"Kyle Orton was just about to leave the bowling lanes, presumably feeling pretty good about how the night went.

The Broncos' starting quarterback and his wife, Bridget, had attended long snapper Lonie Paxton's NFL draft party/charity event Thursday night at Brunswick Zone in Lone Tree. There were about 15 Broncos players who attended the event that raised money to acquire sporting equipment for disabled athletes and wounded veterans.

Not only were there laughs and a good cause, Orton rolled the night's best score with a 268. Who says Orton is not Pro Bowler caliber?

Anyway, Orton and his wife were leaving when there was a commotion unrelated to crashing pins. The Broncos, who had taken receiver Demaryius Thomas with the No. 22 overall pick, were back on the clock at No. 25.

Orton stopped, took a couple of steps toward a television set and watched his team select superstar college quarterback Tim Tebow.

Orton displayed no reaction, and left.

The Broncos' other veteran quarterback, Brady Quinn, was also was at the bowling lanes, and also did his best not to react.

Check ball. Game on.

Orton still is the 2010 starter as of April 24, 2010?

"Still, no question," Broncos coach Josh McDaniels said. "I can say he earned the respect of his teammates and coaches last year from what he did. It's a competitive group now."

The Broncos' selection of Tebow with the No. 25 pick in the first round Thursday was jolting for several reasons, not the least of which is the team already had two established quarterbacks in Orton and Quinn.

"They absolutely do," Tebow said Friday after his introductory Broncos news conference at the team's headquarters. "They've got two really good quarterbacks. It's going to be fun to come in here and get to learn and compete. They're guys with experience, who have been around and have done good things in their own right.""