Report: Peyton Manning Will Retire Tomorrow
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) -- The Latest on quarterback Peyton Manning"s retirement news conference (all times local): 12:10 p.m. In the final moments of his retirement news conference, Peyton Manning really got choked up when he talked about how hard he prepared during his 18-year career. "When I look back on my NFL career I"ll know without a doubt that I gave everything I had to help my team walk away with a win," he said, voice breaking with nearly every word. "There were other players more talented, but there was no one who could outprepare me. And because of that I have no regrets." He then paraphrased from the Bible: "I have fought the good fight. I finished my football race and after 18 years it"s time. G*d bless all of you and G*d bless football." ------ 11:50 a.m. Peyton Manning says nothing is going to overshadow this "joyous day," especially not something that happened decades ago. In a new lawsuit filed last month that claimed a hostile work environment for women at the University of Tennessee, Manning was cited for his alleged harassment of a female trainer in 1996. "It is sad that some people don"t understand the truth and facts. I did not do what is alleged," Manning said. "I"m not interested in re-litigating something that happened when I was 19. ... Like Forrest Gump said, `That"s all I have to say about that."" ------ 11:45 a.m. Peyton Manning is going to miss quite a bit about football. Here are some he listed during his retirement news conference: -- Steak dinners at a place in Indianapolis after wins. -- Battles against players such as John Lynch and Troy Polamalu (to name a few). -- Going against coaches like Bill Belichick and Jeff Fisher, Rex Ryan (again, to name a few) -- Figuring out blitzes with longtime center Jeff Saturday. -- Demaryius Thomas constantly telling Manning he loved him and thanking Manning for coming to town each time he caught a TD pass. -- Handshakes with Tom Brady -- The fans, even those in Foxborough and, "they sure should miss me, because they sure did get a lot of wins off me." ------ 11:40 a.m. Peyton Manning started off his retirement remarks talking about another gunslinger, former Baltimore Colts star Johnny Unitas. Manning talked about the struggles of his rookie season, when Indianapolis went to Baltimore -- the Colts former home -- and lost. Unitas shook his hand after the game and told Manning he was rooting for him. Manning said that the words of Unitas, who died in 2002, stayed with him. "I hope he knows that I stayed at it, and I hope he"s a little proud of me," Manning said is starting off his retirement comments. ------ 11:33 a.m. Peyton Manning"s voice is cracking as he reminisces about his 18-year NFL career. He"s also using his wit to break the ice. He noted that he still owns the NFL record for 28 interceptions as a rookie and says, "Every year I pull for a rookie to break that record." He said little brother Eli might have broken it had he started all 16 games his rookie year. ------ 11:25 a.m. Broncos coach Gary Kubiak says he"s only coached Peyton Manning for nine months "but I"ll remember it for a lifetime." Speaking after executive John Elway paid tribute to Manning"s four seasons in Denver, Kubiak said he"s spent 17 seasons trying to beat Manning and he "wasn"t very successful." He also told a story about how he had several private meetings with Manning after Week 9 as he came back from injury. The two worked together to make sure Manning"s presence helped the team and didn"t cause any disruptions. ------ 11:06 a.m. The Peyton Manning retirement news conference is underway. Team president Joe Ellis calls it a "historic day for the Denver Broncos and the National Football League." Ellis says Manning made the team, organization and the community better. Broncos executive VP John Elway has now taken the podium to talk about Manning. "I know this is a tough day for him," Elway said. ---- 11 a.m. Peyton Manning has quite a few big names at his retirement announcement. There are former teammates such as John Lynch, Jeff Saturday and Brandon Stokley. Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders are chatting with Manning"s wife and children. Sitting in the front row are Manning"s parents, Archie and Olivia, along with his brother, Cooper. Also on hand is Bennie Fowler, who caught Manning"s last pass on a 2-point conversion to cap Denver"s 24-10 win over Carolina a month ago in Super Bowl 50. ------ 10 a.m. Peyton Manning, this is your life. About 150 media, family and guests are expected to attend Manning"s retirement news conference today in the Denver Broncos" team meeting room. And that doesn"t include those in an overflow room where the news conference will be piped in for dozens of more reporters stationed outside the UCHealth Training Center. The Broncos media relations department is limiting seating and issued orange stickers to the invitation-only event. The Broncos have a couple of framed Manning No. 18 jerseys, one home and one road, and a game ball to present to the quarterback that lists his accomplishments during his four seasons in Denver. The team has also produced a glossy program especially for the goodbye news conference that features Manning hoisting the Lombardi Trophy following Denver"s 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers a month ago.
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DENVER, CO (ABC) --Five-time NFL MVPPeyton Manningwill announce his retirement after 18 years during a news conference Monday at theDenver Broncosheadquarters, a source familiar with the quarterback"s decision told ESPN"s Chris Mortensen.
The Broncos" Super Bowl 50 victory over theCarolina Pantherswas indeed his last rodeo.
History will show the quarterback was in the NFL 18 seasons, made four Super Bowl trips with two titles, set a mountain of records and earned a place on football"s Mount Rushmore.He will retire as NFL"s all-time leader in pass touchdowns (539), passing yards (71,940) and quarterback wins (186, tied withBrett Favre).
Manning, who played 14 seasons with theIndianapolis Colts, was a first-ballot Hall of Famer-in-waiting before spinal fusion surgery caused him to miss the 2011 season. He went to the Broncos as a free agent in 2012 and authored the most prolific season of any quarterback in history in 2013. The Broncos made two Super Bowl trips in Manning"s final three seasons.
When he embracedNew England PatriotscoachBill Belichickafter the Broncos" AFC Championship Game victory in January, NFL Films cameras captured audio of Manning hinting to the coach that the 2015 season would be his last.
"This might be my last rodeo. So it sure has been a pleasure," Manning said.
Manning was a five-time MVP, a Super Bowl MVP, a 14-time Pro Bowl selection and a seven-time first-team All-Pro. His team made the playoffs in 15 of his 18 seasons. He had 14 4,000-yard passing seasons, and of the three seasons in league history in which a quarterback threw at least 49 touchdown passes, Manning has two of them.
In the Broncos" record-setting 2013 season, when they scored a single-season record 606 points -- the first time in league history a team topped 600 -- Manning set single-season records for passing yards (5,477) and touchdown passes (55).
The final season of Manning"s career was the "most unique" he has had in the league. He missed seven starts with a tear in the plantar fascia near his left heel. In November, Manning had a cast on his left foot; in December he was running the scout team; and by January he was back in the lineup for one more playoff run.
All the while there were reports, which he strongly denied, debating Manning"s skills as a teammate and linking him to human growth hormone. The first report alleged he would refuse to be the backup quarterback. He called that "bulls---." Then Al-Jazeera America reported that HGH was allegedly shipped to his wife, Ashley. Manning repeatedly said the report was "garbage."
Manning also is among the athletes cited in a lawsuit filed by a group of women alleging that the University of Tennessee violated Title IX regulations and created a "hostile sexual environment" through a policy of indifference toward assaults by student-athletes.
The Tennessee lawsuit alleges that in 1996, when Manning was the Volunteers" quarterback, he placed his n***d genitals on the face of a female athletic trainer while she was examining him for an injury. Manning has denied that he assaulted the trainer, saying instead that he was "mooning" a teammate. Manning was never the subject of a police investigation in the incident.
The trainer, Dr. Jamie Naughright, later sued Manning. In documents filed on her behalf in the case, the player whom Manning said he was "mooning," Malcolm Saxon, contradicted Manning"s account.
Naughright"s lawsuit against Manning was settled in 1997 with the agreement that she leave the university.
In the NFL, Manning"s return from his 2011 surgery surprised many in the league. He could barely throw a football 10 yards when he began his recovery, and even after he signed with the Broncos in March 2012, there was enough uncertainty that the team used a second-round pick to selectBrock Osweilerin the draft.
"What he"s done, man, he"s the greatest," Broncos cornerbackChris Harris Jr.has said. "Some people ... you have to say, "You remember that guy?" and then you keep saying things. He"sPeyton Manning. That"s it. You just say Peyton Manning."
Broncos coach Gary Kubiak has worked with great quarterbacks throughout his career. He was theSan Francisco 49ers" quarterbacks coach in 1994 and was the Broncos" offensive coordinator from 1995 to 1998 with John Elway as his quarterback.
"I like to say I"ve been blessed and fortunate enough to coach three Hall of Famers," Kubiak has said. "There"s Steve Young, John, and they"re in the Hall of Fame. And there"s Peyton, and he"s in. We all just have to wait a few years for it to be official."
Elway, now the Broncos" executive vice president of football operations and general manager, promised Manning he would do everything in his power to send him out with a championship. Elway also said he liked "to sign Hall of Famers with chips on their shoulders."
Beyond the numbers, the production and the fact he helped four head coaches reach the Super Bowl, Manning"s legacy is that he put the game back into the hands of the quarterback. From the time the Colts made him the first pick of the 1998 draft and then-coach Jim Mora played Manning for every snap of his rookie season, Manning has been the man in charge.
Manning put both the Colts and the Broncos into the annual Super Bowl discussion.
"Peyton Manning is the kind of player, the rare kind of player, where no matter how long you played with him, whether it was a month, a year, 10 years, a week, you"re always going to say "I played with Peyton Manning,"" Broncos tackleRyan Harrishas said. "You don"t say Peyton Manning and I played together or that Peyton Manning was on my team. You say, "I played with Peyton Manning." And people could not know anything about you as a player, or what you did, or if you were any good, and they would immediately know you played with one of the best ever and you were always one of the teams that [had] a real shot at the Super Bowl. He"s forever."
Los Angeles Ramscoach Jeff Fisher has likened facing Manning to "playing a computer who knows what you did before, what you"re doing now and what you"re planning to do later." Manning"s recall of defenses, situations and plays -- he once gave detailed descriptions of the scoring plays of every player who caught just one touchdown pass from him -- was the stuff of football legend.
"Peyton, he made me better. He made a lot of guys better," former Broncos and Colts wide receiver Brandon Stokley said. "We would have made the NFL probably, but Peyton made us all better. We were more because we played with Peyton Manning. And just think about how many guys can say that."
Manning operated with complete freedom at the line of scrimmage. His 14-year career with the Colts resulted in a new stadium and the Midwestern city"s selection to host a Super Bowl.
A sought-after pitchman off the field, Manning put the No. 18 on countless passing hopefuls from coast to coast and will be enshrined in Canton, Ohio, when the Pro Football Hall of Fame"s five-year waiting period is over.
As the late Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams said after Manning"s Colts repeatedly threw at him: "Man, everybody knows that"s the great Peyton Manning ... and Peyton Manning is going to do what Peyton Manning does."
Source: http://www.wkow.com/story/31401636/2016/03/07/peyton-manning-to-announce-retirement-monday
