Colts unveil Manning statue outside Lucas Oil Stadium

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts have unveiled a statue of Peyton Manning on a plaza outside Lucas Oil Stadium in a ceremony attended by hundreds of fans and featuring remarks from Hall of Famers coach Tony Dungy and executive Bill Polian, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. The five-time NFL MVP concluded the event Saturday by proclaiming “I will always be a Colt” and throwing autographed footballs into the crowd. The bronze likeness features Manning in his Colts uniform preparing to throw a pass. It was a rare time he wasn’t quite prepared. “I keep checking my health to make sure everything checks out,” Manning told The Associated Press on Friday. “I’m not sure you’re supposed to be alive to see something like this.” But he was alive and kicking and ready to celebrate with more than a dozen former teammates back in town Saturday. Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett and former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels also spoke, as did longtime Colts center Jeff Saturday. Even David Letterman made a surprise appearance in what Manning informally dubbed an all-Indiana event — with the exception of Goodell. “We all salute Peyton for being a tremendous ambassador for his community, our league and our game,” Goodell posted on Twitter after the ceremony.

BASKETBALL

› PHOENIX —

Connie Hawkins, basketball’s dazzling New York playground great who soared and swooped his way to the Hall of Fame, has died. He was 75. His death was announced Saturday by the Phoenix Suns, the team with which he spent his most productive NBA seasons in a career delayed for years by a point-shaving scandal that led to the league blackballing him, even though he was never directly linked to any wrongdoing. The Suns did not disclose the cause of Friday’s death. Hawkins, who lived in the Phoenix area, had been in frail health for several years and was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2007. “We lost a legend,” said Jerry Colangelo, the Suns general manager when Hawkins played and later the owner of the franchise, “a player I had a very deep affection for who kind of put us on the map.” “The Hawk,’” as he came to be known for his soaring repertoire, was born on July 17, 1942, in Brooklyn, where he could dunk by age 11 and ruled the asphalt playgrounds, tales of his basketball feats spreading across the boroughs. He was a decent shooter, but he was at his masterful best should anyone dare to try to cover him oneon-one.