football
Latest
Comcast, NFL Network-HD team up in Detroit
Everybody is getting ready for Superbowl XL, and for those of us in the Detroit area that includes Comcast and the NFL Network. The NFL Network isn't normally available full-time in HD here, but it has shown up in the last few days. According to Multichannel News, the two are working together to provide access to residents and those just in town for the game. Up until February 7th, you'll be able to view NFL Network on analog cable as well as NFL Network HD on digital cable.Hopefully this leads to NFL Network always being in high definition on Comcast, the NFL has one of the largest libaries with all their NFL Films content.
Sneak preview of *football on Sky TV
The other football. Maybe some of our European friends will be giving HD more respect once their favorite sport is being broadcast in high definition. Last weekend it seems Sky showed a few UK journalists a preview of their high definition broadcasts of soccer, and they came away very impressed.This isn't really surprising, if HDTV has a single killer app, it's sports. Football, futbol or otherwise, once you've seen your favorite players in HD there isn't any going back. [Via HDTV UK]
Jan. 3: What's on HDTV today
What we're watching: I'm watching the game man! Two old school coaches squaring off in the Orange Bowl tonight on ABC. Bowden vs. Paterno. I also look forward to seeing more of Penn State's QB Michael Robinson, a threat running or passing the ball.If you don't like football, there's always Man on Fire on HBO at 9:30 p.m. starring Denzel Washington. I wish I could recommend one of my favorite comedies, Scrubs, but it's NOT IN HIGH DEFINITION DUE TO THE HEARTLESS BASTARDS AT NBC *takes a breath*. After the jump is our traditional listing of HD programs throughout the night.
Madden NFL '06 demo for Xbox 360 available via Xbox Live
You can now download your favorite only option for officially licensed NFL goodness, Madden NFL '06, via Xbox Live. Be warned however: the demo logs in at a relatively hefty 699.95 MBs. The servers are quite busy at the time of this posting, so you might need to be a bit persistent to make it to the download screen. Happy downloading.
A closer look at Madden 360
IGN recently spent a few hours checking out a near final build of the Xbox 360 version of Madden 06. The next-gen Madden has actually been built from the ground up. This is most evident in the completely re-worked menu system of Franchise mode-the heart of the single-player experience. Of course, the visuals-particularly the animations-have been stepped up a notch (note: the game will only run at 30 fps). There's even a new play call screen, which gives users six different options for sorting plays; now players can select plays according to type (e.g. Quick Pass, Clock Management, Shotgun, etc.). There's been a ton of speculation about Madden 360. Will it rise above and beyond its current generation counterparts? It just might.
The growing pains of DirecTV
Saturday was a joyous day for Michigan and Michigan State fans alike. Michigan’s offence finally demonstrated that they are an offence versus Eastern Michigan but more importantly, Michigan State extracted sweet revenge against Notre Dame. The Michigan game did not interest me at all, even though I attend UofM, it was the 2-0 Michigan State Spartans taking on the 2-0 Fighting Irish; plus, NBC had the game on in full over-the-air high definition glory. If you happened to catch this, you know what I mean. The only thing better then football in HD is...well, nothing. The next morning I was flipping through DirecTV and noticed that Universal HD was rebroadcasting the game. Granted, I already knew how it was going to end up, but early morning DirecTV HD leaves a bad taste in my mouth, so I flipped it on. It was disgusting. The digital artifacts were off the chart. A field of green sludge replaced the individual blades of grass that I noticed the day before. I am not going to pretend that I know the bit rate or the compression that Universal HD and DirecTV used on this program nor will I tell you to stop watching one of the few stations that say they are HD and really are. All I can tell you is what is the picture was bad; almost unwatchable.Has anyone else noticed terrible rebroadcasts like this?
Metareview: Madden 06
The latest installment of the Madden NFL franchise, Madden 06, has been on the street for a little while now, so we figured it was time to pull together some reviews for those still wondering what to think about this game. You might say "Why wait so long?" Well... most reviews hit the streets after the reviewers only have moments to smash around the game space, while in truth, it can take some time to dig into some games and really figure out what they are all about. What we did find was that some scores didn't seem to line up with the critical nature of the reviews, and that people's expectations for being blown away somewhat clouded an ability to just review the game as it is. Average score of reviews considered : 8.5 After consideration of the replay, adjustment for butt-kissing nature of reviews in general, then re-adjusting for the expectations reviewers clearly placed upon this title... Metascore : 8.3 With a Reviewer Vision cone extending from 7.8-8.8, so you might want to rent first and see how it goes. Excitement over this game seems to be sensitive to your skill level and expectations. Reviews of the '05 version of Madden averaged as high as 91-ish, so its wise to put the '06 reviews in that context.
Jeb Bush in Madden '06?!
Gov. Bush recently visited the Tiburon Studies to applaud the staff for their work on the latest installment in the perennial Madden series. In return, Bush was treated to a demonstration of the game that featured his likeness and his brother's (Pres. Bush) pitted against each other. In the staged sequence, Gov. Bush enters the game as a wide out for the Miami Dolphins, catches a deep ball, and then proceeds to flatten the President (playing DB for Dallas Cowboys) en route to the end zone. Gov. Bush will not be featured in the retail version of Madden '06. [via GameBrink... also bringing you this eye-popping surprise]
