Peyton Manning underwent knee surgery and could miss the season opener.

Peyton Manning underwent surgery to remove an infected bursa sac from his left knee Monday afternoon, sending a jolt of uncertainty through the Indianapolis Colts organization.

With his rehabilitation expected to last as long as six weeks, there is a chance the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player and eight-time Pro Bowler may not be ready when the Colts open the regular season — and usher in the Lucas Oil Stadium era — Sept. 7 against the Chicago Bears.

I’ll admit it. I’m scarred by Marvin Harrison’s knee situation. We were assured by the Colts organization that his knee injury wasn’t all that severe and that he was almost ready to go for quite a while. Then, when he returned to the field in the playoffs, his knee was clearly a limiting factor. Fortunately, we have a battery of ridiculously qualified receivers — even if they’re not quite up to Harrison’s level (Reggie Wayne potentially excepted). At quarterback, the Colts don’t seem to have that kind of fall back.

Manning has been an iron-man, and I for one have appreciated being able to take his presence for granted.

IU has gotten hit with a “failure to monitor” charge by the NCAA. Athletic Director Rick Greenspan is resigning. The hits just keep on coming. As always, The Hoosier Report is a great place to go for information on IU athletics.

Here is how you can tell I’m not a pure blood Hoosier:* I don’t care for the Indy 500. There, I said it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy the race is huge. And, if I had to pick a racing event, I’d happily pick the 500 above the others. But, I just don’t get racing. To me, it’s a little like standing along side the Interstate and watching traffic.

(*I’m 5th generation Hoosier on my father’s side. Near as I can figure, the first Masson moved from Cincinnati to Indianapolis in the 1840s or thereabouts. From there, they lived in Indianapolis until Dad moved out of town in the 1960s. On my Mom’s side, however, I have a lot of Buckeye and a fair number of Missourians; reminding me of Abe Simpson on Missouri: “I’ll be deep in the cold, cold ground before I recognize Missourah.”)

Josh Marshall is right; Arlen Spector and the rest of the United States Congress has better things to do than waste time figuring out that Bill Belichick and the Patriots are cheaters. I’ve known that at least since Willie McGinest faked a knee injury to get an extra time out against the Colts on November 30, 2003.

Still, it’s slightly less silly than the Congress wasting its time on steroids in baseball. Why? Because I like watching football a lot and only have passing interest in baseball.

Anyway, we don’t need no stinkin’ Congressional hearings. We in the blogosphere are perfectly capable of hashing this out. I can confidently state that Sadly, No is wrong and Oliver Willis is right. The Patriots are, in fact, cheating cheaters. Sadly for the NFL, it’s damn near impossible to wash off Patriot taint.

Police in Philadelphia have interviewed Marvin Harrison relative to a shooting in that city. Details are still sketchy, but apparently some shots were fired outside a bar Harrison owns, and shells at the scene match a type of Belgian weapon that Harrison owns.

I hope it turns out that Harrison wasn’t involved or was justified or something where he’s not about to get into a ton of trouble. But, I suppose the “nice guy, didn’t talk much” description would fit Harrison.

ESPN ranked the Colts as the #1 professional sports franchise out of the 122 professional teams in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL.

The sixth annual rankings are a compilation of eight categories: Title Track (the Colts are 15th); Ownership (11th); Coaching (9th); Players (8th); Fan Relations (8th); Affordability (25th); Stadium Experience (66th); and Bang For the Buck (3rd).

The Pacers are #112. There has certainly been quite a reversal of the franchises in the past 15 years.

You can’t necessarily judge an NFL team’s likely performance in the upcoming year by its prior year’s performance; but, if we do, the Steelers and the Colts have 2008’s toughest schedule while the New England Patriots have the easiest. (h/t In the Agora).

The Steelers’ ’08 opponents went 153-103 in 2007. The Colts’ ’08 opponents went 152-104. The Patriots’ ’08 opponents, by contrast, went 99-157. That means the Colts and Steelers are going up against .59 winning averages while the Patriots are going up against a .38 winning average. Bastards. Maybe they can choke away another perfect season.

Via Big Blue Shoe at Stampede Blue, Bob Lamey is going to be inducted into the Indiana Sportscasters Hall of Fame. I’ve certainly enjoyed Bob over the years.

Though Bob will say to your face that he never expected this kind of honor, the rest of us will say back that if Bob Lamey is not in the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame there should not be a Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame. It’s a no-brainer, a gimme, an obvious accolade for an outstanding sportscaster.

Yup.

Stampede Blue has a post reporting that the Colts might be ditching Jim Sorgi in favor of Jeff George. Million dollar arm, ten cent head. Oh, and he’s older than I am.