The Blog for the Sports Gamer

I didn’t get to see any of the games tonight, I was working all day unpacking boxes (fun).

Anyway, great to see IND lost. Awesome. After seeing Inside the NFL, I hope that Bettis makes it. Hey, speaking of class, I did see the end of the CAR-CHI game tonight. That crotch grab to the fans was all class, Mr. Delhomme. Oh and in the IND game, I bet Adam V would have made that FG.

So now it’s Den vs Pit at Denver. (Go PIT! Denver can eat one). And Car vs Sea in a battle that no one really cares about. Well, you know what I mean…Carolina is a tough team, they beat NE earlier this year and looked good. I know jack about Seattle.

I did have a chance to play Kameo earlier today. Didn’t play a whole lot but from early looks I’m not sure why it got reamed so bad in reviews. One annoying thing is the camera, but what game doesn’t have that as a problem?

Tomorrow is a federal holiday, but I gotta work to get the place open on Tuesday. Oh and it’s 10 degrees. Life is delicious.

Just a quick little update from me today. Still lots of crazy stuff going on here in Abnerland. We have had about 5 house showings, and even though we have had “interest” — no official offers yet. I’m really not all that concerned yet as the new house won’t be ready until the end of March, so I really don’t want to sell it now anyway. I do NOT want to do the temp housing thing so we’re fine with waiting a bit.

As for the new home, things are moving right along. The framing is done, windows are in, and they are working on plumbing and electric. I am amazed at how swiftly things are getting done. I’m waiting for that big, bad, new home build roadblock but so far so good.

I still dunno how the book is selling. The Amazon.com rank goes up and down like the NASDAQ so I’m not sure how it’s really doing. The worst I have seen it (on Amazon) is 400,000 and the best, which happened a few days ago after Bill Harris plugged it on Dubious Quality, is 14,400. It’s usually around 80 to 100,000 but I have absolutely no idea what theat really means. I did get another very positive reader feedback on Amazon (click the book icon) from a longtime Usenet reader, which I greatly appreciate. (Thanks Kevin) I guess I can hang my hat on the fact that of the handful of people that I have received feedback from…all have liked the book. So that’s something. My biggest hurdle remains getting word out. Again, Que isn’t doing much (nothing at all to my knowledge) to spread word so I’m pretty much working as a 1-man PR firm. I admit to being a tad frustrated when a gaming blog like Bill’s makes a mention of it, saying it’s a good book, and Amazon sales go up significantly. To me, this means that there is a potential market for something like this but if no one knows about it…ah well. It’s easier to just blame Todd.

I do actually have a few gaming nuggets I want to talk about. I am surprisingly anxious to play the EA Sports college baseball game. Not because IGN gave it a good review, but rather because I love college sports, and even though college baseball is off the radar for most people, I think this game can be a lot of fun if the gameplay is solid just because it’ll be something a little different. We don’t get a lot of “different” anymore in sports gaming, and that’s a damn shame. I do wish the game was out on PC because I hate that the modders can’t really go to work on it like they did MVP 05 and I just don’t trust an EA Sports game to be great out of the box without mod tweaks, but hope still springs eternal.

Speaking of something different, everyone knows that IGN posted a “rumor” about 2K Sports developing a new football game. Now, I have no clue if this is true or not, but it’s fun to speculate. The buzz is that it’s going to be some form of Legends game. If true, I’m curious how they plan to design that feature into the product. I’m hoping for fictional teams, fictional players, with oodles of custom options. I want to name my teams, design the uniforms for the entire league (even just basic color patterns), and form my league’s own sense of history, like I was able to do with FPS: Football back in the day.

I also think a game like that screams “PC” but the odds of 2K Sports making a football game on the PC..I just don’t see it. Of course, there is a PC football market that is waiting for something “different” because the only option for graphics based football has been Madden for the past several years. Whether you like Madden or not, you can’t call it different.

Finally, I’ve been on a board and card game kick the past few weeks. I’m going to get the Railroad Tycoon boardgame this week as well as a game called RuneBound. If anyone has played these, drop me a line. Oh, and if you like to play ’strategy’ card games, give a game called Guillotine a try (it’s out of print but can be had on eBay for like $10). I played this at a friend’s house before I went to Disney and it’s a ton of fun.

It seems Microsoft has made a keyboard for use with Macs (link found courtesy of Paul Thurrot’s blog). That’s cool, I guess, but whatever. Anyway, before going to market, the MS hardware group went to Apple to ask permission (as required) to use the Apple logo for the special Apple key that appears on all Mac keyboards. (I assume this is similar to the Windows key, in purpose, on Windows keyboards.) Here’s the kicker: Apple said no.

Not that I really care, but I believe the appropriate word here is, “petty.”

Well you can’t always be undefeated in the playoffs, and tonight proved it. As you probably noticed with the minute-by-minute blog, I was letting off some steam here. I can get heated at times, as you can tell …well maybe you can’t tell but the file cabinet in my office can tell with the fumble into the endzone. Or was it. Who knows. We just know the ruling on the field stands.

That’s why I like Ed H. as the ref. He always explains what the hell is happening.

No matter what my comments were, at the end of the day, Denver had put up more points than New England.

Denver to me is what the Yankees are to Red Sox fans. It’s not a huge rivalry, but Denver always seems to have our number, unless of course their FG kicker gets hurt and the Pats win by giving up a safety. :). Ironically, I believe the Pats are facing Denver next year too at Denver.

On the bright side, this makes 2006 a more cookie cutter schedule for the Pats. I mean, this year’s schedule was plain horrid.

Now that football season is over, lets move on to baseball. How about that Millar going to the Orioles?

Alright, now that punt fumble was embarassing. Of course we are out of challenges, so even if you thought he fell on it and was down, (I’m reaching), it’s too late.

No doubt, in order to win, you can’t cough up the ball that many times (3 fumbles and one INT).

Just saw Mike Anderson run around. Alright now that reminded me of last week’s Pats game. I’ll give them more credit now.

But, just to recap, Plummer had awe inspiring drives of 1, 1, and 15 yards. Yes, I know, it’s still a win for Denver. But damn. There’s still nothing there that impressed me. Their special teams are awesome though, I’ll give them that.

So that’s that. I still have a tough time being a gracious loser, given all that happened. I don’t want to pull at Matt Leinart comment out of my ass. Denver is a very difficult place to play. I think it’s harder than Indianapolis. Personally, I would have fought for the #3 seed and played PIT/IND. After all, the Pats knew them.

What a total disappointment. Oh well. The good news is, I don’t have that itching to play Madden anymore.

Vinateri misses. But hey, down 11, I think you go for it late. WTF was that. I mean really, down by 8? Ugh.

I’m not counting the Patriots out. They continue to fight, despite the NFL Officials working against them. So far:

1. Aside from being able to create turnovers (I’ll give them that), they haven’t been impressive. I could run in from the 1 yard line. Twice. BFD.

2. If Denver steps up in the 4th quarter, I will concede. If it ends like this, I’ll say the Pats got shafted.

Congrats to the Broncos for sucking their way into the AFC Championship game. You guys deserved it, and by that I mean, you guys couldn’t win if you didn’t get 3 gifts (and counting)

1. False Start on FG
2. Pass Interference horseshit
3. Non-call interception
4. Non-call touchback

Hey that ref is just awesome. I mean seriously thanks for explaining the call for us. Did he fumble it out, did he go out of bounds, or do you just not have a fucking clue.

This game will be a wake up call for Patriots fans. I feel sorry for the NFL, and the referees next year. You think Indianapolis was upset with the lack of pass interference calls? Well, this time around, it’s flat out cheating.

That Sony HDTV commercial with “electric NCAA football” is pretty funny. Of course what’s even funnier is that HDTV wasn’t around for that game….

Patriots are starting too look good. Too bad they are losing thanks to the officials.

The last time I got this mad was in 2000 when Bush “won” the Presidency. There is nothing..and I mean NOTHING more frustrating than knowing your getting fucked and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Non-call false starts, phantom pass interferences, interceptions that aren’t called unless you challenge…seriously why don’t they just “disqualify” all of the Patriots and just hand Denver the win?

Now that being said, scoring only 3 points..well that’s not going to help, but my God, watching this game reminds me of NCAA officiating.

I agree 100% with Simms on that. There was offensive pass interference! Fuck you Denver. Congrats on leading a game by getting a gift. What a complete horseshit call.

Maybe it’s true the NFL doesn’t want the Patriots in again.

I am convinced that Phil Simms and Jim Nantz are anti-New England. Of course they want the other team, because it gets boring.

Phil Simms has gone into “you talk about…itis” as in “you talk about Jake Plummer.” I’m not talking about him. Are you?

Then he says “Denver doesn’t like Third and long….well no team likes third and long.” You talk about a football commentator that knows football.

The new Wendy’s commercial — did they say “hey, that Capital One No guy is great, maybe we should license a crappy Hall & Oates song and copy it”?

I can’t get that damn song out of my head.

Well, the trip to Orlando was a total blast. I could write a novella about this trip but I’ll try to keep it short (Todd, take note). I’ll also throw in a few words of advice for those planning to see Disney World anytime soon.

• First off, I will never live in a state with toll booths — ever. We’re driving down I-417 or whatever it is and every few miles we stop and give this dude in a booth a buck just for the hell of it. I will never understand this.
• We got a sweet deal in terms of room and board. My sister in law has a time share in Kissimmee, which is right next to Disney and we paid like $180 for the week. The room came with a range, microwave, whirlpool bath, and a 50 inch TV. It beats the Holiday Inn. They also had a large heated pool which Ashley liberally used during the week. Now, I wouldn’t pay 15K to own this thing, but for $180 — I’m in. Tip #1: Get a relative to buy a time share in Orlando.
• Food is crazy expensive. Even breakfast. We went to an IHOP one morning and paid close to $30 for the three of us. In C-Bus, if we go out to eat breakfast we never spend over $20. $7 for three banana but pancakes? Sheesh. However we saved a ton of cash by cooking food in C-Bus and freezing it and packing it for the trip. We checked the cooler like a regular suitcase. So instead of going out to eat every night and dropping $50, we cooked the food we had made (lasagna, meatloaf, etc.) and webt to the local grocery to get other tidbits. We saved oodles of cash doing this. Tip #2: Get a relative to buy a time share in Orlando — with a range, fridge, and microwave.
• There was a bank hold up/hostage thing in Orlando while we were there. We didn’t even hear about it until the day before we left. So, no, I was not involved.
• OK on to Disney! For those not in the know, there are 4 main Disney World parks: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and MGM. We had 4-day Park Hopper tickets which allow you to go to multiple parks each day without paying extra. Parking is $9 (per day, total) which I feel should be illegal, but it is what it is. Anyway:
• Magic Kingdom is really the hub of Disney. I forgot that you had to take a ferry boat ride or the monorail to get to the park after you parked your car. Here are all of the classic rides like Peter Pan’s Flight, Haunted Mansion, Dumbo, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc. The park really is geared toward youngsters. There are a few “grown up” rides like Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Space Mountain but it’s mostly for kids 10 and under. But it really is a magical place. It’s really, really, hard not to have a good time here. It’s just a naturally happy park.
• Animal Kingdom is a glorified zoo with a few attractions thrown in. There’s a ride there called “Dinosaur” which sounds really cool but we never got a chance to ride it. Ashley wanted nothing to do with it. heh.
• Epcot is the “World Center” with a few space-based rides as well as the World Tour where you walk to different areas that focus on a particular country. (No coasters in this park, btw)
• MGM is the movie studio park with a few very unique attractions.
• Ashley’s Trip Highlights:
• Mary had scheduled several “special” meals, which ate up a lot of our dining budget (hence the bringing of frozen food). We had two “Princess Breakfasts” — one in Epcot on our first day and one in Sleeping Beauty’s Castle in Magic Kingdom. For each meal, the princessess (Cinderella, Belle, Jasmine, Snow White, etc.) came around to each table to get pictures and chat with the kids. Ashley was in total awe. We also had a “Dinner with Pooh” at the Magic Kingdom which had Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore come around, dance with the kids, and form a 50 kid conga line after dinner. Again — total awe from Ashley.
• Magic Kingdom was her favorite park and by far her favorite ride was the kiddie roller coaster called Goofy’s Barnstormer. Ashley hates water rides and hates total darkness (rules out Splash Mountain and Space Mountain) but this coaster was addictive. We had to have ridden this thing 15 times. If we go back when she’s 10 (the plan) hopefully she can graduate to the bigger rides.
• The number one ride for me and Mary was Soarin’ at Epcot. Ashley loved this, too. It’s basically a hang gliding sim. You sit in this long chair sort of like a ski lift. You are then raised about 15 feet in the air, sitting a mere few feet from a huge movie-size screen. Then these beautiful scenes are put in front of you — mountains, oceans, rivers — you name it. Wind blows in your hair, and the lift gently rocks along with it. It really feels like you’re in the air, gliding over these amazing landscapes. It’s not a fast thrill ride, but it’s really breathtaking.If you go, you have to ride this.
• Ashley also enjoyed the jungle safari at Animal Kingdom as well as the bird show, she saw a live showing of Playhouse Disney at MGM and got to talk with Crush from Finding Nemo (it’s interactive, not canned. The guy that does his voice is really there, taking questions.) There’s also a great 3D movie show called Mickey’s Magic Philhar that is a must see at Magic Kingdom. There’s a lot of other rides, but those are the snapshots.
• Finally, if you go, there’s one nighttimne show that you must see: Fantasmic at MGM. You go to this huge outdoor amphitheater and the show takes placed on this small island on a manmade lake. You have to get there an hour before showtime. It’s hard to describe but it’s basically Mcikey battling the major Disney villains. Water shoots up from the lake and images are projected on the water. It’s abaolutely amazing. The lake catches on fire when Mickey fights a dragon..it’s just wild. Just like Soarin’ — if you go to Disney and don’t see this you are missing out.
• Enough rambling. Here’s a few more tips and observations before I leave for my In-laws today:
• There are a lot of impatient parents out there. Why bring your clan of kids to Disney when all you do is scream at them? I saw this a lot. Why scream at Jimmy because he doesn’t want to ride a roller coaster? In one amazing case, we were trying to get off the tram that takes you back to your car and this one Mother of the Year literally threw her daughter over one of the seats so we could get out. She yelled at her (she couldn’t have been more than 7) and because she wasn’t going fast enough, she got catapulted over the seats. Nice. They reminded me of the white trash family from Million Dollar Baby.
• Tip: Do not get to the parks at 9am and stay til closing. You’ll kill yourself and start throwing children over tram seats. We got at the park at 9AM and then went back to the time share around 1PM, ate lunch, took a nap, watched TV, whatever. We then ewnt back around 4:30 and stayed til the fireworks. Going all day will kill you. Take a break and avoid the heat of the day.
• Tip: This is just personal opinion, but don’t bring your 1 or 2 year old to Disney. They won’t get a damn thing out of it, they won’t remember any of it, and you’ll start to go crazy dealing with the strollers. We waited until Ash was 5 and it was the perfect age. Any younger and I just don’t see why you’d go because there’s no way a 2 year old will know what in the hell is going on. Plus, a giant Goofy to an infant might scare the crap out of them.
• Tip: Bring a backpack and load it up with snacks, water bottles, and other handy items. Food and drink at the park will cost you your mortgage.
• Tip: Bring a large pen and a book for autogrpahs. You can buy them there but again — $$$. We took a pen and Ashley had a Princess hat which she got signed by several of the princessess. It’s totally cool.
• Tip: Do your gift shopping, or at least some of it, at the Outlet Mall outside of Disney. We bought 2 hats, 2 shirts, and a stuffed animal for $36 there. This same stuff at the park..well the hat alone would have been $18.
• Tip: If you bring rain gear (panchos, slickers, etc.) do NOT leave them in your room. They do you no good there.. ahem.
• Tip: If you can, go in early January. We were told that this was the perfect week to go in terms of crowds. Thw weather was perfect outside of Saturday night when it got Columbus-cold.Still, lines were reasonable, and it wasn’t 90 degrees.

Whew. Well, I’m sure I’m forgetting a lot of stuff but this is long enough and I need to go to a belated Christmas at the In-laws. We’ll get back to gaming this week..lots to talk about, actually.

Some thoughts as I get ready to leave to start moving for the real job…..

1) I went back to my NEXTEL store and after 1 1/2 hours, we got the Blackberry up and running. Apparently by not adding the free text messaging to my plan, he rendered my internet/email useless. Lovely. I got them to add TeleNav free for a few months for my troubles. Who needs a Garmin GPS when you have it on your phone?

2)I missed out on Madden from Gamefly, but got Kameo instead. Kameo is one of MSFT’s teams favorte games, although not everyone shares the same opinion. Looking forward to having time to play it at some point this weekend.

3)So, Kevin Millar is an Oriole. He should get everyday playing time, so maybe we’ll see the Cowboy Up guy of 2003 and not the shitty platoon player of 2005. At least I’m hoping. You know for all Miggy’s talk about the O’s not being active, they did get a great C, an upgrade at 1B, a decent if not old LF/1B as well. I’m still hoping for the best here.

4) Craig wants me to make sure you know you can download a demo of FIFA RTWC for the Xbox 360 now. I’ll save you the trouble and tell you it sucks.

5) Fight Night Round 3 on the other hand is awesome. Just wanted to make sure you knew that.

6) Okay, off to work now.

But not now. I’m totally exhausted, so I’ll post my “Vacation” tidbits either later tonight or in the morning. Great trip, but glad to be home. DidI mention the exhaustion?