Morning State Sports briefs: Admirals have new coach after old coach promoted

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MILWAUKEE - Ian Herbers will coach his first game for the Milwaukee Admirals tonight when they host Abbotsford. The 44-year-old Herbers was named yesterday as the Admirals' 19th head coach. He was an assistant to Kirk Mulder, who left after being hired to coach the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League.

Mulder went 10-6-0-1 in his brief tenure with the Milwaukee AHL franchise. He was the first Admirals' coach ever to be promoted to a top job in tne NHL during the season -- and he had the shortest tenure of any coach in Admirals' history. Herbers said he knew Mulder would become an NHL head coach someday, but he didn't think it would happen this soon. Mulder was an assistant coach in the NHL for a number of years. At Carolina, he replaces Paul Maurice, whom Carolina fired yesterday.

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The UW-Milwaukee women won at Bradley last night, 71-67. The Panthers almost blew a 14-point second half lead, as Bradley got to within two with 1:24 left. But UWM made six free throws the rest of the way to secure its second straight victory after opening the season with three losses. Angela Rodriguez led Milwaukee with 21 points. Sami Tucker had a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Leah Kassing scored a game-high 23 points for Bradley, which fell to 4-3. The Panthers' next game is on Saturday at Western Michigan. Tonight, the Marquette women will host New Orleans.

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Three Wisconsin teams just barely made the Top-25 in the season's first small college men's basketball poll from D3hoops.com. UW-Stevens Point is 23rd in the new poll with a 4-1 record. Whitewater is 24th at 4-0. And River Falls is at No. 25 at 4-2. Edgewood also received votes, as did Concordia-Mequon and Ripon College. Augustana is at No.1

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In the D-Three women's poll, UW-Stevens Point is at No. 7 in the season's first regular season ranking. The 4-0 Pointers were 11th in the preseason poll. UW-River Falls is 21st and Whitewater 23rd. Carthage and Wisconsin Lutheran also received votes. Amherst remains at No. 1

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Green Bay Packers' linebacker Erik Walden is free on a signature bond, while prosecutors decide whether to charge him after an argument in which his live-in girlfriend was injured. Walden was arrested early Friday and spent the weekend in the Brown County jail. But District Attorney John Zakowski said he does not have enough information yet to file a recommended domestic battery charge. A December seventh court date was set. Zakowski said Walden's girlfriend had four stitches to her forehead after she hit it on a bed-post, and one of her thumbs was hurt. The D-A says he needs to know who the aggressor was, and he's getting conflicting stories from what the victim told medical and law enforcement personnel. Zakowski said the two argued after Walden said he was leaving for his hometown in Georgia on Saturday. The prosecutor said he has no evidence that either person was drinking at the time of the argument. Meanwhile, the Packers are starting to get ready for their next game on Sunday against the Giants at New York.

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Milwaukee Brewers' manager Ron Roenicke says his new hitting coach has worked with some excellent batting coaches in the Majors -- and he'll be a good fit for the Brewer staff. Johnny Narron was hired yesterday to replace Dale Sveum, who left to become the new manager of the Chicago Cubs. The 60-year-old Narron is the brother of Brewers' bench coach Jerry Narron. Johnny has worked in the Brewers' rookie league and minor league organizations as Ryan Braun, Corey Hart, and Rickie Weeks were coming up. And Narron says he'll work to establish a strong relationship, gain their trust, and win championships.

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The University of Wisconsin men's basketball team has moved into the Top-10 in both major national polls. The Badgers rose two places to ninth in the AP media poll announced this afternoon. And they jumped four spots to seventh in the USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll. Wisconsin is 6-0 after winning the Chicago Invitational Challenge during the weekend. Marquette moved up one spot in the AP poll to 16th. And they remain 16th in the coaches' survey. Marquette is 5-0 after winning the Paradise Jam Tournament in the Virgin Islands. Wisconsin's next game is on Wednesday night at North Carolina as part of the Big Ten-ACC Challenge. The Badgers are 6-0, while Carolina is 5-1 after falling to Nevada-Las Vegas 90-80 on Saturday. The Tar Heels dropped from first place to fifth in both polls. Kentucky is the new No. 1 in both.

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The UW-Green Bay women's basketball team made its first appearance in the AP Top-25 this afternoon. The Phoenix debuted at Number-23, after winning the San Juan Classic in Puerto Rico over the Thanksgiving weekend. UWGB was one spot away from the Top-25 a week ago. Green Bay is 5-0, and will host Marquette on Friday night. Baylor, UConn, and Notre Dame are one-two-and-three in the new AP poll. Elsewhere in women's basketball tonight, UW-Milwaukee plays at Bradley.

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The University of Wisconsin women's hockey team remains atop the U.S. College Hockey Online poll released this afternoon. The Badgers improved to 15-1 with a home sweep of Saint Cloud State. The Top-Four teams are unchanged from a week ago. Minnesota is second, followed by Cornell and Boston College. In the College Hockey men's poll, Wisconsin is again unranked after sweeping Mercyhurst 7-2 and 5-2. Merrimack is still first. Boston College moved up three spots to second.

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In Division III hockey, the UW-River Falls men moved up one place to fourth. The Falcons are 6-0-2 so far. Saint Norbert rose two spots to fifth. The Green Knights are 6-2-3. Superior also jumped into the Top-10, rising two places to 10th with a mark of 5-2-2. The Milwaukee School of Engineering dropped four places to 12th. Eau Claire moved into the poll at No. 15. The Top-Three remain unchanged. Norwich is first, followed by Oswego and Carleton. In the D-Three women's poll, River Falls is still fifth. Superior is one spot away from the Top-10. The Rochester Institute of Technology is still No. 1

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