Article:WWOD?'s Starting Five for Tuesday

1. Brett Favre. Everyone's favorite riverboat gambler has pushed off down the ol' Mississippi for the last time. The most charismatic quarterback of his generation was also one of the best. He broke a lot of records and a lot of sportcaster's hearts. Given the timing, I'd have to think that he would have stayed if the Pack had lured Randy Moss to Lambeau.

2. Chris Paul. Though I hate to give credit for the Hornets win last night to anyone but Isiah Thomas, this kid was too good not to mention this morning. I was so impressed by him live and in person. He plays the angles as good as any point in the league and understands the ebbs and flows of momentum as well as anyone as well. With the Knicks would-be-D-League squad on the floor in crunch time last night, CP3 took over in the final two minutes. Tossing ally-oops and slashing to the hoop at will he was simply masterful out there and had the stat line to prove it: 27 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

3. Deron Williams. The other great, young point guard, who occasionally falls off the radar in Utah, had another dynamite game against another headlining handler. He had 20 assists (along with 17 points and 5 boards) in leading the Jazz over the Mavs last night and undeniably had the better of his matchup with Jason Kidd.

4. Alex Ovechkin. He notched a hat-trick last night against the B's and topped 50 for the season. Pretty swell.

5. Chris Anderson. Everyone's favorite drug-addled dunker has been granted reinstatement by the NBA. He had previously been a member of the Hornets and is now free to re-sign with the club.

Benched. Nate Robinson. Not because he did anything wrong, but because he was actually and inexplicably benched at the end of the game last night despite the fact that he was the team's leading scorer for most of the game and the only player in the building (or at least in a Knicks uni) who had shown any ability to keep up with Paul.