‘It’s incredible for all the fans,’ Woods told ESPN on Tuesday night before his TGL match.

Just 24 hours earlier, the PGA Tour announced Jan. 12 that Koepka, who left LIV Golf last month, would be allowed back under a one-time Returning Member Program extended to former major champions from the past four years.

‘The fan initiative program that we did last year, what they wanted, they want to see the best play against the best,’ Woods, a member of the Tour’s policy board, said. ‘And for Brooks to want to come back, a year early, and he was able to do that.’

Kopeka, a five-time major champion and winner of the 2023 PGA Championship, is scheduled to make his official return at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego at the end of this month.

Bryson DeChambeau, Cam Smith and Jon Rahm are also eligible to come back to the PGA Tour, but all three have declined the invitations, which must be accepted by Feb. 2.

In the interview with ESPN, Woods also discussed his own return to playing on the PGA Tour following back surgery last October to replace a herniated disk. He said his doctors have just cleared him to hit short- and mid-irons.

‘Whenever that time comes when I start hitting drivers and I start playing at home and start doing all the different things, I will have been away from the game for a year and a half,’ he said.

‘So I will be very rusty. And so there’s a lot that goes into it, so my prep is going to have to be a little bit different from my other procedures I’ve had in the past. I’ve had to stay a lot more patient with myself. I get sore faster, I guess because I’m 50. And that happens.’

Woods hasn’t played in a PGA Tour event since the 2024 British Open.

The NFL’s wild-card round left everyone wanting more, as soon as possible. But will that mean football will come your way on Thursday night?

The NFL’s schedule this time of year is a little wacky. With Saturday, Sunday and Monday games in the wild-card round, it’s fair to wonder if there’s any further NFL playoff schedule quirkiness happening this week, especially when the league plays games on Thursdays for 17 of the 18 weeks of the regular season.

That’s not the case for the playoffs, however. Those wanting to catch some NFL action will have to wait until the weekend to dive into it, with the winners of divisional games punching their ticket to the championship round.

So, for now, put the chips away, keep the wings in the freezer and keep the beer on ice. Here’s what to know about this week’s games, schedule and more:

Is there a Thursday Night Football game tomorrow?

No, there is not a ‘Thursday Night Football’ game for the divisional round of the 2025 NFL playoffs. The first NFL game of this week’s four playoff matchups is on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 4:30 p.m. ET, when the Denver Broncos defend home turf against the Buffalo Bills. The winner heads to the AFC championship game.

Watch 2025 NFL playoff action with Fubo (free trial)

Thursday Night Football schedule, recap

The NFL broadcast a total of 21 games on Thursdays throughout the 2025 NFL season. A total of 15 of those contests were broadcast on Amazon while the other five aired on CBS, Fox, NBC and Netflix as part of the NFL’s Week 1 and holiday schedules.

Below is a full look back at the NFL’s Thursday slate for 2025:

Week 1: Philadelphia Eagles 24, Dallas Cowboys 20
Week 2: Green Bay Packers 27, Washington Commanders 18
Week 3: Buffalo Bills 31, Miami Dolphins 21
Week 4: Seattle Seahawks 23, Arizona Cardinals 20
Week 5: San Francisco 49ers 26, Los Angeles Rams 23
Week 6: New York Giants 34, Philadelphia Eagles 17
Week 7: Cincinnati Bengals 33, Pittsburgh Steelers 31
Week 8: Los Angeles Chargers 37, Minnesota Vikings 10
Week 9: Baltimore Ravens 28, Miami Dolphins 6
Week 10: Denver Broncos 10, Las Vegas Raiders 7
Week 11: New England Patriots 27, New York Jets 14
Week 12: Houston Texans 23, Buffalo Bills 19
Week 13 (Thanksgiving): Green Bay Packers 31, Detroit Lions 24; Dallas Cowboys 31, Kansas City Chiefs 28; Cincinnati Bengals 32, Baltimore Ravens 14
Week 14: Detroit Lions 44, Dallas Cowboys 30
Week 15: Atlanta Falcons 29, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 28
Week 16: Seattle Seahawks 38, Los Angeles Rams 37
Week 17 (Christmas): Dallas Cowboys 30, Washington Commanders 23; Minnesota Vikings 23, Detroit Lions 10; Denver Broncos 20, Kansas City Chiefs 13
Week 18: No Thursday game

NFL playoff schedule

There are four playoff games scheduled this weekend, with the winners of each headed to their respective conference championship games on Sunday, Jan. 25. All times are Eastern:

Saturday, Jan. 17

AFC divisional game, 4:30 p.m.: Denver Broncos vs. Buffalo Bills
NFC divisional game, 8 p.m.:Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers

Sunday, Jan. 18

AFC divisional game, 3 p.m.: New England Patriots vs. Houston Texans
NFC divisional game, 6:30 p.m.:Chicago Bears vs. Los Angeles Rams

USA TODAY’s Jacob Camenker contributed to this article.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James said he has a difference of opinion with his longtime agent, Rich Paul, who suggested that the team should trade Austin Reaves.

James spoke after the Lakers’ 141-116 victory over the Atlanta Hawks and cleared the air about his feelings on Paul’s comments.

‘I think you all know by now, Rich is his own man and what Rich says is not a direct reflection of me and how I feel,’ James said to ESPN. ‘And I hope people know that. I hope people know that and if they’re not sensible to know that, then I don’t know what to tell them.’

Paul, on an episode of his podcast ‘Game Over with Max Kellerman and Rich Paul,’ said the Lakers should trade Reaves to the Memphis Grizzlies for forward Jaren Jackson Jr.

‘This comes with a very unemotional attachment because Austin is beloved, which he should be, he’s an underdog,’ Paul said. ‘There’s a world where you can do what’s best for your team, and do what’s best for Austin. Because Austin deserves to get paid. Now, I love him as a Laker, but if that was a situation where we’re getting balance – because if you put all the money into just the backcourt and then your flexibility is restricted going forward to fill out the rest of the team, then (building a full roster is challenging).’

James said there is no friction between him and the 27-year-old Reaves, who was averaging a career-high 26.6 points per game, 6.3 assists, and 5.2 rebounds in 23 games before being sidelined with a calf strain suffered in the Christmas Day loss to the Houston Rockets.

Reaves signed a four-year $53.83 million contract with Los Angeles in 2023, and has a player option of $14.9 million, which he is likely to opt out of this summer.

‘AR knows how I feel about him,’ James told ESPN. ‘All you got to do is look at us on the bench. Me and AR talk every single day. So, AR knows how I feel about him and I hope AR – or his camp – don’t look at me and think this is words from me are coming through Rich.’

After stepping down as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach, Mike Tomlin could be a top candidate for a television analyst role.
Tomlin’s direct and entertaining style has long made him a potential fit for major networks and streamers like Fox, Amazon, CBS, and NBC.
He could offer a unique perspective on leadership and decision-making, similar to other successful coaches-turned-analysts.
Despite numerous potential TV suitors, Tomlin could also be a candidate for one of the several head coaching vacancies in the league.

PITTSBURGH – “The standard” could be coming to a screen near you – from the analyst’s chair, not the sideline. 

With Mike Tomlin stepping down as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers after 19 seasons on Jan. 13, less than 24 hours after his former team was unceremoniously dismissed from the playoffs, he heads to the unemployment line the loser of seven consecutive playoff games and a Super Bowl champion. He won’t remain without work for long, should that be his wont. His next field of work is not necessarily certain, either. 

For years, Tomlin has been considered (along with the Los Angeles Rams’ Sean McVay) the next head coach to make the jump from the sideline to the studio, as Tomlin’s predecessor with the Steelers, Bill Cowher, did in 2006. Tomlin’s style lends itself to television. He is direct yet entertaining, terse yet imaginative. Those in the industry who have been in production meetings with Tomlin over the last two decades have long been raving about his potential on TV. ESPN’s Adam Schefter floated the possibility within his breaking news report.

Tomlin had two years left on his contract with the Steelers and was due to make around $25 million annually. The coaching profession contains unseen tolls, long hours, infinite stress. He might not make $25 million, but he can make a healthy fraction of that at an even more significant fraction of the hours he has to put into his work.

Every network will make its pitch to Tomlin. Fox, the favorite to land Tomlin according to The Athletic, is a natural fit. Tomlin next to Michael Strahan and reminiscing with Rob Gronkowski and gelling with Howie Long is not hard to envision. The old saying is that you need a gold jacket to sit on that desk. Tomlin will wear one. 

From Fox to Amazon Prime, Tomlin will have serious TV suitors

At Amazon Prime Video, the 2008 Coach of the Year winner could let his fun side loose with that cast of characters, but it’s already a pretty crowded desk with sufficiently large personalities. Joining the announcing booth, if there’s further shakeup beyond Al Michaels’ eventual retirement, makes more sense for Tomlin to take a check from Jeff Bezos. 

CBS has a spot on ‘NFL Today’ opening up with Matt Ryan’s return to the Atlanta Falcons. It feels like they’re due for some booth reorganization with the emergence of T.J. Watt and continued decline of Tony Romo.

NBC needs a fresh voice on “Football Night In America” and Tomlin would bring that along with some star power. The  network also has the benefit of broadcasting the Super Bowl this year, which means it owns the next high-profile event should Tomlin want a grand entrance.

A link-up with ESPN, even though Stephen A. Smith has propped himself up as a Steelers fan – imagine a “First Take” argument between SAS and Tomlin – doesn’t feel in the cards, but never say never as the “WorldWide Leader” has started throwing money at attractive talent (Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Pat McAfee, Smith). 

Beyond catchphrases, Tomlin would bring unique perspective to TV

For 19 years, Tomlin met with the media four or five instances per week during the season. That’s a lot of time behind a microphone. He could follow a path laid by Nick Saban and Bill Belichick, both of whom have excelled in the media following (or in Belichick’s case, during) their illustrious coaching careers. 

Tomlin never won at the level those two did. But he knows what greatness looks like. And the last decade or so has been a lesson in effort not matching results — Tomlin has an opportunity to explain to an audience that would listen, and maybe needs to listen, to the message that hard things are worth doing even if they don’t go your way. Yes, I want to hear about defense from Tomlin’s perspective. I also want to hear about leadership and high-stakes decision-making. It is a lane Tomlin is certainly qualified to fill. 

Tomlin will have coaching opportunities in future cycles if he chooses to sit this one out. At 53 years old, he can have a lengthy second act, similar to what Andy Reid has done with the Kansas City Chiefs (from a years spent standpoint, not that hiring Tomlin guarantees a dynasty for that franchise). One factor that precludes a Tomlin transition to television is the abundance of job openings this cycle – eight, not counting the Steelers, available to Tomlin, hypothetically. At least a handful of those teams would be interested in interviewing him, at the bare minimum.

The catchphrases – the classic “the standard is the standard,” and “if my aunt had male parts she’d be my uncle” – a recent gem – are the bait for viewers. The hook, line and sinker for whichever network successfully bids for his services depends on if the producers, host and existing cast create a comfortable environment for him to be brutally honest.

That can be a challenge for fresh faces because they just left the field of battle themselves and remember what it was like to be criticized by somebody outside of the arena. The plus side is worthwhile, as the “ManningCast” reaped the benefits of Belichick’s schtick and Saban appears to be genuinely invested in the success of “GameDay.” 

On Monday, Tomlin said he wasn’t using a “big-picture mentality’ about his future with the Steelers. (Logic questions the veracity of that statement given the swiftness of Tomlin’s decision.) Now he better start prepping for picture-in-picture highlight tapes and studying up on some television mechanics rather than zone-blitz packages.

The No. 19 Iowa State women’s basketball team will have to navigate the foreseeable future without one of its key starters.

The Cyclones announced junior forward Addy Brown ‘will be out indefinitely as she continues to recover from a lower body injury.’ Brown had missed the last two games, loses to Cincinnati and West Virginia.

After starting 14-0, the Iowa State is on a three-game losing streak ahead of Wednesday’s matchup against Colorado. The Cyclones are also without junior guard Arianna Jackson, who suffered a knee injury during the loss against Cincinnati.

‘There’s nothing worse than a kid getting hurt,’ Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. ‘And you only have a finite amount of time in your life where you get to be a college basketball player. Obviously, some of those opportunities won’t be there anymore.’

The Iowa State head coach was asked if Brown might return later this season.

‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘I guess the best thing for me is just to say we’re going to just defer to what we’ve already said and let the healing begin, and hopefully something positive will come of it.’

Brown has started 83 games for the Cyclones and is the second leading scorer on the team (13.1 points a game) behind junior center Audi Crooks. Brown also leads Iowa State in rebounds (9.0 per game) and blocks (0.8 per game).

Iowa State plays Cincinnati again on Jan. 21. And, a week later, it has a matchup on Jan. 28 with the undefeated Texas Tech Lady Raiders (19-0).

‘The only thing we can really do is come closer together,’ Crooks said. ‘That’s the reality of the situation. We just have to face reality and do what we can moving forward.’

Most players can only dream of having a professional debut like Antonio Arena’s.

The 16-year-old Roma forward didn’t just score on his first senior appearance for the club, he found the net with his first touch in professional soccer.

It was a dream debut for the Australia youth international, who tied a Coppa Italia match against Torino with an 81st-minute header.

With Roma trailing 2-1, defender Wesley elevated a cross to the back post. Arena found space between two defenders and rose up to nod a header past goalkeeper Alberto Paleari.

Watch Arena score on Roma debut

Roma would end up losing the match 3-2 after Torino midfielder Emirhan İlkhan scored a 90th-minute winner.

Arena became the third-youngest goal scorer in Roma history with his debut header, finding the net one month shy of his 17th birthday.

“I went to the far post. I saw that Wesley was crossing the ball, it came right to my head and I scored,’ he said after the game. ‘It was a wonderful, unforgettable feeling.

“I want to become as good a player as possible. I want to work hard all the time. Nothing is going to change from today onwards. I will keep working as I have so far and focus on our next game.” 

CFP national championship game: Miami vs. Indiana, 7:30 p.m., Monday; TV: ESPN

He believes in the plan. Doesn’t know it, but trusts it because when you’ve reached rock bottom, there’s not much left on the plate.

“God has taught me to just trust in Him,” Miami quarterback Carson Beck says. 

It’s here where we begin to wonder if God has a sick sense of humor. Or maybe just saves the toughest roads for the earnest believers. 

Take a deep breath, everyone, and allow this unfolding plan of the past five years to wash over you.

From getting Wally Pipp’d in 2021 as Georgia’s backup quarterback, to watching Stetson Bennett lead back-to-back national title runs. From winning his first 12 games as starter in 2023, to losing by three in the SEC championship game and watching Georgia somehow fall out of the College Football Playoff.

From playing with a patchwork offensive line and underwhelming receivers who led the nation in drops in 2024, to finding a way to reach the SEC championship game despite the problems — and sustaining a season-ending elbow injury on the last play of the first half. 

From watching Gunner Stockton lead a second-half rally, win the SEC and secure a spot in the CFP, to sitting alone in his home after the season, his throwing elbow tightly bandaged after surgery, not knowing what was next. 

From the freshman flop of struggling to adjust to college life, to the NIL life as a starting SEC quarterback with Armani suits and diamond watches and a Lamborghini. To Georgia fans harassing him on social media, blaming him for the end of a championship run. 

The lowest of lows, to the highest of highs, to the lowest of lows again. 

“I had no idea where this ride was taking me,” Beck said. “A lot of soul searching. A lot of hard truths.”

Two stood out more than any others around this time last year: He wasn’t physically ready to leave for the NFL, and wasn’t returning to Georgia. So when he looked across his living room in Jacksonville, he knew he found the next path. 

There was Miami coach Mario Cristobal, explaining how close the Canes were to returning to the top of college football, and that Beck could get them there. A year later, as he went through his progressions from the Ole Miss-7 with less than 30 seconds to play in the Fiesta Bowl CFP semifinal, he finally looked left. 

A clear path.

“If people only knew the depth of what he went through,” said Denny Thompson, Beck’s quarterbacks coach at Cortx Sports Performance.  

None of this is easy. It may come with a seven-figure check and an unthinkable tax bracket, but it doesn’t mean life is candy and cookies. 

If he thought playing at Georgia was pressure-packed, imagine playing for Miami. The big, bad Canes who, when it’s right and everything is clicking, are the biggest show in South Florida. 

Bigger than the Dolphins and Heat, and the back-to-back NHL champion Panthers. Hell, bigger than Messi. 

During the Cotton Bowl quarterfinal win over defending national champion Ohio State, Beck was standing on the sideline late in the fourth quarter waiting for the drive of the game to begin. A moment where Miami would take control and leave no doubt that it not only deserved a spot in the CFP — but may just win the whole thing. 

Beck looked to his left and saw Ray Lewis. Yeah, that Ray Lewis. Canes legend, Super Bowl MVP and one bad man.

Beck’s dad, Chris Beck, was a linebacker at the Naval Academy, and Carson grew up dreaming of playing linebacker. 

“So I look at (Lewis), and just shake his hand,” Beck said. “He introduced himself, and he’s like, ‘Go win us the ball game.’ And I was like, well, now I have to. I can’t let this dude down.”

Not unlike a week later against Ole Miss, when Miami got the ball late with a chance to tie the score or win it. No need for theatrics, just seize the moment. 

“He gathered everyone around him and said we’re built for this,” said Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson. “It’s that calming leadership. He can make every throw, he’s athletic as hell. But it’s that calming affect on everyone that has changed this team this year.”

It’s all part of the plan, you know. The highs, the lows, the rock bottom. 

Since the six interceptions in two losses to Louisville and SMU — the losses that started the Miami or Notre Dame CFP question — to his play over the past seven games of single-elimination football. 

One loss, and the season is over. One loss, and the path changes. 

If Miami beats Indiana in the CFP national championship game Monday in Miami Gardens, the Canes will have beaten the Nos. 1, 2, 6 and 7th-ranked teams in the 12-team playoff. 

Nothing is more important that that, Beck says. Not the millions, not the TikTok influencer girlfriend, or $250,000 car. Not the significant injury, not blowing a chance to be the quarterback leading back-to-back national title teams, or missing a chance to play for two more.

This is his team now. This is his path. 

“Everybody looks to him,” said Miami running back Mark Fletcher. “That’s our dude.” 

Nine months ago, Beck was in a brace and rehabbing his surgically-repaired ulnar ligament, and this moment was as far away as that week of practice in 2021 as the projected Georgia starter — when his college career could’ve taken off but didn’t.

These are the moments that steel a resolve. Not the money, the car, or the clothes. Or the house on South Beach.

“I’m sitting there in that brace, and I can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Beck said. “I had to lean on my faith more than ever.”

Hours after the Fiesta Bowl win, Beck posted to his Instagram account a photo of him crossing the goal line with the game-winning touchdown. 

The caption simply read, ‘it’s just means more.”

A subtle jab at Georgia and the SEC. Or a reminder of what this strange trip and eventual path is all about.

“Things aren’t ever going to be perfect,” Beck said. “Though I might not understand what the end of all this might look like, His plan will come to fruition — no matter what it might be.”

The toughest road for the earnest believers.