Coby Fleener

Stanford tight end Coby Fleener is reunited with Andrew Luck as the Indianapolis Colts selected the two former teammates with their first two picks in the NFL Draft. Our Grindr preview of the NFL Draft had Fleener looking for “More Good Luck,” and that’s exactly what he got. With Dallas Clark and Jacob Tamme gone from Indy, Fleener was a great pick-up.

Check out our NFL Draft on Grindr to see if the other featured draftees got the relationship they wanted.

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Peyton Manning. Photo by Kirby Lee / US PRESSWIRE

I became a fan of the Baltimore Colts when I was 6, because my older brother rooted for them. I then cheered for them through thick and thin — mostly the latter — for 20 years, listening to game after game on an old AM radio, well before the days of Sunday Ticket. My favorite birthday present of all time was a trip to Philadelphia to see the Colts with my dad when I was 9; they won 38-6.

In college and my early working years, I traveled to Baltimore from Pennsylvania several times to see the Colts. I dragged along my then-boyfriend, who was not a fan but loved the atmosphere and the Baltimore Colts marching band in Memorial Stadium.

That all ended abruptly in 1984, when then-Colts owner Bob Irsay — an alcoholic a–hole — moved the team to Indianapolis in the middle of the night. The Colts were dead to me. I became a free agent fan, following teams whose players or coaches I liked, but it wasn’t the same.

Then the Colts drafted Peyton Manning. I paid little attention to him his first two seasons, but in 2000 I started watching more closely and quickly fell in football love. Here was a guy who was a phenomenal player and leader and played the position like none I had seen, changing the way the game is played. He also had a terrific personality with an underrated sense of humor, so rooting for him easy. My love affair with the Colts was rekindled and I have seen virtually every one of their games the past 12 seasons, most of them with Jim Allen, a casual fan who also came to bleed blue and white because of Manning. One of my prized gifts is a Peyton Manning doll Cyd bought for me to jinx the Colts.

So, the news today that the Colts have cut Manning is depressing. It was an amicable departure, but it still stings. I knew it was coming for months and can understand the rationale by owner Jim Irsay (a cool guy nothing like his dad) given the salary cap implications and the fact that Manning is still not 100%. Had Manning been healthy enough to have played even a month last season, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. He would have retired a Colt, but now he is a free agent. It just feels so weird.

I like Andrew Luck and will stay a Colts fan (at least for the time being), but will also become a huge fan of Manning’s new team. I never thought I’d see the headline: Colts cut Peyton Manning. He is my all-time favorite player and the only upside is that now I have two favorite teams to root for.

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Listen to the podcast here (you don’t need itunes).

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What did you think? Comment and vote, after the jump.

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Peyton Manning threw 4 TD passes.

For the first time this year, I think the Colts will go 16-0. They made it 14 straight this season after a wild, 35-31 win at Jacksonville that saw nine lead changes. It was an NFL-record seventh time this season the Colts have won despite trailing in the fourth quarter, and it was their 23rd straight regular season win.

Before Thursday, getting to 14-0 had been accomplished only twice — by the 1972 Dolphins and 2007 Patriots. The 1985 Bears, 1998 Broncos and 2005 Colts each started 13-0 before losing their first game. Game 14 seemed to be hurdle that tripped teams up, so now having jumped that, the Colts chances of finishing 16-0 seem much easier.

Their next game is home against the Jets (7-6) and they end the season in Buffalo (5-8). The Colts will be favored in both games and I defy anyone to boldly predict that either quarterback Mark Sanchez of the Jets or Ryan Fitzpatrick of the Bills will best Peyton Manning.

Indy has 10 days off to get ready for the Jets and survived Thursday with no major injuries, so I see starters playing Game 15 until the outcome is decided. If they go to 15-0, I can’t see the Colts shutting it down against Buffalo if the game is in doubt; anybody healthy will play. On Thursday, for example. Manning and the offense starters played the whole game. On defense, star pass rushers Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis played sparingly, but both were in for the entire final drive by the Jaguars that saw the Colts seal the win with an interception.

Cyd and I were talking about how Colts’ drive for 16-0 doesn’t feel as big as the Pats two years ago. That’s partly because the Saints (13-0) are also playing for a perfect season and national interest has been split. It’s also not as novel, since it was done just two seasons ago and so seems less historic. Also, the Colts are an amazingly resilient and smart team, but not dominant, so they don’t have an aura of inevitability (eight of their wins have been by eight or less points). But for fans (I have seen all their games save one), they are the best entertainment in town and one that with two more wins would join some select company.

Bonus pics

I was going through my files and came across these shots I took of Peyton Manning and Dallas Clark stretching during the January playoff game against San Diego. This is for you butt fans:

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The two AFC teams that have looked the best so far: The New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens. Conventional wisdom on the Jets has said they can’t possibly win with a rookie quarterback replacing the great Brett Favre, but they did what Favre couldn’t do and did it against Tom Brady (not Matt Cassell). If the Ravens keep playing like they they have so far, they will quickly be the favorites to win the Super Bowl.

Unless a defender is now allowed to grab the receiver’s jersey and grab him around the waist as he goes up with position to catch a ball in flight, this was textbook pass interference in the end zone as the referee watched closely from just a few yards away.

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Lakers nearly blow 22-point lead, eliminate Jazz. Nuggest pound Hornets by 58.

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