Peyton Manning Archives

Tony Dungy, who coached Peyton Manning during his tenure with the Indianapolis Colts, says the quarterback brought one of his ideas with him to the Denver Broncos.

Dungy says Manning wasn’t initially fond of shorter Saturday practices in favor of family time, but later in his career, he requested the same tradition from then-coach John Fox.

Watch the clip above as Dungy sits down with Anthony Calhoun on Big Game Bound!

This show packs a PUNCH! Coach Tony Dungy appears on Big Game Bound to preview the game and reveal his surprising prediction, plus, heavyweight champion boxer Deontay Wilder sits down with Anthony “AC” Calhoun and J.B. Biunno.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -Former Colts quarterback Peyton Manning has donated $1 million to his alma mater, the University of Tennessee, to establish the John Haas Student Experiential Learning Endowment.

The donation honors John Haas, a longtime director and associate professor in Tennessee’s College of Communication and Information’s School of Communication Studies. Haas was Manning’s college adviser and one of his professors.

Manning said in a statement that “exceptional teachers transform your way of learning by challenging and motivating you while teaching more than just a subject.” Manning added that “for me and so many others, that teacher was Dr. John Haas.”

Manning, a five-time NFL most valuable player, quarterbacked Tennessee from 1994-97 and was the Heisman Trophy runner-up his senior year

LOS ANGELES (AP) – George Springer screamed with joy as he circled the bases after hitting a two-run homer in the 11th inning.

Would it be enough? Was this the final plot twist on one of the wildest nights in postseason history?

Yes, it was – barely – and the Houston Astros won a World Series game for the first time in their 56 seasons.

Charlie Culberson hit a two-out homer in the bottom half off winner Chris Devenski, who then struck out Yasiel Puig in a tense, nine-pitch at-bat. The Astros outlasted the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-6 in a Hollywood thriller Wednesday night to tie the Series at one game apiece.

“This is an instant classic and to be part of it is pretty special,” Astros starter Justin Verlander said.

On a night of dramatic swings and a World Series-record eight home runs, Marwin Gonzalez stunned the Dodger Stadium crowd with a solo shot off dominant Los Angeles closer Kenley Jansen on an 0-2 pitch in the ninth that made it 3-all.

Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa hit consecutive home runs against Josh Fields in the 10th to build a 5-3 Astros lead, with Correa making a big bat flip to celebrate.

But there was more. Much, much more.

“That’s the craziest game that I’ve ever played in, and it’s only Game 2,” Springer said

Puig homered off Ken Giles starting the bottom of the 10th and Enrique Hernandez knotted the score 5-5 with a two-out RBI single.

Devenski entered and with Hernandez at second, a wild pickoff throw headed toward center field before it struck second base umpire Laz Diaz. An incredulous Hernandez put both hands on his head, unable to advance, and was stranded when Chris Taylor flied out.

Cameron Maybin, who had entered in the 10th, singled leading off the 11th against losing pitcher Brandon McCarthy, a surprise addition to the Dodgers’ World Series roster who was pitching for the first time since Oct. 1. Maybin stole second and Springer hit a drive to right-center for a 7-5 lead, just the third 11th-inning home run in the Series after shots by Kirby Puckett in 1991 and David Freese in 2011.

Springer, an All-Star leadoff hitter, was 0 for 4 with four strikeouts in the Series opener Tuesday.

Devenski retired Corey Seager and Justin Turner on lineouts in the bottom half. Puig checked his swing on a 2-2 pitch – the Astros jumped when first base umpire Gerry Davis signaled no swing – and Puig fouled off two more. Devenski threw his fifth straight changeup, and Puig swung over it as the Astros ran onto the field to celebrate after finally closing out a back-and-forth game that lasted 4 hours, 19 minutes.

“Oh my gosh, it was crazy. A lot of emotions, a lot of feelings,” Correa said. “The ball flies at this ballpark.”

After another steamy night in a Santa Ana heat wave, the series shifts to Texas and resumes Friday at Houston’s Minute Maid Park, where the retractable roof has not been open for a game since June 8. Lance McCullers Jr. starts for the Astros and Yu Darvish for the Dodgers, who acquired him from Texas at the July 31 trade deadline.

Houston is 6-0 at home in the postseason, where the Astros have outscored the Red Sox and Yankees by a combined 31-7, but just 2-5 on the road.

Before Gonzalez’s home run, the Dodgers had an 85 percent chance of winning, according to Fangraphs. After Correa’s long ball, the Astros were a 93 percent favorite.

“Up, down, up, down, up,” Springer said, describing his emotions over the last few innings. “That’s a heck of a game right there.”

Verlander, wearing an undershirt, entered the dugout in the 11th inning to scream at his teammates that the game was not over.

Alex Bregman’s RBI single in the third gave Houston its first lead of the Series, a hit that might have turned into a three-run, inside-the-park homer had not the ball bounced off the bill of Taylor’s hat in center and deflected right to Joc Pederson in left.

Los Angeles had just two hits through seven innings but led 3-1 behind Pederson’s fifth-inning solo homer and Seager’s two-run drive in the sixth against Verlander. It was Pederson’s first home run since July 26.

Jansen entered with a 3-1 lead for his first six-out save in a year after Bregman doubled leading off the eighth against Brandon Morrow, a ball that ticked off the glove of a diving Puig in the right-field corner.

Correa’s RBI single off Jansen ended a record 28-inning postseason scoreless streak by the Dodgers’ bullpen.

Gonzalez was an unlikely candidate for a tying homer. He had not driven in a run in his 45 plate appearances since Houston’s postseason opener.

As the slanting sun illuminated the green hills of Elysian Park behind center field and the ochre-tinted San Gabriel Mountains beyond, retired Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully took the mound for the ceremonial first pitch. The 89-year-old, who left the booth in 2016 after his 67th season, charmed the crowd when he began “somewhere up in heaven, Duke Snider, Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella and Gil Hodges are laughing their heads off” at his presence on the mound. He feigned an arm injury and turned the ritual over to Fernando Valenzuela, who helped the Dodgers win their 1981 title.

The game-time temperature was 93 degrees – down 10 degrees from the opener. Celebrities in the sellout crowd of 54,293 included golfers Tiger Woods and Fred Couples, and former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning.

Houston improved to 10-0 in nine starts and one relief appearance by Verlander, the 2011 AL MVP and Cy Young Award winner obtained in a trade from Detroit at the Aug. 31 deadline to be eligible for the Astros’ postseason roster.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – It was a big day at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday.

Peyton Manning’s jersey was retired and the Indianapolis Colts pulled off a win, but it was Vice President Mike Pence that had many people talking.

Vice President Pence and his wife, Karen, were at the game, but didn’t stay long. They left after the San Francisco 49ers knelt during the national anthem.

Pence explained why he left early through a series of tweets:

24-Hour News 8 spoke with several Colts fans on their way out of the game Sunday. Many said they are trying to look past the politics and focus on football.

“The problem is that we are bringing politics into football. We go to football to get away from politics,” said Larry Tarter.

Fans have mixed feelings on Pence’s decision to leave after the anthem.

“Trying to pressure them to get it out of football, is that really for us to do because we have our freedom of speech,” continued Tarter.

“I think that if that’s his strong beliefs, and he feels that way he has his right just like people have their right to protest,” said Mark Tarter.

“We are a land of diversity, so everybody has their own rights. They have their own way of respecting our flag,” said Mattie Upano.

“We are just trying to move along, just trying to enjoy the football game and whatever Pence is going to do is a political initiative, not that I’m for or against… I am going to support the current administration and what they are trying to do,” said Larry Tarter.

Eric Reid of the San Francisco 49ers called Pence’s decision to leave after the anthem a “stunt.”

“It looks like a PR stunt to me. Our team has had the most players protest. He knew that we were probably going to do it again,” said Reid. “The vice president of the United Stated is trying to confuse the message that we are trying to put out there.”

Some fans think there are better ways for players to get the message out.

“If they really want to do something to change these cities and the inequalities you know, that is when they need to start going into the neighborhoods and investing in the neighborhoods and police awareness and stuff like that to make it better for everybody,” said Mark Tarter.

President Trump sent a tweet out this afternoon after Pence left the game saying he told the vice president to leave.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Like a warm-up band after a rough night, the Colts left the field at halftime on Sunday to boo birds.

But the headliner did not disappoint.

“A big thanks to all of the great fans in Indianapolis, Indiana,” said Peyton Manning.

Jim Irsay called the Colts contingent of Harrison, Wayne, Freeney and Mathis the best this city will ever see.

And the group saved some special words for Peyton.

“Never in my wildest dreams. I could never imagine what this man would become to our community on and off the field,” said Jim Irsay, the owner of the Indianapolis Colts.

“You know when Peyton left to go to Denver, there really wasn’t a closure, there wasn’t a finale.Today is the final and we really get to celebrate,” said Bill Polian, former Colts general manager.

“The type of player he was in the locker room on and off the field. A class act, If you’re going to do one this is the guy to do it for. He changed the town and it was really cool to be a part of, ” said Jeff Saturday, former Colts center.

Peyton kept it short and sweet. The sheriff’s final stroll came with a last second surprise. For one last time, Manning to Reggie. He’s got it.

“The last time you ever get to do something like that again, so I thought it would be kinda fun for the fans to go down memory lane. It had to be a short one — 25 yards is my maximum range, so I thought I could still complete that one. I will probably be sore tomorrow,” said Peyton Manning.

The Colts Ring of Honor above the south end zone belongs solely to No. 18.

Where does he go next?

Broadcasting, an NFL front office, Peyton the politician?

One thing is for sure, his approval ratings are at an all-time high around the horseshoe.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — “And as I told the world a year and a half ago, I will always be a Colt. Thank you very much, God bless you,” said Peyton Manning.

After months and months of planning, some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment came together to honor the man who made Indiana a football state.

“Fourteen seasons with the Sheriff, priceless,” said Joe Hogsett.

Photos: Take a look at the unveiling as it unfolded.

“I’m here for two reasons. One, I’m from Indiana. Two, whether he knows it, whether he wants it, I’m friends with Peyton Manning,” said David Letterman. “You can’t not be friends with this guy.”

“In his 18 seasons, you know what Peyton delivered,” said Roger Goodell. “No one has ever represented the game or the league with more class than Peyton Manning.”

“So when people ask me what makes him great, I tell them it’s that kind of attitude,” said Tony Dungy. “Yes, I want the team to be good. But whatever I can do to help somebody play better, that’s what I’m going to do,” Dungy said, recounting Manning’s approach to his teammates.

After nearly a year and a half of planning and sculpting, the statue finally stands outside of Lucas Oil Stadium. That’s great and all for Peyton Manning, but what means the most to No. 18 are the fans that all showed up early Saturday morning.

“It’s hard to really express how grateful I am for the fan support of my entire career here. They were a part of this journey, they were right there with us through the good times, through the tough times. They were always there,” said Manning.

And for the fans, No. 18 means much more than he will ever know.

“Peyton Manning. It’s Peyton Manning! I can’t speak much. Oh my gosh, it’s Peyton Manning!” said Any Newman.

A permanent reminder now stands tall outside of Lucas Oil Stadium. This is the house that Peyton built.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Jacoby Brissett understands Sunday will be Peyton Manning’s show.

The newest Indianapolis Colts quarterback just wants to honor the old one properly – with a winning performance against San Francisco.

“I went to the Peyton Manning camp when I was in college,” Brissett said. “I enjoyed watching him growing up and I still do.”

Somehow, some way, Brissett has a knack for surrounding himself with success stories.

He was mentored in high school by Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells, played for Bill Belichick in New England and served as an understudy to Tom Brady with the Patriots. Since being traded to the Colts on Sept. 2, Brissett has been cramming with Andrew Luck.

Now as Indianapolis celebrates its biggest star with a statue dedication, Manning’s induction into the Colts’ Ring of Honor and a jersey retirement ceremony, Brissett takes center stage with one of his childhood favorites in the crowd.

Brissett’s goal: get the Colts (1-3) playing more like Manning did all those years.

“You’ve got to find the good and learn from the bad and you’ve got to hone in on the fundamentals,” Brissett said. “I think all of our errors (last week) were self-inflicted, like me throwing the ball better. We’ve just got to work on it and grow.”

Perhaps no team understands how challenging it can be more than the 49ers, who are off to another rugged start.

They are one of four remaining winless teams, have lost 11 of their last 12 road games, and have the lowest-rated starting quarterback in the NFC: Brian Hoyer (67.9). Their last three losses have come by a combined eight points, and they’ve failed to score a touchdown in three of their first four games.

It’s a long way from the days of Joe Montana, Steve Young or even Alex Smith.

And it certainly doesn’t resemble the offensive juggernauts Manning presided over in Indy or in Denver.

“I know we’ve got to do better and we’ve got to clean a lot of stuff up,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “But that’s the goal, to get better each week.”

Here are some others things to watch:

GORE-Y REMINDER: As Indy’s Frank Gore continues to climb the NFL’s career charts, he will face his former team for the first – and possibly – only time in his career.

The 34-year-old running back needs 4 yards to pass Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson (13,259 yards) and three carries to pass Edgerrin James (3,028) to move into seventh on the league’s career lists. But the 49ers career rushing leader also will get to see a few familiar faces.

“Shout out to Frank for doing it this long. Hopefully he doesn’t do it against us,” safety Eric Reid said. “He’s still doing it. He still has gas in the tank.”

HOMECOMING: Gore isn’t the only player having a reunion this weekend. San Francisco receiver Pierre Garcon returns to Indy, his original team, for the second time since signing with Washington in 2012.

Garcon had three catches for 9 yards in his only other meeting with the Colts in 2014. Garcon credits his time working with Manning, Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison and others for his NFL success, and is eager to see some familiar faces who helped him along the way.

“It’s always cool to go back where you started,” he said. “There’s a lot of staff that are still there. It will be good to see those guys.”

ALL OR NOTHING: The 49ers and the 2001 Redskins are the only teams over the last 27 seasons to fail to score a TD in three of their first four games. San Francisco scored five TDs in its other game, a 41-39 loss to the Rams.

The biggest issue has been in the passing game. Hoyer is ranked near the bottom of the league in every category and is one of two players (rookie DeShone Kizer) completing less than 60 percent of his throws while averaging less than 6 yards per attempt.

“He needs to play better, and I think we need to play better around him,” Shanahan said. “When you have the time and you’ve got guys open, you need to hit them. And I thought he struggled with that.”

STRANGE SEASON: Indy is hosting its third winless team in four weeks. Even odder: The combined record of those first five opponents is 1-9 going into the Colts game.

Indy lost to the Rams in the season opener, then hosted the 0-1 Cardinals and 0-2 Browns before visiting Seattle (1-2) last week. The Colts’ next three opponents are 5-7.AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow in San Francisco also contributed to this article.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis firefighter Ryan Feeney is feeling the heat on his latest project.

Feeney fell in love with sculpting while at Cathedral High School. It’s turned into a side job for 20-plus years, but this new assignment is no side project.

“When I went in and did my third interview, I was driving out of the Colts complex and I really started to think I might get this,” Feeney said.

Feeney’s pitch to design former Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning’s statue came just under a year after the artist lost his father-in-law. Feeney received the call from the Colts that he got the job while at a banquet honoring his late father-in-law.

Feeney said he believes help came from above when the Colts decided the sculptor needed to be a Hoosier.

“I always think about him,” Feeney said of his father-in-law. “He was a special, special guy, and I can see the smile on his face.”

After receiving word he landed his dream job, Feeney went to Nashville to meet Peyton Manning. Then the real work began and after 16 months of tinkering, No. 18 is set to evade the north plaza at Lucas Oil Stadium this Saturday.

“I don’t even know how many hours it has taken,” Feeney said. “It’s countless.”

Just as Manning operated on the field, this project was calculated to every last detail.

“Is that knee pad on the right spot? His knee brace, the helmet style and size, all the way down to his chin strap was all approved with the help of the Colts equipment that dressed him for 14 years.”

Peyton’s bronze started as a 3-D rendering on the computer before becoming a Styrofoam base. Once Feeney got his hands on it, he poured on 350 pounds of clay before sending it to the foundry for the casting process.

“I don’t see this piece as being mine. I see this as a sculpture presented to Peyton from the people of Indianapolis.”

The secret is safe until Saturday. The hope is this will be a story to tell … on every Sunday for eternity.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Craig Huse sits comfortably on a bar stool at St. Elmo Steak House, the 115-year-old restaurant he co-owns with his father. It’s said to be the oldest steakhouse in Indiana, still in its original location and has seen an elevated profile in the last two decades since becoming a post-game tradition for Peyton Manning.

“When he showed up the night before he reported to training camp and had dinner at St. Elmo in the [Tony] Hulman Room, you just never forget things like that,” says Huse.

In 1998, Manning joined agent Tom Condon for dinner at St. Elmo. At the time, Manning had already missed three days of training camp due to what he called a delay on “the business side of things.”

Manning recounted the meal in his 2016 NFL retirement speech at the Colts’ practice facility saying “I met Tom Condon over at St. Elmo – it was [Tom’s] third trip to St. Elmo that night and then I came over to the Colts’ facility the next morning, signed my contract and drove up to Anderson with Bill Polian and was at practice that afternoon.”

Huse says Manning’s dinner in 1998 started a new tradition for the future hall of famer.

“The energy and buzz here was really special,” says Huse. “Fans realized that he dined here after a lot of games, so they would be here in the bar. For so many years, [Peyton] just walked straight through the bar and had his Bud Light and debrief right after the game.”

The Bud Light beer tap at the St. Elmo bar is still adorned with a Colts helmet in honor of Peyton.

Sometimes the crowds were too much for the quarterback and St. Elmo staff was there to accommodate.

“We gave him a code to the elevator so he could just zip in off the sidewalk whenever he needed to,” says Huse.

The elevator is tucked behind a door on Illinois Street, just feet from the restaurant’s main entrance. The special elevator code would bring Manning to the basement level of St. Elmo where his favorite private dining room, The Wine Cellar, is just steps away.

The room features a single rectangular table with seating for up to 14 people. The room is flanked on two sides by wine cellars.

“There was a time when [Peyton] said ‘I come here after every game and I’d kinda like to see Eli play in the later game,’ so we popped a TV into the room he liked to dine at all the time.”

The inconspicuous TV installed for Peyton to watch his brother, New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, still sits hidden behind a two-way mirror on the room’s far wall.

Over the years, photos of Peyton have been added as adornment for the walls and halls of the iconic restaurant. Manning became such a part of the St. Elmo family he even brought the Lombardi trophy back to the restaurant for the staff to see after the 2007 Super Bowl win.

In that same year, Peyton became a part-owner of the St. Elmo off-shoot, Harry & Izzy’s.

“We diluted my share [in Harry & Izzy’s] and other people’s shares and made room for him and he prepared like he prepares for a game,” says Huse. “He came to me with a list of probably 30 questions that he wanted to know about this investment and the business. As we got up from dinner he made sure he checked off every question he wanted to get to.”

Huse noted that in this instance he saw first-hand the preparation Manning was known for.

“He’s going to be successful at everything he does because he just has that determination and drive and work ethic and intelligence to be successful.”

After spending four seasons with the Denver Broncos, Manning returned to the Colts’ facility on March 18, 2016. He addressed fans and colleagues in a news conference about his retirement from the league. In his thirty-one minute speech, he mentioned St. Elmo twice as one of his favorite things about the city.

“Below God, family and football, somewhere on Peyton’s list is a steak dinner and we were really blessed to have him come here after most home games during his 14-year career,” said Huse.