here.Chatman will take over a team that has a rich history in the WNBA, winning a title in 2012 and reaching the playoffs for the past 12 years. India

BEIJING -- World Cup-winning manager Marcello Lippi was hired Saturday to take over the national football team in the latest sign of Chinas commitment to becoming a serious force in world soccer.The Chinese Football Association announced Lippis hiring after reports circulated this week suggesting a deal was close.The 68-year-old Lippi led Italy to the 2006 World Cup title, won five Italian league titles as manager of Juventus, and won three Chinese league titles while managing Guangzhou Evergrande before announcing his retirement in 2014.The Chinese association posted photos of a smiling Lippi signing a contract, but did not immediately confirm reports that his deal was worth 50 million euros ($54 million), which would make him one of the highest-paid coaches in the world.It wont be easy for the Italian. Lippi, who will be formally introduced on Friday, inherits a national team thats made one World Cup in its entire history -- and did not score a single goal in that tournament.Currently, China is ranked No. 84 by FIFA and in danger of missing the 2018 World Cup. Its previous coach, Gao Hongbo, resigned after a 2-0 loss on Oct. 11 to Uzbekistan. That followed a 1-0 loss at home to war-torn Syria, after which fans were seen protesting in the streets.But China has established a national goal of creating a football superpower capable of winning the World Cup by 2050. The drive is led by President Xi Jinping, a noted soccer fan who is said to have watched with frustration a 1983 exhibition in which the English side Watford trounced China.Chinese Super League teams have given big contracts to international players like Alex Teixeira and Jackson Martinez, and prominent coaches like former Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari and former England boss Sven-Goran Erikkson.A 50-point plan to promote football in the country includes setting up school programs, recruiting foreign coaches and creating 70,000 new fields and 50 million school-age players by 2020.China has made improving its soccer performance a test of its prestige on the world stage. Its employed a top-down approach reminiscent of efforts that produced champions in several Olympic sports, though some question whether a World Cup competitor can be developed that way.---Football Association (in Chinese): http://www.fa.org.cn/news/china/2016-10-22/514105.html Xavier Cedeno Cubs Jersey .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. Albert Almora Jr. Jersey . Aduriz headed home Markel Susaetas cross in the sixth minute to open the scoring at San Mames Stadium. He bettered that with a long-range blast that went in off the goal frame in the 18th, and converted a penalty in the 72nd after Diego Mainz was sent off for fouling Aduriz with only the goalkeeper to beat. https://www.cheapcubs.com/2670t-tony-kemp-jersey-cubs.html . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Yu Darvish Cubs Jersey Mickey Morandini Cubs Jersey .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. Pokey Chatman has seen how good the Indiana Fever can be from the opposing sideline. Now shell get a chance to lead them.The Fever hired Chatman as their new coach Friday, bringing in a WNBA veteran in hopes of continuing their annual visits to the postseason.I can remember when I first went to Chicago, quite frankly, I was trying to build a team to beat Indiana. What they had built was incredible and to see it from the inside out now is great, Chatman said. They have people who have been here for 14 years in this organization. It speaks volumes to whats going on here.Chatman will take over a team that has a rich history in the WNBA, winning a title in 2012 and reaching the playoffs for the past 12 years. Indiana was 17-17 this past year, losing in the first round. Coach Stephanie White left the Fever after the season to take over at Vanderbilt.My goal was to identify and hire someone who has extensive head coaching experience in the pro womens game and we are fortunate to bring Pokey to Indiana, said Kelly Krauskopf, the teams president and general manager. Her years of coaching elite level players, both in the WNBA and in Europe, bring us great experience and leadership. Her up-tempo philosophy on offense combined with her affinity for toughness on the defensive end fits our organization. I have watched her teams and admired how her players continuously improve from year to year.The 47-year-old Chatman was not retained by the Chicago Sky after this past season when she guided the team to an 18-16 record and an appearance in the WNBA playoff semifinals. She won 106 games in Chicago and led the team to its first-ever playoff appearance in 2013 and a trip to the WNBA Finals in 2014. Chicago made the playoffs in each of her last four seasons.I understand professional sports, Chatman said. II have a lot of pride in what we were able to accomplish in Chicago in six years.dddddddddddd I think the competitor in me is sad I didnt win a championship.Now she has a new job nearly three weeks later.Im elated and excited about it, Chatman said of the chance to lead Indiana. I didnt really think about the time frame and how quickly it was until I read it somewhere. Im excited about it.The Fever will have a different look not only on the sidelines, but also on the court as longtime star Tamika Catchings retired. Indiana still has a strong nucleus with Briann Janaury, Erlana Larkins, Tiffany Mitchell and Marissa Coleman.I dont have to reinvent the wheel here on either side of the basketball, Chatman said. There are areas we want to enhance, but if it aint broke were not going to try and fix it.Before taking over Chicago in 2011, Chatman spent 16 years at LSU, her alma mater. The Louisiana native was an assistant from 1992-2004 before becoming the head coach. She was 106-19 as the head of that program, including a 15-5 mark when she was the interim leader in 2004 when longtime coach Sue Gunter left the team because of a lung disease.Chatman will just be the coach in Indiana. She also was the general manager in Chicago. Having one job now is something that Chatman was happy about.I am looking forward to just being the coach, she said. I also am looking forward to learning from Kelly. I did have that role before. Its nice to have eyes and ears and a conversation with someone who had so much success from a learning standpoint. I welcome the opportunity to learn and just focus on the basketball half.---Follow Doug on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg ' ' '