ESPN's Chris Mortensen was the first to report the news of Broncos QB Peyton Manning's retirement yesterday morning, and in a "rare moment in the cut-throat world of media, the scooped paid homage" to Mortensen, according to Bob Raissman of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. For Mortensen, who is battling Stage IV throat cancer, breaking the Manning news was a "reporting coup for him and a win" for ESPN. However, it clearly also was a "source of inspiration for even his competitors." Fox' Jay Glazer tweeted, "Happy for Peyton Manning riding off on his own terms....happier that @mortreport kicked my ass on this story" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/7). THE MMQB's Peter King notes Mortensen and Manning "are close." Mortensen "is not working right now" as he undergoes treatment, but his work "showed up early Sunday morning, which said to everyone in the business: Peyton Manning is taking care of Mortensen." King: "A cool thing to do -- if that's how it happened." ESPN's Adam Schefter said, "For Mort to get the adrenalin of a big story when he's in the battle of his life makes me feel great for him." King: "If Manning picked Mortensen to break the news, good on Manning" (MMQB.SI.com, 3/7).
FINDING THE LEDE: In Tampa, Tom Jones writes ESPN and NFL Network deserve "major props" for "suspending all regular programming" to discuss the news. ESPN "handled breaking news without breaking a sweat, calling upon a swarm of analysts to go over everything Manning." ESPN "also deserves credit for bringing in investigative reporter T.J. Quinn to explore Manning's legacy." Meanwhile, there have been "times in the past when the NFL Network has been slow to move on breaking news, especially on weekends, but the network did a solid job" for yesterday's coverage. Reporter Judy Battista was "particularly strong" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 3/7).
