Boxengasse » which was first reported by ESPN. Lombard

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly reiterated early Sunday that he plans to be back as coach of the Fighting Irish after a 45-27 loss to rival Southern California dropped the Fighting Irish to 4-8, their second-worst record in five decades.Kelly said in the postgame news conference Saturday that Absolutely. Ill be back.Hours later, Yahoo Sports reported that Kelly had reached out through representatives to explore coaching options outside Notre Dame. About 3:40 a.m. Sunday, the school tweeted a statement from Kelly saying he thought he had been clear that he plans to return.I have not been, am not, and will not be interested in options outside of Notre Dame. Im fully committed to leading this program in the future, Kelly said in a tweet.Because Kelly said he wouldnt stay in California recruiting as long as he has in past seasons after finishing the season, some compared that to 2009 when Charlie Weis returned to South Bend after a loss at Stanford and was fired. Kelly didnt return with the team to South Bend after the loss on Saturday, but acknowledged hes coming back early.I dont believe Im coming back early because Im getting fired, he said.Kelly said Saturday he wasnt surprised about the speculation about his job status.You cant be surprised when you go 4-8 that youre going to get those questions asked as well, he said.Kelly said he plans to conduct exit interviews with players Wednesday through Friday to get an idea on what changes need to be made. He said he has to evaluate a lot of things, including his assistant coaches.Ive always felt the continuity of blend and change is the sweet spot. For me, we need to clearly look at where that is because it was off, he said.Kelly won at least eight games in each of his first six seasons and started this season ranked No. 10 and finished with eight losses. There have been few seasons when hopes started so high and finished so low. The Irish opened the 1956 season ranked No. 3 and finished 2-8, and were No. 4 to start the 1981 season in Gerry Fausts first season and finished 5-6.Kellys players also backed him after the Irish wrapped up their worst season since Charlie Weis went 3-9 in 2007 with a dreary, waterlogged loss in Los Angeles.If anything, Coach Kelly deserves another chance if people are talking about him being fired because this is just one bad season, defensive tackle Jarron Jones said. Just because we have one trip-up doesnt mean he should be fired.The season will be remembered for Notre Dames inability to come up with big plays in close losses to bad teams, falling to Texas (5-6), Michigan State (3-8), Duke (4-7) and North Carolina State (5-6). Its just the 14th time in 128 seasons of playing football the Irish have finished with a losing record.I thought we could play with anybody this year, Kelly said. We just have not been able to sustain consistent performance for four quarters. We have shown a propensity for some self-inflicted wounds, whether they be on special teams or offense or defense.Kelly called the defense a young group that is ascending and will make big strides next year.As for the offense, its status will depend on whether Kizer declares for the NFL draft or returns to school for his redshirt junior season. Kizer said he has not made a decision yet.Kelly said the school had requested draft evaluations for Kizer, left tackle Mike McGlinchey, left guard Quenton Nelson and linebacker Nyles Morgan from the NFL.Kizer did say the disappointing year gives him plenty of difficult tape to review and situations he could learn from, trying to take some positives from a bad situation.Jones believes the same holds true for Kellys tenure at Notre Dame.You never want to think about the negative stuff, because the negative stuff taints the positive memories, Jones said.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-Top25 Vince Carter Jersey . The news was first reported on Gonzalezs Twitter account and confirmed by the Rockies. Gonzalez has a six-week window before position players have their first workout at spring training in Arizona. Jason Williams Magic Jersey . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. http://www.magicauthentic.com/kids-nikola-vucevic-magic-jersey/ . Scott won the Australian PGA last week in his first event in Australia since winning the U.S. Masters in April. American Matt Kuchar, ahead by two strokes with four to play and even with Scott with one to go, double-bogeyed the 18th after taking two shots to get out of a bunker. D.J. Augustin Magic Jersey . Both players have lower body injuries that will keep them out of the lineup until at least January 31, which is the first game they can be activated from IR. Shaquille ONeal Magic Jersey . The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Lions have not announced the hiring, which was first reported by ESPN. Lombardi, the grandson of former Green Bay Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, has been an offensive assistant on Sean Paytons New Orleans staff since 2007. TOLEDO, Ohio -- Jonathan Williams scored 24 points, Jaelan Sanford pumped in 15 more and Toledo cruised to a 78-56 win over Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday night.Jordan Lauf added 13 points and Nate Navigato had 10 with six rebounds for Toledo (4-6), which pulled away with a big second half. The Rockets shot 52 percent over the final 20 minutes and dominated at the line, hitting 23 of 28 overall to Southeastern Louisianas 5 of 13.Toledo took the lead for good early in the first half with a 99-0 run capped by Sanfords 3-pointer to make it 18-10, and carried a 33-26 advantage into the break.dddddddddddd Early in the second half, a pair of free throws from Williams stretched the lead to 40-29 and the Rockets continued to expand the double-digit advantage down the stretch.Moses Greenwood led Southeastern Louisiana (6-4) with 15 points and Davon Hayes had 14. ' ' '