Manning continues to support hometown
Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning added a new pitch to his plethora of endorsements Wednesday -- one that came from the heart.
On the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Manning gave an impromptu boost to the tourism industry in his hometown of New Orleans by calling on those who have not visited the city recently to return.
"People around the country need to know they can still use their help and support," Manning told reporters. "Prayers and money are good, but there has been progress in certain areas and people can visit those areas. They need the tourists to come back."
For Manning, New Orleans always has been a special place.
His father, Archie, was a longtime quarterback for the Saints and then served as a color analyst for Saints games on the radio. It was New Orleans where the league's two-time MVP honed his football skills, first in his parents' back yard and later at Isidore Newman High School.
Manning's parents and older brother, Cooper, still live in New Orleans, and after the hurricane struck in August 2005, Manning was one of the league's biggest names to lend support to the recovery effort. Manning and his younger brother Eli even shipped a planeload of supplies back home.
And next Thursday, Manning will open his 10th NFL season against the Saints.
While Manning acknowledged the recovery effort is continuing, his visits have shown a side of New Orleans he believes others also need to see.
"Certainly there's been some progress, and there certainly needs to be more," he said. "It's taken two years to get to this point, and I think two years from now there's still going to be more work that needs to be done. I will say in my visits down there, that spirits are high. … But what they really need is people to come back to New Orleans."
Manning commended Saints players, many of whom live in the city, for their support and specifically cited the contributions of running back Reggie Bush and coach Sean Payton for their help in the recovery effort.
League won't punish Henry: Denver Broncos running back Travis Henry's child-support judgments might expose him to catcalls across the league this season, but they don't put him in line for disciplinary action by the NFL.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported over the weekend that court documents in a Georgia child-support case show Henry, 28, has fathered nine children by nine women in four southern states and has been ordered to pay child support for seven of them.
He also had to borrow money from his former team, the Tennessee Titans, to fulfill one of those judgments, according to court records.
The league has clamped down on off-field misbehavior under Commissioner Roger Goodell. But the newly implemented personal-conduct policy "generally covers criminal violations, not civil matters" such as Henry's, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Wednesday.
New charges for Reid's son:ŒA son of Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid was charged Wednesday with driving under the influence and drug violations while still awaiting sentencing for a separate road-rage incident earlier this year.
Britt Reid was jailed last week for violating bail terms after police found 30½ pills, including the painkiller hydrocodone, amphetamines and antidepressants, during a traffic stop in Plymouth Township.
Charges from that stop were announced Wednesday.
Two weeks ago, the 22-year-old Reid pleaded guilty to gun and drug charges stemming from a January encounter in which police say he brandished a gun at another driver. While out on bail, he was required to remain drug free and drive only to his community-college classes.
In the latest incident, Reid was charged with a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence, three drug violations and careless driving, authorities said.