Peyton Manning selection for MVP not unanimous.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

Byline: Ed Barkowitz

PHILADELPHIA _ While Peyton Manning was the expected readers' choice for fantasy MVP, his selection wasn't unanimous.

Kevin Birkhead, of Philadelphia, was among those who voted for Terrell Owens, instead of Manning _ and not just because Owens is an Eagle. "Manning has come up small in the fantasy playoffs," Birkhead pointed out.

This has been an unforgettable year for Manning, who has thrown an NFL-record 49 touchdown passes and led the Colts to a 12-3 record and an AFC South Division title. But many Manning owners, who were riding high on his statistics for the first three months of the season, crashed and burned in the playoffs as the QB's numbers have cooled.

Peter Musumeci III, of Mount Laurel, N.J., wondered about Curtis Martin for MVP. "Fifteen-hundred rushing yards and 14 TDs to this point compared with 1,300 and two TDs and 1,000 and seven TDs in 2003 and 2002, respectively," he wrote. "And, he was a midround pick ... in most leagues. I got him in the fourth (round)."

Good point. Perhaps next year we'll have a category for best and worst draft sleepers.

One of the more intriguing "best" positions was tight end, where Antonio Gates, who has 81 catches for 964 yards and set an NFL record for tight ends with 13 touchdowns, edged Tony Gonzalez, who had another stud season (88 catches, 1,114 yards, seven TDs).