As he discussed the defenses struggles over the last three games

TOKYO -- How much did Nintendo pay to land that dream marketing opportunity at the Rio Olympics closing ceremony, where Japans prime minister popped out dressed as the red-hatted plumber Super Mario?Zero.The Japanese video game maker behind Pokemon and Zelda got the coveted stage that corporate sponsors pay millions for after they were approached by those creating the festivities for cooperation, not the other way around, says Nintendo Co. spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa.I want to make that clear. We did not pay, he said in a telephone interview. And we are not going to become Olympic sponsors either.Prime Minister Shinzo Abes emergence in a Super Mario costume was the highlight of the handover section for Tokyo, the host of the 2020 games.The segment was so favorably received in Japan as surprisingly playful and tasteful, given the staidness usually associated with Japan Inc., that Abe earned a new nickname, Abe-Mario.Tokyo city official Masahiro Hayashi said Japans top advertising company Dentsu Inc. was tapped to produce the handover segment, with a total budget for the Rio Olympics and the Paralympics of 1.2 billion yen ($12 million).He refused to say how much Dentsu was paid, or give other details.The city of Tokyo and the organizing committee are under intense pressure to trim costs, which have ballooned over the years, partly because of the weakening yen but also because planning fiascos, such as decisions to redo designs for both the main stadium and the Tokyo 2020 logo.Organizing committee spokesman Motoki Okumura would not give details of the spending for the closing ceremony. Dentsu also declined to comment.Top Olympic sponsors pay millions of dollars to the IOC for permission to promote their brands to a massive global audience. Nintendo just did it for free. With Japans prime minister as their pitchman. Easily the marketing coup of the Rio games, said Bob Dorfman, a sports marketing analyst and creative director at Baker Street Advertising of San Francisco.Purists might feel the commercial branding was a bit overdone, and argue for other ways to promote Japanese culture, according to Dorfman, who has lived in Japan.But gaming and anime are certainly major aspects of modern Japan, and Mario is a universal icon. As someone who doesnt take sports or the Olympics too seriously, I found the whole thing pretty funny and entertaining, he said.---Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at https://twitter.com/yurikageyamaHer work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/yuri-kageyama Bill Walton Jersey .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. 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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessees defense has one last chance to redeem itself this year after staggering through the end of the regular season.The Volunteers dealt with multiple injuries and never quite recovered, giving up 39.3 points per game in their last six regular-season matchups with Football Bowl Subdivision opponents. In its last three games, Tennessee allowed 400-plus yards rushing to Kentucky and Missouri as well as 416 yards passing to Vanderbilt.Tennessee (8-4) hopes the end of the regular season helps the defense recharge heading into the Dec. 30 Music City Bowl with No. 24 Nebraska (9-3) at Nashville, Tennessee.You hit the reset button, Tennessee defensive coordinator Bob Shoop said. Its a fresh start. Bowls mean different things to different people. The first step to playing well in a bowl game is a desire to be there, and I sense that in our unit and our team.Shoop has endured a difficult season in his first year at Tennessee after successful stints as a coordinator at Vanderbilt (2011-13) and Penn State (2014-15). Each of his last five teams had ranked in the top 25 in total defense, but Tennessee ranks 109th out of 128 FBS programs in that category.Injuries decimated a Tennessee defense that entered the season with high hopes, though Nebraska is taking nothing for granted. Nebraskas offense has its own issues, as quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr.s hamstring injury leaves his status uncertain for the bowl game.I think their struggles came from injuries, Nebraska offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf said. Theyre getting guys back. They look good to me. Theyve got some really talented players.Tennessee lost linebackers Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Quarte Sapp as well as tackles Kahlil McKenzie and Shy Tuttle plus safety Evan Berry to season-ending injuries. Reeves-Maybin, the Volunteers leading tackler in 2015, played just four games this year.Cornerback Cam Sutton missed six regular-season games and linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. has appeared in only seven games. Injuries forced Tennessee to use 10 different starting combinations in the secondary.To watch our style of play from the beginning of the season to the end of the season, it almost looks like two different teams, Shoop said.Tennessees vulnerability on defense became particularly evident the last three games of the regular seasonn.ddddddddddddKentucky fell 49-36 to Tennessee despite rushing for 443 yards, three shy of the Wildcats 65-year-old school single-game record. In a 63-37 loss to the Vols , Missouri gained 740 total yards, the highest single-game total ever allowed by Tennessee. Vanderbilt beat Tennessee 45-34 by posting its highest single-game point total against an SEC opponent since 1971.As he discussed the defenses struggles over the last three games, Shoop said that I own those. Those are on me.Confidence and momentum are powerful things, and I think at some point maybe in the Kentucky or Missouri game we lost a little bit of confidence, Shoop said. I think we were a little worn down.Shoop noted that Tennessee still won two of those games but acknowledged the Vanderbilt performance leaves a sour taste in your mouth, theres no question about that.Tennessee has responded by adjusting its bowl practice approach to address the tackling problems that have hurt this defense.Were going to do more tackling than we ever have in terms of bowl preparation, Tennessee head coach Butch Jones said. Its a balancing act because you want to be fresh for the bowl game too, but when you look at bowl games as bowl season starts, its usually dictated by special teams, by turnovers and by tackling. The last couple of bowl games weve won, weve excelled in those areas.Tennessees players see the bowl game as an opportunity to make up for the mistakes they made during the regular season.Every day we come out there, were trying to be better at run defense, pass defense and just be a complete defense, which we kind of failed to do the past few games, defensive end Corey Vereen said.NOTE: Tennessee freshman defensive end Mykelle McDaniel isnt practicing with the team leading up to the bowl game as a disciplinary measure. Tennessee athletic department spokesman Ryan Robinson said McDaniel is expected to rejoin the team at the start of the spring semester. McDaniel is redshirting this season.---AP sports writer Eric Olson in Lincoln, Nebraska, contributed to this report.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25---Follow Steve Megargee at www.twitter.com/stevemegargee ' ' '