INDIANAPOLIS - Jim Irsay figured the road to Indianapolis next Super Bowl title eventually would go through Peyton Mannings new team. Jordan Richards Jersey .He never anticipated it would happen this fast.Heading into Sundays divisional-round game against the Broncos, the Colts owner said Tuesday that Hollywood couldnt have created a better script than Manning vs. Andrew Luck.It was my hope and dream that this sort of situation would occur. I feel blessed that it has, Irsay said during a 30-minute news conference in Indianapolis. Peyton remains a really dear friend to me. We have communicated through the months. I think its going to be a great game and having these two great quarterbacks go against each other at this point in their careers is really exciting.The winner earns a ticket to the AFC Championship game. The loser heads home to contemplate what must be fixed before Round 4 of this quarterback duel takes place sometime next season.Irsay said he and then-team president Bill Polian started discussing how and when to transition from Manning to his eventual successor in 2010. Irsay said they determined at that time that most prominent quarterbacks started declining at about age 38. Manning will turn 39 in March, and Irsay noted that Manning could defy the odds because hes still playing at such a high level.Those talks became more important a year later when Manning missed the entire season because of a nerve injury that weakened his right arm. Without their star quarterback, the usually strong Colts stumbled to a 2-14 mark.Irsay was forced to decide whether to keep a potentially proficient but injured and soon-to-be 35-year-old quarterback with a high salary-cap number or rebuild immediately. His answer came on the final day of the 2011 season.It was (Maurice Jones-Drew) that gave it to us, he reached out on that 4-yard gain and got the first down in Jacksonville and that changed our destiny, Irsay said, referring to the play that assured Indy of having the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2012.Two months later, Irsay made an emotional announcement that Manning and the Colts were parting ways. Even then, Irsay insisted he wanted Manning to get another shot at a Super Bowl title while the revamped Colts would attempt to put themselves back into contention.A month later, Indy kicked off the rebuilding process by taking Luck with the top pick, and it didnt take long for the former Colts star and the new Colts star to embark on a collision course.Manning led the Broncos to three straight AFC West titles and last years Super Bowl.Luck, meanwhile, won 33 regular-season games, reached the playoffs in each of his first three NFL seasons and captured the last two AFC South titles. In a wild-card round win last year against Kansas City, Luck engineered the second-greatest comeback in playoff history. And last weekends wild-card win over Cincinnati set up Sundays rematch with Mannings Broncos, who won 31-24 in the season opener.Its been special, Irsay said of the Luck era. Obviously the Kansas City game last year was historic. Again (in Sundays win), 376 yards with drops and some of the throws he made, its incredible. Thats what we saw when he was coming out (of college).Manning has played well, too. He won a league record fifth MVP last season after shattering Tom Bradys single-season record for touchdown passes (55), and he has the Broncos (12-4) back in the Super Bowl hunt.While some contend Manning is starting to play like a 38-year-old quarterback and that his playoff history has been sub-par, Irsay doesnt buy it.Peyton plays at such a high level and plays so great that people put expectations that are unrealistic because I really think whether you get one, two, three championships, a lot more is involved, said Irsay, who reiterated he would have liked to have hoisted more than one Lombardi Trophy with Manning. I think hes one of the greatest players ever to play the game at his position. Hes going to be in that conversation when you talk about it.Hed just rather see Luck and the Colts take this round.I thought we played better on Sunday and when I say that, I mean that I dont think weve played our best game yet, Irsay said. With the task at hand where were going, were going to have to take it to that next level. Theres no question about it.NOTES: The Colts put right guard Hugh Thornton on injured reserve Tuesday with a shoulder injury. Thornton was injured in the second-to-last game of the season at Dallas and hasnt played since. Lance Louis will likely replace Thornton in the lineup for the third straight week. ... Indy signed running back Michael Hill to the active roster to take Thorntons spot.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL Jimmy Garoppolo Youth Jersey . Floyd participated in the first day of the Chargers organized team activities Tuesday. In his words, "Its good to be back out there. Im cleaned for contact. Jimmy Garoppolo Jersey . Chelsea earned its biggest league victory under Jose Mourinho after the leaders raced into a 2-0 lead in just seven minutes through goals from Samuel Etoo and Andre Schuerrle. "You come to kill and in 10 minutes we destroyed," Mourinho said.BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Will Power and Penske Racing are back in a familiar position at Barber Motorsports Park: Starting in the pole position at a track where they dominated until last year. Power, a two-time winner, came out on top in a Fast Six qualifying Saturday that featured five drivers from IndyCar powerhouse teams Penske, Andretti Autosport and Ganassi Racing. "I was thinking it was going to be very tough to beat the Andretti boys, theyve been so fast around here," Power said. "But I was able to do one lap each time on my tires, so I had two shots at it. It was awfully close. Nothing between everyone. "But very happy to be on pole. It was definitely the aim. Puts you in a much better position to keep out of trouble on the start." There was plenty of trouble at Long Beach two weeks ago, and Scott Dixon was the only Fast Six driver not caught up in it. Most of the drivers have cleared the air, but Simon Pagenaud has said the tone might have been set for the season when he was spun from behind by Power. Ryan Hunter-Reays attempt to pass Josef Newgarden on a tight turn also collected seven drivers, including Andretti teammate James Hinchcliffe of Oakville, Ont. Power expects some clarification of what constitutes "clean racing" at the pre-race drivers meeting with race director Beaux Barfield. "What happened between Pagenaud and myself, I feel bad," the Australian driver said. "He had every right to be really angry. "I think the payback system is not going to work very well for us with these cars and the tracks we go to. It will become dangerous. Well talk about it in the drivers meeting, come up with some compromise." Mike Conway won the tension-filled race at Long Beach but will start in the 21st spot. Hinchcliffe qualified second, as he did at Long Beach, while defending champion Ryan Hunter-Reay starts third. Hinchcliffe was stranded beside the track for most of last years race after damage on the first lap. He also started on the front row in 2012 and finished 12th. "Kind of feels like always the bridesmaid, never the bride," Hinchcliffe said. "Its my sixth front-row start and never had a pole yet." Newgarden is fourrth and his team with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing might as well represent the underdogs in the group that also includes Ganassis Scott Dixon and Penskes Helio Castroneves. Geneo Grissom Jersey. . Power and Castroneves combined to claim the pole and the win in each of the first three years at the track. For Power, thats three pole starts in five years at Barber. Hunter-Reay broke the teams stranglehold last year, starting and finishing first. Much of the weekends buzz has been about the impact of temperatures that have soared since testing in February, making for a slicker track. "Everybody is going to be swatting at flies the whole day in the car," Hunter-Reay said. "Trying to keep it on the racetrack is going to be tough. Were all going to have that. "I think it should be a pretty interesting race because of it. I think its anybodys race. " The only potential drama in qualifying came when Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais lost his fastest two laps for interfering with Hunter-Reay in the second session. Hunter-Reay said Bourdais team didnt alert their driver that he was coming up behind. "He was in the third gear or second gear in a six-gear corner and he was coming in that lap," Hunter-Reay said. "I know Bourdais; hes pretty switched on. So either he did it intentionally or he had no idea I was there, and it was the latter. He said his team didnt tell him. "Its all right. We still ended up in the Fast Six, so no big deal." Dixon was in contention late in Long Beach before he stopped for fuel as a precaution. Now, hes seeking to break through at Barber, where he has been the runner-up in each of the first four races. "I think two of the second-place finishes we had before were hard-earned and we were pretty happy with it," he said. "The other two we lost on a last pit exchange or a strategy issue." Juan Pablo Montoya starts eighth, his best qualifying spot since moving from NASCAR back to open-wheel racing this season. "Were gaining on it," Montoya said. "I think we have a really good race car and its amazing because every practice is better. Every qualifying is better. Its just a matter of getting the hang of it." cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '