INDIANAPOLIS -- This is Jim Sorgi's favorite time of year.
There's nothing at stake for Indianapolis and Peyton Manning is expected to make another early exit Sunday, putting the Colts' backup quarterback squarely in the spotlight.
It's a rarity for the man who spent part of the offseason trying out for a fitting role: the little-needed Maytag repair man.
"I've certainly grown accustomed to it," Sorgi said Wednesday. "Last year was a little weird because I wasn't playing at the end of the year, but this is when I usually get an opportunity."
These rare chances have become part of Sorgi's regular holiday routine.
Each season, for roughly 3½ months, Sorgi is mired in virtual solitude because of Manning's uncanny durability and success. The Super Bowl MVP has started 159 consecutive regular-season games, second all-time to Brett Favre among quarterbacks.
But once Thanksgiving rolls around, the Colts are usually closing in on another AFC South title. Once they're locked into a playoff seed -- typically between mid-December and Christmas -- Sorgi emerges as a celebrity.
Just as he was Wednesday.
Despite going 7-of-12 for 64 yards in three appearances this season, almost as many reporters crowded around Sorgi's locker as Manning's.
Sorgi hasn't done much more of note in his three other NFL seasons. His career numbers are 66-of-102 for 683 yards with five touchdowns and one interception. But he did start 2007 with a better career passer rating, 99.3, than Manning, 94.4.
Some cities might consider the ratings number as the impetus for a quarterback controversy. Not in Indianapolis, where Manning has led the Colts (13-2) to five straight AFC South titles, two conference championship games and last year's Super Bowl crown.
Meanwhile, Sorgi remains mostly an afterthought until he's needed in those meaningless late-season games, mop-up duty and or at a Maytag audition.
And now Sorgi has some new fans in Cleveland, which needs an Indy win to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
GoColtsBlue 
