his year coming into the season was our running back depth, Malzahn said. I think it was a really good thing moving forward that we had the guys that we had step up. They did a super job r

CINCINNATI -- When the Los Angeles Dodgers arrive in Cincinnati for a four-game weekend series beginning Friday, Clayton Kershaw will be with them.Kershaw, whos been on the disabled list since June 27 with a herniated disk, has been throwing off flat ground. On Saturday, hell throw off the mound for the first time since going on the disabled list with a light bullpen session.Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Kershaw so far is pain-free. A rehab assignment is still possible if Kershaw is ready before the minor league seasons end.Our expectation is that he would go out there and face hitters, Roberts told MLB.com on Thursday. As we look at the calendar, we feel that theres time for Clayton to make a couple, two, three starts before the end of the season.Another starter returns for Los Angeles on Friday.Right-hander Bud Norris completed his rehab stint at Single-A Rancho Cucamonga on Aug. 13. He hasnt pitched for Los Angeles since July 31 when he was pulled from his start in the first inning and placed on the DL with a mild back strain.Norris faces Cincinnati for the second time this season. On June 15 while with the Braves, Norris allowed three runs and three hits in five innings in a 9-8 Atlanta victory. In 10 appearances (nine starts) against the Reds, Norris is 1/3 with a 4.41 ERA and 49 strikeouts and 19 walks in 49 innings.Hell face a Cincinnati club which is playing better baseball since the All-Star break, despite several minor injuries.Cincinnati ranks eighth in the major leagues and third in the National League with a .269 batting average with runners in scoring position.I wish I had an answer (for that), Reds manager Bryan Price said. If I had, I would say, This is what were going to do all the time. Maybe its more focused at bats. The guys are listening to what (batting coach) Don (Long) is saying. If it was as easy as having a philosophy, we wouldve been doing it for the past 150 years.Reds right-hander Tim Adleman who was recalled this week from Triple-A Louisville, makes his first career appearance against the Dodgers on Friday. Its the fifth career start for Adleman, who was a non-roster invitee to spring training.Adleman hasnt started for the Reds since May 19 when he left with a strained oblique and was placed on the DL the following day. He made six rehab starts before being activated then optioned to Triple-A.Cincinnati took three of four from the Miami Marlins and has gone 19-12 while winning eight of 10 series since the All-Star break.Weve been firing on all cylinders, Reds right-hander Dan Straily said. We finally have a group of guys here who are playing really well. This is how we expected to play.The National-League West leading Dodgers, though, have won nine straight games and three straight series against the Reds. In May, Los Angeles swept Cincinnati at Dodger Stadium for the first time since 2009.Air Force 1 Cheap Wholesale . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Nike Air Force 1 Cheap China . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. http://www.cheapairforce1.us/ .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Kevin Porter and defenceman Chad Ruhwedel from the minors as part of a five-player roster shuffle made by the NHLs worst team. Nike Air Force 1 Wholesale China . President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest was fired Friday after 12 years with the Marlins. The move came as the team neared the end of its third consecutive last-place season in the NL East. Nike Air Force 1 Sale Cheap . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury.AUBURN, Ala. -- The Auburn Tigers are running wild again, this time with a mostly dropback passer at quarterback and two tailbacks who were virtual unknowns outside the state coming into the season.The 15th-ranked Tigers, with no Cam Newton or Nick Marshall to bulldoze or dart past defenders, have resurrected their ground game and, in the process, their season with a four-game winning streak .Even without tailback Kerryon Johnson, Auburn piled up 543 rushing yards in a 56-3 win over Arkansas , a record for a Southeastern Conference game. Now, Auburn ranks third nationally in rushing offense with numbers rivaling the 2013 offense led by the mobile quarterback Marshall and Heisman Trophy finalist Tre Mason.That group made the national championship game by becoming the first SEC team to lead the nation in rushing, averaging 328.3 yards and having four players with 600-plus yards. This Auburn team is averaging 302.9 yards on the ground.Johnson is expected to return from an ankle injury Saturday night against Mississippi.Quarterback Sean White and backup John Franklin III have both made some plays on the ground but nothing like Marshall or Newton, who won the Heisman in leading the 2010 team to a national title.Whoever our quarterback is, we try to design the offense around their strengths, Malzahn said. There arent a whole lot of Nick Marshalls running around out there. He was a special player.The current ground attack has mostly been built on tailbacks Johnson and Kamryn Pettway. Pettway was moved from H-back in the spring and didnt log a carry last season or in the opener.With Johnson out with an ankle injury, the 240-pounder has run 66 times for 361 yards and five touchdowns against Mississippi State and Arkansas. Hes ranked 12th nationally and leads the SEC in rushing yards per game, gaining 697 yards in six outings.I havennt seen a running back like that since like Jerome Bettis, Auburn receiver Tony Stevens said.dddddddddddd. Thats who he reminds of, Jerome Bettis. The way he just cuts and runs you over. So you never know what youre going to get when you go head up with him.Johnson, also a sophomore, is 42nd nationally and sixth in the SEC in rushing with 538 yards.Tailback was one of the teams biggest question marks entering the season. Last years top three rushers -- Peyton Barber (early draft entry), Jovon Robinson (dismissal) and Roc Thomas (transfer) -- were no longer on the team for various reasons.That left Johnson, often used in a Wildcat role as a freshman, and Pettway. Depth has come from players like freshman Kam Martin, a former Baylor signee, and converted wide receiver Stanton Truitt. Truitt and freshman receiver Eli Stove both ran for long touchdowns against the Razorbacks, with Stoves a 78-yarder on the opening play.One of the big questions this year coming into the season was our running back depth, Malzahn said. I think it was a really good thing moving forward that we had the guys that we had step up. They did a super job running the football and protecting the football, so we definitely have some depth to that position.Seven Auburn players have rushed for 100-plus yards, including White and Franklin. The Tigers are averaging 106.5 more rushing yards than last season even minus that teams top three runners.Now, the Tigers are at least running White enough to make defenses wary, and Franklin has been almost exclusively used as a runner.If you keep it every now and then, it really changes things, Malzahn said. Last year, we didnt do that.---AP college football web site: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '