Every time Denver Broncos QB Peyton Manning yelled out “Omaha!” in Sunday 26-16 victory over  the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship, $800 will be donated to Manning’s Peyback Foundation.

Eight Omaha-based companies pledged to donate $800 to Manning’s foundation for at-risk kids. “Omaha” was trending on Twitter after Manning shouted it 44 times against the San Diego Chargers in last Sunday’s NFL divisional round playoff game. Manning reportedly barked “Omaha” 31 times on Sunday against the Patriots, earning $24,800 for the Peyback Foundation.

Manning told the media last week: “I’ve had a lot of people ask what ‘Omaha’ means and, uh, ‘Omaha’ is a run play. But it could be pass play or a play-action pass, depending on a couple of things,” Manning deadpanned amid laughter from reporters this week in Denver. “Wind. Which way we’re going (on the field) and, uh, the jerseys that we’re wearing. It varies, really, play-to-play. There’s your answer to that one.”

More important, the Broncos are heading back to Super Bowl XLVIII on Sunday, Feb. 2 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., to play the NFC champs, the Seattle Seahawks. It will be the Broncos’ seventh trip to the Super Bowl and their first since a 34-19 victory over Atlanta in Super Bowl XXXIII on Jan. 31, 1999 in Miami.

More love to Manning came from Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, which named one of its recently born penguin chicks Peyton.

The Mendelsberg family had a lot to smile about leading up to the Denver Broncos game against the New England Patriots on Sunday.

They were hanging out at The Edge bar at the Four Seasons Hotel Denver for Maria’s birthday, but scooted to Sports Field at Mile High Station five hours prior to kick off so the Mendelsberg men could snag some autographs and photos.

They did manage to pose with Patriots owner Robert Kraft and CBS Sports analyst and former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms.

Some of the players were willing, but some were prima donnas. No matter, it turned out our way in the end! Go Broncos and kill it in the Super Bowl.

Ken Mendelsberg, right, posed with CBS Sports analyst Phil Simms at the Four Seasons Hotel Denver on Sunday. (Ken Mendelsberg photo)

Ariana and Ethan Mendelsberg posed with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft at the Four Seasons Hotel Denver before Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos. (Ken Mendelsberg photo)

The downtown branch of Elway’s steakhouse, co-owned by Denver Broncos quarterback and Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway,  is undergoing renovations which began in early January with an anticipated unveiling in early spring 2014.

Colorado-based design and architecture firm, Rowland+Broughton, was selected to spearhead the redevelopment with several high-profile hospitality projects already in its portfolio.

One new feature of the ambitious project is a chef’s table, which will accommodate up to 12 guests with a private viewing window into the bustling kitchen. Décor will feature rich-colored leathers in earthy tones to complement the upgrades, which will include the new, locally sourced stone wall on the back of the bar in the dining room.

The lounge area behind the hostess stand soon will act as an extension of the restaurant and will feature a stone fireplace along with community-style high-top tables and banquette-style seating creating a new space for walk-in guests to dine, gather and meet.

The bar itself will expand with upgraded tables and stools and banquette seating along the curved wall. All new seating areas will come equipped with charging stations while the entire restaurant will continue to offer Wi-Fi access.

Steve Janicek, general manager, said, “We are thrilled to undergo these improvements to the restaurant which will only enrich the overall guest experience while generating additional seating to meet the high demand we continue to see. I’m happy to share that since most of the work is being done overnight, Elway’s Downtown will remain open for the duration of the renovation.”

Rowland+Broughton Architecture and Urban Design is a Colorado-based architecture firm with studio offices in Aspen and Denver. The firm provides residential, commercial, hospitality, interiors and urban design services that are sustainable and modern.

The Ritz-Carlton Denver is a four-time recipient of the coveted AAA Five-Diamond award, the first and only in the Mile High City, and is ranked Four-Stars by Forbes Travel Guide. The hotel also features the Forbes Four-Star winning Ritz-Carlton Spa and a new outdoor terrace.

Denver can boast being the best city in the U.S. for fitness 2014, according to Yahoo Shine, which ranked “America’s 10 Best cities for Fitness.” No big shock since we’re a collection of outdoors and mountain lovers.

Here’s what Yahoo wrote:

“The Mile High City is miles above the rest when it comes to exercise. Between the incredible hiking in the nearby Rocky Mountains, skiing in Winter Park Resort and the more than 850 miles of paved off-road trails around the city for biking, it’s no surprise that Denver tops our best cities for fitness list. Denver also has a citywide bike-sharing program, which is even more of an incentive for residents to be active.”

While Denver’s No. 1, four California cities made the top 10 (San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento and Los Angeles).

Read the whole story at http://shine.yahoo.com/photos/america-10-best-cities-fitness-slideshow/1-denver-co-photo-2746569-162200421.html.

Front Range Women in the Visual Arts is celebrating the 40^th anniversary of its founding with an exhibition titled “Transit of Venus: Four Decades” at RedLine Gallery, 2350 Arapahoe St., now through February 2017.

As a tribute to the late Sandra Wittow, one of its original members, Front Range Women is featuring one of Wittow’s paintings, “Parable of Bordeaux,” as the first work in the exhibition.

Wittow’s autobiography, “thickerthanpaint A LIFEWORK,” is on sale at RedLine Gallery during the Front Range Women exhibition.

“Transit of Venus: Four Decades,” curated by William Biety, is the first exhibition in a year-long exhibition series at RedLine.

In his introduction to the exhibition, Biety, who is past director of The Sandy Carson Gallery and the Van Straaten Gallery, wrote:

“In 1974 Front Range Women in the Visual Arts was born. Founded by a group of university-trained women artists who used art to confront gender imbalances in high education and cultural institutions, Front Range Women in the Visual Arts rose to become the premier arts organization in Colorado.  Comprised of top regional, national and international women artists, the group’s work addresses the social, cultural and economic inequities between men and women that result from patriarchal practices in society.

“In addition to their efforts to push for greater parity in the arts and culture, women of the Front Range Women in the Visual Arts stand as role models and agents of change for each new generation of women artists. Their art represents the possibilities that emerge when art and social consciousness meet in studio practice. With this show, we celebrate them as career artists, mothers, partners and leaders in our communities.”

In announcing the 40^th anniversary exhibition, Sally Elliott, an original member of Front Range Women in the Visual Arts, elaborated on Biety’s comments.

“When Front Range was founded in 1974,” she wrote, “women artists were excluded from mainstream critical discourse, under-represented on university faculties and in galleries and museums, and experienced a pervasive lack of community and opportunities to define and exhibit our art. Over the years, Front Range has transformed from a local support group to a circle of artists with national stature, exhibiting across the U.S. and abroad.”

Wittow, who died in 2011, was a significant pioneer within the group – the first woman artist invited to present a one-person showing at the Denver Art Museum.  Her husband, Herb Wittow, published his wife’s autobiography in July 2013.

Herb Wittow check out the ‘Parable of Bordeaux’ by is late wife, Sandra Wittow. The painting and others by Sandra Wittow are on display at the ‘Transit of Venus’ exhibit at RedLine Gallery. The exhibit opened Jan. 10 (RedLine Gallery photo)

Bourbon and bacon? Does it really get much better than that?

Congratulations to Jeff Defreece, who wins two VIP tickets to Denver’s first Bourbon & Bacon Fest just for subscribing to this column (see how easy it is to be a subscription winner?). The event (which is already sold out, by the way!) takes place on Jan. 25 in the McNichols Civic Center Building with VIP entry from 2 to 2:30 p.m., and 2:30 to 5 p.m. for general admission.

The Bourbon & Bacon Fest will feature bacon-y treats from local chefs along with bourbons and unique whiskeys from distilleries both large and artisanal. For more information, go to www.bourbonandbaconfest.com.

Eavesdropping on a woman after the Broncos game: “I thought I would have to chew through my Shellac nails, but thank goodness that didn’t happen!”

Broncos wide receiver Eric Decker and his country star (pregnant) wife, Jessie James Decker — arguably the NFL’s cutest couple — are featured in an eight picture spread in the February edition of GQ magazine and on www.gq.com.

The couple are snapped in provocative poses – cooking together (at least licking the bowl), canoodling in bed, bubble-bathing, “working out” in the home gym, horsing around among memorabilia — with Decker clad in distressed jeans (how distressed can they be when they fetch up to $700 a pair) and James in her unmentionables.

The point of the article – other than to feature titillating photos of a ridiculously attractive couple – is a denim discussion.

“When Denver’s newly ascendant star Eric Decker isn’t wearing his Broncos uniform, he’s kicking back in jeans with his (pregnant!) country-singer wife, Jessie James, and the crew of their reality series, “Eric & Jessie: Game On.” Here, he sports the season’s best beat-up, broken-in, and distressed denim — the kind you (almost) never want to take off.”

The story continues, “At the moment, James is lying low in Denver, pregnant with their first child, while Decker continues to build on his best season to date. In early December, he set the Broncos’ all-time record with four TD receptions in a single game. (‘I just cried the whole game,’ James says.) Decker’s teammates, meanwhile, have been enthusiastic about his entry into helmet-less television. ‘You’d be surprised,’ Decker says. ‘A lot of guys wanted to try and get on the show after the first couple of episodes.’ So what if walk-on roles were mostly limited to helping Eric pick out jewelry for Jessie? What are teammates for?”

Read more at http://www.gq.com/style/fashion/201402/eric-decker-jessie-james-distressed-jeans#ixzz2qaoEpHUX.

Jessie and Eric Decker pose for GQ photographers for a magazine layout. (Jessie James Twitter photo)

Late-night talk show host David Letterman used his national forum to ask the question on many football fans’ minds when former football great, talk-show host and Fox-TV NFL analyst Michael Strahan guested on the show Tuesday.

“I’m so tired of people screaming, ‘Omaha’…,” Letterman told Strahan, referring to Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning‘s favorite cue at the line of scrimmage. “Why does he do that?”

“Because (he) likes the steaks,” Strahan said.

Letterman also questioned why Manning moves around so much prior to the snap.

“When he goes to the line he looks like he’s got another job,” the talk-show host said. “He looks like he’s working part-time at a gift card store picking out stuff, running around, ‘Oh my God,’ we’re out of ribbon.’ Then he comes back and takes the snap. Is he the first guy to be so darn busy at his second job as a quarterback?”

“I don’t think anybody has made it look as difficult as Peyton,” Strahan said. “I’m still not buying all that is necessary. I think he says, ‘I’m doing all of this so kids at home think I’m cool.’ There’s no way, Dave, the other 10 guys on offense understand all that stuff. They’re not that smart.”

As to Strahan’s prediction for the Super Bowl? “Denver Broncos versus the Seattle Seahawks. But I could change my mind on Sunday.”

Former New York Giants defensive lineman and current TV host/analyst Michael Strahan, left, and David Letterman talked football, specifically Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning on ‘The Late Show With David Letterman” earlier this week. (Late Show/CBS photo)