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EDMONTON -- A couple of former Oilers will back up Tom Renney in his first season as Edmonton head coach. Texans Andre Johnson Jersey . The team has appointed Kelly Buchberger and Steve Smith assistant coaches. Buchberger is a former Oilers captain while Smith was drafted by Edmonton and played there for six seasons. Buchberger, 43, spent the last two seasons as an assistant with the Oilers under Pat Quinn and Craig MacTavish. Prior to that he was head coach of the Springfield Falcons in the AHL. Smith, 47, spent the past two years as a scout with the Chicago Blackhawks. "Steve was an integral part of the Oilers on the blue-line," Oilers GM Steve Tambellini said in a release Thursday. "He will be playing an important role in developing our young defence group." Smith also served as an assistant coach with the Calgary Flames during the 1997-98 season but elected to return to the ice playing three more seasons with the Flames before retiring. Renney was named head coach last month after the club decided to move Quinn into an advisory role. The Oilers also named Todd Nelson head coach of their AHL affiliate in Oklahoma City. Nelson, who spent the previous two seasons as an assistant coach with the Atlanta Thrashers, is the Barons first head coach since the club became Edmontons farm club. "Todd has demonstrated a winning record and attitude throughout his professional career and we know that he will be a very valuable asset mentoring and developing our players in Oklahoma City," said Tambellini. Gerry Fleming, who was an assistant coach with the Springfield Falcons the last two seasons, will continue the same role under Nelson. The Oilers also signed defenceman Theo Peckham to a one-year contract. The 22-year-old played 15 games last season with Edmonton, collecting an assist and 43 penalty minutes. Pink Danieal Manning Jersey . Van Leur, 24, went 3-1 with a 3.78 ERA in 39 appearances out of the bullpen for the Pheasants this season and held opposing left-handed hitters to a .154 batting average. The second-year rookie played in 18 games with the Brockton Sox of the Can-Am League last season. Texans Danieal Manning Jersey . Calgary ended its regular season with a fourth straight victory, a 30-27 decision over the Edmonton Eskimos on Friday night. http://www.shopnfltexansgear.com/kevin-walter-jersey/ . - The Portland Trail Blazers have appointed AEG Sports executive Chris McGowan as the teams new president and chief operating officer. Danieal Manning Jersey . Cleveland placed Perez on the 15-day DL Friday because of a strained side muscle. The Indians recalled left-hander Nick Hagadone from Triple-A Columbus before the start of a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels. Lestar Jean Jersey . The series might only be beginning.IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Fifty years ago, Don Nelson left the University of Iowa eight credits and a student-teaching requirement shy of a degree. Nelson took correspondence classes to complete the credits. But it took the most coaching wins in NBA history for the university to decide Nelson didnt need to be a student teacher to earn a diploma. On Saturday, the former Hawkeyes star player returned to receive his bachelors degree in physical education during Iowas commencement ceremony at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. "Ive been waiting for this moment for a long, long time. I wish it would have happened 50 years ago. But it didnt," Nelson said, "and I think that the moral to that story is its never too late as long as you keep working and keep having dreams. They can come true." Nelson is known for the 1,355 coaching wins he picked up over 31 seasons as an NBA coach, a career he wrapped up with Golden State following the 2010-11 season. Its easy to forget that it all started over five decades ago in the Midwest. Nelson, who turns 72 on May 15, starred for Rock Island High in Illinois, just across the river from Iowa, and joined the Hawkeyes in 1959. Sporting a spiky blond flat top and a versatile game that would serve him well in the pros, Nelson finished his Iowa career as a two-time All-American. But he left Iowa City just before he finished school. Nelson was picked by Chicago in the third round of the NBA draft and embarked on a memorable 14-year career. He spent the last 11 seasons with the Boston Celtics, winning NBA titles while gaining a reputation as one of the best bench players in history. The Celtics retired his No. 19 jersey in 1978. Iowa has yet to retire his No. 15, though Nelson said Saturday such an honour from the school isnt important to him. Nelson went into coaching and quickly became known for his innovative style, using unconventional lineups and a run-and-gun offence wwhile consistently producing playoff teams. Limited Owen Daniels Jersey. . Though Nelson never won an NBA title as a coach, hell be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame this summer in Springfield, Mass. Nelson said Saturday that hes "pretty well" done coaching and currently immersed in business projects. "What I thought would be a real simple off year, retirement has been one of the busiest years Ive ever had," Nelson said. Nelson tried to earn his degree shortly after leaving Iowa. But basketball kept getting in the way. He took Spanish courses while he was with the Celtics to fulfil his requirement, but he mistakenly took just six credits rather than the required eight and put school off again. He earned four credits in Spanish while coaching at Golden State, but when Nelson called the university, they said he still needed a student-teaching stint to graduate. "I said Well, its hard for me to do because my job is a 12-month job and I cant get away to go to some high school and do that," Nelson said. Nelson put thoughts of graduating aside until he finally left coaching after the 2010-11 season, when he decided to do whatever needed to get his degree. Nelson initially forgot hed taken more than enough Spanish to satisfy that requirement and dug up old transcripts to send them to Iowa. The university officials also came to their senses and forgave Nelsons student-teaching requirement because of the three-plus decades Nelson had spent coaching. "They thought that would be practice-teaching enough," Nelson said. Nelson said he was inspired to get his degree by Shaquille ONeal, who went back to LSU and got his degree in 2000. Nelson commended ONeal on going for his masters degree as well. But when Nelson was asked if hes got any school left in him, his reply was quick. "No, Im done. I do have a Ph.D. already -- in basketball," Nelson said. ' ' '