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ATLANTA — On the very last play of the first half of the SEC Championship game between Georgia and Texas, Bulldog quarterback Carson Beck took a hard hit while attempting a Hail Mary throw. Beck stayed down on the field while trainers tended to him. He got up after about a minute and trotted off the field into the locker room. Before heading into the locker room, ESPN's Holly Rowe asked Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart if Beck would be able to play in the second half, to which he replied, "He should be. I don't know. We've got to go look at him." However, at the start of the second half, Rowe passed along the message that Beck would not be playing the rest of the game. So, who will be taking snaps? Georgia's backup QB is sophomore Gunner Stockton. Stockton has seen limited action in his two seasons with the Bulldogs but he's no stranger to game. In 2023, he completed 12 passes for 148 yards across his four separate appearances. So far this season, Stockton has only appeared in two games: against Tennessee Tech and Umass. This second half of the SEC Championship game will be the most the young QB has played and it's in the biggest moment of Georgia's season thus far.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos' usually stout defense has been rocked ever since losing second-year cornerback Riley Moss to an MCL injury against Las Vegas in Week 12. Without Moss there to capitalize on opponents shying away from star cornerback Patrick Surtain II, the Broncos (9-6) have had to largely abandon their preferred man coverage in favor of zone strategies and the results haven't been pretty. They allowed 32 points to the Cleveland Browns when former teammate Jerry Jeudy caught nine passes for a career-best 235 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown. Only Jonathan Taylor's fumble at the goal line as he was about to score a 41-yard touchdown and give Indianapolis a 20-3 lead saved the Broncos in Week 15 and allowed Denver to seize momentum and get the victory. They couldn't stop Justin Herbert , who led the Los Angeles Chargers back from a double-digit third-quarter deficit for a 34-27 win last week that prevented the Broncos from ending their eight-year playoff drought. It also put more pressure on the Broncos to win Saturday at Cincinnati, where the Bengals (7-8) cling to hopes of catching the Broncos and denying Denver a wild-card berth. Moss returned to practice last week and the Broncos will determine this week whether he’s ready to return to the field or if it’s better to keep him out until their season finale against Kansas City. But all signs point to Moss being on the field to help thwart Cincy's offense led by Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. “It's great to have him back,” Surtain said after practice Tuesday. “I mean, you talk about a guy who was playing lights-out before the injury, but to see him back out there with confidence, out there practicing, getting his mojo back, it brings a lot of confidence to the team, as well. So, it's good to see him back out there in action, for sure.” Moss has enjoyed a breakout season in Denver with 71 tackles, eight pass breakups and an interception in 12 starts. He played in 14 games as a rotation player his rookie season after recovering from core muscle surgery that relegated him to special teams and spot duty in 2023. “We were and have been super excited" about the third-round pick out of Iowa, coach Sean Payton said. "Obviously, the guy that plays opposite of Patrick is going to get a lot of business. All throughout training camp, he really rose to the occasion, battled, competed and throughout really a good portion of the season. “He’s a big reason why we were playing so well defensively,” Payton added. "The sooner the better when we can get him back in the lineup. Hopefully it can happen this weekend.” In Moss' dozen starts, the Broncos allowed 16.8 points per game. Without him, they've been allowing 26.3 points a game. Burrow and Chase pose a bigger challenge to the Broncos than Jeudy and Jameis Wiston did for Cleveland or Herbert and Ladd McConkey did for the Chargers. The medial collateral ligament is on the inside of the knee that connects the thigh bone to the shin bone. It’s one of four major ligaments that stabilize the knee and allow it to rotate. It typically takes a month to recover from an MCL sprain and the Broncos had their bye week earlier this month, meaning Moss might only have to miss three games. If the Broncos reach the playoffs for the first time since winning Super Bowl 50 in Hall of Famer Peyton Manning's last start, they'll likely need to have a healthy Moss opposite Surtain to have any realistic hopes of avoiding a one-and-done appearance. The Broncos got a scare when Surtain injured an ankle against Indianapolis two weeks ago and limped off the field in the closing minutes. However, he was a full-go at practice last week and had no issues against the Chargers. NOTES: The Broncos waived veteran CB Levi Wallace, who had been inactive the past two weeks after giving up several big plays to Jeudy on Dec. 2. Denver also designated RB Tyler Badie to return from a back injury he sustained against the Jets in Week 4. Payton said he hopes to sign Wallace to the practice squad if he clears waivers. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Banks added five rebounds for the Bulldogs (6-4). Jordan Marsh added 18 points while going 5 of 12 from the floor, including 2 for 3 from 3-point range, and 6 for 8 from the line while they also had five rebounds and five steals. Kameron Taylor shot 4 of 6 from the field and 5 for 5 from the line to finish with 13 points. Marcus Kell finished with 11 points for the Catamounts (3-6). Vernon Collins added 10 points for Western Carolina. Fischer Brown finished with eight points. These two teams both play Tuesday. UNC Asheville hosts North Florida and Western Carolina visits Tennessee. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .

LAHORE: On the 6th day of her 08-day long China visit, Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif announced the establishment of a working group, the appointment of a focal person and the establishment of a help desk while chairing a roundtable investment conference in Guangzhou, which was attended by officials of more than 60 prominent companies from China and Hong Kong. Representatives of leading Chinese companies in the fields of health, Artificial Intelligence, agriculture, information technology, waste management, solar energy and other sectors gave detailed presentations on their institutions. She also reviewed various suggestions and recommendations for the promotion of Pak-China free trade. The Chief Minister invited the Chinese technology companies to start operations in Punjab. Responding to her invitation, Chinese technology companies expressed keen interest in investing in Punjab. She vowed to facilitate them through one-window operation. She declared Punjab a “Land of Opportunity” for the Chinese companies. She thanked them for participating in the investment conference, and gave them a detailed briefing on the economic, geographical and business importance of Punjab. Representatives of the Chinese companies appreciated the vision of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, and appreciated her launch of no-plastic campaign in Punjab. The Chief Minister said, “We have launched ‘No to Plastic’ campaign in Punjab to protect the environment. We have imposed a ban on the sale, purchase and production of plastic that affects the environment.” She said, “The arrival of officials from Chinese companies even on holiday is very encouraging for us.” She added, “The zero-waste mission has started under ‘Suthra Punjab’, and we will welcome the support and cooperation of Chinese companies in this regard. Punjab is also starting a project to convert waste into renewable energy.” She said, “Mechanization is being carried out to take the agriculture on the path of innovation. Focus is being given to windmills, solar energy and renewable energy sources to obtain cheap electricity. Reforms are being introduced in the industry to improve the ecosystem. Demand for solar energy is continuously increasing in Punjab. A mega project for solarization has been launched in Punjab. We will welcome the collaboration of Chinese companies in the solarization project.” She added, “The agriculture sub-sectors of automation manufacturing, food processing and hybrid seed development will be made possible through collaboration with the Chinese companies. We want to utilize valuable asset of young industrial human resources in Punjab. We intend to start using bio and hydrogen technology.” The Chief Minister said, “Innovation in the IT sector is need of the hour. Punjab will welcome investment in e-commerce, incubator centres, and e-learning. Nawaz Sharif wants to make IT City state-of-the-art, Chinese companies can invest here.” She noted, “Response of the Chinese investors to promote Pak-China relations is encouraging. Pakistan is a gateway to Central Asia, the Middle East and other countries. Pakistan is a valuable part of the global trade route.” She said, “Telemedicine technique will benefit from China’s health system.” She added, “Agriculture can be revolutionized through nanotechnology. We want to introduce water-efficient irrigation system in Punjab. This is the best time for the Chinese companies to take advantage of business opportunities in Punjab.” Copyright Business Recorder, 2024

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