Fast Break
NFL
Manning wins third MVP award
Peyton Manning took a different approach to earning a record-tying third Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player award.
The Indianapolis Colts quarterback got hurt, struggled when he came back, then lost a bunch of games – hardly vintage Manning.
But when he rediscovered the touch that has made him one of football’s dominant players for a decade, Manning and the Colts were nearly unstoppable.
Now Manning can tell Brett Favre to move over and make room for him atop the roster of MVPs.
“I really feel like it’s a team award,” Manning said Friday. “Just what our team went through this year and the way we responded and bounced back to a little bit of football adversity at the beginning of the season, being 3-4.
“It’s been the most rewarding regular season that I’ve been a part of in my 11 years, and I have to believe a lot of the other players and even coaches might feel the same way.”
Manning received 32 votes in balloting by a nationwide panel of 50 sports writers and broadcasters who cover the NFL. He also was the league MVP in 2003, when he shared it with Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair, and in 2004.
Manning finished far ahead of Miami quarterback Chad Pennington and Atlanta running back Michael Turner, each with four votes.
Auto racing
Patrick fined for going fast
Danica Patrick paid a $196 fine to settle a speeding ticket after the star race car driver was caught going 54 mph in a 35 mph zone last month.
Patrick, the first woman to win an IndyCar race, was due in traffic court Monday, but a Scottsdale (Ariz.) City Court clerk said she paid the fine Wednesday.
The 26-year-old was pulled over Dec. 9 in her hometown of Scottsdale while driving a 2007 Mercedes. A year ago, she was ticketed for driving 57 mph in a 40 mph zone in Scottsdale and was ordered to attend traffic school.
A call to Patrick’s racing team wasn’t returned.
Fans
Superb spud repeats title
He’s the king of couch potatoes.
A Manhattan man has won his second couch potato contest. Stan Friedman, a 47-year-old research librarian, needed 18 hours, 48 minutes and 17 seconds of sports-watching time to outlast the competition at the second annual ESPN Zone Ultimate Couch Potato Competition.
The participants, sitting in recliners in front of dozens of televisions, weren’t allowed to sleep or leave their recliners except for restroom breaks once every eight hours.
Friedman, like any good athlete, improved on his time. Last year, he needed 29 hours to win.