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‘Nearly flawless’ Michael Penix Jr. helps re-energize Falcons’ playoff push

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‘Nearly flawless’ Michael Penix Jr. helps re-energize Falcons’ playoff push

ATLANTA — Michael Penix Jr. looked like an NFL veteran in his first professional start but not as much as he sounded like one when he took the podium after the game.

The Atlanta Falcons quarterback was at a local Costco shopping Tuesday night when head coach Raheem Morris informed him he would be making his first NFL start. After leading the Falcons to a 34-7 win over the New York Giants in that start, Penix was asked if he’d be celebrating the win at Costco on Sunday night.

“No, hopefully, something fancier,” Penix said. “Costco is great, though. Costco, hit me up.”

If the Falcons (8-7) keep playing like they did Sunday, Penix may get a sponsorship offer from the company, which would mean he replaced Kirk Cousins to become Atlanta’s Kirkland quarterback and pitch Costco’s signature line of products.

“Could not be more pleased with how the team responded, really rallied behind a young man,” Morris said. “He went out and played nearly flawless football and helped us get a win.”

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Tampa Bay’s loss to Dallas on Sunday night put the Falcons back in the driver’s seat in the NFC South. If they win their final two games, at Washington and home against Carolina, they will host a playoff game.

The Falcons’ 27-point margin of victory was their second largest since the 2016 Super Bowl season, and they have now topped seven wins in a season for the first time since the 10-win 2017 season. The Giants (2-13) lost their 10th straight, the longest losing streak in franchise history.

“You do feel (nerves), but once I hit the field it goes away,” Penix said. “It’s the game I’ve been playing since I was 5 years old. It’s at a higher level, but it’s the same game.”

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The Falcons drafted Penix eighth in April intending to let him understudy behind Cousins for a year or longer, but Cousins’ most recent five games convinced them to accelerate that timeline.

“The plan came a little bit sooner, but the kid was ready,” Morris said. “We had a lot of time to develop him, and the kid did a great job himself of getting ready where the moment wasn’t too big.”

Cousins swallowed the sting of being benched less than a year after signing a four-year, $180 million contract to mentor Penix throughout the week, Penix said. In the tunnel before the pair jogged out for warmups, Cousins said his weekly prayer and patted Penix on the back, gently pushing him to jog out in front of him.

“Kirk has been great all week, just being there for me and anything I need help with. He’s a great leader, great teammate,” Penix said. “Coming off the sidelines, he was asking me what I saw, and he continued to encourage me throughout the whole game.”

Penix finished 18-for-27 for 202 yards and one interception on a ball that bounced out of the hands of tight end Kyle Pitts near the goal line. The quarterback was victimized by three drops, including on his first throw of the game. Drops of his passes weren’t rare during his early practices because of his strong arm, but Penix has made big strides in throwing a more catchable ball, said wide receiver Darnell Mooney, who led the Falcons with five catches for 82 yards and then told reporters they might not want to stand too close to him in the locker room because he was feeling under the weather.

“When he first got here, he was (too excited) to throw the ball and everybody was dropping the ball everywhere,” Mooney said. “Now he’s just chilling, and he’s got some touch to him.”

Sunday’s drops didn’t rattle Penix, running back Bijan Robinson said.

“After the Kyle play, he was like, ‘We’re good,’” Robinson said. “A lot of guys would have put their heads down, but he was like, ‘We’re good, we’ll get it right back the next drive,’ and that’s what he did.”

Robinson carried the ball 22 times for 94 yards and is fourth in the league in rushing (1,196 yards). He ran for two touchdowns but was upset he didn’t get a receiving score because he was tripped up short of the goal line on a swing pass. Robinson returned to the huddle and apologized to Penix for not getting him his first NFL passing touchdown.

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“I told him, ‘It’s all good, man. We won the football game,’” Penix said. “That just shows the person he is, not just him but everybody on this team, the character. He talked about getting me my first touchdown, but it’ll come. The biggest thing we want to do each and every week is win. We did that.”

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Atlanta’s defense had nothing to apologize for after returning two interceptions for touchdowns in the same game for the first time since 1983. Jessie Bates III jumped in front of a Drew Lock pass and returned it 55 yards in the second quarter, and then celebrated with Deion Sanders’ “Prime Time” dance. He said his inspiration was the throwback red helmets Atlanta wore Sunday.

“Something about these red helmets,” Bates said.

In the third quarter, defensive lineman Matthew Judon recorded the first interception and first touchdown of his nine-year career when he found himself holding a pass batted by Zach Harrison and rumbled 27 yards into the end zone.

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“I just looked up and it fell right there. All glory to God,” said Judon, who became the first Falcon since Kroy Biermann in 2011 to have a pick six and a sack in the same game. “I am really grateful. I kept thanking Zach the whole time in (the locker room) until he left.”

The Falcons also recorded three sacks, one of which resulted in a fumble recovered by Arnold Ebiketie.

Penix, though, was the story of the day. Simply by providing a stabilizing element at the position, he gave the Falcons hope for their playoff push. His coaches and teammates said they never really doubted that the 24-year-old would.

The Falcons reorganized the “Mamba” periods they have used in practice this year where the starters from each side face off in competitive situations to give Penix some looks he hadn’t seen enough of, but other than that didn’t change their routine at all, Morris said.

“I think the guy is just a grown adult that came in with a high level of football experience,” the coach said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the young man. It was fun to watch.”

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(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

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Auburn fans shower officials with debris after wild buzzer-beater gets overturned

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Auburn fans shower officials with debris after wild buzzer-beater gets overturned

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A chaotic scene unfolded at Auburn University on Tuesday night as a wild buzzer-beater was waved off well after the Tigers had celebrated on their own court.

With 0.6 seconds remaining and Auburn trailing 90-88, KeShawn Murphy, somehow left wide open, caught an inbounds pass and nailed a long 3-pointer for what was thought to be the game-winner.

However, officials went to the scorer’s table to review the play, which was awfully close.

 

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Auburn Tigers players watch the replay of a possible game-winning shot that was called back as Auburn Tigers take on Texas A&M Aggies at Neville Arena in Auburn, Alabama on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Jake Crandall/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

Ultimately, officials ruled that the shot had not gone off in time, ending the Tigers’ celebration and prompting one from Texas A&M.

The officials quickly made themselves public enemy number one and were showered with debris from fans on their way off the court. At least one referee needed his head to be covered.

One fan sitting courtside even turned his back and threw his drink over his shoulder aimed at an official.

“They didn’t say a word. They just said it was no good and ran off the floor. I probably wouldn’t want to talk to me in that moment, anyway,” Auburn head coach Steven Pearl, who took over for his dad, Bruce this season, said after the game. “So, I get why they’d run away from me. Just from the angles that I saw, it looked like it was off his fingers. But that was just, I don’t have all the same angles they have.”

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Texas A&M Aggies players celebrate victory as Auburn Tigers take on Texas A&M Aggies at Neville Arena in Auburn, Alabama, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Jake Crandall/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

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It is now six losses in their last 10 games for the Tigers after starting 5-1. They lost in the Final Four last year to Florida, who won the national championship over Houston.

Auburn (9-6, 0-2) led 47-37 at halftime and extended the margin to 61-45 with 12:29 remaining.

KeShawn Murphy of the Auburn Tigers reacts after officials ruled that his last-second shot did not beat the shot clock to win the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Neville Arena on Jan. 6, 2026 in Auburn, Alabama. (Stew Milne/Getty Images)

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Texas A&M answered with a steady run fueled by outside shooting, taking its first lead at 8:42 when Pop Isaacs buried a 3-pointer. The Aggies followed with back-to-back triples from Isaacs to open a five-point cushion that they would not relinquish, by the skin of their teeth.

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Former NFL player Jordan Shipley is in critical condition after accident on his ranch

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Former NFL player Jordan Shipley is in critical condition after accident on his ranch

Two-time All-American wide receiver and prominent Outdoors Channel host Jordan Shipley is in critical condition after an accident on his ranch in Texas, his family said in a statement.

Shipley, 40, was described as stable after remaining hospitalized Tuesday night in Austin. The statement said a machine that he was operating near his hometown of Burnet caught fire. The former Texas great suffered “severe burns on his body.”

Shipley abruptly retired in 2012 after three NFL seasons primarily because of persistent concussion issues and chronic knee problems. He quickly transitioned to television shows that showcased his passion for deer hunting, co-hosting “The Bucks of Tecomate” and “Tecomate Whitetail Nation.”

“It was not hard at all,” Shipley said at the time of retiring at 27. “Only because I never saw myself as a football player first. Don’t get me wrong, I worked my tail off for football and I loved it but never saw that as my whole identity because I had such a big background in outdoors. Really, with this opportunity I had I was actually pretty excited about moving forward.”

Although he enjoyed a strong rookie season with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2010 with 52 receptions for 600 yards and three touchdowns, he is best remembered as a record-setting player at Texas.

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Shipley starred as a receiver and a kick returner from 2006 to 2009, setting program single-season records in 2009 with 116 receptions and 1,489 yards. He also remains the career leader for receptions with 248 and ranks second in career receiving yards with 3,191, behind Roy Williams. Shipley also returned four punts or kickoffs for touchdowns.

After being drafted in the third round by the Bengals, he became one of the most popular players with Cincinnati fans, and his No. 11 jersey was worn by thousands. After a debilitating knee injury early in the 2011 season, he was never the same player, and he had short stints with Tampa Bay and Jacksonville before retiring.

According to his family, Jordan was operating a machine at his ranch when it caught fire. He managed to free himself from the machine, but “not before sustaining severe burns on his body in the process.” Jordan was airlifted to the hospital in Austin.

“He was able to get to one of his workers on the ranch, who drove him to a local hospital. He was then care-flighted to Austin, where he remains in critical but stable condition,” the statement said.

Shipley’s younger brother, former Texas wide receiver Jaxon Shipley, 33, asked for prayers in a statement on Instagram: “Please pray for full healing and no infections or other issues on his road to recovery. I don’t want to get into all the details, other than his life was spared today by the grace of God and the sheer will to live. I believe prayer is effective so I’m asking anyone and everyone to lift Jordan up in prayer.”

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Tom Izzo explodes on former Michigan State player in wild scene: ‘What the f— are you doing?’

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Tom Izzo explodes on former Michigan State player in wild scene: ‘What the f— are you doing?’

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Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo has been known to get visibly angry with his players over his years in East Lansing, but what happened Monday night against USC was different.

Izzo let loose his frustration on a former player.

During the Spartans’ blowout over the Trojans, 80-51, Izzo was spotted unloading on former Michigan State center Paul Davis, who played for the team from 2002-06, after he caused a disturbance in the stands.

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Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans reacts to a call during a game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the first half at Pinnacle Bank Arena Jan. 2, 2026, in Lincoln, Neb. (Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)

Referees pointed out Davis, who was a spectator, from his courtside seat after he was among many in the building who disagreed with a call in the second half. Davis stood up and shouted at referee Jeffrey Anderson.

Anderson responded with a loud whistle, stopping play and pointing at Davis. Then, Anderson went over to Izzo to explain what happened, and the 70-year-old coach went ballistic.

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First, he was motioning toward Davis, and it was clear he asked his former center, “What the f— are you doing?”

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Davis was met by someone asking him to leave his seat, and that’s when Izzo went nuts. He shouted “Get out of here!” at Davis, who appeared to gesture toward Izzo, perhaps in apology for disturbing the game.

Izzo was asked about Davis’ ejection after the game.

“What he said, he should never say anywhere in the world,” Izzo responded when asked what happened. “That ticked me off. So, just because it’s 25, 20 years later, I’m going to have to call him tomorrow and tell him what I thought of it. And you know what he’ll say? ‘I screwed up, coach. I’m sorry.’”

Izzo quickly clarified that what Davis said “wasn’t something racial” and “it wasn’t something sexual.”

Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo protests a call that benefited the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center Dec. 2, 2025. (Dale Young/Imagn Images)

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“It was just the wrong thing to say, and I’ll leave it at that.”

Davis later met with reporters Tuesday, apologizing for his actions.

“I’m not up here to make any excuses. I’m up here to take accountability, to own it,” Davis said. It was a mistake that will never happen again. It was a mistake that’s not me, but, unfortunately, last night it was.”

Izzo said Davis was one of his “favorite guys” during his time playing for the Spartans. He had a breakout sophomore campaign with 15.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and two assists per game in 30 starts for Izzo during the 2003-04 season.

Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans reacts during a game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena Jan. 2, 2026, in Lincoln, Neb.  (Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)

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In his senior year, Davis averaged 17.5 points, a career-high, in 33 games.

He was taken in the second round of the 2006 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. Davis played just four seasons in the league, his final one with the Washington Wizards.

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