Battling From Your Couch, 2008 Edition

EA vs. 2k Football and Hockey Executive Summary


Electronic Arts typically sells more sports videogames than some countries' entire exports. This, however, does not mean that EA puts out a great product every year. In the football realm, 2K had done an admirable job at it's NFL 2k franchise, and had arguably made a better game of football than EA had. Then the NFL made the unforgiveable move of granting EA the exclusive rights to NFL football for videogames. Well, 3 years later, 2k is back with a new football game that uses an imaginary league, but with Hall of Fame NFL legends. On the hockey side, 2k had also made a game that was arguably better than EA's only to have EA close the gap last year on the 360. Now we have full on competition, which is good for gamers. But which is better? Allow me to inform you of which next gen games are worth your money.

There are many gamers around who believe that EA is a lazy developer that puts out buggy games that have multiple flaws and issues. I share in that sentiment wholeheartedly. While there is no doubt that EA takes the crown this year in both football and hockey, that is not to say that there aren't certain issues with the games EA has released. It seems that when EA takes 2 steps forward they always take an additional step backwards.

Madden NFL 08 on the 360/PS3 is easily a better game than All Pro Football 2k8. It looks better, plays better and has more substance. The time off from being in the football game race shows on 2k. APF has a season mode....and that's it. No franchise. No dynasty. Just one season. You can, of course, play with a host of NFL legends like Elway, Payton and Montana. But you're playing on imaginary teams in an imaginary league. To top it off, the gameplay is just not as polished as EA's product is. Madden 08 looks magnificent, plays smooth and has a ridiculously deep franchise mode. If you own a Nintendo Wii, Madden is your only choice, of course. But while that game doesn't have the polish and features of it's 360/PS3 cousins, it does once again make great use of the Wii's unique controller. But Madden Wii does have a few "last gen" issues and bugs and it's online play is very choppy. But for those with a 360 or PS3, there really isn't much of a choice, in this gamer's opinion. Madden is a far superior game.

On the hockey side, 2k has out and out stolen the "skill stick" from EA and called it the "pro stick". Basically you control the puck with the right analog stick. In EA's game you also use the right stick to shoot, whereas in 2k you use one of the trigger buttons to shoot, which ends up being a bit awkward. Basically, EA has overhauled the AI in the game to make it very, very difficult to score, where you will score bunches in 2k's game. The hitting is toned down in EA's game, while the hitting is much more bombastic in 2k. It used to be that EA had the arcade syle game, while 2K was more of a sim. That has now switched entirely. 2k's game is now much more arcadey, while EA's game is a very good sim. EA's game has what EA called "adaptive AI" where the opponent adapts to your moves. It makes defense very difficult for the human player, and also makes offense more challenging because the CPU player will adapt if you keep doing the same things. The CPU goalies are also very difficult to score on. Almost too difficult. You'll play a lot of 2-1 games, and lose many of them for the first while. Even when you get good at it, you still won't score a ton. Your goals look and feel organic, as the physics engine is far superior to what 2k has to offer. But you score so infrequently that it almost seems random when you do. You can set up the box, cycle the puck and make a great play, only to have the goalie make a save that no human could possibly make in real life.

Both hockey games have deep and rewarding franchise modes. 2k's game actually has more depth than EA, but it's menus sometimes are achaic and don't make sense. 2k also has a host of really fun mini games and content that EA doesn't have. The pond hockey in 2k is a lot of fun again this year. But the full-on NHL experience is found in EA's game. The game just feels like real hockey.

One final note is that many of EA's NHL 08 disks for the 360 and PS3 have had an issue with the burning process and the reult is that the game will freeze a lot or you will get "Disk Read Errors". So if you can actually get a disk that works, EA's game is the better one this year.

Wealth Does Not Equal Knowledge

You Should Hope That Your Team's Owner Isn't As Arrogant as Chelsea's


Jose Mourinho: Winner of the Uefa Cup with Porto. Winner of the Champions League with Porto. Winner of the English Premiership twice with Chelsea. Quarter finalist in the Champions League with Chelsea.

Roman Abramovich: Rich Russian owner of Chelsea FC. Possibly the most arrogant owner in sports. And today, he looks like the most foolish.

In 2004, Roman Abramovich hires Jose Mourinho as manager of Chelsea FC. Mourinho had just guided FC Porto to a victory in the Champions League Final over Monaco. The previous season he had guided the same club to victory in the Uefa Cup Final over Celtic. Our Russian friend looks to have done a good bit of business. I dare say he had considering the result.

In 2005, Jose Mourinho managed Chelsea to the title of English Football Champions for the first time in 50 years in his first season at the helm. Then he repeated it again the following year giving the club its first back to back titles in history.

In 2007, Roman Abramovich sacks Jose Mourinho. Apparently the wealthy Russian magnate didn't like the style of play. Perhaps Chelsea are supposed to win the title each and every year without exception in addition to the most difficult club competitions on the planet.

My question: which style of play is it that he didn't like? A winning style?

You should all hope that your team's owner, regardless of sport, is not this arrogant. I'm sure Chelsea supporters are happy to have the titles that Mourinho brought them. They should be equally as gutted that he is now gone, as it may now be another 50 years before another.

The Trap of Optimism

NHL Internet Prognostication Revealed!

Being an Edmonton Oilers fan, I'd like to predict a playoff berth for my "new and improved" team this year. But is that realistic? Why, for sports fans, does the optimism trump everything else before the real games get played? Do you ever wonder why internet sports fans always predict their own team to finish a slice better than an objective observer? Well, it's no mystery to this amateur expert. But the truth may surprise you, as it has less to do with bias and homerism than you think.

Being an Edmonton Oilers fan, it would be really easy for me to say "The Oilers will surprise a lot of people this year; they're going to be pretty good" and get away with it.....so I'll just get started. The Oilers will surprise a lot of people this year; they're going to be pretty good. Now, you're likely asking yourself, "what's this blatant homer on about?", but it really isn't homerism. It's the familiarity with my home team affecting my perception. This is why people always pick their own team to do "better than folks expect". It's because they know that team far better than all the other teams.

Being an Edmonton Oilers fan, I follow the progress of the players who Edmonton has the rights to. So, therefore, I probably know more about those players and their abilities and growth than, say, a New York Rangers fan, or some Toronto hockey writer. But by consequence, I likely know far less about the players on the training camp roster of the New York Rangers or Toronto Maple Leafs. And since I see young players on the Oilers camp roster like Sam Gagner, Kyle Brodziak, and Robert Nilsson, and perhaps like what I see, I will fall into the trap of forgetting that other teams have young guns who are impressing at their camps as well. And for every Oilers veteran who has come to camp "in the best shape of my career" and "more focused on hockey now" there is an exact same story in every other NHL training camp. But, being an Edmonton Oilers fan, I don't necessarily see or hear those stories, because I'm pre-occupied with my team. And so I fall into the trap of perceiving that aside from my own team, everything else remains constant. But it doesn't. And that's why predictions from both fans and media alike rarely match up with the final result. Fans are overexposed to their own team, and media are underexposed to every team.

Being an Edmonton Oilers fan, I'm pretty happy with the players that my GM has secured in the offseason. I'm pumped about these young guns that look like they might step up and make an impact in the big league. I'm stoked that Oiler veterans have come to camp in shape and are focused. I'm also very similar to most every hockey fan in most every hockey market. I guess that's part of the fun. Let's get the games going already!

Oh...and by the way...the Oilers will win the Stanley Cup. It has to happen. You'd agree with me if you saw these players in camp.

A Crime of Fashionable Proportions

Reebok Messes Up Yet Another League's Jerseys


If there were a fashion police, Reebok's designers would be doing 99 years hard labour. After messing up the jerseys in both the NFL and CFL, Reebok set their sights on a new victim: The National Hockey League.

Like in the NFL and CFL, the new NHL jerseys aren't all bad, but few are improved from the previous product. And many are noticeably worse. Some teams chose designs that changed nothing, except that the new jerseys all fit differently. Some went for radical departures. And while fans of some teams try in desperation to convince themselves that their team's jersey looks sharp, the honest fan is left to wonder if the folks at Reebok need a new optical plan.

Highlights and lowlights:

New Jersey = Old jersey. Basically the Devils jersey is the same as before. Why fix what isn't broken?
Montreal = Montreal believes in tradition. The jerseys look the same as they have for the last 80 years or so, give or take a decade.
Boston = see Montreal.
Washington = Classic jersey concept returns. one of the few that is improved.

Vancouver = Yikes! I guess we'll all know who is playing when VANCOUVER is in town.
San Jose = I wonder if the 90's St. Louis Blues will sue.
Edmonton = One of the nicest jerseys in the league ruined. Half circles around the arms? Is this a joke?
Calgary = Not a bad jersey, except the tacky shoulder patches that stand out poorly. Oiler fans are laughing that there is now blue on the Flames jersey.
Dallas = You'll be sure that you landed in the correct city when playing in DALLAS!


I guess I could go on and on. Perhaps I should be happy that none of the teams look like they're wearing bibs like the Calgary Stampeders, or have the awful colour of seasickness like the Edmonton Eskimos' third jersey.

You have to look at the bright side, right? Right? Meh...just call the fashion police and get this over with.

The Hype Machine

The NFL Sets a New Standard for Fluff

Like many football fans, I eagerly awaited the kickoff of the first NFL game of the year on Thursday evening. But with the NFL, you don't just get the game. You get the pre-game, the game, the post game and all the hoopla. Thursday set the record for fluff, and I for one am experiencing hype fatigue.

Instead of a big pre-game show that previewed the league, it's teams and player movement and development, we got a massive Super Bowl type extravaganva live from Indianapolis. Complete with John Mellencamp, Faith Hill and Kelly Clarkson, who looks like her wealth affords her a talented cook. But I digress...

My question is this: what in the world does this have to do with the game? Do we need all of this fluff and hype? Can't the product speak for itself? Judging by the result of the actual game (yes, there was a game in between the rock concerts) between the Colts and the Saints, one might question that. Mind you, not every game is a 30 point rout. In the NFL you might get lucky if 30 points get scored at all.

Of course, one might not be able to tell in between the screaming sounds of advertising howitzers raining down hot shells of hype, exploding into great fireballs of fluff among the NFL faithful.

Now, don't get me wrong. I like NFL football. I don't find it boring, like many Canadians do. I don't wear a distain for American football like a badge of honour confirming my patriotism, as many of my countrymen do. But in the final analysis it's a football game! And just the first football game of the year. It's not the final, championship game where a celebration of excellence may be warranted. No team has proven anything yet. There's no need to celebrate like the skies opened and poured down cures for all the world's worst diseases.

I, for one, am glad that the NFL season is underway....at least when the games are finally being played.

A Tale Of Two Cities

The Current State of the Edmonton Eskimos


Edmonton: City of Champions. At least that’s what Edmonton likes to call itself. After winning championship after championship both on the ice and on the football field in the 1980s the moniker certainly fit. And there is no real harm in that nickname these days even if it doesn't fit so well anymore. Between 1978 and 1982, the Edmonton Eskimos captured 5 straight Grey Cups. The club also won again in 1987 and 1993 and appeared in the final game in 1986, 1990 and 1996. After a 10 year drought they won again in 2003 and 2005. It would seem that the Eskimos downfall came rather quickly after recent successes. In fact, the truth is that it is a long time coming, and those recent championships were the result of a massive stockpile of great talent that is no longer present. The rot has been building, and now the piper is being paid. When it comes to the current state of the Edmonton Eskimos, they are a far cry from the flagship franchise they once were. And to add salt to the wound, the franchise they need to take lessons from plays in Regina.

For many years the Eskimos organization was considered the flagship of the entire CFL. The steady rock while others struggled financially. It was the boat that floated and sent its crew to bail out other sinking vessels. The man who was responsible for so much of that glory was Hugh Campbell. But, while much of the credit deservedly belongs to Campbell, so does much of the blame for the current state of affairs at Commonwealth.

I don’t know why it happens to certain people, but some folks just stay on in their jobs too long, or get too comfortable. While Hugh Campbell ran a tight ship in Edmonton for many years, the comfort zone clearly got too great, and standards fell. The fan support in Edmonton, which has been tops in the league for two generations, was taken for granted. Things began to slide. Personal friendships and nepotism took the place of high standards, and doing what was best for the club ceased to be the golden rule.

The evidence was on display for everybody. When the Edmonton Eskimos needed an offensive coordinator five years ago instead of an exhaustive search for the best candidate possible, with interviews and the usual procedure, Campbell opted to hire his good friend Ron Lancaster’s son, Ron Lancaster jr. The junior Lancaster had just come off a terrible display of ineptness as coordinator in Winnipeg and had no real record of success. When the Eskimos had their last falling out with Don Matthews, nobody was allowed to say anything about it. Rumours still persist. Facts are not known except by a select few. And instead of an exhaustive search for a new coach, Campbell sent his manager, Tom Higgins, down to coach the team. When Higgins, a man with virtually no experience coaching a football team had finally made enough mistakes, Campbell showed him the door. Thanks for playing. The same thing happened to Lancaster. Once he was shown the door, the Eskimos hired Danny Maciocia as offensive coordinator. And in spite of lacklustre offensive schemes under Higgins, it was Maciocia who Campbell chose over the more experienced and respected Greg Marshall, who was running an excellent Eskimo defense.

And who did the Eskimos replace the jilted Marshall with when he left? Rick Campbell, Hugh’s son. Neither Maciocia nor Campbell have shown any great quality in their 3 years as coaches in Edmonton. Neither have the ability to properly adjust, neither have the ability to motivate players. Maciocia in particular is guilty. Current offensive Coordinator Jacques Chapdelaine currently languishes under Maciocia’s reign. Last year he was the coordinator of BC’s Grey Cup winning offense. Yet the success still eludes the team. One wonders how the team managed to fall from unlikely Champions in 2005 to missing the playoffs the next year. The team looks destined for a repeat this year.

Off the field the Eskimos fare no better. Several years of lackluster advertising, marketing and public relations have allowed many other teams in the CFL to catch up to the Eskimos in terms of both fan support and revenue. While the Eskimos annually release a few corny radio ads and come up with a forgettable catch phrase (Fight On!...groan) the BC Lions aggressively tackle their market with entertaining and sophisticated television and print ads. The Saskatchewan Roughriders actually advertise to their fans in other cities!

The Eskimos PR people can’t even get a gameday depth chart correct on their website. They can’t release a training camp schedule in a timely fashion for their die hard supporters. It all smacks of laziness and ingratitude. This is an organization that takes it’s fans for granted. But when High Campbell decided that it was time to vacate Edmonton for a cabin in the US, his hand picked successor was Rick LeLacheur, a respected local businessman who knows next to nothing about running a sports franchise. It shows.

When things get this bad off the field, things tend to go bad on the field. The on-field product that the Eskimos organization has put on display for the last couple of years has not just been sub-par, it’s been unentertaining. The squandering of player assets, the boring schemes, and the lack of creativity and innovation show a distinct lack of quality in terms of coaching and management. The Eskimos force out players who are legends and can still play, while never managing their roster to cope with the inevitable injuries that come with a contact sport like football.

There was another CFL franchise that told a familiar tale: The Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Riders under Roy Shivers were poorly managed, and seemed to be defined by the classless and uncouth actions of their GM and several players. The franchise and it’s fans that for years were the world’s #1 second favorite team were viewed with outright hostility by CFL fans who didn’t wear light green.

But, a massive turnaround has occurred in Regina. Gone are Shivers and his team. Under Eric Tillman, a new standard was quickly put in place and was enforced in no uncertain terms without delay. New coach, new attitude, new players. Even some players who were exceptionally talented were released because they did not conduct themselves in a manner that would be considered acceptable under a new, higher standard. The mouthy, “gangsta” player was embraced by Shivers; it would not be tolerated under Tillman. The organization was purged of it’s rot and renewed. Those who were worthy were kept. Those that were not, weren’t.

Currently the Edmonton Eskimos languish in the bottom of the CFL’s West Division and are actually getting worse as the season progresses. The Saskatchewan Roughriders lead the same division and have the best record in the CFL. Good luck getting a ticket in Regina.

There should be no doubt in the minds of Eskimo fans and the Eskimos Board of Directors what needs to be done.