The First Page

With the last page on 2020 closing last night, we have a new book to write here in 2021. If that imagery seems a little off to you, it's because I heard an excellent way to describe the coming year in that we should treat 2021 as a book with 365 pages that sits in front of us with each of us writing the story of 2021. There will be highs and lows, ups and downs, wins and losses, triumphs and defeats, and success and failures throughout this new story, but we should treat each page like we're going to write an incredible story. Some of us will cross paths while some of us will never meet but may affect others halfway around globe. Whatever the story holds, it's up to you to write that story!

If I want to start this story for 2021 here on Hockey Blog In Canada, I think I should bring forth the words of one of the people I hold in the highest regard: Mr. Gregg Popovich. I'm not a big basketball fan by any means, but Mr. Popovich coaches the San Antonio Spurs where both he and the Spurs have seen an immense amount of success. A lot of that success, I feel, points to how Mr. Popovich treats the people within his circle - family, friends, teammates, and fellow coaches. His words today about Becky Hammon need to be posted in every hallway, gym, athletic center, arena, coach's office, and locker room across this continent.

Rebecca Hammon played for the WNBA's San Antonio Stars and New York Liberty after a storied career with Colorado State. Her skills on the court were hard to miss as she was virtually unstoppable for the Rams where she still holds virtually all the school's basketball records for both the men and women. She continued that storied career into the WNBA where success followed her, but her trade to San Antonio in 2007 put her on Gregg Popovich's radar as Hammon continued to show a basketball savvy unmatched by her peers.

Following her retirement from the WNBA in 2014 after another ACL injury, Popovich hired Hammon as part of his coaching staff on August 5, 2014 after working with the Spurs' coaching staff during her rehabilitation. At the time of the hiring, Popovich stated, "I very much look forward to the addition of Becky Hammon to our staff. Having observed her working with our team this past season, I'm confident her basketball IQ, work ethic, and interpersonal skills will be a great benefit to the Spurs."

One year later, Hammon was given the responsibility of coaching the Spurs' summr league team. Not only did the team see success under Hammon's coaching, but they captured the Las Vegas Summer League title on July 20, 2015! She coached in the NBA All-Star Game in 2016, and even interviewed for the vacant Milwaukee Bucks general manager position in 2017! Hammon's been making waves for a while in the NBA, but it was two nights ago where she officially became the first.

After Gregg Popovich was ejected in the Spurs' game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Hammon took over the coaching duties in Popovich's absence, making her the first woman to be the head coach of any of any team in the four major professional sports leagues. The Spurs lost the game to the Lakers by a 121–107 but Becky Hammon's story will not end there if Gregg Popovich has any say in it.

"To me, it's not a big surprise. To a lot of other people it meant a lot -- I can understand that. She's somebody who's very skilled and could very easily fulfill the duties of a head coach in the NBA. That goes without saying.

"There are women in every other endeavour in the world, whether it's government, science, technology, aviation -- it doesn't matter what it is. Women do the same jobs as well and better than men. That's a fact. There's no reason why somebody like Becky and other women can't be coaches in the NBA."

Let that last line linger in the ether for a few moments - "there's no reason why somebody like Becky and other women can't be coaches in the NBA" - before continuing down this article because I think it's such a good way to start 2021. Some will say I'm biased since I watch and am a fan of women's hockey, but what Gregg Popovich stated is exactly how I feel about every job in and around hockey when it comes to women succeeding.

We've seen women make major inroads into the men's hockey world in big ways. Christine Simpson, Cassie Campbell-Pascall, Jennifer Botterill, AJ Mleczko, Kendall Coyne Schofield, and Kathryn Tappen are all doing incredible jobs at the NHL level on the broadcast side of things. Hayley Wickenheiser, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Dawn Braid, and Barbara Williams are all involved at the coaching level, and I'm expecting more women to be added to that list. Alexandra Mandrycky, Rachel Doerrie, Cammi Granato, and Meghan Chayka have proven that the front office of NHL teams shouldn't just be "the old boys' club" any longer.

For those coming to see what was on my mind today, the first page of 2021 for HBIC isn't some story on the IIHF World Junion Championship or the NHL. Instead, Becky Hammon was on my mind, and it has me asking what it will take to elevate a woman to an NHL assistant coaching position or - gasp! - a head coaching or general manager position. I feel like we're closer than ever, but why are the men that run hockey so afraid of breaking some sort of unwritten bias against women when it comes to men's professional sports?

In saying that, the first page of 2021 here in HBIC is a reinforcement of something I will continue to do as long as my fingers can find a keyboard, and that's celebrating the achievements of women in this great sport. There are times where hockey gets me down, but seeing Becky Hammon's achievement celebrated by some of the biggest NBA stars across social media and after the game shows me that there's still some good in sports. I've been pretty down on hockey for its focus on the business side of the game, but this story reinvigorates me to seek out good humanity stories within the game once more.

2021 is entirely unwritten as to where this blog will go, how it will evolves, and what it will feature. I do know that stories like Hammon's will get attention from me, and I hope that we really find the fun in sports again in 2021 rather than worrying about CBAs and contract fulfillment and all that.

That's my hope for 2021: find the fun again. The rest is still unwritten.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!