Alabama hired former Southern California coach Lane Kiffin on Friday as its offensive co-ordinator and quarterbacks coach. Kiffin returns to the Southeastern Conference after head coaching stints with the NFLs Oakland Raiders, Alabama rival Tennessee and the Trojans. He replaces Doug Nussmeier, who left Alabama for Michigan. "He is an outstanding and creative offensive coach who has great experience both at the college and NFL level," coach Nick Saban said in a statement. "He has a very good understanding of the game and I have always been impressed with what I saw in the games he called. He coaches with a great deal of passion and enthusiasm, and also does an excellent job as a teacher." Kiffin spent a week in Tuscaloosa, Ala., last month exchanging ideas with Saban and his staff and observing Alabamas offence. Now, hes the splashiest hire of Sabans tenure at Alabama, which has won three national titles in the past five seasons. The 38-year-old Kiffin was 28-15 in three-plus seasons with USC. He was fired five games into last season from one of college footballs marquee jobs. Kiffin spent six seasons (2001-06) at USC under Pete Carroll as an assistant, including the final two as offensive co-ordinator. He also called plays during his time as a head coach. He spent the 2009 season at Tennessee, going 7-6 before leaving to replace Carroll. "We want to thank the University of Alabama and Coach Saban for this tremendous opportunity, and we feel humbled and honoured to be a part of the Crimson Tide family," Kiffin said in a statement. "Ive always had the utmost respect for what Coach Saban has done with his programs. Having the unique opportunity to be here last month, I was able to meet some of the great players and the great people in the organization, and Im very excited to start working with them. "Weve seen the passion and support of the Alabama fans firsthand, and when thats combined with the storied history and tradition of the program, this is a very special place to coach." Now, Kiffin is tasked with finding a replacement for quarterback AJ McCarron, the Heisman Trophy runner-up. One potential contender, Alec Morris, posted on his Twitter page "Love it" after the hiring. His hiring creates a high-profile pairing with Saban, who along with defensive co-ordinator Kirby Smart has routinely fielded one of the nations best defences while also putting up solid numbers with a pro-style offence. Kiffin was part of two national championships as a USC assistant under Carroll. He ran the offence from 2005-06 and was passing game co-ordinator the previous year, when quarterback Matt Leinart won the Heisman. The Trojans averaged 49.1 points and 579.8 total yards per game when Kiffin was offensive co-ordinator. The Tides lone meeting with Kiffins Volunteers proved pivotal during the 2009 national championship season. Terrence Cody blocked two field goals in the fourth quarter to preserve a 12-10 Alabama win and the Tides title hopes. Kiffin did run afoul of SEC Commissioner Mike Slive during his stay at Tennessee. After Kiffin was publicly dismissive of his second reprimand from the league, this one for criticizing officials, Slive issued a letter warning him that further such comments from he or his staff would lead to a suspension from at least one game. Kiffin had questioned why officials didnt penalize Cody for unsportsmanlike conduct when the defensive lineman removed and threw his helmet after his second block on the games final play. He also said at the time that he decided to let the clock run down instead of trying to run another play before the kick because he was concerned about the officiating. 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With Malaga on the verge of collecting its fourth victory in five games, Carlos Vela lifted the ball with a light touch of the head before whipping an acrobatic bicycle kick into the back of the net to equalize for the Basque side in the 89th minute. Jerseys Cheap . Dwight Howard had 29 points and 18 rebounds to lead Orlando to a 99-94 win over the Bulls on Thursday, snapping Chicagos eight-game winning streak.CHICAGO -- Paul Maholms rocky start with the Chicago Cubs is all but forgotten. After giving up 12 runs and 12 hits over eight innings in his first two outings, Maholm has more than settled down. He has become one of the teams best pitchers. Maholm pitched seven strong innings Wednesday, combining with two relievers on a four-hit shutout as the Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves 1-0. Backed by some good defence and an RBI single from Bryan LaHair in the seventh, Maholm outpitched Tim Hudson and earned his fourth straight win. "I think for four games Ive pitched well," Maholm said. "Im going to have another rough outing at some point, its part of baseball. But Im going to ride this as long as I possibly can and hopefully for a good while." Maholm (4-2) allowed three hits and combined with James Russell and Rafael Dolis to blank the Braves in a game that took only two hours and five minutes to play. Maholm walked three and struck out three as Chicago took two of three from Atlanta after doing the same in the previous series against the Dodgers. "After probably his second start, hes been as good as anybody," Chicago manager Dale Sveum said of Maholm, signed as a free agent after seven seasons with the Pirates. "We knew what we were getting, we were getting a guy who throws strikes, can throw four pitches, can manipulate the ball, hes a good athlete. Hes done a great job." After Maholm came out to warm up for the eighth, Russell replaced him and gave up a two-out double to Martin Prado and a walk to Freddie Freeman, then retired Dan Uggla on a flyout. Dolis worked the ninth for his third save in four chances. Hudson (1-1) allowed one run and five hits in seven innings in his third start this season. He gave up only three hits through the first six innings and -- thanks to a pair of double plays -- faced the minimum 18 batters. "Its disappointing. I felt like we played a pretty good game. Obviously they had a guy over there who was throwing the ball pretty well, too," Hudson said. "He made some pitches. They had some breaks with some of their defensive alignments with some guys on base. The ball was bouncing their way. Not a whole lot else you can say about it." David DeJesus hit a leadoff single in the seventh, and Tony Campana bunted him to second and he reached third on Starllin Castros grounder to first.dddddddddddd LaHair then hit a hard grounder under shortstop Jack Wilsons glove to give the Cubs the lead. Prado doubled and reached third in the sixth and after Uggla walked with two outs, Chipper Jones lined out to second baseman Darwin Barney, who was positioned behind the bag at second in a defensive shift. Otherwise, it would have been a run-scoring single. "Chipper almost hit me in the forehead and Barney caught it," Maholm said. "Its scary and then its very good." The defensive shifts are something Sveum favours, saying that third base coach Pat Listach studies all the opposing hitters and their tendencies, allowing the Cubs to move defenders around by playing the percentages on which direction the ball likely will go when it comes off the bat. "The shift won them the game today," said Jones. "You live with it, youre gonna die by it. Its just unfortunate today we couldnt really get anything going, and when we did, we hit a bullet right at somebody." Atlanta threatened with one out in the fifth when Heyward walked and Ross reached on a single when Campana lost his high fly to centre on an overcast day at Wrigley Field and it dropped in. Maholm retired the next two batters. Castro tried for an inside-the-park home run, hitting a ball near the right field line that a diving Jason Heyward couldnt reach. The ball rolled all the way to the wall, Castro kept running and Listach waved him home. Castro was tagged out easily by catcher David Ross on second baseman Ugglas relay. NOTES: Atlantas Jones, who is retiring at the end of the season, was presented with a Braves flag before the game by Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster. ... LaHair has reached base in 27 straight games dating to April 8. He also singled in the second. ... Cubs manager Dale Sveum said he didnt see Kerry Wood toss his glove and cap into the stands Tuesday night after issuing two walks and giving up a go-ahead single in the eighth. Sveum said he didnt condone it but said "there are frustrations that happen" and people sometimes do things they regret because they arent perfect. Wood has allowed two runs in both of his appearances since coming off the DL with a tired shoulder. ... Cubs LF Alfonso Soriano was out of the lineup for the second time in three games to rest a sore knee. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '