Thanks to Aaron Rodgers, the mystery of Peyton Manning's "Omaha" is solved post-Peyton.
Football fans have tried for years to uncover the meaning of Manning's pre-snap ritual. Did he have a deal with the Omaha (Neb.) Visitors and Convention Bureau? Was he setting up a second career, after last season's retirement from the Denver Broncos, as an Omaha Steaks pitchman?
The Green Bay Packers quarterback spilled the beans during a recent appearance on the HBO show Any Given Wednesday. During the interview, host Bill Simmons asked Rodgers who he tries to emulate at the quarterback position. Rodgers said he watches film on guys such as Manning, Drew Brees and Tom Brady. During an extra segment after the show, Rodgers delved into Omaha.
"I like watching Peyton," Rodgers said. "Peyton did a lot for the pre-snap for everybody."
"The Omaha stuff?" Simmons asked.
"That was important," Rodgers said. "That's really interesting. The root of that is a timing mechanism where his offense can get off at the same time, and then the beauty and the brilliance of it is that it goes from that word to you saw numerous times he would change it. He would have a code word that would mean it wasn't coming on the 'Omaha.' It wasn't 'Omaha, Omaha, set hut,' that was a dummy."
One of the offense's biggest advantages in football is the split-second head start they're theoretically supposed to get because they know the snap count and the defense doesn't. That advantage can go away when the snap count has to change, but Manning's team would keep the advantage because of his incessant Omaha calls.
So when an old Broncos or Colts game comes on television, view Manning with a brand-new appreciation.
Rocket's return
In his 24-year big league career, Roger Clemens won seven Cy Young awards, made the All-Star team 11 times and won two World Series championships. Now, he's ready to view the game from a different vantage point.
Clemens will serve as the guest manager for the Bridgeport (Conn.) Bluefish during the team's Aug. 5 game against the Long Island Ducks. It will be the first time Clemens has ever served as a manager of a professional baseball team.
The Bluefish participate in the Atlantic League, an open classification level that bills itself as the highest level of professional baseball outside of Major League Baseball.
The position of guest manager is just a one-time gig. Pete Rose, former Yankee outfielder Paul O'Neill and softball great Jenny Finch also have served as guest managers for the club.
Clemens is set to throw out the first pitch and take part in a meet-and-greet with fans before the game. The Bluefish will also distribute a Clemens bobblehead to season-ticket holders or fans who bought a bobblehead mini-ticket plan.
This is not Clemens' first foray with the Atlantic League. In 2012, a 50-year-old Clemens came out of retirement to pitch for the Sugar Land Skeeters. His son, Kody, was catching for the Skeeters. He threw eight scoreless innings over two starts with the team.
Sports on 07/27/2016