FanHouse: Tue AM 'Early Madden Review' Edition

MJD stayed up late to get his copy of Madden '08, MDS got his wrestling coverage linked up on Drudge, and our NCAA guys broke down the new rules and regulations. It was a good Monday.

Madden:
The Debriefing: Madden '08 Delivers, as Long as You Like Fumbles: The first game I fired up had to be at Heinz Field, because I was desperate to know if Steely McBeam exists in the game. If he doesn't, Madden will lose points in this review in the categories of creating a realistic playing environment, as well as gay-friendliness.

Media Watch:
Will Canseco's Next Book Ever Be Published? When reached this week, Canseco said, "How much are you paying me for an interview?" Nothing, he was told. "My time is extremely valuable," he said. "So unless you're willing to pay me, I'm not interested. I've been paid for every interview."

Pedro Gomez Almost Missed Barry Bonds' Historic Blast: Had Bonds waited another day to homer as opposed to going yard last Tuesday night, Pedro wouldn't have been there to see it. That just would not have been right, folks. On top of that, the Daily Breeze got some other solid information from Gomez about chasing Bonds around for such a long time.

Everywhere You Look, Sports Journalists Are Blabbing, Gabbing, Fretting, Chatting, Arguing: Chad has been known to turn up on ESPN himself a few times, but he seems to view the development of sports columnists spending more time in TV studios than newsrooms as a bad thing. I'm not so sure.

Preseason Football Beats Barry Bonds' 756th: Well, it does show how much the media has changed recently, and how much football now dominates.

NCAA Rule Changes:
Holding That Line at 354: I think we are going to need new short-hand ways to describe what will be nearly 300 non-BCS conferences. Mid-major isn't going to do it anymore. I'm thinking a color coded chart like the Department of Homeland Security uses.

New NCAA Kickoff Rule Getting Buzz as Revolutionary Change: Notable among them is that teams must now kick off from the 30-yard-line instead of the 35. Fans have been quiet but coaches are starting to make noise about its influence on the college game. "I think it could change college football as much as anything we've ever seen," Texas coach Mack Brown said.

MLB:
Baseball Tennis Looks Fantastic: As Sooze over at Babes Love Baseball points out today, sadly this isn't real. It's a commercial. But it looks real, which makes it A-OK in my book. Because no matter what your mother or kindergarten teacher may have taught you, looks are everything.

Will the Tigers Keep Pudge Rodriguez? If the Tigers don't exercise the option, I have a hard time believing that Pudge could find a comparable offer from another team. Ideally, he and the Tigers could find some common ground that won't break the bank but would still reward him for both his current and past production.

Nobody Knows the Trouble Rick Ankiel's Seen: While I not only appreciate the Weeds reference, I'm glad to see that Scott Boras has concern for the clients that aren't making him bajillions. And I'm glad to see a window to a world that isn't so cushy, and someone having the perspective to know what it really means to sink or swim.

NBA:
For Reggie, It's Celtics Or No One: Although the Mavericks seem to be rumored to be interested in every old player with delusions of a comeback, they have not been mentioned as suitors for Miller. It seems he is either going to the Celtics or no one. And the smart money says that he will play.

Sonics Owners: We Bought the Team to Move: I guess you could walk away from this thinking that there's still hope. But let's be realistic here: Sonics ownerships has a hardline stance and a deep-seated urge to bring the team to the Dust Bowl.

Mark Cuban Does Not Oppose Tanking:

Cuban: "I'll be the first to admit Michael, I would tank a lot of games."

Irvin "You would tank games? Mark wait, you would tank games to get the first pick in the draft?"

Cuban: "Yes, yes see it depends on where you are."

Random YouTube Magic: Pistol Pete Plays Horse: Remember, this is what many of us have clamored to have happen over All-Star Weekend. If this is any indication of how it would go, Stern might want to lift his ears up.

NFL:
Remaining Vick Co-Defendants to Plead Guilty: The remaining co-defendants, Quanis L. Phillips and Purnell Peace, have hearings scheduled for this week in U.S. District Court in Richmond. By pleading guilty, they will be following in the footsteps of Tony Taylor, who also was indicted with Vick and also entered a guilty plea, which requires him to testify against the remaining defendants.

Andy Reid's Son Pleads Guilty, Could Face 14 Months: Don't expect to hear Andy comment on the decision his sons and their attorneys made to go with a guilty plea. The Eagles have said that there will be no official comment made.

Other:
Brian Adams, Crush of WWF Tag Team Demolition, Dies at 43: There will no doubt be questions about whether steroids played any role in Adams' death. According to Adams' IMDB page, he was arrested on drug and weapons offenses in 1994 for carrying steroids and a stun gun. He was later acquitted of the drug charges.

'No Visible Signs of Injuries' in Death of Wrestler Brian Adams, Crush of Demolition: No cause of death has been given, but TMZ has the incident report filed by the Tampa Police Department. The full, one-paragraph report reads as follows:

UFC on HBO: 'It Will Happen': Just about everything on HBO -- from The Sopranos to Curb Your Enthusiasm to its original documentaries -- gets the seal of approval from the media. UFC hopes it will be no different.