The Blog for the Sports Gamer

2K Sports has some previews of their upcoming baseball game. Sounds pretty interesting, although it would be even better if we had many baseball choices for our Xbox 360s, wouldn’t you think? So to recap, if you need an MLB game for the X360 there’s one choice. Microsoft isn’t going to do sports games…greeeeaaat.

For the record, I’ll gamefly NCAA, but I’ll probably pass on buying it. Why isn’t it out for the 360 again? Or at least compatible? Maybe it’ll be a good way to say “hey, we tried, we just used the same engine, so forget it based on sales”..or something.

Today the Orioles traded Jorge Julio and John Maine to the Mets for pitcher Kris Benson. While Mr. Benson’s pitching has been “meh” (although he does have more wins than losses), take a look at his wife. (Warning: Although she’s fully clothed here, the enormous peek-a-boo-nipples may not be safe for work, or if your wife is watching your computer reading).

So there’s that. Actually I am excited about this trade, because Julio was a lot like BJ Ryan in that you never knew what to expect. Julio had one pitch — it reminded me of the old Hardball game on the C64. Up gave you FASTBALL!, down gave you FASTBALL!, left gave you FASTBALL! and right gave you FASTBALL!. They say he had other pitches but I doubt it. It was all or nothing with Jorge. I did enjoy saying his name though, as my friend Kevin will attest during many Sox-Orioles games, there was nothing more exciting than saying here comes “Jorge the MEAT Julio” and he would throw 95+…and it was all or nothing. K, K, K, or HR, HR, 3B, BB, HR, HR. More often than not it was the latter.

So, yeah, I like this trade. Excuse me while I continue to google “Anna Benson”.

Okay, it’s not really, but I just finished reading George RR Martin’s A Feast for Crows (best ongoing fantasy series in the biz right now) and that’s what this image makes me think of. All I can say is god bless the folks at Creative Assembly.

It seems I’ve already broken one of my 3,590,189.235 New Year’s resolutions (the one about posting more consistently). I usually do my writeups over lunch while at work, but for the first time in a year I can actually see an end to the top of my To Do list, which had been about as high as the launch tower at Cape Canaveral so I’ve been more focused on that.

On to the Lions.

I’m on the fence with the hiring of Rod Marinelli as head coach simply because I’d never heard his name until it started surfacing last week with regards to the Lions. No question he’s got the “discipline” and “toughness” attributes this team needs. But it’s dangerous to just assume you can bring in a task master and expect a team to respond. (Hello Doug Collins.) So part of me was conjuring up images of Bobby Ross screaming, “I don’t coach that!!!” just prior to spontaneously combusting, but those “in the know” seem to think he’s not Bobby Ross crazy so much as he is passionate and demanding. Certainly accountability appears to be huge with this guy, and there’s no question this team needs that.

Actually, the more I read about the guy the more I’m convinced he might be the right hire. Not because he conjures up images of the drill seargent from Full Metal Jacket, but because his asset seems to be adapting his coaching to his personnel. A coach with a gameplan is worthless to me if he can’t adapt it to the type of players he’s got. That said, I’d pay $200 to hear him shout, “What is your major malfunction numnuts?” at Detroit columnist/professional jack ass Rob Parker. My god is that guy a sanctimonious waste of space (also see the Highlight Reel blog under the headling “Parker blasts Marinelli for not making a 2006 playoff prediction“. I can’t stand reporters who ask tough questions as thinly veiled attempt to be a part of the story rather than report it. The “will this team make the playoffs” questions is a staple of inept reporting in my book. Why not just ask him what movie is going to win the Oscar for Best Picture and hold him accountable for that too?

But I digress…

The Tampa Bay press and fan base seems to all be of one voice in saying that this guy has serious head coach credentials and that they’re both happy he’s getting a chance and bummed to lose him. No one can seem to find a former player that has negative word one to say about the man, and it’s obvious that the only reason he’s not been a coordinator yet is because Tampa Bay hasn’t allowed him to interview despite multiple requests from other teams. The jury will certainly be out because he’s going to have his hands full with the malcontents and shiftless layabouts on the Lions roster, but certainly the days of weekly player backstabbings of the quarterback to the press will be over (and I don’t just mean Dre Bly, who can at least back up his rhetoric on the field).

My hope, spoken through Kool-Aid drinking goggles, is that he’ll start using Kevin Jones the way he ought to be used (ie - giving him the damn ball 20 times or more a game) and will find some bread and butter plays that the offense can actually hang its hat on. If he can improve the line play (assuming Harrington stays), I still think we’ll see an NFL QB emerge from Harrington’s arm. Not All-Pro, but better than what we’ve seen. Joey, as others have said, went through the crucible this year and he didn’t break. He’ll be stronger for that. I think he’s more than ready to lead and I think the right system would do his game a world of good if the baggage he must surely have from Detroit doesn’t weigh him down. Defensively, well, we know the guy can coach defensive players. Yes he was the line coach, but current and ex-Bucs defensive players outside the line (like John Lynch) have talked about how much he meant to their game. If nothing else, I have no doubt the Lions will D will be better next year.

Then again, I’m the guy who thought they’d be 10-6 this year.

As I have mentioned, I’m really getting back into boardgames. I have two distinctly different groups that I play games with — my buddies — guys that I have known for a long, long time who are serious gamers, and my wife Mary, who isn’t.

I’ll talk about the gaming group games later but I wanted to mention some stuff I am playing with Mary atm. I wanted to get stuff for Mary and I to play because we’re starting to get into a rut. Mary gets home around 6, we eat, play with Ashley, watch mindless TV, she goes to bed around 10, rinse, repeat.

I wanted us to do stuff together that doesn’t involve Blockbuster, a movie theater, food, the computer, or the TV.

Boardgames seemed a logical choice. She’d play basketball with me but after three ACL operations…that’s a no go, too.

Anyway, after doing some research and finding a sale at the local mall, I picked up a train game called Ticket to Ride. Check out that link to get a ton of info on it, but it’s basically a train game that can be learned in a matter of minutes — the rulebook is literally 4 pages long. It’s easy, highly accessible, strangely additive, and a wonderful game to cut a new player’s teeth on. Mary has asked to play it the past two nights with no prodding from me. I think I have created a monster.

I’m waiting on a few online orders to show up including:

• A card game caled Guillotine (I love this game but we’ll see what Mary says)
• A more hardcore game for the game group called Runebound 2nd Edition with 4 “card expansions” (Sorry Dan, I couldn’t resist…I found it on sale…I have no willpower
• Carcassonne, which I hear is another very good 2-player game that is easy to learn.
• And finally Shadows over Camelot, a game from the same company (not the same designer) of Ticket to Ride. This is a Co-Op game from what I understand that sounds really cool.

This is my first MVP Baseball game on the consoles. I’ve always been a PC baseball guy whenever possible so I have always played the series on my computer. That doesn’t mean much…just thought I’d share.

Anwyay, after playing a few quick games tonight, I have a few notes to share about the NCAA baseball game, listed out in traditional “Bill Notes” form which means break out the bullet points!

• The game looks grainy looking to me. Maybe this is console-itis? The PC version of MVP last year looked a LOT better than this. Now, I personally don’t care all that much about it, but it’s not a drop dead gorgeous game.
• Ohio State’s baseball team is not Ohio State’s football team! We’re a B-. Damn. heh
• I do like that the bullpens are pretty weak on a lot of teams. Get past that #1 pitcher and watch out…
• Even thouygh it’s early, I do see more control issues here than in the MLB version. Will there be enough walks and Ks? I dunno yet, but it looks promising.
• I like zone hitting SO muchy more than the usual MVP swing method. I’m not a big fan of the new analog swing; give me my zone hitting damn it.
• I like that you have power, contact, and plate protection options now.
• Pitching feels just like MVP last year, although the umps are tougher on the corners. I see a lot of balls called that I know would have been strikes last year. This is good.
• People complaining about a “lack of college atmosphere” have apparantly never been to a regular season college baseball game… which I assume is in fact most people.
• The PbP is kinda weak and stale and I can’t hear Mike Patrick without waiting for Paul McGuire to chime in.
• Hitting is HARD. Even on Varsity lvl and with Zone hitting on, it’s not easy. At least not yet.
• The CPU SAC Bunts! Yeah!!
• I haven’t touched any of the Dynasty mode stuff yet.
• Nice hit variety thus far. Choppers, liners, bounders, etc.
• Lotsa sliders. Haven’t touched them yet. (Not that I won’t…it’s just too early to do that stuff)
• So far, after a few games, nothing that screams, “That was !&@%ing stupid.” I consider this a huge plus.
• I’m seeing a lot of errors. Well, not a crazy amount, but more than in a MLB game.
• Yes, they carry aluminum, and no, the TING isn’t as loud as I’d like it! More later…

I plan on grabbing this after I drop Ashley off at Pre-K. I’ll try to get some thoughts posted this evening. Buzz is very good on this one (not review buzz but gamer buzz) so I’m looking forward to it.

Oh, as an aside — I rarely mention web reviews on the blog but TeamXbox posted a review of the game and gave it a 7.something and rated it such mainly because it didn’t have the MLB license. Does that seem fair to you?

It hurts. No matter how you slice it, the lack of an official pro license (in a sport where the following of the pro level is strong) for this year’s MVP holds this title back a bit.

I really do not want to turn the blog into nothing more than a “Let’s Pimp My Book” website but when I read a review of the book on a popular website like Gamers with Jobs (eat your heart out Harris! I feel the need to share it with you guys. I keep doing this because I am both thrilled and amazed at the feedback I have received since its release and I know of no other place to talk about it than here.

My biggest fear when I finished the first draft, even more than the book tanking, was that gamers — real gamers — wouldn’t take to it because each entry is only one page and not super detailed. Anyway, people seem to really like it…and that makes me happy.

…well it’s rather ironic that Kelly Clarkson has banned American Idol from using her songs, don’t cha think? It’s like rain, on your wedding day; it’s a free ride, when you’ve already paid…

Lots of Tv to watch now. 24, American Idol, Scrubs, the Shield…and it’s just now Wedneday. Damn, the Cable DVR is busy!

She seemed like a shy girl when they met, but a few drinks later, they were…normalizing the flesh paté. Sorry, but I find this hilarious. (Thanks Steve)

But Amazon was nice enough to print the Gamer’s Tome Introduction on its buy page today. Another 5-star feedback rating was also posted. (Thanks Rob) Even if sales are low (and I have no idea if they are or not) the fact that the feedback has been so overwhelmingly positive is a huge relief for me.

I still have some copies of the book here that I haven’t gotten rid of yet so I’ll think of another contest to give another signed copy away. Maybe a Super Bowl score contest? Any ideas? Oh, I know — obscure Ohio State Football trivia! (I kid)

It’s an amazing couple of days, and I’m not talking about the grand opening of my new office — I’m talking about the Clinton/Gore tag team duo starting to stir the pot against the President. Regardless of what happens, it’s always good to see some people developing balls to say it publicly..albeit just a tad late and I doubt it’ll do anything at this point, which probably explains why they are doing it now. I thought Gore’s allegory to the illegal wiretapping of MLK was right on, especially at MLK day. He sure does know how to make a splash..but I wonder if that whole Howard Dean endorsement made it tougher for him.

Speaking of inept Presidents, anyone watching 24? Damn that show is good. I think the next time I speak with my wife and meet her for dinner, I will tell her I’m in the Northeast Corner of the restaruant in a flank 2 position. Interesting to see Lord Of The Rings guy in there too. The one thing that bothers me about 24 is that there’s always someone bad near someone of power. It’s just a little too weird that with all that vetting they can’t find all these moles? I mean seriously…

Of course American Idol starts tonight, that’s always enjoyable family viewing…and then when the kids go to bed, there’s the Shield, which is very good.

I haven’t played any games recently but I have really enjoyed my Blackberry 7100. NEXTEL’s phones have GPS and TeleNav has to be the best thing since sliced bread. Not only can I find out the cheapest gas in any area I’m in, it will also lead me to the gas station. Pretty cool. I’ll make back the monthly subscription ($10/mo) just back in gas savings!

Just another quick book note. I found out today that Que has posted a sample chapter of the book on its website. There’s no screenshots and the layout looks kinda funky compared to the book version, but this will give you at least some idea of what the book is like — at least the January-October retrospective section, that is.

Check it out here (click on the March 2005 chapter at the bottom).

As posted on Bucknuts today. I guess you need to have heard these Bud Light “Men of Genius” Ads for it to make any sense.

The next great Bud Light radio spot:

“Bud Light presents Real Men of Genius”
(Reaaaaal Men Of Genius)
Today we salute you, Mr. Delusional Michigan Fan.
(Mr. Delusional Michigan Faaaaaan!)
Season after season, year after year, you try to justify your absurdly high preseason ranking.
(Clutching at straws!)
Season after season, year after year, you scramble to make futile attempts at damage control when the Wolverines lose to a grossly inferior opponent.
(How’d Northwestern score fifty fouuuuuur?)
Inevitably, you’ll bring up the past, and boast of National Championships won 40 years before you were born.
(Those were the daaaaaays!)
You will point out that you have more wins than any other program as though that is relevant to the current season.
(Been playing since the 1870s!)
Go on, ignore that home loss to your archrivals in the regular season finale and continue to believe that you’ll defeat your bowl opponent with striking ease.
(We’ll win by thirteeeeeeey!)
So crack open an ice cold Bud Light, oh Emperor of Excuses, and take comfort knowing that when you don’t finish in the top 25, you’ll be back to number three when the preseason polls come out next year.
(Mr. Delusional Michigan Fan!)

Sorry Todd. Payback for the 90s, man.

Kinda funny, but I don’t think it’s a joke.