Colts’ new starting QB isn’t playing by the numbers

Goose egg Dan Orlovsky, who will start Sunday at quarterback for the 0-11 Colts, made his last NFL start for the winless Lions in 2008. With that in mind and taking into account the first letter of his surname, it would create perfect symmetry if Orlovsky wore the number 0. He wears 6 instead.

Hoops du jour The leading scorer for St. John’s in its loss at Kentucky on Thursday night was God’sgift Achiuwa, a 6-foot-8 forward from Nigeria. His teammates call him Gift. He’s got a brother named God’swill. Well, not everybody can be named Bob.

Idle thought The only problem with the BCS Coaches Poll is that it matters. And the coaches are too lazy to try to get it right.

Hokie high Virginia Tech is ahead of Arkansas in the football rankings after the Razorbacks made the mistake of playing LSU, not Virginia. Any wonder why Tech will never leave the ACC?

Convinced It’s not what I had hoped for, but LSU and Alabama deserve to play in the BCS title game.

Good grief Parents of young children will recognize what happened when the NCAA allowed UCLA to accept a bowl invitation with a 6-7 record. It’s the collegiate version of giving out trophies for participation.

Really? Did somebody make a new rule that says that every reference to the Red Sox must include snarky comments about beer and chicken in the clubhouse? The media really need to come up with new material.

TV timeout Now that Bobby Valentine has moved into the Red Sox dugout, it only makes sense, doesn’t it, for Terry Francona to take Valentine’s place in the booth for ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball.”

For what it’s worth Rumors have it that Skip Holtz, who left East Carolina two years ago to coach the University of South Florida, is on the short list of candidates to take over at North Carolina. Adding to the intrigue: Holtz was a classmate of the new UNC AD, Bubba Cunningham, at Notre Dame.

Local ties Russell Wilson, the starting quarterback for Wisconsin in its Big Ten championship game against Michigan State tonight, is the grandson of former Norfolk State president Harrison B. Wilson. More relevant to the game, Wilson boasts the nation’s highest QB rating.

Futurewatch Won’t surprise me if the Redskins beat the Jets Sunday in Landover, Md. Not because the Skins are improving, but because, with only a few exceptions, NFL teams are clumped together by their flaws.

Add Jets Plaxico Burress made another great catch Sunday to keep alive the winning drive against Buffalo. Nobody ever said there was anything wrong with his hands.

Hang time Maybe the talent level at Redskins Park is worse than we thought if punter Sav Rocca, a 38-year-old former Australian Rules football player, is being touted as team MVP. That’s just silly.

Keeping it simple I’m not as wild about Tim Tebow as some people – maybe it has something to do with his 45 percent completion percentage – but it’s amusing when sophisticated NFL defenses have trouble in the fourth quarter against Denver’s high school offense.

Top man John Fox, who once coached the Carolina Panthers to a Super Bowl, deserves most of the credit for the Broncos’ resurgence, but that doesn’t make as good a story, now does it?

Baggage At least some members of the media have taken time to note that Ohio State savior Urban Meyer didn’t run the most wholesome program at Florida, where 30 of his players were arrested in six years.

Breakdown All of Duke’s supposed weaknesses are being examined in the wake of the Blue Devils’ lopsided loss at Ohio State, namely the absences of a natural point guard, a big wing player, a deep bench and strong perimeter defense. Call me crazy, but I figure Coach K’s team will somehow overcome all of these shortcomings and win no fewer than 25 games.

Bob Molinaro, (757) 446-2373, bob.molinaro@pilotonline.com