Friday Morning Five-Pack

I'm unsure whether I will be able to post this weekend, so here is a Friday Morning Five-Pack of topics that quench your thirst.

• This isn't a topic worthy of an entire blog entry, but I wanted to talk about the most underrated player in the NFL: Kyle Orton. Every offseason his team wants to replace him and every year he wins games and keeps his job. As a rookie in 2005, he struggled throwing 13 int's against only 9 td's, but ultimately led the Bears to a 10-5 record. Lovie Smith then replaced him with Brian Griese and Rex Grossman over the next two years before he regained the starting job in 2008. That year he threw for 2972 yards and 18 td's before being traded to Denver for Jay Cutler. He ended up being more than just a throw-in as he threw for 3801 yards, 21 td's and led his new team to a surprising 8-7 record. This offseason, the Broncos traded for Brady Quinn and drafted Tim Tebow. Unfazed, Orton has simply been the best QB in the league through 5 games, having thrown for 1733 yards, 8 tds and only 3 int's. In 52 career starts, he has led his team to a 31-22 record. He may not have all the talent in the world. He may not be pretty, but he continues to get results.
• I just can't believe how dumb athletes are. It's simple - if you send a text or an email that you don't want anyone to see, there is a 100% chance it will get out. These are not private forums. Send a picture of your pee-pee to somehow and the public will find out about it.
  
• I can't believe how dumb athletes are, version 2. Gilbert Arenas, what are you thinking. I don't have the motivation to research all the stupid crap you have done over the years, because it would take a while. Bottom line: you have long worn out your welcome in Washington. You may think you are being a good teammate by faking an injury so a younger guy can getting more playing time, but your decision is short-sided and stupid. Lying to a coach is not how you become a good teammate. Going about your business, being a good lockerroom guy and being a leader by working your ass off everyday in practice makes you a good teammate. Let the coach determine who gets playing time. Don't undermind his authority and more importantly his trust.
• Looks like the Devils once again got lucky as they lost one of their players to long-term injury. How is this good? Well, if you remember, they were over the salary cap when they signed Ilya Kovalchuk. Instead of making a trade to get under, they put one player on the LTIR and then carried only 18 skaters. People were ready to kill Lou Lamiorello when they then had to play two of their games with only 16 skaters due to injuries. Well, it turns out that Brian Rolston had to get sports hernia surgery and Mark Fraser had a broken wrist, putting them under the cap and allowing them to call up 3 guys from Albany. This is not a long term strategy that we should be relying on, but for now, it seems to be working.
• When you have 5 minutes to spare, check out Joe Posnanski's list of 32 greatest sports calls of all-time. I specifically remember watching 10 of them. #22 remains one of my favorites while #16 is by far my worst and the motivation behind my Hate List.
  

That's all I got for right now. Enjoy another quality weekend of college football and the return of the EPL after a one-week international fixture date hiatus.