part of her 24 in the match, 15 more than Venus. They a

Among the debatable calls in the NFLs Week 15, none backfired more than Andy Reids attempt to ice an already frozen kicker at Arrowhead Stadium.Ryan Succops 53-yard try fell well short but served as a mulligan thanks to Reids timeout, and Succop put plenty more boost and force into his do-over. It cleared the crossbar as time expired, giving the Titans a 19-17 win over the Chiefs that kept Tennessee in the playoff hunt and denied Kansas City its clincher.Moreover, KC fell from the AFCs No. 2 seed to No. 5. If thats where it finishes, the Chiefs will have to hit the road in the wild-card round instead of getting the weekend off and preparing for a home game.Kind of backfired, Reid said sadly.There were other notable decisions in Week 15, including league rushing leader Ezekiel Elliotts deciding to jump into an oversized Salvation Army red kettle after his short TD run in Dallas 26-20 win over Tampa Bay.One of the worst officiating calls of the year came in the Giants 17-6 win over the Lions. Eli Mannings pass bounced off Odell Beckham Jr.s left hand and rolled in between the receivers legs before he reached back and secured it. Referee Tony Correntes crew ruled it a completion on what ended up being a touchdown drive.Other calls included an owner who didnt wait for his coach to fly back home to fire him; a superstar who hollered at his coach on the sideline; a punt returners failure to capitalize on his second chance; and a QB switch that worked out wonderfully.HOLIDAY CHEER? By halftime of the Jaguars-Texans game, Houston QB Brock Osweiler was benched. By games end, Jacksonville coach Gus Bradley was out the door.Jaguars owner Shad Khan fired Bradley immediately after Jacksonvilles 21-20 loss to Houston in which the Texans rallied from a nine-point, fourth-quarter deficit behind backup QB Tom Savage.Khans timing was unorthodox for an owner who showed such patience: Bradley went 14-48 in four seasons, his .225 winning percentage the worst of any NFL coach with at least 60 games.Khan issued a statement thanking Bradley, who flew home on the team charter, and explaining he didnt wait any longer to fire him because I thought it would be best to do it immediately after todays result so Gus can step away, relax and regroup with his family during the Christmas and holiday season.The Texans remain tied with Tennessee atop the AFC South thanks to Savage and coach Bill OBrien said on Monday that Savage will start next week against Cincinnati.BUNGLING BRONCOS: Gary Kubiak drew scrutiny for his decisions before, during and after the Broncos 16-3 loss to New England that damaged their playoff plans and hopes to defend their Super Bowl title.-He reinserted fumble-prone Jordan Norwood at punt returner even though Kalif Raymond had provided a much-needed spark on special teams since supplanting him two weeks ago. Kubiak explained he needed Norwood as his third receiver for his no-huddle offense, so Raymond was inactive.Norwood promptly muffed his first punt return of the day and fourth of the season. Norwood caught just one pass -- with 14 seconds left -- and he coughed that up, too.-So atrocious was his offense that Kubiak declined to use any of his three timeouts when Tom Brady threw incomplete on third-and-5 with 1:13 left in the first half of a 10-3 game. So the Patriots burned off 41 seconds before the Broncos got the ball back, ran one run play and headed straight for the locker room to a cascade of jeers.-In the losing locker room, Kubiak opened the floor to any player who wanted to address the team. When left tackle Russell Okung tried to speak up, he was shouted down by defensive players who have had it with the offenses season-long ineptitude, which includes a league-high 57 three-and-outs.SHOUTING SHERMAN: At least the Broncos waited until they got back to the locker room to yell at each other. Seattle superstar Richard Sherman had another sideline outburst during the Seahawks 24-3 over the Rams.Sherman erupted during the third quarter with Seattle leading 10-3. On first-and-goal at the 1, Russell Wilson forced a pass in the direction of Jimmy Graham that appeared to be intercepted by the Rams Bryce Hager. After a review, it was determined Hager didnt have possession, but that didnt stop Sherman from screaming in the direction of head coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell.I dont like it when we throw the ball at the 1, said Sherman, who brought up the Super Bowl loss to New England and Wilsons famous pass from the 1 that was intercepted by Malcolm Butler.I was letting Pete know ... that were not confident with you throwing the ball at the 1, Sherman said. It went great. They ran the ball on the next play and then figured out a way to get into the end zone.With another pass.From the 1.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton---This story has been corrected to remove incorrect reference to Jordan Norwood. Josh Hart Pelicans Jersey . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. Zylan Cheatham Jersey .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. https://www.pelicanslockerroom.com/Derrick-Favors-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Still, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought taking him out before the fifth inning was an unusual move. "Im looking up at the board and hes got two hits given up and one run, and Im taking him out after the fourth inning," Roenicke said. Anthony Davis Jersey .Y. - New York City has been selected to host the NBA All-Star weekend in 2015, with the game played at Madison Square Garden and the slam dunk contest and other skills events held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Zion Williamson Pelicans Jersey . -- Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was selected Monday to his second straight Pro Bowl, while guard Kyle Long made it after a solid rookie season. LONDON -- In some ways, making it to a Grand Slam semifinal is rather been-there, done-that for Venus Williams.She is, after all, already the owner of seven major titles, including five at Wimbledon.This one, though, is different.Shes 36 now, a half-dozen years removed from her last such run. And, in the interim, she has been through the daily struggles of dealing with a disease that can sap energy and cause joint pain.Williams made it to the final four at the All England Club for the first time since 2009, and at any Grand Slam tournament since the year after that, playing mistake-free to beat Yaroslava Shvedova 7-6 (5), 6-2 in the quarterfinals Tuesday.Semifinals feels good. But it doesnt feel foreign at all, lets put it that way, said Williams, whose first Wimbledon title came in 2000 and whose most recent came in 2008.Asked to compare her current level of play to that of the past, Williams shook her head, shut her eyes and laughed.I dont remember. Six years ago is ages ago, she responded. I was most likely kicking butt six years ago, if I was in the semis or the finals. You have to be.Just like in the old days, Williams will be joined in the semifinals by a familiar face -- younger sister Serena, who moved closer to equaling Steffi Grafs Open-era record of 22nd Grand Slam championships by defeating 21st-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-4, taking the last three games of each set. Serena hit 11 aces, including one at 123 mph to end it.This, then, is the latest chapter of the remarkable Williams sister tale: a pair of siblings from Compton, California, who rose to the top of tennis. Its the 11th time theyve reached the semis at the same major; in all previous 10, one took home the trophy. That includes four all-in-the-family finals at Wimbledon, with Venus winning in 2008, and Serena in 2002, 2003 and 2009.On Thursday, they will try to set up another title match when No. 1 Serena faces unseeded Elena Vesnina, while No. 8 Venus meets No. 4 Angelique Kerber.It just means that she has a lot of perseverance. Shes a real fighter, Serena said about Venus, the oldest woman in a major semifinal since 1994, when Martina Navratilova was 37 at Wimbledon. Like I always say, its super inspiring for me.Kerber, who surprised Serena in the Australian Open final in January for her first Grand Slam title, advanced by eliminating No. 5 Simona Halep 7-5, 7-6 (2). Vesnina,, ranked 50th and never before a major quarterfinalist, moved on by overwhelming No.dddddddddddd 19 Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 6-2.The last mens quarterfinal spot was earned by 2010 runner-up Tomas Berdych, who completed his 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8), 6-7 (9), 6-3 victory over Jiri Vesely in a match suspended after the fourth set Monday night because of darkness. On Wednesday, the semifinalists will be determined by these matchups: Andy Murray vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Roger Federer vs. Marin Cilic, Milos Raonic vs. Sam Querrey and Berdych vs. Lucas Pouille.There wasnt much drama in the quartet of womens matches Tuesday, although Venus was perilously close to dropping her opening set against the 96th-ranked Shvedova, now 0-3 in major quarterfinals.Shvedova led 5-2 in the tiebreaker before collapsing this way: forehand long, backhand wide, forehand into the net, forehand long. Those unforced errors were part of her 24 in the match, 15 more than Venus. They also created a set point for Venus, who converted it with a 99 mph service winner.Playing with her left thigh taped, Venus moved quite well, covering the court with speed and perfect timing, offering up enough defense and waiting for Shvedovas miscues. When Shvedovas final shot nestled in the net, Venus let out a cry of Come on! and raised her arms.Once you get to this part of a tournament, motivation is going to kick in after a few games of every match, said Venus coach, David Witt, and youre going to stop thinking about being sore, if youre sore.In 2011, Venus revealed that she had been diagnosed with Sjogrens syndrome, and since then there have been repeated questions about when she might quit tennis -- especially as early losses accumulated. She had six first-round exits at majors over the past six years, compared with three over her careers first 14 years.Retiring is the easy way out, she said. I dont have time for easy.About 1 1/2 hours later, Venus went back out to team with Serena and win a doubles match to get to that events quarterfinals.One more victory each in singles, and theyll be sharing the court again -- except on opposite sides of the net, reprising their one-of-a-kind rivalry. Just like in the old days.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich ' ' '