A minute to learn, a lifetime to master...

The first big obstacle in learning to play any version of Madden is the controller interface. Every time the game is remade for a new console, almost all of the old button configurations get thrown out the window. The button tree gets completely recreated to try to take advantage of the new technology in the system. For example,
Throwing deep to Randy Moss on the old system (PS2) is:
1. Use buttons circle, X, or square to select a passing play.
2. Hit triangle button to select "hot route".
3. Hit circle to select Randy Moss as the player to "hot route"
4. Hit forwards on the right thumbstick to send him on a jet pattern.
5. Hold down L2 and hit select circle to make Moss the primary target.

This five step process can be used on any of the four other eligible receivers.

Throwing deep to Randy Moss on the new system is:
1. Use button X to select a passing play.
2. Hit triangle button to select "hot route".
3. Hit circle to select Randy Moss as the player to "hot route"
4. Hit forwards on the right thumbstick to send him on a jet pattern.
5. Hold down R2 and hit select circle to make Moss the primary target.

It would seem that a total of 2 buttons changed, but that is for one receiver on one play. Every aspect of every play has one or two new wrinkles that are just enough to cause a game losing interception for a touchdown. It usually takes ma about a couple of dozen games before I feel comfortable running plays, and even then, it takes a few months to actually get great at it.

I mention this because it is once again cut-down day in the NFL and dozens of players are hitting the streets in search of new jobs. People who have spent the last months or years learning one system are making the rounds trying to catch on with new teams. This seems rather like living in a very small country and speaking one language, then being kicked out. The other countries you can move to have similar, but different languages and customs.

I always read the waiver wire this time of year with a sense of nostalgia. Watching former Super Bowl MVPs cut from bad teams in their early thirties always seemed kind of unjust. These men who you watched toil and hurt themselves for the glory if the team are sent to pasture. Clearly, they understand the offense and defense and could probably coach it to the next generation, but teams can afford the contracts. I really don't think football players get enough credit for understanding the intricacies of the game.

When I think back to my JV days, I couldn't remember our six plays. Within the first two weeks, the coach took me out of the offense altogether. In my defense, I was probably wondering why I couldn't get a date a lot more than I was wondering why Coach Ice was yelling at me. With the gift of hindsight, I now understand either obnoxious attitude or noxious body odor was most likely the reason I was dateless.

Travis Henry has 9 babies mamas.

http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/19374
He's 28 years old and he has nine kids by nine different women... and he can't afford child support. Does that come up in contract negotiations? "I have nine different families across America to feed, can you spot me another couple of thousand?"

What's the record for this type of thing?

Don't they offer Health classes or Sex Ed at the college he went to?

Will the ultra competitive Tom Brady step up his game?

YES!

This is my genuine article old school Patriots bike.
And
NO!
You cannot have it. Don't even bother trying to name a price.

Eddie Griffin ends life in trainwreck.

I wonder what he was running from? He was the talented kid who couldn't learn to be a part of a community. Now people are saying (or implying) society failed him by not helping him when he was younger. He didn't have a role model.

He leaves behind talent that made him seem invaluable in the world of professional athletics. That same talent meant that there were no lasting consequences in his life. There was always one more chance to let the next team down.

He also leaves behind that humorous story about crashing his car while watching adult movies and driving his SUV.

Pats D sends people in droves, or mostly not at all.

The Sweatshirt King sent people from everywhere, once again defying convention. In a preseason game, Pats defenders came off the corners and up from the safety position to blind side second year QB Vince Young. What does this mean in the grand scheme of things?

Coach B has been known to send no blitzers for three weeks in a row, then unleash the hounds all at once, so that isn't unexpected. Sending them after a franchise QB with little to no preparation is good strategy if you are trying to win, but why try to win a preseason game? I think part of the plan was to send a message.

Some of the Titans got up close and personal with Brady during the pass rush, so maybe Harrison and crew wanted to them know they were on bad decision from losing Young. I think it probably had more to do with testing the everpresent "versatility" tag the defenders have been branded with.

How do you know the line backers can effectively cover someone unless you occasionally blitz the safeties and see if it works. If we brought these guys in to be versatile, then we need to expect them have a bunch of different possible responsibilities on any given down. Therefore, if you accept the fact that each of the players is expected to be able to do so many things, you can't really expect them run any specific or predictable defense.

The Patriot way seems to be defying convention, and this team looks ready to have announcers across the country saying, "You don't defenses try that very often." When I climbed on the bandwagon, we had defenders like Tim Goad or Vincent Brown who had to work as hard as they could and hope the other played into their hands. It's even more exciting now that we have a defense that can actually dictate what the other team can do.

It's time leave Grady Little alone...

I hear the decision leave Pedro in against the Yankees was dumbest decision in sports history. Every passive fan with a radio in the greater Boston area has heard over the years that leaving in Pedro was the worst decision ever, and it cost him his job. I think it was a completely valid decision, and it's time for us to admit that we are not managers of the Redsox for a reason.

I've seen Pedro shut down best Indians line-up in years with his shoulder destroyed. He had no fastball at all, and he spun a web of crazy pitches throwing from strange angles, and there was nothing the other team could do about it. I don't care if he gave up three homers in a row. If it's a deciding game of a series, a must win situation, if Pedro says he can go I will leave him in.

If Pedro has lost a leg during a deciding game and told me he could pitch, I would find a way to keep him upright on the mound. For the last few years, Boston fans have referred to that game as "The game Grady Little left Pedro in too long," or "The Grady Little is an idiot game." Well Grady, I just wanted to let you know that I agree with you. If Pedro is the wrong decision, I don't want to be right.

We have an "insurance" back-up quarterback.

Matt Cassell is not the quarterback of the future. He's not good enough to win a game, and he isn't being groomed to hold onto the lead and make safe decisions.

We re-signed Vinny T today. I think this means we think our defense is good enough hold slim leads. Our back-ups haven't proven either of them could lead a touch down drive this decade, and we have never been in the market for someone who could step in for Brady over a month long stretch.

It goes without saying no one could fill in for Brady over the long haul, but we have one guy who hasn't taken a meaningful snap in his life, and the other who has taken a few too many. If everything goes according to plan, there would be no Brady injury, but look at Philly in the past decade. They have survived and thrived after McNabb gets injured with dynamic play from back-ups.

Deep down, I hope they find a way to bring in Bledsoe for the veteran minimum. He still has a cannon and never had the speed to get out of the way of the pass rush, so we know exactly what are getting.

God be with ye' Willy Mo Pena

Like so many other gifted athletes in Boston, you were brought he to be something you never were. At least you tried. I think we paid a team to pick you up.

O-Line Just Improved.

The pats released a couple of players today, one was Josh Miller, another was offensive lineman Brian Bathelmes. If Bathelmmes was in the game late, he looked terrible on the screen passes. The punting was also terrible, so Miller may not have been beaten out for his job as much as he might have punted his job through the end zone from the near side of the fifty.

Jose Offerman beat the opposing team with his bat.

He ran onto the mound, bat in hand, and broke the pitcher's finger. He also knocked the opposing catcher in the head. He wasn't plunked by the pitcher, he was hit on the leg (according to SI).

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/baseball/mlb/08/15/bc.bbm.offerman.batatta.ap/index.html

If he's not suspended from baseball for life, do you think the Giants or A's will try to sign him? There are some guys who are tough to pitch inside, but I can't imagine a pitcher ever trying to own the inside of the plate against this guy ever again. He's going to be dominating the penal leagues. Right now "Wild Thing" Ricky Vaughn has to be at least a little afraid.

Barry Bonds is on steroids.

ESPN reported Bonds has threatened to sue the people who have made this claim. I just want to get brought to court by him. I need a good villain in my life, and he seems like one of the best.

I was hanging out with old friend Kobiyashi (not the competitive eater) last night. He once told he didn't root for Parcells (or was it Coughlin). I was surprised by this because both are local legends. When I asked him why, he told me it was because the coach seemed like a jerk who would be very difficult to work for.

I always loved these guys because they won. After he gave me his perspective, I changed my mind. I have worked for a couple of difficult people. I have also worked for some amazing people who got great results without making people miserable. I now find myself asking what kind of person I'm rooting for before I get carried away.

There have been plenty of dominant athletes who went out of their to be civil to their fan base. Bledsoe was a great guy by accounts I have read, so I don't trash him (okay, maybe he was only dominant in the second half of that one game against the Vikings in '98 or 99). Garnett, Brady and Pierce all have collected fan mail and admit to being inspired by it. I always thought Doug Flutie was an all around decent guy, but he was a scab in the strike season, so if you want to hold it against him, I won't argue.

By most accounts, Barry is a complete jerk who alienates the people around him. He comes off as anti-social and someone to be avoided if he couldn't hit a baseball. Maybe I'm wrong about Barry, and he's right when he blames his image problems on the media. For the last few years he's hasn't been afraid to attack others for his image problems and make life difficult for those paid to be around him. That's what the Bonds legacy is to me.

Thanks for the perspective DK.

Gagne Statistically got a win.

The Sox won the second game of the season while trailing after eight. I know that's a terrible sentence, but I'm excited for the win. Yanks got stomped. There's no long-standing Sox fan who feels comfortable with any result other than "The Yankees have been mathematically eliminated," but it was great night for the Sox.
I've always compared the Sox fans as the ultimate romantics. For years the Sox fans make a late August wedding plan with the mid September record in mind. As late August approaches, the bride seems to get cold feet. This year, the Sox appear to have invest in foot warmers.

Old friend Ty Poole is on the move.

He was just signed by the Texans. The Texans are a franchise I always forget exist. I suppose they are known for having drafted and stuck with David Carr for a number of years. Is anyone really afraid of the Texans?

Bellhorn is "outrighted"

According to the Sports Network, The Reds "outrighted infielder Mark Bellhorn to Louisville." Bellhorn will always be remembered in Boston as a part of the team that won the World Series. He never seemed that important, but I don't think you can win the World Series with an unimportant part. I'll remember him for having the fan sign that said something along the lines of he makes me "Bell horny," other signs included a bell and a horn. Being "outrighted" doesn't sound very sweet, especially as the play-offs approach.

Brevin Knight is off the wish list.

For the C's fans who have been looking for more of a veteran pass first point guard, Brevin Knight is now a Clipper. I'm not sure why he went to a team that lost it's marquee player to injury less than a month ago, and couldn't make the play-offs with him. Maybe that skin flint owner opened the checkbook for once.

Is there anyway I can bet on who will start the season as Cleveland's QB?

Seriously, I need to know this. The team seems to love this guy Frye, the number one receiver really loves this guy, and he has never played behind an NFL quality offensive line. I know Brady Quinn and Kenny Anderson are in the mix, but (as of midnight, August 13th, I am willing to lay down money at a casino with a sports book that this will happen, and I have a free round trip ticket to get to said casino. How would I place such a bet?

I wonder if most other cities think all of their teams have a chance to win it all?

All three of the Boston Sports teams seem to have loaded up for bear this year. Some people are down on the Cs and the Yankees are never really out of it when they can't be struck out, but it's a pretty good looking group of imports.
When we had Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce, I thought Jim O'Brien could do anything. He had them jacking up threes at a record clip, and we were winning games. We all knew deep down that we weren't going to win it all, and most of the local sports media got down on 'Toine for his shot selection, but they couldn't have done any better with him playing in the post all the time.

My Antoine quote when some reporter tried to challenge him on his shot selection:
Reporter: Antoine, why do you take so many threes?
AW: Because they don't have fours.

Low post moves were not going to erase the fact that we had no center. Every bigman that came through town seemed to get 17 boards and 25 points against us. We did what Christian Leattner learned to late in his short career. Extend the defense, and get the center out of the middle by jacking up threes. And the the chagrin of basketball purists everywhere, it worked.

Back when the Eastern conference was good, there was now way that team was going to play great defense and score enough to stay in games, but they did it every night. I was actually very proud of Jim O for quitting when Ainge ripped apart his team in the youth movement. He never quit on the Celtics, he played his poor hand into a seat at the Final Four of the NBA.

Now, we have Garnett. I love Walker, but Garnett is twice the player Walker was in his prime. Rondo is very raw, and some teams will take advantage of him early, but if he can learn from his mistakes, we have a chance. I said it. We have a chance.

Before the Pats won their first Superbowl, I would never have believed this team had a chance. Bledsoe was knocked out and seemingly near death in the second week, and the Pats sat at 0-2 with the guy I thought was their best player. Then I learned that a group of who grew together as a team and never backed down could win a championship. I think part of the key was finding guys who were going to hit like rhinos. Any interception ended up with was part of the equation the linebackers trying to knock the heads off of any offensive player who was crazy enough to try to make a play.

Of course, Doc Rivers has not proved he could out Coach B's stoned kid, so the jury is out on that one. KG and Paul have complimentary games that are about as opposite as Barkley and Hakeem's were similar. We can be a wide open running team that gets to the hoop instead of that dump it in the post Rockets team that fizzled when Malone picked up and carried the Houston defenders off of Stockton late in those Jazz/ Rockets match-ups.

KG has the cache to get the calls and Paul Pierce can draw doubles and carry two man to the hoop. After the scandal this summer, the refs and officiating should be more scrutinized than ever, negated Bruce Bowen. If we get too far down in the fourth, Pierce always has been able to get points, and now we have a deep man to shoot us back in the in the form of a slightly less mobile Ray Allen.

We'll probably start out slow, and hit our stride at mid season. If we can play team defense like we did under O'Brien, I would a healthy Cs team is a lock for the finals. Unfortunately, Doc is known more for guys that hustle than he is for guys that play a good coordinated defense. It's still a team more ready to win than I have seen in a decade.

It's going to be a busy year of rooting for the home teams. Don't let those idiot Globe writers and Lobel get you down. Enjoy Garnett while you can. You may never see a player like him again in Boston.

Boston is a nice place to live, but the history can get to you sometimes...

Someone asked my father what he thought of the Celtics this year and he replied: "Red Aurbach wouldn't have made that trade." That is true, if Red had been the GM, he would have gotten Oden AND Durant, trading Paul Pierce for both the first and second picks of the draft. Of course, Red's last pick was Shammond Williams, and if you don't remember Williams, no one else in Boston can seem to either.
If Red were in his prime, he would coach the team to another dozen championships. Alas, as Pitino said, the big three aren't walking through that door, and if they did they would be old and gray. This is going to be the most exciting team we've had in a while, and I've been to a couple of play-offs games this decade (thanks Figgsy) and the garden was absolutely crazy for the deciding game in the last Sixers series.
Unfortunately, in the FleetCenter/ Bank North Garden, when the teams get good, the expensive fans show up. In the dying days of the Old Garden the rabid fans were already on the decline. Even before the Bruins folded shop and left town to play for the Avs and Sharks, it was nothing like going to see a hockey game in Montreal or a basketball game in Utah (I can't believe I praised Utah fans). Legend has it, refs must call the first two penalties against the visitors during any play-off game or the fans will tear them to pieces.
At the last Bruins game I went to, I was cheering one Bruins goal and the guy next to me asked why I was so loud. I was loud because Ray was taking us back into the play-offs, but it seemed like I was the only one watching hockey, everyone was watching golf. It killed me to watch the Montreal games where the refs looked genuinely afraid to make a call against the home team. During play-off runs, some cities brought thunder sticks and cowbells, we brought our golf clap.
I'll admit that a Jacobs-run team is tough to cheer for given the accusation that his company has killed a reporter with a car bomb (see: Emprise). But not even trying to give the team home ice advantage is utterly unthinkable to me. It was the same way in that last Nets play-off series.
Jason Kidd was diving under Celtics lay-ups, and getting the call. Few fans yelled anything. I couldn't believe my ears. The same city that rocked the Garden so loud, the cameras looked like they were filming an earthquake had gone silent. The same city that littered the field with debris after one two many Yankees calls in the late nineties couldn't protest or didn't know the rules.
Kidd got all the calls, mostly because the fans didn't stand up to the refs, and we lost a close game in the play-offs. Now the Bruins are dead to the city, and this happened years before the NHL died in the US. The Celtics are going to be the hot ticket once again, but who is going to show up. If the sixth man can't show up and do our part, it's pretty much a lost cause.
I have a few friends who have season tickets, and I know they will do their part, but I hope the old guard can crawl out of the woodwork and be the fans that cheered all those banners to the roof.
So get out there and scream and go nuts on each call. Blast the roof off the new Garden, and make me forget the years of apathy the hastened the decline of the residents of the Garden.

It's not easy being Alyssa Milano...

Getting that much attention and being paid to try to be attractive and have baseball opinions can't be easy. She recently called a certain Nationals slugger as "built for comfort" and "cuddly." Dimitri Young has been accused of choking, scratching, and pulling the hair out of a female acquaintance in a hotel room, among other criminal charges in separate incidents.

Oops. It's not her fault at all, someone has asked to comment about players in sport she enjoys and she can't be asked to read everything about the players. She's a pretty busy actress who also happens to be dyslexic. It's a pretty big faux pas to make considering she is intimately connected to a few major leaguers, but it's understandable.

There are many moments over the past few years where people would have listed Mike Vick as the one athlete they would like to have a beer with. Now you'd be strung up for such an idea. I absolutely loved Schilling going into the World Series a couple of years ago, and then he opened his mouth about politics, and I'm afraid I would the beer in his face if we went for drinks.

Larry Bird had a daughter he never saw, and Derrick Thomas had several illegitimate children running around that I didn't know about when I idolized them. Ben Coates was accused of beating his mistress, and Mark and Sammy juiced. All of them did this when they were being idolized by hundreds of thousands of young people who just wanted to emulate them.

It makes me understand why Charles Barkley said he's not a role model. Nike used to run that commercial, Be Like Mike. Mike seems to have had a gambling issue, but I don't think we were supposed to be like that Mike. I imagine everyone has looked up to someone who turned out to be a big turkey that was blessed with some sort of talent.

With this in mind, it's fine for Bonds to a whole bunch of willfully ignorant fans who hoist him up as an idol. I have had my share of turkeys, and no one could convince me otherwise. Only the future will tell us who Bonds was in the history of the sport. I imagine the record (758 and counting) will mean slightly less to most of America. Everyone who loved Hank Aaron doesn't have to love him any less, much like Babe Ruth kept all of his fans when Roger Maris made his charge. Did anyone forget Babe Ruth was the home run kind even when his records were overtaken? It doesn't seem that way.

Hank Aaron will always be remembered for power, class, and dignity. The heroes who earn the title seemed to be remembered in every era. The others seem to be forgotten on time, no matter what the accomplishment.

A fix for the Pro Bowl...

So you had a great year at your job, and everyone knows in. If you were stationed in Iraq, you managed to capture dangerous militants and risk your life and limb everyday and you were the most prepared and best. If you were a maid, you hit every speck of dust before it his the surface and your dedication showed up enough that fellow maids and employers said, "You're simply the best." If you were an Ice Road Trucker, you never stopped for the entire winter, and the ice never slowed you down. You out-hauled everyone. Where would you like to go on vacation?
Hawaii sounds like a nice place to be, but would you accept a working vacation? You're in Hawaii, but the brought over the dangerous of Iraq, and now you have to capture militants in paradise, or you are going to have to drive over hot lava with your Ice Truck, with a few inches of cooled magma under your tires. I think I would pass on the working vacation at this point and stay home with my family.
In the NFL, if you are selected as the best at what you do, the reward is one more chance to be severely injured by any of twenty-one impossibly strong individuals who could accidently break your leg at any time. Sometimes, people end their careers at these types of events, and Hawaii is pretty hot to be running sprints in full pads. Doesn't sound like fun, especially if I'm a multi-millionaire who could just fly my family there. I'd be tempted to say that whatever nagging injury from the season will stop me from participating, and there are always nagging injuries.
Here's how to fix the Pro-Bowl. The best at each position are still to Hawaii with their families to enjoy a free week of sun and surf. They still go to a couple of meetings and have a media day. Instead of risking an early retirement for one last game, they tutor the best college players at their position. Play the game with college seniors and keep the pros on the sidelines.
Early in the week, the college senior bowlers could meet with the an All-Pro and get to know what he should expect during the NFL season and during an NFL type game, The player would then meet the head coach of one of the NFL conferences and go over the game strategy. The pros and college players would meet the media and talk about what they think the kid needs to improve on and what his strengths are.
During the actual Pro Bowl, the Pros would sit around the outside of the field or walk the sideline, giving pointers on technique and tips on what it takes to become a better pro. Fans would still watch because it had all the star power of all the games best showing up at one place and they would be able to mug for the camera without the helmets on.
It would also provide a great lead up to the draft, and build interest in what has become a marquis day for the NFL.