I’ve been so engrossed in NCAA Football 09 that even a new FIFA game can’t pull me away!  I haven’t touched Madden or NFL Head Coach (Madden Collector’s Edition) hardly at all, either.  So, if games are collecting dust, I think it’s time for me swap them for something that will peak my interest…

After finding out that Wal-Mart will have NFL Head Coach by itself for $10 on “Black Friday,” I’m trading in the Madden Collector’s Edition and NCAA 2K8 College Hoops for EA’s NCAA College Basketball 2009 (the only college basketball game this year).  I can still get about $30 for the Madden CE, so I’ll essentially be making $20 on the deal, considering that I have no desire whatsoever to play Madden, as NCAA Football is definitely satisfying my football fix.

Another major aspect that keeps me putting NCAA Football into the 360 during my scant playing time is the Dynasty mode.  I absolutely love the coaching and recruiting aspects of building my program.  I’ve done a little research on NCAA 2009 College Basketball, and it appears that it has a Dynsasty mode very similar to its football brother.  Quite frankly, the College Hoops series from 2K Sports never drew me in with its comparable dynasty mode, so I’m hoping that EA’s brand will strike all of the right nerves for me.  Also, I just feel like 2K Sports was going way overboard with the complexity of the controls, meaning that I had to spend hours just mastering the post moves, let alone running plays, handling the ball against pressue, and so forth.  I love realism in my games, but it has to be balanced with playability.  2K Sports has lost focus, in my opinion.

Hopefully, I can become the first ever men’s football and basketball coach to lead his team to a conference championship in NCAA (virtual) history!  This is sad, but I can’t wait to pick up the game tomorrow and start recruiting players to fit my brand of basketball…  Plus, my son - who’s also very much into NCAA Football - hopefully will fall in love with the hoops version, and will use it as a tool to learn more about basketball as he plays out his season for me in real life.

That will tide me over until I get Fallout for Christmas…  Who am I kidding?  I’m willing to bet that Fallout will collect dust right next to Oblivion while I assume the role of virtual two-sport coach for my beloved Zips!

Lastly, in regard to more fun with keyword searches, one of the latest Google searches that brought up my site was “do middle aged men play games?”  I’ll take that one, Google: yes, my friend, we do indeed!

The Agony: My Akron Zips were playing their final game ever in the Rubber Bowl with first place in the MAC East on the line.  In a 4 OT thriller, they lost to Buffalo 43-40.  The Zips played hard, but were unfortunately undone by their own mistakes and an incredibly poor defensive first half.  If there is a silver lining, the Zips have lost 3 games this year by a total of 8 points, and with this experience they may be able to win the close ones next year.  All hope is not lost for a MAC Championship appearance or even for an at-large bowl bid, but the chances are slimming.  They need to win out, and they need some of the weaker teams in the big conferences to continue to struggle.  Next year brings a new stadium, and hopefully the ability to protect their home field a little better.

The Ecstacy: While listening online to the Zips giving another one away, I was watching my Crew perform one of their patented comebacks to win their first ever Eastern Conference Championship!  After a nervous first half, the Crew hit their stride early in the second, with maestro Guillermo Barros Schelotto working his magic on a corner kick to Chad Marshall and then on combination play with Moreno and Gavin (who played his best game ever as a member of the Crew).  Chicago pushed hard at the end, but unlike their previous meetings this year, the Crew’s defense held.  The Crew’s NOT DONE YET!

I had some mixed feelings about this game, since McBride is a member of the Fire, and he’s pretty much my all-time favorite player.  I truly believe he is the most talented and most decorated American ever to set foot on the pitch, plus he’s a Crew icon.  However, when the game kicked off, I didn’t feel any remorse as the Crew beat his team.  I was actually ticked off when McBride scored, clearly indicating that my feelings for my favorite team supercede those of any player.  Plus, with players like Prideaux, Conde, and Blanco, it’s easy to hate Chicago.

Speaking of the MLS, what’s the deal with their “playoff” system.  In the first round, the Crew had to play a home-and-home against Kansas City, yet in the Conference Championship round and the MLS Cup round, it’s a one-off series?!  I really hate the way the MLS has “Americanized” the most popular sport in the world.  The Crew had the best record out of all of the MLS teams in the regular season.  Everywhere else in the world, that’s the Championship; in the good old MLS world, the team wins the “Supporter’s Shield.”  Here’s my dream: make the league one table, and contract with the USL First Division to allow for relegation of the bottom two or three teams.  We don’t need a convoluted “playoff” system to legitmize this sport.  Blech.  That said, Go Crew in next weekend’s MLS Cup game!  Hey, you have to play the hand you’re dealt.

Lastly, more on the keyword searches…  One came up this month for “Middle Aged Spanking” that apparently directed some wayward soul to this site.  Sorry, there’ll be none of that here!  I was spanked enough as a child (deservedly so), and it’s the last thing I want to experience in my “middle aged” years.  Sickos… 

No, that’s not a typo…  We checked out two movies tonight.  Get Smart, starring Steve Carell, was a better-than-expected nostalgic trip modernized for the current era.  Carell was a very believable Maxwell Smart, and not quite the bumbling simpleton I expected (feared) he would be.  Certainly he has his moments, but there’s some talent and genius thrown in with his uncommon fortune.  The plot isn’t too thick, but the acting is solid from several recognizable bit players, and there are a lot of laughs to be had.  It’s rated PG-13, and there’s a little bit of language and some slight sexual humor, similar to what was in the Pink Panther.  My kids are 9-and-a-half and 12, and I think we’ll let them watch, although we might ask them to close their eyes in a couple of spots.  Overall, I give it 3 out of 4 stars.

The other movie we watched was Journey to the Center of the Earth, with Brendan Fraser.  Fraser reprises his typical poor-man’s Indiana Jones type role, and does it with his usual panache.  It’s more of a family-oriented action romp, with a little bit of comedy and a slight love story angle thrown in.  The movie’s good for those with imagination, and it moves at a pretty good pace.  It’s certainly not top-notch, but it was worth the rental fee in terms of family entertainment.  There are a couple of scary images, but it was not problem for my kids.  I give it 2 out of 4 stars, and I lament that Fraser hasn’t done a little more with his career.  He has the looks and the chops to be a bigger star, but never found the “right” role, I suppose.

I occasionally brag on my kids here, and since it’s my blog, I’ll take artistic license to celebrate their wonderfulness once again…  Ten total grades: 7 A’s, 2 A-’s, and 1 B.  Not too shabby!  The kids are polar opposites in how they manage their work, but both are successful nonetheless.  Just as important, the kids are respectful, friendly, and well-behaved.  I couldn’t be prouder of them both!

On the video game front, my son and I finally put FIFA 09 into the 360 for a little bit today.  He started his “be a pro” career with Manchester United (that’s my boy!), while I fiddled with Manager Mode and Lounge Mode.  It’s way too early to offer formal impressions, but what I saw on the pitch reminded me a lot of Euro 2008, which is a good thing.

I’m still plugging along with NCAA Football 09.  We’re almost through the first year of our online dynasty, and I’m deep into year two of an offline Akron dynasty that I’m playing.  The game’s not perfect, but I’m enjoying it immensely.  After nearly 40 games completely played with this title, plus another 8 or so in Campus Legend mode, I’m still perfecting the nuances of kicking, timing the pitch on the option, and so on.  I don’t see myself stopping any time soon.  That’s what you call “getting your money’s worth.”

Lastly, my other interest of late has been the new HBO series True Blood.  It’s a paranormal vampire murder mystery love story.  Despite what it sounds like, I find it very enthralling, so much so that I started reading the books upon which the series is based.  I just finished the first, titled Dead Until Dark.  The HBO series takes significantly liberties with the story when compared to the books, but I find both equally entertaining.  Word of warning: the HBO series is pretty graphic and explicit at times.  Despite that, I can’t wait to watch it each week.  Honestly, it reminds me of the 2-3 years that I watched the Sopranos.  It was graphic and explicit, but the story kept me coming back for more.  Check it out - if you’re not squeamish, that is!

The Escapist used to be one of my favorite gaming websites.  The articles and features were more than about games; they were about games and their impact on gamers and society.  It was intelligent, graphically excellent, and thought-provoking.  Now, however, things are different.  They’ve seemingly “transcended” into some deeper meaning/philosophical perspective of gaming and gamers, when they even decide to cover video games at all.  It’s almost like the writers belong to some smarmy “I’m better than you” club who write to give us the privilege of their enlightenment.  Combine that with know-it-all teenage agnostics populating the message boards, and you have a place that I no longer visit.  I suppose they think they’ve “evolved.”  I think they’ve lost perspective over there.  It’s games; it’s not culture, and it’s not life.

So…  I’m adding Eurogamer to my Blogroll.  I’ve visited it several times over the past year, and I’ve been very impressed with their writing ability, even though it’s mostly in the “King’s English.”  Honestly, you’ll find some of the best reviews and reviewers on the ‘net at this site, so I highly recommend it.  The content is timely, thorough, and conclusive.  It certainly isn’t PR rehash or an attempt to be “enlightened.”  Check it out.

My son finishes his soccer season with a tournament in Hilliard this weekend.  Overall, they’ve had a better year than I expected.  They finished 3-4-3 in their division (they absolutely gave one away, or it would’ve been 4-4-2), and they finished second in one of their tournaments.  Looking at their schedule for this weekend, they will probably lose their first game, win their second game, and their third game is a toss-up.  If they win the third, they’ll be in the Championship game.  We’ll see…  Oh, and my son, splitting his time between midfielder and forward this season, has 6 goals and 5 assists.  Not too shabby…

Starting on Wednesday, “rec” basketball season starts for my son (we’ll also do once-a-week winter training for soccer).  I’m excited because I’m coaching him in basketball for the first time.  I’ve done soccer and baseball, but my bread-and-butter sport is basketball without a doubt.  I played in Jr. High and High School, and have coached at the high school level as an assistant varsity coach.  I really feel like I have a lot to offer to my son and the other boys, and I hope to see the grow and learn to play the game the “right way.”  At this age (6th grade), I’m not out to win, but to help the boys learn the skills, learn the rules, play to their potential, and learn many of the lessons I mentioned a while back on this blog. 

Also, I like coaching this age, because I’ll be able to push some of the boys a little harder, and I’ll have kids with more advanced skills than those at the younger ages.  They’ll be less coddling, babysitting, and concentrating on the absolute basics.  Granted, I know that there will be a variety of talent and experience within the squad, but at least some of the kids will be ready for some “real” coaching in this sport, and they’ll carry what they learn into next year, when some of them go on to play for their Jr. High.   I get to install a real offense, albeit a simplified one, and focus on teaching the core fundamentals, like ball handling, passing, screening, hedging the screen, man-to-man defense with help-side principles, boxing out, and so on.  I’m excited just thinking about it!  I’ve really missed coaching hoops…

After last week’s mirage against the Giants, the old Browns that I’ve grown accustomed to returned to the field today.  With an absolutely lackluster effort, they lost to Washington 14-11.  First off, I have to give credit to the defense.  They were stifling in the first quarter and a half, but even though they got gashed a bit from that point on, they only gave up 2 touchdowns.  And, they came up with a crucial turnover late in the game to keep the Browns in it.  On a positive note, they’re starting to get pressure on the QB and their secondary is playing much better over the last few games.

Now, on to the negatives…  Braylon Edwards continues to embarrass himself.  He dropped as many as he caught today, and he failed to make a site adjustment on the critical final drive of the game that cost the Browns a first down and that would’ve gotten Dawson much closer than 54 yards away for the game-tying field goal attempt.  So much for those “Michigan men” and their academic superiority.   Derek Anderson was absolutely horrible the entire game.  He only completed 38% of his passes, and got into a confrontation with his own fullback on a play where the offense couldn’t get set up properly and cost the Browns an important timeout.  Hey, I don’t mind a QB getting after his team, but it was apparent to me that not all of the team counts Anderson as their leader.  Finally, Romeo showed his coaching genius IQ again.  After seven failed tries to get the ball in the end zone from the one yard line, he finally called a play action pass.  Even Anderson couldn’t screw up a throw to a guy that wide open; at least sometimes. 

This team is a mess and a joke.  Even though they pulled it together for one game against a flat Giants team, I’m still standing by my 4-12 prediction.  It got so bad today that I actually got mad that Romeo didn’t give Quinn a shot.  Believe me, when I’m feeling that way, it’s bad…

On a very unrelated note, I noticed today that one of the searches that brought someone to my site was “gamer gals looking for gamer guys.”  Sorry, ladies, but I’m spoken for… 

I picked up FIFA 09 this week.  I was excited, because unlike most EA games, the manual seemed thick and weighty!  However, I soon discovered that it’s the same manual printed twice; once in English, and once in Spanish.  It figures…

Finally, tomorrow, we actually have nothing on the calendar.  I’m hoping to get in some “Be a Pro” time with FIFA.  I want to get about 5 hours in before posting impressions, like my hero Bill Harris of Dubious Quality fame.  At my current pace, however, it may be two weeks before I get that kind of time in, LOL.

I am still playing a lot of NCAA Football.  In my Zips offline dynasty, I finished the season 10-3 with a bowl game win, and I’m in week three of off-season recruiting.  I love how the guys I’ve pursued all year are still on my board, and I’m working like crazy to get them on my squad.  I’ve landed 8 so far.  I even got in late on a couple of kids, and still stand a good shot at signing them.  I’ve lost a few as well, but I feel a real sense of accomplishment when I’ve recruited a kid all year and he finally signs with my team.

In the real sports world, Michigan continues to suck, Ohio State continues to improve, and the Zips finally get a break in a close game and win their fourth in a row on the road (while remaining winless at home, grr!).  I’m a little worried about Terrelle Pryor, though.  It really doesn’t look like he has a very strong arm.  I’m hoping it’s just a confidence thing.  At this point, I don’t think he’d play at any big school without his legs.  He is an awesome athlete, though, and hopefully his passing will come along like Troy Smith’s did.  However, I must say, Troy threw a much better ball at this point in his career.  Next week will be the biggest test since USC, with Penn State coming to town.  If Pryor still struggles throwing, Boeckman may get some PT.  If the defense keeps playing the way it has the last couple of games, the Buckeyes will be in the game, though.  They’re making progress, but are they good enough to beat #3 at home?

The Crew have won their second supporters’ shield (best league record) in team history!  Hopefully, they’ll keep rolling right into the playoffs.  Now, if the Browns win, Bengals lose, and Red Sox lose, it will be a near-perfect weekend…  It can’t be perfect, because my son’s soccer team lost 2-1 in a very winnable game.  Sometimes soccer is a cruel sport.  His team dominated the second half (after a scoreless first), yet could not buy a goal.  Their opponent scored on two counter-attacks in the span of a minute with the only real offense player they had (a speedy left-footer with a powerful shot).  Oh well…

I think it’s pretty obvious to readers of this blog that I can’t stand the University of Michigan and their winged (puke) helmets, academic arrogance, the “Fab Five,” and whole “Michigan men” mantra (believe me, I could go on).  I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t absolutely revelling in the Michigan football follies this season.  This year is even better than last year, when they lost App. St.  They recovered nicely and beat Florida to end their season then.  There won’t be any of that in 2008!  They’re 2-4, and they’ll be absolutely lucky to win 5 games this year.  And, they’re fortunate to have two wins, because Wisconsin absolutely peed down their legs (to quote my favorite high school basketball coach and all around good man) at Michigan to give them that one.  Michigan just lost to a bad MAC team - Toledo - at home, to boot!  I’ve been waiting my whole life for them to suck this bad, and I’m enjoying every minute of it!

What comes around seems to go around in my sports world, though.  I imagine I’ll pay for Michigan’s suffering in the form of a Michigan victory this year at the ’shoe.  Stranger things have happened, and it’s not like OSU is steamrolling through its schedule.  But hey, that’s over a month from now, so I’m going to live in the moment!

This kind of reminds me of when Art Modell stole the Browns from Cleveland, and I had no NFL team to watch for 3 seasons.  I actually spent my weekends rooting against the Bengals, and fortunately, I enjoyed watching that debacle of a franchise struggle to win multiple games each season (kind of like right now). 

It’s nice to have something to cheer for, since my Browns stink and are choc full of players and coaches that I don’t like, and the Zips can’t seem to stand prosperity.  I don’t know what to think of Ohio State.  They have crazy talent, but can’t get any consistency on offense.  If you’re reading this, Jim Tressel, take the reigns off Pryor and let him throw the darn ball.  His growth will be worth the mistakes that he’ll make, even though we all know how risk-averse you are.

How soon until the Cavs start?  Could this be the year?  Probably not…

Just wanted to talk a bit about some games that I hope to be playing in the near future…

FIFA 09 is due out soon.  This will be my next purchase.  I’m pumped about the “Be a Pro” mode where you play your career out in the soccer world similar to the “Campus Legend” mode in NCAA Football 09.  Also, 10-versus-10 over Xbox Live has the potential to be a blast!

It will be an interesting battle between EA and Take 2 for the best console NBA basketball game.  2K appears to be solid as usual, while Bill Abner is reporting on his blog that NBA Live is much improved.  I might have to rent both before purchasing, or at least read up on the impressions out on the ‘net.

Believe it or not, Christmas is creeping up on us.  My daughter is the artsy type, so De Blob is a Wii title that I’ll probably end up getting her, even though she hasn’t seen anything about it yet.  Also, she’s expressed interested in Boom Blox, and I think my son will like that one, too.  It might be a “together” gift.  Lastly, with the fun we’ve had with Guitar Hero, I might even give Rock Band 2 a look, although that would eat up a decent chunk of the Christmas budget.  Like that has ever stopped us before…

Along with FIFA 09, I’m very interested in Worldwide Soccer (Football) Manager 09.  The biggest improvement is a 3D match engine.  If you can train your folks to perform special moves, and then actually see them execute it in a match in 3D, it will make Football Manager the best “coach mode” game ever (not that it isn’t already).  I’m really excited about the possibility of being able to watch the game and use that as a tool to evaluate talent. 

Now, if I could only find a way to make time to enjoy all of this gaming goodness…