Michigan-Ohio State gantlet that Wisconsin just had to e

TOKYO -- Seiji Hirao, who played in three rugby world cups for Japan and was coach in another, has died. He was 53.Hirao died in hospital Thursday where he was being treated for an undisclosed illness, his club Kobe Kobelco Steelers announced.With Hirao at its core, the Steelers were one of the most successful teams in Japans domestic league, winning seven successive corporate and national titles between 1989 and 1995.The popular Hirao won 35 caps for his country, and represented Japan at the 1987, 1991 and 1995 Rugby World Cups.After retiring as a player, Hirao coached Kobe and the Japan national team, which he led at the 1999 World Cup.Japan hosts the next world cup in 2019. DeAndre Hunter Hawks Jersey .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. Cam Reddish Jersey . Jane Virtanen scored two, and Alex Roach and Elliott Peterson rounded out the offence for the Hitmen (40-15-6). Brady Brassart chipped in with three assists. Colton McCarthy scored twice, Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, and Jack Rodewald also scored for the Warriors (15-35-9), who were 2 for 5 on the power play. https://www.thehawkslockerroom.com/Customized/ . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. Charlie Brown Hawks Jersey . Ouellette, from Montreal, already has three Olympic gold medals since joining the team in 1999. DeAndre Bembry Hawks Jersey . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin might be the best team in the country with a losing record in conference play.But the Badgers take little solace in nearly beating Michigan and Ohio State.The back-to-back losses to the top-five schools saddled Wisconsin (4-2) with a 1-2 record in the Big Ten , two games back of unbeaten Nebraska in the West Division.The good news for coach Paul Chrysts team is that there is a still a realistic path to get to the league championship game to get another potential shot at the Wolverines or Buckeyes, though Wisconsin will need a little help.I dont think they changed at all, linebacker Jack Cichy said about the teams goals. Its a bit of a hiccup but were going to take this adversity and were going to be better from it by the end of the year.Ohio State clawed past Wisconsin after halftime of its 30-23 win, needing a sack on fourth-and-goal from the 4 to finally finish off the Badgers. They dropped two spots in the AP Top 25 poll on Sunday to No. 10.Thats a great win against a very good team, Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer said.In Week 5, Wisconsin lost to Michigan 14-7 at the Big House. The Badgers signature wins have been against then-No. 5 LSU in the season opener, and then-No. 8 Michigan State in East Lansing.Wisconsin plays West Division teams the rest of the way, starting with a tough game at Iowa next weekend. Nebraska visits Camp Randall Stadium for a night game thee following week.ddddddddddddThe Badgers face another tough road game in Week 10 at Northwestern.But that schedule seems easy compared to Michigan State-Michigan-Ohio State gantlet that Wisconsin just had to endure. The tested Badgers just need to make sure that their season doesnt snowball after two straight losses.As soon as I leave this room, thats when it ends and we turn the page, running back Corey Clement said at a Camp Randall meeting room after the Buckeyes loss.Clement was a bright spot after rushing for 164 yards for 25 carries against Ohio States tough defense. It was the kind of breakout night that Clement and the offensive line needed to build confidence for the second half of the season.But even if the Badgers win out the rest of the way, theyll still need Nebraska to lose at least one more game to draw into a tie atop the division with two losses. That could happen to Nebraska on Nov. 5 at Ohio State.For now, the focus is just on the Hawkeyes.You know what, we got a ton to go forward with, Chryst said. Were at the halfway point in our season. We got a lot of football ahead of us and some great challenges ahead of us, great opportunities.---Online:College Football: http://collegefootball.ap.org---Follow Genaro Armas at: https://twitter.com/GArmasAP ' ' '