football

Are you ready for some video football? 'Madden NFL 09' is here

Happy John Madden Day, one and all! Today marks the release of Madden NFL 09, the 20th installment of the venerable video game franchise. Aside from updated rosters, what new features and tweaks does this year's game introduce? And do the new additions make this year's game a must-have upgrade?

In years past--before kids and home-improvement projects--I purchased Madden year after year with little thought. I needed the new rosters and whatever else EA Sports' programmers decided to add to the game each year. But as my Madden-playing friends and family members got married, starting producing offspring, and moved away from one another, a new Madden release ceased being an automatic purchase. Judging by the reviews of this year's game and the rosy prospects for my Cleveland Browns, I may have to find an excuse to get myself to Best Buy this weekend.

You can read CNET's review for the full rundown of Madden NFL 09, but here are the highlights of this year's game from what I've gathered from the early reviews:… Read more

PSP gets the blues for Madden

It's been awhile since we saw the PSP change its colors, maybe because it had nowhere to go but down after champagne. But the latest version of Sony's handheld comes in metallic blue in a special edition to commemorate the 20th anniversary of John Madden's pioneering football titles.

The color isn't much to write home about, as CrunchGear says, but the $200 "Madden NFL 09" package is a decent deal that includes a video titled NFL: In Just One Play, a PlayStation Network voucher, and a 1GB flash drive. Unlike the new DS Lite, … Read more

AOL acquires fantasy football site

Time Warner's AOL has acquired Fleaflicker, a free fantasy football site.

Site founder and operator Ori Schwartz confirmed the acquisition Saturday but declined to describe terms of the deal. AOL's move was reported Friday by TechCrunch.

MediaPost Publications reported that AOL will add the site to its AOL Sports area.

Fantasy sports sites let members create imaginary team rosters out of real players; how those players perform in real-world games influences how fantasy teams fare.

Retro Tech: Mattel Classic Football

For all you PSP and Nintendo DS addicts, we're taking you back, way back in time. It's the year 1977, where disco rules and the interwebs is just a twinkle in Al Gore's eye--it may seem like a long time ago to some, and for others it may even supersede your existence. That year though, I can remember emptying my piggy bank and running down to Woolworths to make my first handheld game purchase: Mattel Football. A very simple game, and quite prehistoric when compared to the handheld games of today. It didn't have Wi-Fi, and … Read more

What Ronaldinho and soccer can teach you about innovation

It's been a lackluster soccer season so far, especially in my favorite league, the Spanish Primera Division. The performances of the two top teams, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona (Barca), have been inconsistent, and while both have displayed some exceptional skills in their best matches, the passion, the surprise, and the big drama, all of which crucial elements of soccer's unique appeal, have been largely missing.

There is hope that this will change on Sunday when the two archrivals battle each other for the first time this season, in the derby of derbies, "El Cl?sico," … Read more

Comcast v. NFL: Round 2

Last month I wrote about how the widely anticipated face-off between the Packers and the Cowboys didn't air on either ESPN or ABC. For those outside the Green Bay, Millwaukee, or Dallas/Ft. Worth areas, the only place to catch the game was on the NFL Network. Unfortunately the station isn't offered by certain cable companies; others, such as Comcast, only include the network as part of a special programming package leaving millions of football fans out.

Frustrated by cable's unwillingness to carry the NFL Network as part of their basic package, the company launched a marketing … Read more

NFL Network vs. cable: Who's right? Who's wrong?

Did you catch the Packers-Cowboys game Thursday night? According to USA Today, less than 40 percent of the United States was able to sit at home and watch as the Cowboys edged out the Packers 37-27. The widely anticipated competition between the two 10-1 teams aired locally, but for those not living in Green Bay, Milwaukee,or Dallas/Fort Worth, the only place to see the game was on the NFL Network, a fairly recent cable channel that reportedly, "provides about 24 hours per year of live NFL football and about 8,736 hours of filler."

Unfortunately, the NFL Network isn't available on many cable systems. Some cable providers, such as Comcast, only offer the network as part of its sports tier, despite the NFL's pleas to be included as basic cable. The two major satellite companies offer the channel in their basic package, and the NFL has mounted a campaign urging viewers to dump its cable companies for an alternative that carries the NFL Network.

… Read more

NFL.com offers shut-out Dallas, Green Bay fans limited free views of game

Leave it to the NFL to find an inadequate solution to the problem created by putting big games on its poorly distributed NFL Network.

If you're a football fan, you're no doubt very well aware that tonight, the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers face off in one of the biggest games of the year. Yet, unless you happen to be a subscriber of one of the few cable or satellite services that carry the NFL Network--where the game is being broadcast--you won't be able to watch the game.

Ah, but if you happened to pick up … Read more

Canon violates journalistic ethics...twice

Earlier this year the National Football League (NFL) announced new "security" rules requiring that all professional photographers wear NFL-issued red vests or lose their stadium access. What the photographers discovered was that these NFL-issued vests also carried the Canon logo, and that has led to outrage and protests across the professional community. Turns out that outrage was justified.… Read more