2007 Super Bowl by Phil Beebe

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MONDAY January 22, 2007 W W W. T H E S TA R P R E S S . C O M

S PER! AFC CHAMPIONS | THE COLTS DEFEAT THE PATRIOTS 38-34

Peyton and the Colts shake the playoff curse as Indianapolis heads to Miami to face the Bears

Downtown Indy ‘wild’ for game

By GREG FALLON

gfallon@muncie.gannett.com

INDIANAPOLIS — Off you go, monkey. Off of Peyton Manning. Off of coach Tony Dungy. Off of the Indianapolis Colts. Shew, you’ve got no place here any longer. In one of the wildest games in recent NFL playoff history, the Colts roared back from a 21-3 first half deficit to beat its arch nemesis, the New England Patriots, 38-34 in the AFC Championship Game Sunday Night. It was the biggest comeback in AFC or NFC Championship Game history. And it was certainly good enough to send the team to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history since the team moved to Indianapolis. Manning, the play- Dungy er pegged by most as the player who can’t get to the Big Game, led two two-minute drills at the end of each half to lift his team to the remarkable Super Bowl berth. Manning Dungy, also often criticized as one of the best coaches to not reach a Super Bowl, will join fellow African-American coach Lovie Smith in Miami for the chance to be called world champs. Addai It will mark the first time the Super Bowl has ever included a black coach. Early on, the feelings in Indianapolis were far from positive and it seemed as if the bags of confetti would go unused. In humiliating fashion, the mighty Patriots — the team that seemed destined to once again rule the National Football League world — was ringing the life right out of Indianapolis — out of the team, the city and the fans. Refusing to panic, refusing to fall victim again to “the dynasty,” the Colts charged back to life with an impressive two-minute drill at the end of the first half, a touchdown on its first possession of the third quarter and another score later that same period. " See BRADY, 7A

By SCOTT DUNCAN

sduncan@muncie.gannett.com

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

INDIANAPOLIS — The streets of the city were lined with blue and white — blue for the Colts, white with the snow. Despite the snowfall, area Colts fans arrived early, and they planned on staying late into the night. “The tailgating before the game is a lot of fun,” said Chad Hedge, 35, of Eaton. “But nothing will compare to the party after.” Hedge, who owns Dave’s Video Store in Anderson, made it to Skinner the parking lots adjacent to the RCA Dome around 1:30 p.m. Sunday with Jeremy Simos, the owner of the Dave’s Video in Muncie. In the lots, smoke rose from the grills. Blue-clad fans cheered for the Colts and threw in the occasional jeers toward the Patriots fans. It was tailgating as usual, but with a little something different to come after. “It’s like this every week,” Simos said of the tailgating. “But it feels a little more special this time.” Sunday marked the first time the AFC Championship was held in Indianapolis, and from the streets to the bars and restaurants, the city overflowed with Colts fans. Michael Costello, who lives in Muncie and works in computer science at Ball State, knows the streets surrounding the RCA Dome quite well. For all of the Colts home games this season, Costello, 55, has entertained fans walking the sidewalks around the dome with music. Costello, a drummer, is part of a 12-person band usually known as the Circle City Sidewalk Stompers, but on Sundays in Indianapolis, they are the Colts 12th Man Brass Band. “This is as wild as I’ve ever seen,” Costello said of the atmosphere Sunday.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS defensive tackle Dan Klecko (61) and defensive end Raheem Brock (79) celebrate teammate Marvin Harrison’s 2point conversion against the New England Patriots in the third quarter of the AFC Championship game Sunday in Indianapolis.

" See JUMP, 7A

More Colts coverage inside and online " Local fans react, reflect on victory | 3A " Ticket sellers, buyers flood streets before game | 2B

Weather, 8C

" Colts photo page | 3B

" Colts grade card | 4B

" Unfamiliar names lead Indianapolis to Super Bowl | 2B

" Chicago Bears blow out Saints | 5B

POLL QUESTION Q: Are you good at math (see K-12, page 8A)?

36 22 INDEX | 2A

Discuss articles at thestarpress.com

SUNDAY’S POLL RESULTS Q: What team are you a fan of?

On the Web

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ONLINE ONLY Colts 75.3% Bears 7.4% Neither 17.4% Results as of 9 p.m.

Total votes: 1,382

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Game talk

Discuss the Colts’ victory/loss with fellow fans at thestarpress.com

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MONDAY January 22, 2007

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SPORTS

AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Roddick, Fish to face each other in quarterfinals | 6B

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W W W. T H E STA R P R E S S .C O M

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP | COLTS 38, PATRIOTS 34

BREAKTHROUGH Colts rally from 18-point deficit for Super Bowl berth

Manning drives team 80 yards for the winning score

Joseph Addai caps late drive with 3-yard TD run

COLTS QUARTERBACK Peyton Manning celebrates the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Manning led Indianapolis on an 80-yard drive to send the Colts to the Super Bowl.

Manning’s drive a long time coming By MIKE LOPRESTI Gannett News Service

NDIANAPOLIS — You are Peyton Manning, and your moment has finally come. So nothing ordinary will do. The clock shows 2:17, and you are behind 34-31 and there are 80 yards to go. Your thumb is hurting, but this is the drive you have waited for your entire life. The New England Patriots will not be stop you. Not this time. Your first pass goes 11 yards to Reggie Wayne, and then another goes 32 yards to Bryan Fletcher and another goes 14 yards to Wayne, who fumbles it in the air, but somehow grabs it back. Clearly, fate has had enough of your anguish. Soon after, Joseph Addai - who

SUPER BOWL XLI

" Indianapolis Colts vs. Chicago Bears " Feb. 4, 6:30 p.m. on CBS " Dolphin Stadium, Miami

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Finally, Colts get Super Bowl trip THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

was in college when the Patriots gave you so much pain - rolls up the middle for a touchdown. You have played 179 postseason minutes against the Patriots in your life. And this is the first minute you are ahead. Not long after that, you are headed for the Super Bowl, which is historical enough with its first two black head coaches, but also remarkable now for how you got there.

Things look bad

You are Peyton Manning, and things look bad. It is a night in January, and you fall behind the New England Patriots. Which is what you always do on nights in January. " See WAYNE, 4B

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

COLTS TIGHT END Dallas Clark reacts after a 52-yard reception against the New England Patriots in the fourth quarter.

INSIDE

" Manning’s Colts get Super shot vs. Bears. Page 2B " Unfamiliar names lead Colts to Super Bowl. Page 2B

FULL COVERAGE

INDIANAPOLIS — A comeback, a drive, a legacy. And, yes — finally — Peyton Manning gets his Super Bowl trip. So does Tony Dungy. Football’s most prolific quarterback put on a show for the ages Sunday, rallying the Indianapolis Colts from 18 points down and driving them 80 yards for the winning score in a wildly entertaining 38-34 victory over the New England Patriots. In his nine years in the league, Manning has never played in a game like this AFC championship contest. He threw for 349 yards and one touchdown and brought his team back from a 21-3 deficit, the biggest comeback in conference title-game history. Joseph Addai capped Manning’s

" Find comprehensive pre-Super Bowl coverage the next two weeks in The Star Press and online at www.thestarpress.com.

late drive with the winning score, a 3-yard run with 1 minute left to help the Colts (15-4) complete the rally and send Dungy to his first Super Bowl — and a very special one. The Colts coach will face the Chicago Bears and his good friend Lovie Smith in Miami in two weeks. Together they are the first black coaches to make the Super Bowl in its 41 years. After Indy’s last touchdown, Manning was on the sideline, his head down — he couldn’t bear to watch. New England’s Tom Brady — he of the three Super Bowl rings — threw an interception to Marlin Jackson and the RCA Dome crowd went wild. One kneel down later and Manning ripped off his helmet to celebrate. " See PATRIOTS, 4B

NEW SHUFFLE

" Cedric Benson (32) and the Chicago Bears earn their first trip to the Super Bowl since the 1985 season with 39-14 win over the New Orleans Saints. PAGE 5B

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SUPER BOWL XLI: ONE STEP TO GLORY

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Super Bowl trivia quiz

Super Bowl rosters

By The Associated Press

I — What was the name of the first “Super Bowl”? (5 points). II — Indianapolis’ Adam Vinatieri is making his fifth Super Bowl appearance. Who is the only player make six appearances? (5 points). III — The winning team receives the Vince Lombardi Trophy. What is the name of the trophy presented to the MVP? (5 points). IV — True or False. Since 1990, Indianapolis is the only No. 3 seed to reach the Super Bowl. (5 points). V — Which Chicago Bear was named the MVP in the 1986 Super Bowl? (5 points). a) Dan Hampton b) Walter Payton c) Richard Dent d) Mike Singletary VI — Indianapolis set a conference championship record overcoming an 18-point deficit in the AFC title game against New England. What’s the largest deficit a team had to overcome to win the Super Bowl? (5 points). VII — True or False. A Super Bowl has never gone into overtime? (5 points). VIII — Last year Hines Ward became the fifth wide receiver to win the Super Bowl MVP. Name the first. (5 points). IX — True or False. The Colts are the first franchise to represent two different cities in the Super Bowl. (5 points). X — Which Super Bowl received the highest TV rating? (5 points). XI — Who has the most career passing yards in the Super Bowl? (5 points). a) Tom Brady, New England b) John Elway, Denver c) Joe Montana, San Francisco d) Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh XII — True or False. No punt return has ever been returned for a touchdown. (5 points). XIII — Who is the last player to return a kickoff for a touchdown in the Super Bowl? (5 points). XIV — Peyton Manning of Indianapolis led the league in passing with a 101.0 passer rating. Who is the last quarterback to lead the NFL in passing and win the Super Bowl in the same season? (5 points). a) Brett Favre, Green Bay b) Brad Johnson, Tampa Bay c) Steve Young, San Francisco d) Kurt Warner, St. Louis XV — Name the only kick returner to win the MVP award. (5 points), XVI — Only one player has won the MVP while playing on the losing team. Who is he? (5 points). XVII — Adam Vinatieri has kicked four field goals in his Super Bowl career. Who holds the record with five in a career? (5 points). a) Roy Gerela, Pittsburgh b) Efren Herrera, Dallas c) Ray Wersching, San Francisco d) Jeff Wilkins, St. Louis XVIII — The team with fewer turnovers has won 28 of 32 Super Bowls, in eight other Super Bowls turnovers were equal. Name one of the four teams to have more turnovers and win the Super Bowl. (5 points). XIX — True or False. This is the first time the Colts and Bears have met in the postseason. (5 points). XX — Who scored the first points in Super Bowl history? (5 points). a) Don Chandler b) Curtis McClinton c) Max McGee d) Elijah Pitts Answers I — The AFL-NFL World Championship Game. II — Mike Lodish, Buffalo 1991-94 and Denver 1998-99. III — Pete Rozelle Trophy. IV — False. Carolina, the NFC South division winner, reached the 2004 Super Bowl. V — c) Richard Dent. VI — 10 points. Washington trailed Denver 10-0 after the first quarter of its 42-10 victory in the 1988 Super Bowl. VII — True. VIII — Lynn Swann, Pittsburgh, 1976. IX — False. Raiders (Oakland 1968, 1977, 1981, 2003; Los Angeles 1984) and Rams (Los Angeles 1980; St. Louis 2000, 2002). X — The 1982 Super Bowl between San Francisco and Cincinnati had a 49.1 rating. XI — c) Joe Montana, San Francisco, with 1,142 yards in four games. XII — True. The longest return is 45 yards by San Francisco’s John Taylor against Cincinnati in 1989. XIII — Jermaine Lewis, Baltimore vs. N.Y. Giants in the 2001 Super Bowl. Lewis’ 84-kickoff return followed Ron Dixon’s 97-yard kickoff return in the third quarter. XIV — d) Kurt Warner, St. Louis, 1999 season. XV — Desmond Howard, Green Bay, in the 1997 Super Bowl. XVI — Chuck Howley, Dallas vs. Baltimore Colts in the 1971 Super Bowl. XVII — c) Ray Wersching, San Francisco. XVIII — 1971 Baltimore Colts; Pittsburgh 1980; N.Y. Giants 1987; Pittsburgh 2006. XIX — True. XX — c) Max McGee on a 37-yard pass from Bart Starr vs. Kansas City, 1967 Super Bowl. Scoring 95 or more — MVP 90-94 — First Team All-Pro 85-89 — Second Team All-Pro 80-84 — Honorable Mention All-Pro 65-79 — Starter 50-64 — Benchwarmer 40-49 — Practice Squad

COLTS COACH Tony Dungy (above) and Bears coach Lovie Smith are the first black head coaches to compete in the Super Bowl.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SUPER BOWL XLI

THE BIG

GAME

Indianapolis Colts vs. Chicago Bears Dolphin Stadium, Miami, 6 p.m. today Super Bowl facts and figures AT STAKE — National Football League Championship for the Vince Lombardi Trophy. PARTICIPANTS — Chicago Bears (NFC) and Indianapolis Colts (AFC). This is the second appearance for Chicago and the third appearance for the Colts. SITE — Dolphins Stadium, Miami. This is the ninth played in Southern Florida and the fourth to be played at Dolphins Stadium. SEATING CAPACITY — 70,000. DATE — Feb. 4, 2007. KICKOFF — 6:25 p.m. EST. NETWORK COVERAGE — By CBS-TV to more than 200 stations throughout the United States plus Bermuda and Guam. By CBS Radio/Westwood One to 500 stations within the United States. The Armed Forces Television will also provide broadcast to 180 countries throughout the world. The game will be distributed internationally by the NFL and NFL International to 230 countries. PLAYERS SHARE — Winners: $73,000 per man. Losers: $38,000 per man. PLAYER UNIFORMS — Chicago will be the home team and use the South bench. The Bears have their choice of wearing its colored or white jersey. SUDDEN DEATH — If the game is tied at regulation time 60 minutes, it will continue in sudden death overtime. The team scoring first (by safety, field goal, or touchdown) will win. At the end of regulation playing time, the referee will immediately toss a coin at the center of the field, in accordance with rules pertaining to the usual pre-game toss.

The captain of NFC team (the visiting team) will call the toss. Following a three-minute intermission after the end of the regular game, play will continue by 15-minute periods with a two-minute intermission between each such overtime period with no halftime intermission. The teams will change goals between each period, there will be a two-minute warning at the end of each period. OFFICIAL TIME — The scoreboard clock will be official. OFFICIALS — There will be seven officials and two alternates appointed by the Commissioner’s office. TROPHY — The winning team receives permanent possession of the Vince Lombardi Trophy, a sterling silver trophy created by Tiffany & Company and presented annually to the winner of the Super Bowl. The trophy was named after the late coach Vince Lombardi of the twotime Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers prior to the 1971 Super Bowl. The trophy is a regulation silver football mounted in a kicking position on a pyramid-like stand of three concave sides. The trophy stands 20 3/4 inches tall, weighs 6.7 pounds and is valued more than $25,000. The words “Vince Lombardi” and “Super Bowl XLI” are engraved on the base along with the NFL shield. RINGS — The NFL pays for up to 150 rings at $5,000 per ring (plus adjustments for increases in gold and diamonds). The league also pays for 150 pieces of jewelry for the losing team, which may not cost more than one-half the price set for the Super Bowl ring. ATTENDANCE — To date, 3,698,356 have attended Super Bowl games. The largest crowd was 103,985 at the 14th Super Bowl at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

Colts-Bears series history

Colts lead series 22-17 (Home Team in CAPS) 2004—Colts 41, BEARS 10 2000—BEARS 27, Colts 24 1991—Bears 31, COLTS 17 1988—Bears 17, COLTS 13 1985—Bears 17, COLTS 10 1983—COLTS 22, Bears 19, OT 1975—Colts 35, BEARS 7 1970—COLTS 21, Bears 20 1969—Colts 24, BEARS 21 1968—COLTS 28, Bears 7 1967—Colts 24, BEARS 3 1966—COLTS 21, Bears 16 1966—BEARS 27, Colts 17 1965—Bears 13, COLTS 0 1965—Colts 26, BEARS 21 1964—Colts 40, BEARS 24 1964—COLTS 52, Bears 0

Quick notes

" FAST START: Both teams started 2006 season fast, with Chicago winning its first seven games on way to NFC North title and Indianapolis started 9-0 on its way to AFC South crown. " BIG NUMBERS: Colts (38) and Bears (39) combined for 77 points in conference championship games, most for Super Bowl opponents. Five times opponents had combined for 68 points in conference title games. " TOP COACHES: Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy and Chicago coach Lovie Smith are first black head coaches to compete in Super Bowl in event’s 41 years of existence. Dungy gave Smith his first NFL job in 1996; Smith was linebackers coach at Tampa Bay from 1996-2000. " A DOZEN REASONS TO SMILE: Indianapolis is second team in league history with four consecutive 12-win seasons (Dallas 1992-95). " ALL ABOUT PEYTON: QB Peyton Manning, AFC leader with 4,397 yards passing, is 6-6 in playoffs. Manning led NFL in passing (101.0) and TD passes (31). Manning has

1963—Bears 17, COLTS 7 1963—BEARS 10, Colts 3 1962—Bears 57, COLTS 0 1962—BEARS 35, COLTS 15 1961—Bears 21, COLTS 20 1961—BEARS 24, Colts 10 1960—Colts 24, BEARS 20 1960—COLTS 42, Bears 7 1959—Colts 21, BEARS 7 1959—Bears 26, COLTS 21 1958—Colts 17, BEARS 0 1958—COLTS 51, Bears 38 1957—Colts 29, BEARS 14 1957—COLTS 21, Bears 10 1956—BEARS 58, Colts 27 1956—COLTS 28, Bears 21 1955—BEARS 38, Colts 10 1955—COLTS 23, Bears 17 1954—Bears 28, COLTS 13 1954—BEARS 28, Colts 9 1953—Colts 16, Bears 14 1953—COLTS 13, Bears 9 156 consecutive starts, including postseason, second all-time among quarterbacks behind only Brett Favre — a three-time MVP with Green Bay and winner of 1997 Super Bowl. " NINE-TIME CHAMPS: Chicago has won nine NFL championships, including Super Bowl 20 in January 1986. " WHAT A KICK: Robbie Gould, who set team record with 32 FGs, led all NFL kickers with 143 points (32-of36 FGs; 47-of-47 PATs). " ALL ABOUT REX: QB Rex Grossman is 19-6 as starter and is 163 (.842) in past 19 games. Grossman threw for 3,193 yards, 23 TDs and 20 INTs during regular season. He had seven games of 100.0 passer rating, tied for second most in NFL with Manning. " RETURN TO SENDER: CB-KR-PR Devin Hester set NFL record with six return TDs in season and led NFC in punt returns (12.8) and kickoff returns (26.4). " OFF TO HAWAII: Chicago is sending seven players to Pro Bowl, six from defense or special teams. The Associated Press

AFC Champion Indianapolis Colts Head Coach: Tony Dungy No. Player Pos 4 Adam Vinatieri K 10 Terrence Wilkins WR 11 Ricky Proehl WR 12 Jim Sorgi QB 17 Hunter Smith P 18 Peyton Manning QB 21 Bob Sanders S 25 Nick Harper CB 26 Kelvin Hayden CB 27 Tim Jennings CB 28 Marlin Jackson CB 29 Joseph Addai RB 30 DeDe Dorsey RB 33 Dominic Rhodes RB 34 T.J. Rushing DB 36 Dexter Reid S 41 Antoine Bethea S 42 Jason David CB 43 Matt Giordano S 44 Dallas Clark TE 48 Justin Snow TE 50 Rocky Boiman LB 51 Gilbert Gardner LB 53 Keith O’Neil LB 54 Freddy Keiaho LB 56 Tyjuan Hagler LB 57 Dylan Gandy G 58 Gary Brackett LB 59 Cato June LB 61 Dan Klecko DT 63 Jeff Saturday C 64 Bo Schobel DE 65 Ryan Lilja G 69 Matt Ulrich G 71 Ryan Diem T 73 Jake Scott G 74 Charlie Johnson T 76 Daniel Federkeil T 78 Tarik Glenn T 79 Raheem Brock DE 81 Bryan Fletcher TE 84 John Standeford WR 85 Aaron Moorehead WR 86 Ben Utecht TE 87 Reggie Wayne WR 88 Marvin Harrison WR 91 Josh Thomas DE 92 Anthony McFarland DT 93 Dwight Freeney DE 94 Rob Morris LB 95 Darrell Reid DT 98 Robert Mathis DE 99 Ryan LaCasse DE

Ht 6-0 5-10 6-0 6-5 6-2 6-5 5-8 5-10 6-0 5-8 6-0 5-11 5-11 5-9 5-9 5-11 5-11 5-8 5-11 6-3 6-3 6-4 6-1 6-0 5-11 6-0 6-3 5-11 6-0 5-11 6-2 6-5 6-2 6-2 6-6 6-5 6-4 6-6 6-5 6-4 6-5 6-4 6-3 6-6 6-0 6-0 6-5 6-0 6-1 6-2 6-2 6-2 6-2

Wt 202 180 190 196 209 230 206 182 195 185 196 214 196 203 186 203 203 180 192 252 240 236 228 240 226 236 302 235 227 275 295 264 290 309 320 295 305 290 332 274 230 206 200 251 198 185 271 300 268 243 288 245 257

NFC Champion Chicago Bears Head Coach: Lovie Smith No. Player Pos 4 Brad Maynard P 8 Rex Grossman QB 9 Robbie Gould K 12 Justin Gage WR 14 Brian Griese QB 16 Mark Bradley WR 18 Kyle Orton QB 20 Thomas Jones RB 21 Dante Wesley CB 22 Tyler Everett S 23 Devin Hester CB 24 Ricky Manning Jr. CB 27 Nick Turnbull S 29 Adrian Peterson RB 31 Nathan Vasher CB 32 Cedric Benson RB 33 Charles Tillman CB 35 Todd Johnson S 37 Jason McKie RB 38 Danieal Manning S 44 Cameron Worrell S 46 Chris Harris S 48 J.D. Runnels RB 53 Leon Joe LB 54 Brian Urlacher LB 55 Lance Briggs LB 57 Olin Kreutz C 58 Darrell McClover LB 59 Rod Wilson LB 60 Terrence Metcalf G 63 Roberto Garza G 65 Patrick Mannelly T 68 Anthony Oakley G 69 Fred Miller T 70 Alfonso Boone DT 71 Israel Idonije DT 74 Ruben Brown G 76 John Tait T 78 John St. Clair T 80 Bernard Berrian WR 81 Rashied Davis WR 82 Gabe Reid TE 85 John Gilmore TE 87 Muhsin Muhammad WR 88 Desmond Clark TE 90 Antonio Garay DT 92 Hunter Hillenmeyer LB 93 Adewale Ogunleye DE 94 Brendon Ayanbadejo LB 95 Ian Scott DT 96 Alex Brown DE 97 Mark Anderson DE 99 Tank Johnson DT

Ht 6-1 6-1 6-1 6-4 6-3 6-1 6-4 5-10 6-1 5-11 5-11 5-9 6-2 5-10 5-10 5-11 6-1 6-1 5-11 5-11 5-11 6-0 5-11 6-1 6-4 6-1 6-2 6-2 6-2 6-3 6-2 6-5 6-4 6-7 6-4 6-6 6-3 6-6 6-5 6-1 5-9 6-3 6-5 6-2 6-3 6-4 6-4 6-4 6-1 6-3 6-3 6-4 6-3

Wt 186 217 181 212 214 200 223 220 210 202 189 188 222 210 180 220 196 200 243 201 194 205 240 235 258 240 292 226 230 318 300 265 295 320 318 275 300 312 315 180 180 252 257 215 254 310 238 260 228 302 260 255 300

Super Bowl champions

2006—Pittsburgh (AFC) 21, Seattle (NFC) 10 2005—New England (AFC) 24, Philadelphia (NFC) 21 2004—New England (AFC) 32, Carolina (NFC) 29 2003—Tampa Bay (NFC) 48, Oakland (AFC) 21 2002—New England (AFC) 20, St. Louis (NFC) 17 2001—Baltimore Ravens (AFC) 34, N.Y. Giants (NFC) 7 2000—St. Louis (NFC) 23, Tennessee (AFC) 16 1999—Denver (AFC) 34, Atlanta (NFC) 19 1998—Denver (AFC) 31, Green Bay (NFC) 24 1997—Green Bay (NFC) 35, New England (AFC) 21 1996—Dallas (NFC) 27, Pittsburgh (AFC) 17 1995—San Francisco (NFC) 49, San Diego (AFC) 26 1994—Dallas (NFC) 30, Buffalo (AFC) 13 1993—Dallas (NFC) 52, Buffalo (AFC) 17 1992—Washington (NFC) 37, Buffalo (AFC) 24 1991—N.Y. Giants (NFC) 20, Buffalo (AFC) 19 1990—San Francisco (NFC) 55, Denver (AFC) 10 1989—San Francisco (NFC) 20, Cincinnati (AFC) 16 1988—Washington (NFC) 42, Denver (AFC) 10 1987—N.Y. Giants (NFC) 39, Denver (AFC) 20 1986—Chicago (NFC) 46, New England (AFC) 10 1985—San Francisco (NFC) 38, Miami (AFC) 16 1984—L.A. Raiders (AFC) 38, Washington (NFC) 9 1983—Washington (NFC) 27, Miami (AFC) 17 1982—San Francisco (NFC) 26, Cincinnati (AFC) 21 1981—Oakland (AFC) 27, Philadelphia (NFC) 10 1980—Pittsburgh (AFC) 31, L.A. Rams (NFC) 19 1979—Pittsburgh (AFC) 35, Dallas (NFC) 31 1978—Dallas (NFC) 27, Denver (AFC) 10 1977—Oakland (AFC) 32, Minnesota (NFC) 14 1976—Pittsburgh (AFC) 21, Dallas (NFC) 17 1975—Pittsburgh (AFC) 16, Minnesota (NFC) 6 1974—Miami (AFC) 24, Minnesota (NFC) 7 1973—Miami (AFC) 14, Washington (NFC) 7 1972—Dallas (NFC) 24, Miami (AFC) 3 1971—Baltimore Colts (AFC) 16, Dallas (NFC) 13 1970—Kansas City (AFL) 23, Minnesota (NFL) 7 1969—N.Y. Jets (AFL) 16, Baltimore Colts (NFL) 7 1968—Green Bay (NFL) 33, Oakland (AFL) 14 1967—Green Bay (NFL) 35, Kansas City (AFL) 10

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SUPER BOWL XLI: ONE STEP TO GLORY

www.thestarpress.com Sunday, February 4, 2007 • 3

Manning’s time to tango Colts quarterback has been studying for this game all his life

USA TODAY

MIAMI — Can’t win the big one. It’s a story line America loves, whether it’s Martin Scorsese and Peter O’Toole trying to win their first Oscars this year or Chicago Cubs fans anticipating another round of misery. This week that timeless plot line, of course, belongs to Peyton Manning, even though Super Bowl rings for his longtime teammates are as scarce as pink leotards throughout the Indianapolis Colts locker room. Given that his nose hasn’t grown any this week, perhaps Manning is telling the truth when he says he doesn’t feel added pressure to win his first Super Bowl in today’s showdown against the Chicago Bears. In describing the most pressurepacked moment of his life, Manning didn’t reference any of his epic playoff games against the NFL nemesis New England Patriots nor his winless frustration at the University of Tennessee against Steve Spurrier and Florida. Instead, in a segue that was marvelously droll amid a typical Super Bowl week of repetitive verbiage, Manning talked about an eighth-grade experience. To fulfill his obligations for a musical theater class, Manning had to take the stage wearing a ruffled tuxedo shirt and red cummerbund, portraying Miguel in “The Boy Friend” as he danced a passionate tango. “That was pressure, but I did it,” said Manning, who knew his audience included his wise-cracking brothers, Cooper and Eli. “I was at full speed on that tango. I studied up.” Studying up is as much a Manning trait as his maestro-like gestures at the line of scrimmage and his arcing passes that find end-zone ends of the rainbow in the hands of Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne. Studying up, Manning said, is what gets him through facing 1,200 pounds of charging defensive linemen. Manning has been studying up for this moment since he was a kid on family trips, nagging father-NFL quarterback Archie with such hypotheticals as what play to call on second-and-7 in a crosswind at Chicago’s Soldier Field with two minutes left, down six. He worked out with the New Orleans Saints while still in high school, was a starting Southeastern Conference quarterback as a freshman and an NFL starter from opening day of his rookie year. Quoting four-time Super Bowl-winning coach Chuck Noll, Manning said, “Pressure is something you feel when you don’t know what you’re doing.” “I’ve never left the field saying I could have done more to prepare for that game,” Manning said. “And that gives me peace of mind.”

A legacy game to beat all

That state of mind is vital, said the Seattle Seahawks’ Matt Hasselbeck, last year’s losing Super Bowl quarterback. “If Peyton is concerned with pressure, then the Colts have real problems,” Hasselbeck said. “You got to play this game like you’re in the seventh grade, playing free and playing loose. (He) can’t let the media and the fans and all the talk and false chatter affect him.” Manning’s serenity no doubt is enhanced by having an offensive line — the group whose lockers always flank both sides of his dressing area — that is the NFL’s stingiest at allowing sacks the last two seasons. The comfort zone expands further because, with Harrison and Wayne, Manning is part of what Bears cornerback Charles Tillman says is “the perfect trio.”

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PEYTON MANNING says he doesn’t feel added pressure to win today. ‘I’ve never left the field saying I could have done more to prepare for that game,’ he said. ‘And that gives me peace of mind.’ Chicago defensive coordinator Ron Rivera said victory might hinge on whether the defensive line can harass the central member of that threesome. “You’ve got to put him under duress. Peyton is one of those guys who, if you let him get comfortable, he’ll kill you.” Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher said, “He will be, numbers-wise, the best of all time when he’s finished playing.” But ESPN studio analyst and former Denver Broncos linebacker Tom Jackson doubts those accolades mean much to Manning as Sunday nears or that Manning is quite as calm as he seems. Jackson saw another show of confidence as resolute as Manning’s as John Elway’s teammate in the 1980s and draws a parallel as tight as railroad tracks between the prolific quarterbacks. “As John lost three Super Bowls, he always said, ’I don’t believe my career will be measured by the Super Bowl — I’m going to be known as a guy who’s a great quarterback because of my overall body of work,’ ” Jackson said. But, Jackson added, “As soon as John won the Super Bowl, his immediate reaction was, ‘I’m so glad this happened because my career never would have been complete had I not won the Super Bowl. I always would have been measured by those three losses. And now that I’ve won it, I’ve gotten that monkey off my back. My career is complete.’ ” On ESPN, Jackson has referred to those Elway speeches about the Super Bowl not mattering as the whitest of lies. “At the heart of it,” Jackson said,

“what else are you going to say?” Jackson, a three-time Pro Bowler who is two decades removed from his two Super Bowl losses, freely admits that never hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy left a gaping hole in his career. He adds that in today’s Super Bowl-obsessed NFL, the lack of a championship creates not just a hole, but an abyss. “This game becomes more and more important every year to legacy,” Jackson said. “For Peyton, this will be a pivotal moment in his life. He will either walk off the field a Super Bowl champion, which I believe could begin a run of championships for him, or he will lose the game and go back to square one.”

Manning’s attributes are rare

Talking on the phone from Knoxville, David Cutcliffe confided that his leg was bouncing, just as always when he was calling plays as Manning’s offensive coordinator at Tennessee. The two share mirror-image intensity, and yes, Cutcliffe said, he thoroughly believes an anecdote from this season about Manning scrutinizing a referee’s coin before it went airborne to decide which team received. “That makes me chuckle because that’s Peyton,” Cutcliffe said. “He’s intensity personified. He absolutely enjoys intensity. I can promise you he was making sure it was a good coin and wasn’t two-headed.” While preparing for a game in Manning’s freshman year, Cutcliffe said, he mentioned a defensive formation

Kentucky had used once, four years earlier, and suggested an audible call that would work. ”Now, we talked about it for about 10 seconds,“ Cutcliffe said. ”In the fourth quarter, lo and behold, they line up in it and he makes a perfect check and throws for a touchdown. You’re just amazed by it.“ Cutcliffe also remembers Manning, as a freshman, lining up in a blitz-protection drill where running backs and tight ends did all the work and the quarterback wasn’t asked to do much more than take a snap and drop back. ”I’m looking at that drill, and he’s communicating with receivers who aren’t there,“ Cutcliffe said. ”On tape, it looks like he’s playing the Super Bowl. He’s pointing and gesturing. He’s got his own game going. It’s the greatest tape to show a young player about game preparation.“ Cutcliffe has heard all the sniping at Manning, starting when his NFL doubters said he had ”happy feet“ in college. ”That’s not happy feet,“ he said of Manning’s non-stop foot shuffling when dropping back. ”Happy feet is overreaction, escaping too early, throwing off the back foot. Peyton is just on his toes and prepared to move. He stands in there as good as anybody.“ When he hears the can’t-win-the-bigone jab, Cutcliffe said, ”I really cringe. We didn’t beat Florida, but not many other people did, either. Let’s talk about where the Colts franchise has come from his arrival to now. Were the Colts playing in many big games“ then?

Always looking for one more edge

The Colts are in the biggest game now, and everyone knows Manning is the player with the most at stake. “He’s been getting blasted for years about not being able to win the big game,” Wayne said. “We just hope we can just go in there and play our football and get it done for him.” Colts coach Tony Dungy said judging Manning should wait until his career is over and noted when he was an assistant with the Minnesota Vikings he once heard Green Bay Packers fans say of Brett Favre, “ ‘We’ll never win with this guy. He’s too spacey.’” “It’s reality. It goes with the territory,” Dungy said of quarterbacks. “Those guys know that when they sign up for the job.” This week, Colts receiver Aaron Moorehead said, “Peyton’s loose, he’s staying like he always is, which is good, because if he gets uptight or nervous, it starts to roll onto the rest of the team.” Colts tight end Dallas Clark agreed, saying the only change is that perhaps Manning is watching more film. “As much as he studies and watches, he just feels he always has more to learn. He’s never satisfied.” But doesn’t that insatiable aspect also mean he has to beat Chicago? “Absolutely,” Clark said. “And that’s why this game is so important to him and which is why he’s going to do everything he can to be ready for Sunday.” If that happens, perhaps Manning will admit he has faced tougher tests than dancing the tango.

Peyton hopes to win one for the family today The Tennessean

MIAMI — His gyrations behind center are famous — maybe infamous — but there is one audible Peyton Manning has never called. He has never discussed with his father the subject of playing in pro football’s championship game. “Peyton was always passionate about football and I know he had dreams,” Archie Manning said on Thursday, “but I don’t remember any conversations when we talked about the Super Bowl.” This comes from a man who played 15 NFL seasons — including 11 with what was then a terrible New Orleans Saints franchise — and never had a winning record. Today, his middle son will try to win one for the family in Super Bowl XLI. Some believe Peyton Manning was born to be a quarterback. His father argues otherwise. He’ll tell you that he was careful not to force any of his sons — not Cooper, not Peyton, not Eli — into football, and certainly not into the quarterback position. Yet, Peyton has arrived at his first

“Here I am in my ninth year and there is not a day that goes by that I am not more and more impressed by how long he played in the NFL.” Peyton Manning, on his father, Archie Super Bowl in his ninth NFL season. Eli, the youngest son of Archie and Olivia Manning, is coping with the pressures inherent to playing quarterback for the New York Giants. “I’ve asked my dad a lot of questions and I’ve learned a great deal from him,” Peyton said, “but Eli and I are doing our own thing.” The acorn doesn’t fall far from the oak. University of Tennessee Coach Phillip Fulmer remembers the recruiting process that brought Manning to Knoxville and the role Archie played in it. “When you get to know both of them, you realize there’s a lot of Archie in Peyton, and that’s a good thing,” said Fulmer, who played at UT in the same era that Manning was starring at Ole Miss.

“Archie made it clear right from the start that he wanted Peyton to make the decision on where he wanted to go to school. ... He has a lot of influence on his sons but he lets them be their own men.” Robert Khayat, chancellor at Ole Miss, where Archie and youngest son Eli starred at quarterback more than three decades apart, called the Manning clan “the DiMaggios of the NFL.” And he wasn’t making a reference to Joe DiMaggio’s Mr. Coffee commercials and Peyton’s high-volume endorsement profile. You wonder how it all fit together. Archie Manning is Southern football royalty. Visit the campus of the University of Mississippi, where he played in 1968-70, and you’ll find that the speed limit is 18

mph — Archie’s uniform number. A young Peyton used to tag along with his dad to practice back in the days when Archie was quarterbacking the Saints. There, he got an early indoctrination to the odd culture of a professional football team. He essentially grew up on the NFL. “I bet it was a blessed life, I can guarantee you that,” said Colts center Jeff Saturday, who has been snapping the football to Manning since 2000. “I’m sure he was exposed to all kinds of things that were pretty cool — getting to meet players when he was just a kid. The rest of us were going to kindergarten or grade school and he was hanging around an NFL team.” Back then, it all seemed like fun and games. Now, though, Manning understands the physical wear and tear his father endured. “Here I am in my ninth year and there is not a day that goes by that I am not more and more impressed by how long he played in the NFL,” Manning said of his father. “I know how hard it is and what

a grind it is and I know how hard he worked and prepared every offseason. ... He is still kind of revered in New Orleans as sort of the quarterback in town for the way he handled himself and just how hard he played.” The entire Manning family will be here for the game, which is “pretty unique,” Archie said. “I have the hardest time getting everybody together,” he said. “Anything that can get everybody together always makes me happy. “Most of the things that have gotten us together in the last four or five years are a baby christening — Cooper’s had all the babies — our football camp, the AFC Championship Game and now the Super Bowl. So I’m all for it.“ But the family reunion won’t get in the way of the game. Archie said he and his wife will not see their middle son before the game. That’s not the Manning style. Nothing gets in the way of preparation for a game. But late Sunday evening, a father and son will exchange a hug. Win or lose.

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Page designer: Elizabeth Richman, 213-5856

Master artisans in a workshop in Parsippany, N.J., employ age-old techniques to create the trophy. It takes about four months and 72 working-hours to complete. The trophy is 22 inches high and weighs almost 7 pounds. 1 A sterling silver ball is

placed on a spinning lathe and molded into the shape of half of a football using steel hand tools.

The laces are hand cut.

2 Each half is filled with a tar-like substance that hardens when it cools to prevent denting. The two halves are then soldered together.

A blow torch heats the ball to keep the silver soft.

3 The dimples on the ball are hand-punched and the laces are soldered onto the ball.

Once it reaches a pink glowing color, it is quenched with water and returned to the lathe.

The two completed halves are dipped into a 2 percent solution of sufuric acid to clean off oils or other contaminants.

4 The lines of the football

are hand-chased into the ball.

● The trophy’s football is regulation-size and sits atop an elongated kicking tee.

The ball is inspected and polished.

● Unlike other trophies, such as hockey’s Stanley Cup, a new trophy is made every year, and the winning team keeps it.

1 Three panels are cut from

● The trophy is valued at $12,500 — but on the open market, it could probably fetch $100,000 to $300,000, according to experts.

3 The name of the trophy

sheets of silver and placed in a hand roller to provide the required curves.

and Super Bowl are etched using the same sandblasting process. The stand is inspected and polished.

4 A threaded rod is

Threaded stud

placed through the base and stand, screwed in to the the ball, and secured with a sterling silver nut at the bottom. The trophy is then stamped (hallmarked) and sent for a final high-luster polish.

The back edges are beveled for a form fit and soldered together.

2 The shield is

cut from a flat sheet of sterling silver and etched using a sandblasting process. Several passes are required to achieve the proper depth. The shield is attached using a threaded stud.

● Since Super Bowl XXX in 1996, the trophy is presented to the winning team on the field after the game. Before that, it was given to them in their locker room.

Threaded rod

Bronze plate gives the trophy its weight and balance. Sterling silver plate

SOURCES: HOWSTUFFWORKS, S U P E R B O W L .C O M , T I F FA N Y & C O.

Silver nut

G R A P H I C BY H I R A M H E N R I Q U E Z / SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINAL T R O P H Y P H OT O C O U R T E SY O F T I F FA N Y & C O

No.

Team

Five Three

Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, Oakland/L.A. Raiders, Washington Redskins

Two One

Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Baltimore Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, St. Louis/L.A. Rams

— Vince Lombardi The trophy was originally called the World Championship Game trophy. It was renamed in 1970 for Vince Lombardi, the legendary head coach of the 1967 Super Bowl I champion Green Bay Packers.

THE LEGEND: Considered by some to be the greatest football coach ever, Lombardi led the Packers to four NFL championships and two Super Bowl victories. BORN: June 11, 1913, in Brooklyn, N.Y.

P H OT O

C O U R T E SY GRADUATED: Fordham University, 1940. O F T H E G R E E N B AY PA C K E R S COACHING CAREER: West Point (1948-54); New York Giants (1954-59); Green Bay (1959-68); Washington (1969-70). DIED: Sept. 3, 1970.

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THE

Rookies

Hester, Anderson, Addai are teams’ key components THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ey, kid, what do you think you’re doing? Rookies don’t play in Super Bowls. Maybe in the prehistoric NFL they didn’t. In this season of super rooks, not only do they play, they start. Take the Chicago Bears’ Devin Hester. All he did in 2006 was set an NFL record for running kicks to the end zone with six; become the only first-year player on the All-Pro team; and scare the daylights out of every opponent. “It means a lot for me to be here,” Hester said Wednesday. “It’s hard for a rookie. We have veterans on our team who have been in the league for 10, 12 years who have never been to the Super Bowl. For me to be here as a rookie, it’s a great honor.” Or take Indianapolis Colts’ Joseph Addai, the 30th overall pick last April, 27 spots before Hester. The running back led all rookies in rushing this season with 1,081 yards. He scored eight touchdowns. Combined with veteran Dominic Rhodes, he made Indy forget star Edgerrin James, who ran all the way to Arizona as a free agent. “I didn’t think I was going to get 1,000 yards,” said Addai, who scored the winning touchdown on a 3-yard run in the AFC championship game. “It feels good because I didn’t get 1,000 yards in college (at LSU). I knew I wasn’t the starter and I knew Dominic and I were going to split the carries, so we both talked before games about taking advantage of what they give us out there and that’s what we’ve been doing.” Hester and Addai are the most spectacular of the five rookies who could play huge roles in the biggest game of the season Sunday. Indianapolis also starts strong safety Antoine Bethea, a sixth-rounder from Howard. Chicago starts free safety Danieal Manning of Abilene Christian, a second-rounder, and often uses DE Mark Anderson, a fifth-round choice from Alabama who had 12 sacks, tops among rookies. Bethea said he’s made a smooth adjustment from a small college program to the pros, crediting the coaching staff and several veteran Colts for their guidance. He became a starter in the preseason, and except for being inactive for two games with a shoulder problem, Bethea has been a regular. And a key contributor. “I thought if they need me on special teams, OK, I’ll do that,” said Bethea, who made 64 tackles and had one interception. “And I’d practice hard and when I came in, I’d fight to stay in and try to play well. I guess it worked out.” Bethea’s freshman counterpart in the Chicago secondary is Manning, who left Nebraska and wound up as a three-year starter at Division II Abilene Christian. He was unsure entering the draft

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how soon he might go, even after an impressive showing at the NFL combine. Then the phone rang during a draft party at his house, and coach Lovie Smith asked Manning: “Are you ready to be a Chicago Bear?” Although Manning was a lifelong Cowboys fan — even claiming he still roots for them — he wasn’t about to say no. “The place just erupted when my name flashed across the screen,” he said. “Lots of crying and tears. I couldn’t even hear what coach Smith was saying.” Clearly, he heard what Smith Addai and the other coaches were saying this season and started the last 14 games. He had 80 tackles and two interceptions in replacing Mike Brown, one of Chicago’s defensive leaders who hurt his foot in Week 6, forcing Manning to switch from strong safety. He’s very aware of who will be testing him Sunday. “Peyton Manning has nine years experience. Me, I’m a rookie from a small school,” he said. “Who would you rather be? “At the same time, we’ve got to play this game. I trust myself and my ability and my teammates around me.” One of those teammates is Anderson, the pass-rushing fiend the Bears need to supply pressure on the Colts QB. Anderson had four games with at least two sacks and one-third of his tackles were sacks in 2006. His 12 sacks were the most by any rookie drafted in the fifth round or later. “Once you get here, you’ve got to show what you can do no matter where you got drafted,” Anderson said. “They don’t hand you a thing.” The Colts didn’t hand Addai a starting spot until the playoffs. But in a year of superb rookie running backs, from Reggie Bush to Laurence Maroney to Maurice Drew, Addai is the one in the Super Bowl. “He was a good, solid football player who played well at a bigtime program at LSU. He can run, block and catch,” Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore said. “We didn’t want to overload him when he came here, but we let him play, and there’s no substitute for playing.” Especially playing where you grew up. “It does make it special. This is my first NFL game played back at home, but it’s also the Super Bowl,” the former Miami Hurricane said. “It can’t get any better than that. Being back here, I get a little homesick. This is the first time I’ve been here since football season started and I have a little ways to go still. But it feels good. There’s no place like home.”

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Colts vs. Bears: The matchups Indianapolis Colts (15-4) vs. Chicago Bears (15-3) | Capsule previews

PEYTON MANNING

CEDRIC BENSON

Keys for the Colts

PROTECT PEYTON For all he does for Indianapolis, QB Peyton Manning, who led the NFL with 31 touchdown passes this season, is year-in and year-out the most valuable player in the NFL. But as good as Manning and his slew of receivers are (Indy tied for second in the NFL in scoring, 26.7 points per game, and was third in total offense, 379.4 yards per game), he must get quality pass protection. The Colts veteran line allowed an NFL-low 15 sacks. HOLD ON TO THE BALL Chicago feasts on turnovers, forcing an NFL-best 44 takeaways in the regular season, and then added four more in the NFC title win over New Orleans. Given a short field, the average Bears offense often turns these mistakes into points. Manning has thrown six interceptions in the playoffs so far. That could doom Indy here.

Keys for the Bears

DA DO RUN, RUN The Bears’ conservative offense relies on its running game featuring backs Cedric Benson and Thomas Jones (combined 1,857 yards rushing with 12 TDs during the regular season) and has rolled up 294 yards and 5 TD runs in two playoff wins. The best way to keep Manning and his pals off the field is if they never get the ball. TACKLE, TACKLE EVERYWHERE The Bears are hardly trembling facing the high-powered Colts because defense is what wins for them. Chicago ranked third in the NFL in scoring defense (15.9 ppg), fifth in total defense (294.1 ypg). You only do this with sure tackling led by linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs, who are both also tremendous in pass coverage. Colts receivers Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne will work down the field and up the sidelines forcing the Bears to defend the entire field. The Bears’ pass rush ranked eighth in the NFL with 40 sacks. Rookie defensive end Mark Anderson (12 sacks) and veterans Alex Brown (7 sacks) and Adewale Ogunleye (6-1/2 sacks) must generate heat off the edge.

DEVON HESTER

Concerns for the Colts

THAT RUNDOWN FEELING The Colts were awful vs. the run this season ranking last in the league giving up a staggering 173 yards a game and 5.3 yards per carry. In the playoffs, those numbers have plummeted the length of the field to 73 yards a game and 3.6 per carry. The return of hard-hitting safety Bob Sanders has done wonders for Indy’s smallish front seven, but they must keep it up against the bigger, physical Bears’ line. GET YOUR KICKS The Colts struggled all season with kick coverage and were dreadful vs. New England giving up 244 return yards. This could be disastrous considering Bears rookie Devon Hester returned a record six kicks for touchdowns this season. Kicker Adam Vinatieri and punter Hunter Smith must angle their kicks away from Hester and not give him the opportunity to break a big one.

REX GROSSMAN

Concerns for the Bears

WHICH REX? To put it politely, QB Rex Grossman has been erratic this season, with more turnovers (28 on 20 ints. and 8 lost fumbles) than TD passes (23). His so-so playoff numbers (32-of-64, 426 yards passing, 2 TDs, 1 int. in 2 games) are actually a huge step up from his last six regular-season games (85-of168, 970 yards passing, 5 TDs, 9 ints., 4 lost fumbles). As usual, the Bears aren’t really asking Grossman to win the game. But he has to limit his mistakes and make sure he doesn’t lose it. SHRINKING D? Chicago’s defense hasn’t been the same since season-ending injuries to safety Mike Brown and defensive tackle Tommie Harris. In the first 12 games of the season, the Bears allowed an average of 12.5 points per game. In the last six games (including the playoffs) that number has more than doubled to 23.8 points per game.

DOMINIC RHODES

Unlikely hero for Colts

TONY DUNGY

Coaching brothers?

RB DOMINIC RHODES If Chicago is determined to stop Manning, the Colts have shown they will run the ball. And the veteran RB Rhodes, who splits time with rookie Joseph Addai, has been most effective with a combined 122 yards rushing on 26 carries in the second half of the Colts’ divisional win at Baltimore and the comeback victory over New England in the AFC title game.

Colts coach Tony Dungy and Bears counterpart Lovie Smith are close friends (Dungy hired Smith in Tampa Bay for his first NFL job) and proud to be the first two African-Americans to lead teams to the Super Bowl. But will how well they know each other affect preparations for the biggest game of their lives?

Unlikely hero for Bears

The Colts are 16-2 over the last two seasons when Manning doesn’t throw an interception. The Bears defense ranked second in the NFL with 24 interceptions.

K ROBBIE GOULD Everyone knows how good Colts’ veteran kicker Adam Vinatieri is. That’s what happens when you’re 11-for-11 in the playoffs and are the only guy to win two Super Bowls with last-minute field goals. But Gould, a second-year player from Penn State, is about as good. He earned NFC Pro Bowl honors this year hitting 32-of-36 FGs on the tricky Soldier Field track and all five of his tries in the playoffs, including a 49-yarder in overtime to beat Seattle in the divisional playoff. Just as Indy would, the Bears would love for the game to come down on Gould’s foot.

Stat that matters

Scripps Howard News Service

Bears defense says it’s ready for the no-huddle MIAMI — There’s no hiding from the no-huddle at the Super Bowl. And there’s no fear of the nohuddle for the Chicago Bears. They understand what they will face today. They know Peyton Manning will bring the Indianapolis Colts to the line of scrimmage almost immediately after the previous play concludes, survey the scenery and choose a play that befuddles the defense. Except the Bears won’t panic, won’t have their heads spinning and won’t be gasping for air. They swear. “I mean it’s just you don’t get a chance to huddle up,” cornerback Nathan Vasher said. “We have signals, other ways of getting different defenses. We don’t have to just stay in the same defense when they go no-huddle. I think that’s a luxury we have as a defense and we practice on that. This won’t be the first no-huddle team we played this season, and I think we’ll adjust to it well, just to go out and make plays.” The Bears will need to make those plays at times without being able to substitute. They’ll have to adjust to the quick tempo Manning and his mates covet. And, perhaps most daunting, they might have to out-think the maestro. “He puts in the work and it shows on the field,” added the other starter at cornerback, Charles Tillman. “He knows what you’re going to do before you actually do it. So you just have to try to disguise as much as you can and see if you can surprise him a couple of times.”

“This won’t be the first no-huddle team we played this season, and I think we’ll adjust to it well, just to go out and make plays.” Bears cornerback Nathan Vasher The element of surprise often is eliminated by the element of speed. If the Colts can operate on a quick pace, it complicates an already complex challenge for Chicago. Slowing the Indy offense is difficult enough with Manning, Pro Bowl receivers Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne, tight end Dallas Clark, running backs Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes and a strong offensive line. Thwarting it at warp speed with the same 11 players for an entire series could be too much to ask. Forget all of Manning’s histrionics at the line: the pointing, the backing off, turning around to instruct teammates, slapping his helmet, calling out signals — false and real. The true beauty of the nohuddle is how it can force defenses to be imbalanced against one of the NFL’s most dangerous

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often do. In this Super Bowl, the nohuddle could be even more of a factor because the Bears want to get certain players on the field for pass defense, attempting to match up with the Colts’ deep offense. Naturally, Indianapolis (15-4) doesn’t want to allow that. While Chicago is fortunate to have two outstanding linebackers with a variety of talents in Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs, it must have the right personnel

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The no-huddle has been a part of the scheme for much of his career. He likes it, the coaches like it, even the linemen like it. “We like the tempo it gives us,” Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday said. “We feel like we can wear teams down. There’s just a lot of things about it that really fits our style.” They even get a chuckle out of the confusion it can cause for defenses. “Sometimes you see a receiver wide open and you know why,” Saturday said. “But most of the time they set up quickly. They don’t want to beat themselves.” Which the Bears (15-3) don’t

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offenses. “Tom Moore has given me more freedom and trust and more responsibility,” Manning said, referring to the Colts’ longtime offensive coordinator, the only one Manning has played for in nine seasons. “Meanwhile, I can call some of my plays and I have the ability to change plays — that’s more responsibility. “Of course, if you change to one that does not work, you feel so much more responsible for that. So maybe you try harder to make it work.” It’s worked very well since Manning came into the league as the No. 1 overall pick and started from Day 1 as a rookie in 1998.

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on the field in other positions against Manning and his buddies. “I think the biggest change that goes on continually, and that’s why you have to keep up to date, are all the substitution packages,” Moore said. “Defensively, they are running substitutes in the game all the time. Substitution patterns and getting your blocking and protections squared away, that’s a constant thing that keeps advancing.”

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SUPER BOWL XLI: ONE STEP TO GLORY

8 • Sunday, February 4, 2007 www.thestarpress.com

Page designer: Dax Lowery, 213-5810

They’re not screamers. They’re not self-absorbed. Dungy and Smith calmly led their teams to greatness

Coaches show nice guys can finish first THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC

MIAMI -— The skin color of the two Super Bowl head coaches has been a prominent subject this week and justifiably so. Tony Dungy of the Colts and Lovie Smith of the Bears are the first blacks to bring teams to the game, and the importance of that should not be ignored. But neither should it overshadow the content of their character or the message that their understated, reasoned approaches to coaching sends: That it’s possible to be a successful coach without being a raving, self-absorbed lunatic. Dungy and Smith are not screamers. They don’t belittle players with vulgarity-laced diatribes that leave spittle dripping from their chins. They don’t view reporters as being slightly above amoeba on the food chain, and they have interests outside of football. To Dungy, projecting that image to America is just as important as skin color. “I think we had a vision of what a head coach looked like,” he said. “The head coach of a successful team, to many people, looked like Vince Lombardi. It was a white, middle-aged coach who screamed fire and brimstone, and that’s what we saw in NFL Films and everything.” While an NFL assistant, Dungy battled that stereotype when interviewing for head-coaching jobs. Owners had a hard time reconciling their vision of a head coach with the thin, black, calm man in front of them. It hurt, too, at times when Dungy told them he was not the kind of coach who slept in his office. He had kids, he told them, and on occasion he would want to eat breakfast with them and drive them to school. “As owners, I know when I did

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“The reality is, he (Dungy) is going to be the same guy, win or lose. I have a lot of respect for who he is as a man, and more importantly, as a Christian mentor.” Colts center Jeff Saturday some of those earlier interviews, people were trying to figure out in their mind if this would work,” Dungy said. “Not knowingly, not consciously, but (they wondered), ‘We’ve never had this blueprint before, can this work?’ “I think now, over the years ... and with two guys coming to the Super Bowl with maybe different personalities than most people perceive of an NFL head coach, a different value system, maybe, a different way of expressing themselves, people say, ‘You know what? Anything can work if you get the right person.’” Once he was hired as a head coach, Dungy worked to create opportunities for others. He hired Smith as an assistant in Tampa Bay and helped promote him for head-coaching jobs. As the Bears head coach, Smith works much like Dungy. He’s rarely animated and hardly ever screams and yells. Yet, his point gets across, and it’s obvious when he’s unhappy. “I think they (his players) know,” Smith said. “There is a look. As I’m talking with you, you can tell everything is OK. We are on the same wavelength. Once you are upset, I think guys know. And if they don’t know, you tell them. I just don’t have to yell and scream to tell them.”

It’s a different style than most players are accustomed to. “I respect the way they coach,“ Colts center Jeff Saturday said. “You’re not going to be cussed at. You’re not going to be yelled at. The reality is, he (Dungy) is going to be the same guy, win or lose. I have a lot of respect for who he is as a man, and more importantly, as a Christian mentor.” Both Dungy and Smith are quick to credit their religious faith for their success. Dungy’s faith has helped sustain him since his son, James, committed suicide in December 2005. Each coach has used the Super Bowl as a platform to espouse their beliefs. They view themselves as more than just football coaches. Dungy wasn’t always this way. As a kid, he said, he had a temper. He was hard on teammates, and he got his share of technical fouls in basketball games. “Winning and losing was the most important thing,“ he said. “I think (change came from) maturing as a Christian and understanding things you can control and things you can’t control. Just growing and learning that a game, or the result of the game, isn’t the most important thing. It isn’t life or death. “It’s our job, but there are a lot more things that make a difference in this universe than who wins the Super Bowl.” Dungy has thought about this moment for years since his Tampa Bay team came within a game of the Super Bowl in 1999. “Now, (eight) years later, a lot of it is crystallized. It’s important for me to let people know how proud I am to be here. It’s also important for me to kind of state my case, too, as to the fact that it’s not just African-Americans, but it’s how you do it. Doing it with excellence, whether you’re a minority, majority, whatever.

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4B • Wednesday, January 24, 2007 www.thestarpress.com

Page designer: Elizabeth Richman, 213-5856

6’2”, 209 lbs. College: Notre Dame 8 years in the NFL

Background

Hunter Dwight Smith was born in Sherman, Texas. Smith was a two-time allstate selection at Sherman High School. He also lettered in track and basketball. Smith is an instructor for the Colts 101 and 201, an annual women’s football clinic, and was the featured speaker at the 2000 Area Youth Ministries annual fall banquet. In 2001, he went to Peru with Morningstar International, a non-denominational ministry to help improve the lives of impoverished people. He conducts weekly high school Bible studies and leads worship services. In 2003, Smith helped to plan Champion’s Christian Church in Indianapolis. He and his wife, Jennifer, reside in Carmel.

Awards & honors

1999 " PFW/PFWA NFL All-Rookie Team " College and Pro Newsweekly NFL All-Rookie Team

2000 " AFC Special Teams Player-of-the-Month (September) 2005 " AFC Special Teams Player-of-the-Week (9/18 vs. Jacksonville) " AFC Special Teams Player-of-the-Month (December/January)

MATT DETRICH / THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

COLTS punter Hunter Smith boots a deep punt to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2005 season. Hunter averaged 44.4 yards a punt this season.

2006 Regular Season Stats PUNTING G No. 16 47

Yds 2,085

Lg. 61

Avg. 44.4

KICK OFFS G KO 16 2

Blk 0

Inside 20 14

TB 5

Downed 5

No. 25

Ret. Yds. 327

TD 1

Avg. 50.0

TB 0

Ret. 2

Ret.Avg. 15.5

TD 0

Onside 0

Recov. 0

Net Avg. 34.5

SOURCES: WWW.COLTS.COM; WWW.NFL.COM

CONGRATULATIONS INDY! AFC CHAMPIONS AND BOWL BOUND!

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4B • Thursday, January 25, 2007 www.thestarpress.com

Page designer: Elizabeth Richman, 213-5856

6’2”, 245 lbs.

College: Alabama A & M | 4 years in the NFL

Background

Robert Nathan Mathis was born in Atlanta, Ga., and attended McNair High School. Mathis resides in Atlanta.

Awards & honors

2003 " PFW/PFWA NFL All-Rookie team

2005 " AFC Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 23)

MATT KRYGER / THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS ROBERT MATHIS sacks Texans quarterback David Carr on the first play of the game Sept. 17 at the RCA Dome.

Career Defensive Stats DEFENSIVE

SPECIAL TEAMS

PASSES

Year 2003 2004 2005 2006

Tackle 11 35 40 90

Solo 7 27 35 76

Asst. 4 8 5 14

Total 17 18 29 0

Solo 13 15 23 0

Asst 3 3 6 0

Sack 3.5 10.5 11.5 9.5

Int 0 0 0 0

Yd 0 0 0 0

Def 2 0 0 1

B 2 0 0 1

FF 3 6 8 4

FR 1 3 0 2

CAREER

176

145

SOURCE: WWW.COLTS.COM

MU_MN_1ST_01-26_N_B_B_3_C

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www.thestarpress.com Friday, January 26, 2007 • 3B

Page designer: Elizabeth Richman, 213-5856

6’0”, 227 lbs.

College: Michigan | 4 years in the NFL

Background

Cato June was born in Riverside, Calif. and attended Anacostia (Washington, D.C.) High School. He was a three-year starter at defensive back who totaled 354 tackles, 22 interceptions and 26 touchdowns. June earned a place on the USA Today All-America second-team as well as Parade All-American and District of Columbia Player of the Year honors. June resides in Washington, D.C.

Awards & honors

2005 " Pro Bowl Starter " PFW/PFWA All-NFL Team

" Associated Press NFL All-Pro Second-Team " PFW/PFWA All-AFC Team

MATT KRYGER / THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS Cato June hits Cincinnati Bengals Rudi Johnson in the first quarter on Dec. 18 at the RCA Dome.

Career Defensive Stats DEFENSIVE

SPECIAL TEAMS

PASSES

Year 2003 2004 2005 2006

Tackle 0 128 109 162

Solo 0 69 65 85

Asst. 0 59 44 77

Total 9 8 1 0

Solo 7 8 1 0

Asst 2 0 0 0

Sack 0 0 0 1

Int 0 2 5 3

Yd 0 71 115 14

Def 0 5 1 2

B 0 1 0 0

FF 0 0 0 2

FR 0 2 0 1

CAREER

399

219

180

200

SOURCE: WWW.COLTS.COM

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4B • Saturday, January 27, 2007 www.thestarpress.com

Page designer: Elizabeth Richman, 213-5856

6’3”, 252 lbs.

College: Iowa | 4 years in the NFL

Background

Dallas Dean Clark was born in Sioux Falls, S.D. and attended Twin River Valley High School. Clark was a second-team all-state linebacker as senior and received an honorable mention all-state as junior. As a senior, he was also team captain and was named MVP in his final two seasons. Clark also lettered in basketball and track. Clark resides in Iowa City, Iowa.

Awards & honors

2003 " Football Digest NFL All-Rookie Team

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS TIGHT END Dallas Clark is chased by New England Patriots’s Artrell Hawkins on a 52-yard pass reception in the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship game Jan. 21 in Indianapolis.

Career Receiving Stats* YEAR

YDS

AVG

HI-GAME

2003 2004 2005 2006

29 25 37 30

340 423 488 367

11.7 16.9 13.2 12.2

42 80 56 40

1 5 4 4

100 102 125 68

1,618

13.4

125

CAREER 121

*REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS

SOURCE: WWW.COLTS.COM

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4C • Sunday, January 28, 2007 www.thestarpress.com

Page designer: Elizabeth Richman, 213-5856

6’1”, 268 lbs.

College: Syracuse | 5 years in the NFL

Background

Dwight Freeney was born in Hartford, Conn., and attended Bloomfield High School. Freeney was named in the SuperPrep, Prep Football Report, USA Today, New Haven Register, Hartford Courant and Blue Chip Illustrated as an All-America selection, adding PrepStar All-Regional honors as a defensive end. Freeney participated in the “Shop with a Colt” program, leading a group of underprivileged children on a shopping spree. He also established the Dwight Freeney Full-Contact Football Camp last summer with proceeds benefiting various charities. Freeney resides in Bloomfield, Conn.

Awards & honors*

2004 " Pro Bowl starter " Associated Press NFL All-Pro (First-Team) " PFW/PFWA All-NFL Team " PFW/PFWA All-AFC Team " College and Pro Football Newsweekly NFL All-Pro (First Team) " Sporting News NFL All-Pro Team " NFL Alumni Pass Rusher of the Year " AFC Defensive Player-of-the-Month (December/January)

2005 " Pro Bowl starter " Associated Press NFL All-Pro (First Team) " PFW/PFWA All-NFL Team " PFW/PFWA All-AFC Team " The Sporting News NFL All-Pro Team " AFC Defensive Player of the Month (September) " Kansas City Committee of 101 AFC Defensive Player of the Year *He also was awarded many honors in 2002 and 2003.

MATT KRYGER / THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

THE COLTS’ DWIGHT FREENEY sacks Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer, causing a fumble during a game this season. The Colts turned the fumble into three points for the first score of the Colts’ victory at the RCA Dome.

Career Defensive Stats* DEFENSIVE

SPECIAL TEAMS

PASSES

Year 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Tackle 47 41 47 39 45

Solo 43 38 39 37 35

Asst. 4 3 8 2 10

Total 1 0 0 0 0

Solo 0 0 0 0 0

Asst 1 0 0 0 0

Sack 13 11 16 11 5.5

Int 0 0 0 0 0

Yd 0 0 0 0 0

Def 0 0 1 0 0

B 0 1 1 1 0

FF 9 4 4 6 4

FR 1 2 0 0 0

CAREER

219

192

56.5

*REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS

SOURCE: WWW.COLTS.COM

CONGRATULATIONS INDY! AFC CHAMPIONS AND BOWL BOUND!

MU_MN_1ST_XX-XX_N_B_X_X_K MU_MN_1ST_01-29_N_B_B_4_C

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4B • Monday, January 29, 2007 www.thestarpress.com

Page designer: Elizabeth Richman, 213-5856

6’2”, 295 lbs.

College: N. Carolina | 8 years in the NFL

Background

Jeffrey Bryant Saturday was born in Atlanta, Ga., and attended Shamrock High School. Saturday has been an instructor for Colts 101 and 201, an annual women’s football clinic. He also participated in the 2000 Avon High School football Lift-a-thon fund-raising event to raise money for student-athletes school. Saturday is involved with D.R.E.A.M. Alive, Inc., with teammate Tarik Glenn and participated in the 2004 “Miracle Ride” fund-raiser for Riley Hospital for Children. Saturday has worked with Riley Hospital to develop a reading program that allows hospitalized children to watch various Colts players read books through Riley’s television station. Saturday and his wife, Karen, reside with their children, Jeffrey Douglas and Savannah Faith, in Indianapolis.

Awards & honors

2003 " Football Digest NFL All-Pro Team 2004 " Football Digest NFL All-Pro Team (Second Team)

2005 " Pro Bowl Starter... Associated Press NFL All-Pro First-Team " PFW/PFWA All-AFC Team

MATT KRYGER / THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS CENTER Jeff Saturday protects quarterback Peyton Manning during their game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Dec. 10 in Jacksonville, Fla.

SOURCE: WWW.COLTS.COM

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MU_MN_1ST_01-30_N_B_B_4_K

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4B • Tuesday, January 30, 2007 www.thestarpress.com

Page designer: Elizabeth Richman, 213-5856

6’0”, 202 lbs.

College: S. Dakota State | 11 years in the NFL

Background

Adam Vinatieri was born in Yankton, S.D., and attended Rapid City (S.D.) Central High School. He lettered in football, soccer, track and wrestling. Vinatieri earned first-team all-state honors in 1991. Vinatieri and his wife, Valerie, reside with their son, A.J., and daughter, Allison, in Orlando, Fla.

Awards & honors*

2002 Pro Bowl AFC Special Teams Player of the Week (12/29) 2004 " Pro Bowl " AFC Special Teams Player of the Month (Nov.)

" AFC Special Teams Player of the Week (11/17) " NFL Special Teams Player of the Week (1/23) 2005 " AFC Special Teams Player of the Week (9/25) *Vinatieri also won several awards from 1996-2001

COLTS KICKER Adam Vinatieri kicks a 42-yard field goal against New England during the AFC Championship game on Jan. 21 in Indianapolis. THE ASSSOCIATED PRESS

2006 Stats

KICKING G 1-19 3 1-1

20-29 3-3

30-39 12-13

40-49 9-10

50+ 0-1

KICKOFFS G KO 13 73

Avg 65.8

TB 10

Ret 63

DEFENSE G Total 13 4

Tkl 2.0

Ast 2

Sacks 0

Tot 25-28

Lg 48

Blk 0

Ret Avg TD 25.3 1

Onside 0

Recov 0

Int 0

Avg 0.0

Lg 0

Yds 0

Pct 89.3

XP 38-38

TD 0

Pass Def 0

XPG 38

Pct 100.0

SOURCES: WWW.COLTS.COM; WWW.NFL.COM

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4B • Wednesday, January 31, 2007 www.thestarpress.com

Page designer: Elizabeth Richman, 213-5856

6’0”, 198 lbs.

College: Miami | 6 years in the NFL

Background

Reginald Wayne was born in New Orleans and attended John Ehret High School. He was a two-time all-state honoree — totaling 50 catches for 930 yards and 10 TDs receiving as senior. Wayne also competed in the 200-meter dash and various relays in track while in high school. Wayne resides in Indianapolis.

Awards & honors 2004 " Wild-Card Weekend NFL Offensive Player of the Week (1/9/05 vs. Denver).

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

COLTS WIDE RECEIVER Reggie Wayne is tackled by New England linebacker Tedy Bruschi after a third quarter pass reception during the AFC Championship on Jan. 21 in Indianapolis.

Career Receiving Stats* YEAR

YDS

AVG

HI-GAME

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

27 49 68 77 83 86

345 716 838 1210 1055 1310

12.8 14.6 12.3 15.7 12.7 15.2

43 49 57 71 66 51

0 4 7 12 5 9

78 121 141 184 124 138

CAREER

390

5474

14.0

184

*REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS

SOURCE: WWW.COLTS.COM

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5’11”, 214 lbs.

College: LSU | Rookie

Background

Joseph Addai was born in Houston and attended Sharpstown High School. He played quarterback and was an All-America selection by ESPN and Fox Sports. Addai was a member of the Houston Chronicle Top 100 and was a first-team 5A all-state choice. As a senior, Addai threw for 425 yards, rushed for 1,429 yards and had 26 TDs rushing. Addai was the first LSU running back to be selected in first round of NFL draft since Harvey Williams in 1991. He resides in Houston.

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COLTS RUNNING BACK Joseph Addai breaks through a tackle attempt by New England defensive tackle Richard Seymour in the first quarter of the AFC Championship game on Jan. 21 in Indianapolis.

Career Rushing Statistics* YEAR

YDS

AVG

HI-GAME

2006

226

1081

4.8

171

Career Receiving Stats YEAR

YDS

AVG

HI-GAME

2006

325

8.1

SOURCE: WWW.COLTS.COM

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5’8”, 206 lbs.

College: Iowa | 3 years in the NFL

Background

Demond Sanders was born in Erie, Pa., and attended Cathedral Prep High School. He was first-team all-state as a senior and a third-team as junior. Sanders was the senior team captain and rushed for 1,100 yards and 15 touchdowns as a running back to help the team reach the state finals. Sanders was involved in the 2004 Colts Community Tuesdays program by assisting at Silver Creek Community Park in Sellersburg, Ind. He lives in Erie.

Awards & honors 2005 " Pro Bowl Starter

" Associated Press NFL All-Pro First-Team " PFW/PFWA All-AFC Team

MATT KETRICH / THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

COLTS DEFENSIVE BACK Bob Sanders hits Patriots running back Heath Evans in the second quarter of the AFC Championship game at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis on Jan. 21.

Career Defensive Stats* DEFENSIVE

SPECIAL TEAMS

PASSES

Year 2004 2005 2006

Tackle 39 118 30

Solo 26 71 20

Asst. 13 47 10

Total 10 0 0

Solo 6 0 0

Asst 4 0 0

Sack 0 0 0

Int 0 1 1

Yd 0 0 0

Def 1 4 1

B 0 0 0

FF 0 1 1

FR 2 1 0

CAREER

187

117

*REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS

SOURCE: WWW.COLTS.COM

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COLTS WIDE RECEIVER Marvin Harrison runs for a touchdown against the Titans on a 68-yard pass play in the first quarter in Nashville, Tenn., on Dec. 3. Harrison has been a Pro Bowl starter for the last seven consecutive years.

6’0”, 185 lbs. College: Syracuse | 11 years in the NFL

Background

Marvin Harrison was born in Philadelphia, Pa., and attended Roman Catholic High School. He was a three-time Maxwell Award winner, an honor given to the city’s top player. Harrison also lettered three years in basketball. He lives in Philadelphia. Harrison’s list of community and charity work is long: • Hosted approximately 40 youths from Terre Haute Hyte Center during the Colts training camp. • Hosted a Christmas celebration with residential children at the Northwestern Humane Services in Philadelphia. • Donates tickets to each home game to the Police Athletic League (PALS). • Hosted a three-on-three charity basketball tournament along with Donovan McNabb and Bobby Taylor of the Philadelphia Eagles, in Philadelphia in the off-season to benefit the March of Dimes. • Harrison sponsors the “Effort to Succeed” program,

which honors students from Philadelphia schools as well as sponsoring one Philadelphia high school student each summer to attend Syracuse. • Appeared on Wheel of Fortune during Super Bowl week in 1999 to raise money for underprivileged children in Syracuse, N.Y. • Participated in the Cookies for Kids program that benefited the Indianapolis Housing Agency Development. • Participated in 2004 NFL Youth Football Fund’s Player Matching Grant program by making a contribution to his former high school’s athletic department.

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Awards & Honors* 2002 " Pro Bowl starter " AP Sports Illustrated, Sporting News, Football Digest NFL All-Pro Team " PFW/PFWA, College and Pro Football Newsweekly All-NFL Team " PFW/PFWA All-AFC Team " AFC Offensive Player of the Month (November) " AFC Offensive Player of the Week (12/15 at Cleveland) " NFL Alumni Wide Receiver of the Year " Phil Simms Ironman Team 2003 " Pro Bowl starter " Associated Press NFL All-Pro Second-Team " Sporting News NFL All-Pro Team " PFW/PFWA All-AFC Team

" AFC Offensive Player of the Week (10/6 at Tampa Bay) 2004 " Pro Bowl starter " Associated Press NFL All-Pro (Second-Team) " College and Pro Football Newsweekly NFL All-Pro (SecondTeam) " Sporting News NFL All-Pro Team " PFW/PFWA All-AFC Team

Career Receiving Stats*

2005 " Pro Bowl starter " Associated Press NFL AllPro Second-Team " PFW/PFWA All-AFC Team • Harrison also won numerous awards and honors in 1996, 1999, 2000 and 2001.

YEAR

YDS

AVG

HI-GAME

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

64 73 59 115 102 109 143 94 86 82 95

836 866 776 1663 1413 1524 1722 1272 1113 1146 1366

13.1 11.9 13.2 14.5 13.9 14.0 12.0 13.5 12.9 14.0 14.4

41 44 61 57 78 68 69 79 59 80 68

8 6 7 12 14 15 11 10 15 12 12

106 98 128 196 159 174 172 176 127 137 172

13697

13.4

122

196

CAREER 1022

*FOR THE COLTS DURING REGULAR SEASON

SOURCE: WWW.COLTS.COM

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A SEASON TO REMEMBER

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS AFC CHAMPIONS

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WEEK 4 - INDIANAPOLIS AT N.Y. JETS

COLTS 31, JETS 28

" When: Oct. 1, 2006 " Where: at New Jersey " Rundown: The Jets were a bit of an unknown as they had played just three weeks under new head coach Eric Mangini … New York proved to be quite the test as it scored 14 points in the second quarter to tie the game at the half. … Neither team scored in the third quarter, and the Colts posted three more points than the Jets in the final period to secure the win. … Much like he would the week after this, quarterback Peyton Manning led two fourth-quarter touchdown drives. On the second Harrison one, he kept the ball himself and rushed for the oneyard score. … New York kick returner Justin Miller returned a kickoff 103 yards for a touchdown with 2:20 left in the game. … Wide receiver Marvin Harrison caught seven passes for 79 yards, which moved him past Andre Reed for fourth-most career receptions and past Art Monk for ninth-most career receptions yards. " Thinking back: While the early deficit concerned some, the comeback affirmed for many that Manning was already in midseason form. The game marked the second time in four weeks that the Colts had played a game in New York. It gave Indianapolis a comfortable 40 start with two home games upcoming, which left fans feeling great INDIANAPOLIS’S DOMINIC RHODES runs through the New York Jets defensive line during the teams’ Week 4 game. about the start to the 2006 season.

WEEK 3 - JACKSONVILLE AT INDIANAPOLIS

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

WEEK 2 - HOUSTON AT INDIANAPOLIS

COLTS 43, TEXANS 24

" When: Sept. 17, 2006 " Where: at Indianapolis " Rundown: In a game Indianapolis would never trail, the Colts dominated its AFC South rival Houston from the get go. … The Colts scored 14 first-quarter points to take control and added another six points during the second quarter to lead 20-3 at halftime … With another 10 points in the third quarter and 13 more in the fourth, the Colts posted their secondhighest point total of the season. … The first touchdown was to a player who saw almost no playing time this season — a 10-yard pass from quarterback Peyton Manning to wide receiver Brandon Stokley. … In just its second game of the season, Indianapolis made it clear it had made a wise choice in the 2006 NFL draft. Rookie running back Joseph Addai

rushed for 82 yards on 16 carries. He also caught two passes for 22 yards and one touchdown. … The victory marked the ninth straight time Indianapolis had defeated Houston, a streak that would be broken in Week 15. " Thinking back: Against a much lesser opponent, one the Colts have completely dominated since the Texans became a franchise in 2002, this win came as no surprise. And honestly, the score didn’t either. It was a great Week 2 game for the Colts after they had dealt with all the media hype surrounding the season opener against the New York Giants. By scoring their second-highest point total of the season, the Colts made it clear the offense would be a major part, again, of this team’s success.

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

HOUSTON QUARTERBACK David Carr gets sacked by Indianapolis’s Robert Mathis.

WEEK 1 - INDIANAPOLIS AT N.Y. GIANTS

COLTS 26, GIANTS 21

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INDIANAPOLIS’S TERRENCE WILKINS heads upfield on a punt return against Jacksonville.

COLTS 21, JAGUARS 14

" When: Sept. 10, 2006 " Where: at New Jersey " Rundown: Dubbed the Manning Bowl, this game marked the first time in league history that two brothers started as quarterbacks on opposing teams. … In the end, their numbers weren’t too different. Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning completed 20-of-34 passes for 247 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. New York quarterback Eli Manning completed 25-of-41 passes for 276 yards,

one touchdown and one interception. … The Giants were led by running back Tiki Barber, who rushed for 110 yards on just 18 carries. … Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison started the season strong with nine catches for 113 yards. … The Colts built a 16-7 halftime lead, and the Giants drew to within 16-14 in the third quarter. But Indianapolis never trailed during the contest. " Thinking back: Many Colts fans were leery of this Week 1 matchup because they

knew it was a game the Colts could lose. But once the game finally got started and all the hype surrounding the Manning Bowl subsided, the teams got down to business and the better squad won. The Giants would eventually make the playoffs, barely, but they would also struggle to work together as a team all season. For the Colts, the win set the tone for the first half of the season that winning on the road was not only possible, it was important.

" When: Sept. 24, 2006 " Where: at Indianapolis " Rundown: Games against Jacksonville never come easy for Indianapolis, and this one was no different. The teams were tied 7-7 at halftime after Jacksonville quarterback Byron Leftwich scored on a four-yard run. … The Colts and the RCA Dome crowd came alive when Terrence Wilkins returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown to create the halftime tie. …. Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning connected with tight end Dallas Clark in the third quarter for a 30yard touchdown, and the Colts never trailed again as they would tack on a two-yard run by Manning in the fourth quarter to run their total to 21 points. … Rookie running back Maurice Jones-Drew rushed for 103 yards on 13 carries for the Jags, and starting running back Fred Taylor ran for 74 yards on 21 carries. " Thinking back: Everyone who knows anything about the ColtsJaguars matchups knows that Indianapolis will have its hands full. Even though it was Week 3, the Jacksonville defense was playing hard and the offense was running hard — which was just a foreshadow of what Indianapolis would see in Week 13. Having defeated Houston in Week 2, this win meant the Colts were out to a great start in divisional play, and a Week 5 victory against Tennessee would strengthen that lead on the AFC South.

More Colts coverage

On Super Bowl Sunday and every day this week, log on to thestarpress.com to read assistant sports editor Greg Fallon’s Colts blog, which he updates daily. On Super Bowl Sunday, grab your edition of The Star Press for a 16-page special section previewing Indianapolis’s game against the Chicago Bears. The section will include stats, photos, feature stories and much more. Then on Wednesday, Feb. 7, grab The Star Press for your copy of our 10-page Super Bowl wrap-up section. The section will include photos and stories that deal exclusively with Super Bowl coverage.

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

NEW YORK GIANTS QUARTERBACK ELI MANNING shows his frustration near the end of the game against Indianapolis. Gary Brackett is behind him, gesturing after the Colts made a defensive stop late in the fourth.

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AFC CHAMPIONSHIP - NEW ENGLAND AT INDIANAPOLIS

BY GREG FALLON

COLTS 38, PATRIOTS 34

gfallon@muncie.gannett.com

" When: Jan. 21, 2007 " Where: at Indianapolis " Rundown: The game marked the first time the Colts, as an Indianapolis franchise, had ever hosted the AFC Championship game. … The Colts earned the honor of playing host because they won the No. 3 seed over New England wth a victory over the Patriots during the regular season … The Patriots defeated No. 1 seed San Diego to advance to the championship. … New England jumped out to a 21-3 lead after defensive back Asante Samuel returned a Peyton Manning interception 39 yards for a touchdown. … The Colts’ only points in the first half came from two Adam Vinatieri field goals (42 and 26 yards) … Indianapolis scored the first 14 points of the third quarter to tie the game at 21. … There were three touchdowns by linemen in the game. New England’s Logan Mankins recovered a fumble in the end zone, as did Indianapolis’s Jeff Saturday. Dan Klecko caught a one-yard pass from Manning in the third quarter. … Indianapolis secured the win with a three-yard run by rookie running back Joseph Addai when he scored the final touchdown with just one minute of play remaining. … Indianapolis tight end Dallas Clark led all receivers by catching six passes for 137 yards. … The victory marked the third straight win over New England for the Colts. … The win also sent the Colts to the Super Bowl for the first time since the franchise moved to Indianapolis. " Thinking back: It was a game that will be forever remembered in Indiana. Finally, the Colts got to play the Patriots inside the friendly confines of the RCA Dome. And finally, the Colts had broken the New England Patriot playoff curse. And perhaps most importantly, finally, the Colts were going to the Super Bowl. The trip to Miami to play the NFC Champion Chicago Bears meant Manning, wide receivers Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne, defensive stars Bob Sanders and Dwight Freeney and many other Colts will be playing in their first Super Bowl. The most fitting moment of all, for Colts fans and players alike, was that the game ended with a New England quarterback Tom Brady interception. He has always been the king of comebacks, and with one minute left to play, Brady got the ball and was on the move. But with just 16 seconds left, Indianapolis defensive back Marlin Jackson picked off Brady and sent the Colts to the place they’ve craved INDIANAPOLIS DEFENSIVE END Dwight Freeney celebrates the Colts’ 38-34 win over the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, Jan. 21. for so long — The Super Bowl.

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AFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS - INDIANAPOLIS AT BALTIMORE

COLTS 15, RAVENS 6

INDIANAPOLIS KICKER Adam Vinatieri kicks one of his five field goals against Baltimore.

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

" When: Jan. 13, 2007 " Where: at Baltimore " Rundown: It was a showdown that pitted the AFC’s top-ranked offense in the Indianapolis Colts and the conference’s top-rated defense in the Baltimore Ravens. It was just the ninth time since the NFL merger that it had ever happened. … The Colts used five field goals to secure the 15-6 victory. … Kicker Adam Vinatieri hit field goals from 23, 42, 51, 48 and 35 yards out, giving him 34 field goals for his postseason career, which moved him ahead of Gary Anderson for the most in NFL playoff history. … Indianapolis QB Peyton Manning connected on 15-of-30 passes for 170 yards and two interceptions. … Baltimore QB Steve McNair connected on 18-of-29 passes for 173 yards and two interceptions. … The Colts had 100 yards rushing, while the Ravens could only muster 83 yards on

the ground. … The Colts defense produced two sacks and four takeaways to advance to the AFC Championship game, which they would learn the following day would be back in the RCA Dome thanks to a New England victory over San Diego. ." Thinking back: It was a game that many analysts predicted would be the fall of the Colts because of Baltimore’s defense. The Colts offense had struggled a bit down the stretch to develop offensive consistency, which led most to believe the Baltimore defense would get the best of this matchup. Take that line of thought and combine it with the fact that Baltimore had a good running back in Jamal Lewis, and it seemed Indy’s time had come. But Lewis finished with just 53 yards and the Baltimore offense could only produce six points, which wasn’t nearly enough to counter Vinatieri’s five FGs.

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WILD-CARD PLAYOFF ROUND - KANSAS CITY AT INDIANAPOLIS

COLTS 23, CHIEFS 8

" When: Jan. 6, 2007 " Where: at Indianapolis " Rundown: The most shocking statistic that came out of this game was that Indianapolis didn’t allow Kansas City a first down for the first 42 minutes of the game. Preventing the Chiefs from recording a first down, Indianapolis scored the first 16 points. … Kicker Adam Vinatieri kicked field goals from 48, 19 and 50 yards in the first half, and running back Joseph Addai rushed for a six-yard touchdown in the third quarter. … Addai finished with 122 yards, his second-highest total of the season, on 25 carries. … Quarterback Peyton Manning, who connected on 30-of-38 passes for 268 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions, found his one score with a five-yard pass to wide receiver Reggie Wayne early in the fourth quarter. … The much-criticized Indianapolis defense produced four sacks and three takeaways. It held Kansas City to 44 yards on 17 carries on the ground. " Thinking back: Much like the Baltimore game, the projection for this wild-card game against Kansas City didn’t sound very positive for the Colts before kickoff. After giving up 173 yards a game on the ground throughout the regular season, most analysts believed Kansas City running back Larry Johnson would gash the Colts’ defense. Johnson was the second-leading rusher in the league this THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR season. But the Colts defense shocked the world and set a franchise COMING INTO THE GAME, everyone thought Larry Johnson would gash the Colts’ run defense. This tackle by Indianapolis defensive back Marlin Jackson was record for fewest rushing yards allowed in a playoff game by giving just one of many tackles that held Johnson to just 32 yards on the ground. the Chiefs just 44 yards as a team.

WEEK 16 - MIAMI AT INDIANAPOLIS

COLTS 27, DOLPHINS 22

" When: Dec. 31, 2006 " Where: at Indianapolis " Rundown: Playing on New Year’s Eve, the Colts joined Dallas (199295) as the only two teams to produce four consecutive seasons with 12-plus victories with its victory over Miami. … Indianapolis led throughout most of the game to secure the AFC No. 3 seed, which would later be a crucial part of Indianapolis’s run to the Super Bowl as it would play New England at home instead of on the road for the AFC Championship. … The offense reeled off 399 yards and was led by quarterback Peyton Manning, who completed 22-of-37 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns. … Indianapolis’s defense allowed Miami five field goals and kept the Dolphins out of the end zone until the three-minute mark of the fourth quarter. … The win secured an 8-0 home record, just the second time in club history that the team sported an unbeaten home record. The other year was 1958. " Thinking back: During the 2005 season, the last game of the year had almost no meaning because the Colts’ 13-0 start secured the No. 1 seed long before the final week. During this season, it was imperative that Indianapolis win its last game to make sure it held on to the No. 3 seed for the AFC playoffs. It wasn’t much of a surprise the Colts were able to do that, though. Miami started Cleo Lemon at quarterback. It was his first career start and no one was expecting much.

WEEK 15 - INDIANAPOLIS AT HOUSTON

TEXANS 27, COLTS 24

" When: Dec. 24, 2006 " Where: at Houston " Rundown: Indianapolis went into the game having never lost to the Houston Texans, an AFC South rival. The Colts also entered the game having already claimed a dominant 43-24 victory over Houston in Week 3. … The Texans did a good job controlling the clock by rushing for 191 yards. … The final blow for the Colts came from Houston kicker Kris Brown when he booted a 48-yard field goal as time expired. It was his second field goal of the game. … The Texans were led by running back Ron Dayne, who turned in the best game of his career with 32 carries for 153 yards and two rushing touchdowns. … Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning completed 21-of-27 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns. … Rookie running back Joseph Addai ran for 100 yards on 15 carries and became the fourth rookie in franchise history to produce a 1,000-yard rushing season. " Thinking back: This was a disappointing loss for Indianapolis after turning in an impressive Monday night victory against Cincinnati the week before. After beating the Bengals, the national feeling was that the Colts were gearing up for a playoff run. Then came this game. It THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR HOUSTON KICKER Kris Brown celebrates his game-winning 48-yard field left most of the media scratching their heads and wondering what sort goal as time ran out at Reliant Stadium in Houston. of season it would actually end up being.

WEEK 14 - CINCINNATI AT INDIANAPOLIS

COLTS 34, BENGALS 16 THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

WIDE RECEIVER Reggie Wayne makes a catch against Miami this season.

WEEK 13 - INDIANAPOLIS AT JACKSONVILLE

JAGUARS 44, COLTS 17

" When: Dec. 10, 2006 " Where: at Jacksonville " Rundown: It was the number heard around the world. Jacksonville rushed for 375 yards and four touchdowns behind rookie running back Maurice Jones-Drew, who carried the ball just 15 times for 166 yards. He also returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown. … Starting Jacksonville running back Fred Taylor reeled off 131 yards on just nine carries, and even third-string running back Alvin Pearman had 71 yards on 13 carries. … Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning broke the 300-yard mark with 313 yards passing. But he completed just 25of-50 passes and had one interception and no touchdowns. … Perhaps the only positive for Indianapolis was that Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison became just the fourth player in NFL history to top 1,000plus career receptions. " Thinking back: It was one of the ugliest efforts in recent history for the Colts. It was also the one defensive performance that convinced the national media that the Colts were done for. The game marked the third loss against Jacksonville in Indianapolis’s last seven games against the AFC South rival.

COLTS LINEBACKER Rob Morris brings down Bengals running back Rudi Johnson in the third quarter of their Week 14 game.

" When: Dec. 24, 2006 " Where: at Houston " Rundown: With the national Monday Night Football spotlight on him, Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning threw for 282 yards by completing 29-of-36 passes for four touchdowns. … When it mattered most the QB went to wide receiver Marvin Harrison,

who caught eight passes for 86 yards and three touchdowns. … Wide receiver Reggie Wayne caught seven passes for 84 yards and one touchdown. … With the performance, Manning marked his ninth consecutive season with 25-plus touchdown passes and he also moved into eighth place in NFL career touchdowns with 270. It was

his 15th career game with four or more touchdown passes. … Another big performance came on defense, when defensive end Dwight Freeney recorded a season-high three sacks. " Thinking back: It was the Monday night game so many people had waited for. Long before the season began, Colts, Bengals and NFL fans

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

alike had this game circled on the calendar as one to watch. The excitement inside the RCA Dome and the overall performance of the Colts didn’t disappoint. With the win, coach Tony Dungy led his eighth consecutive team into the playoffs, tying the secondlongest NFL streak by a head coach since 1970.

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WEEK 12 - INDIANAPOLIS AT TENNESSEE

TITANS 20, COLTS 17

" When: Dec. 3, 2006 " Where: at Tennessee " Rundown: This game marked the first time in more than five years that the Colts lost a game in which they held a 14-point lead or more. … Indianapolis held the 14-0 lead after a 68-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Peyton Manning to wide receiver Marvin Harrison and a two-yard touchdown run from running back Dominic Rhodes. … The Titans trimmed the lead to just four with 10 points in the last two minutes of the first half. … With just three minutes remaining in the game, Indianapolis tied the score at 17-17, but it was Tennessee who held the ball last, and kicker Rob Bironas converted on a 60-yard field goal to win the game. … The Titans, like so many opponents this season, ran all over the Colts defense by accumulating 219 yards on the ground. … Harrison and Manning teamed for their 100th passingreceiving touchdown. " Thinking back: This loss for Indianapolis snapped a 12-game divisional winning streak against the AFC South. It also really got the hype machine pumping for Tennessee quarterback Vince Young. The Titans would eventually fall short of the playoffs, but the victory against the Colts gave Tennessee its third straight win at the time. The game ended up being in the middle of a six-game winning streak for the Titans. For the Colts, it was the first of three losses in a fourgame stretch, and it marked the first game where Indianapolis’s sketchy run defense really started to catch national heat.

INDIANAPOLIS STAR

TITANS QUARTERBACK VINCE YOUNG scrambles through the Colts defense for a first down during the third quarter of Indianapolis’s Week 12 game in Tennessee. The Titans won 20-17.

WEEK 11 - PHILADELPHIA AT INDIANAPOLIS

COLTS 45, EAGLES 21

" When: Nov. 26, 2006 " Where: at Indianapolis " Rundown: It was rookie running back Joseph Addai’s coming out party. The former LSU Tiger busted out for 171 yards rushing on 24 carries. He scored four touchdowns, and set the club single-game rookie record for rushing and overall touchdowns. … Three of Addai’s touchdowns came on runs of 15, 10 and 15 yards, which made him the second player in NFL history with three 10-plus-yard first-half rushing touchdowns. … On the other side of the ball, Indianapolis’s defense produced two sacks and two takeaways, the first one being a 26-yard fumble return by Kelvin Hayden. … The win gave Indianapolis a doubledigit victory total for a franchise-record fifth INDIANAPOLIS STAR

COLTS ROOKIE RUNNING BACK Joseph Addai rushed for four touchdowns against the Eagles. He also exploded for 171 yards on the ground to help Indianapolis win.

WEEK 10 - INDIANAPOLIS AT DALLAS

COWBOYS 21, COLTS 14

" When: Nov. 19, 2006 " Where: at Dallas " Rundown: A rarity in Colts football, these two teams played a scoreless first quarter and Indianapolis scored just seven points by halftime. … Indianapolis scored those points with a 23yard touchdown pass to wide Clark caught receiver Reggie a four-yard Wayne. … touchdown Indianapolis’s only pass in the other score came Week 10 loss, Indy’s first of when tight end Dallas Clark and the season. Manning hooked up for a 4-yard score. … Dallas ended Indianapolis’s undefeated season with 68- and 80-yard fourth-quarter drives that ended with 5-yard and 1-yard rushing touchdowns by Marion Barber. … Wayne led the Colts in receiving with seven catches for 111 yards. … One reason Indianapolis struggled to get any sort of offense going was because Dallas’s defense clamped down on the Colts’ running backs. Rookie Joseph Addai ran for just 50 yards and then-starter Dominic Rhodes ran for just 30 yards. " Thinking back: Just as soon as the nation started believing that the Colts were going to get back to the territory of 13 straight wins, like they had the season before, Dallas quarterback Tony Romo and the rest of the ’Boys put a stop to that thinking. Many thought at the time it would be

a blessing in disguise for the Colts because the 2005 streak resulted in so much national attention that it seemed to be a distraction toward the end of

that season. A dominant victory over Philadelphia the week after this game confirmed to many that the pressure was off because of this loss.

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consecutive season. " Thinking back: Much like Indianapolis’s final game of the season against Miami, there weren’t a lot of expectations on the Colts’ opponent for this one either. It marked the first game of the season that Philadelphia backup quarterback Jeff Garcia would start. Garcia, though, sort of shocked the national media and played great in Donovan McNabb’s absence. Against Indy he completed 19of-23 passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns. For the Colts, much like the Bengals game would feel like two weeks later, this win left fans and media alike believing the Colts were about to make a great run heading toward the playoffs. The 45 points was the most the Colts had scored since Nov. 20, 2005, against Cincinnati.

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WEEK 8 - INDIANAPOLIS AT NEW ENGLAND

COLTS 27, PATRIOTS 20

" When: Nov. 5, 2006 " Where: at Foxborough " Rundown: It marked the fifth straight time the two teams had played at New England. … Indianapolis made a statement from the start by scoring on its first three possessions. … Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning continued to shake off the theory Manning that he can’t play against New England by completing 20-of36 passes for 326 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. … When it mattered most, Manning went to wide receiver Marvin Harrison. The wideout finished with eight catches for 145 yards, Harrison including two touchdown catches

(five and four yards). … The biggest story was how well the defense played against New England quarterback Tom Brady. Indy’s defensive unit produced five takeaways, including four interceptions of Brady passes. … The win marked the second straight year the Colts opened with an 8-0 record, which made them just the second team in NFL history to accomplish the feat. The other was Green Bay (1929-31). " Thinking back: Looking back, there might not have been a bigger victory all season. Because the Colts won, they earned the right to play host to New England for the AFC Championship game because the two teams finished with the same record. Since all Colts fans get excited for games against New England, this was one of the most enjoyable wins of the year. It was also the second straight time Indianapolis had defeated the Patriots in Foxborough.

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

DWIGHT FREENEY CELEBRATES a fourth-quarter sack of Buffalo quarterback JP Losman. It was Freeney’s first full sack of the year.

WEEK 9 - BUFFALO AT INDIANAPOLIS

COLTS 17, BILLS 16

" When: Nov. 12, 2006 " Where: at Indianapolis " Rundown: With the one-point victory, Indianapolis became the only team in NFL history to open consecutive seasons with 9-0 starts. … Quarterback Peyton Manning completed 27-of-39 passes for 236 yards and one touchdown. … Manning’s one TD pass was a 1-yard toss to wide receiver Reggie Wayne, which moved the QB into ninth place in NFL career touchdown passes with 262. … Indianapolis’s most effective weapon was the running game. Joseph Addai finished with 78 yards on 13 carries, and Dominic Rhodes finished with 72 yards of 14 carries. … The

key play of the game came when Buffalo kicker Rian Lindell missed a 41-yard field goal with 6:22 left in the game. From that point, Indianapolis was able to expire the clock. " Thinking back: It was one of the most boring games of the season. It was also one of the most curious performances of the year for Indianapolis. Against a team it should have dominated much better than it did, the Colts were tied with the Bills at halftime 10-10. Other than the fact that the win allowed Indianapolis to secure its second straight 9-0 start to a season, it was a game that warranted little attention from the national media.

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

COLTS COACH TONY DUNGY (center) is all smiles as he celebrates the win with his players Jeff Saturday (left) and Tarik Glenn after a 27-20 win against the New England Patriots.

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WEEK 7 - INDIANAPOLIS AT DENVER

COLTS 34, BRONCOS 31

" When: Oct. 29, 2006 " Where: at Denver " Rundown: The Broncos had won five straight heading into this game. … The Colts scored on each of their five second-half possessions to rally for the win after trailing 14-6 at halftime. … Quarterback Peyton Manning had one of his best games of the year by completing 32-of-39 passes for 345 yards and three touchdowns. He also guided two late scoring drives to win the game. … With wide receiver Marvin Harrison being covered by Denver’s Champ Bailey, Manning used wideout Reggie Wayne as his main target. The two connected 10 times for 138 yards. All three passing touchdowns were by the duo. … Denver entered the game having allowed only two touchdowns all season. … Manning topped 35,000 career passing yards in his 135th career game, the second-fewest games to that mark in NFL history. Dan Marino did it in 134. " Thinking back: This game began a very critical two-game stretch for the Colts. First this game, then a road game at New England. Many thought the Colts would pick up their first loss of the season and maybe their first two during the stretch. But Manning led a 62-yard drive that resulted in a 37-yard field goal by kicker Adam Vinatieri with two seconds left on the clock. It was a big win for the Colts, and it was just as big for Colts fans, who had their faith confirmed that Vinatieri would do the same for them as he did for New England.

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

INDIANAPOLIS TIGHT END Dallas Clark makes a move on a Denver defender during the Colts’ 34-31 win.

WEEK 5 - TENNESSEE AT INDIANAPOLIS

COLTS 14, TITANS 13

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

INDIANAPOLIS’S ANTHONY MCFARLAND chases down Redskins running back Ladell Betts in the third quarter of the teams’ Week 6 game in Indianapolis.

WEEK 6 - WASHINGTON AT INDIANAPOLIS

COLTS 36, ’SKINS 22

" When: Oct. 22, 2006 " Where: at Indianapolis " Rundown: Down 14-13 at halftime, the Colts used a 20-point third quarter to pull away from the Redskins. … The quarter consisted of two field goals from kicker Adam Vinatieri, two touchdown Vinatieri passes from quarterback Peyton Manning to wide receiver Marvin Harrison and another TD pass from Manning to Clark wideout Reggie Wayne. … Wayne’s TD catch was a 51yard catch, his longest of the season. … For the first score of the game, Manning connected

with tight end Dallas Clark for a one-yard TD … Manning finished with four touchdown passes, marking the 14th time in his career he reached the feat and the fourth most of any QB in league history. … The high point for Washington came when Antwaan Randle El returned a punt 87 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. " Thinking back: This game was a bit of a question mark for the Colts heading into it. Indianapolis hadn’t faced Washington since Oct. 27, 2002. The loss marked the third straight for the Redskins, so it really wasn’t that surprising that Indianapolis won the game. By scoring the 20 points in the third quarter, Indianapolis confirmed it would be a lethal opponent THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR PEYTON MANNING gets up off the turf for anyone hoping to leave the after being sandwiched by the RedRCA Dome with a victory, which skins Phillip Daniels and Andre Carter. never happened this season.

" When: Oct. 8, 2006 " Where: at Indianapolis " Rundown: Tennessee scored the first 10 points, which came as a big surprise considering the Titans were riding a fourgame losing streak to start the season. … The Titans rushed for 214 yards on 31 carries as a team, and they were led by Travis Henry, who turned in the best game of his career by rushing for 123 yards on 19 carries. … Down 10-0 at halftime, quarterback Peyton Manning used his most reliable weapons Wayne — Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne — with touchdown strikes to each of them. It was Harrison on a 13-yard pass during the third quarter and Wayne on a two-yard pass in the fourth period. … The box score includes a name that didn’t stay long with the Colts — kicker Martin Gramatica, who was filling in for the injured Vinatieri for the final time. " Thinking back: This game was a bit of a shocker because the Titans had played so poorly heading into the game. But this game also, for the first time, really pushed Indianapolis’s biggest weakness to the forefront — the run defense. Rookie quarterback Vince Young ended up rushing for 43 yards on just four carries. From this game on, analysts and fans alike would point to the run defense as the possible reason Indianapolis might lose every week here after.

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It was also an eye-opening game for Colts fans who saw what their team will face in Young for years to come.

INDIANAPOLIS’S MARVIN HARRISON hauls in a pass for a touchdown during the third quarter of the teams’ matchup during Week 5.

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The Star Press newsroom can be reached at (765) 747-5754. It can also be reached toll-free at (800) 783-7827. Hours are 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. MondayFriday, 2 to 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

INDIANAPOLIS’S JASON DAVID acknowledges the fans after the Colts’ 14-13 win over the Titans in the teams’ Week 5 matchup.

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WEEK 4 - INDIANAPOLIS AT N.Y. JETS

COLTS 31, JETS 28

WEEK 3 - JACKSONVILLE AT INDIANAPOLIS

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

WEEK 2 - HOUSTON AT INDIANAPOLIS

COLTS 43, TEXANS 24

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

HOUSTON QUARTERBACK David Carr gets sacked by Indianapolis’s Robert Mathis.

WEEK 1 - INDIANAPOLIS AT N.Y. GIANTS

COLTS 26, GIANTS 21

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

INDIANAPOLIS’S TERRENCE WILKINS heads upfield on a punt return against Jacksonville.

COLTS 21, JAGUARS 14

More Colts coverage

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

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MONDAY February 5, 2007 W W W. T H E S TA R P R E S S . C O M

INDIANAPOLIS 29 | CHICAGO 17

THE INDIANAPOLIS COLTS ARE SUPER BOWL

CHAMPS! THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS quarterback Peyton Manning (18) celebrates after the Colts defeated the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl XLI on Sunday at Dolphin Stadium in Miami.

IAMI — There have certainly been prettier Super Bowls. There have certainly been more entertaining ones, and more closely contested ones, too. But never before has the game ended like Sunday’s did — with the Indianapolis Colts as Super Bowl champions. In a game that included eight turnovers, and an opening kickoff and later an interception both returned for touchdowns, the AFC Champion Indianapolis Colts defeated the NFC Champion Chicago Bears 29-17 in Super Bowl XLI. CHRIS BERGIN / THE STAR PRESS Finally, on a podium in the middle BEARS FAN Mark Nowell-Philipp (middle) and Colts fans Russ Brown and Jennifer Simpson react at Buffalo Wild Wings during the Super Bowl on Sunday night. of the soggy, chilly Dolphin Stadium in Miami, the Vince Lombardi Trophy was hoisted. The championship that has long eluded coach Tony Dungy, quarterback Peyton Manning, the city of Indianapolis and the state of Indiana was in hand. Finally, the Colts are Super Bowl champs.

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CONTINUED COVERAGE OF THE COLTS VICTORY INSIDE " Local fans stay in from the cold, huddle together to watch the Colts’ victory | 3A " No surprise: Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning is the Super Bowl MVP | 2C " Mike Lopresti: Manning, teammates take final muddy step together | 3C " Ads: The big game within the big game | 4C " Images from the Super Bowl | 5-6C

On the Web

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MONDAY February 5, 2007

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Local Elks Club collects deer hides for veterans

E AST C ENTRAL I NDIANA N EWS

Metro editor Doug Walker, 747-5754 E-mail: news@muncie.gannett.com Fax: 213-5858 Page designer Ben Kreider, 213-5846

W W W. T H E STA R P R E S S .C O M

AREA BRIEFLY

The game — and the party — was on for these friends

THE STAR PRESS STAFF

Cold temps prompt delay at local schools

MUNCIE — Muncie Community Schools and most other local school districts opted to delay the start of classes today for two hours because of sub-zero temperatures. “We really just think the (temperature) will be so low, we don’t want to take the chance of students waiting that early,” Muncie Supt. Marlin Creasy said on Sunday. Local schools on a twohour delay today are: Blackford, Blue River, CA Beard, Cowan, Daleville, Delaware, Eastbrook, Liberty-Perry, Madison-Grant, Monroe Central, Muncie, Nettle Creek, New Castle, Randolph Central, Randolph Eastern, Randolph Southern, South Henry, Union and Wes-Del.

Muncie stays home

By KEITH ROYSDON

kroysdon@muncie.gannett.com

D E L AWA R E

Council to consider annexation cases

MUNCIE — The Muncie City Council has a short agenda tonight, including two more settlements in a 2005 annexation effort. The council meets at 7:30 p.m. in city hall auditorium. Mayor Dan Canan’s administration recently offered settlements to property owners in Saddlebrook subdivision on the old Crapo estate along Morrison Road and the Turner-Elliott annexation along Cornbread Road. The deal, recently accepted by property owners, makes the annexation effective on Jan. 1, 2009. Property taxes payable in 2010 will be 25 percent of total value, and 50 percent in 2011 with full taxes paid in 2012.

Drug conviction leads to six-year sentence

MUNCIE — A Muncie man convicted of drug-related charges has been sentenced to six years in prison by Delaware Circuit Court 4 Judge John Feick. Marc T. Drummer, 28, had pleaded guilty to dealing in cocaine, a class B felony carrying a standard 10-year prison term, and possession of cocaine, a class C felony with a standard four-year sentence. Feick last week imposed an eight-year sentence with two years suspended. Drummer, who had no prior felony convictions, will be on probation for two years upon his release from prison.

Selma Legion post to host annual breakfast

SELMA — Selma American Legion Post 437 will host its annual post breakfast 8-10 a.m. Saturday. Members and guests are invited. Free-will donations will be accepted. Info: Call (765) 282-7200.

JAY

School board seeks public input on goals

PORTLAND — The Jay County School Board will hold a public work session 8:30-11:30 a.m. Saturday at the administration office, 404 E. Arch St., to receive “public input on setting goals for the corporation,” according to public input. The public is encouraged to attend.

Jay man charged with rape in Wells County

BRYANT — A rural Bryant man has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in her Bluffton home. Noah J. Wengerd, 31, 7977 N. Jay County Road 650-W, is charged with rape, a class B felony carrying a standard 10year prison term. Wengerd — released from the Wells County jail after posting a $15,000 bond — is scheduled to appear Thursday at an initial hearing in Wells Circuit Court.

" The gathering had pre-game entertainment, the broadcast, the crowd, the food, the folding chairs — and even the token Bears fan.

ALAN RAIMS and his wife Angie Abrams-Raims cheer during the Super Bowl on Sunday night at The Fickle Peach in downtown Muncie.

CHRIS BERGIN / THE STAR PRESS

Super Bowl (and low temps) keep fans in front of TV stripe under each eye, a plastic goal post hanging around her neck, arms dripping in blue beads, ubiquitous blue and white jersey on, had trouble talking in complete sentences. She said she hadn’t really minded coming in to work at Scotty’s, what with all the TVs and the balloons and the atmosphere, which managed to be loud and fun despite there being no wait for a table (a rarity on a normal night, much less Super Bowl night). “We get to dress up, all the fans are here ...” Her eyes had drifted to the TV screen, where the Colts scored their first touchdown. “Whoo!” she screamed. “Whoo!” Then, “I’m sorry, what?”

By COLLEEN STEFFEN

csteffen@muncie.gannett.com

t’s been conjectured by social scientists that we support our home teams the way our distant ancestors supported their local warriors, whose brute strength protected villages and fostered regional pride. Well, maybe not in the exact same way. Chip dip and blue face paint probably didn’t come into it much way back then. But the medieval analogy almost held up at Super Bowl kick-off time Sunday in Muncie, which resembled a place bracing for a siege. That is, it seemed virtually abandoned. You could drive down McGalliard Road all the way from Best Buy to the mall (past the Mutual Federal sign announcing the temperature: 5 degrees) and pass only 70 cars going the other way. There were only 10 cars within sight of the movie theater and less than 20 in front of Target. You could park right by the door at Texas Roadhouse and cruise unimpeded through the Starbucks drive-thru, where there was no line. No customers, either. Even the places you might have expected to be stuffed with Super Bowl revelers proved pretty empty. Just a few dozen folks watched the big TVs at Scotty’s Brewhouse. At a party in Ball State University’s student center, a towering stack of pizza boxes had managed to attract about the same number of students a half-hour before the big game. If it was an exciting day for football fans, it must have been as well for folks who hate waiting in lines and parking at the farthest reaches of the Wal-Mart parking lot. Not that they seemed to take advantage of it. While the Super Bowl was on — and the temps low — Muncie mostly stayed home. Blue punch, blue cookies, blue popcorn — the well-picked-over snack table at Hazelwood Christian Church’s youth-group Super Bowl party didn’t look too appetizing, truth be told. Colts-blue food coloring resembles nothing so much as some serious refrigerator mold. But did the kids care? Of course not. And there must have been caffeine in that blue-hued punch, because they were literally bouncing off the walls — and crawling around on the floor after errant ping-pongs and howling over an apparently quite competitive air hockey game and yelling conversations over some Beatles and other classic rock. All the kids were big Colts fans, said 13-year-old Shane Conley, himself a center and defensive tackle for the Delta Eagles. And there was another reason on top of the Super Bowl to be excited, he said: “We already have a two-hour delay tomorrow!” What to do if you’re a die-hard Colts fan

CHRIS BERGIN / THE STAR PRESS

BEARS FAN DOUG RISLEY (above left) talks with Colts fan Tom Steiner at the home of Brian McKay during a Super Bowl party Sunday night. CAREY GRIMES (below left) and Aimee George stand on the bar and give away prizes at Buffalo Wild Wings during halftime of the Super Bowl on Sunday night. but somehow got suckered into working Sunday night? Fire up the TiVo. And give advance warning to friends and family not to slip the score before you’re done watching. That’s what Best Buy product process manager Aaron Kidd did, because he and his staff wouldn’t be able to lock up the store and go home until at least 7 o’clock, despite a total lack of customers. Most of the staff loitered around the front doors chatting and staring out the front doors at sporadic snowfall. No, they hadn’t seen any last-minute rush on big-screens.

Aaron would be rushing home to his own 42-inch plasma TV. “It’s been recording for an hour,” he said. “I told people not to call.” Ball State senior Kaci Groninger, a black

De Hale was another person working Sunday night, in her case at the CVS on West Jackson — and quite willingly. She was like the single person who works Christmas so other people can be with their kids. She’d volunteered to come in because she hated taking away the evening from someone who really loves football. And she really doesn’t. “Now had this had anything to do with Toby Keith, they could have closed the store because that would be something to call in for!” she said. But the Colts ... not so much. Without a single customer in the store, she was restocking all her depleted alcohol and pop and snack shelves and catching up on filing and such. Earlier that day, ever a good sport, so to speak, she had made a dessert for her husband to take to his gathering. It was a truffle, a new recipe she had tried. And in case a truffle wasn’t manly enough for a Super Bowl party, she’d stuck a plastic football on top. Angie Reed’s cousin and her kids were supposed to be come over and watch the game at her house and play board games during half-time, but their car wouldn’t start — probably because of the cold. Angie’s husband was working, so she was watching the game snuggled up with her dog and two cats, eating cocktail weenies and cheeseball for dinner. “I was never into sports,” she said. She only started watching the Colts this year. She even more recently found out a touchdown and a field goal weren’t the same thing. But she’d caught the interest from enthusiastic co-workers, and it looked like it was going to stick. And she might have transmitted it herself, to her previously sports-resistant husband. “I got him into watching the Colts,” she said, sounding proud despite the fact that, at that moment in the game at least, they weren’t winning. If the worst should happen, would she give up on her new team? She gave the quick, steadfast answer of a true convert: “Nope.”

MUNCIE — Nothing sounds like a room full of boisterous Indianapolis Colts fans gone very, very quiet. That sound — or absence of sound — could almost be felt in B.J. and Erica McKay’s home west of Muncie on Sunday night, when Super Bowl XLI began with a long, long touchdown run for the Chicago Bears. Throughout the game, the McKays and nearly two dozen friends rode an emotional rollercoaster as the Colts and Bears battled at Dolphin Stadium in Miami. The group gathered the same way millions of friends gathered Sunday night — with lots of food, drink and camaraderie. And the random Bears fan — in this case, Doug Risley. Even though he sported a Bears jersey, Risley — who marked his 23rd birthday on Sunday — was greeted with a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday when he arrived. When Devin Hester scored Chicago’s first points in the opening moments of the game, the crowd at the McKay home got quiet. But in the back of the room, Risley quietly raised his hands. In a moment, his cell phone rang and he ducked into a nearby playroom to take the call. “I’m hiding out,” Risley told the caller. Risley didn’t have to worry. Despite the difference in team preferences, Risley was among friends. “He’s a Chicago fan, but we still like him,” Marty Tormoehlen had said a few minutes earlier. B.J. McKay said his family’s party — also attended by daughter Adrienne, almost 2, and son Julian, 12 weeks — was an annual event for the group of friends who knew each other through school, church and work. By the time a dozen-and-ahalf people had arrived, McKay said as many as eight more might show up. “On a day so many people are around, an extra few won’t make a difference,” he said. The group had met earlier in the afternoon and — despite temperatures around 10 degrees — played flag football at Northside Middle School. “I’m still thawing out,” Tormoehlen said. “When the wind was blowing, it hurt,” McKay agreed. On sofas and folding chairs, the crowd in the McKay family room watched the game — projected on a wall — reacting to every play, dipping into an extensive buffet that covered the kitchen island and table and kidding each other. “B.J., did the NFL warn you about the size of the screen?” someone joked in reference to the NFL’s warning to churches about showing the game on big screens. “I was going to make it widescreen,” McKay said. Erica McKay was unfazed by a houseful of Super Bowl partiers. “This is a small crowd,” she said, adding that some friends with kids decided to stay home because of cold temperatures. B.J. McKay — his hair cut into a Mohawk for the game — indicated he was already looking forward to next year’s party. “You guys get ready for this,” he said to the crowd. “Next four years, Colts every year.” " Contact news reporter Keith Roysdon at 213-5828.

“You guys get ready for this. Next four years, Colts every year.” B.J. McKay

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MONDAY February 5, 2007

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Aaron Baddeley rallies to win FBR Open | 8C

Sports editor Dax Lowery, 213-5810 E-mail sports@muncie.gannett.com Fax: 213-5883 Page designer Dax Lowery, 213-5810

W W W. T H E STA R P R E S S .C O M

SUPER BOWL XLI | COLTS 29, BEARS 17

ROYAL BLUE Indianapolis reigns over Bears for Super Bowl title

COLTS COACH TONY DUNGY is hoisted above the crowd after Indianapolis’s historic win in Dolphin Stadium in Miami. Dungy became the first black coach to win the championship.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE SUPER BOWL CHAMPION INDIANAPOLIS COLTS ON THE WEB

" Keep track of assistant sports editor Greg Fallon’s Colts Blog at www.thestarpress.com

PEYTON NAMED MVP

" Peyton Manning’s career-long quest for a championship finally ended Sunday with a title and a Super Bowl MVP award | Page 2C

COLTS COME THROUGH

" A team that plays its home games in a domed stadium seemed to handle the elements with ease | Page 3C

OVERCOMING THE CURSE

" You can file this away alongside the curse of the Bambino. Because a Manning finally won a big one | Page 4C

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Wet and wild in Miami Colts weather the elements, Bears defense for Super Bowl win

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MIAMI — Wet and wild — and the perfect winning conditions for Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl. A team built for indoors found its footing on a rain-soaked track and outplayed the Chicago Bears to win the NFL title 29-17 Sunday night. The Colts were far less sloppy, particularly their star quarterback, who proved he can indeed win the big game — the biggest game. That’s what it was for Tony Dungy, too. He became the first black coach to win the championship, beating good friend and protege Lovie Smith in a game that featured the first two black coaches in the Super Bowl. “It’s hard to put into words,” said Manning, the game’s MVP after hitting 25 of 38 passes for 247 yards with one touchdown and one interception. “I’m proud to be part of this team. We stuck together, won this game for our leader, Tony Dungy.” It was a game of firsts: the first rainy Super Bowl and the first time an opening kickoff was run back for a touchdown when sensational Bears rookie Devin Hester sped downfield for 92 yards. And not since the Buffalo Bills self-destructed with nine turnovers in losing to Dallas 14 years ago had there been so much messiness. The first half was marred by six turnovers, three for each team. Even football’s most clutch kicker, Adam Vinatieri, missed a chip-shot field goal, and an extra point attempt was botched, too. The second half wasn’t quite so ugly, but when much-maligned Bears quarterback Rex Grossman’s wobbler was picked off and returned 56 yards for a touchdown by Kelvin Hayden with 11:44 remaining, it was over. “I’m so proud of our guys,” Dungy said. “We took the hit early with Devin Hester. We talked about it; it’s going to be a storm. Sometimes you have to work for it. Our guys played so hard and I can’t tell you how proud I am of our group, our organization and our city.” Chicago (15-4), which led the league in takeaways this season, finished with five turnovers, including two interceptions by Grossman. The Colts (16-4) will take it. It’s their first title since the 1970 season, when they played in Baltimore. It was confirmation of Manning’s brilliance, even if he didn’t need to be dynamic. The son of a quarterback who never got to the playoffs, Manning has been a star throughout his college career at Tennessee and his nine pro seasons with the Colts. Now he is a champion. The Colts hoisted their coach on their shoulders and he switched his blue Colts cap for a white one that read “NFL champions.” Dungy was carried from the sideline, then was lowered so he could share a long embrace and a handshake with Smith. “I’m proud to be representing the African-American coaches

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

INDIANAPOLIS QUARTERBACK Peyton Manning (18) reacts after a touchdown run by Dominic Rhodes during the second quarter of Super Bowl XLI against the Chicago Bears at Dolphin Stadium in Miami on Sunday.

Manning’s elusive ring comes with an MVP award " Manning claims his first football championship in grand style. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

INDIANAPOLIS SAFETY Bob Sanders kisses the Vince Lombardi trophy during its presentation after Super Bowl XLI in Miami on Sunday. and the first African-American coach to win this,” Dungy said. Then he waded through the mob to find his quarterback, giving him a big hug. The Colts reached the pinnacle by winning four postseason games with a defense that made a complete turnaround in the playoffs. And with a running game that perfectly complemented Manning, thanks to Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes, who combined for 190 yards — 113 on 21 carries by Rhodes and 77 on 10 carries by Addai, who also had 66 yards receiving. Chicago was denied its first Super Bowl title since the powerhouse 1985 team. These Bears could have used Da Coach, Sweetness and their buddies. It rained from start to finish; there was even Purple Rain during halftime when Prince sang some of his signature songs.

And though Vinatieri twice was a victim of the slop, he kicked three field goals. Hester’s spectacular return provided a stunning beginning — and a severe jolt to the Colts. The local product and only rookie All-Pro this season pumped his arms to excite the crowd before the kickoff, then lifted the fans from their seats with an electrifying run on which he never was touched. He barely touched the ball again as Indy went to squibbing kickoffs. Leading 16-14 at halftime, the Colts spent half the third quarter with a march to Vinatieri’s 24-yard field goal. Twice on the drive, Manning fell to the ground while throwing. But he completed them. Grossman had it even worse on Chicago’s initial possession of the second half, twice in a row slipping and getting

sacked. Maybe he would have done better on icy turf. Thomas Jones, forced to carry the Bears’ entire rushing load when Cedric Benson was hurt in the first half, was Chicago’s best player. But with Grossman ineffective, even inept, all the Bears managed in the second half was Robbie Gould’s 44-yard field goal late in the third period. After Hester’s opening dagger, Manning tried to force a pass to Marvin Harrison in double coverage and was picked off by Chris Harris to spoil Indy’s first possession, but the Colts struck back on their next series, converting three thirddowns. The final one was the most important as Manning got everything on a long pass to the uncovered Reggie Wayne even though Tank Johnson had his hands on the quarterback. Wayne trotted into the end zone for a 47-yard score.

MIAMI — Peyton Manning answered the final question. Yes, he can win the big one — and yes, he can do it in a big way, too. His career-long quest for a championship finally ended Sunday in Miami with an efficient performance against the Chicago Bears that added a Super Bowl MVP award to his long list of achievements. The two-time NFL MVP was 25-of-38 for 247 yards and a touchdown pass, keeping the Bears on their heels with his play calling at the line of scrimmage as he rallied the Colts to a 29-17 victory. For more than a decade, Manning heard critics follow their acknowledgments of his greatness with this: He could only be remembered along with John Elway, Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw if he won a Super Bowl. Now, Manning can always remind them by flashing his championship ring. The doubts started when Manning was in college at Tennessee. He never beat rival Florida, and the year after he left, the Volunteers won a national championship. In Indianapolis, the questions continued. When he started 0-3 in the postseason, people wondered if he’d ever win a playoff game. When he finally did that, people said he couldn’t beat New England. When he did that, the critics contended he still couldn’t win the biggest game of all. He did that, too. After taking about a quarter to figure out the Bears’ defense, Manning dissected it like a surgeon — carefully and aggressively. He methodically moved Indianapolis by masterfully find-

Super Bowl MVPs

2007 — Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis 2006 — Hines Ward, WR, Pittsburgh 2005 — Deion Branch, WR, New England 2004 — Tom Brady, QB, New England 2003 — Dexter Jackson, FS, Tampa Bay 2002 — Tom Brady, QB, New England 2001 — Ray Lewis, LB, Baltimore 2000 — Kurt Warner, QB, St. Louis 1999 — John Elway, QB, Denver 1998 — Terrell Davis, RB, Denver 1997 — Desmond Howard, KR, Green Bay 1996 — Larry Brown, CB, Dallas 1995 — Steve Young, QB, San Francisco 1994 — Emmitt Smith, RB, Dallas 1993 — Troy Aikman, QB, Dallas 1992 — Mark Rypien, QB, Washington 1991 — Ottis Anderson, RB, N.Y. Giants 1990 — Joe Montana, QB, San Francisco 1989 — Jerry Rice, WR, San Francisco

ing open receivers, calling runs and converting third downs. He threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne with a Chicago defender draped around his waist. And even an early glitch on kickoff coverage that led to Devin Hester’s 92-yard return for a touchdown to open the game couldn’t derail the Colts. Manning wouldn’t let it. He led them on a drive to a field goal, then gave them the lead when Dominic Rhodes scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. And Manning put the game away by setting up Adam Vinatieri for two second-half field goals. The defense took care of the rest with Kelvin Hayden’s interception return for a touchdown. But it was Manning who showed the world he could excel on the grandest stage in sports.

Colts show patience is a virtue in Super Bowl win

rince sang about it being purple at halftime. The good Lord above dumped about as much of it on Dolphin Stadium as he could. Nevertheless, there was no raining on Indianapolis’s parade in South Florida on Sunday. Completing the quest that has long eluded coach Tony Dungy, fulfilling the one defining moment that’s been missing for quarterback Peyton Manning, the Colts are now Super Bowl champions. Indianapolis 29, Chicago 17. It didn’t come pretty, but neither did this season for the Colts. This year included a stretch where Indianapolis lost three

Indianapolis Colts

GREG FALLON

gfallon@muncie.gannett.com

of four games. By the season’s end, Indianapolis had allowed 173 yards rushing a game on defense, a fact many said would be the eventual downfall of this team. All year long the Colts battled key injuries, including 12 games without one of the

league’s best safeties in Bob Sanders. It was a season with many trials and tribulations, which mirrored much of Sunday’s game. It all started when Indianapolis allowed Chicago kick returner Devin Hester to slice up the field for a 92-yard touchdown on the first play of the game. “I’m so proud of our guys. We took a hit early with Devin Hester,” Dungy said on the podium at midfield after the game. “We talked about it. We knew it was going to be a storm.” It was at that point that the un-trained Indianapolis fan, the one who hasn’t followed the team all season long, might have thought an upset was in

the making. The thousands wearing Chicago Bears gear in Miami sure thought so. The thousands wearing horseshoes knew better. This season Indianapolis learned a valuable lesson. They put it into practice during the AFC Championship game and it was the eventual fuel for the sixty minutes that concluded with the Colts as Super Bowl XLI champions on Sunday. Patience is a virtue. They stayed patient after Hester’s return. They stayed patient after all three of their own turnovers. They even stayed patient with the weather. Indianapolis turned to a tan-

dem of running backs in Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes to methodically eat the clock, control the game and take the element of rain out of the picture. Rhodes carried it 21 times for 113 yards, Addai 19 times for 77 yards. Together they ran the ball 42 times for 191 yards, far outgaining the Bears, who gained 111 yards on the ground. While it never seemed to be a dominant performance, the stat sheet says it was. The Colts won the battle on the ground, and they won it in the air, too. Manning, who was named the game’s MVP, completed 25-of-38 passes for 247 yards, one touchdown and one interception. His counterpart, Rex Grossman

completed 20-of-28 passes for 165 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, one of which Indianapolis defensive back Kelvin Hayden returned for a touchdown. By the game’s end, despite the early score by the Bears, despite the early hints of an upset, the Colts held the ball for 38 minutes and the Bears for just 21. The stats go on and on, mostly because Sunday’s win was as much of a team win as the Colts turned in all season. “There are a lot of things that had a role in tonight’s victory,” Manning said after the game. “We truly won this as a team. I’m proud to be a part of it.” As he should be.

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" SUPER BOWL XLI NOTEBOOK GANNETT NEWS SERVICE

MIAMI — Devin Hester set a Super Bowl record Sunday, and touched off a game of cat-andmouse in the process. The Chicago Bears return man took the opening kickoff of Super Bowl XLI 92 yards for a touchdown. It was the eighth Vinatieri kickoff return for a score in Super Bowl history, but the first time it occurred on the game’s opening kick. Reacting to Hester’s return, Smith the Indianapolis Colts did their best to make sure the former University of Miami standout never had a chance to hurt them again. On Indianapolis’s next kick, Adam Vinatieri sent the ball short. It was caught by Chicago’s Gabe Reid, who was hit by Indianapolis’s Robert Mathis. Reid fumbled and the ball was recovered by the Colts’ Dylan Gandy. Figuring the Colts would squib kick it again on their next try, the Bears put Hester at the 30-yard line and sent Rashied Davis deep for the return. Indianapolis wasn’t fooled, though, and kicked the ball deep to Davis. After the Colts scored again to take a 16-14 lead, Hester was deep again ... and Vinatieri kicked it short.

Big first quarter

The Colts and Bears combined for three touchdowns in the first quarter, easily breaking a Super Bowl drought. The previous five Super Bowls

had gone scoreless in the first quarter. In fact, an NFC team had not scored in the first quarter in the past eight games.

Addai breaks streak

When Joseph Addai got the start for Indianapolis on Sunday, it marked the first time a rookie running back had started a Super Bowl since Denver’s Bobby Humphrey in Super Bowl XXIV in 1990.

Hunt’s wife honored

Norma Hunt, wife of Kansas City Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt, joined Miami Dolphins Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino for the coin toss prior to Super Bowl XLI. Lamar Hunt died on Dec. 13, 2006, at the age of 74 and was one of the pivotal players in the growth of the NFL. He is even credited with coining the term “Super Bowl” to name the league’s championship game.

So … what’s a Lovie?

Bears coach Lovie Smith on the origin of his name: “I had a great aunt, Lovana. They were planning on a girl, they got a boy and we went with Lovie. We have three sons and I have grandsons and all that, but my wife Mary Ann hasn’t cooperated with me. I thought it would be a good deal to keep the Lovie name going, but it seems it will stop with me.”

Super streak

Wide receiver Joe Jurevicius and Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri have combined to appear in seven consecutive Super Bowls — or every game held this century. Three of Vinatieri’s previous games came with the New England Patriots. Jurevicius has appeared with the New York Giants (2000), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2002) and Seattle Seahawks (2005).

TA K I N G S H E LT E R

USA TODAY

Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning scrambles out of the pocket in the first half. Manning, who was named the game’s Most Valuable Player, threw for 247 yards and a touchdown on Sunday.

Colts’ tag-team ground game overpowers Bears THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MIAMI — Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes split the carries all season. On Sunday, they shared the credit for Indianapolis’ first Super Bowl victory. Addai played the role of setup man and Rhodes finished it off against the Chicago Bears, giving two-time NFL MVP Peyton Manning enough balance in rainy Miami to finally bring home the Lombardi Trophy. While Manning was selected the game’s MVP, Rhodes and Addai showed what a successful tag-team backfield looks like. Addai, who led all rookies in rushing during the regular season despite not starting a game, ran 19 times for 77 yards and softened up a defense considered one of the strongest in the

league. He also caught 10 passes, more than any of his more notable teammates, for 66 yards. Rhodes, who graciously accepted his new role as the backup in the playoffs, was even better. He ran 21 times for 113 yards and scored one touchdown. “What makes it work is that we’re two unselfish guys,” said Rhodes, who will now become an unrestricted free agent. “Defenses can’t look to just stop one style, and that makes it harder for them.” After overpowering Kansas City, Baltimore and New England in their previous playoff games, the Colts came up with a performance Sunday that will be forever etched into the memories of their fans. They repeatedly ran into the middle of the wet field, challenging the Bears’ strengths, and

then quickly cut outside. They put Manning in position to repeatedly convert third downs and, when they had to close out the game late, they did that, too. It was no surprise to the Colts. “All year they’ve been splitting carries because we wanted them healthy for the end of the season,” left tackle Tarik Glenn said. “They certainly did their job today.” After all, Addai’s 3-yard touchdown run against New England two weeks ago was the one that earned them a ticket to Miami. They played with more passion and determination Sunday. “We just try to take advantage of what they give us. That’s what we’ve been doing all year,” Addai said. “It’s just going out there and believing in each other that we can get the job done for our teammates.”

Rain falls on Super Bowl for first time THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHICAGO PUNTER and former Ball State player Brad Maynard sits beneath a tarp in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLI against the Colts at Dolphin Stadium in Miami on Sunday. Maynard punted five times for a 45.2 average. His longest punt came in the first quarter, when he booted the ball 58 yards. But the football rolled into the end zone, and the Colts were awarded a touchback.

MIAMI — For the first time, the Super Bowl was all wet. Steady rain fell Sunday on the Super Bowl, a dubious first for the NFL’s title game between the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts. It chased some ticketholders away at halftime, forced many to watch the game in concourses on television and generally made things miserable for those who spent big money on seats. In the end, though, the Colts didn’t mind. A team that plays its home games in a domed stadium seemed to handle the elements with ease, forcing five turnovers and beating the Chicago Bears, 29-17. “It wasn’t what you’d expect, coming down here to Miami, playing in the rain,” Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning

said. It wasn’t what fans expected, either. Rain began falling shortly after midnight Sunday at Dolphin Stadium, stopped for much of the afternoon — and then, as forecasters warned and many feared, resumed shortly before kickoff. “Not worth it,” Scott Braley of Indianapolis said as he and his son, Scott Jr., 4, left at halftime. “My kid is already coughing and sneezing. Of all the places for rain, would you think Miami?” Fortunately for Braley, he was staying with friends who live 10 minutes from the stadium — so he likely had plenty of time to get home and see the Colts celebrate with the trophy. Officially, less than a halfinch of rain fell throughout the day. Yet the persistent drizzle, combined with northeast winds

that gusted to 21 mph, made the Super Bowl soggy and sloppy. “It’s miserable,” said Pablo Santos, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Miami office. Virtually everyone on both sidelines wore raincoats or jackets. Players sometimes slipped on the turf. Uniforms were soaked through by halftime and there were large pockets of empty seats — a most unusual occurrence at a Super Bowl, where face value seats cost at least $600 apiece. The Bears refused, however, to use it as an excuse. “Wasn’t a factor. Didn’t bother me,” linebacker Brian Urlacher said. “Both teams had to play in the weather,” said kick returner Devin Hester, who opened the scoring with a 92-yard runback for a TD.

All season they demonstrated it could work. But Sunday’s performance, on such a grand stage, proved it to the world. With a combination of short, powerful runs and an occasional big one, they excelled in the second half when the Colts protected the lead. Rhodes’ 36-yard dash late in the third quarter set up Adam Vinatieri’s field goal that gave the Colts a 22-14 lead. And on their last possession, Manning didn’t even have to throw a pass. He gave the ball to Rhodes, who safely tucked it away in a turnover-plagued game to seal the victory. “They blocked for us, and he (Manning) put us in some great plays,” Rhodes said. “We knew it would be a running football game, and I’m glad we got it done.” Sunday’s box score Colts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Bears . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Indianapolis Chicago

6 10 6 7 — 29 14 0 3 0 — 17 First quarter Chi—Hester 92 kickoff return (Gould kick), 14:46. Ind—Wayne 53 pass from P.Manning (run failed), 6:50. Chi—Muhammad 4 pass from Grossman (Gould kick), 4:34. Second quarter Ind—FG Vinatieri 29, 11:17. Ind—Rhodes 1 run (Vinatieri kick), 6:09. Third quarter Ind—FG Vinatieri 24, 7:26. Ind—FG Vinatieri 20, 3:16. Chi—FG Gould 44, 1:14. Fourth quarter Ind—Hayden 56 interception return (Vinatieri kick), 11:44. A—74,512. Ind Chi First downs 24 11 Total Net Yards 430 265 Rushes-yards 42-191 19-111 Passing 239 154 Punt Returns 3-42 1-3 Kickoff Returns 4-89 6-138 Interceptions Ret. 2-94 1-6 Comp-Att-Int 25-38-1 20-28-2 Sacked-Yards Lost 1-8 1-11 Punts 4-40.5 5-45.2 Fumbles-Lost 2-2 4-3 Penalties-Yards 6-40 4-35 Time of Possession 38:04 21:56 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING—Indianapolis, Rhodes 21-113, Addai 19-77, Da.Clark 1-1, P.Manning 1-0. Chicago, Jones 15-112, Grossman 2-0, Benson 2-(minus 1). PASSING—Indianapolis, P.Manning 25-38-1-247. Chicago, Grossman 20-28-2-165. RECEIVING—Indianapolis, Addai 10-66, Harrison 5-59, Da.Clark 4-36, Wayne 2-61, Fletcher 2-9, Rhodes 1-8, Utecht 1-8. Chicago, De.Clark 6-64, Berrian 4-38, Jones 4-18, Muhammad 3-35, McKie 2-8, R.Davis 1-2. MISSED FIELD GOAL—Indianapolis, Vinatieri 36 (WL).

With conditions stacked against them, Colts come through

IAMI — In case you couldn’t see it through the rain-splattered camera lens, that was Peyton Manning hoisting the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday night. All things considered, we should probably be glad it wasn’t wet enough to drop. This is not the way the Super Bowl is supposed to be won, in defiance of Mother Nature, who has never been known to turn nasty on this national holiday instead of sitting in a luxury suite with nachos. Bad weather has been strictly prohibited by the NFL, just like big TV screens at churches. Weren’t we all sure we’d see the Detroit Lions at a Super Bowl before we saw rain? But these were perfect conditions for the Indianapolis Colts to bolster their championship reputation, ideal weather for Manning to secure his legacy. It would be no easy day of

pass-and-catch in a climate-controlled sanctuary on dry carpet, but survival and will through a south Florida monsoon. So much for a dome softy unable to win a Super Bowl. On a slippery day like this, a man needed all his mates. Peyton Manning took the last muddy step with his team at his side. His 247 yards on 25-for-38 passing were quite sufficient — the handiwork of a prized quarterback picking apart a defense with short passes while the Chicago Bears’ secondary sometimes lined up near Key West to prevent the big play. But Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes combining to rush for 190 yards between Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes were also impressive, and just as important. As was their defense, forcing five turnovers, the killer being Kelvin Hayden’s interception return for a touchdown

MIKE LOPRESTI

mlopresti@gns.gannett.com

in the fourth quarter. It was a dagger to the heart of the Bears, delivered by a Chicago native and backup cornerback. The Indianapolis ball control was extraordinary. Of the game’s first 86 plays, Chicago had the ball only 23. By then, the Bears’ offense needed first downs and their defense needed oxygen. The time of possession gap ended with the Colts holding a 38:04-21:56 advantage. This was one team overpow-

ering, if not always stylishly. There have been 11 Super Bowls played where neither team lost a fumble. The Colts and Bears coughed up five before halftime. Twice, they dropped them backto-back. It looked as if they were trying to run with a full paint can. But notice this. The Colts did not have a turnover after halftime. This mighty conflict between man and nature sent us to literature. Lo and behold, it was discovered that many of our greatest writers had the Super Bowl in mind. With a little tweaking. “Into each Chicago defender’s life, some rain must fall.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This was a dissertation on the variety of the Indianapolis offense. Everywhere the Bears looked, there was trouble. By the end of the third period, Manning had thrown completions to seven different receiv-

ers. If Rhodes was not rolling through the Bears, Addai would. “Hard rain’s gonna fall, a lot of it on the head of Rex Grossman.” — Bob Dylan. All week, all month, all season, he has had to live with criticism about his inconsistencies. After two interceptions, two bobbled center snaps, and one touchdown produced by his offense, think he’ll hear any more? “The good rain, like a bad preacher and Joseph Addai, does not know when to leave off.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson. Addai not only rushed for 77 yards, but had 10 catches. A rookie, answering every call. “The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain (while in Florida, it often loiters around Dolphin Stadium, so no wonder the Mariners want a dome).” — Alan Jay Lerner. “It never rains, but it pours, just like Devin Hester.” — Old

English saying. Fourteen seconds. That’s how long it took for two weeks of relentless pre-game analysis to be yanked out of shape, when Devon Hester returned the opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown. The 40 previous Super Bowls had never seen such a thing. The Colts’ coverage team, a shaky lot in recent weeks, put in overtime in practice to prevent such a disaster. It wasn’t enough, and seemed just the kind of play that could haunt a team all day. But it turned into an asterisk. “And the rain fell upon the Super Bowl for 60 minutes and four quarters.” — Genesis. Manning gets his championship at the age of 30. He will never need to answer that question again. Tony Dungy goes into history as the first black Super Bowl champion coach. They will always, always have Sunday. Who cares if it came with ponchos?

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How they performed GANNETT NEWS SERVICE

A look at how the Colts and Bears fared in the Super Bowl:

Indianapolis Colts

Rushing offense: Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes had a lot of success on cutbacks against the Bears’ overpursuit. The Colts alternated the two backs, using the slashing runs of Addai mixed in with the power runs of Rhodes. Grade: A Passing offense: Peyton Manning got off to rocky start, throwing an interception on his fourth pass. But then he settled down and regained his rhythm. The rest of the way, Manning showed remarkable patience, working underneath on crossing and sideline patterns. Grade: B-plus Rushing defense: The Colts, inspired by hard-hitting safety Bob Sanders, jammed up inside plays. They let Thomas Jones break loose on a 52-yarder that set up the Bears’ second TD, but they did enough swarming to the ball and kept Chicago from playing ball control. Grade: B-plus Passing defense: Rex Grossman opened the game with a 7-yarder to Bernard Berrian, and that was his style in the first half, little dump-offs and flat tosses. The secondary gave up a touchdown pass to Muhsin Muhammad but played tough coverage when it needed to. Grade: B Special teams: The Colts allowed rookie Devin Hester to explode on a 92-yard kickoff return to open the game. After that, they resorted to the squib kick. The usually dependable Adam Vinatieri missed a 36-yard field goal (wide left) and couldn’t convert after the Colts’ first TD because of a bungled snap. Vinatieri hit on three short field goals. Grade: C

Overall: The Colts beat the Bears at their own game, running the ball and wearing the other guy’s defense down. Grade A-minus

Chicago Bears

Rushing offense: Jones got nearly half his 112 yards on one carry. Cedric Benson went out early with an injury. Other than that, it was shut down. Grade: C-minus Passing offense: Grossman threw only high-percentage passes, almost as if the Bears were sitting on 7-0 and 7-6 leads. Later, he threw two costly interceptions, one that the Colts turned into a touchdown. Grade: D Rushing defense: The Bears’ run defense, ranked sixth in the league (99.4-yard average), had problems stopping the Colts’ inside game, often overpursuing plays. MLB Brian Urlacher was a force inside. Grade: Cminus Passing defense: Chris Harris stole one of Manning’s early passes into double-coverage, and the Bears forced Manning to use a lot of dump-offs from his nohuddle, hurry-up offense. But Tank Johnson let Manning slip away from a near-sack and hurl a 53-yard TD on pass to a wideopen Reggie Wayne. The Bears didn’t sack the quick-armed Manning until nine minutes were left. Grade: C Special teams: Hester veered outside and then cut back behind his wedge to deliver a gameopening 92-yard kickoff return, his seventh scoring return of the year. The coverage units weren’t bad. Grade: B Overall: The Bears couldn’t feed off their running game because the Colts played tough, relentless defense. Grade: B-minus

Manning overcomes family curse to win the big one By TIM DAHLBERG AP Sports Columnist

MIAMI — He did it on a night when the rain fell, the wind swirled and even Prince got dripping wet. He did it when everyone around him seemed to have trouble holding onto the ball and his team fell into a familiar early hole. It never was going to be easy for Peyton Manning. Somehow, it never is. Then again, breaking curses is never easy. But it’s the only way Manning to vanquish them for good. You can file this one away alongside the curse of the Bambino. Because a Manning finally won a big one. Thirty-six years after his father threw his first pass for the forlorn New Orleans Saints, Manning exorcized the demons of two generations Sunday night and washed away the many failures of football’s first family of quarterbacks. This wasn’t Archie Manning playing 15 years without a winning season for a team so bad fans put paper bags over their heads in embarrassment. This wasn’t Eli Manning throwing wildly downfield for the New York Giants. For sure this wasn’t the Peyton Manning who had come close before but always seemed

COLUMN flustered or overwhelmed when it really mattered. He wasn’t spectacular, but he didn’t need to be. The quarterback on the other team made sure of that. All Manning had to do was take a deep breath, calm down and be himself. With his dad and brothers watching from a suite upstairs, Manning did just that after a jittery opening series that included two false starts and ended with a Chicago interception. The Colts already trailed 7-0 when that happened. In Super Bowl parties around the nation Indianapolis fans had to be eyeing each other warily while replaying flashbacks in their minds of last year’s playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. But Manning came back with his only touchdown pass to a wide open Reggie Wayne, then settled down to take command of a conservative offense more fitting of the other team but perfectly fitted to a wet field and ball. In doing so he also answered the last remaining question about a career that will now surely end one day in Canton, Ohio. He won a game and a ring, and won one for his family. About the only thing he didn’t do was shout this one out in Market Square in Indianapolis: Peyton Manning CAN win the big one.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHICAGO and Indianapolis players scramble for a fumble during the first quarter of Super Bowl XLI at Dolphin Stadium in Miami on Sunday.

Bears fumble chances

" Colts force Bears into five turnovers, including three fumbles and two INTs. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MIAMI — This was the Rex Grossman that the Chicago Bears and their fans feared. When the Bears needed a clutch throw to catch up in the fourth quarter, their quarterback couldn’t connect. Instead, Grossman Grossman threw a pair of interceptions, one that Kelvin Hayden returned for a touchdown, all but ending Chicago’s chance to win the Super Bowl at rainy Dolphin Stadium. “A frustrating loss,” Grossman said. “There were definitely opportunities for us to take that game and we didn’t do it.” Criticized all season for his erratic play and questioned all week before the biggest game about his up-and-down season, Grossman did little to quiet his detractors Sunday night in a 29-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Two fumbled snaps — one he lost, one he didn’t — and then the two underthrown fourthquarter picks. Two throws that were pretty, well, gross. “In hindsight, I wish I had thrown it away,” Grossman said of the pass Hayden returned for a score. “The timing on it wasn’t right.” Grossman’s stats weren’t bad — 20-of-28 for 165 yards. But the Bears had trouble manufacturing drives against Indy’s tough defense. Grossman did have a 4-yard TD pass to Muhsin Muhammad in the first half, set up by Thomas Jones’ 52-yard run.

But other than Devin Hester’s TD return on the opening kickoff, there was not enough offense, especially in the second half. The Bears managed only 11 first downs, tied for the fifth-fewest total in a Super Bowl.

“A frustrating loss. There were definitely opportunities for us to take the game and we didn’t do it.” Chicago quarterback Rex Grossman

This is how it went for Grossman: In the third quarter after he’d completed a pair of passes to move the Bears to a second-and-1 at the Colts’ 45, he dropped back to pass, slipped on the wet grass and was sacked for an 11-yard loss. Facing third down, it got worse. He fumbled the snap, was able to pick the ball up before he was tackled, but another 11yard loss put the Bears in a fourth-and-23. In two plays the Bears went backward 22 yards, and a promising drive was over. Losing backup running back Cedric Benson to a knee injury late in the first quarter hurt Chicago’s running attack. Benson’s hard straight-ahead running had softened up defenses while he filled in for Jones. But his absence was not the reason the Bears couldn’t maintain long scoring drives. The Bears needed more than just the shifty running of Jones. They needed some big plays from their quarterback, and Grossman didn’t provide them. “We just never got any kind of rhythm going,” Grossman said.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHICAGO LINEBACKER BRIAN URLACHER (54) chases after a loose ball in front of Colts center Jeff Saturday (63) during the first quarter of Super Bowl XLI at Dolphin Stadium in Miami on Sunday.

Super Bowl Records

Records set or tied in the 2007 Super Bowl: INDIVIDUAL Most Points Kicking — 34, Adam Vinatieri, New England-Indianapolis Most Field Goal Attempts — 10, Adam Vinatieri, New England-Indianapolis Most Field Goals — 7, Adam Vinatieri, New England-Indianapolis Most Receptions, Rookie — 10, Joseph Addai, Indianapolis Most Receptions, Running Back — 10, Joseph Addai, Indianapolis Most Touchdowns, Kickoff Returns — 1, Devin Hester, Chicago TEAM Most Turnovers, First Quarter, Both Teams — 4, Chicago (2) vs. Indianapolis (2) Most Points, First Quarter, Team — 14, Chicago Most Touchdowns, Kickoff Returns, Game, Team — 1, Chicago

Doritos, Chevy feature Super Bowl spots made by or dreamed up by amateurs THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

DAVID LETTERMAN and Oprah Winfrey team up in this image provided by CBS to shoot a special surprise Late Show with David Letterman promo that was broadcast during CBS Sports’ coverage of Super Bowl XLI. The one-time-only spot, which ran during the highly-rated first quarter of the big game, was secretly taped Jan. 24 at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City.

NEW YORK — Along with the trademark Clydesdales, talking animals and high-end computer graphics, there was a new entry this year in the annual showdown of advertisers in the Super Bowl: amateurs. Starting in the first quarter, a goofy spot for Doritos showing a hapless driver distracted by a pretty woman passing by marked the first time a purely amateurcreated ad aired during the Super Bowl. Frito-Lay, the PepsiCo Inc. division that makes Doritos, ran an online competition to pick the winning spot. Katie Crabb, a freshman at the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point, was the winner of a separate contest by General

Motors Corp. and had her idea for an ad made into reality by Chevrolet’s marketing division. Despite being made by a newcomer, that ad was true to the tradition of using oddball humor in Super Bowl ads, showing a number of men stripping off their shirts — and some other articles of clothing — at the sight of a new Chevy HHR rolling down the street. Sight gags were back, including one from Bud Light early in the game showing a rather unusual tactic for winning at rock-paper-scissors — throwing an actual rock at the head of your opponent. The gag wasn’t completely new, however, since last year Sprint Nextel Corp. featured a phone with a “crime deter-

rent” — which turned out to be throwing the phone at someone’s head. FedEx Corp. combined a sight gag with another trademark of big ticket Super Bowl spots, fancy computer graphics, with an other-worldy ad showing an office worker drifting off into space from the world’s first office on the moon, only to be clobbered by a passing meteor. A lot is riding on the ads, and not just because CBS Corp. is charging as much as $2.6 million for a 30-second spot during the game. With some 90 million people watching, it’s the most-viewed program all year on television and the ads are subject to intense scrutiny, both by amateurs and the marketing industry.

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CHICAGO’S DEVIN HESTER (23) runs back the opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown.

COLTS FANS (from left) Shone Headlee, Catrina Headlee, Denesa Woods and David Woods from Indiana cover up from the rain before the start of Sunday’s game.

SUPER BOWL XLI | COLTS 29, BEARS 17

STORMIN’ AHEAD

Colts outlast the Bears on a rainy night in Miami

COLTS DEFENSIVE END Raheem Brock (79) celebrates with Darrell Reid (95) after recovering a fumble by Bears quarterback Rex Grossman in the second quarter.

PRINCE PERFORMS during the halftime show. His set included “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Purple Rain” and a cover of “Proud Mary.”

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

COLTS RECEIVER Reggie Wayne celebrates his 53-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LEFT: Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning calls a play from the field during the Super Bowl. The Colts defeated the Bears in Manning’s first-ever Super Bowl win. ABOVE: Manning is sacked by Chicago Bears’ Mark Anderson (97) and Tank Johnson (99) during the fourth quarter.

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ABOVE: Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman (8) walks off the field after being intercepted by Indianapolis Colts safety Bob Sanders during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLI. BELOW: Indianapolis Colts fan Delmar Johnson, of Winter Garden, Fla., celebrates a field goal scored by Colts’ Adam Vinatieri in the third quarter. BOTTOM: Colts safety Bob Sanders (21) intercepts a pass intended for Chicago Bears wide receiver Bernard Berrian (80) as Colts’ Cato June defends.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LEFT: Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy reacts after getting doused after the Colts’ 29-17 win over the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI. ABOVE: Indianapolis Colts defensive end Raheem Brock (79) celebrates a fumble recovery against the Chicago Bears with teammate Gary Brackett in the second quarter of the Super Bowl at Dolphin Stadium in Miami.

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TUESDAY February 6, 2007 W W W. T H E S TA R P R E S S . C O M

Gambling ‘kingpin’ gets 2 years # Judge revokes John Neal’s probation for “thumbing his nose” at the system.

INSIDE TODAY

Tourney

High school girls ready for title run | 4B

By SETH SLABAUGH

seths@muncie.gannett.com

INDIANAPOLIS — A federal judge is convinced that John Neal returned to his role as the “invisible … kingpin” of a multi-county

video gambling enterprise shortly after being freed from prison. As a result of violating the conditions of his supervised release, the 69-year-old Delaware County resident will be imprisoned for two more years. “It’s simply a shell game, a

clumsy sleight of hand,” U.S. District Judge John Tinder said Monday of Neal’s attempt to hide his control of the gambling operation. “It’s as though I’m re-hearing the same case from 2000.” Neal was freed from prison on April 19, 2004, after serving

85 percent of a 42-month prison term for operating an illegal gambling business, conspiracy to defraud the IRS and money laundering. After Neal his imprisonment, Neal was placed on three years of supervision by

federal probation officers. Probably while he was still in prison, but certainly after his release, Neal headed a video gambling business that operated out of two dozen taverns in Delaware, Madison and Henry counties, according to assistant U.S. Attorney Christina McKee.

Freeze taking a toll on pipes

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# Broken water meters and water mains were also among the casualties of the cold weather. By RICK YENCER

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MUNCIE — Sub-zero temperatures and wind chills have set the stage for frozen pipes and busted water meters — and possibly some service line breaks — in East Central Indiana over the past two days. A n d with the More inside | 8A extreme" How to protect your pipes. ly cold " Snow is on the way today. weather " How cold does it feel? going no" Cold weather survival for where fast your car. — today’s weather forecast calls for a “high” of 13 degrees and snow — such problems might only be beginning. Tammi Harris, office manager for Brummett’s Plumbing and Rooter Service, came to work Monday, finding a frozen sink in the shop and a flood of customers needing to thaw out frozen pipes and well pumps.

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Q: Do you think the Colts’ Super Bowl victory increases Indy’s chances of attracting a future Super Bowl? MONDAY’S POLL RESULTS Q: How many hours did you spend watching Super Bowlrelated broadcasts?

8-12 hours

9.9%

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Occasional moments 13.8% None

10.2%

Results as of 9:20 p.m.

Total votes: 1,659

Weather, 8C

16 9

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" See CASH, 5A

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INDIANAPOLIS COLTS coach Tony Dungy acknowledges fans at a Super Bowl rally at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis on Monday. The Colts beat the Chicago Bears 29-17 in Super Bowl XLI.

Welcome home

Fans fill dome to Local Colts fans thank their team jubilant over win THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

INDIANAPOLIS — The RCA Dome never felt so good to the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts. After a rain-soaked victory in Miami the night before and then a frigid, bone-numbing homecoming parade through the streets of downtown Indianapolis

More inside

" Assistant sports editor Greg Fallon hails the unsung heroes in the Colts’ Super Bowl victory | 1B

on Monday night, the Colts finally arrived back at their stadium for a raucous celebration with their fans. More than 40,000 of them, just as loud and boisterous as they were when the Colts left the Dome two weeks earlier with the AFC championship, welcomed them home. " See FANS, 5A

On the Web

" Go to www.thestarpress. com for photo galleries, video and articles on the Indianapolis Colts.

By JOHN CARLSON

jcarlson@muncie.gannett.com

MUNCIE — Twelve hours after the Indianapolis Colts’ victory in Super Bowl XLI, you didn’t have to look far hereabouts to find the team’s happy fans. Despite frigid temperatures, Merlin Smithson happily rolled

Coming Wednesday

" Check out our 8-page special section celebrating the Colts’ Super Bowl title.

down the window of his truck Monday morning to comment on the 29-17 win over the Chicago Bears. “They just played their game,” said the Parker City resident, who had just left the 12th Street Café. “Peyton Manning is a smart quarterback.” " See REPEAT, 5A

Frigid cold to delay schools again today By OSEYE T. BOYD

oboyd@muncie.gannett.com

MUNCIE — With weather forecasts predicting extremely cold temperatures again today, several East Central Indiana school districts will again have a two-hour delay to give students and buses more daylight before heading off to school. Most ECI schools operated on a two-hour delay on Monday as well. Del-Com Supt. Steve Gookins and district administrators watched weather reports on Monday and found that most were reporting near-zero temperatures for today — including wind chill — generally plunge the temperature into double-digit numbers below zero, he said. " See MAGIC, 8A

Classes delayed

Local schools opening on a two-hour delay today include: Alexandria Schools Blue River Valley Schools Cowan Community Schools Delaware Community Schools Daleville Community Schools Eastbrook Schools Liberty-Perry Community Schools Mount Pleasant Township Community Schools Muncie Community Schools New Castle Community Schools Shenandoah Schools Wes-Del Community Schools

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Fairmount woman injured in truck crash at Ind. 28 " A semi driver from Iowa told authorities that sunlight prevented him from seeing a stop light at the intersection. By NICK WERNER nwerner@muncie.gannett.com

GASTON — A 50-year-old Fairmount woman suffered a serious neck wound when a semitractor trailer collided with her pickup truck and knocked her head through the windshield near Wes-Del High School. Delaware County sheriff ’s deputies were not releasing the name of the woman Monday night until they could confirm

‘Repeat’ on fans’ minds Continued from 1A Smithson, who was wearing a Colts cap and jacket, apparently agreed with picking Manning as the game’s Most Valuable Player. Inside the restaurant, where blimp-shaped Colts balloons still floated over the tables, Matt Bousman left his post in the kitchen to share his joy over the win. One of The Star Press’s Fans of the Day not long ago, he grinned at the memory of Sunday night. “Oh, it was crazy! It was great!” he said, crediting the win to the team’s once lackluster defense stepping up its game in the playoffs. The prospects for next year? “I’d say they’ll make it back next year,” he said. “Repeat.” At Vogue Cleaner’s South store, meanwhile, Marsha Thomas was enthusiastically talking about Manning, but rookie running back Joseph Addai had her fired up, too. “He did real good yesterday,” said Thomas, who was wearing a Colts blue sweatshirt. “I was surprised.” Sunday’s breakthrough performance bodes well for the future, she added. “This made them happy and gave them confidence,” she said. The win didn’t surprise her, though. “I just had that feeling they were going to get it this year,”

Fans wait hours for team Continued from 1A Fans reveled in the city’s first major profesional sports championship in more than 30 years. “It sure feels good to be back in this Dome after playing in that weather last night,” shouted Peyton Manning, the MVP in the Colts’ 29-17 victory over the Chicago Bears. “On behalf of the players, we want to thank the greatest fans in the world.” Most of the fans had been there for hours, patiently waiting for the team to arrive. The parade was supposed to begin around 4 p.m. but got under way late because the Colts’ plane from Miami was delayed. No matter. “It might be a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Robert Smith of Indianapolis said while watching a giant-screen TV replay of Sunday night’s victory over the

that her family had been notified of the crash. The woman was northbound on Delaware County Road 600W at Ind. 28, where she had stopped before proceeding into the intersection, a four-way stop with blinking red traffic lights in all directions, according to Deputy Ron Ragland. A semi driven by Steven J. Zummak, 52, Eldora, Iowa, then struck the pickup in the passenger side around 5:50 p.m. while the rig was westbound on Ind. 28, Ragland said. “The driver (Zummak) said he was unable to see the stoplight at the time due to direct sunlight,” Ragland said. The pickup driver, who police believe was not wearing a seat belt, was partially ejected

through the windshield before coming to rest back inside the cab, Ragland said. The windshield seriously cut the woman’s neck and she was transported from the scene to Ball Memorial Hospital by Delaware County EMS. The impact knocked the rear axle from her pickup and tore a rear wheel off, Ragland said. Zummak told police he was heading to Orestes and was unfamiliar with that stretch of the state highway. The semi driver did not suffer injuries, Ragland said. Gaston volunteer firefighters and Gaston police also responded to the crash. " Contact news reporter Nick Werner at 213-5832.

Thomas said. Not far away at the Ross Community Center, program supervisor Mike Kissick was also relishing the win. Smithson “I think it was a real good game,” he said. “It was kind of a messy game, but it turned out good.” His choice for Most Valuable Player? “It was the Bousman team,” Kissick said, adding that he thought the turning point of the game was Kelvin Hayden’s interception of a Rex Grossman pass, which he Thomas returned for a touchdown. Kissick added that he looked for another great season. “I think it’s repeatable,” he said. Just up Hoyt Avenue from 10th Street and the Ross Center, Gary West and his son, John, were working at their business, Great Kitchens and Baths. Fans of both the Colts and the Bears, they had enjoyed the Super Bowl. “I thought it was a great game,” Gary said. “I thought both teams played their hearts out.” Thoughts of the game’s most

valuable player brought several Colts to mind. “(Dominic) Rhodes and Addai made a strong case,” John said. “But Manning’s the one that put them in the right place.” Like Kissick, Gary considered Hayden’s interception and touchdown the Kissick play that iced the game for the Colts, but he said the Bears will bounce back. “You could see the same two teams back there next year,” he West said. As for the Bears’ young quarterback, Gary said Grossman will be back, too. “How successful was Manning his first two or three years?” he offered, by way of explanation. A valid point. Sunday night, however, was truly Manning’s coming-out party, as well as the rest of his team’s, with a win that almost took the chill out of this temporary Hoosier deep freeze. Perhaps the reaction of Thomas, the Vogue Cleaners worker, was as honest an assessment of Colts fans’ collective feelings as you could ask for. “It was,” she said of the win, “simply beautiful.” " Contact features writer John Carlson at 213-5824.

Bears. Many of the fans were wearing Colts blue. Many held signs such as “We love our Colts” or just a simple “Thank You.” Once the team arrived, still wearing their parkas or hooded sweatshirts from the below-zero wind chill outside, it was the Colts themselves who delivered all the thank yous. “You guys are awesome,” coach Tony Dungy told the crowd. “For the last 16 or 18 hours, we’ve been enjoying this championship. We had a team party (in Miami) last night, but we were looking forward to coming home. This is more than we could have ever expected. Thank you for this turnout.” Two giant inflatable balloons resembling Colts players flanked a stage that was set up on the floor of the Dome. Amid a barrage of camera flashes from the stands, many of the Colts players — and Dungy, too — brought out their own cameras to record the moment.

“Wow,” Colts owner Jim Irsay said. “This is just unbelievable. I couldn’t be more excited. ... You guys are what makes it go. I love you, and Go Colts!” Colts president Bill Polian called the fans “the voice that propels us. ... Thank you for your support. Thank you for what you do for us. Be proud. You’re the world champions.” Most of the fans had waited inside the Dome, although hundreds went back out onto the streets as the parade approached. Many of them shared triumphant shouts and highfives with the players who were riding atop the slow-moving trucks and floats. Some of them had braved the single-digit temperatures for hours. “We want to see the Colts go by,” said Misty Bell of nearby Monrovia. “It’s worth it.” Eric Dycus of Indianapolis, one of the fans who waited inside, called it “exciting times” for the franchise.

Cash ‘rolling in by the barrel’ Continued from 1A This past September, an investigation by state excise and Anderson police culminated in a search of Neal’s rural Yorktown home, where investigators found $1.5 million in safes and a desk drawer. Neal was jailed in Madison County on charges of video gambling, money laundering and corrupt business influence. Authorities also seized $1.4 million from Neal’s bank accounts. Neal had told federal probation officers that he was receiving $71,160 a year in pension payments as the former head of the Teamsters union in Indiana. He admittedly lied to probation officers about his other income. Neither Neal nor his attorney explained to the judge where that other money came from. Because there can’t be a probation officer in every tavern, the government expected Neal to truthfully report his income, which he lied about “month after month after month,” the judge said. Excise police followed the money to Neal. “Follow the money,” the judge said. “It’s all over his house. I can infer by that fact alone” that it was illegally derived. “Cash was rolling in by the barrel.” Neal had returned to video gambling “with a vengeance” after prison, said the judge, who accused the defendant of “laughing his way through supervised release,” acting as a “puppet master” and “thumbing his nose at the law, at law enforcement and at this court.” “In his view, he can walk all over the law,” Tinder said. “It’s stunning, shocking. He was inspirational to others in a negative way.”

Legion breakfast

SELMA — Selma American Legion Post 437 will have its

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that the state’s case is “incorrect,” “misleading” and “overstated.” Kammen told the judge that the judge didn’t have all the facts. The judge called Neal’s sale of taverns on contract “sham transactions.” The judge also cited other evidence linking Neal to video gambling: documents pulled from his trash, the seizure of numerous video gambling machines from Neal’s Video Services, and the transporting of video gambling machines by a Dodge Ram pickup truck and trailer owned by Neal. “I am convinced that very shortly after completing his prison sentence he returned back to the very same gambling enterprise,” the judge said. “It had me feeling like I had gone back in time.”

Defense attorney Richard Kammen called Madison County tavern owner Stephen Pelletrino to testify on Monday. Pelletrino told the judge he was buying his tavern on contract from Neal for $400 a week. Neal’s Video Services in Muncie provided the tavern with amusement devices including trivia machines, pool tables, juke boxes and video golf, Pelletrino said. But it was Lester Blackwell, doing business as Ziggy’s Amusement — not Neal — who provided the tavern’s video gambling machines, Pelletrino testified. Kammen also called David Snow, an employee of Muncie Coin, owned by Vicky Massey, Neal’s daughter. Snow denied telling an undercover police officer that he collected money from video gambling machines for Neal. Snow testified that he collected video gambling proceeds for Neal’s daughter. The prosecutor asked Snow if he knew that undercover officers tape recorded conversations. She also asked him if he understood that perjury was a crime. She then asked him if he wanted to change his testimony. Isn’t it true, she asked, that you told an undercover officer that you were a collector for Neal? “I don’t believe I said that,” Snow testified. “Are you certain, Mr. Snow?” the prosecutor asked. “I don’t believe I said that,” he responded. Kammen accused the prosecutor of bluffing. “If she’s got the tape, play it,” Kammen said. “They have no tape.” Kammen said Neal’s trial in Madison County would show that he did not own video gambling machines, even though they were present in taverns being sold by Neal on contract. Excise police “jumped to conclusions,” said Kammen, who maintained that Neal’s trial in Madison County would show

Citing Neal’s health problems, the judge declined the prosecutor’s request to send the defendant back to prison for the maximum three years. Instead, Neal will go back for only two years, and he will be allowed to voluntarily surrender once he is assigned to a federal prison in four to six weeks. In the meantime, Neal will be placed on house arrest. The judge also raised a question about why Neal was arrested but not formally charged with driving while intoxicated while on probation. The judge sealed medical documents discussing Neal’s health problems, and McKee declined to discuss them in an interview. The judge said the documents “were suggestive that each day is a precious day for the defendant.” Noting that Neal took a trip to Florida last year to play golf with friends, the judge remarked that Neal “must have some good days.” " Contact news reporter Seth Slabaugh at 213-5834.

annual post breakfast 8-10 a.m. Saturday. Members and guests are in-

vited. Free-will donations will be accepted. Info: Call (765) 282-7020.

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" AREA ROUNDUP

" TODAY’S MEETINGS TUESDAY, FEB. 6 Delaware Delaware Community School Board, 6:30 p.m., administration building, 7821 N. Ind. 3, Muncie. Selma Town Council, 7 p.m., town hall, 316 S. Albany St. Grant Matthews Town Council, 7 p.m., town hall, 728 S. Massachusetts Ave. Henry Dunreith Town Council, 5:30 p.m., community building, 203 Washington St. Lewisville Town Council, 6 p.m., 101 E. Main St. Spiceland Town Council, 6:30 p.m., town hall, 130 E. Main St. Middletown Town Council, 7 p.m., town hall, 653 Locust St. Jay Jay County Development Corp. Board, 4 p.m., community resource center, 118 S. Meridian St., Portland. Randolph Randolph County Council, 9 a.m., Randolph County Center for Family Opportunity, 325 S. Oak St. Winchester Board of Public Works and Safety, 5 p.m., council chambers, city hall, 113 E. Washington St. Union City Public Library Board, 7 p.m., library, 408 N. Columbia St. Modoc Town Hall, 7 p.m., town hall, 114 E. Wine St.

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Dungy sounds ready to defend title with Colts THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MIAMI — Tony Dungy’s first Super Bowl celebration gave him a few moments to remember why he still enjoys coaching football. Looks like the retirement plans Michigan lawmakers can wait. After getpropose Dungy Day ting drenched in LANSING, Mich. (AP) — State the rain, soaked lawmakers on Monday again in Gatoproposed a day honoring rade, and enjoyIndianapolis Colts coach Tony ing a sleepless, Dungy, who was born and festive night, raised in Michigan. the 51-year old Dungy, whose Colts won Dungy sounded the Super Bowl, is from as if he’s ready Jackson, where he excelled to do it all again in football at Parkside High next season. School. “Every year, Senate Minority Leader for probably the Mark Schauer D-Battle last three or four Creek, whose district inyears, I’ve evalucludes Jackson, plans to ated where I am sponsor a legislative resoluat the end of the tion proposing “Tony Dungy season,” he said Day” along with Democratic Monday mornReps. Marty Griffin of Jacking. “I still have son and Mike Simpson of a lot of passion Jackson County’s Liberty and enthusiasm Township. for the game, and after a night like last night, how could you not love it? So I’m not burned out, I’m not tired at all. I’m very fired up and looking forward to coming back. But I’ll evaluate it and see where we’ll go.” Some may consider that not definitive enough to quash all the speculation that Dungy might retire after winning the elusive championship ring. But it sure sounded as if Dungy was preparing to become the first black coach to defend a Super Bowl title after becoming the first to win one with Sunday night’s 29-17 victory over the Chicago Bears. For Dungy, it was a night to embrace. He talked about how special it was to watch those final 15 seconds tick off, the thoughts racing through his mind and even a phone call that surprised Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning. “I was talking to a friend on the phone, and Tony said ’You better take this call,’ “ Manning said. “I said ’Why?’ and he said ’Take this call.’ So I hung up on my friend and it was the president congratulating us and inviting us to the White House.” # See MANNING, 3B

Indianapolis Colts

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% Remember to give some credit to those not named Manning and Dungy.

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

IAMI — If you are dealing with this Indianapolis Colts’ Super Bowl victory like I am, you’re probably still in a bit of shock. It’s really hard to believe. There hasn’t been much doubt that Indianapolis could win the big one, but for a city and a state that last won a major professional championship in 1973 when the Pacers won the ABA title, it’s still hard to grasp. While you’re trying to absorb it all, take time to be proud of some of the low-key players on Indianapolis’s roster. Sure, it’s quarterback Peyton Manning’s first Super Bowl title. Sure, it’s Tony Dungy’s first, too. But there are many other players to be happy for. Start with the offensive line — the unit that has worked as hard as anyone without much credit for doing it. It’s reached the point where the line is sending someone to the Pro Bowl almost annually, and for the last two seasons, it’s been Tarik Glenn and Jeff Saturday. Glenn is a 10-year veteran for the Colts. He was drafted in the first round by Indianapolis out of the University of California. “Peyton has been in the league nine years, and Dungy has been a head coach for years — a lot of years,” Glenn said after Sunday’s win “There were a lot of ups and downs, and we were able to prevail. Those guys have put in so much work to make this team a championship team. It’s good to see those guys win it, as well as the rest of our team. I’ve enjoyed this journey with this team.” Glenn was a big part of the journey, and so were many other people not named Manning or Dungy. Saturday’s been one of the most reliable and rock-solid centers in the league since he was picked up as an undrafted free agent in 1999. Punter Hunter Smith won his first Super Bowl ring, too.

THE COLTS are swarmed by fans on Monument Circle as they parade through Indianapolis on floats after returning to the city from the Super Bowl. The parade ended with a celebration and rally at the RCA Dome.

# See UNSUNG, 3B

A SUPER CELEBRATION: COLTS RETURN TO INDIANAPOLIS

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ABOVE: Karen Kelley of Indianapolis wears a blue wig as she waits to enter the RCA Dome for the rally. BOTTOM: Colts safety Bob Sanders poses after dancing on the horeshoe float in the parade through downtown Indianapolis.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

COLTS FANS file into the RCA Dome for the post-parade rally to cheer on the Super Bowl champions. The parade, which was delayed for two hours, went through downtown Indianapolis and ended at the RCA Dome.

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" SUPER BOWL XLI NOTEBOOK THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MIAMI — A few days ago, someone asked Indianapolis kicker Adam Vinatieri to describe what the buildup to the Super Bowl is like. “It’s a three-ring circus,” Vinatieri said. Well, now it’s a four-ring circus. Vinatieri’s first season with the Colts ended with a Super Bowl championship, his fourth to go along with three others from his days with the New England Patriots. He missed a 36-yard field goal Sunday, saw an extra-point hold botched and had a kickoff run back for a score, but the Colts beat the Chicago Bears 29-17. “It never gets old. I’ll tell you that,” Vinatieri said. “I’m so happy for the guys on this team.” Vinatieri now owns three more Super Bowl records: His 34 kicking points, 10 field goal attempts and seven field goals made are the most in history of the NFL’s biggest game. But he insisted during the Colts’ championship celebration that those records simply didn’t matter to him. “The only number I care about is the number on the scoreboard right now,” Vinatieri said.

Dangerous ground

Memo to kick returners playing in championship games: Think twice about running the opening kickoff back for touchdowns. It didn’t work for Ted Ginn Jr. and Ohio State in the Bowl Championship Series title game. And it didn’t work for Devin Hester and the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl. Hester became the first player in Super Bowl history to return the opening kickoff for a touchdown, taking one back 92 yards. “It was what I’d been envisioning all week and for the last two weeks,” Hester said. “We wanted to come out and open it up with a good kickoff return. Fortunately, that happened, but the sad part is that we didn’t come out with a victory.”

Hester’s runback matched Ginn’s feat in the BCS title game a month earlier. Ginn took the opening kick back 93 yards for a touchdown against Florida, but the Buckeyes wound up losing 41-14 to the Gators in college football’s national championship game.

Manning’s fan

Two-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart is an Indiana native and a Colts fan, so he obviously was thrilled that Peyton Manning finally delivered a championship to Indianapolis. “It’s just going to be a huge weight lifted off his shoulders,” Stewart said. “It probably never was that big of a hassle to him to begin with, but now, for sure, he’ll feel the weight lifted off his shoulders because he just won’t have to answer that question anymore.”

Coaching emergence

One of the dominant storylines leading up to the Super Bowl were the black head coaches, Indianapolis’s Tony Dungy and Chicago’s Lovie Smith, in the title game for the first time in the history of the event. Speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said: “It means so much to our sport and to America to see an African-American coach hold (the Super Bowl trophy) up and to show that he’s the chief, the best in the world. And so we’re proud of that. “I think what you’re seeing here is that they’re just not great black coaches,” Goodell added. “These are great football coaches.”

Future odds

Some sportsbooks have already set odds of who’ll win next year’s Super Bowl. San Diego is a 6-1 choice, as of now, to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy in Glendale, Ariz. next year, followed by Indianapolis (7-1), Chicago (8-1), and New England (10-1). Biggest long shots? That would be Oakland, Houston, Detroit, Cleveland, Tampa Bay and San Francisco, all at 100-1.

USA TODAY

INDIANAPOLIS RUNNING BACK Dominic Rhodes rushes for a 10-yard gain in the Super Bowl in Miami. Rhodes rushed for 113 yards against the Bears. The running back will become an unrestricted free agent in a few weeks.

Super Bowl champs already planning for next season MIAMI — Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy got their first real taste of being a champion — from an invitation to the White House to the all-night parties to the requisite morning-show interviews. President Bush called Colts owner Jim Irsay on Monday to congratulate him on the team’s Super Bowl victory. Then, in a separate phone call, Bush congratulated the quarterback and the coach, said Scott Stanzel, deputy White House press secretary. Manning and Dungy also heard lots of requests and plenty of questions about repeating this scene next year. “We’ll enjoy this,” Manning said. “Once the first day of weightlifting, which will be March, comes, we’ll be in there working. For me as a player, I want to be a better player next year than I was this year.” An improved Manning is a scary thought for opponents. The nine-year veteran already holds the single-season record for touchdown passes (49), is the only quarterback in league history with consecutive 9-0 starts and now has a Super Bowl MVP award to go with his two NFL MVP

Manning showed he could win

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Colts StoryChat

Here is what people were saying about the Colts’ 29-17 victory against the Bears in Super Bowl XLI: " One of the best Super Bowls in a long time. The Colts are world champions! What a great game. What is that you say, all you sports hacks? Indy can’t play defense? Peyton can’t win the big one? Eat your crow with class if you can find any. " So very proud of our Colts! They pulled off what people said couldn’t be done! Way to go, guys! We’re proud of you!! Thank you to our Lord Jesus who made this possible!!! " Go Colts! How does Chicago like their bear meat, fried or barbecue? " A lot of people here on Florida’s West Coast were cheering for the Colts and Tony Dungy. We remember Coach Dungy fondly from his years with the Tampa Bay Bucs. In fact, many (if not most) Bucs fans here feel our Super Bowl XXXVII cham-

pionship was actually won with Tony’s team even though Coach Jon Gruden got the ring. So we’re all Colts fans today. Of course, that will change the next time Indy plays Tampa. In the meantime, congratulations to the Colts, Indianapolis and all of Indiana. " I would have liked Duh Bears to win. But, if they had to lose to a team, I am glad it was the Colts. If the Colts were playing anbody else, I would have been for Indy. I am surprised that it isn’t even the talk of the office. Guess, they are tired from staying up late — and the cold ... brrrr. " Though, to be fair, while Chicago has more of everything cultural and otherwise, Indianapolis still has everything anyone could ever want and is much cleaner and safer. Maybe Indianapolis is the Prague to Chicago’s Paris, but I always liked Prague better anyhow. (To join the discussion, go to StoryChat on www.thestarpress.com.)

tired at all,” he said. “I’m very fired up and looking forward to coming back. But I’ll evaluate it and we’ll see where we go. ... I do look forward to helping these guys defend this title.” The other questions may prove more critical. Jim Caldwell, Indy’s assistant coach and quarterbacks coach, didn’t get the Arizona job last month but now may have a shot at the Dallas job. Caldwell couldn’t have asked for a stronger endorsement from his prized pupil. “There’s no question he’s ready,” Manning said. “I certainly don’t want him to leave, I’m being selfish in that regard, but there’s no question he’s ready to be a head coach either in the NFL or at the collegiate level. There’s no question he’s taken my game to the next level.” If Polian stays, he’ll also have to make some critical personnel decisions. Dominic Rhodes, who saved his only 100-yard game of the season for the Super Bowl and then delivered an MVP-like performance, will become an unrestricted free agent in a few weeks. Joining him on the open market are four defensive starters, including three-time Pro Bowl defensive end Dwight Freeney, the 2005 NFL

sacks leader, and former Pro Bowl linebacker Cato June. The decision on Freeney should be the easiest. He’s the leader of the defense and if no deal is done before free agency starts, there’s little doubt Indianapolis would use its franchise tag on Freeney. Other decisions will be more difficult. Rhodes started all 16 regular-season games but rookie Joseph Addai rushed for more yards, proved more consistent and is 5 years younger. The running back tandem wore down defenses and their contrasting styles seemed to keep them off balance, too. Indy must still figure out whether Addai could stay healthy if he were the featured back. “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Rhodes said Sunday night. “I love the Colts, but I’m going to do what’s best for my family.” And then there’s the potentially major defensive shake-up. Starting cornerback Nick Harper and linebackers June and Rob Morris could all hit the open market. Harper has been the Colts’ most consistent cover corner over the past several seasons, and Morris played a major part in the defensive turnaround.

“It has been hard to watch these other teams hoist that trophy.”

ball for 38 minutes. The defense, often the culprit when past title bids came up short, recovered two fumbles and intercepted Rex Grossman twice in the fourth quarter, with Kelvin Hayden’s 56yard interception return sealing the win. It was the kind of performance needed to win the first rainy Super Bowl. Gusty wind made the conditions even more challenging, and the halftime show had a finale all too fitting — Prince’s “Purple Rain.” “We knew it would be a nasty game,” Colts linebacker Gary Brackett said. “As a defensive player, you love it. That’s the way we played.” Manning threw an early interception but otherwise handled the ball flawlessly. Twice he slipped on the slick grass as he threw and fell but still managed to complete the pass. Now if you are a true Colts fan, asking you to overlook Manning and Dungy is like asking a preacher to give a sermon without saying the word Jesus. It’s tough. But now that the season is over, now that the Vince Lombardi Trophy is in their hands, see the whole team, not just the ones on the podium. Like the players, you now have an offseason without regrets to look forward to. Enjoy it, and take pride in knowing your team a little better. The stories are endless and the more you know, the prouder you’ll be of your world champion Indianapolis Colts. " Assistant sports editor Greg Fallon covers the Colts for The Star Press.

Manning

ways wanted. “I’ve been out there the past few years and I was always real envious seeing the Patriots guys show up late. The Super Bowl guys always come in late,” Manning said. “I wanted to go out there as a winner, so it will be fun to go out there now.” The problem with looking toward next season is that the future remains uncertain. Some wonder whether team president Bill Polian or Dungy, or both, could be leaving the game. Polian had been chasing a Super Bowl title for nearly three decades before winning it Sunday with the 29-17 victory over Chicago. Dungy, the first black head coach to win a Super Bowl, ended his quarter-century quest for the Lombardi Trophy. Dungy provided some insight to his future Monday, strongly implying he would be back on Indy’s sideline next season. “I’m not burned out. I’m not

Dungy knew it was coming after White House officials called earlier in the week to make sure they had the right cell phone number. Not everything went so smoothly. The weather was the worst in Super Bowl history, with steady rain from start to finish, and it suited Dungy and his Colts just fine. When the slick ball forced them to rein in their potent passing game, their defense and running game assumed a championship-caliber share of the load. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell didn’t seem to mind, either.

“Including the rain, it was a great game, and the elements are part of the game,” Goodell said. Dungy and Manning also showed they could win the big game, shaking labels they’ve been saddled with for years. Dungy made the breakthrough in his 11th season as a head coach and his fifth with the Colts, until now perennial title contenders and late-season disappointments. Manning, meanwhile, strengthened his standing among the game’s great quarterbacks by winning his first Super Bowl title. “It has been hard to watch these other teams hoist that trophy,” said Manning, who threw

for 247 yards and a touchdown. “That’s a hard pill to swallow. You have to learn from it and realize how badly you want to be up there.” Manning’s younger brother Eli has yet to come close to a title in three seasons with the New York Giants. Their father, Archie, was a star NFL quarterback for 14 years who never reached the playoffs. Now the family has a ring, thanks to Peyton. “If people think he needed to win a Super Bowl, that is just wrong,” Dungy said. “This guy is a Hall of Fame player and one of the greatest ever.” Manning had plenty of help as the Colts (16-4) earned their first title since the 1970 season, when they played in Baltimore. Dominic Rhodes ran for 113 yards and Joseph Addai added 77 to help Indianapolis control the

Unsung players deserve respect

during that stretch. But he’s long been the No. 2 guy, and now that rookie running back Joseph Addai has emerged, Rhodes will likely remain in that role, if he stays with the team since he’s now a free agent. But Rhodes has never been one to complain, never one to hold a grudge. And in Super Bowl XLI, he rushed for 113 yards and one touchdown — the performance that should have given him the MVP. The names of those that deserve a little credit keep coming. There are the draft picks that went from being buried deep in the drafts to playing key roles in Sunday’s game. Defensive end Robert Mathis was selected in the fifth round.

Linebacker Cato June was a sixth-round pick, and defensive back Jason David was a fourthrounder. Each has become a key member on Indy’s championship defense. There is cornerback Nick Harper. He’s one of the more quiet guys on the field, but one of the most underrated cornerbacks in the league. There is Raheem Brock and Gary Brackett, both, like Saturday, undrafted free agents when they became Colts. This list of players who have great personal stories, impressive work ethics and who have turned in performances that have exceeded what anyone ever thought they were capable of goes on and on.

Continued from 1B

INDIANAPOLIS KICKER Adam Vinatieri (4) reacts to a missed field goal in the second quarter during Super Bowl XLI. Vinatieri won a Super Bowl for the fourth time in his career with the first three titles coming with New England.

awards. He’s also headed back to Hawaii — his seventh time as a Pro Bowl player — and will finally get to make the fashionably late arrival he al-

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Continued from 1B For a team that is often heralded for its prolific offense and often times awed over for its lighting-fast defense, Smith goes relatively unnoticed. But when the Colts need field position, he hardly ever fails. And he’s been doing it with a horseshoe on his helmet for eight years. Then there’s Dominic Rhodes. He’s played his entire six years as a professional as a backup. Sure, he’s gotten the starting nod at various times

Peyton Manning

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Fans welcome back the new world champs By GREG FALLON

gfallon@muncie.gannett.com

MUNCIE — Not everyone could go to Miami to enjoy Super Bowl XLI and be a part of the Indianapolis Colts’ triumphant victory over the Chicago Bears. The next-best scenario: Be a part of the celebration — a parade and rally in the RCA Dome — in downtown Indianapolis the day after the big win. That’s what Hartford City’s Brian Milholland, his wife, Tricia, and her mother, Derinda Shady, decided to do. “My husband is a really big Colts fans,” Tricia said. “He had already told me that if they won he was going to do down to Indy.” They were three of an estimated 40,000 crazed fans who welcomed the team back to the Circle City. “It was so cold, we just went ahead and went into the (RCA) Dome,” said Shady, who sat in the 19th row on the 20-yard line. “We were there about (a) quarter after three. It was just a sea of blue and white.” The parade was scheduled to begin at 4 p.m., but was delayed when the Colts’ in-bound flight was delayed an hour. The team eventually arrived inside the Dome at about 6:30 p.m. Thanks to the big screens at each end of the field, the crowd

was ready to greet its Super Bowl champs despite the delay. “They had the game up on the big screen,” Shady said. “It was like everyone was watching it for the first time.” It was a memorable game, even watching it for the second time. Super Bowl XLI included eight turnovers, an opening kickoff returned for a touchdown and a game-sealing interception returned for a touchdown. Brian said a couple of those key points will be what he remembers most about the Colts’ victory. “Most of all, some of the fumbles that happened,” said Brian of what he’ll recall 20 years from now. “The biggest play of the game was that interception returned for a touchdown. That sticks out in my mind the most. Then Peyton Manning winning the MVP.” While they’ll remember the game, there were memorable moments in the Dome on Monday, too. “Hearing coach Dungy get up and talk and say it was the people that make their team,” Derinda said of what she’ll remember. “He also said that he would be proud to have any one of those guys on the team as his son.” # Assistant sports editor Greg Fallon covers the Colts for The Star Press. Contact him at 213-5876.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

TRICIA AND BRIAN MILHOLLAND joined about 40,000 fans at the RCA Dome for a Super Bowl Rally on Monday.

Soaking up the Colts’ historic win By SEAN STEVENSON

sstevenson@muncie.gannett.com

MUNCIE — Sarah Humphrey’s idea of “soaking” up the Super Bowl didn’t turn out exactly as she planned. The Muncie native attended Super Bowl XLI in Miami on Sunday, courtesy of her son, Kurt Humphrey, who is the Vice President of Finance for the Indianapolis Colts. After arriving by motorcoach to Dolphin Stadium, Humphrey and her family piled into the arena where one of the biggest sporting events of the year was about to be played out. Stopping briefly to look at the sights and sounds outside the stadium, the Humphreys headed toward their seats two hours before game time. Unfortunately for Humphrey, no one bothered to pack rain gear for the Miami trip. “I was expecting to soak up the atmosphere, not get soaked,” laughed Humphrey after arriving safely back in Muncie on Monday. “All we had were some towels with us. I tell you though, I didn’t mind at all. The whole experience was just so amazing.” The Humphreys stayed in the same hotel as the Colts and received some nice perks during the trip. Parties were thrown at the hotel before and after the Colts had beaten Chicago 29-17, and the party atmosphere lasted well into the night. The 69-year-old said she stayed out as late as she could. “I didn’t last as long as the others, but you couldn’t not be there and be taken away by the festive attitude everyone had,” Humphrey said. “They even brought the Vince Lombardi trophy back to the hotel after the game so everyone could

look at it and touch it. “I mean, how many times do you get to touch something like that that’s so meaningful. Our whole family got a picture with it. I was just so thrilled.” While the Humphreys experienced the rain and game firsthand, another Muncie family watched the game from under a dry roof. John and Nancy Humbert went to Miami hoping to score some tickets, but as prices soared higher and higher with each passing day, the Humberts decided to watch the game at their daughter’s condo. “We kept checking on tickets, but by Sunday they were way too high,” Nancy Humbert said. “But, we went to a party Saturday with the Blue Crew, and we had a really fun time watching the game.” On Monday, Humbert and her daughter stood on the balcony of her 21st-floor condo screaming at bystanders that the Colts were indeed the world champions. “We had to let people know that the Colts had won, just in case they had missed the game,” Humbert said. Humbert and her family are staying in Florida until Wednesday, while Humphrey came home with the team on Monday. Humphrey was introduced to coach Tony Dungy and also spoke with Peyton Manning at the Indianapolis International Airport. With all the excitement of Super Bowl XLI behind her, Humphrey is already making plans for 2008. “Next year, we’re all going to Arizona,” said Humphrey about the location of next year’s Super Bowl. “I doubt we’ll get rained on there.” # Contact sports reporter Sean Stevenson at 213-5807.

GETTY IMAGES

COLTS CORNERBACK KELVIN HAYDEN returns an interception for a 56-yard touchdown against Chicago during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLI.

Colts’ victory confirms potent offense not enough to be best

IAMI — There is a long-standing cliché in the world of football that defense wins championships. The Indianapolis Colts, widely thought of as the one team that might someday disprove that adage, just solidified it. After giving up 173 yards rushing a game during the regular season, the Colts defense shocked everyone by limiting its opponents to 82.8 yards a game during the playoffs. Indy gave up one touchdown on the ground in four playoff games. And in that same stretch, the Colts allowed just 16.2 points a game after giving up 22.2 a game during the regular season. So yes, defense wins championships. But there was something else at play in Indianapolis’s 29-17 Super Bowl XLI triumph over the Chicago Bears. For the Colts, teamwork won a championship. The list of players who made contributions, players who are otherwise thought of as secondtier talent on the Indianapolis roster, might have made the biggest difference.

Indianapolis Colts

GREG FALLON

gfallon@muncie.gannett.com " 213-5876

There was defensive back Kelvin Hayden, a second-year pro that the Colts drafted in the second round in 2005. The only reason he was in the game was because starting cornerback Nick Harper was out with an injury. Hayden intercepted Chicago quarterback Rex Grossman, performed a toe-tapping routine on the sidelines and returned the pick for six points — perhaps the play of the game. There was Dominic Rhodes, a lifelong backup running back. He’s had his starting moments, including this entire season until rookie running back Joseph Addai took over the starting job when the playoffs began.

Rhodes, never one to complain about his backup role, turned in 113 yards on 21 carries and one touchdown. Addai did his part with 10 catches for 66 yards and 19 carries for 77 yards. There was Terrence Wilkins, who quietly helped in the kickreturn game, allowing the Colts to gain decent field position throughout. He gained an average 22 yards on every kickoff and 14 yards on every punt. Punter Hunter Smith downed two of his four punts inside the 20-yard line to help with field position on the other side of the ball. Quarterback Peyton Manning, wide receivers Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne and defensive players Dwight Freeney and Bob Sanders all did their part, too. But it was the collective effort, the championship mindset from top to bottom, that translated into a world championship. And the whole country was watching. The final tally by Nielsen Media Research says Super Bowl XLI was the third-most watched program in television history and the second-most watched

Super Bowl. Only the M*A*S*H series finale and the 1996 Super Bowl between Dallas and Pittsburgh drew more viewers than the 93.2 million that watched the Colts beat the Bears. Those numbers confirm that there was nationwide interest in what Indianapolis would do. Would it use a potent offense, one that remained mostly dormant throughout the playoffs, to beat the Bears? Would the Bears’ vaunted defense be the victor? Because after all, defense wins championships. Torrential downpours played a major factor, obvious by the fact that the game included eight turnovers. The rain made it especially difficult to throw, which made it even more important that the winner use a solid running game and a tough-nosed defense to prevail. And that’s what Indianapolis did. So no, the Colts did not prove you can win a championship with a record-setting offense. If anything, they proved you can’t. Assistant sports editor Greg Fallon covers the Colts for The Star Press.

“We’re going to go talk about the challenge of repeating and what it’s going to take. We’re going to have to play better. … We’ve got to improve if we want to stay where we are.” Tony Dungy

The big question: Can Indy repeat? By GREG FALLON

gfallon@muncie.gannett.com

MIAMI — Just as soon as the Indianapolis Colts jubilantly exited Dolphin Stadium after winning Super Bowl XLI 29-17 over the Chicago Bears, the questions began. Can the Colts repeat? Trying to twice in a row achieve what for some teams has long been impossible seems improbable. But in the 41-year history of the Super Bowl, eight times there has been a repeat champion. But winning it one year guarantees nothing the next. Just ask Super Bowl XL champions Pittsburgh, a team that didn’t even make the playoffs this year in hopes of defending its title. Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy acknowledges a repeat will be tough. “It’s difficult to repeat in this league. It’s so competitive that any little slippage is not going to allow you to get back to the top,” Dungy said. The coach noted New England, its AFC rival, who was the most recent team to produce back-to-back Super Bowl titles in the 2004 and 2003 seasons. “What New England did, we have a lot of respect for. We know how tough it is to get here, but to get here and continually be there takes something special,” Dungy said. Some would argue that the

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

COLTS DEFENSIVE TACKLE Raheem Brock puts a hit to Bears quarterback Rex Grossman and knocks his chinstrap up to his nose in the third quarter. Colts have something special indeed, especially now that Indianapolis has learned how to win close games, overcome its rivals and win the big one. Dungy agrees. “I think we have special guys,” he said Monday morning. “We’re going to go talk about the challenge of repeating and what it’s going to take. We’re going to have to play better. … We can’t come in and think that we can just do what we did this year. We’ve got to improve if we want to stay where we are.” Some of the immediate questions of whether or not Indianapolis will be able to improve

is what they’ll do with several players and Dungy himself. The coach has long said that he wanted to retire by the age of 50. He’s now 51. Then there are the free agents that the Colts will have to make decisions with. Players like defensive end Dwight Freeney, linebacker Cato June, running back Dominic Rhodes and cornerbacks Nick Harper and Jason David are all ready to test the market. Then there are players like Corey Simon, Montae Reagor and Mike Doss, all of whom were considered at the beginning of the season to be key players, but none of whom played roles this

season due to injuries. The questions will find their answers with time. But the Colts aren’t foolish enough to think the entire team will come back intact. “Coach Dungy is always talking about that,” Super Bowl XLI MVP Peyton Manning said the day after the team’s big win. “He put up a stat that there was only 18 players on this team (that were on the team) three years ago (when) we lost the AFC Championship. I didn’t realize that until I saw it on the chalkboard.” Considering, Manning knows change could be coming. “Next year, no question, there could be personnel changes, there could be coaching changes. We have assistant coaches interviewing for head jobs,” he said. There has been talk that assistant head coach Jim Caldwell will interview for the Dallas job this week. No matter the impending changes, Dungy, who has already hinted that he’ll likely return to defend the team’s championship, knows that being a Super Bowl champ means each team will put up its best fight next season. “We will be the hunted next year, and we understand that,” Dungy said. “It will be a challenge and a challenge I look forward to helping the guys through.” # Assistant sports editor Greg Fallon covers the Colts for The Star Press. Contact him at 213-5876.

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Dungy can bring ‘em back There’s no reason to think his first Super Bowl title has to be his last

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

IAMI — There never should have been any doubt about Tony Dungy as a coach, even without a Super Bowl ring. Now that he has one, anyone who doesn’t list him at the top of the heap among today’s coaches isn’t in touch with the NFL. Dungy, though, in his characteristically humble manner, dismissed that notion Monday. “I grew up under Chuck Noll,” he replied when asked about comparisons with his mentor. “No, he’s not someone I think I can be grouped with.” Think it, Tony. Yes, Noll won four Super Bowls in six seasons with Pittsburgh in the 1970s. But that was in an era where, without free agency, he didn’t have to worry about losing a Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth or Terry Bradshaw. Those players were there, season after season until age got to them. Dungy? The day after he won his first Super Bowl, he was thinking about the possibility of losing Dwight Freeney, Dominic Rhodes and Cato June, three core players. The Colts might protect Freeney with a franchise player tag, not always the best thing because it can lead to bitterness and potential holdouts and divide a unified team. But that’s the way of this decade and it hasn’t hurt Bill Belichick, who has won three Super Bowls with New England despite letting many of his most important players go — from Lawyer Milloy after the first win in 2002 to Deion Branch and Willie McGinest last season. Even so, the Patriots made it to the AFC championship game, led Indianapolis 21-3 in the first half and most likely would have beaten Chicago if a late drive by Peyton Manning hadn’t put the Colts in the Super Bowl instead of the Patriots. Compare Dungy with Belichick? Sure. Since becoming coach of the Colts in 2002 — after (unwisely) being fired by Tampa Bay — he is 60-20 in the regular season. That’s one game better than Belichick, who is 59-21 over the same period. Yes, Belichick has three Super Bowl wins, one of them earned the year before Dungy took over the Colts. But there’s no reason that Dungy’s first title, the result of his team’s 29-17 win over Chicago on Sunday night in the Miami rain, has to be his last. He reiterated Monday that he will stick around and that he wants more. “I still have a lot of passion and enthusiasm for the game,” he said. “After a night like last night, how could you not love it? So I’m not burned out, I’m not tired at all. I’m very fired up and looking forward to coming back.” There are a number of things that make Dungy unique, many of them off the field. He talked Monday about growing up in Jackson, Mich., hoping to become an NFL player but never dreaming of becoming a coach — that just wasn’t for blacks. He was a very average player at best. But he became a pioneer among coaches — if not the first of his race in the NFL, certainly the best. One questioner during his news conference Monday even asked him if he thought of himself as Jackie Robinson.

USA TODAY

COLTS COACH TONY DUNGY gets a double soaking at the end of Indianapolis’s Super Bowl victory Sunday night. In his usual self-deprecating way, Dungy replied: “Oh no. I never had to go through the things that he did.” Of course. Times are different. But the quiet passion that makes him so effective as a coach has also made him THE front man for the NFL’s black coaches, a man who never has been afraid to speak up when he thought minorities were being slighted in the quest for head coaching jobs.

That makes it fitting that he is the first of his race to win the Vince Lombardi trophy, named after the epitome of the “middle-aged white men with fiery demeanors” Dungy would watch on the sidelines as a teenager. It is also fitting that he and his friend and protege Lovie Smith, the coach he beat Sunday, were the first two black men to coach in this game. Dungy’s other contribution is to

demonstrate that you don’t have to breathe fire to coach in the NFL. He’s not Bill Parcells or his disciples — Belichick and Tom Coughlin to name two. In fact, Dungy has his own coaching tree now: Smith, Rod Marinelli of Detroit and Mike Tomlin, just hired by Pittsburgh, and others. Marinelli fits the more standard profile and Tomlin’s style has yet to be determined, but all

are beholden to a man who will finish his career right up there with Noll or Don Shula, who presented him with the championship trophy. That has nothing to do with race or style. It has to do with the fact that he wins. And if he wins more politely and quietly, then the NFL and the rest of the sports world are better for it.

He’s in everything for the long haul

IAMI — Shortcuts never interested Tony Dungy. Sacrifice, though, well that was another story. “You’re not going to win every game, every season is not going to end the way you like,” the Colts coach said after one finally did, with a 29-17 win over the Bears in the Super Bowl. “But that’s the real test of a man and the test of a champion,” Dungy added. “Can you continue to fight when things don’t go your way?” They didn’t for what seemed like forever, yet Dungy is in everything for the long haul. It didn’t matter whether it was perfecting the defensive scheme he learned two dozen years ago from Steelers coach Chuck Noll, volunteering in the community or advancing the cause of AfricanAmericans on the field and off. Winning, to him, was always going to be the byproduct of doing things the right way instead of the other way around. If there’s a lesson to glean from Sunday night’s Super Bowl, that’s it. That, and the fact that

although becoming a Super Bowl champion changed just about every other coach good enough to win one, it won’t change Dungy a bit. Not long after it finally happened, after all those tough seasons in Tampa and the handful in Indianapolis when a tough break or his nemesis, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, pulled the rug out from under Dungy, Peyton Manning and the Colts, Dungy pulled one of his three sons, 15-year-old Eric, up onto the podium and asked a few photographers to snap away. Dungy’s large brown eyes sparkled. The smile always dancing at the corner of his lips widened just that little bit more. But as far as celebrating, or reminding all those who doubted he’d win the big one without compromising his principles, that was it. “If you weren’t watching the game and you just saw him afterward,” Eric said, “you wouldn’t know if he won or lost. He’s always that way. It’s kind of a running joke in the Dungy household. Anytime he asks us, or we ask him, ’How do you

JIM LITKE

The Associated Press

feel?’ the only answer you ever hear is, ’Great.”’ There were plenty of times when other men would have answered otherwise. Instead, Dungy bit his lip when lesser qualified assistants jumped over him in line for head coaching jobs, then rolled up his sleeves and went to work when the only team willing to grant him a shot was a sorry Tampa franchise that seemed beyond rescue. Rather than complain, he assembled a staff of like-minded assistants, guys who like him, didn’t fit the NFL help-wanted ads, then challenged them to help him break the mold. Already, four members of that staff

have followed Dungy into the head coaching ranks, including Lovie Smith, his counterpart on the Bears’ sideline Sunday night. Together, they made those Bucs better than respectable. More important, Dungy did it by teaching players instead of cursing them out, showing them that cheating him with their effort meant they were cheating themselves. And even when the Bucs turned around and fired him, handing the Super Bowl-ready squad he patiently built to Jon Gruden for the final step, Dungy left town with his head held high. “Tony was like our Moses,” Bucs linebacker Derrick Brooks recalled last year. “He led us out of the darkness and right up to the promised land.” Dungy went Moses one step better, though, and found other work soon enough. Nothing about him was different on the sideline in Indianapolis, save the color of his outfit and the caliber of talent that was waiting for him. He had the Colts in position to take the final step last season, when his 18-year-old son, James,

committed suicide in December 2005. Refusing to be broken by the tragedy, he taught his players yet one more lesson, treating the blow more as a test of faith than a testament to bad fortune. What happened to Dungy on Sunday morning, as he prepared for yet another final exam, was hardly worth mentioning, except to illustrate the way he deals with every other setback that has confronted him in life. He and a friend had set out from their hotel for a walk and lost their way. They planned to do a mile loop and wound up wandering for 21⁄2 miles or so instead. Rather than get angry, he used the extra time to reflect. “I just thought about the journey,” Dungy said, “where we were and how the Lord had kind of set this up with some struggles, some ups and downs, some hills and valleys. And I thought about the way our team had persevered and how it would be a shame if we didn’t win it. “I thought about how the game was likely to go the same way, how it would have some hills and valleys and it did. And

that gave me the message I wanted to give to the team, the last thing I was going to say. I told them there was going to be some storms out there and we’ve got to get through those and hang together,” Dungy said, “and we’d be OK.” There were real storms Sunday night, of course; the ballcap and shirt Dungy wore as he spoke in the interview room were still soaked. But he was on the other side now, home safe and dry. Yet Dungy reached back to acknowledge all those men and all those sacrifices that made his journey possible, but couldn’t be there to hoist the trophy alongside him. “I thought about that as I was up there on the podium: being the first African-American to win it, and I really have to dedicate this to the guys who came before me ... Jimmy Raye, Sherman Lewis, Lionel Taylor .. great coaches who could have done this,” he said, “if they would have gotten the opportunity.” Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitkeap.org

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Colts fans will remember this as

Manning’s reign

Tacoma News Tribune

IAMI — In so many ways, there’s never been a Super Bowl of the ilk of XLI. It was about an unprecedented falling of the rain, and the surpassing of barriers, but really it mostly became a soggy coronation of a new king. Nobody had ever returned an opening kickoff for a touchdown until Chicago’s Devin Hester did so. There’d never been any black head coaches in a game until Indianapolis’ Tony Dungy and Chicago’s Lovie Smith gave us two when they met on Sunday. There’d never been four turnovers in an opening quarter. And it never rained like this. (Prince’s mascara would have run badly during the halftime show if he hadn’t been foresighted enough to borrow a babushka from a cleaning lady). All that aside, this will be recalled through time as The Peyton Manning Game. Manning was voted the game’s MVP for his 25-for-38 passing for 247 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The Indianapolis quarterback did not have his finest performance, and the Indianapolis defense, the running-back tandem of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai, and the offensive line were equally critical to the outcome. So the MVP honor might be a bit of a career-achievement honor. If so, that’s fair enough. He’s earned it. This is Manning’s team and the win now lifts his career beyond the compilation of statistics and regular-season wins. Until now, his nine seasons of excellence had not added up to a Super Bowl appearance. Every writer who was eager to chronicle how this win validates his career got no help with quotes from Manning or his teammates or Dungy. “He does everything you can do to win ballgames and lead a team to wins,” Dungy said. And if anybody claimed he needed the win to be considered among the game’s greats, Dungy had a blunt response: “That’s just wrong.” Manning was asked if this now lifted him above certain statistical stars without title rings, such as Dan Marino, Manning politely objected. “If any quarterback gets compared to Dan Marino, he

COLTS QUARTERBACK PEYTON MANNING was named Super Bowl MVP after going 25-for-38 for 247 yards and a touchdown in Indianapolis’s win. should be honored,” Manning said. “He’s still way up there. He played for 17 years and he’s still one of my favorites.” Repeatedly, Manning failed to bite on the personal-relevance questions. “We won as a team; that’s been our theme all season, everybody did their part,” he said. “I wanted to be on a team to win the Super Bowl. That’s what it’s always been about. In years past, when we came up short, it was always disappointing. But somehow, some way, we learned from some of those losses and became a better team because of it.” At one point, he was asked flat-out how big was the monkey that just left his back. “I don’t

“I wanted to be on a team to win the Super Bowl. That’s what it’s always been about. In years past, when we came up short, it was always disappointing. But somehow, some way, we learned from some of those losses and became a better team because of it.” Peyton Manning

play that,” he said. “No, I don’t think so.” Manning’s numbers need some perspective. He was throwing a wet ball with a slightly injured thumb on his throwing hand. He also had several passes dropped. Rhodes (21 carries for 113 yards) and Addai (10 catches and

19 carries for a total of 143 yards) could have been MVPs. Really, the offensive front, particularly guards Ryan Lilja and Jake Scott, and center Jeff Saturday, were the key to the Colts’ 16-minute advantage in time of possession. But it was Manning who faced the most pressure of any player in this game. He hadn’t

won the big one. He was no Tom Brady. And the Bears set up their defense to pressure Manning and choke off some of his favorite routes. He ended up getting sacked once, several times showing some elusiveness rolling out of the pocket. The playoffs, Dungy said, have been “a great kind of laboratory for him to show his whole game. It was his thinking, getting us in the right place, calling the plays, dropping the ball off, using everyone. He demonstrated his whole game in these playoffs and it was pretty awesome to see.” Like his team, Manning started off slowly. But nobody

Colts celebrate with prayer, party MIAMI - Suddenly, in the middle of the celebration that had the locker room buzzing after the Indianapolis Colts’ Super Bowl XLI victory, Tony Dungy had an announcement. They were not leaving Dolphin Stadium without one more piece of business. A prayer. Dungy had the TV cameras in the room shut off. The interviews with maybe a dozen reporters still lingering stopped. The pictures players were snapping of each other holding the Lombardi Trophy needed to wait. “Wait a minute, Coach. Some guys are in the showers,” some-

one yelled from the back of the pack as players made their way to the center of the room. A few seconds later, Bob Sanders and a couple of others emerged wearing towels. Then it was so quiet the proverbial pin drop could be heard. Dungy prayed. With the team’s chaplain by his side, the Colts coach gave thanks for the players’ health, expressed joy that the team stayed together through adversity. Holding hands, the team joined him in unison to recite The Lord’s Prayer. Dungy left his team laughing. He reminded them of his Saturday night speech. ”We said there were going to

be some storms,” he said. “We just didn’t know they would come on the first play of the game.” Chicago Bears rookie phenom Devin Hester opened the game with a 92-yard kickoff return for

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panicked. Even trailing 14-6, the Colts stayed patient and steady and under control. Of course they did; Manning wouldn’t allow anything else. Now, when he eventually surpasses the league’s all-time passing records, as expected, there won’t be question marks or asterisks. At the top of the list of his achievements will be the MVP award at Super Bowl XLI. “He’s done it,” Dungy said. “I don’t think there’s anything you can say now other than this guy is a Hall of Fame player and one of the great players ever to play the game.” Who says that’s not a validation?

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SUPER BOWL NOTEBOOK

So much for all the talk about slow starts in the Super Bowl. Sure, it was pretty darn ugly early in the game, especially if you were an Indianapolis Colts fan, but there was more action in the first 15 minutes than in a James Bond flick. In the previous five Super Bowls (36-40), a total of 12 points was scored, four field goals, in the first quarter. There hadn’t been a touchdown in the opening period since Super Bowl XXXV in 2001. They were like heavyweight fights, a few jabs here and a lot of dancing there, but no serious blows. Well, that all changed in Super Bowl XLI, in 14 seconds. Devin Hester’s 92-yard kickoff return to start the game was the quickest score in Super Bowl history, beating the 49ers’ Jerry Rice, who hauled in a TD pass just 84 seconds into in Super Bowl XXIX in 1995. If all you watched was the first quarter Sunday, you saw more excitement than in about 12 other Super Bowls combined. Conversely, if you were late getting to the tube, you missed the best part. Consider: " The four turnovers (one interception, three fumbles) were a first-quarter record for a Super Bowl. Not coincidentally, a turnover record took place in the first Super Bowl to be hit with rain. " The Bears’ 14 points in the first quarter tied a Super Bowl record, done five times previously, but not since 1997 when the Patriots did it to the Packers in Super Bowl XXXI. The three touchdowns combined also tied a record done three other times, matching SB 31, 29 and 27. " There were two other plays of 50 or more yards. Thomas Jones’ 52-yard run for the Bears and Peyton Manning’s 53-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne.

Run for the ages

Hester’s kickoff return was, of course, the first opening kickoff for a touchdown in Super Bowl history, and it also was the first ever in the first quarter of a Super Bowl. There were seven other kickoffs returned for TDs in Super Bowl history, and all but one — Fulton Walker, Dolphins, 1983, Super Bowl XVII — occurred in the second half. Hester’s return also was the fourth runback for a touchdown on the opening kickoff in any NFL playoff game. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Hester’s TD was the first to start a postseason game since January 2001 when Ron Dixon of the Giants did it to the Eagles in a divisional playoff. The other two times involved the Raiders and 49ers. In a divisional playoff after the 1974 season, Nat Moore of the Dolphins took the opening kick back against the Raiders. And in a divisional playoff following the 1972 season, the 49ers’ Vic Washington started the game by returning the kickoff for a score against the Cowboys. Three of the four teams that scored the touchdown to start the game wound up losing those games: The Bears lost Super Bowl XLI, the Dolphins lost 28-26 to the Raiders in 1974 and the 49ers lost to the Cowboys 30-28. Only Dixon’s return for the Giants led to victory, a 20-10 win over Philly.

100-yard history

Having a 100-yard rusher in the Super Bowl usually paves the way to victory — 19 teams have had 100-yard rushers, and they’ve gone 16-3. But like Sunday, it doesn’t help when the other team has a 100-yard rusher, too. Dominic Rhodes gained 113 yards on the ground for the Colts and the Bears’ Thomas Jones had 112. It was the third time two players had 100 or more rushing yards in the same game. The other two: " Super Bowl III (1969): Matt Snell (Jets) 121 yards; Tom Matte (Colts) 116. " Super Bowl XXV (1991): Ottis Anderson (Giants) 135 yards; Thurman Thomas (Bills) 102. The Bears’ Jones joins Matte and Thomas as the only running backs to gain 100 or more yards for a losing team in a Super Bowl.

One-two punch

Rhodes and Joseph Addai (77) became the first teammates in Super Bowl history each to have more than 75 yards rushing. According to Elias, there were some close-but-no-cigars: " Raiders in Super Bowl XI (1977): Clarence Davis (137) and Mark Van Eeghen (73). " Cowboys in Super Bowl VI (1972): Duane Thomas (95) and Walt Garrison (74).

First and foremost

Kevin Hayden’s interception return for a touchdown was the first interception of his career in any NFL setting. The only other player who played in the past 20 Super Bowls, according to Elias, to score a postseason touchdown on his first NFL interception was the Rams’ Tommy Polley, who returned one against the Packers in a divisional playoff victory in January 2002. — San Francisco Chronicle

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Everything it was meant to be By BERNIE LINCICOME

Scripps Howard News Service

MIAMI — Forever is a long time for a quarterback to hold his breath, and Peyton Manning has been doing so since he was a high school sophomore, through college, as a pro, never winning the last game, never getting the championship, never achieving the final validation. And when Manning finally won the big game, it was the biggest game of all. “It was a long time coming,” Manning said. “This a reward for our team, for the good times and the failures. We’ve had our chances but were never able to finish it until this game.” Manning held up the winner’s trophy of Super Bowl XLI to show he had it at last. Its hard and damp skin glowed no less brightly than Manning’s own, a meeting of proper strangers long due and often delayed. He passed the gleaming prize, wet from the rain, on to his teammates, who shouted and whooped and passed it from one to the other, each touch tangible evidence that it was all real. Manning’s eyes moistened as he watched. “This was a team victory,” Manning said. “That’s the way it was all year, all that we’ve shared together, all that we earned together.” It was every bit as good as it was supposed to be. And for football itself, the game and the league, which has been a closed and pale society at the top for so long, it now has Colts coach Tony Dungy as its face and as its conscience. “I’m proud to be the first African-American coach to win a Super Bowl,” Dungy said, “but I was thinking about not me, or Lovie (Smith, the Bears coach) but other great coaches who could have done this. “I dedicate this to them. I represent all the guys who paved the way for me.” At the top of football are the Indianapolis Colts, finally and indelibly, implausibly and properly, the best team on a bad

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

INDIANAPOLIS’S KELVIN HAYDEN intercepts Rex Grossman and runs it back for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. The pass was intended for Bears wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad, who stretches to get a hand on the ball. night, the best team in a pedestrian season. “This may not be our best team,” Dungy said, “but this is the team that went through the most.” If the ending did not have all those layers of significance, the Manning redemption, the Dungy authentication, this would be recalled as one long pratfall, de-

fined by incompetence as much as merit, possibly the worstplayed Super Bowl of them all. Fumbles and bumbles, interceptions and missed tackles, bad choices and dropped balls, awful football was interrupted only by occasional competence, the opening kickoff return by the Bears’ Devin Hester, the solid running of the Colts’ Dominic

Super Bowl rating 3rd-highest ever THE ASSOCIATD PRESS

NEW YORK — Peyton Manning had a lot of witnesses to his soggy super win, with the estimated 93.2 million viewers representing the second most-watched Super Bowl broadcast ever. Only the 1996 Super Bowl between Dallas and Pittsburgh, which had 94.1 million viewers, had a bigger audience, according to Nielsen Media Research on Monday. Behind that 1996 game and the M-A-S-H series finale, Sunday’s game was the third most-watched program in television history. The presence of the Colts quarterback, one of the game’s most popular players, and a major-market team from Chicago undoubtedly juiced the ratings. “The story line was about as good as you could have hoped for,” said CBS Sports President Sean McManus. The game was shown on CBS, a division of CBS Corp. It was the highest-rated Super Bowl game since St. Louis-Tennessee in 2000. The ratings were lower this year than in 2000, but, because there are more homes with television sets than seven years ago, there were more people watching. Last year’s Super Bowl between Pittsburgh and Seattle drew 90.7 million viewers. CBS was also lucky, in a sense, that the Colts’ 29-17 victory over the Bears was closer on the scoreboard than it appeared on the screen. Although Indianapolis was dominating the game, Chicago was close enough until the end to have a chance to win, which kept viewers interested. CBS wasn’t so lucky that the game was played in a driving rainstorm. “It was very difficult,” McManus said. “We lost a number of cameras during the telecast.” A camera suspended over the field on cables had to come down, and one sideline camera was knocked out of commission because it overheated when covered in canvas, he said. Camera operators were constantly wiping raindrops from lenses.

Despite the huge audience, the Super Bowl didn’t provide much of a jolt to the CBS drama “Criminal Minds,” which was given the choice time slot following the game. “Criminal Minds” was seen by 26.2 million viewers. While that’s the biggest audience the second-year show has ever delivered, it dwarfs the 38.1 million people who saw “Grey’s Anatomy” after ABC’s telecast of the game last year. According to another measuring service, the most-watched moment of the CBS broadcast wasn’t Manning’s lone touchdown pass, the interception and touchdown run by Kelvin Hayden or even Prince’s electrifying halftime show. It was the Bud Light ad featuring Carlos Mencia and a language class, according to Tivo.

Colts’ Dungy, Rhodes star in Disney World commercial

ORLANDO, Fla. — Hey, Tony Dungy, you just won the Super Bowl. What are you going to do now? The answer, by now, might be a little obvious. The Indianapolis Colts’ coach and running back Dominic Rhodes became the latest sports celebrities to tell TV viewers they were “going to Disney World” after winning the Super Bowl on Sunday night. Their announcement was recorded at Dolphin Stadium moments after the Colts’ 29-17 Super Bowl victory over the Chicago Bears, Disney World officials said in a news release Sunday. The famous commercials are part of television’s most enduring advertising campaigns. Dungy is the first black head coach to hoist the Super Bowl trophy. Rhodes rushed for a game-high 113 yards and scored a touchdown in the second quarter. The commercial is the 37th of a series. The campaign began after the 1987 Super Bowl and featured New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms.

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Rhodes, the clinching interception by Indianapolis’ Kelvin Hayden. But mostly this was a cringefest, made worse by the weather, but also by the Bears, inept on offense and frauds on defense, not the least of which was linebacker Brian Urlacher, absent too often as the Colts completed passes under him or ran past

him up the middle. So it can be admitted that the real Super Bowl was between the Colts and the Patriots, after all. This one was to give Manning his final approval but it was his game against New England that should define him. This one went exactly as expected, the hammer meeting the thumb. Bears quarterback Rex Grossman proved to be as descriptive as his name, more than gross, more like grotesque, maybe the first Super Bowl quarterback to play with his hand down his own throat. Manning was cool, accountable and competent, the very model of a modern major field general, and he was rewarded as the Most Valuable Player not because he was but because he was the most obvious. “Peyton Manning is a great quarterback, a great leader,” Dungy said. “People who think he had to win a Super Bowl to validate that are just wrong. But he did and now all you can say is he’s a Hall of Fame quarterback and one of the greatest players to ever play the game.” The night was raw, the air was wet and the football was slapdash, or splash-dash, to coin a new word. It was edgy and entertaining only in that it was hard to tell what awful thing would happen next. It was a game of grunt and push and pull, the Colts winning finally not with their celebrated offense, but with skilled and harsh defense, like the Bears were supposed to. Basic football won for the Colts, crunch and crack and block and tackle, the result certain as soon as Hayden picked off Grossman and bounded into the end zone. It was Indianapolis’ Rhodes and rookie Joseph Addai relentlessly wearing down the Bears defense, while Manning selected his targets as if he were picking cashews out of a bowl of mixed nuts. After all these years and all those failures, never has Manning done so little to gain so much. And he gets to keep it forever.

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www.thestarpress.com Wednesday, February 7, 2007 • 7

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Bears’ future is not gloomy

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a step forward this year, which indeed was taken. He acknowledges he has learned a lot from winning coach Tony Dungy over the years. He also had to have gained valuable knowledge from Sunday’s spanking. If there’s no greater joy than being world champions, there’s no better lesson learned than the one the Bears just experienced in failure. Granted, it’s harder right now for Bears fans to feel optimistic than warm back home in northern Illinois. And it

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to catch Peyton Manning one time by surprise, force him to make that one throw he didn’t want to make. Only that moment never came. That had to be the biggest disappointment of the evening, of Super Bowl XLI. The defense was exploited and made to look anything but super. Cheer up, as Mike Brown and Tommie Harris should return next year. Try to imagine the possibilities. And try to remember the wind chill will one day rise above zero, too.

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couldn’t feel much colder up North, as those of us lucky enough to have been down here the past week have been reminded countless times. For the longest time, the game actually was going according to plan. You’d look up at the scoreboard and the clock, and you’d see the Bears were one play away from possibly leading and ultimately winning, even though they were getting whipped statistically as much as physically. But all they needed was that defense

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140 million witnesses who feel that way. If the Bears return home having learned things about themselves that will help them improve, the night, in time, should provide something encouraging. “Just the taste of getting here was huge,” said safety Chris Harris, trying to spin something positive. “I wish it could have been us out there holding the trophy. It just didn’t work out that way.” Coach Lovie Smith, with his glass half-full outlook, talked about taking

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IAMI — There was tropical rain throughout the game. There was “Purple Rain” at halftime. If there was a flood of tears afterward in the Chicago Bears locker room, that would have been understandable. Losing’s always tough; never tougher than after a Super Bowl. That’s what the losers say every year. It was the Bears’ turn to feel that way Sunday and express those sentiments. And they did. Yet, if they were truthful to themselves, they had to realize they were beaten by the better team, the Indianapolis Colts, 29-17. Does that mean they should give up on ever thinking they’re capable of winning the ultimate emotional confrontation in the world of sports? (Well, at least in this country and this side of the World Cup). No way. This team is set up to succeed, at least in the considerably inferior NFC. Half the battle is to get to the Super Bowl. Right now, they can at least look into pricing rooms for Glendale, Ariz., for XLII. Does this mean Rex Grossman never will be capable of leading a team to possession of the Lombardi Trophy? It might look iffy at the moment, but remember it took Peyton Manning nine years to accomplish what many experts wondered if he ever would. It wasn’t all Rex’s fault. He just contributed more to losing than winning. When just managing the game was satisfactory, he was doing fine. But then his game started slipping, as did his feet and his grasp on the ball on a pair of snaps. Then came the interceptions when he had to throw. “It’s extremely disappointing when you get this close to a world championship and you come up short,” he said. “You know, there’s nothing else to say.” And say nothing he did to questions he didn’t like or he considered “weird,” maintaining a recent trend with the media. Certainly, finishing second out of 32 NFL teams this season wasn’t a consolation prize. “Not right now,” he said when asked if he takes pride in the team’s season overall. “Right now, all I feel is disappointment because I know how good a football team we are.” The Bears are good; the Colts are just better. There probably were about

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