Month: August 2008

#1 Georgia easily defeated Georgia Southern 45-21, but it was never that close. Georgia was up 24-0 at the half, and 38-0 mid-way through the third quarter before getting a little sloppy.

Uga VII (Loran’s Best) – Sic ’em

Of course when the competition is a Division I-AA team (or whatever they call it these days), you cannot really take too much out of the victory. There were a few stand outs on offense:

• Stafford was 13-21, 275 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs.
• Moreno had 112 all purpose yards. 8 carries for 59 yards (7.4 yards/rush), with 3 TDs. 2 receptions for 53 yards.
• King (backup HB) had 12 carries for 95 yards (7.9 yards/rush), all of which came in the second half.
• Walsh (unproven freshman) was perfect on extra point attempts (6 for 6), and on field goals (booted a 52 yarder).

Next week should be more interesting, as Georgia plays hosts to Central Michigan.

ACC Looks Pitiful
If #9 Clemson is the best the ACC has to offer, and #24 Alabama is a pretty good team (but not great), than woe is the ACC, as Bama hung the Tigers by their collective tails, 34-10. Ouch.

At least the ACC can take solace in #23 Wake Forests 41-13 victory over Baylor, and Maryland’s 14-7 win over stalwart Delaware. The ACC has to take their bones any way they can get them, because the weekend was not pretty.

• #17 Virginia Tech took it on the chin against East Carolina.
• South Carolina sunked North Carolina State 34-0.
• #3 USC walloped Virginia 52-7.

Big Ten Oh No, Not Again
Wow. Way to go Michigan. The Wolverines go down in their home opener in consecutive years. At least Utah is better competition than Appalachian State, but still, the former big boys of the Big Ten should win this type of game, no questions asked.

Michigan State going down 38-31 to California is not too embarrassing. Somewhat respectable, but I expect smash mouth football to rule the day over West Coast play.

Same for #20 Illinois, they lost 42-52 to #6 Missouri. No shame in that one.

Big 12 Follies
Chalk one up for the Sun Belt Conference. Arkansas State pulled off an amazing upset over Texas A&M, 18-14. How on earth does that happen?

SEC Shame of the Week
How does Mississippi State go down 22-14 to Louisiana Tech?

Go Dawgs!

Sorry for the sparse updates last week. Business travel, more work stuff, and some family time equaled no time for updates. Actually on the plane to San Antonio I put in some time with Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection for the PSP. This one or The Gottlieb Collection are mainstays for my PSP; pretty much nothing else these days. I always take a bagful of PSP games on the plane, but usually do not get to most of them.

I have put my Falcons season tickets to good use. I have been lucky enough to take my two oldest boys to the two home preseason games. Friday night was special because my oldest son turned 10. So we got a nice birthday game, tailgate, father son(s) throw around in the parking lot, a Falcons win, some beer, and other good stuff.

A week ago against the Colts, Matt Ryan looked shaky at best, going 8-16, 62 yards, and 1 really bad looking interception. Last Friday night against the Titans, Ryan look fairly comfortable. While Ryan missed a couple of reads that could have resulted in TDs (over throws), Ryan was 15-21, 102 yards, 1 TD, and 0 INTs. Most Falcons fans missed Ryan’s debut as a starter, even if it was still the preseason; no way there was more than 30K at the Dome.

Matt Ryan – starting QB

It was nice to see Ryan get plenty of cheers when the offense was introduced. The end result? Ryan is now “officially” our starting QB. The Vick era can be officially dead and buried.

I sound be back to a regular rotation this week. Good gaming!

Georgia is ranked #1 in the AP and Coaches Poll. Scary stuff for the start of the season. As I said after the Coaches Poll was released, I will certainly pull for the Dawgs, but I think they have little chance of going undefeated.

The schedule is just too f’ing hard. I see this year’s schedule as four mini schedules:

• The Georgia Southern (Aug 30) and Central Michigan (Sep 6) home dates are going to be breezes.
• Going on the road to South Carolina (Sep 13) and #15 Arizona State (Sep 20) is going to be rough. Forget the fact that the Fighting Chickens upset Georgia last year; they always play the Dawgs tight. No idea what to expect from the Sun Devils. Georgia does not typically travel out of conference.
• Next up are three difficult home games. #24 Alabama (Sep 27), #18 Tennessee (Oct 11), and Vanderbilt (Oct 18). The Volunteers took Georgia behind the woodshed last year. Alabama will be tough. Vanderbilt has upset Georgia in recent years, and could again if the Dawgs are looking ahead to their next opponent.
• It is extremely unlikely for the Dawgs to make it to 7-0, but if they do, the two most difficult games are up next. On the road against #7 LSU (Oct 25), followed by the World’s Largest Cocktail Party against #5 Florida (Nov 1).
• Follow up the last Tigers and Gators with two more difficult road games, which makes it four in a row on the road. Kentucky (Nov 8th) and #10 Auburn (15).
• The Dawgs finish up their season at home with Georgia Tech (Nov 29). If Georgia enters this game 11-0, Sanford Stadium is going to be nuts.

I think the Dawgs will go 6-1, 1-1, 1-1, 1-0, which will be good for a 9-3 record. Certainly not National Championship material, but not too bad for the brutal schedule in front of them. Hopefully I am wrong, and we are in store for a magical season.

Go Dawgs!

Yesterday was one of those rough ones. You know the kind of workday where you come in early, leave late, see oh so little light at the end of the tunnel, but finally get some closure to the day so you can go home to your sleeping family kind of days? One of those types of days that always seems to come up when a new game ripe for impressions sits around collecting dust kind of days? Need a stiff drink and a strong upper lip, chin up type of days?

Ah, it’s not all the bad. Some people can not put food on the table or fill up their cars with gas. Or their health sucks. Or maybe their kids are in the Middle East fighting for our freedom (or maybe even gave up their life in our defense).

OK, enough doom and gloom. When I got home from work last night my new Dan Post boots were waiting on me, along with a nice Maker’s Mark, and some Olympic action on NBC. Good times at last!

I hope to get in some more Madden and Head Coach talk over the weekend. Lots of stuff going on, but I am sure Saturday and Sunday will see a post or two.  First Falcons game (vs. Colts) is Saturday night, and I will be in Texas for a few days early next week.

BTW, nice upwards spike in readers this week, mostly checking out my bitching around the NCAA Football 09 patch mess. Thanks to my longtime readers, and hope you new ones stick around for more of the needful.

Finally! I am downloading it as we speak. Been a long wait, but at least we finally have the roster patch. Before starting a session of Madden, I decided to throw in NCAA Football 09 to see if I would be prompted for an upgrade. Imagine my surprise to (finally) see that v1.10 was available for download.

This patch thing has been a complete goat fuck. First, the need to patch the game. Second, the long wait. Third, the patch was rejected by Sony due to who knows what reasons. With all that said, I am thankful that we are getting patches for this game, but as I have previous said, the next patch (i.e. Patch #2 or the gameplay patch) is the real prize.

Now it should be safe to start a dynasty, but we can always start complaining about the wait for second patch. Let the countdown begin.

Earlier this week starting LF Trinton Sturdivant had a knee injury and was taken to the local hospital as a precaution. It looks like he is going to be done for the year. This is a huge blow for the Bulldogs because Sturdivant was a member of the SEC All-Freshman team, starting all 13 games last year. Now the question is who will protect Matthew Stafford’s blindside?

Georgia faces a brutal schedule, and luck has to play into a National Championship run. Early signs and injuries are not pointing in a favorable direction.

Go Dawgs!

As I said a few minutes ago, PS3 users are still waiting for the “roster” patch (or patch #1) to be released.  I really do not understand what the hold up is, but when I started up Madden 09 I was presented with a 24MB download for v1.10.  If EA can have a patch ready for Madden day one, I really do not understand WTF is taking so long with NCAA Football.

I could care less about the patch except for a couple of things.  First, I have not started a dynasty because of the promised gameplay fixes in the “gameplay” patch (or patch #2).  Second, I see little chance of getting to the second patch without the first one being released.  As each day passes, the chances for a quick resolution slowly slip away.

Oh well.  At least this year I can have a crap for a running game, and piss poor robo-QBs in my NCAA and NFL football games.  Consistency matters with this type of stuff.

And no, I have not been drinking.  Just one ticked of gamer.

As of 9:30 PM EST, the NCAA Football 09 patch has still not been posted. Where is the f’ing patch for the PS3? Now that Madden is out, will anyone care? I love NCAA Football (the series, not necessarily this year’s game) so I want to see a quality gameplay patch, but I will be damned if we will see it anytime soon since the first roster patch cannot seem to be released.

So I open Madden and jump right into the Madden IQ crap. Some of this stuff seems contrived. Let’s just call it down right BS. My IQ sucks; 498.  Funny, this score is actually lower than my demo score.  Somehow I have regressed.

For my first game I have the Saints visit the Georgia Dome. Call me a bitter old man, but this first game does not leave me feeling all that enthused for Madden. There is a reason that I have not really gotten into Madden the last few years. Typical pattern is purchase, play less than two weeks, become disappointed, sell on eBay.

Right out of the box this one just screams typical Madden. No running game and unrealistic pass percent completion numbers. Brees goes 15-19 for 136 yards. I know my Madden IQ sucks, but come on; this is shades of this year’s NCAA Football. WTF? Of course running is the polar opposite. McAllister has 19 yards on 15 attempts, while Turner has 11 yards on 7 attempts. Give the CPU a cookie for at least making 15 rushing attempts.

Adding insult to injury, after my 10-3 loss, my IQ drops 10 points to 489. Ouch. I guess I am getting too old for this crap.

Oh well; getting late for this bitter old man. Will have to take another crack at it tomorrow.

It looks like Amazon has delivered on their “Release-Date Delivery” option. Madden shipped last night from their Louisville, KY distribution center, and is currently in Albany, GA UPS facility, which is about 90 minutes from my house. Amazon used the “Next Day Saver” option, but that should still be good for delivery late this afternoon.

So the good news is that I will use Amazon for all my future purchases, if they are going to continue to offer Prime users release-date service. The bad news is that I bet I get stuck at work, and do not get to partake in Madden right away.

I am really enjoying Eden; it is like three games in one. First, is the whole, complete all the levels while exploring concept. Second, is the high score and race against the clock old school gaming concept. Third, is the trophy reward system, which is well, a rewarding gaming concept.

I am not very far into the game. First two gardens are complete, and I have earned two trophies for clearing (rather growing) all seeds on said levels. The game is fun and highly addicting. It is really easy to get in a zone, and just keep plugging along. Good stuff and well worth $9.99.

While the Falcons took one on the chin last night, 17-20 at Jacksonville, there was encouragement. Matt Ryan was 9/15, for 113 yards, and 1 TD. He started off shaky, and at times his throws were a little off, Ryan managed to direct the offense fairly well.

Redman started, and did not look so hot, going 3/6 for 13 yards. Then Ryan entered, and while he did not knock everyone’s socks off, there is reason to believe (or at least hope) that he will be able to manage a game. Yes, this was a preseason game, but Ryan did get to go up against most of the Jaguars defensive starters.

The Falcons brass may decide to bring Ryan along slowly, but based on last night’s game, I expect that Ryan is going to get a lot of time in the next three games. After all, playing is the only way to learn. Cannot wait for next Saturday against the Colts. Should be fun!

Matt Ryan – looking good baby!

Other players of note, Turner had 22 yards on 5 attempts. I thought Snelling looked great – 32 yards on 4 attempts, and a nice 47 yard pickup on a screen. I hope Thomas Brown makes the team, but he looked so-so on kick returns. On defense, second round pick Curtis Lofton was all over the field.

It’s preseason, and I know the Falcons are not going to be all that good this year, but I am excited to get closer to the start of some football.

Go Falcons!

I have not really been too inspired to watch must of this year’s Olympics.  I have seen a few random sports here and there – men’s swimming, a few minutes of men’s gymnastics, women’s field hockey, and woman’s handball.  I had no idea the last two were even sports.  Lacrosse is one thing, but field hockey?  I guess these are just not Southern traditions.

I also have seen some soccer here and there, including today’s US National men’s near miss (dare I say debacle) against the Netherlands.  Down 1-0, the US had two nice goals to pull ahead 2-1, but gave up a stupid penalty in extra time resulting in a disappointing 2-2 finish.  Oh well, so close, but so far away.

Now we have the first big test for the US men’s basketball team (vs. China).  First quarter has been very entertaining; I think much more so than a typical NBA game.

Not sure what else will catch my fancy, but NBC is throwing up enough coverage on multiple channels at all hours of the day to find something interesting.  The 12 hour time difference sucks, but NBC seems to be doing a decent job juggling the schedule to bring some quality events live in the early morning hours.

I just downloaded Qore Episode 3, and was not left feeling very satisfied. For starters, it was a pain in the ass to download this episode. I thought part of the deal with a Qore subscription was that new episodes would automatically be detected and downloaded. Not so much. I could not find an option to download the newest Qore installment, and in frustration, I finally went into download history section of the PlayStation Store and clicked on Qore Annual Subscription. That did the trick; the August edition (or Episode 3) started downloading.

Why am I dissatisfied, dare I say disappointed, with Qore? Too little content, very few demos, and nothing really exclusive worth writing home about.

• DC Universe Online – two videos and an art gallery.
• Lego Batman – two videos and an art gallery.
• Baja: Edge of Control – two videos and an art gallary
• NBA 09 (The Inside; The Life or some such subtitle) – two videos and a free throw mini-game.
• “What’s Hot” – video for Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway and a box art gallery of 5-6 upcoming games.
• Download Center – Qore Theme, Resistance 2 beta, and Calling All Cars (full game for Qore subscribers only).

The Resistance 2 beta will be open in late September, but I am not keeping my fingers crossed or anything because I never saw the SOCOM beta open up.

The August edition of Qore contained about 45 minutes of viewable content. That is it. I am disappointed that more content and demos were not included. The interviews are interesting, but way too brief, and leave you feeling all empty inside.  At this point, Qore has been an utter waste of money. Looking forward to seeing if things change with Qore Episode 4.

So where the heck is the NCAA Football 09 patch for the PS3? It is already out for the 360 … no news on when it will be available for the PS3, but perhaps any day. One of the developers posted the following yesterday at OS:

“The patch is back with Sony now. We are hoping to get approval by the end of the day (~7PM Pacific) at which point I will push the patch over to the retail servers.

Again, this is what we are hoping for, no guarantees. I’ll keep you all updated as I find out more.”

The real gold is Patch #2, but we cannot get there from here until Patch #1 is released. Too bad Sony is so f’ing slow to make the patch available.