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Super Bowl week officially is underway and the future of Peyton Manning in Indianapolis threatens to hover over the game like a blimp.

The latest in the give-and-take between the quarterback and Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay concerns a report by the NFL Network’s Jason La Canfora that the team had decided what course it would take with Manning, whose future is in doubt because of a neck injury, “weeks ago, well this public squabble between the quarterback and his owner.” In addition, La Canfora reported that the Colts “almost certainly” would make a move on Manning, who is owed a $28 million bonus March 8, before the NFL Scouting Combine in late February. Irsay responded early Sunday morning on Twitter:

The “public squabble” last week involved an exchange of shots that rivaled Djokovic vs. Nadal. After a Rob Lowe tweet about Manning’s imminent retirement was shot down, Manning told the Indianapolis Star that the Colts’ facility wasn’t really conducive to healing because of all turnover in front-office and coaching jobs. Irsay responded by calling Manning “a politician.” Finally, the two decided to talk.

On Friday, they issued a joint statement in an attempt to “dispel any misperception that there might be any hard feelings between us.” They also tried to “assure Colts fans everywhere that we are both committed to maintaining our close relationship and to working together through any challenges the future may bring.”

Like the challenges of the coming week?

We don’t mean to contribute to the Peyton Manning retirement speculation fueled today by, of all people, Rob Lowe.

Lowe, the prototypical jerk in such 90′s classics as ‘Wayne’s World’ and ‘Tommy Boy,’ tweeted Wednesday that he’s hearing Manning is done playing football.

Lowe’s ‘report’ appeared to be inaccurate after several interested parties weighed in Wednesday. Manning’s father, Archie, laughed when told of Lowe’s tweet, telling ESPN’s Chris Mortensen “He ain’t retiring. I think he would’ve told me.” Manning’s agent, Tom Condon, says this is the first he’s heard about it, per NFL Network’s Jason La Canfora.

Still, both “Rob Lowe” and “Peyton Manning” and “#RobLoweIsReporting” were among the top 10 US Twitter trends Wednesday afternoon.

The actor, as it happens, is friends with Colts owner Jim Irsay. Lowe is also the first person Irsay followed on Twitter, before the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell.

Manning, 35, sat out the 2011 season after enduring multiple offseason neck surgeries. The Colts finished 2-14, earning the No. 1 pick, one they’re likely to spend on Stanford QB Andrew Luck.

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Colts owner Jim Irsay suggested via his Twitter account an announcement is forthcoming. On Wednesday night, Irsay tweeted: “Peyton didn’t have a medical procedure last sunday, we’ll have more info 2 add clarity 2 situation soon.” On Thursday, Irsay tweeted: “NFL Season opens 2nite! We had a good practice yesterday and r guys r fired up 4 the season.#18′s (Manning’s number) out for awhile,but compete,we will/BELIEVE.” And Colts coach Jim Caldwell said Thursday at a news conference he anticipated more clarity on Manning’s prognosis soon.

Manning was unavailable for comment, as was his agent, Tom Condon. His father, Archie, and brother, Cooper, whose college career was ended by a severe neck injury, would not specifically address Peyton’s surgical decision.

Archie Manning, a former NFL quarterback, only spoke of his son’s state of mind.

“I think he’s OK, probably because there’s a little finality to this deal in terms of playing,” the elder Manning told Mortensen. “He’s been on the clock since May. He didn’t make it. Obviously, it’s a big letdown, but he can relax a little bit compared to the intensity of everything he has done trying to rehab.”

Without confirming any pending surgery for brother Peyton, Cooper Manning told ESPN that a cervical fusion would be a logical step after his brother’s slow recovery and setback last week when he experienced more upper back and neck pain.

“Everyone is different, but I’ve had a fusion and I’ve known players who have had fusions and went on to play football. … You can get a pretty good range of motion back and much more stability once it heals,” said Cooper, the oldest of three brothers that include quarterbacks Peyton and Eli.

Cooper said he did not have specific knowledge on a decision regarding another operation for Peyton.

“You know Peyton and how he values his privacy even within a very tight family like we have,” he said. “We’ve exchanged some short texts and I’ve given him his space. He’s had a lot going on.”

Manning will miss his first NFL game when the Colts open the 2011 season Sunday against the Houston Texans. He had made 227 consecutive starts counting playoff games, including the Super Bowl the Colts won capping the 2006 season. The four-time MVP is 35 years old.

Manning was hopeful that four months of therapy after his May 23 surgery would allow him to resume normal football activity, but his progress was minimal with nerve regeneration and his triceps area remained weak, not allowing him to throw a football with reasonable velocity. He was taken off the PUP (physically unable to play) list last week so he could practice on a limited basis as a part of his therapy in hopes of making progress and measuring his readiness.

However, Manning’s progress “plateaued” and pain returned to his upper back and neck region, which initiated a new set of diagnostic tests and the recent prognosis that an anterior cervical fusion would be a wise course of action, sources said.

On Wednesday, in an interview with ESPN 1050 in New York, Colts vice chairman Bill Polian revealed that Manning would not play the opener Sunday at Houston. Manning confirmed the decision in a statement later Wednesday.

During the 208 consecutive regular-season games and 19 playoff games Peyton Manning has started since he was a rookie in 1998, no player in the N.F.L. has been more intrinsic to his team’s success than he has. The Indianapolis Colts have gone to the playoffs in all but two of Manning’s 13 seasons, including the last nine in a row, and his brilliance has covered a multitude of holes on their roster. But when the season opens Sunday, and perhaps for weeks beyond, the Indianapolis Colts will probably get the answer to the dreaded question that has surrounded them for years: what would they be without Manning?

On Monday, in an unusually detailed statement, the Colts announced that Manning, who is still recovering from surgery on a bulging disk in his neck in May and has been practicing for only a week, is doubtful for Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans. More ominous is what else the team said: Manning, who began experiencing unexplained back soreness over the weekend, is being shut down in practice and the rate of improvement in his rehabilitation has slowed. Specialists are being consulted and tests are being completed, suggesting that his absence may extend further into the season.

“As of now Peyton continues to deal with a complicated neurological recovery, the end date of which is unpredictable,” the Colts’ statement said.

The Colts are typically tight-lipped about injuries, which gives added heft to this kind of candor. For them to announce early in the week that the fulcrum of their team is probably not going to play — did you hear that sigh of relief coming from Houston? — indicates how serious the situation is. According to Football Outsiders, last year no player listed as doubtful during a week actually played that week’s game, and no Colts player listed as doubtful has played since 2003. Still, in comments Monday, Coach Jim Caldwell seemed to offer the dimmest hope that Manning could play.

“It’s been an incredible feat,” Caldwell said. “He’s been an iron man, there’s no other way to put it. It’s doubtful that he plays this week, but it takes a very unusual individual to have that streak.”

For the 35-year-old Manning, of course, this must be a disturbing development. This is the most significant injury of his career and it raises questions about whether Manning’s body starting to betray him. He has famously missed only one play because of injury in his pro career, briefly leaving a game against Miami in 2001 after sustaining a broken jaw. In 2008, he had surgery in mid-July to remove an infected bursa sac in his knee and missed all of the preseason and most of training camp. He was rusty at the start of the season, but went on to win his third Most Valuable Player award.

This injury, though, is different in part because the rate of regeneration of nerves is difficult to predict. During the summer, Manning expressed frustration that he was unable to meet with his regular trainers during the lockout and he said he was taking his rehabilitation particularly slowly because he was working with unfamiliar people. But when he returned to practice last week for the first time since January, Manning was upbeat in a meeting with reporters in which he said he hoped that in consultation with doctors and coaches he would get to decide if he would play against the Texans.

That plan has now been upended and so will the balance of power in the A.F.C. if Manning misses a significant portion of the season. The Texans, a talented division rival, have been poised to reach the playoffs for several years — if only Manning and the Colts would get out of the way.

Manning has been so reliable that the Colts have had the luxury of ignoring the backup quarterback position. That is why giving the Texans a week head start to prepare for Kerry Collins, who got the Colts’ playbook little more than a week ago when he was lured out of retirement, is so unthinkable and so telling. Collins catches a break with the schedule, because he is familiar with the Texans after his years with the Tennessee Titans. In five starts for Tennessee against Houston, Collins won three games while completing 88 of 157 passes with five touchdowns and four interceptions. Collins said that when he agreed to join the Colts, he was not sure he would ever have to play.

“I thought the first week might be a possibility with Peyton’s status so uncertain,” Collins said Monday. “There’s no way I can replace someone like Peyton and what he means for this team and this franchise. But I will bust my butt to get ready and I hope the guys see that.”

Clearly the Colts’ playbook will be drastically scaled back for however long Collins plays. Collins is a smart player who knows how to prepare himself, but the Colts are ill-equipped to change their fundamental nature quickly. Their running game, with Joseph Addai and Donald Brown (neither of whom reached 500 yards last year), is something of an annual adventure. Last year, the Colts ranked 28th in the N.F.L. in rushing attempts and 29th in rushing yards. This year is even harder to forecast because their offensive line is in flux.

The Colts are so dependent on Manning and the points he produces — last year, the Colts ranked fourth in the league in points scored, averaging 27.2 — that they were able to win 10 games and their division last season even though they ranked 23rd in points allowed, with 24.2. That is especially bad news considering that after a Week 2 game against the Cleveland Browns, they play one of the N.F.L’s perennial superpowers, Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Colts have been fortunate for nearly 15 years to not have to think about a future without Manning. But if he is not back by the time the Colts face the Steelers, the glance ahead will be unavoidable. And probably painful.

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Mosely and Marshall are in good company: Manning’s brother, Eli, who is the quarterback for the New York Giants, became a father to Ava Frances just 10 days prior to the twins’ birth.

The news outlet that broke the story was The Neshoba Democrat.

The birth of twins is probably one reason why Peyton Manning did not attend Wednesday’s court date involving the NFLPA*’s lawsuit against the NFL for anti-trust. Peyton is a named plaintiff in that case.

At a time when the news is pretty bleak, what with NFL lockouts and government shutdowns, this news of Peyton Manning welcoming in twins is a breath of fresh air.

If there is to be yet another injury-related comeback for Bob Sanders, it will be with a team other than the Indianapolis Colts.

The team terminated the contract today of their veteran safety. Owner Jim Irsay first announced the transaction via his official Twitter account.

“We have released Bob Sanders today,’’ Irsay said in a subsequent statement through the team. “We thank Bob for all his incredible contributions, from his Super Bowl interception to his Defensive Player of the Year honor.’’

The decision to release Sanders, while significant, doesn’t come as a surprise.

Since Sanders signed a five-year, $37.5 million extension in 2007 after becoming the first Colts player to be selected Defensive Player of the Year, knee and biceps injuries limited him to nine regular-season appearances over the past three seasons. He missed the final 15 games and the playoff loss to the New York Jets last year after tearing his right biceps tendon in the first quarter of the season opener at Houston.

Sanders was due a $5.5 million base salary in 2011.

“I want to thank Mr. (Jim) Irsay for the opportunity to play with the Colts,’’ he said in a statement through the team. “I appreciate all he and the organization did for me throughout my career, and I always will consider myself a Colt.

“I want to thank the fans also for their support. They played a big part in making my seven years with the team very rewarding.’’

Along with being voted the top defensive player in the league in ’07, Sanders was named to the Pro Bowl in 2005 and ’07.

However, he had a difficult time staying on the field. Sanders missed far more games (64) than he appeared in (48) since being selected in the second round of the 2004 draft.

Irsay and Colts President Bill Polian better hurry. The Colts and Manning have until March 3 to come to terms. That’s when the current collective bargaining agreement expires. If there’s no agreement in place by then, the owners are promising to lock players out. That likely means no contract negotiations.

If the battle between players and owners is protracted, Manning could head into next fall as a free agent. But Manning isn’t going anywhere. Both sides seem committed to keeping Manning in Indy.

So committed in fact, Irsay this week re-emphasized his pledge to make Manning the NFL’s highest-paid player. Many people have already warned Irsay that paying Manning too much leaves the team with too little money for critical support players.

That’s why I expect the gesture—and Manning’s contract—to be largely symbolic. Manning turns 35 in March and is likely good for four or five more seasons. But by giving him a seven- or eight-year contract, one that Manning has no intention of playing to its conclusion, Irsay can make good on his promise and show his appreciation while not actually hurting the team in the short-term as much as it initially appears. To give Manning the most lucrative NFL contract, it will have to be in excess of $100 million.

If Manning is as interested in winning another Super Bowl as most people think he is, I would expect his agent, Tom Condon, to agree to a back-loaded contract which would pay Manning more during the final year or two of the contract.

Those are years Manning doesn’t intend to play, which means Irsay wouldn’t have to pay.

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BTW –this was on ESPN this morning and once it’s on their website, I’ll get you a better quality version.