Eli Manning nabs May Saturday Night Live hosting spot

Joining the ranks of Nancy Kerrigan and Michael Phelps, New York Giants star quarterback Eli Manning will host NBC's Saturday Night Live on May 5.

As the New York Daily News reports, the two-time Super Bowl MVP is prepping himself to break out of his comfort zone and give comedy a shot. For SNL network NBC, this is sure to be a big win: episodes of the long-running sketch show hosted by athletes tend to score big in the ratings race. Manning, on the other hand, stands to take the hardest hit if the show is less than stellar. Athletes and other non-actor public figures tend to be scrutinized heavily during SNL hosting spots since the audience knows that they're out of their element. It doesn't take more than a few clicks around Youtube to realize that viewers like a spectacular slip-up just as much as they like seeing a terrific pass in overtime. Manning, for his part, is playing it pretty cool, though being honest about his nerves. As he tells the New York Daily News: "...this will be a new experience for me. I’m a little nervous about it, but excited also. It should be a lot of fun. It will take some work, but it should be something I’ll always remember."