Becky Hammon became the first woman to coach an NBA team last night after Gregg Popovich was ejected in the second quarter of the Spurs’ loss to the Lakers.

The Red Sox, according to the Boston Globe are hiring Bianca Smith as a minor league coach becoming the first-ever black female coach in baseball history.

Hammon is likely to be an NBA head coach soon and Smith is trailblazing the way for MLB’s first female manager.

Both stories point to a more inclusive and improved future!

Happy New Year!

One week into the NBA season, the Magic, Hawks, Cavs, and Kings are off to auspicious starts.

Dame Lillard and CJ McCollum combined for 51 points in a Blazers win over the Lakers Monday but that’s not the story.

Portland’s recipe for surpassing the defending champs -- defense, rebounding, and depth -- is.

Robert Covington held Anthony Davis to 13 points, LeBron James had 29 but “felt” Derrick Jones Jr.

The Blazers outrebounded LA and Gary Trent Jr.’s 28 -- led a 45-23 bench scoring advantage.

Pluvial December “Hollywood Nights” don’t define NBA success but it’s a start.

LOS ANGELES -- Longtime Utah Jazz assistant coach and current Jazz Radio Network studio analyst, Gordie Chiesa joined Herenda's Agenda in a wide-ranging conversation covering the NBA reconvening in Orlando. We look at title contenders -- the Lakers sans Avery Bradley, the depth of the Clippers under Doc Rivers, and in the East are the Raptors the sleeper team and are the Bucks built for the postseason and a championship run? We also talk about expectations for the Jazz.

We compare and contrast NBA basketball in the regular season versus the playoffs -- what it takes to win a championship and conversely how to rebuild a franchise, e.g., the New York Knick?. We also touch on the Golden State Warriors and Chiesa shares his outlook on the likelihood of Golden State returning to an elite level of play.

What is the first thing Coach Chiesa looks at in a box score and what adjustments are necessary in the NBA to create, sustain, and survive runs?

Coaching, of course, is covered as Gordie elaborates on the many coaching influences in his life and his recent tweet on "elite coaches" in the modern era.

How do coaches distill information to ensure players incorporate on the floor what's necessary for individual and team success when there is so much data available including advanced analytics, stats, and video?

We also talked about Coach Chiesa's 16-years as an assistant under the late Jerry Sloan, the John Stockton-Karl Malone tandem, all orchestrated by Frank Laden plus battling the Bulls in the NBA Finals on two occasions and Coach's reaction to ESPN's "Last Dance" documentary on Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.

Covered my Dad the late Anthony Herenda, my grandfather "Bad Bill" Bergin, my great Uncle Tony Callandriello, Babe Ruth, "Cinderella Man" James J. Braddock from my North Bergen, NJ neighborhood in Hudson County & Ken O’Brien in segment one and the NBA in segment two on Father's Day with Dave Smith on SB Nation Radio.

One of basketball's greatest innovators, Vance Walberg, Founding Father of the Dribble Drive Motion Offense discusses his coaching path, philosophy and what future trends he sees.

San Francisco Bay Area play-by-play broadcaster, TV and radio personality, actor, fitness coach, and ballroom dancing champion, Dave Lewis joins Herenda's Agenda to talk about his career, relationship with Atlanta Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce, his work with Sacramento State football, St. Mary's Gaels basketball and much more.

LOS ANGELES -- Joyce Randolph was born in Detroit, Michigan before moving to New York City and embarking upon an epic acting career that included playing the role of Trixie Norton on the iconic and venerable TV show, “The Honeymooners.”

Joyce and her cast members including Art Carney, who played her husband sewer worker Ed Norton, Audrey Meadows who portrayed Alice Kramden, and Jackie Gleason, who played Ralph Kramden a bus driver, have delighted, entertained and produced enduring laughter for audiences since the mid-'50s who have embraced and loved the Kramden’s and the Norton’s — friends and neighbors from Bensonhurst Brooklyn.

Here's my conversation with Joyce Randolph.

The @sacramentoKings weren't the only ones who struggled on January 23, 2015, when Klay Thompson of the @Warriors went for a record-setting 37 points in the third quarter. On NBC Sports Bay Area, I had voice issues on Kings Pregame Live making for interesting live television with @GuyHaberman and @TheBobbyJackson. Posting this as NBC Sports Bay Area re-aired this game on Wednesday night.

Talking coronavirus impact on NBA & Life on SB Nation Radio by Bill Herenda