Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning was named NFL Most Valuable Player for the third time by The Associated Press on Friday, tying Brett Favre for the most honors.
Manning was a landslide winner in balloting by a US-wide panel of 50 sports writers and broadcasters who cover the NFL. Manning also was the league MVP in 2003, when he shared it with Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair, and in 2004.
Favre, then with Green Bay, took MVP honors in 1995 and 1996 before sharing it with Detroit running back Barry Sanders in 1997.
PHOTO: AP
“I know it’s an individual award, but ... truly, in my opinion, a team award,” said Manning, who received 32 votes, far ahead of Miami quarterback Chad Pennington (4) and Atlanta running back Michael Turner (4). “It’s been the most rewarding regular season that I’ve been a part of in my 11 years, and I have to believe a lot of the other players and even coaches might feel the same way.”
This has been a most unusual season for the Colts, who normally have the AFC South division just about clinched by the end of November. Manning had two operations on his left knee in the preseason, cutting into practice time, blunting his usual precision as a passer.
From there, with Manning becoming sharper by the week, the Colts won nine straight games to secure a wild-card berth and a meeting with San Diego next Saturday.
In that nine-game streak, Manning was 209-of-290 for 2,248 yards and 17 touchdowns, with only three interceptions. He extended his NFL record with his ninth 4,000-yard season.
Manning called the award emblematic of what others, including Colts owner Jim Irsay, president Bill Polian and coach Tony Dungy, did to help rally the team to make the playoffs for a seventh straight season.
“I really accept this award on behalf of the team and the organization because there is no way we would be in the playoffs and bounced back without those three people creating a winning environment,” he said.
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev was the only athlete to “beat” a world record on Sunday at the Enhanced Games, winning the men’s 50m freestyle at the divisive competition where athletes were free to take performance-enhancing substances. His time of 20.81 seconds — which is not considered official — came in the final event of the night in Las Vegas, sparing the blushes of organizers who made claims that multiple world records would be surpassed due to a sophisticated doping regime. Gkolomeev, who was wearing a synthetic “supersuit” long banned at events such as the Olympics, outpaced Australia’s Cameron McEvoy’s 20.88 set in
VICTORY ABROAD: The team took home a fistful of medals and secured spots for the autumn’s Asian Games, scheduled for September in Nagoya Taiwan’s women’s team captured the overall title at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Mongolia on Sunday, finishing with two golds, one silver and one bronze medal. The strong showing, led by gold medalists Wang Chieh-ling and Chang Jui-en secured the full quota of available spots for Taiwan at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, in September. Wang opened Taiwan’s medal run by winning gold in the women’s under-46kg class on Thursday, the first day of competition. Liu Yu-yun later earned a silver in the under-49kg class. On the final day on Sunday, Chang won Taiwan’s second gold medal in the under-62kg event, and
The manager of the Yomiuri Giants, one of Japan’s most popular baseball teams, resigned yesterday after he was arrested for allegedly physically attacking his teenage daughter. Shinnosuke Abe allegedly grabbed the 18-year-old and forced her to the floor at their home in central Tokyo on Monday evening, reported national broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News, citing unnamed police sources. “Leaving like this really means I’m causing you a lot of trouble, and I feel truly sorry about that,” Abe told a hastily arranged news conference, his eyes red with tears. The former star catcher, who is among baseball-obsessed Japan’s most recognized sports figures,
Taiwanese tennis star Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the second round of the mixed doubles at the French Open, after she and German partner Mark Wallner defeated Slovenian Andreja Klepac and Briton Lloyd Glasspool in straight sets, despite temperatures exceeding 32°C in Paris, while Taiwan’s top men’s doubles player Ray Ho also reached the second round. Hsieh, who made it to the semi-finals in the mixed doubles at Roland Garros in 2024, and Wallner defeated Klepac and Glasspool 6-3, 7-5 in just more than an hour, converting three of five break points, while holding their opponents to just one conversion
RSS