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As a 5-foot-6 point guard, decorated WNBA veteran Becky Hammon has never had the experience of shattering a backboard with a dunk. Shes busting through the glass ceiling instead. The San Antonio Spurs hired Hammon as an assistant coach on Tuesday, making her the first full-time, paid female assistant on an NBA coaching staff. When Hammon retires from her 16-year WNBA career at the end of the San Antonio Stars season, she will immediately move to the staff of the defending NBA champions, working with the revered Gregg Popovich on scouting, game-planning and the day-to-day grind of practice like no woman has ever done before. "Nothing in my life has really ever been easy. Ive always been someone who did it uphill," Hammon said. "Im up for challenges. Im up for being outside the box, making tough decisions and challenges. ... And Im a little bit of an adrenaline junkie. Throw those all in there and this was the perfect challenge and opportunity." That makes her fit right in with the Spurs, an organization with a reputation for bold decisions. Popovich and general manager R.C. Buford have long been at the forefront of the leagues international influx and earlier this summer hired European coaching legend Ettore Messina as an assistant. During the 2001-02 season, Cleveland Cavaliers coach John Lucas brought Lisa Boyer into the teams practices and some games. Boyer, now an assistant at South Carolina, was not paid by the Cavaliers and did not travel with the team, but did work with the players and coaches that season. "I very much look forward to the addition of Becky Hammon to our staff," Popovich said in a statement released by the team. "Having observed her working with our team this past season, Im confident her basketball IQ, work ethic and interpersonal skills will be a great benefit to the Spurs." But Popovich and Buford were not available in person and Hammon had the spotlight entirely to herself. "Congratulations to Becky on todays announcement," Boyer said in a statement. "Its a great thing for her and for the NBA. I am still so thankful to John Lucas for giving me the opportunity to work with his NBA team during my time with the Cleveland Rockers. His staff and players welcomed me as a coach, and it was an incredible experience for me to spend that season with them." Last season, Hammon attended Spurs practices, film sessions and sat behind the bench at home game after suffering a torn ACL that kept her from playing. Shes been friends with Tony Parker and Tim Duncan since competing in an NBA All-Star shooting competition in 2008, a familiarity that will help as she makes her transition to coaching the two stars. "As far as women coaching men, its really silly. People ask me all the time, will there ever be a woman player in the NBA?" Hammon said. "To be honest, no. There are differences. The guys are too big, too strong and thats just the way it is. "But when it comes to things of the mind, things like coaching, game-planning, coming up with offensive and defensive schemes, theres no reason why a woman couldnt be in the mix and shouldnt be in the mix." Its been a long time coming for female basketball players and coaches who have long dreamed of getting a chance in the NBA. "I was so excited and pleased and the one thing that people have to remember is that the San Antonio Spurs dont do anything for effect," said Nancy Lieberman, a former star player who was a head coach in the NBA Development League in 2009 and now serves as the GM of the Texas Legends. "Thats not who they are. They dont do this for the record-breaking barrier. They do things out of respect. "And the fact that coach Popovich has this much respect for Beckys basketball IQ, for how she handles herself with the guys in practice, her ability to relate to them, Im sure he saw so much when she was working with them last fall. Im sure he didnt hire her because she was a woman. Im sure he hired her because she was the best person for the job." "This will open the door for other women, even like myself," Lieberman added. "My goal is to coach in the NBA and youve got to start somewhere. So this is a great day." Charlotte Hornets sideline reporter Stephanie Ready, who served as an assistant on the Coppin State mens team as well as in the D-League, called Popovich the perfect person to hire Hammon "because hes proven he has a tremendous track record and he does not make bad decisions." "Thats the first step, having the precedent set is very important," Ready said. "A lot of it also is now women will know these jobs are available. In the past, a lot of women probably didnt try because they didnt think it was possible. I think you may very well see an increase in seeing some females hired." Hammon has a reputation of being a smart, hard-nosed, tough-minded player. She made six All-Star teams and averaged 13.1 points in her 16 seasons with the Stars and New York Liberty. Hammon was receiving congratulatory messages from all over, including from Lieberman, Boyer and Lakers star Kobe Bryant. "I love seeing people Ive been involved with have an opportunity in life to have these types of experiences," said Stars coach Dan Hughes, who has coached Hammon for eight years. "This one is unique. Shes ready for it, shell do a great job." Even tennis great Billie Jean King weighed in on the hire, congratulating the Spurs for acquiring "a key person based on their qualifications and not allowing gender to play a role in their decision." But like it was only a matter of time before a woman got a chance to coach in the NBA, its also only a matter of time before said coach finds herself in Popovichs crosshairs. "Im sure Pop will be yelling at me soon enough," Hammon said, "with the rest of them." Wholesale Jerseys .Boston beat the Nashville Predators 5-3 on Tuesday night and celebrated consecutive wins for the first time in more than a month. College Jerseys .com) - Nicklas Backstrom scored a pair of goals and Alex Ovechkin notched a highlight-reel tally, leading the Washington Capitals to a 4-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday at the Prudential Center. https://www.cheapjerseysjustwholesale.com/. Joining him in this years class were Switzerlands Patrick Huerlimann and Norways Eigil Ramsfjell. The announcement was made at the world mens curling championship at Capital Indoor Stadium in China. NFL Jerseys . QUARTERBACKS Carson Palmer (vs Colts)Last week: 30/42, 419 yards, 2 TDsWinners of their last three and now tied for the final wild card spot in the NFC, the Cardinals are worth keeping an eye on. Adidas Jerseys . - Rookie Tesho Akindele scored three goals and Fabian Castillo added two in FC Dallas 5-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night.MOOSE JAW, Sask. - John Chick could have been a Hamilton Tiger-Cat. He chose the Saskatchewan Roughriders instead. On Sunday, he will find out if he made the right decision. The fourth-year defensive end will play in his third league championship game when the Riders host Hamilton in the 101st Grey Cup at Mosaic Stadium. "This is where I played before. This was more like home to me," Chick said Wednesday following Saskatchewans practice, which was moved indoors and to Moose Jaw due to wind chill values that were flirting with minus-30 C. "It was the best opportunity. There was no other answer for me." Chick played for the Riders from 2007-09 before leaving for three seasons in the NFL. The suitors came calling when he was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the spring and it was reported that the Ticats were prepared to make him a substantial offer. But like the 27 quarterbacks hes dropped behind the line of scrimmage in his CFL career, the rumour mill ground to a halt at the end of May when Chick finally signed with the Roughriders. "I dont even want to think about that," Chick said of his conversations with the Ticats. "There was talk … I had communication with (Hamilton head coach and GM) Kent Austin. Obviously he coached me in 07 here and (it was) just more so talking. "Im happy for him that hes got a good job over there but well be friends after this game." Chick made friends with Austin very quickly during his storybook beginning to his CFL career in 2007. He was Saskatchewans nominee for rookie of the year honours and conntributed a forced fumble and a quarterback sack in the league championship game as the Riders beat Winnipeg for their first Grey Cup in 18 years.dddddddddddd His exit, by contrast, was almost the polar opposite. Chick jetted south almost immediately on the heels of the infamous 13th-man debacle that cost Saskatchewan the 2009 Grey Cup. The Riders struggled following his departure, losing the 2010 Grey Cup and following that with seasons of five and eight wins. His return will be defined in a few short days. So far its been a success, as he scored eight sacks in 2013 to tie for the team lead with Ricky Foley and Tearrius George. "I couldnt imagine Chick playing in any other colour but green," said second-year Riders defensive back Terrell Maze. "But (Hamilton) would have had a great player and Im sure glad hes with us." A big part of Chicks job is mentoring the younger players on the team — guys like Maze, who came up with two of Calgarys seven turnovers in the West Division final. "Having veterans like John Chick around means a lot because theyve been there, theyve done it, they understand the league," said Maze. In this case they also understand that not everyone gets to play in three Grey Cups period, let alone in their first four years in the league. "I dont believe at all that I take it for granted, but its a pretty neat atmosphere when you expect that you can come here, you expect to win then you play through a season and you go through the ups and downs but you make it," said Chick. "Its pretty humbling." ' ' '