Peyton Manning was the biggest star at Super Bowl media day on Tuesday at Miami.

But Colts All-Pro defensive end Dwight Freeney was big news, too. He hopes to play in the Super Bowl on Sunday despite a torn ligament in his right ankle,  His injured ankle was unwrapped at media day.

"The competition says they'll never stop me from playing," said Freeney.  Freeney said he's enlisted the help  of chiropractors, slept in an oxygen chamber, used ice, regular therapy and anything else team doctors prescribed, to try to get the ankle to heal.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees said he thinks Freeney will play. "When I see him in street clothes on Sunday, I'll know he's not playing," said Brees.

I believe Freeney will play. In the past, players like T.O.Owens get well for Super Bowls.

Not long after being drafted by the Colts, Manning met Brees, who was then playing at Purdue.

"He came to see a Colts game," said Manning, who pointed out that Brees  "paid for his ticket."

Manning said that he missed former NFL quarterback Steve McNair, who was murdered last summer. "There was no tougher player in the NFL than Steve McNair," said Manning. "I'm proud to have shared the MVP award with him in 2003."

During his hour-long session on media day, Manning took just under 80 questions and was often surrounded by up to 100 reporters, photographers and cameramen.

Manning and Brees took questions from all directions, throwing plenty of eye contact, and spoke glowingly when necessary, and steered away from anything that might come up controversial. Both were pros just as they are at the line of scrimmage.

It's easy to point this Super Bowl as Manning vs. Brees and it may well be that it turns out  out to be a shootout between those two quarterbacks. Brees said, This is not Brees vs. Manning, it's the Saints vs. the Colts."

If there's one thing the Saints do better than the Colts is run the ball. The Saints ranked sixth in the NFL in rushing offense while the Colts ranked dead last. Add to that that the Colts ranked 24th in the league in rush defense, and the Saints will want to run the ball, make first downs, and keep Manning on the sidelines.

"That would be a good way to go," said Saints Pro Bowl guard Jahri Evans. "But I think the game is going to dictate a lot on what we do. The good thing we know is that we can run the ball. That's something we can do."

The Saints spent the season in something of a running back rotation. There were games in which Pierre Thomas carried the load, games in which Mike Bell seemed to be more the featured back and games in which Reggie Bush was the star. The backs have different styles which allow coach Sean Payton to use them as the scenario and opponents dictate.

"That's a testament to Payton' vision," said Bush. "He does a great job of creating mismatches for all of us, all over the field. The same is true in our passing game."

"Our running back group as a core, we like to think we  can set the tone -- that the running backs always set the tone for the game, or at least for the offense," said Bush.

"It's possible that our running game gets overlooked, and that's OK, because we have a great pass offense. But we know what we can do, and if they want to put it on the running game, we'll know it's because that's the best way for us to win."

The Colts will try to establish their running game on Sunday because Manning said you can't drop back and pass on every play.

We'll see. 

MANNING-BREES: "I remember in college at Purdue, Brees was incredibly long," said Peyton Manning at Tuesday's media day. "And he's probably gotten longer."

"I've known Drew for a long time. He's neighbors with my brother (Cooper) in New Orleans now. My family is close with and his wife. Great player. Great guy.

"It's no surprise the kind of pro career he's had. You saw that at Purdue. You saw the kinds of throws he could make. You saw the command he had of a spread, passing game."

Among the games as studied is the 2000 Super Bowl, which pitted Gregg Williams as defensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans against the St. Louis Rams. The Saint shave used numerous similar defensive schemes this season.

"It takes sometime to get familiar with them," said Manning, "But as you're watching them, you also know they might not do none of this. They might come out and play something totally different."

Manning expects Saints fans to dominate the crowd on Sunday.

"So crowd noise is going to be a factor," said the quarterback. "You have to take all that into account for your preparation."

PARADE SET: The parade to celebrate the Saints' Super Bowl appearance will start on Tuesday at 5 p.m.

According to the NOPD, the floats will roll south on Poydras toward the river, and then take a right on Loyola. The procession will then roll left onto Howard  Avenue, around Lee Circle, and on to St, Charles Avenue.

After rolling down St, Charles, the parade will turn left onto Canal Street, then make a U-turn on Canal at North Rampart.

The floats will then head back down Canal Street to Tchopitoulas, take a right tor Convention Center Boulevard, before disbanding at Mardi Gras World.

 SOME HITHER, OTHERS YON: Peyton Manning, on Tim Tebow getting mixed reviews from NFL scouts will do better in the NFL than many are expecting: "Any NFL team would be lucky to have him, I think about all the problems we've had on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1, He was probably 100 per cent in his college career at converting those.".. 

After learning of Bobby Hebert dressing like a woman and leading a parade into the French Quarter ajc.com columnist Jeff Schultz wrote: "We usually only hear about the after-effects of an NFL career and are saved from the ugly visual evidence. The creaking knees of a running back. The sore back of a lineman. The constant ringing in the head of a quarterback. But, oh, to see what has happened to former Falcons and Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert is so sad. Football does things to people, bad snap. ladies and gentlemen, Bobby Hebert is one twitch away from being bingo and green jello .I've known him for a while. Just got off the phone with him and he was still cracking up about the parade.  'Police estimated 80,000 to 85,000 people showed up for the thing. There must've been 2,000 guys there in dresses. I had people call (my radio talkshow) asking if this was going to be a club and we were going to this all the time. I said, 'No, I'm one and done. That's it,' '.....