Dein erstes Forum » .SHAKY FROM THE LINEIowa State might ha

DAVIE, Fla. -- Faster than you can say Jay Ajayi -- or maybe its Jay Ajayi?! -- the Miami Dolphins have turned their season around. Thanks to their running back, theyre back in the running for a playoff berth.Two weeks ago, the Dolphins were a field goal away from being the NFLs only winless team. But they begin their bye week at 3-4 following back-to-back wins and consecutive 200-yard rushing performances by Ajayi, who doubled his career rushing total and matched an NFL record shared by two Hall of Famers.The Dolphins remain long shots to halt the reign of New England (6-1) in the AFC East. But theyre in the mix for a wild-card berth that would end an eight-year playoff drought.When you come into the locker room the last two weeks, its just a better feeling, guard Jermon Bushrod said Monday. I chase that feeling. I want to be in the locker room hugging and joking around with the guys after the game, instead of sitting there sulking.Nobody wants to be talked about in a bad manner. Were tired of it.Ajayi changed the conversation by rushing for 204 yards against Pittsburgh and 214 on Sunday against Buffalo. His bruising, tackle-breaking style has transformed the Dolphins into a run-first, ball-control team that dominated the line of scrimmage the past two weeks on both offense and defense.Its just being physical, defensive end Mario Williams said. Were definitely trying to change the culture here, and it starts with that.It starts with Ajayi, and thats a surprise. After being taken 149th in the 2015 draft, he had just 80 carries in his first 21 games on the Dolphins roster. In the past two weeks he has 54 carries while becoming only the fourth player to rush for 200 yards in consecutive games, joining O.J. Simpson, Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams. He leads the league with 6.3 yards per carry.I didnt know he had it in him, tackle Branden Albert said. I knew he ran hard, but I didnt know he ran this hard.Ajayi has benefited from the blocking of an offensive line that was in flux because of injuries and illness until Week 6. Now Ajayi is consistently passing the line of scrimmage before he encounters contact.The successful ground game has reduced pressure on Ryan Tannehill, who has been sacked only once in the past two games while posting his highest passer ratings of the year.Were not trying to toot our horns, and I know things were looking ugly for us in certain games, Albert said. But we didnt have all our guns. Now weve got everybody healthy.Playing to his teams strength, first-year coach Adam Gase has been willing to keep the ball on the ground, even though he was hired because of his success with the pass.Adam gets a rash from calling too many run plays, offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen said with a smile.Gase said calling for handoffs is a no-brainer because Ajayi keeps getting first downs even when the opposition knows whats coming. But recent success wont help in games to come, beginning Nov. 6 against the New York Jets.When we get to the Jets, were going to have to prove it all over again, because theyre not going to care what we did last week, Gase said. Theyre going to say, `Run it, because were going to stop you. We have to establish everything all over again.The schedule improves the chances the Dolphins can sustain their momentum. Ajayi said he felt fine Monday, but after two bruising wins, Gase said this weeks bye comes at a good time for the young running back and the rest of the team.The Dolphins conclude an NFL record 44-day homestand when they host the Jets (2-5). The next game against a team with a winning record isnt until Christmas Eve, with the next eight opponents a combined 15-26-1.We just want to keep this rolling, Ajayi said. It feels really good to win. You see how it is when you get those losses pile up. Now were starting to catch a rhythm, and we want to keep it going.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Steven Wine on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Steve-Wine. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/steven-wine Miami Marlins Gear . -- Charlie Graham stopped 67 shots as the Belleville Bulls edged the visiting Guelph Storm 6-5 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Drew Steckenrider Jersey . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. https://www.cheapmarlinsjerseys.us/601r-austin-dean-jersey-marlins.html .ca! Hi Kerry, Its another day and here we are looking at another dubious hit to the head. In this case Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky elbowed Saku Koivu in the head about a second after he dished off the puck to a teammate, knocking him unconscious. Jesus Sanchez Jersey . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. The sport moved a step closer to returning to South Florida on Wednesday, when Beckham confirmed he has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Miami. Jeff Brigham Jersey . The next step is a better finish. Bae played bogey-free Friday on another gorgeous day at Riviera for a 5-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead over Aaron Baddeley and Robert Garrigus going into the weekend. LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- No. 21 Iowa State kept firing away until some of its shots finally began to drop.Monte Morris scored 20 points and Matt Thomas shrugged off a cold shooting performance to make a 3-pointer that put his team ahead for good, and the Cyclones held off Indiana State 73-71 in the opening game of the AdvoCare Invitational at Disney World on Thursday.We know we can make shots. Just have to adapt to the atmosphere, Morris said after Iowa State (4-0) remained unbeaten despite shooting 34.2 percent from the field and barely making half its free throws.Nobody on the sideline was out of the game. Everyone was engaged, Morris added. I think we all stayed together. We always had confidence.Thomas was just 2 of 10 from the field. He put the Cyclones ahead with his second 3-pointer with 54 seconds remaining. Nazareth Mitrou-Long made one of two free throws with 7.6 seconds left, and Indiana States hopes for an upset ended when Brenton Scotts 3-pointer rimmed out at the buzzer.Obviously very disappointed. ... We had a chance to be beat an awful good team, Indiana State coach Greg Lansing said.We were right there. Coach drew up a play for us to execute the last second. Unfortunately my shot didnt go in, Scott said. Its a salty loss. Its a salty taste. ... Its going to hurt me for a while.Iowa State (4-0) advanced to the tournament semifinals, despite going 5 for 15 from the foul line over the final 10 minutes. The Cyclones trailed for most of the first half before using an 11-0 run to wipe out a nine-point deficit.Morris, who also had nine rebounds, was joined in double figures by Mitrou-Long and Darrell Bowie with 13 apiece. Deonte Burton and Thomas, who missed eight of 10 shots from the field, each finished with 10.Scott led Indiana State (2-2) with 20 points on 7 of 18 shooting, a pair of long 3-pointerss that gave the Sycamores leads in the closing minutes.dddddddddddd Laquarious Paige came off the bench to score a career-high 20, and reserve TJ Bell had 10 points and 11 rebounds.BIG PICTUREThis tournament provides the first real test of the young season for Iowa State, which won its first three games over Savannah State, Mount St. Marys and The Citadel by an average of 42 points. The Cyclones start five seniors, but Indiana State is an experienced team, too. The Sycamores hung tough, making a final push after falling behind 54-48, but didnt have to enough to put the game away when they climbed back on top.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe AdvoCare field features two teams ranked in the Top 25, Iowa State and No. 11 Gonzaga. Three others teams the Cyclones could wind up facing at Disney World -- Florida, Seton Hall and Miami -- are perched just outside the Top 25 in this weeks Associated Press poll .SHAKY FROM THE LINEIowa State might have been able to put the Sycamores away earlier if not for poor free-throw shooting. The Cyclones went 15 for 29 from the foul line, including just 5 of 15 over the last 9:46.SCOTT LEADS THE WAYScott entered the tournament leading the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring at 22.3 points per game. The junior was 7 of 18 from the field, including 4 of 10 from behind the 3-point line. Paige is a sophomore whose previous career high was 8 points. He had been averaging just 4.7 before Thursday.UP NEXTThe Cyclones will meet Miami (4-0) in the semifinals of the eight-team tournament on Friday. Indiana State falls into the losers bracket, where the Sycamores will face Stanford (4-1).---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '