Madden NFL Madden NFL is an American football video game series ...

Madden NFL

Madden NFL is an American football video game series developed by Electronic Arts Tiburon (EA) for EA Sports . The Madden NFL series consistently is one of the top selling video games in North America every year. The game is named after John Madden , a well-known football color commentator and formerly a successful Super Bowl -winning professional football coach during the 1970s with the Oakland Raiders . Madden insisted that he would only give his endorsement to a game that was as close to real life football as possible. The first version of the game was released in 1989 for the Apple II , as John Madden Football . The first console version (and the version that made it a top-selling franchise) for the Sega Genesis followed in 1990 with a Super Nintendo version available a year later. EA Sports has released annual updates for all versions since 1991's John Madden Football '92 . The series gained full NFL licensing and became known as Madden NFL with 1993's Madden NFL '94 ; NFL players licenses came two years later. The Game's total franchise sales surpass 80 million worldwide and over 30 million in the U.S. [ citation needed ]

The games are currently available for the Xbox , PlayStation 2 , GameCube , Microsoft Windows , Nintendo DS , Game Boy Advance , PlayStation Portable , and Xbox 360 platforms, while versions of the games should become available for the PlayStation 3 and Wii . The PlayStation 3 version has yet to be announced, while on April 27, 2006, EA announced plans for the '07 Wii version as a launch title for Nintendo's latest console.

Madden NFL 07 is due for release on August 22nd 2006 , according to the official EA Sports website. In anticipation of this year's release, ESPN and EA have teamed up to produce an exclusive pay-per-view event, "Inside Madden NFL 07," airing on Friday, August 4th at 8 p.m. ET and re-airing throughout the month of August. In this special, EA game designers, world-ranked top players and others will lead fans on a guided tour through new changes and advances in all aspects of the game.

The Madden Bowl

The Madden Bowl is a single elimination tournament held on the most current edition of Madden NFL. It has been held since 1995 during Super Bowl weekend in the host city and, in the past, participation included NFL players and celebrities. The Madden Bowl's participation has changed over the years from being an event held with athletes, musicians, and celebrities, to become an event where only NFL players invited to participate get a chance to play. Participants in the Madden Bowl are free to choose which team they will play as - the player does not necessarily have to play as the team that they play for in real life. Winners receive a Madden Bowl trophy and recognition in the upcoming Madden video game.

The 2006 Madden Bowl, held during the weekend of Super Bowl XL in Detroit , Michigan , was televised on ESPN and premiered in April of 2006. It is not to be confused with Madden Nation , which was a reality television show that chronicled a cross-country trip to crown the best Madden player in America, which also aired on ESPN.

Madden Bowl Winners

1995 - Reggie Brooks

1996 - Reggie Brooks

1997 - Jimmy Spencer

1998 - Morris Chestnut

1999 - Ray Mickens

2000 - Terry Jackson

2001 - Jacquez Green

2002 - Jacquez Green

2003 - Dwight Freeney

2004 - Dwight Freeney

2005 - Michael Lewis

2006 - Alex Smith , TB

Super Bowl XLVIII at LP Field

Huh? Heck, I'm not in the know with NFL Super Bowl site-selection types, but I'm just trying to imagine what it would be like if Nashville ever gets the big game. That's right, the Titans and Nashville-based building materials company Louisiana-Pacific Corp. have apparently signed on the dotted line and an announcement is expected today. Which is kinda good, because after the place lost "Adelphia" in its name, there was this implied "What in the heck are we supposed to call it?" attitude from this Titan fan and certainly other fans, commentators, and the like. "The Coliseum" sounded so generic, and to me reminded me a certain round building at the Fairgrounds where I used to hawk cokes on Monday night for the wrestling matches. So now it has a name. LP Field. Interesting. I'm sure all the Nashville TV stations will be in the malls and sports bars, asking people if they like it or hate it. Sooner or later, we'll all learn to deal with it, and it'll sound normal. Heck, baseball has Petco Park and Minute Maid Field. Football has Heinz Field, FedEx Field, PSINet Stadium, and Raymond James Stadium. Pretty much gone are War Memorial Stadium days, unless a company is called "War Memorial" and coughs up a wad of cash for 10 or 20 years.LP Field....It'll definitely take some getting used to, but soon it'll have an identity. I'm sure folks hated the name "Titans" when it was unveiled, but there isn't exactly anything you could do about it, now is there. And currently the Titans boast a streak of 70-something sellouts or something like that, so either those people stepped aside or learned to get over it. And it'll be the same with the stadium. And if the Titans make it a tough place to play year in and year out, teams will hate coming to it, no matter what the name is.

Meet the Knicks

So, last night before my standard Tuesday show I went to a special event for season ticket holders. This is my husband and I's first year with the Knicks. We had Nets tickets for two years. But, the distance, horrible fans, and lack of caring that made us leave. Joe was upset because he was banking on their move to Brooklyn because they would have been within walking distance.

But, I digress. The Knicks, as anyone who follows sports knows, are atrocious. But, truly, and I don't want to talk about this too much. Isaiah Thomas is horrible and Stephon Marbury stinks. But, if you look at the new guys and what they could be doing, it's a shame. I have a feeling Marbury will be traded in the offseason and they will magically win a lot more games next season.

Again, another digression. As a thank you to fans, the Knicks had a big event. There was free food, autographs, and games. We got a DVD about the history of the Knicks. I got to meet my favorite player Nate Robinson. He was friendly, cute, and really connected with the fans. BTW, he had his dunk contest trophy with him.

Joe got to meet his favorite player Channing Frye. But, he was a little sad. He thought Frye was aloof. But, I did make the point that being a talented athlete does not make you friendly or not socially awkward. Joe basically acknowlegded the truth in my statement and as usual, I win.

Later today, I am going to try to load pics of the event on my myriad of blogs. Be on the lookout.

Joe said he will get season tickets again because the Knicks have made him feel like they care.

Money or the box (of traffic)?

That's it. I've had enough of traffic. Traffic is overrated at this point. At least, it's over-rated for my "other" site, FanFooty, the one about Australian rules fantasy football. The load on our server got so bad this weekend that I couldn't access it for the entire duration of the AFL games on both Friday and Sunday - the live fantasy scoring pages are by far the most popular pages on the site, and of course they're only interesting during and just after games. My access problems appeared to be mainly because I'm at the arse end of the Internet down here in Geelong, so I'm the last on the line to get to our server which is sitting in Florida, although others reported either slowness or lack of access. When I could see the php, I was getting the dreaded Warning: mysql_connect(): Too many connections message. We've been running at upwards of 3500 unique visitors a day, serving 100k pages a day on the weekend.

The solution is to charge for access to the live scoring pages. It's sacrificing traffic for the good of a smaller number of users, and depending on how many of those 3500 visitors (2260 of whom are registered on the site) convert to paid members, it might allow more investment back into infrastructure or other stuff. I put up a poll about the amount to charge up on Bigfooty, although my first thought was to charge A$5 for a half-year, and A$10 for a full year, if only because it's similar to the charge structure of Yahoo Gamechannel. The resistance between $5 and $10 or even $20 isn't anywhere near as much as it is between $0 and $0.01 for any product online, of course, especially for FanFooty since it seems fantasy football in Australia skews a bit more teenagey than is the norm elsewhere - mostly because the historical popularity has been far more on free-to-enter salary cap comps as opposed to paid private leagues. Perhaps by charging for access to live scoring FanFooty's own membership will skew older.

Dealing with a paid membership will mean I am going to have to use more of my experiences at FUMBBL.com, as I blogged about last year. Not that people pay to use FUMBBL, but they have something to fight over, in their case being ranking and community reputation, and making people pay to access parts of FanFooty means I have to start dealing more directly with griefers. I will have to start tracking IPs, identifying hacks, and dealing with angry users who think I've stiffed them out of a fiver/tenner for some reason or another. Should be good practice for Tinfinger.

The next step for FanFooty, apart from officially launching FanLeague and then FanSoccer and on and on, is to start some adjutant revenue projects. Fantasy football in Australia is still at a very early stage of development, and there are a lot of types of complementary products yet to hit the market at a quality level of the States.

Note: Mike A blogged about fantasy NFL today, linking FleaFlicker.

superbowlnfl new articles for Monday, January 23, 2006Super Bowl XL: Next stop: Detroit (Albuquerque Tribune Online)
SEATTLE - Before his Seahawks took apart Carolina, Seattle coach Mike Holmgren sat down to watch the other team that is bound for the Super Bowl. "They're awfully good," Holmgren said of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who soundly beat Denver on Sunday.

Seahawks Pound Panthers 34-14, Will Face Steelers In Super Bowl XL (KNDU)
SEATTLE - With their MVP back in business, a fierce defense and all the comforts of playing at home, the Seattle Seahawks had everything they needed to get to their first Super Bowl.

40 things to watch for at Super Bowl XL (MSNBC)
It will be a long two weeks before Super Bowl XL is played. The wait will seem interminable. The hype will seem intolerable. The Seattle Seahawks against the Pittsburgh Steelers for the world championship of professional football. It's eating at you, isn't it? You want to know what the future holds.

Short-handed Panthers’ run ends with ‘worst game’ (The State)
SEATTLE — Nearly 3,000 miles from home, the Carolina Panthers ran out of gas. And oil. And had a few tires go flat. There will be no drive to Detroit and Super Bowl XL.

Seahawks slam Panthers to reach first Super Bowl (USATODAY.com via Yahoo! News)
With the MVP back in business, a fierce defense and the comforts of playing at home, the Seattle Seahawks punched a ticket to their first Super Bowl. Shaun Alexander rushed for a team playoff-record 132 yards and two touchdowns Sunday, and Seattle crushed Carolina 34-14 in the NFC title game.

Seahawks just Super (Philadelphia Daily News)
Shaun Alexander didn't sound as if he completely believed it. "Now we're one of the elite teams," Alexander, the NFL's Most Valuable Player, said after helping lead the Seattle Seahawks to the first Super Bowl in their 30-year history, with a 34-14 thumping of the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Championship Game last night at Qwest Field. The Seahawks began the 2-week run-up to Super Bowl XL as 3

Off to Detroit: Steelers beat Broncos, head to Super Bowl XL (The Daily News)
DENVER - It was the waning moments of last year's AFC championship game at Heinz Field and the Steelers' magical season was about to end in an all too familiar position - one game short of the Super Bowl.

Pittsburgh and Seattle set for Super Bowl XL showdown (The Indianapolis Star)
SEATTLE -- The contrasts between the Steelers and the Seahawks make this a fascinating Super Bowl matchup.

Panthers finally run out of answers (The Greenville News)
SEATTLE -- At the ripe old age of 30, the Seattle Seahawks found out life begins at Super Bowl XL.

Steelers On The Road To Super Bowl XL (KETV.com)
The Pittsburgh Steelers earned a trip to Super Bowl 40 with an impressive 34-to-17 win in Denver.

superbowl nfl

In professional American football, the Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League (NFL) in the United States. The game and its ancillary festivities constitute Super Bowl Sunday (sometimes "Super Sunday"), which over the years has almost become a de facto American national holiday.