As you’d expect, the list is populated with luminaries such as Warren Buffett, Tim Cook, President Obama and Mitt Romney. You might not expect to see them joined by Stephen Colbert, Kristin Wiig, Adele …. or Jeremy Lin.

Only Tebow’s dramatic second-half run in 2011 and playoff win over the Steelers captivated a sporting nation more than Lin’s rise in New York.

Here’s the rest of the list.

TIME’s Most Influential List 2012

He’s a two-time Super Bowl winner and Hall of Famer. He’s now charged with leading the Broncos back on the road to New Orleans and the Lombardi Trophy. In a week when Roger Goodell laid the proverbial smackdown to the Saints in the bounty scandal and left no question as to his authority, Elway did the same in Denver.

Elway is a legend for his on-field heroics. That helicopter play alone will live in our heads forever. He stands as one of the top 10 quarterbacks in the game. Elway welcomed another member of that fraternity to Denver this week when he convinced Peyton Manning to sign a blockbuster deal at the end of his free agency tour.

By introducing Manning to Denver, Elway also effectively put “The Mania” on ice. Unlike most pundits, I’m not going to put up a tombstone for “Tebowmania.” I still think there’s a place for him and that over time you’ll see his much-maligned completion percentage rise. I’ll leave the expanded Tebow take for another time.

Tebow’s future in Denver was obviously subject of great debate on Monday morning when Manning made his call. Elway’s move made the definitive statement on his assessment of where Tebow stands as a quarterback. But, don’t overthink it.

This was an opportunity to land Peyton Manning. It was Elway’s chance to spare the Broncos from another year of the insanity that followed Tebow weekly and the outcry of the rabid fans. The addition of any other quarterback would have been problematic. While the football people may have favored the new addition, that “We want Tebow!” faction was always going to exist.

And Elway didn’t let the “What will happen to Tebow?” question fester long, either. It took little time to get from speculation about possible suitors and scenarios to the consummation of a deal with New York. For that, Elway gets bonus points.

Obviously, the mid-week trade also has huge impact on Mark Sanchez, who was just getting past the courting of Manning by the Jets. Sanchez had recently inked an extension with some shifting of cash and will now face competition thus summer. Though he’s been given the tag of starter by New York brass with Tebow assuming a “Wildcat” role in Tony Sparano’s offense, don’t think for a minute that Tebow won’t come in and push him hard for top billing.

Last year, head coach John Fox, John Elway and the Broncos management had to navigate that territory. I certainly don’t mean to imply that the arrival of Manning won’t bring a crush of national interest and stoke the passions of the fans. It’s merely a matter of how the team and offense are shaped. They return to drop-back passing and conventional offensive sets under a consistent, efficient signal caller. The Jets will navigate timeshare quarterback play with two polarizing figures, fan demands, the daily talkers and newspapers and the continual battles with the Giants and Patriots.

Elway earns this week’s trophy as the “Fantasy Man-Crush” for his decisive, swift course of action. Elway added Tracy Porter (is he to be affected by the ongoing “bounty” investigation?) to the secondary to work opposite Champ Bailey.

How often do you get to use the word “smite” in a song?

In all seriousness, I’m in need of a new fix. Events of the past month have eliminated those suffixes from our collective consciousness. “Lin-sanity” was defeated when the Knicks dropped six games straight and watched their coach depart. On Monday, the announcement that Peyton Manning authorized agent Tom Condon to start negotiations with the Denver Broncos crushed the worldwide phenomenon that was “Tebow-mania.”

I used “The Bachelor” as the analogy for this process weeks ago, so thanks to those who picked up that torch.

We knew that “The Johns” (Fox and Elway) were taking a long, hard look at the quarterback position, and Manning’s arrival on the open market certainly changed the rules of engagement. I never bought into Arizona or Miami as destinations, and you can look at my past posts or listen to the podcasts for the long-winded breakdowns. San Francisco was attractive, but there was too much Favre-ism to it, no?

Manning inherits a strong base and immediate division contender, if not a trip to New Orleans. If you watched the odds, you saw Denver dip from a 75-to-1 longshot to the fifth-favorite squad at 10-to-1. The defense played well for most of the season and returns all-world performers Elvis Dumervil and Von Miller. The offense boasts a strong line (perhaps to be bolstered by the arrival of former Indianapolis center Jeff Saturday) and two wide receivers (Demaryius Thomas is ready for stardom, and Eric Decker is a dangerous option across the middle). Additional reinforcements will be arriving soon in the form of Dallas Clark, Jacob Tamme or the high-flying Mike Wallace.

The reported five-year, $95-million deal demonstrated that Elway and the Broncos mean business. The 2011 run to the AFC Playoffs and victory over Pittsburgh seemingly entrenched Tebow in the starting position for 2012. However, nobody counted on Manning becoming available, so the ideas of hurt feelings and early comments from the post-season were thrown out the window (apply that line to Alex Smith in San Francisco as well). Situations change.

Tebow will eventually be dealt to a new team, possibly Miami or Jacksonville, or maybe off to New England. I suspect that he’ll be dealt for a higher price than the fifth-round evaluation tossed on him on Monday as, at a minimum, his economic impact is far superior to that. He’s shown that he can make big plays. Now, he needs to make them consistently. The eyes of the NFL will be on Manning as we get through mini-camps and into training camp, but that gaze will drift to wherever the “Mania” revs up for Round Two.

The NFL never sleeps.

I decided to sit this one out. I’d already experienced several days of uninterrupted “Bracketology,” watched countless games across myriad conferences and waded through blogs, columns and video analysis while preparing for my Sunday morning radio show. I saw projections on a scroll under the images of my dreams.

Of course, that’s the professional side of the equation. My heart already sank on Thursday following the loss sustained by Northwestern in the Big 10 Tournament. That overtime defeat to Minnesota seemingly sealed their fate, and my suspicions were confirmed during the telecast.

It didn’t take long to find that out they’d been relegated to the NIT. Social media displayed the inevitable one-liners about the Cats’ tourney-less streak. That was it. I knew I’d have the bracket in my hands all of 15 seconds after the final region was announced and, well, talk of snubs annoys me. I didn’t need to hear about the OT losses and Tubby Smith’s squad anymore.

Naturally, I then spent several hours prepping my bracket before finally hitting the “Submit” button. I printed a blank and filled it out, then made a few corrections, searched for an extra longshot or two and then put it aside.

My countdown clock read — 42 hours, 19 minutes.
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Yes, I am excited about the NCAA Men’s Tournament & the NIT and will consume hours upon hours of live game action with a bottomless cup of Johan at my side. There’s no question about it.

But, let’s face it. The bracket selection show is an institution. It’s always there for you. All eyes in the sporting world were on the “Peyton Manning World Tour” this weekend. Remember, the team visits took place with the Rams/Redskins trade and Sanchez contract extension serving as the backdrop.

- Where would he visit?
- Would a “mystery” team descend from the skies to swoop him away?
- Would he throw for teams? He did throw in the Denver area , per Mike Klis of The Denver Post.
- How would it impact the free agent market for the myriad quarterbacks ready to hit the market? Matt Flynn, anyone?

And when you can throw Tim Tebow into the mix … you have it all.

On Tuesday afternoon, the doors to free agency open and the feeding frenzy will begin. There are a number of top-tier free agents on the board, including a few surprises (OL Eric Winston being released by the Texans stands out as one).

I’ll be blogging, Tweeting (@swollendome) and yelling in audio and video forms as this process gets underway. The new NFL season begins.

Tebowing leads to violence in South Carolina

Knapp notes that there were several extra security officers on the premises for this heated rivalry.

It has truly been a 24-hour marathon of 140-character slogans and one-liners alternating between messages of love and hate. Sports talk shows that opened their phone lines literally had to say, “So …” and the lines lit up. I traversed the radio dial – actual radio, internet and IHeartRadio – to listen to the opinions and reactions.

• In Denver, they were understandably giddy about the result (it’s good for business) and let fans bask in the glory in praise of Tebow.
• In Pittsburgh, many started to look ahead to 2012 and the myriad roster decisions facing the Steelers.
• Nationally, the discussion pulled back from the game itself and put Tebow’s performance into a whole other light.

We previewed the game on our FOX Sports Radio show Sunday morning and brought it back to the basest terms. Could Tebow and the Broncos execute against the upper-tier Steelers pass defense and win the chess match with Dick LeBeau? Would LeBeau overload against the run and force the action? Could Tebow deliver the ball if he did?

I pulled Vizzini and “The Princess Bride” into the fray as a reference point. Obviously, we know that Tebow made the most of his 10 completions. I was so proud of the public school systems across America when I heard countless callers and hosts cite the average gains on Tebow’s completions. The losses of Casey Hampton and Brett Keisel obviously changed the complexion of the Pittsburgh defense, but LeBeau failed to adjust the game plan.

• I must note this as well. The loss of Eric Decker because of a knee injury shouldn’t be dismissed, but let’s make one point clear. Decker has not been Tebow’s No. 1 receiver for quite some time. He caught a total of 11 passes in the Broncos’ final eight games.

Before I get to the heart of this post, I would like to throw another film into the mix to describe the action. LeBeau dared Tebow to throw the ball downfield by sucking his safeties up to the line to thwart the running game. The 51-yard pass to Thomas on the drive that ultimately completed with a touchdown toss to Eddie Royal (a brilliant reception while looking through the defender) was Tebow’s answer. LeBeau would “double-dog dare” and triple and quadruple dare Tebow, forcing his cornerbacks to play on islands without safety aid. Yes, I threw out “A Christmas Story” reference. It was the football equivalent of sticking the cornerbacks’ tongues on the frozen telephone pole. The Steelers gave up five pass plays over 30 yards.

Now, let’s get back to this business at hand. The vast collection of pundits and talking heads (self included) had a little fun with his 316 passing yards in the Twitterverse. I just wished that I owned a t-shirt printing business within steps of Invesco. I could have printed money as jubilant fans wandered away from the stadium.

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The game played by Tebow and his flawless delivery against the Steelers flew in the face of everything we’d seen in the past several weeks. He was awful against the Bills in Week 16 and flopped miserably against the Chiefs in Week 17. You cannot call it any other way if you watched those games. I cringed every time I heard the line “All he does is win” during this past 24-hour period.

• I digress again. The Twitterverse was abuzz with conspiracy theorists going crazy about the penalties and the fumbled lateral that was whistled dead. “The NFL wants the Steelers to win!” Seriously, you’re going to go conspiracy. This game drew a 25 rating. The power of the Tebow brand is magnetically drawing eyeballs to television sets and watering holes nationwide. Are you kidding me?

These moments performed by Tebow on the big stage certainly capture our imagination. Following a tepid start to the game, Tebow made play after play during that second quarter explosion. LeBeau and Tomlin challenged him, and Tebow didn’t blink. There is still much more work and refinement to be done to make him a consistent quarterback. He answered the challenge and produced a huge playoff win – I do not discount the win nor do I discount his performance here – but we can still talk about the three points that the Broncos scored in the first, third and fourth quarters, right?

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I couldn’t write about the phenomenon of Tebow without crossing into the dangerous third rail of sports writing and, well, conversation in general. The question of “Is there something more?” is as old as time itself. Tebow’s religion has been front and center for years, and he’s certainly not the first athlete to vocalize his beliefs. But, something about his life story, how he conducts himself in interviews and the ridiculous disconnect between how he starts games and finishes them elevates this story.

Look to the ratings. The Broncos’ victory over the Steelers registered a 25.9 rating on CBS. A total of 54.3 million people were reportedly watching when the game concluded. By way of contrast, the BCS Championship Game between LSU and Alabama earned a 13.8 rating on ESPN.

There’s something more to the Tebow story that draws in the eyeballs of non-sports fans, both positive and negative.

• Some want to denigrate Tebow’s public declarations of faith and use pejorative terms when discussing the topic. They actively cheer against Tebow and the Broncos as if a loss in the playoffs would end the debates about the other side once and for all.
• On the other side of the equation, Tebow’s physical skills and work ethic are sometimes dismissed to give full credit to a higher power.

I enjoy the debates and arguments. Let’s just be respectful on both sides of this religious discussion. Tebow praises – he doesn’t preach.

If you don’t want to hear him evangelize, then mute your television before the microphone is thrust toward him in the post-game. Change the channel when the final gun sounds.

If you count yourself as a believer, then you need to respect that others aren’t. Freedom goes both ways.

Can’t we just enjoy a positive story in the midst of a sea of negativity? He’s polite, respectful, does charity work and embodies the term “team player.” He’s exciting and keeps you on the edge of your seat. That’s a good thing, right?

As I wrote before, some of Tebow’s performances and the outcomes of games defy logic, and the analyst in me wants to see it more consistently (he completed 10-of-21 attempts against Pittsburgh). This NFL machine is built on close games where a single play makes all the difference. You have punt returns for touchdowns, tipped balls returned for touchdowns, “Hail Mary” passes, gadget plays and so on. We’ve come to expect the unexpected when consuming our football, and certainly Tebow gives us plenty of those moments. Forgive us in the media, “the haters,” who still like to see controlled drives and consistent play out of quarterbacks. To be fair, Tebow’s receivers have betrayed him (and Kyle Orton before him) by dropping an inordinate number of passes (12th in the NFL).

“It’s not personal. It’s business.”

And Tebow is good for business. It’s good for us in punditry and the yelling world. It’s good for the league to bring in new eyeballs and a new audience. And good for t-shirt sales (Damn it!).

I can’t say I always understand it (or some of the defenses put in front of him), but I just want to sit back and watch it. That’s the point, as I understand it. You play these things out on the field. If things played completely to the numbers, then we’d run simulations and move on to something else. We wouldn’t need to watch if we worked completely off of the Nevada point lines.

But we do watch, and a ridiculous number of people will sit down for the showdown between Tebow and Brady this Saturday night in Foxboro.

54.3 million fans for a Wild Card game can’t be wrong.

So, let’s make it short and sweet.

CIN at HOU: Houston sputtered down the stretch. I expect Gary Kubiak to get back to basics and run, run, run Arian Foster and Ben Tate time and again. Wade Phillips will have the defense dialed up to make things difficult for Andy Dalton. I’ll take the home team.

DET at NO: I picked New Orleans to crash the party in Indianapolis before the season. I see no reason to abandon that selection now. Brees and company are clicking on all cylinders, with Darren Sproles playing the role of “Firestarter.” Go ahead and make the video mix to his highlights – just give me a little nod for planting the idea. My gut says that Gregg Williams’ secondary gets active today to frustrate Stafford. New Orleans advances.

ATL at NYG: I hear all of the chatter about the 2007 playoff run for the Giants and a possible repeat scenario. Two things have to happen in this game to get that road started. First, the Giants can’t leave balls on the carpet as they did for much of the season (drops played a huge role). Second, the Giants will need to get pressure on Matt Ryan from the front four. If they need to bring extra bodies to try and disrupt the passing game, the depleted secondary will be abused as it was for much of the season. I fear the sight of Julio Jones sprinting free and clear in the secondary, but expect the salsa-dancing Victor Cruz (burn some calories during the game and win the ladies’ hearts by practicing) will match him. Giants advance.

PIT at DEN: Most people I’ve talked to this week have given the Broncos little to no chance of defending their home turf as heavy underdogs. The absences of Maurkice Pouncey, Rashard Mendenhall and Ryan Clark shouldn’t be dismissed altogether, and lest we forget, Ben Roethlisberger is still hobbled. My thoughts go out to Pittsburgh running back coach Kirby Wilson, who was injured in fire in his home.

For the Broncos to win this game, it is incumbent upon Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil to get pressure on Roethlisberger and try to force the action. The myriad speed options available to Roethlisberger will be too much for the Denver secondary.

Offensively, I do believe that the Broncos will need to push downfield more, as John Elway suggested earlier in the week. Unless the Broncos mix it up early (maybe some play-action), it could be a long day. The master, Dick LeBeau, will crush the Broncos if they follow the predictable formula.

If you’re a Steelers fan traveling to Denver this week, you best have a mole with a local zip code or be prepared to don Broncos colors to secure seats to Invesco Field. Media outlets are encouraging fans to use their seats or go through every possible measure to make sure they don’t fall into enemy hands. Coach John Fox echoed those sentiments.

“We have unique fans here. I would encourage all of them to keep their seats, so to speak, and not sell them to Pittsburgh fans,” Fox said.

What’s the password?

1 Drew Brees
2 Tom Brady
3 Cam Newton
4 Aaron Rodgers
5 Tony Romo
6 Matthew Stafford
7 Tim Tebow
8 Michael Vick
9 Matt Ryan
10 Rex Grossman
11 Kyle Orton
12 Philip Rivers
13 Mark Sanchez
14 Eli Manning
15 Matt Moore
16 Jake Locker
17 Carson Palmer
18 Ben Roethlisberger
19 Ryan Fitzpatrick
20 Andy Dalton
21 T.J. Yates
22 Josh Freeman
23 Joe Flacco
24 Christian Ponder
25 Alex Smith
26 Dan Orlovsky
27 John Skelton
28 Seneca Wallace
29 Tarvaris Jackson
30 Josh McCown
31 Kellen Clemens
32 Blaine Gabbert

I understand there is frustration associated with the 24-hour “All Tebow, All The Time” coverage. I don’t know that I agree with the proposition that the national media ignored the Ravens’ wins over Pittsburgh this season.

In fact, I remember myriad stories coming into and heading out of Week 1. “Could Flacco beat the Steelers?”

Am I the only one to remember those debates? It was the thing that dominated the preseason analysis of the Ravens. After the win, Flacco and the Ravens received their love in the press for winning the first round (they got proper love for earning the season sweep), but lest we forget, this is a perennial conference title contender.

The “he just wins” (I know he’s piled up a ton of them) doesn’t work in Baltimore. It doesn’t work in New York – never has.

You’re expected to win double-digit for the Ravens, and even in the Baltimore press, Flacco’s efforts are dissected and plays are singled out in convincing wins. The defense receives the headlines (Suggs this year) and Ray Rice is a favorite in fantasyland. But, it’s business as usual there (and in New York).

For Tebow and the Broncos, it’s a new world order. They were 1-4 and sinking. Plugging in Tebow was, at the time, more a PR move than a football move. And, it’s worked. And week after week, regardless of circumstance, it’s worked. The legend grew.

Again, this isn’t just about football. SI put the man on the cover twice in four weeks. I want to know the sell-through numbers at supermarket checkouts. He moves the needle. He incites passion.

We, as football consumers, know well the ins and outs of each team. We know the players, the stats and break it down in every manner possible. The Tebow story is for the masses.

The ticker-tape parade brings coverage. The big dance in Indianapolis brings the spotlight. Given the chance in the playoffs, Flacco will have the opportunity to

Instead, Orton came to Broncos camp and outplayed Tebow to run back to the top spot. Faced with the prospect of backing up Orton to start the 2011 season, Tebow vented to Woody Paige of The Denver Post .

“My dream, since I was a young boy, of being a starting quarterback in the NFL seemed to be coming true,” Tebow told me as we stood outside the Broncos’ locker room.

“Then, I felt like it was grabbed back away. . . .”

The ball’s now in Tebow’s court. Take your reps … and work. And work. And work.

That’s always been the thing for Tebow, right? He’s faced detractors his entire career and performed at an exceptional level. “System Quarterback” and “Bad mechanics” were the two things that we’ve heard since the first march to the SEC Championship. Merril Hoge’s words from earlier this week got everyone talking, including LeBron James.

He’s delivered and won, and it’s a story that everyone knows. You can ask most non-football fans about Tebow and they’ll know of him.

The Broncos surprised everyone by drafting Tebow in the first round in 2010. He played down the stretch and had a big game against Houston (who didn’t?), getting the bandwagon fired up. That wasn’t a move for the future. That was the move of a coach on his way out of town giving the fans and pundits what they wanted.

Unfortunately, the endless trade talk chatter that consumes us grabbed the second-year quarterback as well.

Tim Tebow Vents to Woody Paige

That battle cry is also playing loudly as the Raiders get set for a Week 15 battle against the Broncos, who will be led by rookie quarterback Tim Tebow. Josh McDaniels won’t be there to see his first-round pick enter the fray, but he’ll be as curious an onlooker as the rest of us. The Oakland defense was suddenly put into play.

Tebow leads a list of new quarterbacks under center this week, forcing owners to take a long, hard list at their rosters and explore potential rolls of the dice on the wire for a defense.

1. Matt Flynn stands in for Aaron Rodgers against the surging New England defense. The Jets and Bears were shut down by this youthful defense that’s growing by the second. It should be noted that the Patriots’ first-round pick, cornerback Devin McCourty, it questionable because of a rib injury.

2. Rex Grossman serves as Mike Shanahan’s quarterback against the Cowboys. It’s a move that left many scratching their heads and having a laugh. For me, I’m moderately confused by the move to put the eighth-year quarterback under center, but truth be told, I’m very curious to see what he’s got. Grossman was the guy in the ‘06 Super Bowl season, played sporatically in the two years following and then has hardly seen the field in the past two years. Frankly, I would be surprised by Grossman playing well or playing terribly.

3. Matt Cassel practiced this week, but is still listed as a game-time decision for the Chiefs against the Rams. He’ll be reviewed by a physician before getting cleared in warm-ups. Dwayne Bowe owners will have to sweat it out on Sunday morning with Brodie Croyle as the potential starter.

4. David Garrard sustained a hamstring injury in Thursday’s practice and was tagged as “questionable” on the injury report. Trent Edwards is the No. 2 option for Jack Del Rio, and Todd Bouman was signed at the end of the practice week.

5. Colt McCoy is back under center for “The Battle of Ohio” against the Bengals. He’s missed the past two games because of an ankle injury.

6. Last, but certainly not least, is Joe Webb taking to the frozen field in Minnesota against the Bears. There’s been a lot of debate and concern and derision about the handling of this move. It does present for an interesting Flex debate as we approach Sunday kickoffs. Webb passed for nearly 2,300 yards with eight touchdowns and 21 interceptions for UAB last season.

I’m not slotting Webb in as a quarterback this week, but we’ll have many questions on Sunday morning about slotting him in a Flex position. There will certainly be a few occasions where he’ll get the nod.

Championship.

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The playoffs are on and it’s time to turn on the spotlights. Let’s get it rocking for what promises to be an interesting weekend of NFL action.

Check it out here .