Nowy superstrój pływaków może w wygodny sposób odwrócić uwagę od oszustów dopingowych - ocenił czołowy amerykański sprinter Gary Hall Jr. Podczas igrzysk olimpijskich w Pekinie będzie walczył o trzeci z rzędu złoty medal na 50 m stylem dowolnym.
Original post by Aktualności Sport.pl and software by Elliott Back
Na 30 medali liczą Włosi na igrzyskach w Pekinie - ocenił sekretarz generalny Włoskiego Komitetu Olimpijskiego Raffaele Pagnozzi.
Original post by Aktualności Sport.pl and software by Elliott Back
The Wide Receiver group was overshadowed by the Running Back this year in the NFL Draft. So much in fact that the first WR was not picked until the top of the second round when the Rams took Donnie Avery. With the ball catchers falling there was a team lurking in the second round that made out like bandits…
Footballjabber posted 2 hours ago from footballjabber.com [link]
Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: NFL, St. Louis Rams, Donnie Avery, Jason Campbell
Original post by The fantasy football times and software by Elliott Back
I know; it’s only May and we’ve already rolled out back-to-back Fantasy Football related topics. Well, in case you couldn’t gauge the temperature around here, we live for Fantasy Football and the thrill doesn’t end when the season ends. The off-season is one of the most critical times to gather up much needed information, analysis and prep for your draft, which happens to be a good 4 to 5 months away. Yup, I’m not ashamed to fall into this desperate category. Anyhow, this is hardly a summons on who to draft or who not to draft, rather this is taking a deep look at the impact that top flight WR’s have when they change teams.
Of course, this is all a hypothetical argument, because this is taking into consideration the three most prominent WR’s that have been rumored or verified as wanting out of their current situation…actually get traded.
1. Chad Johnson
2. Anquan Boldin
3. Roy Williams
Realistically, none of the aforementioned names will be moved during the off-season. However, let’s just imagine if they were. First and foremost, it’s important to note that trading places never equates to instant success for said WR. However, if you throw out the Randy Moss to Oakland faux pa; it tends to prove good to great results. And what circumstances am I basing this observation on? Well, let’s start with Terrell Owens and examine his instant impacts on Philadelphia and Dallas. Ironically, in Owens first season with each respective team he delivered Top Tier results.
Check these stats; in 2004 Owens had 77 grabs for 1200 yards and 14 TD’s. And that all took place despite being injured for 4 games. In Owens inaugural run with Dallas he caught 85 passes for 1180 yards with 13 TD’s. There’s no way around it, those numbers allowed Owens to be a Top end WR. Somehow, you have to factor in a change of scenery. Last season we saw Randy Moss elevate his stats back into the upper echelon with arguably the single greatest Fantasy WR season of all-time. Sure, it all depends on the setting and the personnel, but wouldn’t new homes have an impact on the WR’s mentioned above?
So, I guess the bigger question is…what destinations would revitalize the current disgruntled group and why? Fair enough, let’s take a look at the recipe.
First and foremost, it must be a contender. Obviously if you ship Chad Johnson to the Dolphins you must set diminished expectations. And not that it should come as much of surprise, but the team often mentioned as the ideal destination for these disgruntled WR’s is Philadelphia. To be honest, that makes perfect sense. The Iggles are still are lacking a “primetime” play maker and they do still have Donovan McNabb at the helm. How hard could it really be to flourish. Dallas and Washington also figure into the discussion, but I’ve got few other ideas for this crew. Let’s take a look.
1. Chad Johnson to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
I’m certain it’s been thought about or even mentioned. However, little airplay has been given to this option. Johnson would give the Jags the deep threat they’ve so desired over the years. Perhaps, it would make up for their failed WR draft picks. Johnson would bring a little bit of flare and flash to the Jags that they sorely need. You’ve got a solid coach in Jack Del Rio to keep Johnson in check. And you’ve got a team that very well could be ready to take another step towards the elite of the AFC. Wouldn’t you just love to see Johnson stick it the Bengals by helping the Jags get over the hump? In Fantasy terms, maybe Johnson’s stats don’t suddenly become eye bulging. However, he surely would have one hell of a Fantasy impact and produce some solid elite WR stats.
2. Roy Williams to the Minnesota Vikings.
I know; I know…who the hell is going to throw him the football. And yes, I’m well aware that only a moron like Matt Millen would trade a WR to a divisional rival. However, just dream with me if you will. The Vikings never really had much trouble setting up play-action and throwing the deep pass last season. The problem was always that their WR’s couldn’t ever catch the damn ball. Insert Roy Williams to be the feature on the outside and I’m sensing an explosion. The running game alone would profit from having a player of Williams caliber on the outside to spread the defense. Often known to be on the cusp of greatness…Roy Williams would produce a monster Fantasy season with the Vikings. Then again, the odds of this ever happening are slim and none.
3. Anquan Boldin to the Tennessee Titans.
It might seem a bit odd, but hang with me. Boldin is the perfect slot WR for Vince Young. If he could just stay healthy he’d be able to bust out some solid numbers. No longer would Boldin be stuck in the shadow of LArry Fitzgerald; this would be his show.
Of course, all of the above might be far, far exaggerated and less thought out. However, it’s still worth keeping a close eye on all three of these bitter WR’s. For if any of them are traded and the situation is right; we should expect a spike in their value and production. Again though, it’s all just wishful thinking. Here’s to 4more months of waiting to see how it shakes out.
Original post by Stan M. and software by Elliott Back
Here’s what you have to look forward to when Madden ‘09 hits the shelves in August. It’s fitting that the first clips of this game feature cover boy Brett Favre on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field!
Since Favre is now retired, I questioned what gamers would need to do in order to “unlock” Favre. It’d be a shame if he’s not in there somewhere besides the cover. I didn’t have to wait long for my question to be answered. Here’s what Brett has to say about that and the Madden game in general:
Graphics
From the grainy video clip and screenshots it’s hard to really conclude how much better the graphics are from last year’s version. I did notice that the in-game scoreboard has been redesigned. I guess EA Sports figured that they would follow the trend of most sport networks (ESPN’s MNF most notably) who have done the same in recent years with their on-air broadcasts.
EA Sports’ website let us know about one graphical improvement which features improved weather graphics.
In Madden NFL 09 you’ll see deeper snow on the fields, with dramatic accumulation and realistic wear from play. Player’s footsteps will leave imprints, snow will be piled on the sidelines and the yardage lines will be shoveled, just like in a real game.
It’s a good addition to the game but none of the high stakes Madden games (similar to the NFL’s Super Bowl) are played in bad weather. Nonetheless, it’s an added degree of realism and you can never have enough of that.
Sound
I think we all wondered what happened to Madden’s voice in recent versions of the game. One in a while, Madden would chime in with his words of wisdom but it seemed like a definite step backwards when the generic monotone play-by-play commentator fully supplanted Madden last year.
There’s been rumblings of EA Sports addressing this problem. New in-game commentary is rumored to be on the way! EA Sports audio director Aubrey Hodges sheds more light on this situation.
I have to be careful about this. Although I can… We are making a change in the Madden commentators. I can’t mention who they are. We are using some of the biggest names in the business. We listened to the fans and we are making a change. And that will be more than one. It will be a fantastic year for Madden fans, I think they’re gonna be thrilled with this new direction. I don’t think I can say much more than that.
Everyone is trying to figure out who these “big names” are going to be. House money would favor Al Michaels and John Madden but conventional wisdom concludes that the Monday Night Football crew of Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Tony Kornheiser (please no!) are going to be in the game.
Just recently, an ESPN article silenced all of the rumors and let us know who’s going to be calling the game.
Madden NFL 09 will also feature a network-inspired broadcast presentation. Players will benefit from the authentic football knowledge of an in-booth play-by-play and color commentary team featuring Cris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond.
Cris Collinsworth? Are you kidding me !?! This just goes to show that everything (including Madden ‘09) has it’s flaws.
Gameplay / Multiplayer
It’d be nice if EA Sports sent us a playable copy of the game (hint hint) so we could give a firsthand account of what have to look forward to but since our copy hasn’t arrived in the mail yet all we can do is speculate.
Phil Frazier, one of the game’s lead designers, recently commented on some of the new bells and whistles that hope to make this game the best Madden yet.
Regarding new gameplay features:
There are three really big things this year that I’m really excited about. The first is actually a collection of features that we call Real Football Intelligence. That’s the theme for this year’s product. Part one of that is a feature that looks really cool and that’s a holographic training environment. In this mode, you choose to go to the holographic training center and you have a bunch of training drills for you to practice. You can do things like work on pocket presence, you can work on receiver timing, focus on defense. I believe we have a total of 12 different drills that you can try.
What about any improvements in the online play?
For the first time ever in Madden, you’ll be able to get together with 32 of your friends and participate in a league where you can play through a schedule, play through the playoffs, play your own Super Bowl. There’s draft support, there’s trade support, and we actually implemented flex scheduling in the online leagues…We wanted to set up a system where leagues would actually get used and are very user-friendly in terms of the coordination required. It’s all server based. There are no files to manage. There’s no data whatsoever being saved on your box.
Needless to say, this is very exciting news. As an admitted Madden junkie I think this is going to be a landmark addition to the game! I can’t even remember how many times we’ve sat around the Xbox while playing Madden and talked about how cool it’d be to play a “fantasy season” with Madden teams. Think about it, you could join a league in which default rosters are used and support your team (i.e. Chicago Bears) or you could do a fantasy draft in which you team is built to suit.
The penultimate fantasy league is one in which your fantasy teams performance is not only determined by how they do on gameday but also how they do in Madden! I can’t wait…
Original post by Stan M. and software by Elliott Back
Here’s what you have to look forward to when Madden ‘09 hits the shelves in August. It’s fitting that the first clips of this game feature cover boy Brett Favre on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field!
Since Favre is now retired, I questioned what gamers would need to do in order to “unlock” Favre. It’d be a shame if he’s not in there somewhere besides the cover. I didn’t have to wait long for my question to be answered. Here’s what Brett has to say about that and the Madden game in general:
Graphics
From the grainy video clip and screenshots it’s hard to really conclude how much better the graphics are from last year’s version. I did notice that the in-game scoreboard has been redesigned. I guess EA Sports figured that they would follow the trend of most sport networks (ESPN’s MNF most notably) who have done the same in recent years with their on-air broadcasts.
EA Sports’ website let us know about one graphical improvement which features improved weather graphics.
In Madden NFL 09 you’ll see deeper snow on the fields, with dramatic accumulation and realistic wear from play. Player’s footsteps will leave imprints, snow will be piled on the sidelines and the yardage lines will be shoveled, just like in a real game.
It’s a good addition to the game but none of the high stakes Madden games (similar to the NFL’s Super Bowl) are played in bad weather. Nonetheless, it’s an added degree of realism and you can never have enough of that.
Sound
I think we all wondered what happened to Madden’s voice in recent versions of the game. One in a while, Madden would chime in with his words of wisdom but it seemed like a definite step backwards when the generic monotone play-by-play commentator fully supplanted Madden last year.
There’s been rumblings of EA Sports addressing this problem. New in-game commentary is rumored to be on the way! EA Sports audio director Aubrey Hodges sheds more light on this situation.
I have to be careful about this. Although I can… We are making a change in the Madden commentators. I can’t mention who they are. We are using some of the biggest names in the business. We listened to the fans and we are making a change. And that will be more than one. It will be a fantastic year for Madden fans, I think they’re gonna be thrilled with this new direction. I don’t think I can say much more than that.
Everyone is trying to figure out who these “big names” are going to be. House money would favor Al Michaels and John Madden but conventional wisdom concludes that the Monday Night Football crew of Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Tony Kornheiser (please no!) are going to be in the game.
Just recently, an ESPN article silenced all of the rumors and let us know who’s going to be calling the game.
Madden NFL 09 will also feature a network-inspired broadcast presentation. Players will benefit from the authentic football knowledge of an in-booth play-by-play and color commentary team featuring Cris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond.
Cris Collinsworth? Are you kidding me !?! This just goes to show that everything (including Madden ‘09) has it’s flaws.
Gameplay / Multiplayer
It’d be nice if EA Sports sent us a playable copy of the game (hint hint) so we could give a firsthand account of what have to look forward to but since our copy hasn’t arrived in the mail yet all we can do is speculate.
Phil Frazier, one of the game’s lead designers, recently commented on some of the new bells and whistles that hope to make this game the best Madden yet.
Regarding new gameplay features:
There are three really big things this year that I’m really excited about. The first is actually a collection of features that we call Real Football Intelligence. That’s the theme for this year’s product. Part one of that is a feature that looks really cool and that’s a holographic training environment. In this mode, you choose to go to the holographic training center and you have a bunch of training drills for you to practice. You can do things like work on pocket presence, you can work on receiver timing, focus on defense. I believe we have a total of 12 different drills that you can try.
What about any improvements in the online play?
For the first time ever in Madden, you’ll be able to get together with 32 of your friends and participate in a league where you can play through a schedule, play through the playoffs, play your own Super Bowl. There’s draft support, there’s trade support, and we actually implemented flex scheduling in the online leagues…We wanted to set up a system where leagues would actually get used and are very user-friendly in terms of the coordination required. It’s all server based. There are no files to manage. There’s no data whatsoever being saved on your box.
Needless to say, this is very exciting news. As an admitted Madden junkie I think this is going to be a landmark addition to the game! I can’t even remember how many times we’ve sat around the Xbox while playing Madden and talked about how cool it’d be to play a “fantasy season” with Madden teams. Think about it, you could join a league in which default rosters are used and support your team (i.e. Chicago Bears) or you could do a fantasy draft in which you team is built to suit.
The penultimate fantasy league is one in which your fantasy teams performance is not only determined by how they do on gameday but also how they do in Madden! I can’t wait…
Original post by The fantasy football times and software by Elliott Back
I’m currently in the sweet spot in between two library conferences; today I’m in D.C., tomorrow I’ll be in Chicago. Unfortunately, conferences don’t really lend themselves to a whole lot of time to blog and review the draft from last weekend…so I’m just getting around to posting some links to draft wrap-up now. And what’s better than draft wrap-up? Rookie rankings. So read on for all sorts of football goodness.
This blog might be quiet for a few more days while I attend my next library conference - at this one I will actually be presenting on fantasy football in libraries (yes, seriously) so it should be an interesting weekend. I’ll be back soon though with even more draft and rookie analysis - and new links to rankings and team previews. The season is really starting to ramp up now and dormant fantasy football sites are coming back to life - I for one couldn’t be more excited.
Original post by Fantasy Football Librarian and software by Elliott Back
TV Guide is laying off staff following shareholder approval of the $2.8 billion merger of Gemstar-TVGuide with Macrovision (NSDQ: MVSN), according to Folio. The deal is expected to close Friday. A TV Guide spokesperson confirmed the layoffs to Folio but sans number or title.
Folio also reported today about a round of layoffs at F+W Publications, where 30 jobs were cut as the company shifts resources to online. F+W is owned by private equity firm ABRY Partners, which also owns Cygnus Business Media. As part of its recent digital moves, F+W is working with NBC Sports on a four-city fantasy football program. NBC Sports will showcase the August 30 event in Las Vegas, New York, Chicago and Orlando on August 30 on the MSNBC fantasy sports site Rotoworld.com and in F+W’s FantasySports mag.
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Original post by Aktualności Sport.pl and software by Elliott Back
Wisła wygrała w Grodzisku 1:0 w drugim półfinałowym meczu Remes Pucharu Polski. Dzięki temu z dwumeczu wyszła zwycięsko i o drugą koronę w sezonie powalczy z Legią.
Original post by Aktualności Sport.pl and software by Elliott Back
Adam Topolski nie jest już trenerem Tura Turek. Szkoleniowiec podał się w środę do dymisji, po porażce swojego zespołu z Arką Gdynia 1:4.
Original post by Aktualności Sport.pl and software by Elliott Back
