Madden curse has already struck

Most people saw the Pacman Jones suspension as the first sign of the Madden curse for this year. The Brushback has another take on how the curse is going to affect Vince Young.

NASHVILLE–When Titans quarterback Vince Young was selected by EA Sports to appear on the cover of Madden 2008, fans were concerned that he would fall victim to the infamous �Madden Curse� and suffer a season ending injury. Instead, it appears that the curse has struck Young in a totally unexpected way: by forcing him to play an entire season at full health with an incredibly shitty wide receiving corps.

Click here for the full hilarious article.

Soundtrack listing for The Bigs

2K Sports has released the soundtrack list for The Bigs. It’s a rock-centric lineup.

I hesitate to comment on the selections as I’m far from being knowledgeable in the music arena. The rock should fit well with the style of game though.

• Stone Temple Pilots - Plush
• Screaming Trees - Nearly Lost You
• Jane’s Addiction - Ocean Size
• Killing Joke - Millennium
• Rollins Band - Tearing
• White Zombie - More Human than Human
• Midnight Oil - Dreamworld
• Fu Manchu - Hung out to Dry
• Motorhead - Ace of Spades
• The Stooges - Down On The Street
• Primus - Jerry Was A Racecar Driver
• Satellite Party - Insanity Rains
• Blue October - Somebody
• Highbench- Satisfied
  

June Preview

It has been a dry period for sports games since late February’s releases of NBA Street: Homecourt and MLB 2K7. However we’re nearing the end of that heading right towards the busiest time of the year. Here is what to expect in June.

Read more

Madden 08 Power Rankings (10-6)

The power rankings continue for Madden 08 based on the current NFL team rosters. Below are 10-6, and you can find 32-28 here and 27-22 here and 21-16 here and 15-11 here.

10- Cincinnati Bengals

Yes the offense has Carson Palmer, Rudi Johnson, Chad Johnson, and TJ Houshmandzadeh. However they essentially signed no free agents to help the team. Last year’s 30th ranked defense actually looks as if it could be worse due to a couple departures. The loss of Eric Steinbach also hurts the offensive line. However the offense should be able to produce plenty of points and can even do a better job than a team like the Lions in that respect. This is where a team listed earlier in the rankings such as the Cowboys or Eagles could be viewed as better overall depending on an individual’s play style.

9- St. Louis Rams

The Rams have a similar resume as the Bengals, although they at least addressed their weaknesses and the defense isn’t in nearly as bad a shape. Drew Bennett comes in to make for a great 3WR set with Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce. The addition of Randy McMichael should not be ignored. He’ll provide yet another weapon for Marc Bulger to look for. Steven Jackson is one of the best RBs in the league and is also great receiving out of the backfield.

8- Chicago Bears

Coming off the Super Bowl appearance things have not gone well over the off-season for the Bears. Lance Briggs can not be counted on to appear for the team, even if he isn’t traded he may still hold out for much if not all of the season. Tank Johnson may be suspended at the start of the year. Their availability in the game will be in question. Thomas Jones was traded away, leaving Cedric Benson and Adrian Peterson. That duo should hold up fine in the game but it isn’t the same strength that was last year with Jones & Benson presented together. Not much in the way of free agent signings and the draft isn’t going to provide much help out of the gate although Greg Olsen should give a decent receiving threat. Oh, lets not forget Rex Grossman is the QB. Still they’ll be rated well as a team due to the strong (but weakened) defense and the now versatile Devin Hester.

7- Seattle Seahawks

Seattle is shaping up to be one of the most balanced teams this year. They may not be used to blow you away with one particular side of the ball, but they they look good on both. Big time weapon players such as Shaun Alexander, Walter Jones, and Matt Hasselbeck will be on display on offense and the defense holds one of the best linebacking corps in the NFL. Patrick Kerney should also help to provide pass rush from the DE position that was somewhat lacking last year.

6- Baltimore Ravens

The big name coming in is of course Willis McGahee. How much of an improvement will he be though over Jamal Lewis who was still a very good power RB in Madden last year? Regardless he should be considered an upgrade. The big name loss is Adalius Thomas from the defense. Despite that the Ravens should continue to have one of the best defenses in the game. Steve McNair will still be given the benefit of the doubt in his ratings.

Pastapadre.com is now mobile friendly

For anyone who browses the web on their PDA or cell phone, the site is now presented in a much better way to be navigated on them. It also loads quicker due to that. When you visit with a PDA or cell phone it should automatically detect that and it should display the mobile version of the site.

Instead of seeing the normal layout, the homepage will simply list the links of the 10 latest postings underneath links for home, recent posts, and pages. If you click on an article it will display the full text and any images included in a way that fits the screen. From any page you can see the 10 latest postings for quickly jumping from one to another.

Hope that makes it a more enjoyable experience when visiting the site on mobile devices.

Kevin Durant to be on the cover of March Madness 08

Kevin Durant will be the cover athlete for EA Sports NCAA March Madness 08 as reported by the Seattle Times.

Durant is widely expected to be taken second in the 2007 NBA Draft and go to the Seattle Supersonics. It is possible however that the Portland Trailblazers could take him at number one where they have the choice between him or Ohio State’s Greg Oden.

In averaging 25.8 points and 11.1 rebounds per game as a Freshman for the Texas Longhorns, Durant won the AP College Player of the Year amongst several other awards. He has also been invited along with Oden to participate in the training camp for the USA Basketball team.

The release date for NCAA March Madness 08 is currently unknown. Last year NCAA March Madness 07 hit stores mid-college season on January 16th. However traditionally it has made its way out in October or November.

New page added with release info

I’ve added a new page to the site accessible via the tab on the header labeled “Release Dates”. This page will be updated as details are made available regarding the upcoming sports titles. It will include release info such as the dates and platforms the games will be available on.

NBA Live 08 fundamentals blog entry

A new producer blog has been posted at IGN detailing some of the changes and improvements being made to the “fundamentals of basketball”. There will be a follow-up fundamentals blog as this one only covers the first four (shooting, passing, rebounding, and ball physics).

As I mentioned following my visit to EA Canada the game needed the focus on fundamentals and EA is sure going all out to make it known that is what they concentrated on. After having that drilled into our heads over the past month or two I’m really looking forward to the newer details that they haven’t revealed yet. Future blogs supposedly will unveil some of them for areas such as online play, presentation, and dynasty mode.

Details on the Wii version of Madden 08 emerge

The first news on the Wii version of Madden 08 has been revealed by Go Nintendo and it seems there is a lot more to the game than most were likely expecting.

Among the details mentioned:

Online lobby with real-time leaderboards

ESPN Score Ticker

EA Locker features

Online EA profile 

Downloadable content including roster updates

22 mini-game party mode 

Madden 07 on the Wii got a relatively positive reaction but ultimately it wasn’t going to appeal to the hardcore Madden fans. Seeing some of what is planned for this year may help to change that perception of it. 

Less than a month until The Bigs hits stores

We’ve now crossed over the one month mark until the release of The Bigs. This is something I’m really looking forward to and have high hopes that it will deliver a fun experience. The overwhelmingly positive buzz has even been somewhat of a surprise especially when you consider it falls into the “arcade” category of sports games.

I still have the baseball gaming itch. This is especially so due to the disappointing problems that caused me to lose interest quickly in MLB 2K7 such as the lack of hit variety, the homerun heavy scoring, the all too often robbed homeruns, and broken leagues. One of the enjoyable things about games like The Bigs is you don’t have to worry about replicating real life. The homeruns will be dominant in the game, but that is part of the appeal. It doesn’t disguise itself as a simulation.

I felt similarly about NBA Street: Homecourt. That was a very good game, and had some longevity even though the online play lacked depth. I am hoping for The Bigs to be even better especially when you look at having online co-op (2 vs 2). That is something I’ve been waiting for. 2 vs 2 or 3 vs 3 could work great in sports titles.

The Bigs should be a game that you can just pop in and have fun. Sometimes it seems people just pick apart games so much that they forget the point is to have fun. There are no sliders in a game like this, and you don’t have to listen to people accusing others of cheesing. That alone can increase the value of the game. There is very little that I hate more than hearing others complain about opponents who throw too many balls in baseball games. Get over it. That is the sport. Learn some discipline and don’t swing.

It has been a rather dry time in sports gaming since the release of MLB 2K7 in late February. The Bigs looks to represent the kickoff of the best time of the year. After The Bigs comes out titles such as All Pro Football 2K8, NCAA Football 08, Madden 08,  NBA Live 08 and more all within the matter of a couple of months.

The Bigs will be in stores on Tuesday June 26th.