e twice if she beats another Czech player, Kristyna Pliskova, in Saturdays final.Pliskova, the identical twin sister of sixth-ranked Karolina Pliskova, beat Kateryna Kozlova of

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- Nao Hibino is one match away from retaining her title at the Tashkent Open after beating Denisa Allertova 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinals Friday.The fourth-seeded Japanese player can become the first woman to win the Tashkent title twice if she beats another Czech player, Kristyna Pliskova, in Saturdays final.Pliskova, the identical twin sister of sixth-ranked Karolina Pliskova, beat Kateryna Kozlova of Ukraine 7-6 (2), 6-0.Pliskova has won both of her previous matches against Hibino. However, those encounters were on grass rather than the hard-court surface used in Tashkent. Nike Vapormax Pas Cher Chine . Both players have lower body injuries that will keep them out of the lineup until at least January 31, which is the first game they can be activated from IR. Nike Vapormax En Solde . From filmmaker Nanette Burstein (On the Ropes), The Price of Gold revisits the saga that rocked the figure skating world ahead of the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games: the assault on Nancy Kerrigan, and the plot that led its way back to her rival Tonya Harding. http://www.paschervapormax.fr/ . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. Basket Vapormax Pas Cher . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason. Vapormax Pas Cher . After taking two big hits this week -- losing at home and dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season -- Indiana struck back by playing its most complete game of the year. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Alex Smith was the darling of Kansas City just a few weeks ago, when the quarterback who seems to never make any major mistakes had the Chiefs rolling to the top of the AFC West.Now, theres a sizeable group of fans who want him replaced.Smith has struggled in his two games back from a head injury sustained in Indianapolis, including a lousy performance last Sunday in a 19-17 loss to Tampa Bay. The defeat snapped the Chiefs five-game winning streak and left them playing catch-up in the division race.I think Alex is OK. Hes going to be fine. Weve just got to keep going here, Chief coach Andy Reid said. He does a great job with leadership and all of those things.Hell be fine. Weve had a couple weeks here where weve been in a little bit of a slump. We need to pull out of it and get better.The Chiefs dont put too much stock in numbers, unless youre talking about turnovers, penalties and points on the scoreboard. But it is hard to dispute that Smiths numbers are down across the board.He has just nine touchdown passes in nine games, along with four interceptions. Hes averaging 6.9 yards per attempt, down nearly a yard from last season.His yards-per-completion, quarterback rating and several other benchmarks are also down, even though he may have more talent around him.The Chiefs shored up the offensive line in the offseason, which is why his sack total is also down, and gave him a speedy playmaker in wide receiver Tyreek Hill through the draft.I think stats can definitely be useful. They can tell you glaring themes here and there, Smith said, but sometime its easy to get caught up too much and read into them, especially if there isnt a glaring theme.Each season is different and is its own journey, and every years schedule is different, so its hard to compare it to years past. Theres different challenges.The challenges are only going to get stiffer for the Chiefs, too.They head to Denver on Sunday night for a pivotal showdown with the Broncos, who like them are battlling the Raiders for the division lead.ddddddddddddThen its off to Atlanta for a game against the high-flying Falcons, and the Chiefs will likely need to score a lot of points to win.Then, a Thursday night game against the Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium.But first up are the Broncos, who may have the best defense the Chiefs have faced all season -- not a good thing for a Chiefs offense that is struggling to put up points.Theyre really good, Smith said. Thats obvious looking at them statistically the last few years. Personnel-wise, theyre good across the board.Up front, linebacker level and secondary, these guys are really, really good. Theyre well coached and theyre fast. You look at the numbers and theyre there.OK, so maybe Smith does put some stock in statistics.Its not that everything is dire in Kansas City, of course. The Chiefs (7-3) are still squarely in the playoff picture, and they could still snatch away a division title.But everyone also recognizes that Smith needs to begin performing better for the offense to hit its stride again.He threw for just 261 yards last week against Tampa Bay, a good chunk of that when he was trying to rally the Chiefs down the stretch.And while he scored his first touchdown on the ground since the opener, he also threw an interception in the end zone that foiled a potential comeback.Predictably, many fans began to argue backup Nick Foles should be given a chance.Reid has been steadfastly in Smiths corner, though, ever since the moment the Chiefs sent two second-round picks to San Francisco to acquire him.It was Reid who took the blame for the interception -- he called a bad play, he said -- and the coach insisted this week that Smiths job is not in jeopardy.Im just worried that we execute better and thats all the way around, Reid said.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '