Sports Shorts

Four-time league MVP Peyton Manning has undergone neck surgery to relieve pain caused by a pinched nerve. The Colts issued a statement yesterday announcing the surgery. The team says the injury has caused intermittent pain in Manning's neck for the past four years, but never affected his training, practice or playing regimen. Manning stayed overnight at the hospital; the surgery is not expected to prevent him from participating in the team's offseason workouts. Manning has never missed a start in his 12-year NFL career. His streak of 210 consecutive starts, including the playoffs, is second all-time among quarterbacks to Brett Favre. (AP)

A human rights group says Asian boys are still abused as jockeys in camel races in the United Arab Emirates, even though the practice has been banned. London-based Anti-Slavery International says it has photographs showing boy jockeys - some apparently only 10 years old - in Abu Dhabi's 12-race competition on February 9. In 2005, the oil-rich Emirates banned those under 18 from racing. It has since repatriated hundreds of South Asian boys who were trafficked to the Gulf to be used as jockeys. The rights group says unnamed Emirates officials it spoke with claimed no laws were broken and that jockeys in the February race were Emiratis who raced with their parents' consent. (AP)

Guus Hiddink marked his final game as coach of Russia with a 1-1 draw against Hungary in a friendly yesterday. The 63-year-old Dutchman, who led Russia to the semifinals of Euro 2008 during his four years in charge, will leave on June 30 when his contract expires and take charge of Turkey in August. "I'm really happy that my last game in charge as Russia coach was against a friend of mine and a fellow Dutchman [Erwin Koeman]," Hiddink told reporters. Back in the coaches' home country, The Netherlands spoiled the trans-Atlantic trip for the United States, defeating the American visitors 2-1. (Reuters)