Leading Off: The Classy Goodbye For a little while, the ugliness in sports was put on pause. The heartless business side put away its calculators. Thoughts of the brutality of the Saints" bounty system were shelved. There were no angry tantrums or posturing egos. For a little while, it was just Peyton Manning and Jim Irsay showing there is a right way for quarterback and franchise to part ways, with appreciation and tears, dignity and class. It didn't take Manning quickly getting on a plane to Miami - no, he hasn't signed with the Dolphins yet, although we do suspect they tried to pick him up at the airport in a Brink's truck - to underscore the contrast to another famous departure. There was no staged television show or spurned fans. There must have been more than a few pangs of jealousy felt in Cleveland because there was no scorched earth left behind in Indianapolis when Manning said his official goodbyes, just a nice, heart-rending thank you. Even Irsay tucked away his lately dominant peevish side and said all the best things. It was worth stopping to appreciate that feat, as Don Banks writes on SI.com, as two proud men managed to be both honest and humble, writes Mark Kriegel on Foxsports.com. In Indianapolis, Bob Kravitz of The Indianapolis Star was awash in memories of Manning's 14-year career there, while the fans braced for more departures of the team's aging stars. The landscape left behind is so bleak, writes Mike Freeman on CBSSports.com, that the likely incoming savior-to-be, Andrew Luck, could have an even harder time following this legend than Steve Young had following Joe Montana in San Francisco and Aaron Rodgers had in Green Bay following Brett Favre. But this was the Colts" choice, writes Gene Wojciechowski on ESPN.com, and he believes the Colts made the wrong bet. For the rest of the league, the day did provide a nice respite from thinking about the Saints and their headhunting bounties, writes Christine Brennan in USA Today. But it also kicked off the race to sign Manning, which, Jason Cole of Yahoo.com writes, will cause rancor in front offices everywhere. At the head of that line is Miami, whose owner, Stephen M. Ross, wants Manning so badly that he will have to quell the urge to stalk his South Beach condo, writes Greg Cote in The Miami Herald. It seems like such a perfect fit on both sides to Dave Hyde of The Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel that it wouldn't be surprising if Manning announced he was keeping his talents in South Beach. If Manning said that in his trademark deadpan humor, it would add that extra little skewer into LeBron James that none of us needs but would undoubtedly appreciate. Naturally, in New York, the tabloid fervor for the Jets to sign Manning has commenced at maximum volume, which might even be drowning out the actual drama going on at Madison Square Garden. And no, that's not Linsanity, which is dwindling as the Knicks slide, and, anyway, they're on the road because of the Big East men's basketball tournament. That's where Connecticut is suddenly fixated on reclaiming last year's glory. Victories over DePaul and West Virginia have Shabazz Napier believing a repeat of last year's magical tournament runs is possible, Jeff Jacobs writes in The Hartford Courant. Napier has undoubtedly taken over the starring role from Kemba Walker, writes Luke Winn on SI.com, but the return of Coach Jim Calhoun to the sideline after back surgery is part of the resurgence, writes Sam Gardner on Foxsports.com. Even with the two victories, this ride is looking more like a demolition derby than a joyful romp, writes Dan Wetzel on Yahoo.com. There were more bids handed out in the single-bid conferences with tournament victories by Montana, Lehigh and Long Island University-Brooklyn. L.I.U. is making its second straight trip after an unlikely rebound, and no, Brooklyn still is not on Long Island. It is a bit like having a University of California-Salt Lake City. In the rest of the sporting world, the Lakers are finding new and interesting wrinkles to their season - like, how to cough up a 21-point lead and lose to the Washington Wizards - and Lionel Messi is scoring more goals than should be possible. He had five for Barcelona to set a Champions League record against Bayer Leverkusen in a mind-bending 7-1 victory. In hockey, we can marvel at a junior game in St. Catherine's, Ontario, where the goalie for the Erie Otters gave up 13 goals and was appreciated by a standing ovation at the end. That's because Connor Crisp wasn't a goalie at all, didn't have goalie skates and had spent the entire season injured. It's nice to know there was more than one nice moment in sports. But they are all still worth pausing for.