Before Peyton Manning's future become dissected and over-analyzed to tiresome Favrethian degrees over the next month, it's time to give his little brother some very big credit.
INDIANAPOLIS Tom Coughlin is coming back. Eli Manning is only getting better. And the vast majority of the New York Giants' starting lineup is under contract.
INDIANAPOLIS Nice to see an old warrior who socked away enough of his haul. Jim Plunkett, the former Oakland Raiders quarterback who won two Super Bowls, brought 15 people to this one at $1,200 a head just for tickets.
It was the moment of truth Ahmad Bradshaw had dreamed of since he was a kid hearing play-by-play commentary inside his head. With his team trailing and a minute left in the game, it was his chance to score the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl.
INDIANAPOLIS - You can only wonder what was spun through Eli Manning's mind that Sunday afternoon not that long ago, his expression so very glum and pensive.
The falling confetti provided the perfect mascara. The coronation of Eli Manning as the game's "money" quarterback du jour diverted attention from what should've been one of the NFL's great embarrassments.
INDIANAPOLIS New York Giants quarterback Eli - as in eli-te - Manning joined some distinguished company in winning his second Super Bowl MVP award in Sunday night's 21-17 victory over New England.
LOS ANGELES There are 366 days from this year's Super Bowl to the next, and there is a lot of work to do. Thank heavens it's leap year.
INDIANAPOLIS Next to his senior picture at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, a young Peyton Manning listed the typical cryptic acknowledgments and farewell shout-outs to friends, teachers, coaches and family. He also included this tidbit:
CARSON CITY, Nev. Sports fans bet $93.9 million at Nevada casinos on Sunday's Super Bowl matchup between the New York Giants and New England Patriots, the most wagered in the past decade.
PITTSBURGH The Steelers will hire former Kansas City Chiefs coach Todd Haley to be their offensive coordinator, according to an ESPN report.
INDIANAPOLIS Bill Belichick gave clear instructions to his defensive unit: Let the runner score.
CINCINNATI New England Patriots wide receiver Chad Ochocinco (oh-choh-SINK'-oh) has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in Cincinnati hours after playing in the Super Bowl.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. The Patriots say there's no finger-pointing after their Super Bowl loss, even if supermodel Gisele Bundchen won't abide by that code.
The Oakland Raiders have named Jason Tarver as their new defensive coordinator.
INDIANAPOLIS Bleary-eyed and jubilant, Super Bowl organizers swung into cleanup mode Monday and hoped the rave reviews from fans and journalists over how it pulled off its first Super Bowl will draw the NFL's showcase event back to town.
The Kansas City Chiefs hired Brian Daboll as their new offensive coordinator on Monday.
ST. PAUL, Minn. Yet another plan is in play for a new Minnesota Vikings stadium.
NEW YORK For the third consecutive year, the Super Bowl set a record as the most-watched television show in U.S. history.
NEWARK, N.J. The Super Bowl-champion New York Giants have returned home.
INDIANAPOLIS Tom Coughlin is looking forward to the parade and a couple weeks off to reflect on the Giants' second championship in five seasons. Then he will begin preparations for defending the title.
INDIANAPOLIS - Super Bowls most often are won and lost at two points of the game.
INDIANAPOLIS We will remember the dramatic final play of the New York Giants' 21-17 victory Sunday in Super Bowl XLVI, the way a diving Rob Gronkowski came within a foot of catching Tom Brady's desperation heave that would have won the game for the New England Patriots. Like a prayer indeed.
INDIANAPOLIS The football sailed in an arc, a very high one, for almost 60 yards. The entire NFL season was along for the ride.
This, quite simply, was a blueprint for how a Super Bowl broadcast should be done. With exceptional announcing, timely but restrained use of graphics and nifty angles on replays, NBC delivered exemplary coverage of Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday.
INDIANAPOLIS There was no magic, no helmeted intervention this time for the New York Giants.
INDIANAPOLIS His older brother built this house.
INDIANAPOLIS How unlikely is a safety being the first score of a Super Bowl? One site taking prop bets had it at 60-1.
INDIANAPOLIS When the drama ended, with a Tom Brady Hail Mary landing incomplete in the end zone, just inches from Rob Gronkowski's fingertips, a Super Bowl pinata erupted at Lucas Oil Stadium.
INDIANAPOLIS It's a strange time for the Manning family. Eli just won the Super Bowl, and Peyton is almost certainly on his way out of Indianapolis, with the Colts eyeing his successor in Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck.
