ralias 26-20 victory over England and Australia completed

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 battling the Raiders for the division lead.Then 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 Jakub Voracek Flyers Jersey . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. Claude Giroux Flyers Jersey . Roman Josi had a goal and an assist to lead the Predators to a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday night. http://www.hockeyflyersauthentic.com/travis-sanheim-jersey/ . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. Michael Raffl Jersey . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. "I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. Ivan Provorov Flyers Jersey . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. New Zealand have blown Australia away 41-16 in the final of the Fast 5s netball world series on the back of another prolific points effort from sharp shooter Maria Tutaia at Hisense Arena .Facing a daunting 17-point deficit heading into their last quarter power play, Australia failed to score a single point when double points were on offer.Tutaia was on fire and amassed 27 personal points, including five three pointers, two of which counted for double during her sides second-quarter power play.New Zealands power play netted 18 points and effectively ended the Diamonds tilt at claiming their first Fast 5s title and completing netballs slam.Australia were favourites heading into the final after reaching the decider undefeated and claiming the prize scalp of the Silver Ferns 32-29 in their electrifying pool game on Saturday night.Earlier, tournament surprise packets Malawi overcame England 35-32 in one of the upsets of the tournament to secure third place and their best finish against the top six netball nations.New Melbourne Vixens signing Mwai Kumwenda, who top scored for the tournament with 151 points, led her team to the famous win which will likely be remember for the sides spirited post-match dance celebration.New Zealand have won six out of the last seven tournaments and their only loss came agaainst Australia in Saturday nights last pool game, 32-29.dddddddddddd.Earlier, captain Susan Pettitt played a telling hand in Australias 26-20 victory over England and Australia completed their pool rounds undefeated with a resounding 31-14 win over winless South AfricaFast 5s is netballs answer to T20 cricket. The 26-minute matches feature hybrid rules, 5-players a side, multiple point shots and power plays.Fast 5s Fern captain Tutaia announced her retirement from Fast 5s after 25-point grand final victory.Tutaia was the tournaments second highest scorer with 129 points.Fast 5 Diamonds captain Susan Pettitt said she was extremely disappointed with her sides power play.The girls did really well considering the situation but when our shots arent going in and Maria is hitting all of hers, its hard, Pettitt said.Our defensive effort throughout the whole tournament was fantastic but we couldnt stop Maria at the end there, and thats unfortunate.We actually werent too worried about the second quarter (NZ power play) and we still were in range and we knew that but when (Maria) was nailing those threes on our power play, we knew we had to go for sixes and thats not our strength. ' ' '