There was a discussion on The Madden Lab a couple weeks ago about why some of the best players have yet to win a regional this year, and it created such a big firestorm that it made my head spin like crazy.

Among all of the players that haven't earned a spot yet, these three guys have yet to earn a berth: Chow, Secret and Fool. Considering that there's also the online tournament, that means, at best two guys will make it. Realistically, only one of them will probably earn a spot, online or in Houston.

Here was the basis of the topic: Is this year's tournament series a step down from the previous year?

A lot of people were talking like it's a bad thing that these three guys aren't in it. These three guys aren't slouches; it's last year's runner-up (Chow), the 2006 runner-up (Secret) and the 2006 Finals Tournament winner (Fool).

Why those three players got mentioned, I don't know. But let's not forget BigGene, The Truth, Houseshoe, Adam Morrison, 40 G's -- we can add to this list relatively easily.

Let's be realistic and say none of them get in. What is it a sign of? Did the unknown players find a way to screw over the more-known players this year? Or, have unknown players found a way to get better?

When an unknown player wins a regional, a lot of us guess that they bent the rules to go their way, or "he got lucky," or he cheated. I'll admit, I was notorious for doing it in D.D.R tournaments; I'd discredit a lot of players that would come out of nowhere and win. And I wasn't the only one. If JSB or Tigger didn't win, the tournament was fixed.

We in the community have to give great credit to the players for stepping their game up this year. Yes, the fullback dive is the foundation for a gameplan, but there's plenty more, such as the opponent not stepping up his game to create offense or get stops on defense.

Also, consider this: 10 of the 17 U.S. finalists so far have won a regional before or have Major tournament experience. Seven of those 10 were in the Finals Tournament last year. To say that this year's tournament series is a step down from the previous year is not right.

The Madden Challenge is the toughest tournament series for any game in the nation. It's not like other leagues or organizations, where you can get in to the Finals Tournament if you're in the top three, or five or eight or 16. You must win a regional to get into the finals. Lose and you're off to the next regional to win a spot. It doesn't get any tougher than that, and more credit has to be given to those that make it, whether we know them or not.

If the well-known players don't make it, it's a sign that there are more players out there, that the community is much more than the small circle of dignitaries that we're used to. The community grows, players get better, some players get pushed out. It's like that in any league, sports or video games. It's just hyped up in the Madden community because it's so tough to reach the mountaintop.

Labels: 40 g's, adam morrison, big gene, chow, fool, houseshoe, madden, madden challenge, secret, tournament experiences, truth the player

Maybe it was to be that Matt Ryan was going to be the quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons. After all, he used them in past Madden versions.

While at Boston College, Ryan and his roommates Ryan Poles and Ryan Thompson spent numerous afternoons playing Madden NFL video games. The man nicknamed "Matty Ice" always chose the Falcons for one reason.

"He wanted Michael Vick so he could scramble in the backfield," Poles said.

Several N.F.L players have said to me that they only pick their team in Madden because they want to play as themselves. Makes sense, you don't want to hype up another team when you're in the game.

Now, Ryan can stick with the Falcons. Of course, he won't have Vick, but I think precision passing and accuracy is a good second to scrambling and low arm power.

Labels: atlanta falcons, madden, matt ryan

Pasta Padre had some great insights on the leading candidates for the cover man for "Madden 2010."

The five candidates are all great, especially Drew Brees, who was a lock for most valuable player until they laid an egg against the Carolina Panthers.

Today, they added a sixth candidate to the list, and that is Arizona's Anquan Bouldin.

While that's a great choice, I don't think he leaps to the front of the line. Yes, he leads in touchdowns and yards per game.

Bouldin runs into the problem of playing on the team that has perhaps the most valuable player to date -- Kurt Warner.

Going into this week's games, Warner leads in quarterback rating, completions and completion percentage. He's running neck and neck with Brees in yardage (Brees will probably win that battle).

Plus, it's a great story if Warner is selected. Not only is it going to whom I believe will be the most valuable player if Arizona wins the N.F.C West, but we're talking about a guy who will have revived his career a second time.

Labels: anquan bouldin, arizona cardinals, carolina panthers, drew brees, kurt warner, madden

Adam Jones was not taken out of the latest Madden 09 roster update, which was released this past weekend. If he's not taken out, considering what's happened to him lately, then it's troubling.

At least there were no significant tournaments in the state (and no Madden Challenges) to where the Cowboys' roster could have been exploited. Roy Williams the wide receiver was added to the roster, and Tony Romo was still on the roster as healthy. It was pure addition, and Dallas, at least for a week, was the strongest team in the game.

Now that the Cowboys laid an egg on Sunday and are going through more problems, we're going to see them fall. Just how much remains to be seen. Keep in mind that nearly a quarter of the Madden Challenge finalists have used Dallas.

If the Cowboys' slide continues, I don't think Dallas will be used by many players in the Finals Tournament, which is strange considering that Dallas and New England, two very popular teams, were strong teams going in. It happened to Oakland already.

There's just one more Madden Challenge -- Houston -- before the Finals Tournament. I think a lot of the users' decisions will be predicated on whether Dallas gets into the playoffs. If they don't get in, then I doubt the players will stick with them. If they get in, even as a wild card, they'll be worth taking a risk.

Labels: adam jones, dallas cowboys, madden, roster update

Now, we'll have to talk about Sen. Barack Obama in Madden terms, since he'll have a presence in "Madden 09."

Some would say he's "99 tuff," while other's say he's "super sweet."

My hope is that ANY advertisements stay out of tournament play. In casual games, fine. But not in a tournament where there is something on the line.

Labels: barack obama, madden

There's talk about the King of the Couch tournament series doing some sort of remedy for the fullback dive.

The fullback dive is perhaps the simplest play to do in Madden 09. It is also the most effective, as it gets players yardage and eats up the clock.

It's a safe, zero-risk move that will 99 percent of the time work, even when there are nine, 10 or 11 players in the box.

And in the Madden Challenge, where preliminaries are 8 minutes until the semifinals, it's a great remedy.

Get the ball, use the fullback dive repeatedly and score a touchdown with 30 seconds remaining in the half. Then, get a turnover or force a field goal, and the game is virtually over.

(For you Smash players reading this, this is the equivalent of camping)

The K.O.T.C wants to rid of this repetitive move. By doing that, it forces players to open up the playbook.

I have a big problem with this.

The difference between the Madden Challenge and all of the other Madden events is how much time is on the clock. Again, in the Madden Challenge it's 8 minutes. Most regional events are 12-minute games, with the finals at 16 minutes.

And if you think at least 4 extra minutes isn't a big difference, you're kidding yourself. Just by adding that time, it makes it harder for players to clock. Plus, the two-minute warning comes into play.

Both players are going to get the ball each half with a considerable amount of time.

Here's the other issue I have with it.

Many people have said the fullback dive has helped the lower-level players match skills with the top competitors. But look at those that have won: Problem, Young Nephew, Dynasty, RG, Shutdown, Sirus, MarcDogg. They represent the majority, and they're all veterans.

So the community is not being overrun by novices and first-timers. If they can play eight or nine matches, with nearly everyone doing the fullback dive, then it's not this overpowering play.

Problematic plays are ones like the direct snap glitch.

The solution is to add time to the local events, not hamper down one play. People say the fullback dive works because of 2-minute quarters.

Extend the game to 12 or 16 minutes.

The fullback dive doesn't work as well in a 12-minute game because when someone does the move repeatedly and scores, there's still time left in the first quarter! A big difference. And in a 16-minute game, it's not necessarily useless, but it's not as effective.

Labels: king of the couch, madden, madden challenge, tournament strategies

The sixth roster update for Madden 09 will be available for download Saturday, and it looks like I was half-right.

I guessed that the Raiders would take a big hit. They were hit, but only in some areas. Three of their best players were dropped considerably.

Tommy Kelly is no longer a 91 player. He's dropped to 87. Javon Walker lost four points (now 83) and Ronald Curry dropped five points (now 76).

Moving someone one or two points is saying, "We're tweaking you a little bit." But dropping someone at least four points is saying, "You're not who we though you were."

And in some cases, Raider fans are saying that in real life.

With Curry and Walker dropping in overall ability, the offense will take a big hit.

However, five Raiders jumped up in ability, but barely. Kalimba Edwards is now an 82 player, joining Michael Bush (81) as an over-80 player.

The minuses slightly outweigh the pluses. The defense should be a little bit better. But as we know, Madden Challenges are won with offense. I don't think the Raiders users will start switching to a new team.

Here's the full list.

Transactions
QB Caleb Hanie – Added to Bears
HB DeDe Dorsey – Released to Free Agents
HB Cedric Benson – Signs with Bengals
FB Darian Barnes – Released by Bills
FB Corey McIntyre – Signs with Bills
WR Cliff Russell – Released to Free Agents/Removed
WR Glenn Martinez – Signs with Broncos
CB B.J. Sams – Released by Chiefs
WR Mark Bradley – Signs with Chiefs
WR Marques Hagans – Released by Chiefs
WR Kevin Robinson – Released by Chiefs
LB Weston Dacus – Signs with Chiefs
P Ben Graham – Released by Jets
CB Hank Poteat – Signs with Jets
CB Aaron Glenn – Added to Saints
QB Joey Harrington – Signs with Saints
HB Gary Russell – Signs with Steelers
LB Colin Allred – Added to Titans
T Richard Collier – Retires
HB Danny Ware – Added to FA
CB Geoff Pope – Added to FA
SS Antwain Spann – Added to FA
WR Brandon Rideau – Added to FA
WR Maurice Price – Added to FA

Ratings Up
LB Paul Posluszny – Bills – 82 to 84
WR Steve Breaston – Cardinals – 74 to 75
K Nick Folk – Cowboys – 89 to 91
DT Kris Jenkins – Jets – 92 to 93
T Gosder Cherilus – Lions – 74 to 77
FS Nick Collins – Packers – 86 to 87
WR Muhsin Muhammad – Panthers – 85 to 87
DT Justin Bannan – Ravens – 81 to 83
S Jim Leonhard – Ravens – 79 to 80
WR Derrick Mason – Ravens – 89 to 91
WR Ashley Lelie – Raiders – 73 to 75
CB Chris Johnson – Raiders – 66 to 70
DE Kalimba Edwards – Raiders – 79 to 82
WR Johnnie Lee Higgins – Raiders – 72 to 74
HB Michael Bush – Raiders – 80 to 81
QB Jason Campbell – Redskins – 86 to 87
S Chris Horton – Redskins – 70 to 74
HB Deuce McAllister – Saints – 83 to 85
QB Drew Brees – Saints – 94 to 95
TE John Carlson – Seahawks – 76 to 77
LB LaMarr Woodley – Steelers – 82 to 83
HB Steve Slaton – Texans – 79 to 80
LB Zac Diles – Texans – 74 to 76

Ratings Down
LT Jason Peters – Bills – 97 to 96
QB JP Losman – Bills – 79 to 77
DE Corey Williams – Browns – 90 to 89
CB Eric Green – Cardinals – 83 to 81
QB Matt Leinart – Cardinals – 85 to 82
G Kris Dielman – Chargers – 94 to 92
LB Zach Thomas – Cowboys – 94 to 93
CB Terence Newman – Cowboys - 95 to 94
HB Ryan Grant – Packers – 87 to 86
DT Tommy Kelly – Raiders – 91 to 87
WR Javon Walker – Raiders – 87 to 83
WR Ronald Curry – Raiders – 81 to 76
C Brett Romberg – Rams – 79 to 74
TE Jeremy Shockey – Saints – 95 to 94
CB Kelly Jennings – Seahawks – 88 to 87
DE Darryl Tapp – Seahawks – 83 to 78
C Justin Hartwig – Steelers – 85 to 82
LT Marvel Smith – Steelers – 87 to 84
RT Willie Colon – Steelers – 83 to 80
QB Vince Young – Titans – 88 to 83
CB Cedric Griffin – Vikings – 83 to 82
FB Thomas Tapeh – Vikings – 84 to 82

Injuries
DE Cullen Jenkins – Packers – IR
HB Rashard Mendenhall – Steelers – IR
RG Kendall Simmons – Steelers – IR
SS C.C. Brown – Texans - IR

Labels: madden, oakland raiders, roster update

One of the factors that has made this year's Madden Challenge tournament series great is the diversity of teams used.

No team has been used more than three times. In all, six teams have been used this season, and we're only nine circuit events in. With the series going to Mexico City this weekend, there's a good chance a seventh different team will be used, in part because the international game is different than the more-intense U.S. style.

One of the teams being used frequently is the Oakland Raiders, but I think as the team continues to slip in the standings, the roster updates will reflect that. Today's announcement of Lane Kiffin being fired as coach. The possible replacement probably won't help much.

With so much talent but few wins to show for it, the future roster updates will reflect that. If that becomes the case, then the players that won with Oakland will have a tough decision to make: stay with that team or choose another contender.

It is a little bit early to talk about the demise of the team in Madden 09. However, when I talked to EA Sports officials at the release party, they mentioned that the game will reflect the season even more than in past years. Stephen Jackson maybe a great running back, but you won't win with him because the rest of the St. Louis Rams are horrible, thus bringing him down.

The good thing going for the Raiders users is that there are five other good options out there, so if the team does tank, there's options. There's plenty of time before January to shift to another team.

Labels: madden, madden challenge, oakland raiders

Sunday's Madden Challenge circuit final in Chicago might be the most memorable -- and there's still nine tournaments still to be held.

In the final seconds of a trash-talk-filled affair, The Truth attempted a game-winning field goal, and it was blocked by Dot.

The game went into overtime, where Dot won the toss and scored a touchdown to win.

According to the tournament rules, players themselves cannot make an attempt to block a field goal. This is common knowledge; players can perform a glitch in order to block a kick, be it a punt or field goal attempt. If the players could use the glitch, all punts and field goals would be blocked.

There's no counter-glitch, so this situation will always favor the defense. That's why players can't do it in tournament play. Most of the time, you'll see the defensive player drop the controller as their opponent kicks the field goal.

But what happens if "the game" does it itself? Should it be allowed?

I don't think it's as tough of a call as people are making it out to be. If "the game" blocks the field goal, it should be allowed. "The game" did it, not the player, thus it's a natural part of the game.

Sunday's situation was as high-profile as it gets because the block happened in the final moments of regulation. If it didn't happen, The Truth earns the trip to the Caribbean.

Players should be required, in all field goal attempts, to drop their controller, thus preventing any notion that they're going to do the field goal glitch (as a secondary plus, they won't be caught trying to camera shake).

If by chance the kick is blocked, then the player can pick up the controller and attempt to run the ball back for a touchdown.

Field goal blocks are rare. Think about how many matches have taken place in the eight Madden Challenges so far. If there have been an average of 200 players a tournament, then that's 199 matches per event, a total of 1,592 matches.

To this point, I've only heard of two blocked field goals (one happened at Universal Studios during opening weekend). If that's one kick per match, then we're talking about a 0.12 chance of it happening. That's very rare.

So while players shouldn't lose sleep over the possibility of a blocked field goal, Madden Challenge officials should clarify the rule for future events.

Labels: madden, madden challenge, tournament strategies

I'm sure that when it comes to the New England Patriots, the one question aside from "Who is Matt Cassel?" and "What's up with the defense?" is "How far will this team go with Cassel?"

ESPN did a simulation with Cassel using "Madden 09," and the end result was an 11-5 season.

An 11-5 season sounds really good, but when you compare it to last season's 16-0 performance, it's a real letdown.

According to ESPN, the Patriots in the simulation lost to the Indianapolis Colts in the A.F.C title game.

Two things to note:

* -- The A.F.C East is very tough this season, probably the third-toughest division in the league (A.F.C South and then the N.F.C East). There will be an 11-5 team in the A.F.C East, but I don't think it will be the Patriots. Let's see them do another season simulation with future roster updates.

* -- That simulation predicts a Super Bowl appearance for Indianapolis. I think that has an even lesser chance of happening than New England going 11-5 under Cassel.

Labels: madden

This is the list of all the Madden Challenge winners, including the team they used. It will be updated after every tournament.

Universal City (Day 1) - Young Nephew, Minnesota

Universal City (Day 2) - D.J., New England

San Diego - Problem, Jacksonville

Dallas (Day 1) - Magic 704, San Diego

Dallas (Day 2) - ShutDown, Dallas

Houston (Postponed)

Minneapolis - Dynasty, Dallas

Indianapolis - Sirus the Virus, Oakland

Chicago - Dot, Philadelphia

Philadelphia (Day 1) - Boy Blue, Dallas

Philadelphia (Day 2) - RG, Oakland

Baltimore - Bud, Dallas

New York (Day 1) - Prodigy, San Diego

New York (Day 2) - MarcDogg, Dallas

Boston - Giz

Atlanta (Day 1) - Jet Steele, Dallas

Atlanta (Day 2) - LOS

Orlando, Fla. - Sean Madden

Mexico City

London

Labels: madden, madden challenge

Madden Nation 4, the reality show centered around Madden, begins its fourth season Tuesday on the ESPN family of networks.

Madden Nation has its positives; it shows the viewer why Madden is one of most popular console games today, right up there with Halo.

However, I've said in the past that I'm not a 100 percent fan of Madden Nation because of how the last two seasons were set up -- two-player teams try to get to the finals, and then they both face off for $100,000.

Season 1 was initially well done because of the reverse tournament format (losers advance in a bracket to determine "the loser," then that person's seat is up for grabs on the bus against an outsider). However, to then watch Duka (rest in peace) be the last person to join the bus and win it all (he played 3 matches, other guys played about 15), the flaw was uncovered.

I would much rather see a normal tournament than watch a reality show that has flaws in determining the winner. We won't get that wish because it's a reality show, where the goal is to keep things entertaining for the casual viewer and not the hardcore player. So with that in mind, here we go with the specifics of this season:

There are only 10 players this year, three from California: One9, Yomomma and T-Fonk. They're all really good players, major props to ESPN for picking these guys.

However, there are seven other stellar players, including Big Gene (pictured), who is back for a second season (he was in Season 1, but was DQed for not showing up to his match). Big Gene is widely considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest Madden player of all time. Heck, if you were to take a top 10 greatest U.S. players of all time in any game, I say right now he has to be on the list.

This is perhaps the strongest of the four fields generated by ESPN, which means that many of the matches should be really intense.

Here's my pick for the final four:

1. Big Gene. I've already said that he's one of the greatest of all time, and he won't make the same mistake he did in Season 1. He'll be around. The only way he loses is if the game hates him.

2. Truth. He's a consistently tough opponent and turns foes' mistakes into scores. With $100,000 on the line, expect his game to intensify.

3. One9. Everyone that doesn't follow Madden will call this New West member a sleeper pick. I won't. He might be overshadowed because of another New West member you might have heard of -- Problem.

4. Young Nephew. And this was tough because Kornstar is also on the show. In Madden Nation, players do not get to play with the best team. They're given a team to represent. If you get Cleveland, you have to learn Cleveland, which will be used by no serious contenders on the Madden Challenge circuit. Neph showed last year he could pick a lesser-used team (Philadelphia) and hold his own. Because of this, he has a leg up on the field.

If it is a team-based competition (I hope not), then a Truth-Big Gene combination would be practically unstoppable, and that creates an epic final contest on the big stage in Times Square.

Labels: madden, madden nation

I still have not received word about the Madden Challenge events this weekend in Texas. There's been no information on E.A. Sports' site or the Madden Challenge site about a change, so I'm guessing that everything is still on. That's kind of unfortunate, considering the things that are being rescheduled. I don't think they'll be as lucky as these guys.

And even though nothing's been changed, you have to figure that the Houston regional will be postponed, especially since the hurricane, which is a Category 2 as of this writing, is still traveling dead on for the Houston area.

Here's another thing to consider. Those flying to the event better be there now, because flights won't be coming in or out. And the players probably won't be leaving on Monday, as intended.

Will any of the three events happen? Probably tomorrow's regional in Dallas, and maybe Saturday. My guess is based on the Dallas Morning News' optimism. Sunday in Houston? Don't count on it.

Labels: hurricane ike, madden

This satellite image is one taken this morning by the National Weather Service. Hurricane Ike is right in the Gulf of Mexico.

I bring this up because, as you probably know it is going head-on to Texas. That state will host the next three Madden Challenges, scheduled for this weekend.

On Friday and Saturday, circuit events are set to be held in Dallas. On Sunday, a tournament is scheduled for Houston. Whether they'll all still happen remains to be seen.

I've tried to contact E.A. Sports representatives to get word on what could happen. If I receive any information, it will be posted.

The "play it really safe" move would be, regardless of what happens, to just postpone it until the end. That could mean having it on Oct. 19, the week after the Orlando, Fla., regional. Or, have it on Nov. 1, after the London regional, which is the last live event.

The "sort of safe" move would be to just have the Friday event and then get out.

The finals is not scheduled until Jan. 11-13, so there's time. No need to have to squeeze it in this weekend, especially since Ike has already shown what it's capable of.

Yes, some players left San Diego and headed straight to Dallas. It is unfortunate that they spent the money to travel. But at this point, you have to worry about safety instead of travel money wasted.

The hurricane, according to the National Weather Service, is expected to arrive in the Houston area on Saturday morning, and then still be somewhat strong on Sunday as it goes to Dallas. From there, it is expected to weaken.

However, the Houston Chronicle is reporting that the storm might go a different and deeper route. Instead of going dead on to Houston, as pictured above, it could travel a little bit south to Corpus Christi, before heading north to San Antonio.

Nevertheless, residents in some cities, such as Galveston (a little bit south of Houston), are being asked to leave now because of flooding issues.

If state officials force people to leave, the Dallas Morning News said it would be the first forced exodus in South Texas history. However, some people probably won't leave even regardless of Ike's strength.

Here's the National Weather Service's weather warning regarding the hurricane.

Labels: hurricane ike, madden

This isn't the Madden Challenge sendoff that I'm planning to have. It's something I wanted to mention because this site is dominated by Madden and Smash.

There's been many complaints from Smash players about how Brawl is heavily dependent on defense. The game is not tailored to those that are aggressive. Therefore, players can be passive in their attack without the risk of being punished for such.

In short, camping is dominant.

But imagine if those players saw what happened this weekend at the Madden Challenge. There was a bit of camping taking place. Actually, A LOT of camping was taking place. You wouldn't know it was camping unless you had knowledge of both communities. A Madden player would say it's someone "clocking."

Here's the deal for those who don't know. A preliminary Madden Challenge match is 8 minutes. So there's just two minutes for every quarter. If you score a touchdown first, it is almost a death knell.

So what does this have to do with camping?

I didn't put 2 and 2 together until this afternoon, but it should have been evident after Friday's final involving Young Nephew.

Neph used the Minnesota Vikings, which has the best running back in the game, Adrian Peterson. Neph went fullback dive, fullback dive, fullback dive.

If fullback dive was a pizza, I'd weigh 500 pounds after Friday night because of the amount being consumed.

But there was more to it than just fullback diving an opponent to death. Since Neph scored first a lot of times (mostly by using fullback dive), it was the perfect zero-risk move. He had a lead, why do anything risky? You see, if people complained about "camping," then they would want Neph to throw the ball and attempt to score faster, put up points. If Neph could win 7-0 or 3-0, he would be content, because a win is a win.

It's easy to point out Neph since he won a regional, but the thing is, EVERYONE did this in one form or another. There were a couple matches -- I think one was RG and another was Secret -- that if were the equivalent of a Brawl match would be downright criminal.

Both players got the ball first in a preliminary contest. No, they didn't try to score right away. They went fullback dive until they were faced with a fourth down (which I believe happened one time between the two guys). Not only did they try to clock the whole first quarter, they tried to clock the whole first half!

Now imagine this.

There were two guys, one being Secret and another I think was Neph, where they didn't get the ball first to start a preliminary game. They stop their opponent on 3 or 4 plays and get the ball on a punt or turnover. And now, they begin to clock by using fullback dive. They score in the final seconds of the first half to take a 3-0 or 7-0 lead.

And guess what? They get the ball to start the second half. Brutal. Their opponent did not see the ball in the second half. Game over. Thanks for showing us your 4 offensive plays and 25 defensive setups.

Thing is, in an 8-minute game, this strategy works very well. So can you call it the Madden version of camping? I had to think about that for a while. If you have a one-stock lead in a round, do you have to be on the offensive? Do you have to do anything? Not really unless you're playing DSF or Futile. You could run away and just pray that the timer was turned on and it goes to zero.

Labels: madden, super smash bros brawl, tournament strategies

This is the most exciting time of the year.

The Madden Challenge tournament series is back for a seventh season. It begins today at Universal Studios, where the first of three California circuit events will take place in a span of three days.

There are few events throughout the year that I'm excited for. If you were to ask me important events that take place every year, the Madden Challenge is one of them. It's a several-month journey that is perhaps the toughest in all of video games.

Think about this, what other tournament series is out there where only the winner moves on from every circuit event? That's the uniqueness of the Madden Challenge. In other leagues, the top three, four, or even eight will move on to the next level. Not the Madden Challenge. You could get second place in several circuit events and never see the Finals Tournament.

That's why I really like following the Madden Challenge. It's a rough ride from the very beginning. You can't relax at any point. Every match could be your last.

I think it hit me how tough the tournament series was last year when I went to the San Diego regional. Justin Chow prevailed over Michael Degroot. And I was told that Degroot (known as Adam Morrison) made several attempts to win a circuit event. He kept getting closer every time, but he always fell short.

Any other game, he's making the Finals Tournament. Not the Madden Challenge.

Here's three questions to ponder as the journey begins:

1. Will Problem win today? The last two Madden Challenge openers, he's won. That's almost as impressive as Big Gene's combined five circuit and finals championships. I don't think we'll ever see another player win two consecutive openers, or even three if Problem wins today. The way he played in Culver City last month, it's hard to pick against him.

2. What will be the most-used team? It looks like the N.F.C East teams will be the most used. And some will probably go with New England, despite the defense. Rest assured, the winner of today's tournament will start the trend, much like last year when San Diego was the team to use for the first half of the "season." I'd hate for it to be Dallas. I'm not sold on them yet.

3. Will there be any surprises this season? Last year, there were few surprises. Brusk was the closest thing to a surprise since he beat Secret in a Midwest regional, but then he couldn't participate in the finals tournament. I think with how the game is structured, there's going to be less surprises. You have to be entrenched in the game to beat the veterans this year. I believe this year, the veterans will dominate the circuit events.

Labels: madden, tournament experiences

A video, which was first posted on the DetroitBadBoys blog earlier today, shows us the introductions from the 1989 N.B.A All-Star game.

Now let's talk about it in the competitive gaming atmosphere.

EVO does player introductions very well, perhaps the best of the non-major leagues. Not like the All-Star game above, but in 2007 they had a quick video of the players before they were shipped out to the masses.

During the first Mega Bowl, the players came down to the main television much like a heavyweight title bout; each player had an entourage, they wore a hoodie and someone was carrying a bottled drink.

Let's say that, for the Championship Gaming Series, they do this during the world title bout. It's only one contest (they usually do two a night) and it would add even more hype to the fact that $500,000 will go to the winner.

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Labels: championship gaming series, evo, madden, tournament experiences

If you missed it, Da Secret was featured in a Madden 09 commercial. It's right here:



Just to clarify a few things. Secret was playing in a tournament where the winner got $100,000. The FB dive wasn't the $100,000 play.

How must it feel to be Young Nephew, the guy getting capped on by Secret in the commercial? Then again, everyone gets capped on by Secret.

Oh, and if you don't believe that Secret will go for 2 everytime in clutch situations, watch this video:

Labels: madden, players in public

Well, this didn't take long, did it?

Already, the Madden community has discovered an insane glitch that can create grand opportunities for scoring in "Madden 09."

I doubt there will be an "Allow" discussion because, in most cases, when a glitch is discovered in Madden, it is taken out of tournament play (Randy Moss' jumping ability doesn't count. He was just that good in Madden 08).

This is worst than the Vick RB glitch in Madden 07 PS2; that was a similar fake-out, but at the most, a player would only get about 10 yards because the psych would last about one second before Vick was highlighted with the ball. Exploiters would only use it in goal-to-go situations.

If you look at the picture to the right, you can probably guess what type of glitch this is.

Anyway, from what I'm being told, this is the glitch: The wide receiver magically gets the ball when the play is snapped. No, the wide receiver does not run back under center like a Wing-T style play, the receiver suddenly HAS the ball.

So imagine seeing the center feeling the ball, ready to give to the quarterback. And on "Hike!" the wide receiver, nowhere near the exchange, magically has it and starts running. The wide receiver would have one, maybe two guys to beat on the way to the end zone.

Here's a video.



That's not good.

It might sound funny right now, but this has to be an obvious no-no for tournament play, and it could get ugly if it is allowed. Word is spreading quickly, so let's see if the local events, which are not tied to the community, know about the glitch.

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Labels: madden, tournament strategies

This commercial for "Madden 09" was shown during the Maddenpalooza event at the Rose Bowl on Monday night.

Very hilarious, and a lot of people at the venue were laughing at the various jokes in the commercial.

I thought it was exclusive to the event, but I found it on YouTube, so here you go.

Labels: madden