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MIAMI -- Touchdown, Peyton Manning. Trent Richardson Jersey . The former Indianapolis Colts quarterback landed late Wednesday afternoon in South Florida, drawing the attention of local TV news helicopters and NFL fans everywhere. His private plane arrived at a small airport 30 minutes from the Miami Dolphins complex, but he then rode off in a different direction with the news media in pursuit. When his van reached Miami Beach, it pulled over in a church parking lot, and Manning emerged to tell reporters South Florida might not be his final destination. Manning has a condo here and has been working out with former Colts teammate Reggie Wayne, who lives in South Florida. Mannings not necessarily Dolphins-bound, he said. "I have no idea who wants me, what team wants me, how this process works," Manning said. "I dont know if its like college recruiting where you go take visits. I mean, this is all so new to me." One TV station broadcast the interview live, even staying with the audio feed when the video turned shaky. Manning landed in South Florida just four hours after he bid the Colts goodbye at a news conference in Indianapolis. They cut the injured quarterback rather than pay a $28 million bonus due this week. The Dolphins are one of several teams expected to court Manning, but a person familiar with their plans said Manning wasnt in town to meet with the team. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Dolphins hadnt commented on Manning. Other teams considered potential suitors for Manning include the Cardinals, Broncos, Chiefs, Jets, Seahawks, Titans and Redskins. "I literally have not had one conversation with anyone about these teams," Manning said. "It has been so hard for me trying to figure out some closure with my situation with the Colts. ... "I havent thought about teams and I dont know who is interested, I really dont. This is all new to me. But look, the Miami Dolphins have a great organization, a great history there, they have new people in place. And so you have no idea what teams are interested." When the Dolphins hired Joe Philbin as coach in January, team officials privately said owner Stephen Ross would strongly pursue Manning if he became available. The team has started 16 quarterbacks since Dan Marino retired. The incumbent is Matt Moore, who played well last year after Chad Henne was sidelined in Week 4 by a season-ending shoulder injury. But there are doubts that Moore is a franchise quarterback, and if the Dolphins dont sign Manning, they may pursue the Packers Matt Flynn or try to trade up from the No. 8 spot and draft a quarterback in the first round in April. Henne is a free agent and unlikely to return. Miami has developed a recent habit for big-name acquisitions. The Heat landed LeBron James and Chris Bosh, and the Marlins added four All-Stars and manager Ozzie Guillen in a recent spree. Heat guard Dwyane Wade tweeted that he liked the idea of Manning joining the Dolphins. Wade said, "peyton that number 18 wld look gr8 in a dolphins uniform..steve ross lets go.. marlins & heat style..All in." James also endorsed the notion of Manning joining the Dolphins. "Hey, Im just saying, I heard the Dolphins need a quarterback," he said. "And Peyton is available." DQwell Jackson Indianapolis Colts . Booth, 28, has missed the last four games with a lower body injury and has appeared in 11 of 16 games for the Canucks this season, recording one goal and two assists. Vontae Davis Indianapolis Colts . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two. MIAMI -- Standing on the cusp of the NBA Finals has tended to agree with the Miami Heat in each of the last two seasons. When the Heat have gotten a game away from the title round, theyve finished the task as quickly as possible. And here they are again. A third straight Eastern Conference title is now just one win away for the reigning champions, though if the way this series has gone so far is an accurate indicator, that win will hardly come easily. The Heat -- without suspended forward Chris Andersen -- will visit the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night, leading the best-of-seven East finals 3-2 and in position to close out their new rivals on their own floor for the second straight season. "Were desperate, too," Heat forward and four-time NBA MVP LeBron James said Friday. "Were desperate to get back to the NBA Finals. So both teams are desperate in their own sense of theyre trying to keep their season alive and were trying to advance." The teams have alternated wins and losses through the first five games, and if that trend holds, then its the Pacers turn to prevail on Saturday and send the series back to Miami for a winner-goes-to-the-finals Game 7 on Monday night. If the Heat -- who have won each of their last six potential series-closeout games, including two in the 2011 and 2012 East finals -- win, then the championship round against the San Antonio Spurs will begin in Miami on Thursday. "You cant start thinking about opening up the invitation," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Thats over there. You cant even think about that." The Pacers saw their season end a year ago on their home floor, at Miamis hand, in Game 6 of a second-round series. So Indianas biggest source of motivation on Saturday may be the desire to avoid the indignity of watching Miami advance in Indianapolis for a second straight season. "Game 6 will really determine how much weve grown, because weve been in the same ditch, I guess, being in the same predicament," Pacers star Paul George said. "Going 2-2, losing in Miami, then coming back home and losing at home. So well see where were at. Weve done well all year, especially in the post-season, dealing with adversity and overcoming games where we didnt play as well as we wanted." The shirts in Indiana say "Gold Swagger" for a reason. Even down 3-2 against a team that hasnt lost back-to-back games since early January, the Pacers still have plenty of confidence, and it starts with a coach who came into the series insisting his club had genuine belief that it could knock off the champions. "Its not just false talk," Indiana coach Frank Vogel said. "Theres a reason Im confident. I like to tell these guys that Im not an optimist. Thats what my image is. Im a realist. And when I look around at what I see in the room when Im talking to this team, and what I see on the court, and the level of execution that were capable of ... it gives me real confidence in this basketball team. Our guys understand its not just happy talk. Matt Hasselbeck Indianapolis Colts. quot; Adjustments will be made by both sides before Saturday, of course. But at this point, its more than likely that the sides are out of ways to tactically surprise one another. A play here, a play there, that might be the difference, and that sort of thinking is shared by both sides. "Its about effort," Pacers centre Roy Hibbert said. "Its about who wants it more, who wants to get that offensive rebound, who wants to get that blocked shot, who wants to get the loose ball. We just have to come out with more determination. Its not anything the coaches can tell us, its about whats in here. Its lose or go home right now." Sometimes, its not even about what happens on the court. The Heat were losing 44-40 at halftime on Thursday in Game 5, when veteran Juwan Howard -- who appeared in seven games for all of 51 minutes this season after being re-signed by Miami -- went on a shouting spree in the locker room. James followed that up with a fiery, slightly profane speech of his own, and Miami went on a 30-10 run not long afterward that served as a springboard to victory. "His purity, respect level, the credibility that he has, it resonates with our guys and specifically it resonates with the guys in the locker room," Spoelstra said of Howard. "They hear what he says. It means something. And it was raw communication. Were at that point right now where it has to be real, has to be raw, has to be eye-to-eye. These are desperate times. Theres no looking back. Its either us or them." James said Friday that he couldnt even remember specifics of some things he had yelled the previous night. "Absolutely not," James said. "You just let the game speak for itself, I guess." Vogel said he expects that reserve forward Tyler Hansbrough, who sprained an ankle in the second half of Game 5, will be available on Saturday. Andersen, the backup big man who is 15 for 15 from the floor in the series and has made his last 18 shots overall, was suspended Friday night for shoving Hansbrough twice in the second quarter, then not backing away quickly enough for a referee who stepped in. Dwyane Wades aching right knee is still limiting him and Chris Boshs numbers are nowhere near what the Heat would want right now, so the defending champions arent exactly at their best, either. Still, the Pacers know that the challenge theyre facing now -- needing to go 2-0 against Miami in a three-day span to get to the finals -- is enormous. "One game at a time," George said. "We have to come home and play a good game. Everybody is going to have to step up and play a huge role. I know in the back of their mind they want to get the job done and be finished. So were going to have to come out and bring it." Or else, the Heat will be finals-bound, one more time. "The close-out game," Heat forward Shane Battier said, "is always the toughest." ' ' ' |
