ROME -- Former Lazio coach Stefano Pioli was hired by struggling Inter Milan on Tuesday, replacing the fired Frank de Boer and tasked with restoring the 18-time Serie A champions to respectability.Inter announced that it signed Pioli to coach through next season and that he will be introduced on Thursday.Besides Lazio, the 51-year-old Pioli previously coached his hometown club Parma plus Chievo Verona, Palermo and Bologna in Serie A. In 218 matches as a Serie A coach, his teams have a record of 73 wins, 62 draws and 83 losses.He seems to me to be a logical choice, former Inter president Massimo Moratti said. Hes a coach who knows Italian soccer and who has always made his clubs play well.De Boer was fired last week after Inter lost seven of 14 matches in all competitions.Inters youth squad coach, Stefano Vecchi, had been given temporary control of the senior team for a 2-1 loss at Southampton in the Europa League on Thursday -- leaving the Nerazzurri last in their group -- and a 3-0 win over last-place Crotone on Sunday in Serie A.Inter is in ninth place in the Italian league, 13 points behind leader Juventus.Piolis debut will come in the derby against AC Milan on Nov. 20.Considered the next in a long-line of Italian tacticians, Pioli was considered the safest choice after a long weekend of meetings and interviews conducted by Inter management -- even though he has never coached a major club.Other coaches reported to have interviewed for the job included Marcelino, Italian great Gianfranco Zola and the well-traveled Guus Hiddink.Big Italian clubs rarely hold interviews for coaches in the public manner that Inter did, which sparked perplexity among the clubs supporters.I never held any casting interviews but I observed (coaches) on my own, Moratti said. Theyre different systems but its not like one way is right and the other is wrong. Its a transparent method to make a well-informed choice.In Piolis first season at Lazio, he led the Rome club to a third-place finish. He was fired by Lazio in April after a 4-1 derby loss to Roma.As a player, Pioli was a center back for Juventus, Hellas Verona and Fiorentina.While financial details were not announced, the Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Pioli will earn 1.4 million euros ($1.5 million) for the remainder of this season and nearly 2 million euros ($2.2 million) for next season.De Boer was hired less than two weeks before the season began following the unexpected resignation of Roberto Mancini, who reportedly wanted more control over the transfer market and clashed with Suning, the Chinese retail giant that took control of 70 percent of Inter in June.Inter fans have blamed the clubs complicated global management structure for the teams troubles.The club president is Erick Thohir, an Indonesian entrepreneur who purchased Inter from the Moratti family three years ago and who now has 30 percent of the ownership after the recent restructuring.Michael Bolingbroke, an Englishman who formerly worked at Manchester United, resigned his position as CEO on Monday.And there are five Chinese representatives on the clubs nine-member board of directors -- Ren Jun, Mi Xin, Liu Jun, Yang Yang and Zhang Kangyang.During Inters win over Crotone, supporters displayed banners that read, Shame on the management, and, Thanks Frank, youre paying for errors that were not yours.Pioli becomes Inters ninth coach since Jose Mourinho led the club to a treble in 2010. The others were Rafa Benitez, Leonardo, Gian Piero Gasperini, Claudio Ranieri, Andrea Stramaccioni, Walter Mazzarri, Mancini and De Boer.Former AC Milan, Inter and Juventus coach Alberto Zaccheroni also labeled Pioli the best choice.He has shown over the last few years to be the smartest coach with the most ideas, Zaccheroni told Rai state radio. Pioli knows the Italian league. Inter players are in need of certainties right now, and a coach like Pioli can provide them.---Andrew Dampf on Twitter: www.twitter.com/asdampfDamian Lillard Jersey . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. Maurice Harkless Jersey .Y. -- Canadas Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse have another World Cup gold medal after winning the two-women bobsled race on Saturday in Lake Placid, N. http://www.cheapblazersjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-ed-davis-jersey . Vokoun departed practice on Saturday morning after discovering swelling in his thigh. He was taken to a local hospital where the clot was revealed. The club announced the surgery following a 5-3 exhibition loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Clyde Drexler Jersey .Y. -- Injured Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Foligno did not practice with the team Monday and head coach Ron Rolston said its unlikely hell play in Wednesdays season opener in Detroit. Caleb Swanigan Jersey . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama.STARS-DOnta Foreman, Texas, rushed for a career-best 250 yards and two TDs to help the Longhorns hand No. 8 Baylor its first loss, 35-34.-Kamryn Pettway, Auburn, ran for a career-high 236 yards and a touchdown to help the No. 15 Tigers beat Mississippi 40-29.-Chad Kelly, Ole Miss, threw for a school-record 465 yards, beating Archie Mannings previous mark of 436 yards set in 1969, in a 40-29 loss to No. 15 Auburn.-Christian Kirk, Texas A&M, became the first player in school history to return two punts for touchdowns in a game and had a scoring catch to help the No. 9 Aggies rout New Mexico State 52-10.-Deshaun Watson, Clemson, had 430 yards of total offense and two touchdowns, helping the third-ranked Tigers hold off No. 12 Florida State 37-34.-Nick Fitzgerald, Mississippi State, accounted for 534 and matched a school record with seven total touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs to a 56-41 win over Samford.-Justin Herbert, Oregon, threw for 489 yards and four TDs in a 54-35 victory over Arizona State.-Saquon Barkley, Penn State, ran for 207 yards and two TDs in a 62-24 victory against Purdue.-Justin Thomas, Georgia Tech, accounted for 459 yards with four TDs in a 38-35 win over Duke.-Devante Kincade, Grambling State, passed for a career-high 457 yards and six TDs in a 70-0 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.-KD Humphries, Murray State, threw for 398 yards and five TDs in a 38-31 victory over Tennessee State.- John Lovett, Princeton, set a school record with seven touchdowns -- four passing, two rushing and one receiving -- in a 56-7 win over Cornell.-Bryan Schor, James Madison, threw for a career-high 309 yards, set a school record by completing 21 of 22 passes and tied another record with five TDs in an 84-7 win over Rhode Island.---BIG 12 TROUBLEThe Big 12s playoff hopes took a big hit with No. 8 Baylor and No. 10 West Virginia both losing.The Bears suffered their first loss when Texas Trent Domingue kicked a 39-yard field goal with 46 seconds remaining to give the Longhorns a 35-34 victory.West Virginia also lost for the first time, 37-20 to Oklahoma State after Mason Rudolph threw three touchdown passes and ran for a score.Baylor and West Virginia still could by in the thick of the playoff race if they finish 11-1, but would have to run the table.---PEPPERS LEADS WOLVERINESAll Michigan needed was an exclamation point -- a final flourish that would add a little extra satisfaction to this big victory on a rivals home field.ddddddddddddWhen Michigan State fumbled while attempting a puzzling 2-point conversion with 1 second left, Jabrill Peppers scooped up the loose ball and ran all the way to the end zone. Then the celebration really began.The defensive conversion by Peppers capped a 32-23 victory for the second-ranked Wolverines, who beat the skidding Spartans for only the second time in the last nine meetings. Peppers also scored a touchdown in the first quarter, and when the games last second finally ticked off, he did a triumphant backflip for good measure.The Wolverines scored every time they had the ball in the first half, sending the Spartans to their sixth straight loss while avenging last seasons botched-punt loss to their rivals.---NUMBERS6-Straight games Floridas Jordan Scarlett has scored a touchdown.100-Career victories by Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy after the Cowboys knocked off No. 10 West Virginia 37-20.355-Career catches by East Carolinas Isaiah Jones, passing Oklahomas Ryan Broyles for second in NCAA history. He trails only the 387 catches by his former teammate Justin Hardy.4,132-Career yards rushing by Southerns Lenard Tillery, breaking Destry Wrights SWAC record of 4,050 yards with Jackson State from 1997-1999.---TOUCHDOWNS, FIVE WAYSFlorida receiver Antonio Callaway became the first player in school history to account for touchdowns five different ways. Not in the same game, though.Callaways 4-yard TD run in the third quarter against Georgia -- the first rushing score of his career -- put him in unique company. The sophomore has scored rushing, receiving, twice while returning punts and while returning an onside kick against Missouri two weeks ago. He also threw a touchdown pass against Michigan in the Citrus Bowl.Hes the 21st player in the Football Bowl Subdivision since 1996 to accomplish the five-way feat. The list includes current NFL receivers Antonio Brown and T.Y. Hilton as well as Reggie Bush, Kevin Faulk, Ten Ginn Jr., Deuce McAllister and C.J. Spiller. ' ' '