Peyton Manning

It's official: The Indianapolis Colts are parting ways with quarterback Peyton Manning. At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Colts owner Jim Irsay -- who fought off tears as Manning watched over his right shoulder -- announced that the team was releasing the franchise icon and retiring Manning's No. 18 jersey. As soon as the Colts make it official with the league office, Manning will become an unrestricted free agent. Since he is being released, teams don't have to wait until the start of free agency on March 13 to pursue him. When news leaked Tuesday night that the goodbye news conference would be held in Indianapolis, national football writers began speculating where Manning might land.

Man, what's going on in Indianapolis. First, Peyton Manning packs his bags, and now the Snooty Fox has closed down. The Snooty Fox closed on Monday after 29 years. A May 2011 makeover by the Food Network's "Restaurant Impossible" show boosted business briefly at the  English-style pub, but sales started slipping badly after the new year, the pub's owner tol d the Indianapolis Business Journal, which reported the story. "I went from doing great business until the last four weeks,” Queisser told the journal.

Could be career-ender Sam Farmer Los Angeles Times It's going to be a long road back for Peyton Manning, and although I wouldn't bet against him returning, I wouldn't be shocked if this procedure ultimately caused him to call it a career. He's not going to be like Brett Favre, who did the retirement rumba for so long. Manning's standards are too high; he won't accept being two-thirds the player he once was. Fighter pilots are permanently grounded by this type of surgery, because the risk is too high of serious injuries from whiplash-type events if they eject from their planes.

Well, that depends Dan Pompei Chicago Tribune Really, there should be two sets of expectations for the Broncos in 2012. The first set of expectations assumes Peyton Manning is healthy and as able as he was earlier in his career. If that is the case, they look like the best team in the AFC West and one of the best teams in the conference. Even if all goes well with Manning though, predictions of a Lombardi Trophy may be a bit optimistic. This still is a young team with holes, and there will be a learning curve for Manning.

Baltimore Sun reporters, columnists and editors analyze the Denver Broncos' reported acquisition of former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. Jeff Zrebiec (Ravens/NFL reporter): The Denver Broncos got Peyton Manning's first visit and they seemed to be the most logical landing spot for the quarterback all along. They have a young group of wide receivers, a strong defense and one of the better quarterbacks in NFL history as a top executive. Is there any doubt that the Broncos' visit to Baltimore will be a prime-time game?

It's over, America. The breaking news alerts, the Twitter speculation wars, the aerial shots of the big guy being whisked from private jet to late-model, tinted-window SUV, the grainy photos of him meeting with the rich-guy NFL owner du jour -- all of it comes to a merciful end. Yes, wonderful news: Peyton Manning has found a job. He'll quarterback the Denver Broncos next year. (That thumping sound you just heard was Tim Tebow being tossed out the back door of the Broncos' complex like the morning's trash.)

Man, what's going on in Indianapolis. First, Peyton Manning packs his bags, and now the Snooty Fox has closed down. The Snooty Fox closed on Monday after 29 years. A May 2011 makeover by the Food Network's "Restaurant Impossible" show boosted business briefly at the  English-style pub, but sales started slipping badly after the new year, the pub's owner tol d the Indianapolis Business Journal, which reported the story. "I went from doing great business until the last four weeks,” Queisser told the journal.

After nearly two weeks of being trailed by the pigskin paparazzi, Peyton Manning has picked a team. According to ESPN, Manning has informed teams that he plans to join the Denver Broncos. Unless there is an unexpected snag in negotiations, Manning will be Denver's starting quarterback in 2012. The 2012 schedule won't be released until next month, but we do know the Ravens' opponents for the upcoming season. And at some point, Manning and the Broncos will come to M&T Bank Stadium.

Derrick Mason made his regular appearance on “The Norris & Davis Show” on 105.7 The Fan on Monday morning, and since NFL Network will release on Sunday the top 10 players of 2011 according to a poll of players, Mason was asked by hosts Ed Norris and Steve Davis to name his pick for the best player in the NFL. “Hands down, it’s Peyton Manning,” Mason said, giving an answer many Ravens fans probably didn’t want to hear . “You take...

INDIANAPOLIS -- If you listened carefully at the RCA Dome last Saturday, a distinct sound of discord could be heard after Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning threw the last of his three interceptions against the Kansas City Chiefs. To paraphrase one of Manning's many televisions commercials, they weren't saying, "Moooooooooovers." Manning, who in recent years has become the face of the NFL as much for his self-deprecating pitchman persona as for his regular-season dominance, would have been vilified had the Colts lost to the Chiefs in their AFC wild-card playoff game.

After a wild first week in free agency that was punctuated with Peyton Manning signing with the Denver Broncos, we have a better idea of what needs teams will address in April's NFL draft. So now seems like a good time for our second mock draft of the offseason. (This mock draft does not account for potential trades.) And remember, these are called “mock” drafts for a reason. Try not to take them too seriously. 1. Colts: Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford. Luck will be under tremendous pressure in replacing Peyton Manning, an all-time great.

It's over, America. The breaking news alerts, the Twitter speculation wars, the aerial shots of the big guy being whisked from private jet to late-model, tinted-window SUV, the grainy photos of him meeting with the rich-guy NFL owner du jour -- all of it comes to a merciful end. Yes, wonderful news: Peyton Manning has found a job. He'll quarterback the Denver Broncos next year. (That thumping sound you just heard was Tim Tebow being tossed out the back door of the Broncos' complex like the morning's trash.)

Baltimore Sun reporters, columnists and editors analyze the Denver Broncos' reported acquisition of former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. Jeff Zrebiec (Ravens/NFL reporter): The Denver Broncos got Peyton Manning's first visit and they seemed to be the most logical landing spot for the quarterback all along. They have a young group of wide receivers, a strong defense and one of the better quarterbacks in NFL history as a top executive. Is there any doubt that the Broncos' visit to Baltimore will be a prime-time game?

After nearly two weeks of being trailed by the pigskin paparazzi, Peyton Manning has picked a team. According to ESPN, Manning has informed teams that he plans to join the Denver Broncos. Unless there is an unexpected snag in negotiations, Manning will be Denver's starting quarterback in 2012. The 2012 schedule won't be released until next month, but we do know the Ravens' opponents for the upcoming season. And at some point, Manning and the Broncos will come to M&T Bank Stadium.

It's official: The Indianapolis Colts are parting ways with quarterback Peyton Manning. At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Colts owner Jim Irsay -- who fought off tears as Manning watched over his right shoulder -- announced that the team was releasing the franchise icon and retiring Manning's No. 18 jersey. As soon as the Colts make it official with the league office, Manning will become an unrestricted free agent. Since he is being released, teams don't have to wait until the start of free agency on March 13 to pursue him. When news leaked Tuesday night that the goodbye news conference would be held in Indianapolis, national football writers began speculating where Manning might land.

This kind of thing is always ugly. John Unitas couldn't have looked more miserable playing for the San Diego Chargers than if they made him play in his underwear. Joe Namath looked so out of place in a Los Angeles Rams uniform you thought he was in some grotesque "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" out-take. Now here is Peyton Manning, another shoo-in Hall of Fame quarterback who won't finish his career with the team he played with forever. On televisionWednesday, there was Manning and Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay choking back tears as they made it official: Manning's brilliant career with the Colts was over.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Peyton Manning can handle the pressure of being called the best college football player in the country. He can handle the responsibilities that come with playing quarterback for the nation's fourth-ranked team. And he can handle the burden of being the son of a Southern sports hero.What gives him trouble are people naming their babies after him."That's strange for me," Manning said the other day. "I kind of called my dad on that one. He said, 'I don't know; they only named dogs and cats after me.' "Manning has had nearly three dozen newborns named after him in the past 14 months, including six with three different spellings at the University of Tennessee Medical Center since January.

The Ravens are among the usual contenders in the AFC along with the Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots. Those teams have established quarterbacks while the Ravens have a work in progress, second-year player Joe Flacco. Two of the major issues in 2009 are whether Flacco can raise his game enough to carry the Ravens to the Super Bowl and whether he can become a dominating quarterback like New England's Tom Brady, Indianapolis' Peyton Manning and Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger.

You knew it would come up as soon as you heard that the Indianapolis Colts would be releasing star quarterback Peyton Manning and a sportscaster there was calling him the "best player to ever play for the Colts. " More than a few Baltimore Colts fans will beg to differ with him. So the Johnny Unitas vs. Peyton Manning debate is likely to be re-ignited by today's release of Manning . And you're sure to hear that Manning is the greatest Colt who ever lived.

He might be done Sam Farmer Los Angeles Times From the day Peyton Manning had the fusion surgery in his neck, I've believed that he wouldn't play again. Not that I don't trust his resolve, because no player would work harder to get back on the field. The nature of that injury, and the fact that Manning has already had a Hall of Fame career and has a world of opportunities in front of him, lead me to believe he will pass on the risk of coming back. A surgeon who has performed hundreds of those one-level disk fusions told me that a person's range of motion in terms of turning the head is reduced by roughly 10 percent, and that cannot be good for a quarterback who needs to see as much of the field as he can. My guess — and I hope I'm wrong — is that Peyton is done.