Big news this week: From the Bleachers has its own page! On this brand-spanking new page you can listen to the current episode, previous episodes, subscribe to the podcast via iTunes and RSS feed. Check it out!

What? You're still here? Afraid to go to the new page without knowing what this week's episode covers? We thought that might happen so we've included a rundown below just for you. Really!

On this week's episode Brian returns from Vancouver with loads of info on Fight Night 4, Tiger Woods 09, and Madden 09. Shanker takes a few minutes off from his busy schedule of vacationing to share his thoughts on Tony Hawk's sabbatical and also offers insight into his crumbling relationship with Michelle from GTA IV. Aaron's wearing a new SportsGamer hat (listen to find out how you can get your own) and Fred thinks the world needs to get over Spygate. And as always, we answer your e-mails and phone calls.

INTRO
00:00-02:49 Welcome to the show! Have no fear, Brian's here!

NEWS
02:50-09:28 Fight Night Round 4 announced. Mike Tyson returns to video games!
09:29-13:18 Codemasters snags the F1 license. Did it cost $75 million? Will Codemasters give us the ability to use the PSP as a rearview mirror?
13:19-20:24 Is skateboarding a sport? Tony Hawk takes a year off. Is this a good thing for the series?
20:25-11:46 Skate is coming to the Wii and will use the Wii Fit board.

GAMES
22:35-28:11 Brian and Shanker have seen Madden 09 in action. How's it shaping up?
28:12-33:46 Tiger Woods 09 gets some new courses and loses some old ones. Brian gives his early thoughts on the game.
33:47-34:48 What's the deal with bowling games? The group shares their bowling experiences in GTA IV.

REAL SPORTS
34:49-37:12 Shanker makes his "call it" pick and throws Kobe Bryant's teammates under the bus.
37:13-40:39 Goodell on Spygate: "Move along people, nothing to see here."
41:00-43:23 Worst sports scandle: NBA Ref, Spygate, Steroids in Baseball?
43:24-46:46 The NBA Playoffs have been great so far. LeBron has no regard for human life. Watch it here.

E-MAILS (FromTheBleachers@GameSpot.com)
46:47-49:05 Mark wants to know why people won't go watch the first-place Oakland A's.
49:06-51:09 Regular e-mailer Sean C. wins a SportsGamer hat for his loyalty.

Phone Calls (1-866-406-263
51:10-54:59 Crazy Bears Fan Josh thinks the Bears aren't getting respect. Oh yeah, he lights things on fire while he calls in.

CALL IT
55:00-1:04:29 Brian's pick gets ripped again. We tell you how to win a SportsGamer hat. New From the Bleachers page coming soon. Our music is awesome thanks to Steve Beacham. Fred gives an update on happenings in the SportsGamer community. The newest episode of The Lineup is on the site and it's awesome.

The second episode of The Lineup--GameSpot and SportsGamer's video show--is up on the site now. This time around, Aaron, Shanker, and Brian play a game of cooperative NBA Live 08 to prove that anyone can come out of the Eastern Conference in the NBA playoffs, argue about whether Major League Eating is a sport, and eat a trailer load of donuts in celebration! We also talk sports games, including:

- A first look at THQ's upcoming WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw 2009
- A preview of the NFL Draft feature in NFL Head Coach 09
- A graphical comparison between Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and Project Gotham Racing 4

All that and, of course, we punch Mike Vick in the grill. We hope you enjoy Episode 2 of The Lineup as much as Roger Clemens enjoyed Mindy McCready when she was 15... allegedly!

Lineup Episode Archive:

The Lineup: Episode 1

On this week's episode of From the Bleachers Aaron takes the helm as Brian and Shanker are in Vancouver covering an EA Sports event. While the dynamic duo are missed, former GameSpot news editor and current TV.com editor Tim Surette makes a triumphant return to the world of GameSpot to help fill the void. This episode is a little shorter than the norm, but that doesn't mean we didn't cover a lot of ground.

Here are just some of the topics we touched on:

- Tecmo Bowl is back baby!

- NASCAR 09 will let you paint your dream car

- You can make some crazy-looking dudes in Top Spin 3

- Crazy Bears Fan Josh talks about how Cedric Benson stinks both at football and life

- Roger Clemens and Aaron Thomas apologize for "mistakes"

Be sure to stick around for the end of the show when Brian Ekberg gives a truly pathetic pick in a last-ditch effort to get in the win column for our "call it" segment. You've got to hear it to believe it. Come on Brian, step it up!

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To subscribe via RSS, click here.

As always, if you've got something to say, let us hear it either by leaving us a comment below, sending an email to FromTheBleachers@GameSpot.com or calling us at 1-866-406-2638 and tell us what's on your mind.

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You can expect to see lots of EA Sports-related updates coming from the sports crew this week. Tomorrow, Shanker and I (along with Takeshi) are heading up to Vancouver to see the upcoming EA Sports offerings for 2008. Unfortunately, we can't talk about anything we're seeing yet but, starting on Thursday, you can expect to see a ton of information.

Just in case you're wondering, there WILL be an episode of From the Bleachers this week. Noted Cubs/Bears/Blackhawks/Bulls fan Aaron Thomas will be handling hosting duties while Shanker and I are in the Great White North. In honor of Canada, I plan on having Shanker call in on the show and do his best Geddy Lee impression.

And, hey, speaking of the podcast, I just saw the design for our landing page (you know, similar to what The HotSpot has) and it's looking pretty sharp. I hope it will be up and running this week but more likely it will be for a future episode. Nonetheless, I think you'll like what you see once it's up.

It's like Christmas in late April here at From the Bleachers, as we get our first look at two of the biggest sports games of the year: NCAA Football 09 and Madden NFL 09. On this episode we hear from EA Sports producers as they open up about some of the biggest features in both games, including details on online leagues in Madden 09 and online dynasty play in NCAA 09.

Other topics covered on this show:

- Smash Court Tennis 3 or, as we like to call it, Name Fifty Tennis Players
- Codemasters Snatches Up Sega Racing
- The Latest MLB 08 Patch
- Barry Zito: Bad at Pitching, Good at Getting Paid
- Larry Brown Commits to Charlotte for At Least 1/3 of 2008/09 Season

Plus an exclusive 60-second rant from Shanker on... something. All this plus, hey, someone made an accurate prediction last week! Find out who finally got something right in the fourth episode of GameSpot's award-winning* sports gaming podcast, From the Bleachers.

*- Award given to us from our Mom.

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To subscribe to the From the Bleachers podcast via iTunes, click here.

To subscribe via RSS, click here.

As always, if you've got something to say, let us hear it either by leaving us a comment below, sending an email to FromTheBleachers@GameSpot.com or calling us at 1-866-406-2638 and tell us what's on your mind.

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The announcement of Brett Favre as the cover athlete on the cover of Madden NFL 09 changed last night from rumor to fact. As a result, today in New York City, the NFL and EA Spots spent the day honoring the former Green Bay Packers quarterback and NFL legend. The festivities began early, as Favre took some time to do some interviews with the press--look for our talk with Favre coming soon--just before heading into the dining room of the Rainbow Room at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, for a special roast/tribute hosted by his Favre's former wide receiver, Sterling Sharpe.

During the tribute, Sharpe had plenty of stories about his old teammate and managed to bring up a number of special guests, including Brett's former QB coach Steve Mariucci, his previous back-up quarterback (and current man behind center for the Seattle Seahawks) Matt Hasselbeck, as well as former Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens quarterback and 2008 NFL Draft hopeful Joe Flacco.

The tribute was fun, with obvious chemistry between Sharpe, Favre, Mariucci, and Hasselbeck. At one point, Coach Mariucci recalled a story of when the Packers were first evaulating tapes on Favre (who was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons). Referring to Favre's lack of playing time, Mariucci joked that he probably had tapes of two pass plays on Favre to judge his talent. "And I think they were both interceptions," Mariucci said, to which Favre interrupted "Just one... and that was a good throw."

During my interview with Favre, I asked Favre asked him whether he had a play he ever regretted during his career, something he'd go back and time and correct if he had the chance. His response: definitely not. "What's happened has happened," he succinctly told me. That said, he wasn't averse to going back in time to recount a particuarly embarassing play of his then-backup Hasselbeck. Playing Minnesota during a Monday night game, Hasselbeck came in late for an injured Favre, drove the ball down the field and then attempted a fake field goal play, which resulted in a touchdown. Looking to celebrate the TD, Hasselbeck went to jump into the pileup in the endzone, only to miss completely and land flat on his face.

I'm still not quite sure why Joe Flacco was brought on stage with Sharpe and Favre--before today I'd never heard his name. Maybe the NFL Network (who were taping the tribute presentation for airing on Saturday before the draft) knows something about him that I don't. At one point, Sterling Sharpe, when asking Flacco whether he looked to emulate an aspect of Favre's game should he be signed by an NFL team, Sharpe asked "You want the TDs, but not the INTs, right?"

Flacco agreed immediately but Favre, who owns both the career TD and INT records, said with an impish smile on his face, "You gotta have both."

The EA Sports/NFL Network tribute to Brett Favre will air this Saturday on the NFL Network, prior to the 2008 NFL Draft. In the meantime, check out this pictures I snapped from the event:

As if you don't get enough poorly considered sports opinions in your every day life... welcome to the THIRD episode of From the Bleachers! In this jam-packed show we...

... talk about playing NFL Head Coach 09 for the first time
... chat about two upcoming Midway sports games: Blitz The League II and TNA iMPACT!
... rock out with our discussion of the soundtrack in NASCAR 09
... check out EA Sports' picks for this weekend's 2008 NFL Draft
... try to figure out Miguel Tejada's correct age
... listen as Josh the Crazy Bears fan makes fun of the city of Buffalo

All that and more. And hey, now you can subscribe to the show! Copy this address into your fancy RSS aggregator podradio thing:

http://www.gamespot.com/misc/podcast/bleachers.xml

Or you can subscribe to From the Bleachers via iTunes by searching for "From the Bleachers" in the iTunes store and hitting the "subscribe" button.

As always, if you've got something to say, let us hear it either by leaving us a comment below, sending an email to FromTheBleachers@GameSpot.com or calling us at 1-866-406-2638 and tell us what's on your mind.

LISTENING INSTRUCTIONS: Simply left-click right here to listen right away, or right-click and save the file so you can put it on your fancy new iPod later. This is a pretty large file, so be patient if it doesn't start playing right away.

The news for NCAA Football 09 continues to trickle out. I've been keeping tabs on the cover athlete announcements--which has already seen Darren McFadden and Michigan State's Sparty take the honor for the Xbox 360 and Wii versions, respectively. And today, EA announced that former Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan will be on the cover of the PlayStation 3 version of the game.

More important to fans of the series however, are a few more details about the gameplay in NCAA Football 09. Here's the relevant portions from this morning's press release:

NCAA Football 09 also brings the atmosphere, pageantry and tradition of college football to life. Through the redesigned stadiums, which reflect even more detail of each school's individual playing field, to the dynamic sidelines filled with school colors, cheerleaders and mascots, players will feel the excitement of college gameday. Players can gain Home Field Advantage as the intensity of the home crowd rises and rattles the composure of opposing teams. All 120 Football Bowl Subdivision schools are represented in the game and players can even customize the in-game atmosphere with their own personal music collection.

Off the field, NCAA Football 09 features its most robust Dynasty Mode yet, inviting fans to create and manage a perennial powerhouse program from landing blue-chip recruits to winning championships on the field. For the first time ever, Dynasty goes online with up to 12 competitors to recruit head-to-head, customize schedules and play for up to 60 seasons.

As I recounted a while back, my jaw hit the floor when online dynasty was announced in brief a few weeks ago, and we've been speculating in the office consistently on how the mode will work in the game. The way I saw it, the central component of a successful online dynasty would be the ability to recruit against one another. It had to be there. And, judging by the info above, it looks like it will be. But how will it work? And how deep (and underhanded) will you be able to get with your recruiting tactics against your buddies? I'm looking forward to these kinds of answers but the thought of playing out a real SEC season with eleven other people has got me fired up.

Hopefully we'll get more answers on how online dynasty (and the rest of the game) will work this week, as I'm heading to New York City tomorrow to see the game for the first time and check out the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft. So if you've got questions about NCAA 09, send them my way and I'll do my best to answer as many of them as I can here (or on our podcast).

Well, it looks like everyone survived the first episode of From the Bleachers so we've decided to push our luck again and release a second one. What fantastic stuff could we possibly cram into this episode? The big highlight is an in-depth interview with Josh Looman, the lead designer of the upcoming NFL Head Coach. He gives great insight on how you'll scout and draft players, run practices, design plays, coach during games, and much more. If you're a football fan you don't want to miss this interview. What, you want more? How about...

Wii Fit
Our terrible picks from last week
Mario Super Sluggers
Hockey!
Kobe Bryant's age
Melo's little DUI adventure
Aaron's crazy brother
Your comments and phone calls
New terrible picks for this week!

Have something you want to get off your chest? Comments? Ideas for a new segment or how to improve an existing segment? Do you think Shanker might be legally insane? Leave us a comment below, send an email to FromTheBleachers@GameSpot.com or pick up the phone and dial 1-866-406-2638 and tell us what's on your mind.

Simply left-click right here to listen right away, or right-click and save the file so you can put it on your fancy new iPod later. This is a pretty large file, so be patient if it doesn't start playing right away.

Thanks for listening!

Things are busy here in GameSpot Sports World HQ. In addition to launching the From the Bleachers podcast last week, we just kicked off our sports gaming video show, The Line-Up, yesterday. On our debut episode, we've got the following:

- Our 2008 Baseball Round-up

- A preview of NBA Ballers: Chosen One

- A look at Aaron Thomas' trip to see NASCAR 09 and check out the Richard Petty Driving Experience

- An interview with NCAA Football 09 cover athlete Darren McFadden.

All that, plus we punch Michael Vick in the face! And that's just the beginning. We're looking to make The Line-Up a twice monthly show and will be taping our next episode this week. If you like the first episode, just wait until you see what we have lined up for you in episode two. Oh Lord, it's going to be special!

If you've got comments about the show, let us know here in the comments. We'd love to hear your feedback!

Okay, I get it, Ottawa. Your team is down 0-2 in the opening round playoff series against Pittsburgh. You need something, ANYTHING to rile yourselves up and bring your team out of the ditch it's in right now. But a bad--and I mean BAD--300 knock-off/motivational speech to start off tonight's game? How is that going to motivate anyone, beyond Internet nerds like me who feed on this stuff like it was Spaghetti-Os with meatballs.

There's so very many things wrong with this video:

-- The Spartan himself--Gerard Butler this guy ain't. He's doughy, he's hairless, and his helmet doesn't fit right.

-- The sound--"We fight... [indecipherable]LA! I call on all of you to st[indecipherable] do[indecipherable] warriors and will them... [pause to readjust helmet] to victory!"

-- The helmet doesn't fit. It wobbles on his head. How many Spartan slaves would have died if King Leonidas' helmet was this ill-fitting?

Nice job, Ottawa. I like your spirit but your execution leaves a lot to be desired. Is it any wonder you're down 3-0 in the series now?

Of course you know this means that either NHL 09 or NHL 2K9 are going to have to bring a "create your own overblown and poorly executed rip-off of a major movie" opening ceremony. The hockey community will demand it.

Hey, remember how you love podcasts? Good, because we've got a brand-new podcast just for you. It's a collaborative effort from SportsGamer.com and GameSpot.com called From the Bleachers. This weekly podcast will feature news from the world of sports and sports video games, developer and athlete interviews, your phone calls, and the kind of witty banter that you can only get when you lock the GameSpot and SportsGamer crew in a recording studio for an hour. Here's a quick look at just some of the topics that we discuss in our inaugural episode:

Madden's next cover athlete
Shanker's bizarre obsession with Kobe Bryant
The release date for Gran Turismo Mobile
Aaron's crazy Chicago Bears-loving brother
Jose Canseco's career as an author
Brian's anticipation of THQ's Baja
Mike Vick's prison football career
And much, much more...

This podcast is just as much yours as it is ours and we want to hear from you. If you have ideas for a new segment, a crazy rant you've got to get off your chest, or just want to say "hi," call us at 1-866-406-2638 and make yourself heard.

Simply left-click right here to listen right away, or right-click and save the file so you can put it on your fancy new iPod later.

Thanks for listening!

Welcome to The Huddle, a periodic look at the latest news in the sports world where GameSpot and SportsGamer editors give their candid takes on a single topic from the worlds of sports and sports gaming. This week we tackle the news of EA Sports' NFL Head Coach being bundled as part of the 20^th anniversary collectors edition of Madden NFL 09.

Brian: I can't tell if the news that NFL Head Coach 09 will be bundled with the collector's edition of Madden NFL 09 is good news or bad news for Head Coach. On one hand, selling it with Madden will ensure that the game will be seen by thousands, if not millions, more gamers than it would normally sell on its own. On the other hand, I can't help but think that this is sort of a slap to the face for the developers behind the game. Here they are, having spent months on working on a project that is obviously near and dear to their hearts and, all of a sudden, EA management pulls up and says that the only way fans will be able to see this game is if they agree to spend ninety bucks on Madden.

I'm not sure how I would react to this kind of decision if I was put in that position. Am I overjoyed at the news that my game will be seen by a huge audience, or am I pissed that EA doesn't seem to believe in it enough to make it a standalone product?

Fred: I was surprised when I read this the other day. I think EA was going to get praise and flak for this decision. On one hand the consumer can save a few bucks and get two games for less than it would have cost to buy them separately. At the same time, some people complain that they just wanted NFL Head Coach and not spend the extra money on Madden.

The problem I have with EA releasing another Head Coach version, is why didn't they just focus their efforts on implementing this stuff in Madden? From what I've read you'll be able to create playbooks in Head Coach and use them in Madden. If it's not in this year's version of Madden why wasn't it? Gamers have been asking for this feature the last few years.

I think Head Coach is a "niche game." This is probably the reason its being bundled with Madden. And if this is case a whole new game shouldn't be released, it should just be apart of Madden if possible.

Shanker: From a consumer standpoint, I have a problem with Head Coach only being available as a bundled product. As a result of EA's exclusive NFL license, consumers are already offered little choice with regards to console football gaming. Apart from the graphical improvements resulting from next-gen systems and esthetic bells and whistles, the Madden franchise has undergone little renovation in the last few years. The only alternative, 2K's All Pro Football, is simply not a viable alternative for the majority of football gamers due to the lack of actual teams or current NFL players. As a result, consumers attracted by Head Coach 09's novelty (and improvements from the previous Head Coach) will still be forced to purchase Madden.

From EA's perspective I think the move is pure genius; a credit to a marketing team that has proven time and again that they know how to move copies. Obviously there is a natural synergy between the two titles. Both are based on the same graphical engine and Head Coach's fan base is likely a hardcore subset of Madden franchise enthusiasts. As Brian mentioned, packaging the two titles will undoubtedly attract many longtime Madden fans, who otherwise would not have purchased a secondary football title alone, to give Head Coach a try. At essentially a $30 additional cost, the move allows EA to expand the consumers' annual football gaming budget without devaluing the Head Coach franchise in the long term (in future years, after Head Coach establishes itself, EA could split the two franchises and sell each title for $60).

Aaron: I'm cautiously optimistic about the Madden 09/Head Coach bundle. It could be a good idea for several reasons. For starters, Head Coach is a full game, so it alone is provides more content than what's typically included in collector's editions. Also, bundling the two games together is the only way most people are going to give Head Coach a chance. Like many others, I wasn't all that into the first Head Coach game, so there was no way I was going to buy a sequel--especially for $60. This bundle only costs $30 more than the standalone version of Madden 09 and I'm willing to risk $30 to find out if this Head Coach is any good.

I don't know that I totally agree with what Brian's saying about this being a "slap to the face of the developers behind the game," but I don't know that this aggressive move speaks highly of EA's confidence in Head Coach. Electronic Arts might think the game stinks and they're trying to cut their losses. Of course, they might have made the decision based totally on the numbers--there's no doubt that Head Coach will generate more money riding on the coattails of Madden than it will on its own. If nothing else, this is an interesting idea and I'm anxious to see how it plays out.

What's your take on the NFL Head Coach/Madden 09 bundle? Let us know in the comments!

Last night, I logged on to Xbox Live for the first time in something like two weeks with the sole purpose of getting an easy 1,000 achievement points. A few minutes later, I get a PM from a buddy of mine at EA who works on NCAA 09, asking if I'd seen the feature set for the game yet, which was released last night on the NCAA 09 site.

"online dynasty..." he writes me. Cue my jaw hitting the floor.

There's a lot to absorb in that list of features for 09; some features that sound sort of 'meh' (mascot games and interactive TD celebrations? Do people really care?) and features that have got me thoroughly pumped. Some of the highlights:

- Online dynasty. No details yet but you've got to start here. The idea of guiding my school against other players online sounds almost too good to be true. I wonder how the recruiting will work? Will I be recruiting talent against other online competition? How will I entice a player to come to my school over someone else's program? Will we all be pulling from the same shared resource of online talent? And have the recruiting tools been improved from last year's overhaul that saw more control but a lot more tedium in the recruiting aspect? So many questions...

- Improved recruiting system in dynasty mode highlighting ease and accessibility. Well that sounds like a step in the right direction.

- User customizable stadium sounds and music. You mean I can finally get Auburn's ACTUAL fight song in the game, as opposed to "Glory, Glory Hallelujah"? Sign me up.

- College-specific tackling engine. I don't even know what this means but I'm intrigued.

- 1-4 player offline co-op. This one isn't a huge surprise to me, though I expected EA to follow suit with NBA Live and the NHL series and make this co-op play online. This one won't be a huge draw for me, as I typically play by myself anyway... but here's hoping it's the start of online co-op in the future. As an aside, I'll be really surprised if this year's Madden doesn't have some sort of online co-op play...

- Roster file sharing online - Ever year I spend far too many hours entering all of the player names for the SEC schools--a process that takes half of forever to complete. Sounds like those days might be a thing of the past...

Which features are you excited about for NCAA 09?

Shanker, myself, and GS Live's cameraman extraordinaire Tyler Winegarner were in Orlando yesterday and today for the announcement of THQ's latest SmackDown! vs. Raw game. Last night we hit the sixth annual THQ SuperStar Challenge, won once again by the inimitable Elijah Burke. Check out these shots that Tyler took from the event...

Two in a row for Elijah...

The Legend Killer was ousted in the first round but was a crowd favorite. Orton is also bigger than he looks on TV...

On the other hand, Rey Mysterio Jr., is actually smaller than he appears on TV, which is saying something. Rey appeared briefly in the interviews with his pals from the band P.O.D. (who also played a show after the tourney) but Rey didn't participate because he's nursing a bicep injury.

The lovely and sorta scary Ashley made it further than expected in the tournament and I'd like to take full credit for that. What do I mean by that? Well you'll have to tune in to our segment from the tournament on next week's On the Spot...

(BTW, I know these pictures are small. If you want the full size versions, you can find them on the Images portion of my profile page.)

Welcome to Quick Hitter, where we bring you quick profiles of the people producing and developing today's best sports games.

Name: Anthony DeLuca
Affiliation: 2K Sports
Role: Producer, Top Spin 3

Alright, Anthony, if you had to describe Top Spin 3 in two sentences, what would you say?

The most realistic tennis simulation ever. There, only took me one sentence.

What is your favorite sports game of all time—but you can't say Top Spin 3?

Ahh interesting… Ok, I'm going to keep it in-house though. I'm a huge NBA 2K fan. Well, I'm just a huge SportsGamer in general. Sometimes you have an off-year and a game takes a step backwards. (The developers of the NBA 2K series) keep upping the ante every year--not an easy thing to do. As far as realism and gameplay, it has both and it's so much fun to play.

There is always a give and take (between gameplay and realism). I think 2K Sports as a whole does a good job of stepping back and viewing all of our projects like that. Whether it's MLB, NHL, Top Spin, Prizefighter—all our sports titles--we always try to keep it consistent with the 2K Sports brand. Yes, they are realistic, but it's a game at the end of the day and it needs to be fun. There's other elements as well, whether it's branding or making sure there's a great soundtrack, etc. We try to see everything as a whole and make sure that every game meets a 2K Sports standard.

Ok, assume I have never played a Top Spin game before. What's my learning curve going to look like when I pick up Top Spin 3?

Well, we instituted something called the Top Spin School. It's basically a collection of interactive tutorials. This way you don't just get a screen that says "here's the button, now go do it". Basically, you're there against a tennis ball machine that is hitting balls to you. It shows you all of the controls such as how to serve, how to volley, how to hit a slice shot, how to hit a lob shot, how to charge the net. This way, for the new player, they can just jump right into the game without having to read an instruction manual.

What was one thing that you feel Top Spin 2 lacked that was a focus during the development of Top Spin 3?

Okay, I'll give you two things. The first is a more in-depth online mode. Obviously this is huge on the 360 and the PS3 is starting to come along as well. We really wanted to push players to compete online so we added things like the World Tournament, standard online exhibitions for single and doubles, and even the create-a-player feature. In Top Spin 3 you can take your created player online or take him offline and play the career mode. Either way you're using the same character. This way all of your experience points are credited to the same character.

The other thing is that we are always critical of our own titles and the way the game plays. In Top Spin 3 we focused on improving the AI. We wanted to reduce the length of matches and long volleys. We didn't want the AI to be a robot and know what you're going to do even before you do it. Basically, if you are making your opponent run back and forth, chances are he is going to make a mistake. I think this adds to the realism of the game.

Ever since its inception more or less four years ago, the GameSpot Sports Beat has been all about me. My thoughts, my opinions, my incessant references to the Auburn Tigers, and my scowling face in the graphic at the top of this blog. Well, if the stars align this week, that is set to change.

You see, while there are good gaming blogs out there with just a single contributing voice, sports blogs by nature are all about multiple opinions, conflict, and good-old fashioned name-calling. That's why we've decided to open up the GameSpot sports blog to multiple contributors and I couldn't be more excited about the change. Here's a peek at some of the new faces on the Sports Beat roster:

Shanker Srinivasan -- GameSpot users might know Shanker as the guy who Aaron beat in the Super Bowl Showdown. HotSpot listeners might recognize him as the "god of destruction" but SportsGamer readers know him as the main editor of the site. Shanker will be bringing his insight to sports games and his overwhelming love for Kobe Bryant to the blog. In fact I believe his first post is entitled "My Overwhelming Love for Kobe Bryant."

Aaron Thomas -- Everyone knows Aaron and everyone loves Aaron. Okay, I'm not so sure about that last part but everyone definitely knows Aaron. He's one of the busiest editors here at GameSpot, not just with his regular job of reviewing games, but also as a frequent features contributor and full-time harasser of Shanker. He's also an absolute beast with the video features. And he's a Bears fan, so he's okay by me.

Kyle Cooper -- Some GameSpot users might not recognize Kyle, but most hardcore Madden fans probably do. He's responsible for nearly all of the Madden strategy articles over at SportsGamer, and he's probably got more football knowledge packed in that brain of his than Cam Cameron and Bill Callahan combined. Okay, bad examples, but you get the idea. Trust me, Kyle is going to make this blog about 100% more intelligent by his very presence alone.

Along with these contributors, you'll also see the posts from SportsGamer community manager Fred Villarruel and Daniel Grundei, product manager with SportsGamer, who also happens to be a great Madden (and FIFA, and probably a ton of other sports games) player.

We hope you like the new additions to the Sports Beat blog and I hope you'll share your feedback with us as we gear up for what promises to be a hectic few months. This is just the first in an string of exciting announcements we're going to be bringing you on the sports tip in the coming months. Stick around, things are just heating up.

Well, this whole March Madness thing was fun while it lasted. But with UConn, Drake, UNLV, Arizona and USC (my stretch pick for a deep run to the Elite Eight) losing, my bracket is looking... well, if not busted, then at least badly cracked.

How's your MM bracket (be it on SportsGamer or elsewhere) going?

In other news, Sparty--the huge-faced mascot of the Michigan State Spartans--has been chosen as the cover mascot for the Wii version of NCAA Football 09... immediately disqualifying the game from being taken seriously by college football fans. Oh, come now, Spartans fans, I kid because I love. After all, it's nice that you folks get to win something right?

Is it college football season yet?

If I get fired this week, it's all the fault of CBS. It's March Madness after all and, starting Thursday, I'll be doing my best to take care of my work duties while watching opening round games all day long.

This morning, Aaron, Shanker, and I made our picks for the tournament this year in preparation for the latest chapter in the ongoing GameSpot vs. SportsGamer feud: the March Madness Showdown. Here, GS and SG users will be asked to fill out their brackets and we'll be keeping score of which site has the best tournament prognosticators. Think you've got what it takes? Head on over to SportsGamer and sign up.

As for my picks, I'm going out on a limb and saying USC will go deeper than expected (but not too deep) and I've got North Carolina winning it all. Yeah, I know, not much of a stretch.

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EA Sports' president Peter Moore has a newly redesigned blog which is a big improvement from the forum look of its previous incarnation. Give it a read.

According to Moore's blog, the current standings for the NCAA Football 09 Wii cover contest breaks down as follows:

• Washington State
• Michigan State
• Auburn
• Nebraska
• Central Florida

The actual site site for NCAA 09 has a slightly different order to the top 5, with UCF ahead of Auburn and Nebraska in fifth. Voting appears to be closed, which is a crying shame, because I can't live in a world where my Tigers lose at ANYTHING to the Cougars or Spartans. Oh, and nice try Cornhuskers. If you put half as much effort on the football field as you did voting your team on the cover, your program might still matter.

Color me corrected. After reading the fact sheet for EA Sports' upcoming UEFA EURO 2008, I was pissed. You see, EURO 2008 won't have the collectible card feature that was the highlight of UEFA Champions League 2006/2007. After whipping myself into an apoplectic rage about this, I typed out a tidy little 500-word blog rant, bemoaning the removal of one of my favorite sports game features in recent years.

Until I realized which version of UEFA that we're talking about.

You see, in addition to the yearly FIFA series, and along with the just-released FIFA Street 3, EA puts out two separate UEFA series--the Euro series, last released in 2004 to coincide with the real UEFA European Football Championship, and the UEFA Champions League series which is released roughly every two years. The upcoming UEFA Euro 2008 is naturally tied to this year's European championship, which will be held this June in Austria and Switzerland.

Wading through this complex release schedule is tough enough but the takeaway is that it's entirely possible--if not probable--that UEFA Champions League 2008-2009 will be on the release schedule next year, and that EA will be talking about their grand plans for the card feature update. At least, they better be talking about that feature. Otherwise, I've got 500 words ready for battle...