KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee running backs Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara have notable contrasts on and off the field.Kamaras the flashier player, whether hes showing off his fashion sense during the teams pregame walks into Neyland Stadium or showcasing his speed once hes in the game. Hurd comes across as more serious in interviews and more physical with a ball in his hands. Hurd, at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, is 6 inches taller and 25 pounds heavier than Kamara.Those different styles produce similarly productive results. After teaming up to rush for 1,986 yards and 19 touchdowns last year, Hurd and Kamara will try to prove theyre one of college footballs top running back tandems when No. 9 Tennessee opens the season Sept. 1 by hosting Appalachian State.Me and Alvin have always clicked, Hurd said. I wouldnt say we have similar personalities, but kind of opposites attract.Only once in school history have two Tennessee players rushed for 1,000 yards in the same season. Gerald Riggs Jr. ran for 1,107 yards and Cedric Houston ran for 1,005 yards in 2004.Hurd and Kamara have a chance to match that feat. Hurd rushed for 1,288 yards and 12 touchdowns last season. Kamara ran for 698 yards and seven scores.Were just as cool as two peas in a pod, I guess, Kamara said.Theyve answered any concerns about how these two former five-star recruits would coexist. Kamara describes a dynamic in which each pushes the other to get better.Running backs coach Robert Gillespie says Hurd improved his pass-catching skills after witnessing the receiving ability of Kamara, who caught 34 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns last season. Kamara says he spent the offseason making himself a better pass protector because he wasnt as effective as Hurd in that aspect of the game.Both of those guys respect each other, Gillespie said. They understand they need each other to be successful. The biggest thing is this. They realize they need each other to win. Winning is the ultimate goal for us. We dont care about accolades, rushing yards and stats.Some individual achievements remain well within reach.For instance, Hurd has 2,187 yards rushing through his first two seasons. That puts him 891 yards shy of the school record held by Travis Henry, who played at Tennessee from 1997-2000. Hurd doesnt bother downplaying what it would mean to become the most prolific rusher at a program that has produced the likes of Arian Foster and Jamal Lewis.I know a lot about the history of running backs here, Hurd said. To go after that record and possibly get it is even amazing to think about.For his part, Kamara has emerged as a team leader at Tennessee while making the most of his second chance with a Southeastern Conference program.Kamara began his college career at Alabama and was suspended twice while redshirting his lone season with the Crimson Tide. After spending one year at Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College, Kamara transferred to Tennessee and has made such an impression that he was selected as one of four team captains this year.The Volunteers need big efforts from both Hurd and Kamara as Tennessee pursues its first Southeastern Conference title since its 1998 national championship.They wont be asked to carry Tennessees rushing attack on their own. Quarterback Joshua Dobbs has run for 1,160 yards over the last two seasons. Offensive coordinator Mike DeBord says sophomore John Kelly has performed well in the preseason, which could add some depth to Tennessees backfield.But theyre the main cogs in a rushing attack that must lead an offense that doesnt feature a consistent passing game. Tennessee coach Butch Jones praises the approach Hurd and Kamara have shown in the preseason while reminding them to work on conditioning and finishing runs.The mark of a great back is can you do it over and over and over and over again, Jones said.Theyll try to show they can do just that, with each back benefiting from the others presence.Were real tight, Kamara said. That helps when it comes to game day and it comes to practice. When I look at him, I know hes going to give his all, and he knows Im going to give my all.It all goes hand in hand. Custom Pistons Jersey China . Mitch Holmberg added a goal and three assists. Connor Chartier also scored for the Chiefs (3-0-0). Luke Harrison spoiled Garrett Hughsons shutout bid with a power-play goal at 13:17 of the third period. The Spokane goaltender finished with 28 saves, including a Brandon Fushimi penalty shot in the second period that would have tied the game 1-1. Custom Pistons T-shirts . Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. http://www.custompistonsjersey.com/ . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. Allen Iverson Jersey Large . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. Pistons Jerseys China . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. The influence of manager Joe Maddon has spread well beyond Wrigley Field now that he has pulled off what many Cubs fans thought theyd never see and led the team to the World Series.In a city where Jordan is still revered, the mantra of wanna be like Mike might soon be replaced by Joe Knows.At Northwestern Universitys Kellogg School of Business, where an MBA will cost you well over $100,000, theyre teaching Maddon. Harry Kraemer is a professor of strategy, the former CEO of pharmaceutical firm Baxter International Inc., and a Cubs fan. He can fill an hour with animated talk about Maddon.My whole lecture the other night was literally on how Joe Maddon is a perfect example of a value-based leader, Kraemer said. Ive got 80 students who are into this in a big way.Going back to his Tampa Bay Ray days, Maddons reputation as an off-beat leader has gotten a lot of headlines. Hes a no worries kind of guy who shrugs off any trips to negative town.During last seasons pennant race, when the Cubs ultimately fell short, he was a leader trying to keep a very young team loose. There was Maddon on the field petting a flamingo named Warren , one of the zoo animals he had brought to Wrigley in August 2015 for the Cubs and their families. A few weeks later, the Cubs wore onesie pajamas home on an overnight flight from Los Angeles. Every player was part of it and, if the team photo of the odd moment is proof, most if not all had fun.There are also the Maddon-coined slogans, like Try not to suck, that have found their way to T-shirts seen around town.`Control the controllable, that has been my mantra ever since he said it a few weeks ago, said Elaine Maimon, Cubs fan and Governors State University president who wrote an article in early October on Maddons managerial gifts.Its not just the sloganeering and the funny stuff that Maddon gets right, admirers say. He trusts his players and assistants to do their job, understands how they fit into the team and finds a way to get value out of a guy like light-hitting, 39-year-old catcher David Ross.Maddon himself couldnt play it straight when asked about his management style and who he has learned from.Michael Scott, probably the biggest influence, Maddon said Friday before Game 3 against the Indians, referring to the less-than-gifted manager from The Office portrayed by actor Steve Carell.Tom Gimbel, the CEO of the recruiting firm LaSallle Network and a Cubs fan, said the Series is a showcase for good management -- Maddon, well-respected Indians boss Terry Francona and the man who at different times has hired both.dddddddddddd Cubs executive Theo Epstein hired Maddon, and he hired Francona in Boston when he was with the Red Sox.Its in the off-beat gestures where a lot of managers and business leaders hope theyre a little like Maddon. During one bad stretch of business at LaSalle, Gimbel said, he decided on a particularly miserable day that everyone needed a milk shake.It was crappy weather in Chicago and things were terrible, he said. Youve got to get people out of their own heads.Kraemer knows the value of such gestures. He said he spent hours sitting above dunk tanks at carnivals for Baxter employees so their kids could drop him in the water again and again. Nothing like dunking the boss.You end up finding ways to relate to people so you can influence them, Kraemer said. Hey, hes kind of crazy, too. Youre human like everybody else.Maddon worked in the shadows for years, first as a minor league player who never made the majors, then as a scout, coach and in other roles for 31 years before he became the Tampa Bay Rays manager in 2006.They dont see the amount of work (he) put in, Gimbel said. He wasnt a good professional player, he was a good student of the game.And without wins, the managerial tricks would soon look a whole lot less fun to the people he works for.If youve got a boss, and youre not delivering and your people are running around in pajamas, youve got a bigger problem, Kraemer said. Youre going to be fired.Not this year, and Maddon is quick to credit his former coaches for imparting common sense wisdom over the yearsAnd then beyond that, I think you take bits and pieces away from all the guys that you had, but theres a lot of guys you had that you thought did poorly, and you take a lot from them, also, because you never want to be that way, Maddon said. You gain experience, and you gain your ability or your ways in regards to doing things from those that are good, but you can really learn from the guys that you think do it poorly, too.---AP Sports Writer Andrew Seligman contributed to this report.---Follow David Mercer on Twitter: (at)davidmercerAP ' ' '