Peyton Manning won't run for president, will get Colts statue

On Friday, Peyton Manning gave his second retirement speech, so he's getting very good at this thing now. The first one was as a member of the Denver Broncos, with whom he just won a Super Bowl. This one honored his 14 years with the Indianapolis Colts, with whom he carved out the majority of a future Hall of Fame career.

The Colts honored him with two big things — first, a statue outside Lucas Oil Stadium in his likeness, and also the team retiring his No. 18 jersey. Both well-deserved, of course.

Manning took the stage after being introduced by Colts owner Jim Irsay, who announced the statue and then compared it — of course he did — to Jim Morrison's grave. When the music's over, turn out the lights ...

But Manning also broke some news during the news conference: He won't be seeking the office of the presidency, and yes Manning actually said that without specifically being asked about it. So fear not, Donald J. Trump, Hillary Clinton and others.

The question was about Manning's future, and he hemmed and hawed about it, saying he was in no rush to make any decisions other than perhaps attending some of brother Eli's New York Giants games or going back for a few games at the University of Tennessee.

Manning joked about the running-for-president part, but it might have saddened an entire nation hoping for a Hail Mary candidate and unhappy with the current choices. He told an anecdote about his rookie season about how he was instructed to throw an end-of-the-half pass into the end zone after throwing two first-half picks against the New York Jets. Instead, Manning scrambled and gained 9 yards and still left 1 second on the clock ... only to have the subsequent missed field goal run back more than 100 yards by Aaron Glenn for the score.

That's what Manning's announcement — no GOP nomination for him — felt like today. Oh well.

Overall, there were a few moments where Manning got choked up, mostly when talking about how loud the old RCA Dome got and about some of his beloved former Colts teammates. But it was a less emotional day than his first retirement speech with the Broncos, and understandably so.

The stories Manning told between the two speeches make it clear that he is very good at story time. He remembers first and last names, places, things people said, who drove him where, the Colts' old phone number, every last detail. Manning of course also can remember what blitz the Tennessee Titans brought in that late-season game on third-and-7 from midfield. So naturally, we assume he'll have a future in TV.

But we're still mad about Manning putting off politics in a year in which — joke all you want — the guy would have a damned good chance to earn some traction. Well, at least the guy got a statue.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm