Peyton Manning

Turns out we'll get to see Peyton Manning versus Tom Brady this season, although the matchup will look different than we've ever seen it. Manning has instructed his agent to work out a deal with the Denver Broncos, and a game at New England is on Denver's 2012 schedule. The opponents have been determined for teams, but the schedule won't be released for several weeks. In addition to their AFC West opponents, the Broncos will play home games against Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Houston, New Orleans and Tennessee.

If all goes as expected, Andrew Luck will officially begin his career with the Indianapolis Colts in eight days. Luck frequently has been compared to Peyton Manning, and a just-released e-book about the Stanford quarterback helps hammer home that point. The Kindle book "Andrew Luck: Inside the Making of a No. 1 Pick" is available on Amazon.com and written by longtime Cardinal beat writer Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News. In it, Wilner reveals how Luck was so meticulous about critiquing himself in college that he wouldn't leave practice before sitting down to study the video shot of him that day. Wilner writes: "'On Wednesday, he wouldn't even shower after practice.

The Miami Dolphins figure to be one of the most aggressive teams in bidding for the services of Peyton Manning, who will be released by Indianapolis on Wednesday morning. In doing so, the Dolphins will be mindful of what happened six years ago when they let a prime opportunity get away. In 2006, the Dolphins were in the market for a quarterback and had a chance to sign Drew Brees, who was coming off a devastating shoulder injury. Brees had been released by San Diego, which had decided to cast its lot with Philip Rivers.

Peyton in prime time? It won't take long. As the NFL revealed Tuesday with its schedule release , the Denver Broncos - Peyton Manning's new team - will play host to the first "Sunday Night Football" game of the 2012 season, against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It's one of five prime-time games for the Broncos, the maximum allowable in a league that, for the first time, will give each of its 32 teams at least one night game on national TV. Eight days later, the Broncos will be on "Monday Night Football," marking the first time the Broncos have opened the season with consecutive prime-time games.

Free agency starts Tuesday, and Commissioner Roger Goodell is due to hand down punishments for the Saints' bounty scandal, but the biggest story in the NFL this week -- and this off-season -- is the future of Peyton Manning. The four-time most valuable player had a busy weekend, spending Friday and part of Saturday meeting in Denver with Broncos brass, then flying to Arizona on Saturday night and meeting with the Cardinals for 6½ hours on Sunday. He then flew back to Miami, where he has a condominium, and didn't meet with Seattle or Kansas City, a strong indication that those suitors are either out of the sweepstakes or facing fourth-and-long.

Peyton Manning wanted to stay with his team but was pushed out the door by ownership. LeBron James was leaving a team that desperately wanted him to stay. Which one do you think had the classier farewell? While there seems to be an ever-decreasing level of humility and grace in the sports world, former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning gave a farewell news conference Wednesday and thanked the Colts and the team owners for giving him a chance to lead the team for so many years.

Now that one shoe has dropped with Peyton Manning choosing the Broncos, some of the focus shifts to the other -- what happens to Tim Tebow? It's likely that Denver will trade Tebow as soon as possible, and in fact that might have been one of Manning's stipulations for picking the Broncos. After all, considering Tebow's popularity, Manning wouldn't want the distraction of a segment of the fan base pushing for a quarterback change after a bad game. So where is Tebow most marketable?

Peyton Manning has narrowed down his choices of potential teams to join as a free agent. Or so the reports say. But oddly enough, that list seems to keep growing rather than getting smaller, like most lists that are being narrowed down tend to do. Since being released by the Indianapolis Colts last week, the veteran quarterback has met with the Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos, spending at least six hours with each team. Reports early Monday said Manning had no intention of meeting with any other teams.

Peyton Manning is back where it all started for him -- at least for a look around. Manning, the former University of Tennessee star, is in that state to meet with the Titans, perhaps the last stop on his tour to visit with NFL teams courting him. According to the Nashville Tennessean, Titans Coach Mike Munchak, along with General Manager Ruston Webster and Chief Operating Officer Mike Reinfeldt, flew to Raleigh-Durham, N.C., on Wednesday morning...

One of the greatest eras in NFL history is coming to a close. Peyton Manning will be released Wednesday by the Indianapolis Colts, according to multiple reports, ending a months-long saga of what the franchise would do with the league's only four-time most valuable player. The news was first reported on ESPN.com. Manning, who sat out last season recovering from multiple neck surgeries, has said he intends to play this season, even if it's with another franchise. Manning, who turns 36 this month, won a Super Bowl with the Colts in 2006.

Peyton in prime time? It won't take long. As the NFL revealed Tuesday with its schedule release , the Denver Broncos -- Peyton Manning's new team -- will host the first “Sunday Night Football” game of the 2012 season, against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It's one of five prime-time games for the Broncos, the maximum allowed in a league that, for the first time, will give each of its 32 teams at least one night game on national TV. Eight days later, the Broncos will be on “Monday Night Football,” marking the first time the Broncos will have opened the season with consecutive prime-time games.

Philadelphia Eagles Coach Andy Reid on Wednesday addressed last week's report in The Times , citing two unnamed sources, that the Eagles were interested in signing Peyton Manning, and that Reid threatened to walk away from his job if he didn't get more personnel control. As he did in a press release Friday, Reid emphasized that "Mike's my guy," in reference to quarterback Michael Vick, and that he has had personnel control "over the years. " "I've got the final say," he said.

Peyton Manning hates to waste time. The Denver Broncos' new quarterback spent Monday morning throwing at Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch, Colo., south of the city. The Denver Post reported the story, snapping pictures of the four-time Most Valuable Player as he threw. Under the NFL's new collective bargaining agreement, there are restrictions about when players can train at team facilities during the off-season. Valor Christian is where members of the Broncos held players-only workouts during last year's labor lockout.

Reporting from Denver -- Peyton Manning has his doctorate in deception, and that's one of his major strengths as a quarterback. Consider how he fooled virtually everyone in the sweepstakes for his services, how the outside world interpreted all the logical signs — but they weren't the right signs at all. He was a college star in Tennessee? His wife grew up in Memphis? The team just signed his buddy, Steve Hutchinson? Peyton's going to the Titans. Nope. San Francisco secretly scouted him?

From Peyton to Payton — with Tim Tebow in the middle — this has been a remarkable news week for the NFL. From the Denver Broncos signing Peyton Manning , the most decorated free agent in league history, to Commissioner Roger Goodell dropping the hammer on New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton in response to the bounty scandal and subsequent cover-up, the last few days have underscored the fact that even during a period that should...

The New York Jets traded for Denver quarterback Tim Tebow on Wednesday, but the unexpected transaction looked for much of the day like an embarrassing fumble. New York agreed to deal for the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, but the trade nearly fell through because the Jets didn't realize they would need to reimburse the Broncos for $5.1 million in advance salaries paid to Tebow for the 2012, 2013 and 2014 seasons. That problem reportedly has been resolved, with the Jets agreeing to pay half of the compensation back to the Broncos.

The Tennessee Titans are pulling out the stops to get Peyton Manning. Titans owner Bud Adams has offered the star quarterback a "contract for life," to come to Tennessee, hoping to lure him with a front-office position with the team once his playing days are through, according to a Houston TV station. Adams told KHOU Channel 11 on Wednesday he's not concerned about Manning's arm strength after his multiple neck surgeries that sidelined him for all of last season. "I'm only concerned how strong it is in September, when he starts the regular season," Adams said, adding that much as he likes second-year quarterback Jake Locker -- whom the Titans drafted eighth overall last year -- the franchise had to "go for it" with Manning.

Peyton Manning will not be a member of the Indianapolis Colts -- the team for which he started 227 games in a row, winning a Super Bowl title and four league MVPs along the way -- next season. That much we know for sure, as the Colts announced Manning's release at a press conference Wednesday morning . But what team's jersey will Manning be wearing next season? Assuming he's healthy -- and reports are that his recovery is moving in the right direction -- he is sure to attract plenty of attention.

On a day when one aging NFL star is beginning the final chapter of his playing career, another could be calling it quits. Hines Ward, released last month after 14 seasons with Pittsburgh, will meet with the media at Steelers headquarters Tuesday, presumably to announce his retirement. Ward, arguably the best blocking receiver in the game, has 1,000 receptions and 85 touchdowns. ( 11:14 a.m. update : It's official. Ward announces retirement .) The 36-year-old receiver was born two weeks before Peyton Manning, who will be introduced Tuesday as the new quarterback of the Denver Broncos.

The Denver Broncos have called a news conference for noon PDT today, presumably to introduce Peyton Manning as their new quarterback. On Monday, Manning instructed his agent to negotiate a deal with the Broncos, with the four-time Most Valuable Player having chosen them over Tennessee and San Francisco. Manning is expected to command a contract in the neighborhood of $95 million over five years. The Denver Post reported today that Manning was considering calling Frank Tripucka, the first quarterback in Broncos history, to request the use of jersey No. 18. That was Tripucka's number, which the club had retired.