A Sports Filled Weekend

If Peyton Manning elects to retire, he will go out on top after one of the worst performances of any Super Bowl-winning quarterback. Fortunately for him, he had Cam Newton on the other side of the field.

The Denver Broncos won Super Bowl 50 24-10 on Sunday in a matchup dominated by defenses. Denver linebacker Von Miller was named the MVP.

The winners finished with 194 yards of total offense, made a meager 11 first downs and converted 1 of 14 third downs. Manning completed 13 of 23 passes for 141 yards, was sacked five times, threw an interception and lost one of his two fumbles.

Newton, named MVP of the regular season, completed 18 of 41 passes for 265 yards, did not throw for or run for a touchdown (after doing that 45 times in the regular season), tossed an interception and lost two fumbles. And that’s not all he lost. His sulky, rude appearance at the postgame interview undid every change to his image that he had cultivated during the Panthers’ run to the Super Bowl.

The game dragged on like The Hundred Years’ War and the advertisements, which are supposed to be an annual highlight, were for the most part awful despite the overwhelming presence of high-end talent (Christopher Walken, Helen Mirren, Amy Schumer, Seth Rogen, Alec Baldwin, Kevin Hart). One featured something called a “PuppyMonkeyBaby” that should lead to the outlawing of animatronics, cross-species breeding and, well, advertising.

Manning was gracious in victory, having collected the second Super Bowl championship of a glorious career. Newton not only took the low road but re-paved it. And so the NFL season ends, not with a bang but a wimp.

ELSEWHERE

College basketball rankings will get a shakeup after No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 2 North Carolina lost on Saturday, the former by 80-69 to Kansas State and the latter by 80-76 to Notre Dame. No. 3 Villanova and No. 4 Maryland both beat ranked teams, so look for that new 1-2 punch at the top of the polls. … Quarterbacks Brett Favre and Ken Stabler, receiver Marvin Harrison, linebacker Kevin Greene, offensive tackle Orlado Pace, coach Tony Dungy, former San Francisco 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. and offensive lineman Dick Stanfel were voted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. … In the NBA, the Golden State Warriors beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-108 on Saturday. The Warriors are 46-4 and have won nine straight.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman