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Super Bowl XLV Media Day: Packers split on iOS / Android, Cowboys CIO talks mobility
We woke up this morning in Dallas to 20 degree temperatures and a parking lot covered in ice. Not exactly the kind of weather the NFL was hoping for when it selected the new Cowboys Stadium to host Super Bowl XLV, but it didn't stop both teams and media from making their way -- however slowly -- to Arlington for Super Bowl Media Day. Naturally, the likes of ESPN were there in full force, but rather than picking apart defensive schemes and seeing who could outgun Troy Polamalu for the longest mane in North Texas, we spent our time asking about mobile OS preferences and soaking up knowledge from Cowboys CIO Pete Walsh. With a price tag well north of $1 billion on the new Cowboys Stadium, the home to the world's largest HD display is certainly one of the most technologically advanced in the world. It's packing 884 wireless access points throughout (not to mention an internal network operations center that constantly monitors activity on each one), 260 miles of fiber optic cabling, capacity to handle over 100,000 simultaneous wireless connections, over 3,100 IPTVs and micro cell towers for each major carrier within -- you know, so that kickoff video that just can't wait actually sees its way onto YouTube prior to the start of the second half. Head on past the break to catch of a video of us talking smartphone platforms with Green Bay Packers center Scott Wells, as well as a lengthy (and insightful) interview with the Chief Information Officer of the Dallas Cowboys. Everything from the Cowboys' rejection of FanVision to their hopes to blanket the stadium with gratis WiFi is covered, and we're even given a hint that contactless payments and mobile food ordering systems could be just a season or so away. %Gallery-115523%
Steelers win Madden 11 Super Bowl simulation
Computers can be used to calculate all sorts of truly helpful data ... or they can be used to simulate the Super Bowl. If you're going to use processing power to predict the outcome of a sporting event, then you'd better be pretty darned accurate if you hope to maintain any semblance of a reasonable use of life (it still takes human people to run, recap and even report on -- hi there! -- the simulation). EA Sports' Madden games have at least been that, accurately calling the winner of six of the last seven Super Bowls. This year, Madden 11 sees the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Green Bay Packers 24-20 in Super Bowl XLV, which sounds like a good enough guess. But now, do you put money on that? (After the break, delve into the video highlights and box score ... of the simulated game.) Also vying for "reasonability" will be this Thursday's Madden Bowl XVII (wait -- there have already been sixteen of these?). The annual tournament of NFL players gamers whose seasons have been reduced to playing as themselves will be broadcast live on ESPN3 (on your Xbox Dashboard) at 9PM ET, February 3. Hey Niners fans, did you know Alex Smith* has won a record two Madden Bowls? That's the same number of Super Bowl rings that Roethlisberger has -- well, until Sunday's victory, according to Madden. [*Update: Oops! Sorry to get your hopes up San Francisco faithful -- it's Alex Smith the tight end (currently playing for the Cleveland Browns) who holds the Madden Bowl record. Alex Smith the quarterback has never participated in the event.] %Gallery-115477%
Interview with Paul Sams, Steelers owner
As we reported the other week, Blizzard COO Paul Sams is now co-owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers (who are stepping up lately), and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette hit up Mr. Sams for a quick interview about being at the intersection of Azeroth and Steeler Nation. Turns out the man who collects everything Blizzard has also been a Steelers fan since he was four years old, even though he's from California. And we were right with all of the speculation: he got connected with the Steelers management through Legendary Pictures producer Thomas Tull, and when the chance came to own part of the franchise, he jumped.They also talk about expanding out to Carnagie Mellon University -- Blizzard has a thriving educational program in Irvine, but Sams says that they are looking to expand that, so Pittsburgh is a possibility. And finally, he says that the Warcraft movie is being scripted at the moment -- Sam Raimi will do Spider-man 4, and then it's all Azeroth for him. In the meantime, let's see about getting some of this Steelers news in the game -- even if we can't get an epic football to toss around, surely we'll at least see a Tauren somewhere named "Bill COW-her," right?
Paul Sams owns part of the Steelers
Ok, admittedly, this is about as far away from the World of Warcraft as we go on this site, but stick with me here, it'll be worth it for the jokes: Blizzplanet has discovered that Blizzard COO Paul Sams and his family are now major shareholders in the Pittsburgh Steelers, of all things. The connection seems a little hard to find, until you check the rest of the list: Thomas Tull is also a shareholder, and he happens to be CEO of Legendary Pictures, the same company that has made a deal with Sams and Blizzard to make the Warcraft movie. I can't say I know that many CEOs personally, but I have to imagine that the conversation went something like, "Hey, wanna own part of a football team with me?" And who would pass up an opportunity like that?Fortunately for Sams and his team, they're supposed to do pretty well this year (and of course they're coming off of a Super Bowl win last year), so the investment is likely a good one. But, more importantly, we can now point out that if the Steelers make their way to the conference championships and half of Blizzard travels to Pittsburgh to see the game, we'll know why the patch isn't coming out that week.
Pre-order Madden 10 at GameStop ... to get free Madden 10 demo
Pre-order either the PS3 or Xbox 360 version of Madden 10 and you'll get a sneak peak at the upcoming football game. GameStop is issuing an "exclusive" 20-minute demo that lets you relive the Super Bowl yet again with the Cardinals and the Steelers, while, according to Kotaku, everyone else will be able to download a shorter 8-minute demo between the Giants and the Cowboys.We're not exactly sure how a free demo is meant to appease those that are already committed to buying the game, but at the very least, it's a far more compelling offer than, say, a free sample of Madden's short-lived recording career.Source - GameStop pre-order announcementSource - EA demo clarification
Madden 10 cover to curse two athletes: Larry Fitzgerald and Troy Polamalu
Click to see the full cover. EA continues reinventing the Madden cover. This year's cover features not one, but two players, in a stylized cover that's reminiscent of Street Fighter IV. The Cardinals' wide receiver, Larry Fitzgerald, and the Steelers' safety, Troy Polamalu, will share the spotlight on EA Sports' annual NFL game when it goes on sale on August 14th. The two teams should be familiar to anyone who watched last year's Super Bowl -- y'know, people that play Madden.In addition to debuting the cover athlete, EA Sports released more screenshots, which you can peruse in our gallery.%Gallery-50174%
Madden 09 predicts Pittsburgh Steelers victory in Super Bowl XLIII
The Super Bowl is only a few days away, and as expected, EA has run a Super Bowl simulation using this year's Madden. This year, the publisher expects the Pittsburgh Steelers to achieve a narrow victory over the Arizona Cardinals, with a final score of 28-24.The annual Madden prediction has been fairly successful, with the exception of last year's surprise victory from the New York Giants: 2004 - Madden: Patriots ; Reality: Patriots 2005 - Madden: Patriots ; Reality: Patriots 2006 - Madden: Steelers ; Reality: Steelers 2007 - Madden: Colts ; Reality: Colts 2008 - Madden: Patriots ; Reality: Giants Super Bowl XLIII kicks off February 1st, when the NY Giants will somehow manage to pull off an even more startling victory this year. Go NY!
