Lets get real honest here people, you know it and I know it, every Madden game since ’06 has pretty much been the same.  2006 was when Madden was first released on the new generation of consoles (PS3 and Xbox 360) and you really started to see some leaps and bounds in terms of the graphics for the game.  Sure the graphics have gotten little better every year since 2006 and if you showed me 06 side by side with Madden 12, I would probably scoff at the look of the game, but for all intents and purposes…every game since 2006 is a patch.

There have been minor tweaks in terms of gameplay every year, some good (the hit/truck stick was nice), some bad (why in God’s name did you change how to call audibles???), but on the whole, this game plays virtually the same as it ever has and is still plagued by the problems that it has always had.  In every single version you get balls that somehow get sucked right into your receivers hands, even if he’s not close to the ball.  In every single version you have defenders that should be intercepting the ball somehow have the ball pass right through their bodies like they are some sort of ethereal spirit.  In every version you have announcers that are a beat slow or say something that has no meaning significance whatsoever to the actual situation that is on the screen before you.  In every season you have players stuck in animations and screwing you up making you throw the controller down in anger.  In every season you have players that should be called out of bounds, called in bounds, and vice-versa.  In every season instant replay challenges are a joke.  In every season if you have a quarterback that can run…you will win the game. In every season, the plays are unbalanced in that some work way too well every single time and others will never work at all no matter how out of position the defense should be (helloooo End-Around).

Back in the day, EA Sports also used to have an incredibly in depth franchise mode in Madden that they took out entirely, made into a video game called NFL Head Coach (which bombed since no one wants to play a simulator on a console) and subsequently NEVER REALLY PUT BACK INTO THE GAME.  You could choose the price of the hot dogs you sold in the stands!  The hot dogs, man!! EA Sports instead added several new ways for them to monetize Madden, even more than forking over $60 every year for a patch, by having players purchase online decks of cards for online leagues…that, and please correct me if i’m wrong, are only good for that year’s version of Madden.

The only good thing about the latest Madden games are the Xbox Live and PSN features that allow players to form leagues and play online together.  Those added online league features are generally great…but sadly if you and your friends want to play together with this year’s rosters, all of you have to buy the new version to play together.  Sorry my unemployed friend Mack who has the most time to play this game with us, yet cannot because we’ll all have the new version while you’ll be stuck with last year’s.  You sir will have to wait til you get that job you interviewed for two months ago.  Good luck with that.

Don’t you, the Madden fan, deserve something better than what has been offered the last half a decade? Since the Madden franchise has no legitimate competition out there to drive them to be better (thanks to an exclusive license with the NFL and NFLPA) the only way that Madden will get better is if no one buys their repetitive and boring crap.

I’m not saying Madden is a bad game, its not, its just stale and needs to be better. Why pay for what you already have? Aren’t you tired of plunking down $60 of your hard earned money for what is essentially a roster update and a patch which includes some graphical and playability tweaks?  I know I am.  I voted with my wallet last year and I will do the same this year, I will not be buying any more Madden games from EA Sports until they decide to make actual, real and necessary improvements to their product.

There are just so many times that I can have an interception pass through my cornerback like he was Kitty Pryde from X-Men. I will not take it any more and neither should you.

The only way change will happen is if you let your voice be heard peoples. Take a stand. Vote with that wallet of yours and for the love of God, stop buying Madden.

This is the picture of Arian Foster’s hamstring that he carelessly tweeted yesterday that has gotten a lot of people in an uproar. Every sports network and football blogger has seen it and determined that there is some sort of tear in there and that he is damaged goods and that no one should expect him to be any good this year.  Fantasy sports players are especially worried that this year’s consensus #1 draft pick, might be, dare I say it…damaged goods?  Well, it may or may not be true and there is just one way to find this out.

The only way to get a close enough look at his hammy to determine Arian Foster’s status for the upcoming season is to use some high tech CSI technology to get to the bottom of his MRI photo.

ENHANCE!

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Recent-UFC-punching-bag Shane Carwin has been in a bit of a funk since completely shitting the bed against Brock Lesnar at UFC 116. Carwin is a mechanical engineer, which means that he is huge and a genius, perhaps an evil genius even, like some DC comics villain we all know.

Bloody Elbow posted about this here, but Carwin’s posting can be found here:

I had a chance to speak with him at the Magic Convention in Las Vegas (no we were not the big and tall models) and he said that he and Dana were close to a deal and he would likely be in the UFC before 2012. I think he would make a great addition to the roster.

When I decided that I was going to try for the UFC the HWT division was not nearly as stacked as it is today. The up and coming guys have tons of talent and heart and the top of the division is full of super talented guys. I am excited about all of the potential fights. I have gone to war with many of these guys in my mind and I can’t wait for an opportunity to hit and be ht by them.

Personally, I would love to see Carwin fight Overeem. For me, that would be on the same par as Superman vs. Batman, or Briana loves Jenna, if you will.

(adjusts monocle, swishes scotch glass, turns page in “Jugs” magazine)

Inside the park home runs are not a common occurrance in Major League Baseball and Milwaukee Brewers’ outfielder Ryan Braun was ohhhhhhh so close to getting his very first one. He could’ve had it quite easily actually, but for the little tumble you are about to see Braun take after he rounds third and attempts to make his way home. Poor guy, I would almost feel bad for him if I wasn’t laughing so hard right now.

To add insult to injury, the Brewers lost the game to the St. Louis Cardinals by a score of 8-3.

Random sports trivia while we’re talking about inside the park home runs, who is the MLB leader in inside the park home runs? A player named Jesse Burkett with 55 inside the park home runs. Burkett played for the Giants, Spiders, Perfectos, Cardinals, Browns and, his last team, the Boston Americans from 1890-1905. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946.  Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner are both tied for 3rd with 46 inside the parkers. Honestly, no one on the list of top 25 inside the park home run hitters was born in the 1900s. Lost art I guess…or fielding has gotten a LOT better these days.

Trivia from Baseball-Almanac.com