Willkommen » Becky Hammon has never had the experience

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Ryan Getzlaf spent the final seconds of the Anaheim Ducks playoff opener in the dressing room with a large ice bag pressed to a nasty cut on his left cheek. Playoff success usually requires a little discomfort, and the Ducks got a good taste of both in their opener. Getzlaf had a goal and an assist, Frederik Andersen made 32 saves to win his NHL playoff debut, and the Ducks held on for a 4-3 victory over the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night. Getzlaf, Kyle Palmieri and Mathieu Perreault scored in a dominant first period for the top-seeded Ducks, who began their playoff run on a dead sprint. Anaheim led 4-0 midway through the second period before Dallas got rolling in its first playoff game since 2008. Captain Jamie Benn and Colton Sceviour had power-play goals, and Tyler Seguin scored with 6:07 left to trim the Ducks lead to one. Anaheim hung on with a handful of big saves from Andersen, a 24-year-old Danish rookie. "We knew they were going to push," Palmieri said. "No team is going to go away, especially in the playoffs. We weathered the storm, and itll help us going forward." Game 2 is Friday. Anaheim is the Western Conferences No. 1 seed for the first time after the best regular season in franchise history, setting new marks for victories (54), points (116) and goals (263) while winning its second straight Pacific Division title. The Ducks won their opener for the second straight year, but they lost in seven games to seventh-seeded Detroit last spring. They didnt even get 60 minutes into their post-season return without drama, nearly blowing a four-goal lead while losing two of their top-line forwards to injury. "Im sure we didnt put the fear of God in them tonight, and they probably gained some confidence," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We didnt play that good. We gave the puck away too many times tonight, but well go back to the drawing board." Matt Beleskey had a goal and an assist before incurring a lower-body injury in the third period. Getzlaf then got hit in the face with the puck with 16 seconds left, sending him to the dressing room early. Beleskey has struggled with a similar injury in recent weeks, and Boudreau wasnt sure of its new severity. Boudreau doesnt think Getzlaf has a broken bone in his face, but will know more Thursday when the Ducks reconvene to figure out what to fix from Game 1. Benn and Sceviour scored in their post-season NHL debuts, but the Stars couldnt escape their early hole despite an impressive game from their high-scoring top line of Benn, Seguin and Valeri Nichushkin, which accounted for 14 shots. "The way we finished was how we want to play the full game," said Seguin, who infamously scored just one goal in 22 playoff games for Boston last season. "I definitely liked our no-quit attitude out there and performance." Kari Lehtonen stopped 31 shots for the wild-card Stars, who ended their five-year playoff drought thanks to new coach Lindy Ruff and seven Stanley Cup winners on their roster. "I thought at times we had them on their heels, and we gave them a good push," Ruff said. Andersen, who went 20-5 in his first NHL season, got the start over veteran Jonas Hiller, who has fallen out of favour with coach Bruce Boudreau after a handful of poor starts. After a raucous pregame reception from their orange towel-waving fans, the Ducks wasted no time. Nick Bonino lifted an exceptional pass over diving defenceman Aaron Rome to Palmieri for a backhand goal just 1:53 in. Getzlaf converted a rebound of Beleskeys shot off Lehtonens mask, and Perreault put Anaheim up 3-0 with a power-play goal on exceptional passes from Patrick Maroon and Getzlaf. Beleskey got credit for the Ducks second power-play goal when Francois Beauchemins long shot deflected off his leg. But Dallas got a 5-on-3 advantage for 56 seconds late in the period, and both Benn and Sceviour capitalized. NOTES: Stephane Robidas faced his former teammates for the first time since Dallas traded the veteran defenceman to Anaheim last month. ... Anaheims long-struggling power play hadnt scored multiple goals in a game since Jan. 15, when the Ducks got six against Vancouver. ... LW Ray Whitney returned to the Stars lineup after missing the last six games with a lower-body injury. ... Nichushkin, who turned 19 last month, made his NHL playoff debut two months after playing in his first Olympics for Russia. Allen Iverson Jersey . A 23-year-old rookie, Stroman is 4-2 with a 3.44 earned run average in 12 games this season, the past seven of those being starts. He logged the first scoreless outing of his career on Friday versus Oakland in a no-decision. Allen Iverson Nuggets Jersey . Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon; a brief, poor outing that served to highlight two trends that have developed this season. http://www.nuggetsproshop.com/Michael-Porter-Nuggets-Jersey/. The Eastern Conference-leading Celtics finished their recent trek at 3-1 on Monday in Salt Lake City when Rajon Rondo made a key jumper with 24.1 seconds remaining, as Boston held off the Utah Jazz, 107-102, at EnergySolutions Arena. Nikola Jokic Jersey . This week, topics cover the Blue Jays rotation, the futures John Gibbons and Alex Anthopoulos, protecting pitchers and a bonus question on his predictions for the MLB playoffs. Thomas Welsh Jersey . -- First baseman Carlos Pena and outfielder Brennan Boesch have signed minor league deals with the Los Angeles Angels.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. &quoot;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.dddddddddddd" 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." ' ' '