Colts' Peyton Manning underwent 2nd surgery on neck

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning underwent neck surgery in Chicago on Monday for the second time in the past 15 months.

Manning told The Indianapolis Star on Tuesday that the procedure was "minimally invasive" and said he expects to make "a quick recovery."

Manning, 35, had surgery at the same Chicago hospital in March 2010 to alleviate the problems a pinched nerve had caused for about four years.

The four-time NFL MVP told The Star that Monday's operation addressed a completely separate issue. Manning said this surgery revolved around a disk-related issue in his neck that had created discomfort recently.

"There is plenty of time for recovery," Manning told The Star, referring to the lockout that is now in its third month.

Manning is among 10 current players named in an antitrust lawsuit against the National Football League.

Colts owner Jim Irsay, allowed to communicate with Manning in this case, confirmed the surgery at the NFL meetings Tuesday.

"It's usually a six-to-eight week recovery period," Irsay said. "I think this is one you can bounce back from quickly."

Irsay said the quarterback contacted the team and its doctors before heading to Chicago for the operation.

"Now is the time to do it, the end of May," Irsay reasoned. "He's had things tougher than this before."

Before owners enacted the lockout, the Colts placed their exclusive franchise tag on Manning, tying him to the team for the 2011 season. If he plays under the tag next season, Manning would make about $23 million.

Manning

"He has a great chance to play five years," Irsay said. "He's such a tough guy, takes care of himself and really, really works hard.

"I feel good about it. This doesn't affect the way I view (a new contract)."

Still, Irsay suggested that Manning's backup quarterbacks will throw more in training camp and see plenty of action in the preseason -- if the lockout ends in time to play those games.

"It's like a baseball pitcher," Irsay said. "You want to limit the throws he takes. But I think he will be good to go for the preseason games."

In 13 seasons, Manning has broken all of the Colts' career records for quarterbacks and has never missed a start. He's taken Indy to the playoffs 11 times, captured seven AFC South titles in eight years, won two AFC championships, one Super Bowl title and a Super Bowl MVP Award.

And the Colts won more regular-season games in a ten-year span (115) than any team in NFL history.

Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Does D.Rose need a hug.... or what?

MIAMI -- Derrick Rose is fine.

He's finer than a physics-defying South Beach knockout.

Finer than Joakim Noah, who will be writing a check to the NBA, thanks to one angry word.

Rose is finer than the few remaining hairs on coach Tom Thibodeau's head after two straight losses.

Rose is frustrated, sure. Who wouldn't be in his situation? But he's not going to admit to showing fatigue from a grueling season of carrying the Chicago Bulls, at times, on his well-tattooed shoulders.

He hasn't lost his fast-twitch explosiveness or his rock-solid confidence. Just ask him.

"I'm fine, man," he said Monday afternoon. "Trust me. No excuses."

Then he flashed a toothy grin that is familiar only to those who cover him on a regular basis.

"Even I was tired, you know I wouldn't tell you," he said, laughing.

[+] Enlarge

Steve Mitchell/US PresswireDerrick Rose hasn't been able to take over games in the fourth quarter against the Heat.

In the few times things have gone badly for him this postseason, Rose has stuck to a "no excuses" mantra. But he also hasn't had a reason to make excuses very often, not this season, anyway.

A few missed shots here, a couple of turnovers there. He is the MVP, after all, and the golden child of Chicago, not to mention the NBA.

But Rose finds himself at a season crossroads after two woeful fourth quarters that led to consecutive losses in the Eastern Conference finals.

In the Bulls' 96-85 loss to the Miami Heat in Game 3 on Sunday night, Rose put up just two shots in the fourth and didn't take a free throw. He had three assists, including two early when the Bulls were in striking distance, but also committed two turnovers. The Heat took a three-point lead into the fourth and outscored the Bulls 28-20 to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

In Game 2, the Bulls scored just 10 points in the fourth and Rose missed all four shots he took, converting just a pair of free throws. The Bulls had it tied at 73-all before the Heat closed the game on a LeBron James-led 12-2 run.

Rose's salad days of the regular season are a distant memory, as they should be. But it's tough to forget how clutch he was "way back when."

For instance, he finished the season as the second-best "clutch" scorer in the league, according to 82games.com, averaging 47.8 points per 48 minutes in "clutch situations," which are defined as the last five minutes of regulation or overtime, with neither team ahead by more than five points.

No one is exactly sure why Rose isn't dominating late in games right now, but it's not hard to guess. It has a lot to do with the quality of competition. Rose faced double-teams, blitzes, whatever, all season, but now he's facing long, athletic, focused players, led by the Heat's big three, who are taking turns helping out or guarding him.

Let's just say Jeff Teague and Jamal Crawford weren't exactly ideal sparring partners to get him ready for the Heat.

I remember one particular fast-break opportunity in Game 3 in which Rose raced into the paint, only to find James in front of him. Rose pulled up, and the opportunity was lost.

"It's something I've been experiencing through the whole playoffs," Rose said of the extra attention. "Every series, people have been trying to do that, and I've found a way. I think tomorrow will be a different game."

With that in mind, Rose did have more success in Game 3 near the basket. He had trouble getting to the rim in the first two games of the series, including the Bulls' long-forgotten blowout win in Game 1. But he converted on four of seven attempts at the rim in Game 3 after hitting just three of five attempts in the first two games.

In the half-court offense, the Bulls have had trouble freeing him on pick-and-rolls and the like, so Rose agreed with a reporter's suggestion that they should run more isolation-style plays for him, be they on the top of the key or from a wing. In a perfect world, you put Luol Deng and Kyle Korver in the corners and Carlos Boozer in the low block to push help defenders off the ball, and Rose is off to the races.

"That would be great," Rose said. "I think like more step-ups, things like that, more isolation-type things instead of double-teaming all the time."

Thibodeau said he just wants to see Rose making smart passes out of double-teams that will lead to baskets.

But to get that kind of one-on-one game going, Rose's teammates have to command respect. So far in this series, the Bulls' field goal percentages have been, in order: 43.7, 34.1, 41.6. In their sole win, the Bulls hit 10 of 21 3-pointers. In the two losses, they've combined to hit eight of 32.

Noah and Korver, two key complementary scorers, have been all but nonexistent in that role, and Boozer is coming off his only high-scoring game of the series. I guess this is why everyone was wishing a 2-guard would land in the Bulls' lap for nothing.

"He's faced every possible defense all year long," Thibodeau said. "The big thing for us is we have to hit some shots to open things up for him. When he's in the open floor, he's very hard to guard. He's very difficult in pick-and-rolls, he'll find seams and hopefully he'll get going."

With so much on the line, Rose admitted that he and his teammates let the situation get the better of them in Game 3, worrying about foul calls and arguing with referees.

Rose has led with a stoic intensity that buttressed Thibodeau's Buddhist monk-like devotion to living in the present. Those days are gone, too. Now the Bulls have to cancel out the mounting pressure and about 19,000 screaming Heat fans.

"It's one thing to have a passion about the game," he said. "But when you start bringing emotions into the game, I think that's when you can really get in trouble."

The Bulls are in trouble, and there's no sense ignoring it. Can Rose lead them out of it? That's what we're waiting to see.

Rose hasn't disappointed this season, and Chicago hasn't lost three in a row. In Game 4, the former will decide whether the latter remains true.

NBA Playoffs 2011: NBA Fines Bulls' Noah 50k

MIAMI -- Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah was fined $50,000 on Monday for directing an anti-gay slur at a fan during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, and vowed to learn from the incident.

The NBA released its decision hours after speaking with Noah, saying the fine was "for using a derogatory and offensive term from the bench."

The fine is only half of what Los Angeles Lakers' star Kobe Bryant was assessed for shouting the same slur toward a referee last month, and the league said the discrepancy was because the sanction against Bryant was based on both what he said -- and who he said it to.

"Kobe's fine included discipline for verbal abuse of a game official," NBA spokesman Mark Broussard said.

Noah and NBA officials met Monday morning. Noah said he emerged from that talk prepared to "pay the price" for what happened when he returned to the bench with two fouls midway through the first quarter of Sunday night's game against the Miami Heat.

That price turned out to be 1.6 percent of his roughly $3.1 million salary this season. Noah agreed to an extension last year, worth about $60 million through the 2015-16 season.

Meanwhile, two major advocacy groups quickly called upon the league to both sanction Noah and help further educate players on the topic.

"The fan said something that was disrespectful towards me," Noah said, about five hours before the fine was announced. "And I went back at him. Got it on camera. I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings. Anybody who knows me knows that I'm not like that. I'm an open-minded guy. I said the wrong thing and I'm going to pay the consequences -- deal with the consequences -- like a man. I don't want to be a distraction to the team right now."

Television cameras captured Noah saying an expletive, followed by the slur. Noah said he did not realize the gravity of the situation until he was questioned by reporters after the game Sunday, adding that he meant "no disrespect" to anyone.

Bryant was fined $100,000 last month, and just last week, Phoenix Suns president and CEO Rick Welts revealed he was gay, a rare acknowledgement for someone holding a prominent position in men's sports.

"We know what business we are in," Heat forward LeBron James said Monday. "Emotions get played. ... I don't think it was right what he said. But emotions do get said over the course of the game. We know there's going to be microphones. We know there's going to be cameras around. You just have to be cautious about what you say and just try to control your emotions as much as possible."

The Heat won Sunday's game 96-85, taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is Tuesday night in Miami.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's another teachable moment," Welts told ESPN's Ric Bucher. "It should generate more intelligent dialogue. We've been afraid to talk about it and we're not afraid to talk about it anymore. I'm proud that the NBA has taken the approach that it has.

"I had the pleasure of having dinner with Noah in the run-up to the draft when he came into the league and I found him to be a very humble, very kind, genuine human being. So I do have this personal connection with him and because of that I feel a little sorry for him that he finds himself in this situation. ... The intention of the words were to sting, but there has to be understanding that the words carry a weight beyond that."

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, or GLAAD, said it reached out to the NBA and the Bulls on Monday "to discuss next steps," and called upon the league to reiterate to its players that anti-gay words should not be tolerated in the game.

"Last month the NBA sent an important message about how such slurs fuel a climate of intolerance and are unacceptable," GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios said in a statement. "These anti-gay remarks, coming so soon after, demonstrate how much needs to be done."

GLAAD said it has started a partnership with Bryant and the Lakers following the April incident in Los Angeles. Also Monday, the Human Rights Campaign called Noah's use of the slur "just plain unacceptable."

"At a time when the NBA and a growing number of pro-athletes are publicly standing up for equality, it's too bad Mr. Noah worked against their efforts last night," HRC President Joe Solmonese said. "That said, we're pleased he quickly realized the error of his ways and apologized."

Some of Noah's teammates stood up for him Monday, saying that the fan went too far in whatever comments were directed toward the Bulls' bench. Taj Gibson said the man repeatedly directed verbal abuse toward the Bulls, and other players insisted that was true.

"It wasn't just one time or two times," said Bulls forward Luol Deng, who declined to say what comments the fan may have made. "He just kept going and it became really annoying. He just lost his temper."

Bulls forward Carlos Boozer said he was not aware of exactly what took place in the bench area, but noted it happens somewhat regularly.

"That's a part of the game," Boozer said. "Fans have the right to say what they want to say after they buy their tickets. Unfortunately sometimes, for us, we just have to sit there and take it. Unfortunately, that's part of sports."

Noah repeated often Monday that he was apologetic for the incident. He said he would "learn from my mistakes," and acknowledged that being frustrated over picking up his second foul did not excuse his words.

"I'll remember," Noah said. "I'll remember it for a long time."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Juan Manuel Marquez agrees to terms for third Manny Pacquiao

It looks like Juan Manuel Marquez will get his long-awaited third fight with pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told ESPN.com that he made a deal with Marquez on Tuesday in Los Angeles for the lightweight champion to move up in weight to challenge Pacquiao for his welterweight title on Nov. 12.

Arum, however, still needs to make a deal with Pacquiao -- considered a formality -- before the fight is official.

If the fight is finalized, they would meet at a contract weight of 144 pounds, Arum said. Although the weight is three pounds below the welterweight division limit of 147, that isn't an issue.

"Manny has to eat extra meals just to weigh even 145 pounds," Arum said.

Pacquiao regularly weighs below 147 for his fights, and Marquez would be moving up from the 135-pound division. In 2009, in his only other welterweight fight, Marquez lost a lopsided decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr., who most would like to see Pacquiao face. Most believe it would be the biggest money fight in boxing history, but Mayweather has repeatedly declined the fight.

Barring a gargantuan offer elsewhere, Pacquiao-Marquez Round III will be at Las Vegas' MGM Grand, where Pacquiao-Marquez Round I took place and where Pacquiao scored an easy decision against Shane Mosley on May 7.

With the Pacquiao fight on the line, Arum said Marquez plans to take a tune-up against faded former lightweight titlist David Diaz (36-3-1, 17 KOs) on July 2 in Mexico City. Diaz lost his title to Pacquiao via a lopsided ninth-round knockout in 2008.

Marquez's own promotional company will put the card on, although Arum said Top Rank would help if needed. Arum said Marquez's deal for the Pacquiao bout permitted him an interim fight as long as it takes place by July 17.

"He's going to do that fight, and if he loses, he's out," Arum said.

Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KOs) and Marquez (52-5-1, 38 KOs) have a rich history, battling twice in action-packed fights that ended in controversial decisions.

In 2004, Pacquiao dropped Marquez three times in the first round of their featherweight championship fight, but Marquez battled back to claim a draw that many believed he won. In 2008, they met again for the junior lightweight championship, and Pacquiao won a similarly controversial split decision.

"It's the same old story -- styles make fights, and, for some reason, I believe if we fight Marquez 10 times, we will have controversy 10 times because he's figured something out about Manny that no other fighter can do," Michael Koncz, Pacquiao's adviser, told ESPN.com. "We've had him down three times, but he's able to adapt and adjust. I think it will be a very close fight again if we decide to pick that fight. The question is, what is Manny's monetary reward?"

Mexico's Marquez, 37, has wanted a third fight with Pacquiao for years and is poised to land it because Golden Boy, his longtime promoter, declined to match Top Rank's offer. Marquez's deal with Golden Boy expired earlier this year, but it retained the right to match any offer through February 2012.

Top Rank and Golden Boy, involved in various lawsuits, are bitter rivals. Their bad blood stems from a legal fight over Pacquiao's promotional contract, which Top Rank now controls.

Arum said Golden Boy declined to match his offer to Marquez on Monday during a face-to-face meeting in Los Angeles that included Arum, Top Rank president Todd duBoef and Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer.

While Arum would not go into details of the meeting, a surprise given the rancor between them, he said of Golden Boy, "They said they would cooperate and not try to interfere. They waived any connection with Marquez and said they would not interfere with us contracting the fight. They let us know that we were free to go ahead. Schaefer let us know. We were with him yesterday.

"He told us we could go ahead with Marquez."

"I can't really talk about anything right now based on the advice of my lawyers," Schaefer told ESPN.com in an email.

Golden Boy apparently was unable to come up with an opponent for Marquez that would meet the terms of Top Rank's offer: $5 million in guaranteed money, upside on the pay-per-view profits and a guaranteed $10 million plus pay-per-view upside for a rematch in the event Marquez wins.

Golden Boy had toyed with offering Marquez a fight with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, the Mexican sensation who recently won a junior middleweight belt.

Alvarez, who defends his title in June, has fought most of his career at welterweight. However, with Top Rank's offer specifying 144 pounds, there was no way Alvarez could get down that low.

Arum's next hurdle is to close a deal with Pacquiao, which has never been a problem.

"Marquez is definitely the frontrunner we're looking at, but I have not yet sat down with Bob to discuss our financial deal," Koncz said. "Bob and I will do that this week before I leave to go see Manny in the Philippines on Sunday. I'll talk with Bob and see what his offer for Manny's purse is and all the other things involved, and then I will take that to Manny. I have the parameters from Manny, but Bob and I have not yet had a meeting of the minds.

"Bob has one component for the fight, but he needs two. We have not agreed to the fight or the terms, but we are certainly discussing it. We've always been able to come to an agreement."

Pacquiao's next fight will be on pay-per-view, but it remains to be seen if it will go to Showtime or HBO. Showtime produced and distributed Pacquiao-Mosley after Arum took Pacquiao away from HBO, which had done all of Pacquiao's previous major fights. Showtime got the fight because its sister network, CBS -- which is in roughly 115 million homes -- was heavily involved in the marketing and promotion of the event.

"We will listen to both networks and make our decision based on who is contributing the most valuable assets to the promotion," Arum said. "Who is going to give us the best platform to promote the fight will get the fight."

Arum said the fight almost assuredly will be at the MGM Grand, even though there are overseas venues interested in making offers.

"I've been spending my life with these offers from Singapore, Macau, Dubai," Arum said. "As far as I am concerned the only offer to cash in on are the ones from the MGM and Cowboys Stadium [where Pacquiao fought twice in 2010]."

Arum said the MGM Grand originally told him the Grand Garden Arena was only available on Nov. 5 because there were Eagles concerts booked there on Nov. 12 and Nov. 19.

"I told them, 'You knew we wanted Nov. 12,' " Arum said. "They said, no I didn't, whatever, we went back and forth. Anyway, I am good friends with the manager of the Eagles, Irving Azoff. I've know him for years. So I called him up and told him the issue and he called the band. An hour later, he called back and said no problem.

"He said the band wanted to send us a message -- 'Because we so admire Manny Pacquiao, we would be privileged to move our concert to Nov. 5.' We're going to invite the Eagles to the fight."

Arum said Marquez is the only legitimate option he is looking at for Pacquiao. He mentioned Zab Judah and Timothy Bradley Jr., both junior welterweight titleholders, as alternatives to Marquez immediately after Pacquiao beat Mosley, but he said neither are likely.

"Bradley I cannot talk to because he is still under contract to Gary Shaw, even if he is unhappy," Arum said. "His contract allegedly runs out at a certain point soon, but not yet. So I'm not going to go there. I could make a deal with [Main Events promoter] Kathy Duva for a Judah fight in five minutes, but that is not my plan. If [Pacquiao] wants to explore Judah, I'll explore Judah."