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)

Madden 2010 comes out this Friday, and while gamers around the world will be lining up at 11pm Thursday night to get a hold of the game, you can plan on seeing a good bit of the game during the Steelers-Cardinals game on ESPN earlier that evening. EA has linked up with ESPN to show random clips from the game. Via the Associated Press....

EA Sports usually launches "Madden" with a party — last year's "Maddenpalooza" was held at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. But this year, says marketing director Nathan Stewart, EA wants to "reach all our fans in all corners of the country." The main promotional effort involves a tie-in with ESPN's "Monday Night Football," which returns to television Thursday night.

The first "MNF" game is a preseason rematch between last season's Super Bowl contenders, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals. Not coincidentally, the cover of "Madden NFL 10" features a player from each team: Troy Polamalu of the Steelers and Larry Fitzgerald of the Cardinals.

"Madden" will be featured throughout the "MNF" broadcast as well as other ESPN programs Thursday, including "SportsCenter" and "NFL Countdown." The video game will also be promoted across ESPN's Web site and mobile applications.

Per usual, when it comes to things like this, as long as the clips don't overrun the broadcast, everything should be fine. The game does come out the next day, so the deal makes sense. If this was a regular season game, I'd be a little more concerned, but it's a preseason contest....so why not?

FYI- There will be another live-blog, both here and at 12 Step Drop, on Thursday night. We'll be covering the debut of Jon Gruden, as well as whatever fantasy questions there are that evening. Hope to see you there.

EA Sports teams with ESPN to promote `Madden' (AP)

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)

Every year I take great pride in picking apart the Madden player ratings, and this year's crop of scores is pretty darn interesting. The biggest shock has to be Nnamdi Asomugha in a tie as the top defensive player with Albert Haynesworth), Polamalu and Ed Reed, but there are certainly a lot more to debate as well. Two to discuss are Donovan McNabb being higher than Philip Rivers, and DeAngelo Williams tied for the third best RB ahead of Portis, Jackson and Gore. Here are the top ten for each position....

Quarterbacks:

1. Peyton Manning- 99
2. Tom Brady- 98
3. Drew Brees- 97
4. Kurt Warner- 94
5. Ben Roethlisberger- 93
6. Donovan McNabb- 91
7. Philip Rivers- 88
8. Carson Palmer- 87
8. Jay Cutler- 87
8. Tony Romo- 87

Running Backs:

1. Adrian Peterson- 97
2. Michael Turner- 95
3. LaDainian Tomlinson- 94
3. Brian Westbrook- 94
3. DeAngelo Williams- 94
6. Clinton Portis- 93
7. Steven Jackson- 92
8. Frank Gore- 91
9. Brandon Jacobs- 90
9. Thomas Jones- 90

Wide Receivers:

1. Larry Fitzgerald- 99
2. Andre Johnson- 98
3. Steve Smith- 97
4. Randy Moss- 96
5. Reggie Wayne- 95
6. Anquan Boldin- 94
6. Roddy White- 94
8. Brandon Marshall- 92
8. Calvin Johnson- 92
10. Terrell Owens- 91

Tight Ends:

1. Tony Gonzalez- 98
2. Jason Witten- 97
3. Antonio Gates- 95
4. Chris Cooley- 91
4. Dallas Clark- 91
6. Kellen Winslow- 90 7. Heath Miller- 88 8. John Carlson- 87
9. Zach Miller- 86
9. Owen Daniels- 86

Defense:

1. Nnamdi Asomugha (CB, Oakland Raiders)- 99
1. Albert Haynesworth (DT, Washington Redskins) - 99
1. Ed Reed (S, Baltimore Ravens)- 99
1. Troy Polamalu (S, Pittsburgh Steelers)- 99
5. Patrick Willis (LB, San Francisco 49ers)- 98
5. Jared Allen (DE, Minnesota Vikings)- 98
5. DeMarcus Ware (LB, Dallas Cowboys)- 98
8. Kevin Williams (DT, Minnesota Vikings)- 97
8. Ray Lewis (LB, Baltimore Ravens)- 97
8. Julius Peppers (DE, Carolina Panthers)- 97

Madden '10 Ratings (ESPN Video Games)

Larry Fitzgerald was on The Jimmy Fallon Show on Friday to promote Madden 2010, and brought along a few clips. The first were just shots of him getting tackled, but then he and Fallon brought out the big guns. Watch as Kellen Clemens goes down, and who his replacement is....

Now that's funny. Those graphics are insane, and I really hope they have the warmup bike in the game as well. Good stuff.

Jimmy Fallon Has Played Madden Already (Outside the Boxscore)

Madden Day is still one of my favorite times of the year, even though I'm thirty years-old (shh...don't tell anyone). The suspense leading up to it is pretty fun as well, and this year EA has decided to release the nine finalists competing for the right to get injured next season....er, get the cover. Here's who they're deciding between. From SBD via EA Sports....

EA Sports has announced the nine finalists to appear on the cover of the "Madden NFL 10" videogame, with the cover athlete to be announced Friday. The finalists are Steelers S Troy Polamalu, Colts QB Peyton Manning, Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald, Chiefs QB Matt Cassel, Cowboys LB DeMarcus Ware, Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, Giants RB Brandon Jacobs, Vikings RB Adrian Peterson and Ravens S Ed Reed

Matt Cassell?!?! Seriously??? Ummm....okay....sure. Other than that, the rest of the candidates seem worthy enough. It would be cool to see someone like Polamalu or Reed get it, because I think the last defensive player on the cover was Ray Lewis. The cover athlete for Madden '10 will be announced on Friday.

EA Narrows Possible Cover Athletes To Nine (Sports Business Daily - $)