Peyton to retire, take up acting?

Peyton Manning is retiring. Or is he?

For the second time this week, a major sports story first reported on Twitter turned out to be false.

After a satellite radio host incorrectly tweeted Tuesday that Mike Tyson was killed in a car accident, actor Rob Lowe tweeted Wednesday that Colts quarterback Manning was retiring from the NFL.

"Hearing my fave, #18 Peyton Manning will not return to #NFL. Wow. #Colts," wrote Lowe, who has about 250,000 followers.

The former "West Wing" star then tweeted to NFL Network's Rich Eisen: "My people are saying Manning will retire today. What do you hear?"

Considering Lowe is friends with Colts owner Jim Irsay, he could be privy to inside information. Lowe was the first person Irsay followed when he joined Twitter.

"#Colts fans, let's hope my info is wrong," Lowe also wrote. "Don't like being wrong, but this time...I'm hoping."

Manning's father, Archie, laughed at the report, telling ESPN's Chris Mortensen, "He ain't retiring. I think he would've told me."

Manning's agent said "this is the first time" he had heard about it.

Irsay responded on Twitter by mocking Lowe: "My sources tell me Rob will star in an epic remake of Deep Throat with aging porn stars and 4 finger circus clowns!"

Still, Irsay didn't deny Lowe's report. And Lowe didn't deny Irsay's tweet. Which we can only surmise means that Manning indeed will retire to play a circus clown in "Deep Throat II."

Thanks, Twitter. You've officially replaced the newspaper in the phrase "You can't believe everything you read in the paper."

■ FLACCO CATCHES FLAK -- A concerned fan contacted the Baltimore Ravens this week after seeing quarterback Joe Flacco skateboarding outside his home.

While explaining himself Wednesday, Flacco seemingly was oblivious to the fact he risked injury shortly before the AFC Championship Game.

"I'd never been on a skateboard in my life, so I was literally riding it about 10 feet down my driveway just to see if I could stand on it and stay upright," Flacco said. "One of my neighbors must have called in looking for (Ravens general manager) Ozzie Newsome and left a voice mail on his secretary's phone saying, 'Hey, man, you got to let Joe Flacco know we're trying to win the Super Bowl around here! He's at home riding a skateboard. Somebody's got to let him know what the deal is.' "

Um, yeah. Winning. Duh.

If Baltimore beats the Patriots on Sunday, Flacco probably will look at the two weeks before the Super Bowl as the perfect time to take up swimming with sharks, racing motorcycles and skydiving.

■ THE BIG GEOGRAPHER -- On TNT's "Inside the NBA" this week, Shaquille O'Neal dubbed flashy Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio "The Italian Pete Maravich."

Only one problem with that nickname: Rubio is Spanish.

Rumor has it O'Neal -- "The Irish Wilt Chamberlain" -- also calls German Dirk Nowitzki "The Russian Larry Bird" and Canadian Steve Nash "The Swedish Magic Johnson."

COMPILED BY TODD DEWEY
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL