Bought Madden TODAY

EA Sports released this year's copy of Madden 2007. I have been looking forward to it. Even pre ordered a copy so I could get it the 1st day.
Initial thoughts:
* I like it. It's my kind of game.
* Love the graphics.
* Some of the mini games are swEEt. Love the passing, receiving and running.
* Glad I bought it.
* Played online with Hutch it was super fun. Sorry about wrecking your franchise by beating you.
* All Madden level is crazy hard. I throw like 4 INT's a half.
* Portis, C.Johnson, and of course Shaun Alexander rock. *Still has QB precision passing...boo! maybe that's why I get so many INT's.
* LOVE how you can get people to go offside, false starts and there is defensive pass interference calls.
* Thinking about being the Redskins as my franchise. Especially with Portis and Duckett now there. Better WR core but no backup if Brunell goes down. Defensively they are solid.
Things I don't like about Madden:
* Getting used to the Y button that used to be call audible now I go offside with a quick jump.
* Superstar isn't cool. I got drafted to the Vikings. Agrrrr!
* Portis fumbles WAY too much.
* No radio show or newspaper articles in franchise mode.
* Franchise mode is basic.
* Mini games it's too hard to run the 40, do the bench press and cover WR's.
* Got to make the recent trades like Barlow w/the Jets, Duckett w/the Redskins and Lelie w/the Falcons.
* No online franchise mode for me and my friends.

Conclusion: I am so glad I bought this game. No more Halo 2 just fighting on the grid iron. Go Packers!

Drafting Results

My two important drafts are D O N E. I got one of the WR's I targeted.
Plus I drafted in both leagues Chicago, M.Anderson, and J.Porter.

In Total Domination Year 7 I got a pretty stellar team. My team name is always the Packers in this league.
My starters look like this:
QB - McNabb, T.Green
WR - Harrison, S.Moss, I.Bruce, J.Porter
RB - Alexander, T.Barber, F.Taylor, T.Jones, TJ Duckett, M.Anderson
TE - Cooley
K - Vanderjagt
Def - Chicago Bears

In Minor League Year 2 we had 14 teams and I was pleased with the team I have. My team name is T.K.O. My team looks like this:
QB - P.Manning, C.Simms
WR - Holt, T.Glenn, Evans, M.Jenkins, J.Porter
RB - J.Jones, W.Dunn, C.Taylor, M.Anderson, S.Gado
TE - K.Winslow
K - O.Mare
Def - Chicago Bears

Jersey's are HERE!

The jersey's have arrived! These AUTHENTIC babies are awesome. Thanks so much Peter I love this Alexander one. I am definitely wearing it to the game against the Giants in Seattle on Sept 24th. And of course tonight for the Minor League Draft.

Ebay rocks!

I am pumped! I am a new owner of an AUTHENTIC green Green Bay Packers Brett Favre Jersey (just like the one in the picture). I got it on Ebay. They retail for about $190-$250 US. How much did I get it for? Man you are going to love this. $34.99 US. I have no idea why they are on Ebay for that low. They are real and have the tags to prove it. So yeah I am just paying the seller and waiting.

And by the way my AUTHENTIC white Seattle Seahawks Shaun Alexander jersey should be here too any day now. So it's pretty exciting for me these days. Sports wise.

Two jersey's coming 2 drafts this week and a BIG smile.

Are YOU ready for some football???

Here is a picture of yours truly working on my draft board for my free fantasy football pools. Yes it's plural. I am in 3 this year and most likely I will do a salary cap one too, so 4 I guess.

This stuff is SO fun and serious business. Bragging rights are on the line. My super competitive one is Total Domination Year 7. It's a keeper league. My 4 keepers are incredible: Shaun "MVP" Alexander, Donovan McNabb, Marvin Harrison, and Tiki Barber. But the draft is Aug 12, who to pick? I am 8th overall in the 5th rd (1st after the keepers are selected). Some are looking at Reggie Bush, others at Tom Brady, some at other rookie RB's like D.Williams, or others want fast Willie Parker but I am looking to pick up a decent WR. Got my eye on 4 so I am sure I will get 1 at least. The problem is not the first few rds it's picking up the diamonds in the rough like J.Galloway, Rackers, Brees and the Chicago Def all taken last year in the final 2 rds. My goal this year is to win my 1st championship. So to the drawing board I go...praying, studying, and hoping to make the right picks. Leave a comment on who might be some great sleeper picks this season.

Also I am the comissioner of Minor League 2. We have 14 guys in it so it's going to be awesome. I missed the playoffs just barely because D.Culpepper, D.McAlister, B.Leftwich and J.Walker all went down with season ending injuries. The thing that is tricky about this one is because we have so many guys in the league the waiver wire is depelted and you got to know your stuff about depth charts. Other than that it's simple pick a stud and you should be fine. In this league I want either Alexander, Tomlinson, LJ, or P.Manning.

Top Story - HUGE NFL NEWS

Huge News: Today I got on to ticketmaster 2 minutes after it opened and I got tickets for the Sept 24th Seahawks game vs the NY Giants. I am so pumped. Road Trip in the minivan to see Alexander vs Tiki Barber.

Then my friend Peter told me that he had bought me a white Shaun Alexander Jersey for doing their wedding. This is not a replica but an authentic (like the same one the pros wear!). I am so pumped about it. He bought it off Ebay and I will get it early August. He bought himself a sweet Chad Johnson Jersey too. It's the orange one, which is pretty nice.

Luongo deal bad for the present great for the future.

As I have had some time to analyze, comment, and change my mind I have come to some conclusions about the Canucks getting Luongo.

Luongo: Granted he is amazing. He had the most shots faced in the league 400 more than the 2nd place Brodeur and he still was 1st in GAA. He was on Team Canada’s top 3 for goaltenders. He is young a stellar.

BUT was he worth what Vancouver gave up? As the dust has settled it looks like not only did we lose Bertuzzi, Allen and Auld to Florida but we lost Jovo to Phoenix and Cloutier to the Kings.

Bertuzzi might have peaked and there isn’t a ton of value for a guy who was accused of breaking another player’s neck. I enjoy Todd when he was here but I am glad he’s getting another start. The one thing about Bertuzzi was he took too many penalties while the Canucks were on the PP.
Allen was solid but has not lived up to his 5th overall selection. Though I did love his grit and size.

Auld, I thought, would be the Canuck goalie of the future but as I always say you got to give up something to get something. He will do well in Florida and if not he’s got great weather there…Alex watch out for hurricane warnings. Like I used to sing in Sunday School, “Don’t build your house on the sandy land, don’t build it too near the shore. I might look kind of nice but you’ll have to build it twice. You’ll have to build your house once more.”
Jovanovski: He was loved here and honestly I loved having him but we couldn’t afford him and Luongo. The one thing I have learned is Jovo is injury prone. 79 missed games in 3 years…wow! I think the Coyotes overpaid for him at $6.5 mil a year. Ed you will be missed.
Cloutier: As many of you know I am a huge Cloutier fan. Yes he let in the one goal against Lidstrom in the playoffs and he can’t stay healthy. But he did set Canuck records with three 30+ win seasons. And if you ever seen that fight between him and Salo back in the day you know he’s got grit. Mark Crawford and Dave Nonis both say he works as hard as anyone. I think when healthy he was as good as any young goalie out there. I think it was a great move that LA picked him up.

Retooling? I heard this statement lately about the Canucks. But I don’t think we are retooling with ALL these changes. I really think we are rebuilding. Yes that is right. Now rebuilding doesn’t have to look stupid like Boston trading away Samsonov and MVP Joe Thornton and overpaying Chara for $7.5 mil a season.

Why are we rebuilding? Because we kept the core together for 5 years and we won only 1 playoff series. That’s the facts. But what Brian Burke did was bring excitement and the fans back to the area. Thanks Brian that at least it’s been entertaining. I love Canuck fever I just hate all the bandwagon jumpers.

Conclusion: We had to do something and we did more than something we got one of the best young goalies in hockey. For those out there that believe with all the changes we are going to win the Stanley Cup this year…give your head a shake. I don’t think this year we will win with the likes of superstars like Bulis, Krajicek, Chouinard, Pyatt, and Noronen. But at least we are moving in the right direction from the goal mouth out.

Of course I could be wrong but I doubt it.

Italy WINS the WORLD Cup

Can't believe my team just won the world cup! I am pumped. No I am not a bandwagon jumper. I have been cheering for them since college. When you have a roomate with the last name Spiridigliozzi and eating their amazing pasta you get converted.

Yes, yes people hate my team. Everyone hates the winner but this time they have good reason. Italy and Portugal are the two cheapest and dirtiest teams out there. I admit it. But the refs have to do a better job.

Speaking of cheap what about Zidane...he cost his team the WC. Why did he head butt him in the chest? A fist doesn't do anymore? Not that I am condoning what he did. But you got to admit even though it was cheap Materazzi helped Italy win. Zidane is their best player and best Penalty striker and he was taking a shower...sucks to be him. The goal was to win and Italy did...not England, not Germany, not France, not even the mighty Brazilians.

2nd place is the 1st loser? Aren't they 2nd best?

What does the Oilers, Canucks and Flames all have in common? "They are all from Canada?" Thanks for stating the obvious. No the answer is they have ALL lost Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Edmonton lost to Carolina in 2006
Calgary lost to Tampa Bay in 2004
Vancouver lost to the NY Rangers in 1994

Miami Heat the champs

So Miami finally won the NBA championship. I remember last year that people were claiming they would win the 1st yr Shaq moved to town. Not me. There is something that takes time and it's called "chemistry". So I figured after a full season they could do it. Which they obviously did.

But one team I thought might do because they were together longer was Detroit. Those 5 guys destroyed the Lakers 3 years ago. No real star but they had chemistry.

But I think if A.Stoudamire was healthy for Phoenix Mr. Two Time MVP Steve Nash would have won his 1st championship. Phoenix is hands down the best team to watch. Run and gun style, mega points and shotting the lights out philosophy is so awesome to right. I thought Kobe had them in the playoffs this year but Nash showed he is the undisputable MVP. Kobe has to be the best offensive player in the game. He or Vince Carter are the best players above the rim with LeBron as a 1c.

My favourite players are Tim Duncan and LeBron James. Those guys are great. LeBron has the potential to be better than Jordan. Will he? I doubt it but he's got the best shot. If you are saying Kobe you just put his #'s beside Michael and MJ is better than in every category. Da' Bulls could have won 8 straight championships if Jordan didn't try baseball.

I know my brother hates watching guys like Tim Duncan but he doesn't understand the beauty of fundamentals. Defensively he is a force in the paint. His footwork is amazing. He banks shots in off the glass as good or better than Scottie Pippen. He averages like 25 pts and 10+ rebounds every night. But most of all he is a winner.