A Madden-ing day indeed
Are you telling me this screen grab of soon-to-be injured coverboy Shaun Alexander from the new "Madden NFL '07" doesn't look kinda creepy? What's going on with the latest, greatest game on earth, which hits the stores TODAY, FINALLY, TODAY amidst more hoopla than Terrell Owens taking a shower with some "Desperate Housewives" skank?
From what the kids tell us, here's the new, improved stuff on the '07 game:
-- Players can step up as the lead blocker to create a hole and then take control of the tailback and smash through, overpower, or slash away from would-be tacklers as they fight for every yard.
-- New rushing controls give a game-breaking ground attack featuring all-new jukes, cutbacks and the distinct running styles of the league’s favorite backs.
-- New modes include NFL Superstar: Hall of Fame mode, Run Like the Players Run with the Highlight stick, plus things added to the Franchise mode, Team-Specific Defensive Playbooks and Online Play.
And to think, I was once just happy to have a Farrah Fawcett poster on the wall above my bed.
Meanwhile, EA Sports, which boasts in its latest press release of posting revenue of $2.95 billion in fiscal 2006 and owning 27 titles that sold more than one million copies, has already mapped the fifth annual Madden Challenge, under the assumption that it will crown the "best player of Madden NFL 07."
There are 31 regional competitions -- including five out of the U.S. --if your'e yearning to win them all. Each regional winner gets $1,000, and the grand champion wins a prize package that includes $100,000. Last year, 73,000 idiots attended and 16,000 competed, with someone named Jarvis Thomas of Maryland winning in Honolulu.
Here's the upcoming schedule:
Sept 1: Denver Invesco Field
Sept. 3: Minneapolis MetroDome
Sept. 9: Indianapolis RCA Dome
Sept. 10: Chicago Soldier Field
Sept. 16: Green Bay Lambeau Atrium
Sept. 17: Detroit Ford Field
Sept. 23: Atlanta Lenox Mall
Sept. 24, 25: New Orleans Superdome
Sept. 30: Cincinnati (Newport on the Levee)
Oct. 1: PIttsburgh Heinz Field
Oct. 7: Boston Gillette Stadium
Oct. 8: Philadelphia King of Prussia Mall
Oct. 14: New Jersey Garden Mall
Oct. 15: New York Grand Central Station
Oct. 21: Baltimore M&T Bank Stadium
Oct. 22: Washington DC's Fed Ex Field
Oct. 28: Charlotte, N.C., Concord Mills
Oct. 29: Tampa, Fla., Raymond James Stadium
Nov. 4: Houston Reliant Stadium Park
Nov. 5: Dallas Texas Stadium
Nov. 11: Phoenix Cardinal Stadium
Nov. 12: San Diego Qualcomm Stadium
Nov. 18: L.A.'s Hollywood & Highland
Nov. 19: Oakland McAfee Coliseum
Nov. 24: Seattle Qwest Field
Nov. 26: San Francisco Metreon
Jan. 3, 2007: Toronto (TBD)
Jan. 20, 2007: Hong Kong, China (EA Experience)
Jan. 27, 2007: Mexico City (TBA)
Feb. 4, 2007: London (Superbash)
Feb. 4, 2007: Frankfurt, Germany (Commerce Stadium)
Feb. 8, 2007: Honolulu Pro Bowl (finals)
Official rules available at www.maddenchallenge.com. Registration is $15 per person. Walk-in, on-site registration only as space permits.