canadiens) are 13-1-1 coming into tonight, so its a big win for us, Kane said. Good measuring stick. We know they played back-to-back, but we took it to `em for the most part.Shea Weber and Andrei Markov scored for Montreal in a matchup of conference leaders. The Canadiens beat Detroit 5-0 in Montreal on Saturday night while the Blackhawks rested after losing 3-2 to Washington in overtime on Friday.Both goalies faced teams from their hometowns. Montoya, the Canadiens backup, made 32 saves in his first appearance since a 10-0 loss at Columbus on Nov. 4.Chicagos Corey Crawford, from Montreal, stopped 21 shots and came up big late in the game to preserve the lead. He denied Andrew Shaw on a rebound with a sliding pad save with 6:50 left and stopped Alex Galchenyuk from the edge of the crease with 20 seconds to go.We didnt have the same energy were used to having, Montreal coach Michel Therrien said. We made that push at the end aand Crawford made some solid saves for them.ddddddddddddThe 37-year-old Hossa has goals in four straight games and eight of nine. His 508th career goal on Sunday moved him past Canadiens icon Jean Beliveau into 40th place on the NHLs all-time list.Artem Anisimov, who entered tied with Kane for the Blackhawks points lead with 17, returned after missing one game with an upper-body injury.Montreal forward Andrew Shaw, a member of Chicagos 2013 and 2015 Stanley Cup teams, played his first game at the United Center following a salary cap-forced trade to the Canadiens last summer. Shaw got a standing ovation from the crowd of 21,762 during a video tribute in the first period.Forsling opened the scoring with 7:54 remaining in the first on a screened shot from the left point. With several players in front, the drive sailed past Montoyas glove.The Canadiens went ahead with goals 1:41 apart and on consecutive shots early in the second.Weber tied it 1-1 just 59 seconds into the period with a fluke power-play goal. His shot from from a sharp angle -- almost in the right corner -- deflected off Chicago defenseman Michal Kempnys stick and over Crawfords shoulder.Markov put Montreal ahead at 2:40 on a high shot from the slot with Chicagos Brian Campbell and Montreals Paul Byron screening in front.Hossa tied it 2-all with 8:31 left in the second. After Montoya made a left pad save on Nick Schmaltzs shot from the blue line, Hossa popped in the rebound from the right edge of the crease.After Kane put Chicago ahead, the Blackhawks dominated and checked smartly in the third to hold on -- and Crawford came through at the end.Game notes Therrien coached his 500th game with the Canadiens. Hes guided Montreal over two stints, sandwiched around 272 games with Pittsburgh. ... Pacioretty was struck in the mouth by a puck that deflected off Kempnys skate with 36 seconds left in the first, but returned for the second period. ... Chicago F Tyler Motte missed his third game with a lower-body injury. ... Montreal scratches were C Brian Flynn and F Greg Pateryn. Chicago sat out F Jordin Tootoo and D Michal Rozsival.UP NEXTCanadiens: Host Florida on Tuesday night.Blackhawks: At Winnipeg on Tuesday night to start a season-high seven-game road trip. ' ' '