Eli Manning spent Tuesday morning at a Dunkin’ Donuts in Secaucus, working behind the counter as part of his new partnership with the donut chain. But a few hours before that, he was working out at the Giants facility.
“Obviously, I’ve tried to manage my time well,” Manning said. “I was able to get up, get a workout at the facility today, kind of get my preparations done.”
It was a sign that Manning has not lost his focus. The Giants’ Super Bowl XLVI victory has led to an offseason of increased visibility for the normally low-profile QB. He hosted Saturday Night Live, threw out the first pitch at the Mets game on Father’s Day, and then on Tuesday, he was working behind the counter at Dunkin’ Donuts. Over the next few months, he’ll appear in a series of ads for the company.
But don’t worry that the demanding offseason workload will hurt Manning come the regular season — and don’t fret over last week’s up-and-down minicamp. The QB has his priorities straight.
“The offseason is a time to try to get some things done and do some things you want to do, like Saturday Night Live and those type of opportunities, as long as it doesn’t affect my preparation for football and my commitment to the Giants,†Manning said.
“I didn’t miss a single workout this year, was at every team activity and working hard to make sure I’m getting better,” he added. “But also tried to do some things outside of football and keep busy and have some fun.”
On Tuesday, that fun involved running around Dunkin’ Donuts, just two days after he begged Mets knuckleballing phenom R.A. Dickey to toss him a few pitches. Manning said he enjoyed throwing out the first pitch at Citi Field on Sunday; he only wished he’d had more time to talk to Dickey.
“It’s been fun watching him this season,” Manning said of Dickey. “I kinda asked him if I could get up there and he could throw me a few knuckleballs. I just wanted to see what it looked like. But we didn’t have the time.”
WRITTEN BYÂ EBENEZER SAMUELÂ / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Â &Â FULL STORY HERE
