OMAHA, Neb. cheap jerseys from china . -- Peyton Manning came to Omaha to show the city some love in return for the love it showed him during the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl. Manning was the was the featured speaker at the Bnai Brith sports banquet Thursday night, and he promised the crowd of 1,200 hell keep shouting "Omaha!" at the line of scrimmage. Manning has been using the citys name as part of his pre-snap routine for years, but his "Omaha!" chants put the city of 400,000 in the national spotlight during the playoffs because they came in so loud and clear over television field microphones. "I cant tell you how many suggestions I get on what word I should use next year -- cities, states, businesses, a lot of websites," Manning said. "I am here to tell you I am sticking with Omaha! " With that, the crowd erupted in hoots and applause. Before the banquet, the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce presented Manning a check for almost $70,000 for his foundation for at-risk children. Businesses donated money for every pre-snap "Omaha!" shouted by the 2013 NFL MVP. "Im very pleased to be here in the real city of Omaha," he said. "People of this city have been very gracious to me during my visit here. This (donated money) will go a long way to help the children at risk." The chamber of commerce co-ordinated the fundraising effort to thank Manning for the shout-outs and free publicity. The Omaha zoo named a newborn penguin "Peyton," and Omaha Steaks sold an "Omaha, Omaha" variety package of meats for Super Bowl partiers. A local ice cream parlour created a flavour in Mannings honour, "Omaha, Omaha," which had an orange-vanilla base mixed with blue malt balls -- Broncos colours. Manning gave no hint about what his "Omaha!" chants really mean or the reason why he and other quarterbacks use the word as they change plays at the line. Mannings speech focused on the methods he employed to be a successful NFL quarterback. He stressed the importance of putting in extra work, intense film study and a willingness to be a leader. He also touched on the obstacles the Broncos overcame to reach the Super Bowl, where they lost to Seattle. "We faced a ton of injuries, including losing not one but two centres, lost our left tackle for the entire year, probably the best in the entire league, and we lost a player to a six-game suspension," he said. "And then in the middle of the season our head coach had a heart attack and was out for five weeks. The deck was shuffled, and there were so many things that pointed to having a bad year. We handled more adversity in a single season than most teams will in a five- or 10-year span." The 38-year-old quarterback said he has set no timetable for retirement. "I feel lucky to still be playing the game, and I enjoy being around these young guys. They keep me feeling young," he said. "Im going to keep doing it as long as I can still help the team, as long as I still enjoy the preparation, and as long as the team still wants me to play." wholesale jerseys . The Raptors will head to the bayou after suffering an 88-85 loss in Houston last night. DeMar DeRozan scored 17 points and James Johnson posted 16 and eight boards for Toronto, which has dropped eight of 10 games. cheap nfl jerseys .C. -- The Carolina Panthers added a pair of unrestricted free agents Thursday, signing safety Thomas DeCoud to a two-year contract and tight end Ed Dickson to a one-year deal.INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana Pacers players and coaches often have said depth is one of the teams best assets. They proved it on Saturday night. Roy Hibbert scored 20 points and led six players in double figures to help the Pacers beat the Charlotte Bobcats 99-77. The teams were in similar situations, both having played tough games one night earlier. Indiana was coming off an 87-74 win at Boston, while Charlotte was following an overtime loss to Atlanta. The Pacers were running full speed in the second half as the Bobcats were wilting. Indiana trailed 49-43 at halftime but outscored Charlotte 56-28 after the break. Indianas reserves outscored Charlottes 21-11 in the second half. "Weve got eight guys, maybe nine that could probably start on other NBA teams," Pacers forward Danny Granger said. "Thats a lot of depth. Id like to say we have more depth than most teams." Hibbert, who briefly left the game with a sprained right ankle, also had eight rebounds and three blocks. Tyler Hansbrough scored 15 points, Darren Collison had 14, Granger and George Hill each added 13 and David West 10 for the Pacers (6-2), who improved to 3-0 at home. "Handling home," Hill said. "Its something that we preach. We want to be unbeatable here and .500 on the road. Any time you can do that, it can get you a long way." D.J. Augustin scored 20 points, Gerald Henderson had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Byron Mullens added 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Bobcats (2-6). Indiana shot 51 per cent and held the Bobcats to 33-per cent shooting -- the fifth time the Pacers have held an opponent under 40 per cent. "It says a lot about our team because it was a grind-it-out game against a veteran team," Granger said. "We grinded them out, we put our defence out there and played to the best of our ability. Those are the kind of games you have to win." Charlotte disappeared after halftime. "We did not play tough," Charlotte coach Paul Silas said. "They banged us up and we didnt respond. We played hard in the first half, and Im not sure what happened in the second." The Pacers made a run early in the third quarter. A layup by Collison tied the score at 51, and a tip-in putback by Hibbert on Indianas next possession put the Pacers ahead. Granger broke out of his slump to push Indiana ahead 56-51. Charlotte shot 1 for 8 from the field during Indianas 15-3 run to start the second half. Hibbert scored on back-to-back possessions to give Indiana a four-point lead before he went down with the anklle injury.cheap jerseys. Right before Hibbert was hurt, Hill was issued a technical foul after disagreeing with a foul call against him, but Augustin missed the free throw and the Bobcats failed to score on the extra possession. The Pacers took advantage when Jeff Foster scored on a putback to bump Indianas lead to 68-62. Indiana led 71-63 at the end of the third after shooting 57 per cent from the field in the quarter, while Charlotte made just 5 of 25 shots in the period. "We allowed them to be too comfortable in what they were doing (in the first half), so we pressured the ball more, tried to force some more turnovers, and it worked," Granger said. Henderson threw Hill off his back with 10:45 to go and Hill was restrained by Pacers coach Frank Vogel. Indianas Dahntay Jones made the technical free throw then Henderson was called for an offensive foul after he threw an elbow at Hill on the next possession. By then, Indiana led 76-63, and the Pacers remained in control from there. "Were going to try to play with a chip on our shoulder all the time, but know that this is our home court, and we cant let anybody come in here and disrespect us," Hill said. The Bobcats felt as though they wasted an opportunity in the second half. "We didnt bring the same kind of energy we did in the first half," Henderson said. "Our offence kind of slowed down a bit. They got a lot of points inside, a lot of offensive rebounds, and we didnt match any of that." Granger said he expects tough challenges from upstart teams because the Pacers have generated so much buzz early this season. "I think weve got a mark on our back now," he said. "Were not going to be able to sneak up on too many people anymore. They realize that we are a good team, and were here to stay. It makes it all the more important for us to come to play." Notes: Charlotte F Corey Maggette missed his second straight game with a left hamstring strain. ... Indiana G Lance Stephenson did not play for the second straight game because of a sprained left ankle. ... Charlotte F Tyrus Thomas started and had 10 points and seven rebounds after missing six games with a sprained left ankle. ... Charlotte outrebounded Indiana 15-4 in the first quarter, but finished with just a 48-45 edge. ... Granger left the game briefly with a sprained left ankle. He made a 3-pointer for the 24th straight game, the longest active streak in the league. ... Charlotte F Boris Diaw fouled out in the fourth quarter after scoring just two points on 1-for-8 shooting. ' ' '
