Madden History, NCAA, OOTP and Sinbad

First off, the Out of the Park Baseball league I am running kicked off opening day Wednesday morning.

My Jefferson City Ragtime Nine got off to a blistering...7-6 start. Hitting .233 as a team? Really? I may fire the whole lot by May.

I know we have a lot of new readers due to the Madden stuff -- but if you want a great baseball experience -- look into OOTP. Seriously. Here's our league website (built by the game). Keep an eye on Jefferson City. We smell pennant! Or at least 70 wins. I need to update the site tonight -- but it takes hours to upload everything.

So I was browsing Operation Sports today -- and stumbled across a post discussing the history of Madden's features.

This is why I like the direction Madden took in M10 -- no nonsense. No Brick Wall Defenders. Or guys with wings on their feet. No QB Vision. The Madden IQ is sort of hidden. It's just football.

Now -- NCAA dev team. Madden 10 better be your wake up call. I know I gave NCAA a decent review this season and I stand by it.

But I won't touch NCAA for the rest of the year. Maybe I'll change my mind after the season starts, but NCAA is likely a dust collector. Next year, don't give us more mascot games, more season showdowns or more fluffy features or worry about Erin Andrews.

Fix Recruiting
Fix Player Progression
Totally Redo (i.e. stretch) the Ratings
Turn NCAA into a Sim of College Football.

Trust me when I say this -- the fan base is watching. They see what happened with Madden. And they will really, really want NCAA to do the same.

Ah, yes, Sinbad.

Not the comedian.

Last night Ashley left Baghdad, making her way on a Pilgrimage to Mecca -- only to get turned into an ape by a wayward enchantress, driven insane by a shadowy figure of the sea, and then covered in angry ants which then turned to gold.

I was (as Sinbad) imprisoned by a crazed Sultan, chased by wild dogs, and then shipwrecked off the coast of China.

All in a matter of about 20 minutes.

All I will say about this is that if you have a kid (or hell just adults with imagination) and want to play a board game that tells marvelous stories set in the era of 1001 Arabian Nights then you absolutely must get Tales of the Arabian Nights from Z-Man games.

Bill Harris I am looking at you.