Article:WWOD?'s Starting Five For Wednesday

1. Aaron Rodgers. Most medieval torture devices were undoubtedly easier to escape than his spot on the Packers depth chart. Drafted in 2005 out of Cal, Rodgers went from stellar college QB (posting a 154.35 rating in '04), to the clipboard holder voted least likely to play by his peers. He has thrown a total of 59 pass attempts at the pro level. Brett Favre threw 535 last season.

2. Tim Duncan. The Big Bank Shot had 29 and 12 against the NJ Nets as the Spurs rolled to their 10th straight victory. It should come as no surprise that they are in first place in the West. The Lakers will have to go through San Antonio if they want the title.

3. Baron Davis. Led by Davis's 35 points, 9 assists and 3 rebounds, the league's highest scoring team hung 135 points on the Hawks last night. Atlanta is both a must-win for the Warriors (since it is a lower echelon Eastern team) but still a tough-out because of the lengthy trip and the fact that the recent acquisition of Bibby has them playing well above their record.

4. Cesc Fabregas. 11 times teams from England have tread the pitch at the San Siro to challenge the giants of AC Milan in the European Champions League. 11 times teams from England left Italy without a victory to their credit. Until last night. Arsenal's nubile central midfielder Cesc Fabregas broke a scoreless tie in the game's 84th minute with an incisive moment of individual ambition and knocked last year's champions from the tournament. And, more than that, this victory should propel the Gunners back into the Premiership title race which they seemed to be falling out of (although they're actually still in first place by a point) after the gruesome injury to striker Eduardo almost a fortnight* ago.

5. Hillary Clinton. She's Alive! After taking the two must-win (for her) primaries in Texas and Ohio she is back in the race and free of any nagging pressure to concede the nomination to Obama. Now is the time that the Democrats either let the process sort through these two able and well-intentioned candidates Or now is the time that Hillary and Barack do the GOPs dirty work by tearing each other to shreds between now and the convention.

Benched. Brett Favre's Retirement. I'll believe this when Rodges actually takes that first snap in that first game. Until then, we'll just enjoy the 4,5209 different photos of the gunslinger that have graced ESPN.com's home page in the past 24 hours.


 * When writing about soccer it is encouraged to use the word "fortnight" whenever possible.