Month: August 2007

It is always a good day when a Ferrari finishes at the front. Massa drove a brilliant race this morning to win his second consecutive Turkish Grand Prix.

I caught the last hour of the IRL race at Infineon Raceway; what a disaster for Franchitti. I am not sure what he and Marco were thinking, but you would think someone on their command center would play traffic cop.

Jacques Villeneuve to NASCAR Cup racing next year? First up is a test and then a few races for Bill Davis Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series. Trucks? Villeneuve? Toyota? Count me in! I have always liked Villeneuve.

Congratulations to Warner Robins, Georgia, on their Little League World Series victory. That makes it two in a row for Georgia.

Does anyone really think the Joey Harrington led Falcons are going to do anything this year? Even the most ardent Homer has to expect Atlanta to stink up the Georgia Dome.

• Wins by week: Minnesota (1), Houston (4), Tennessee (5), Tampa Bay (11), Tampa Bay (15)
• Loses by week: Jacksonville (2), Carolina (3), NY Giants (6), New Orleans (7), San Francisco (9), Carolina (10), Indianapolis (12), St. Louis (13), New Orleans (14), Arizona (16), Seattle (17)

5-11 is actually pretty generous. I am assuming that Tampa Bay will suck, Minnesota will have QB issues, Houston will not be significantly improved, and even the magic of Vince will not be enough for Tennessee to win. Trouble is definitely ahead.

I decided to throw Namco Museum (PSP) and Madden 07 (PSP) on eBay to help clear up my PSP collection, which does nothing these days besides gather a significant amount of dust. Namco went up primarily because the analog nub sucks for the maze games, and the digital pad pretty much is worthless. Madden was pretty solid, but as I said, I want to thin out my PSP collection. Maybe I will decide that I cannot live without a portable Madden; doubt it, but maybe I will come back around to portable gaming at some point.

I do not write about Little League stuff very often; I think it is completely over exposed – too commercial.  Of course I had to congratulate the Columbus, GA Northern team last year because I grew up playing on the same fields.  Yesterday the team representing Georgia won the US Championship, and will go for the Little League World Series title today.  While I wish them the best of luck, I will not be watching the kids on TV this afternoon.

We are close; darn close.  College football kicks off Saturday, September 1 when Oklahoma State visits Georgia (nothing else before that game matters).  Man I cannot wait!  I guess I need to get some predictions up pretty soon or the naysayers will doubt the powers of my prognostications.

Still not in the mood to write about Vick, and as a matter of course I have pretty much written off the Falcons this year.  Of course I will watch.  The bright side of this mess is that I hope to pick up season tickets next year when I suspect tons of current season ticket holders will bail.

Yesterday Blu-ray versions 300 and The Fifth Element (remastered version) arrived from Amazon.  I watch 300 last night.  I am not going to say that it was a movie, but it was a ton of fun; good, solid, action flick, based on semi historical facts.  Probably not great reference materials, but this is the type of movie that I will actually watch again in a few months and probably will listen to the commentary.

I did run into my first strange (or problematic) PS3 experience.  With about five minutes left in the movie, the move stuttered and paused for a few sections.  Then with less than two minutes to go, the movie pretty much stopped, and the screen turned black.  I took out the disk, restarted the PS3, put the disk back in the PS3, and went to the final chapter, watching without any problems.  I am not sure what caused the skips/hiccups/pauses, but this was a brand new disk (right from the case to the PS3), the system does not have much mileage, and the PS3 was not in use prior to watching 300.  Will have to keep a watch on this to see if it happens again.

In mid July the Braves were within striking distance of the Mets, at only 1.5 games back, but things have not worked out that great since picking up Teixeira.  It is not Teixeira’s fault; he has been fantastic for the Braves.  In 23 games, Mark has 27 H, 19 R, 19 HR, 30 RBI, good for a .303 AVG (1.103 OPS).  The Braves 7 games back on the Mets; they can kiss the NL East goodbye.  The Wild Card is 4 games out of their grasp; you would think they could make that up, but I do not see it happening.

Last night I cooked my wife a killer meal – rib eye (perfectly medium rare), grilled sweet potatoes, and some asparagus (also on the grill, in a cast-iron skillet with virgin olive oil, garlic pepper mix, and a dash of oregano).  Of course plenty of red wine (a nice California zinfandel – forget the label) to go with the meal.  Let’s just say that it worked out well for me.  Life is good!

This may hit a little too close to home for some, ahem, but an interesting article about gaming widows. I particularly like the husband who tells his wife that he needs to call her back because he’s on a raid. Good stuff.

It’s been a while since I had a beer post (maybe all of a week or two), so I figured now would be a good time to set things straight.  First up is Ultra – always refreshingly light and sort of wholesome.  Not sure if the low carb thing really matters.  Follow that up with some Miller Lite and happy days are here again.

Breaking out the good stuff I guess, because my first born son turned nine today.  Hard to believe that Joshua is nine today, but that last bit about the Ultra Lite being good stuff was sarcasm at its best.  Well, at least it is the best I can do no short notice.

Kind of late for a Tuesday update, but I do what I can for our reader. Monday was power outage night – 7 hours of hell in the hot GA night – so no internet, no HDTV preseason football, no PS3, and more importantly, no AC. Tonight I am not really in the mood to write, but figured I would get a couple of things posted before enjoying a Makers nightcap.

The first AP Poll of the year was released over the weekend, featuring six SEC teams in the Top 25. LSU (2), Florida (6), Georgia (13), Tennessee (15), Auburn (18), and Arkansas (21). I have never cared much for preseason polls because they are almost pointless, unless you happen to get a good ranking. Why does Florida end the season as #1, but start off #6? How does Georgia move up 10 spots without playing a game?

I could post about Vick, but I do not think he is worth wasting time on right now. Maybe later if I get a burr.

It looks like the HD format wars are going to continue thanks to Paramount and DreamWorks going exclusively HD-DVD. I have seen this posted all over the place, but since I own a PS3 and not a HD-DVD player, I am biased. Check out Blu-ray.com for the story, a couple of other links, and some pissed off Blu-ray fans.

Makers Mark on the way …

One more quick post before I call it a night.  I just lost to Panthers 14-10.  I am not going to go into all the statistics, but I am getting better passing (Shockley is serviceable, average at best, but I like him better than Harrington), while rushing is still hit or miss.  I controlled everything about this game except for turnovers (-1) and the final score.  I had a chance to win, but could not convert on a last minute drive.

The best news of all?  A single turnover, which was a Dunn fumble on a vicious hit.  The bad news is that a Panther picked up the ball, promptly fumbled, then a second Panther gathered the ball and returned it sixty something yards for a TD.  That was the difference in the game.  A very enjoyable one at that.

Funny – McNair just aired it out into double coverage, resulting in a Giants interception.  Of course the DB eventually turned around, so we can only assume that there no one had eyes in the back of their head (unlike Madden DB AI play).  NBC did not bother to show a replay, so I cannot be sure exactly what happened, but I thought it would be fun to really pay attention to the passes to see how Madden stacks up to reality.

If I start a franchise, the first thing I have to do is trade for a QB, because Harrington stinks and due to his extremely low awareness score, Shockley is not much better. The following are a couple of recaps of games, with a few random observations. Both games are on Pro, with 5 minute quarters. The first game only has minor slider adjustments (+ penalties; and – kick off power), while the second one has a lot more turning (+ penalties, running, run blocking; – kick off power, INTs). I will post some settings once I get something that is a closer fit to my playing style.

Falcons 38 – Dallas 0

• Romo had 4 INTs
• Shockley was 4-6, 44 YDs, 0 TD, 2 INTs
• Harrington was 5-6, 66 YDS, 1 TD, 0 INT. Obviously I am only successful dinking and dunking with a short passing game.
• I am still only averaging less than 3 YDs per rushing attempt. The Falcons should be much, much better.
• Jones had two fumbles (to my 0). The CPU should have challenged the first, because Jones clearly fumbled after he was on the ground. I have yet to see the CPU challenge a turnover.
• On one play, Dunn fumbled, but I was pretty sure he was down, so I challenge, and the play was over turned.
• I have been spending a lot of time in replay mode to see what is what, looking for cheating, poor blocking, etc. Call me silly, but I love the NFL Films music that plays during the replays. Nice touch.
• I am getting pretty decent punt returns, but the CPU AI does not get a lot of attempts (ATL’s Koenen is good) unless I out kick my coverage or miss a tackle.
• Funniest animation to date was on a play where Romo goes into this crazy flip animation for a sack after someone barely taps his right toe. I guess this is where 60 FPS on the Xbox 360 could come in handy.
• I returned an INT and a fumble for a TD. I would have had a second time off of a fumble, but the TD was called back due to a clipping penalty.
• It is actually fun using one of the better (weapons based) defensive linemen. This is different than past Maddens. I feel like I can actually do some damage; stuff a run, sack the QB, or maybe cause the QB to hurry.
• On one play I got called for an off sides penalty. I had control of my player (green circle, so I am not crazy). The circle disappeared, and my DE jumped off sides. Must have been a random act of God.
• I still like the overall player control responsiveness, but at times I feel like the game over compensates with inertia that takes control of a ball carrier or a defender.

Despite the lopsided score, the game was still fun. The INTs hampered Dallas, and I just cannot get a decent offense going. In a strange sort of way, I can see this happening to the Falcons in real life this year. The QB situation is going to play havoc on the running game. The Falcons are going to be in serious trouble.

Falcons 29 – Texans 10

• This was the best game so far. If you throw out 14 points for the two INT TDs, then the game was much closer than the score indicated.
• Scoring summary: Green (HOU) 5 YD TD run, Horn (ATL) 76 YD reception from Shockley, Brown (HOU) 19 YD FG, Cundiff (ATL) 23 YD FG, Hall (ATL) 77 YD TD INT, Safety (ATL), Cundiff (ATL) 48 YD FG, Hall (ATL) 81 YD TD INT
• Shockley 7-11, 1 TD, 0 INT, 166 YDs, 137.4 rating
• Schaub 16-25, 0 TD, 2 INT, 183 YDs, 52.6 rating; Schaub was 7-10 at the half; 8 different receivers caught a pass
• Green 20 rushes for 93 YDS, 1 TD, 4.5 AVG/rush
• Dunn 12 rushes for 42 YDs, 3.5 AVG/rush
• HOU Total offense 279, 98 rushing, 181 passing
• ATL Total offense 189, 46 rushing, 143 passing (76 on one TD reception to Horn)
• Late in the 4th quarter, I managed to coffin corner kick a punt at the 1 yard line. On their first play, HOU had a nice run for 8-9 yards, but it was called back on a clipping penalty. The very next play, I tackled Green in the endzone for a safety.
• On Hall’s first TD INT, Hall was back-peddling, facing the QB the whole time. Very legitimate; no hints of cheating.
• On the second Hall TD INT, Hall probably jumped the route, but he was back-peddling, and perhaps more important, Schaub was looking in Hall’s direction the entire play.
• Cundiff’s 48 yard FG is the longest I have seen to date; it barely made it across the crossbar.

The good news is that I feel that the slider adjustments actually made the game better. Turnovers were down, the CPU put up a great ground attack, and the passing game would have been dandy if not for the two INTs. I am disappointed that I still cannot mount a decent ground game, but hopefully that will come with more slider settings and experience.

So far this Madden has me thinking “just one more game” which is not something I have felt from Madden in a long, long time. I also typically shy away from the slider game, but I do not mind so much (at least not right now). While Madden 08 is not producing realistic statistics, I am not bothered too much. If I can get the numbers a little more decent looking, I am going to be a happy camper.

Looks to be pretty sick stuff included by the fine folks at EA Sports.  After a solid day with the game, I have come to the conclusion that the DB AI cheats and that interceptions are based off of the QB in question, not DB AI skills.

The cheating stuff is pretty simple to spot.  Every DB breaks on the ball as soon as it leaves the QB arms.  Would not be that big a deal except that the guys all must have 360 vision or something.  I have had plenty of passes knocked down by a defender that magically sees the ball at the last minute, turns, deflects the pass.  I could go on, but I have better things to do tonight.

The next part is a little more interesting.  Falcons vs. Bears; I pick off Grossmen 4 times.  Falcons vs. Saints; I fail to pick off Brees, but I dropped at least 4 potential INTs.  Next up, I decided to do a more random sampling – as the Jets I took on the Cardinals.  Leinart gave up 7 (count ’em, 7) INTs.  I am going to hazard a guess that I am not going to get many INTs against P. Manning, McNabb, Brady, and Rivers, but I will get plenty against bottom ranking QBs.

Still having fun with the game, but the DB AI is something akin to black magic, the CPU mismanages the game clock, and moving the penalty meters up 5 clicks (to 55) results in about 10 personal foul and holding penalties a game.  I have yet to try the game online, but offline the game is fun (despite the previously mentioned problems).  I am not seeing jittery graphics, slowdown, or anything of the like.  Candy Mountain all around – sugary sweet and pretty.  The 360 version must look amazing.

More later; maybe … hopefully.

Damnation, where was this deal a couple of years ago when I switched to DirectTV? New customers can get a free World of Warcraft client plus 11 months free game time according to this release on WoW’s site. Old timers like myself will have to settle for free NFL because the WoW deal is only for new players.

All random impressions are based on default settings. Still early days, but figured I would share some thoughts:

• Lots of interceptions. The good news is that most of mine are fairly obvious; throwing into double coverage or miss reading zone coverage. The bad news is that a couple appear to be some sort of super human (well computer AI) feats of wonder.
• Playing as the Falcons results in most kickoffs ending in non-returns; clear out of the endzone or downing the kick. Michael Koenen has a hell of a leg in this game.
• Punt return coverage appears to be a little better than past games. Blocking is still suspect, but there is a chance to get a return. Still too many fumbles on the first hit.
• The new symbols that show different player’s characteristics are interesting. On one hand, I think it is nice look for match-ups (throw away from that great coverage DB), but on the other hand, the symbols sort of take away from the “realistic” experience, reminding me that I am playing game. If there is not a way to turn this off, the super sim crowd should be going nuts by now.
• In one game managed to tackle a CPU HB in the endzone for a safety. I have not seen that in a while.
• I have not given up many big plays. The only long TD reception against me came when I tried to jump in front of the ball, missed, resulting in an easy 50+ yard TD for the CPU.
• Averaging about 1 penalty per game; usually holding. Par for the course for EA.
• The CPU tends to not manage the clock. They break the huddle, line up, and run a play. I would guess that only 5-7 seconds run off the clock. This means more plays, but so far this is my biggest beef with the game. Not sure if there is a setting to accelerate the clock.
• In one game, I was up 14-0 at the two minute warning before the end of the second quarter. The CPU had the ball on third down, did not convert a running play, and called for a punt. Instead of trying to run time of the clock, they simply punted. Very poor clock management.

So far I am really enjoying the game. The last Madden I owned more than a couple of weeks was Madden 2004 (collector’s version with that SOB Vick on the cover), so maybe my Madden break had something to do with a “fresh” experience.

More impressions later. The good news for me is that I do not think the game is nearly as bad as a lot of reviews are claiming. One man’s trash I suppose.

I have read a lot of harsh comments about this year’s Madden, mostly along the lines of a slow, jittery framerate.  I guess I continue to show my age, and I continue to move towards a more casual gaming experience, because I just do not see this game as being terrible.

Granted, I have only played 10-15 minutes, but a quick play session should be enough to expose all sorts of graphical problems.  Maybe all the framerate issues are for online play, which I typically avoid.

My first impressions are that the graphics look very nice, but certain parts could be better.  The crowd animations are still uninspiring, and the sideline action is rather flat.  The developers also went for a strange fog-like appearance for everything at a distance that is not part of the field of play.  My oldest son asked why it was so cloudy in the Georgia Dome.

If the 360 version is looks 2-3 times better than the PS3 version, then hopefully I have something to look forward to next year (which is probably gives EA’s coffers something to look forward to as well).  If a faster framerate does make a difference, then give me more frames and 1080p.

I had no issues with the controls; they are crisp and responsive.  I have seen a couple of YouTube videos that indicate that at certain points the animations kick in and take control of your player.  I have not seen issues with “mario running” but it looks like some blocking around the pocket may be suspect (oops, just let the guy go and tackle my QB).

Finally, I put Vick on the bench; what a sick SOB.  My oldest son asked “Why is Vick in the game?  I thought he was in jail.”  Sad.

Speaking of bending it, Beckham got his first goal and an assist last night.  One dimensional or not, just an amazing display of talent; on a few kick, he bent it to the left;

Not really feeling it for Madden right now, or any gaming for that matter.  I got the game on Tuesday, but only put it in long enough to see if Vick was in the game (he was), which was about as far as I went with this one.  I have seen a lot of negative press on the PS3 version of Madden 08, but I am going to have to withhold my opinion until I actually spend some time with the game.  I will say that despite some of the negative comments on NCAA Football 08, I think it is a great game.  60 vs. 30 fps be damned.  The game is either fun or it is not.

Vick is probably not having much fun tonight.  Do I take it on the chin and call it a career, or do I fight the very bad fight?  The fall out in all this is that maybe I can get some season tickets once everyone decides to abandon their seats over Vick.

This one goes out to the one I love.