If the news of Gus Johnson and Bill Raftery as announcers of the new NCAA Basketball game wasn't enough, this video will completely sell you on the game. CBS has allowed EA to integrate their entire graphics package into the game. Here's the video with bonus Gujo and Raftery interview....

Now that just looks awesome. I think EA has completely sold me on NCAA 2010 now. Bravo gentlemen....bravo.

I haven't bought a Basketball video game in years. The replay value is terrible, and for some reason, I'm absolutely terrible at them (it's probably more the latter). Well EA has gone and peaked my interest in NCAA 2010, by doing something that CBS should have done years ago. They've paired Gus Johnson and Bill Raftery for the call of the games....

The "HA HA!" at the end just gave me goosebumps. Bravo EA, I hope I am now able to play defense in the game, so I don't try to resell it back to Game Stop!

(For more on this, and the announcement of Raftery joining Johnson, head to Hot Clicks)

If I had spent 30+ years, doing the exact same thing each Summer, I don't know what I would do with myself if I didn't have to do it anymore. Apparently John Madden is going through that feeling now, but it doesn't seem to be bothering him. In an interview with the LA Times, he tells the paper that he's enjoying himself and isn't exactly leaving Football entirely....

Q: How’s retirement treating you?
Madden: It’s going well for me. But you know, it really hasn’t started yet. I retired from broadcasting football. So far, it’s been the off-season for me. The Hall of Fame game is the first game I would have done. So I really haven’t retired from anything until football season starts.

Q: Will you spending a lot more time on the virtual gridiron now?
Madden: That’s one thing I’m really looking forward to. Each week I’m going to watch all the games. I have this thing being built right now where I have nine 63-inch monitors. And I’m going to be able to put every game on television. I can watch them all at the same time.

Then I’m going to see more. When I was broadcasting, I would just zero in on the game I was doing. Doing this, I’m going to see more. I’m going to see all the trends. I’m going to see what every team does. Those trends and the things that they’re doing in the games on Sundays, those are the things we will put in the game.

While the above statement was in reference to his work on the 2011 edition of the Madden video game, there are rumors that you'll be hearing a lot of Madden on the radio. There are already talks to get him on Sirius, and you can expect a lot of guest appearance on shows throughout the country, as the season progresses.

John Madden talks about the virtual gridiron, the Madden Curse and life outside of the broadcasting booth (LA Times)

I know this has nothing to do with announcing, but I post this collection of songs every single year. Once again, EA Sports has put together an amazing collection of songs and artists for Madden '10, and here's who you can listen for when the game comes out on August 10th....

2Pac - Can't C Me
Airbourne - Heads Are Gonna Roll
Alice In Chains - Them Bones
B.o.B - Created A Monster
Bang Camaro - Revolution
Beastie Boys - Sabotage
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Cypress Hill - Get ‘Em Up
Helmet - Unsung
Iron Maiden - Aces High
Judas Priest - Painkiller
Kid Rock - I Am The Bullgod
Killswitch Engage - Reckoning
Korn - Blind
Mastodon - Divinations
Nas feat. Puff Daddy - Hate Me Now
Nirvana - Breed
Pantera - Walk
Public Enemy - Shut Em Down
Rage Against The Machine - Guerrilla Radio
Set Your Goals - Gaia Bleeds (Make Way for Man)
Slipknot - Duality
System Of A Down - Sugar
The Vanity Plan - Before I Die
Young Dre The Truth - Cheah Beah

If you want to check out the songs for the rest of EA's 2010 releases, click below....

EA Announces Fall Music Line Up for Sports Franchises (PR Business Wire)

EA Sports' NCAA '10 comes out the middle of this month, but the video game company is slowly releasing some clips of the game. We had one here last month, when it came out that EA was now on the game, but I had to also share this one. Erin Andrews will now stalk you as a highschool senior, all the way until you graduate College (*ahem*TimTebow*cough*). Oh sorry....in the game....the game people.

Really EA Sports? The Road To "Glory" with Erin Andrews??? Really?!?! I guess "The Road to My Dorm Room with Erin Andrews" made the cutting room floor.

NCAA Football 10 Offers Innovative “Road to Glory” Mode With Copious Erin Andrews (The Rookies)

Scott Van Pelt is your voice for the spanking new version of Tiger Woods '10, and the folks at EA Sports have decided to run some ads with the ESPNer. The premise is that SVP wants to be an actual golfer, but only his voice appears in the game. Thus, Tiger carries around a talking cardboard cutout of Van Pelt, and of course hilarity ensues....

Man that was rather long, wasn't it? However, very funny. "I Will Punch You In The Face!", needs to be in every golf telecast from now on.

Tiger Woods vs Scott Van Pelt, EA Sports Video (NESW Sports)

(Usually) Everyday I'll throw out a photo, you provide the caption, and then hilarity ensues. I'm also adding a handful of links at the bottom of the page that you should check out each day.

Yesterday's Winners....


"Hey wait a minute! I'm a very versatile actor. I was a cop in The Longest Yard remake. In Chuck & Larry I was a cop and in The House Bunny I was a ....WTF where is my agent?"- Jeremy

"BD: 5' 9". 120.
DP: Ding!"
- Mal

"DP: "So how did you and Andy first meet?"
BD: "After his 6th consecutive 2nd round grand slam loss I asked him if he wanted to go shopping first and then have sex. He got so excited when we got to the GAP that we spent 4 hours trying everything on and forgot about the rest of the evening."
- Yanksfan12

"Hook a few electrodes up to Keith Olbermann, grab some cards with a couple of wavy lines, and you've got yourself the beginning of Ghostbusters here."- Anon

"DP: "Remember that time you were in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition?
BD: "Yes, what about it?"
DP: "Yeah....that was awesome"
- Michael

And your winner of a copy of EA's NCAA '09 is (drumroll)........

"C'mon Brooklyn, they're not even all that funny. Most of these AA caption contest winners are just recycled Saved by the Bell quotes anyway."- Lammy742

We had almost 100 entries, and almost all of them were hilarious. Lammy decided to tap into my self-deprecating side, and came out victorious. Don't fret though my commenting friends....you still have four more chances! Scroll down for shot #2!!!
_______________________________________

Okay folks it's time! We're raising the stakes, and for this week and this week only, you will be playing for a copy of EA Sports' NCAA 2009. The rules are simple....you have to submit your caption with a registered blogger profile, have an email address linked within said profile, and you have to be funnier than everyone else (sorry Anons, you won't win if you don't register). If all of the above holds true, I'll get your information, and EA will send you the game on either PS3 or XBOX in the next week or so. It's that easy!

NCAA Basketball '09 (EA Sports)

Are you funny enough to create a caption for this photo of Magic Johnson at a release for his new book "32 Ways to be a Champion in Business" at the NBA Store in New York City?

It's been a few days since a Federal Jury ordered that the NFLPA was to pay over $28 million dollars to former players for using their likeness various years on Madden's video game franchise, and the announcer has yet to make a comment regarding the suit.

The back story is simple, and if you've ever played the game you'll know exactly what the lawsuit refers to. For years the Madden games would have "All-Time" teams that used just former player's numbers and likenesses, but not their names. A group sued on their behalf and it even came out in testimony that one official even told EA to "scramble" the players names and numbers so they couldn't be paid.

Now that they've been awarded the money, some of the ex-players want to hear at least some comments from Madden himself. Via Fox Sports....

The class-action lawsuit was filed in 2007 on behalf of 2,062 former NFL players, about 570 of whom were found to have appeared in various versions of "Madden" without compensation. The games include 142 vintage teams, among them the '66 Packers, the '71 Cowboys and a seemingly inordinate number of Raider teams. According to a plaintiff's exhibit, the Madden '05 Collector's Edition for PlayStation 2 includes every Raiders team from 1967-1977 except '73. Anyone who played for Oakland in those years played for Madden. In fact, the plaintiffs include any number of storied Raiders, guys like Ken Stabler, Jim Otto, Dave Casper and Ben Davidson.

"If John Madden knew that they were scrambling us, it's a disgrace," said Herb Adderley, a Hall of Fame defensive back who initiated the suit. "If he didn't know, well, no blame to him. ... But I'm sure he's seen some of these video games himself. I mean, I played against the Raiders in the Super Bowl. He can obviously see that the guy on '66 Packers and the '71 Cowboys is Herb Adderley.

"He should say something. It would really help if he would come out and say something to heal the animosity between the current and the retired players. It's been a real bad thing."

I never really thought things like this were a big deal, but if someone were to use my likeness in say a blogging video game and I didn't get anything out of it, I'd probably be a little upset too. And I'm pretty sure a Sports Blogging video game probably wouldn't approach the profits that Madden has. It'll be interesting to see if Madden discusses the issue, but if I were Herb Adderley, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Madden can be agent for change in NFL union (Fox Sports)

The good people at EA Sports decided to forward me a behind the scenes clip of how the announcers are brought into the mix. While I normally try to stay away from pimping products, EA actually directly thought of the readers and relevance of the clip before sending it along. I check it out, and it's certainly worth a look. If not for the technical aspects and voice overs, but at least for Erin Andrews. Enjoy!

Good stuff and now onto that announcement I mentioned earlier. EA has actually decided to sponsor the "Create A Caption" contest all of next week! The winner each day, as chosen by me, will receive a copy of the game which comes out next Tuesday. I will have copies on both XBOX and PS3, so hopefully you'll get the one that works for you.

I'm out for the rest of the day, but S2N will be by tomorrow for the PWCs. Have a good one, and be sure to get your funneh ready for next week!

Last year, in EA's Tiger Woods 2008, a Youtuber found a glitch that let you hit off water and dubbed it the "Jesus Shot". Well Tiger Woods would like you to know that the "Jesus Shot" isn't a glitch and that he can, in fact, walk on water. Via You Been Blinded....

Pretty cool if you ask me. That kid is going to be the star of his highschool for about a week now and hopefully he (like us bloggers) can get out of the basement and meet a girl. Huzzah!


Video: Tiger Woods Walks On Water (You Been Blinded)

I'm sure a lot of you are like me in that you've been playing Madden since it's inception. Well given the 20th year of the game (doesn't that make you feel old) coming out this August, EA has put together a video of Favre highlights throughout the years....

Pretty intense as far as video game commercials go. I also wonder if Brett Favre is going to just be a Free Agent in the game or if you'll have to unlock him through some complicated skills competition. Let the Madden hype machine commence!