Miami – Thumbs up to “Remember the Titans,” “Little Miss Sunshine” and Peyton Manning.
Whatever stories the media onslaught might deem worthy of Super Bowl hype this week, Manning’s right thumb shouldn’t be among them. The quarterback has sufficiently recovered from the bruised thumb he suffered late in the fourth quarter while directing the Indianapolis Colts to a come-from-behind win against the New England Patriots last week in the AFC title game.
“The thumb hasn’t been a factor,” Colts coach Tony Dungy said. “This past week, he threw the ball all three days. He took every snap in practice. It did not affect him at all.”
The Colts worked on their two-minute drill during practice Monday in Indianapolis. Manning, who never has missed a game in his nine-year NFL career, was given two possessions.
“And he took the offense to two touchdowns,” Dungy said.
The Colts arrived Monday night at the Bal Harbour Marriott Hotel, a 45-minute drive from the Miami Beach nightlife and 24 hours after the Chicago Bears checked in at a Miami airport hotel.
Dungy explained that because the Colts had not had a bye week since early in the regular season, then had to win three playoff games in three weeks to get here, it was important for his players to spend some time with their families and recharge their bodies.
Injury report
All Colts players practiced Monday except safety Nick Harper, who Dungy said would be “iffy” for Super Bowl XLI because of a sprained left ankle.
Big on Bates
Adewale Ogunleye says the Broncos got a steal in new assistant head coach/defense Jim Bates. The Chicago defensive end, who played for Miami when Bates was the defensive coordinator there, said Bates is capable of more.
“It (upsets) me that he isn’t a head coach,” Ogunleye said. “That guy needs to be a head coach. He is a great coach. I love him. … I just love what he brings to a defense.”
Get to Grossman
All season, Bears coach Lovie Smith has supported maligned quarterback Rex Grossman. He was at it again Monday. Of the six Bears who spoke to the media Monday, Grossman had the most action at his podium.
“He has had to deal with this just about every week,” Smith said. “He knows that most of you have certain questions that you want to ask him, that most of you would like to let him know exactly just how bad he is and things like that. But he’s not going to buy into it.”
Mike Klis can be reached at 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com.
EXTRA POINTS
The Post’s Anthony Cotton reports from Super Bowl XLI in Miami.
DID YOU KNOW
Remember December
The Colts were 2-3 in the month of December. No team has lost three games in December and won a Super Bowl in the same season.
MATCHUP TO WATCH
Berrian catching on
Colts CB Kelvin Hayden vs. Bears WR Bernard Berrian. While teammate Muhsin Muhammad has drawn the lion’s share of publicity for Chicago, it has been Berrian who has produced for the team in the postseason. The third-year player has 10 catches for 190 yards and two touchdowns. Hayden is a reserve who might be called into action if Nick Harper’s injured left ankle doesn’t improve.
SOUND BITES
Wonderful work
“If you were practicing for the Super Bowl every day, you’d have a great practice every day.” – Bears coach Lovie Smith
SUPER FACT
Ringing up big bill
The NFL pays for up to 150 rings at $5,000 per ring for the winning team. The league also pays for 150 pieces of jewelry for the losing team, but the contribution cannot exceed half the price of the Super Bowl ring.
ON THE WATERFRONT
Castro countdown
Hosting the Super Bowl is all well and good, but it seems the party the locals are really looking forward to is a bash, reportedly at the Orange Bowl, to be held after Cuban dictator Fidel Castro dies. The city commission this month appointed a committee – whose official job is to “discuss an event at the Orange Bowl in case expected events occur in Cuba” – to plan the soiree.
IN SIGHT
Familiar faces
It’s still a tad early for the beautiful people to begin filing into South Florida, so Monday offered visions of nonglamorous ex-jocks such as Phil Simms and former Broncos guard Mark Schlereth. Early risers might have spotted former Cleveland star Jim Brown on ESPN. Even at age 70, Brown’s sneer is tough enough to deck you.
