Top 10 Sports Video Games

I don't know how many times I attempted to write this post but every time I did, I got distracted. I started cruising down memory lane and forgot why I was there in the first place.

It's hard to pick the very best of all time and the arguments can go on and on forever. That's why I chose a Top 10 of my own. I'm not saying these games are the best ever period, they just happen to be the ones near and dear to my heart. Alright, I'll write a poem about them later. Until then, enjoy.

10. Wii Sports: I don't have any game system but I've played Wii Sports a several times. The sports on there though seem like the only ones that could work for that type of controller. Why didn't anyone invent this earlier?

9. NBA Jam- It could get old quickly, but setting the net on fire and doing back flips and jumping 30 feet in the air on a dunk was always a lot of fun. It was one of the greatest arcade games ever.

8. NFL 2k1: Remember the Sega Dreamcast? It wasn't around long but I had on back in 2001. I thought it was such great year for sports video games. I had a few, including NFL 2k1. The commentators weren't anyone famous but were actually pretty decent. One set back though was the fact if you were the home team, you could get flagged for excessive crowd noise. If it weren't for that, this game would be ranked higher than No. 9. Oh well, I'd probably still play it if I could.

7. NBA 2k1: The Lakers and Allen Iverson were unstoppable. I loved the fact you could bring Hall of Famers into it. I played with guys like Clyde Drexler, Larry Bird and David Robinson, all on the same team. That way, I could stop Shaq and the Lakers, that is, if I didn't put all the Laker studs in LA. Facing Kobe and Magic got tough.

6. World Series 2k1: This was the last of the three that I got so I played more often towards the end. I remember turning even the Rangers into World Series champs, and any game you can do that on has to be amazing. That was also pre-Josh Hamilton.

5. Madden 08: That was the last Madden game I owned so I can't put any more recent ones higher for that reason alone. I know it's cheesy but I like the Madden Cards and like the fact it still has the voice of John Madden.

4. Tiger Woods Golf 2009: Alright, I confess, I only played this twice, but I wanted to play more. I could have gone on forever. A buddy of mine had the game on the wii and it was a blast. I want to get a game system and am considering the wii because of games like this.

3. Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey: I remember asking how the graphics could get any better, and well, safe to say, they have, a lot. You could play arcade or traditional mode. Like in NBA Jam, you can set the nets on fire, that is, if the goalie doesn't turn into a wall.

2. Madden 94: I didn't have this game. I was the kid in the neighborhood always at other people's houses playing it. The game paved the way for the other Madden games soon to follow, and sports games in general. I was so excited by the idea of being able to sub Tony Dorsett into the game to give Emmitt Smith a breather. The idea of playing with the All-time Cowboys was a the best one anyone could ever come up with, ever.

1.Tecmo Super Bowl: Man, I have a ton of memories of this one. It really was far ahead of its time. Talk about paving the way for other games, this did just that before Madden. Bo Jackson and Barry Sanders couldn't be stopped unless you had someone like Lawrence Taylor. If you knew the flea flicker was coming, you tackle the QB when the RB had the ball and he'd still pitch it, and you just forced a fumble. I recently googled the game and discovered not only can you play it online for free, you can play it with updated teams and rosters, as of 2007. I have to admit, it was still pretty fun.

Crunch the Numbers

So Lebron plans to change his jersey number next year from No. 23 to No.6 and says he thinks the NBA should retire No.23 because of a guy name Michael Jordan.

If Jordan paved the way for today's NBA athletes, then you have to say those that came before Jordan paved the way for him. What about those Celtic teams winning eight straight? They had some great players.

Maybe they should retire 33 for Larry Bird or 32 for Magic Johnson. John Stockton is the all time leader in assists, and to do that, you have to be a very unselfish person, so while we're at it, let's retire No. 12. Dr. J wore 6 so while you're at it, tell James he can't wear that one either. If you were to retire a jersey league wide, where would you stop? How much attention must we give the guy? It would be a shame if the Bulls didn't but I'm just hoping they don't make it a league wide thing.

Everybody knows Kobe wore No. 8 for a good chunk of his career before changing to No.24 and I strongly believe it was done for one reason; to sell tickets, and I also believe that's the real reason behind Lebron wanting to change his. Sure, it's a great way to sell a lot of jerseys and make a killing, but come on, let's be honest about it and admit it's a money making tactic.

The idea of changing the logo from Jerry West to Jordan was another very stupid idea. Keep it how it is. It's a great logo and West is a good guy for it. "HIS AIRNESS" is already idolized enough.

Oh one other thing, somebody tell Lebron he has no right getting mad at the media for asking about free agency next year when he's writing NY on his shoes, wearing a Yankees hat and, oh yeah, openly admitting he's talked to Dwayne Wade about being on the same team. Right, that really sounds like someone who doesn't want to talk about it.

Is fantasy football fading?

In a recent post titled Confessions of a footballholic I talked about how my love for football is growing but not necessarily fantasy football. As this season has unfolded thus far, that fact is more true all the time for me for some reason, and it has nothing to do with how my team performs.

I'm currently sitting in fourth place out of a 10 team league and would be doing better if I was paying more attention to it.

One week, when I played against my cousin, we decided to only start our kickers.













The 49ers were playing the Texans and I had Joe Nedney and he had Kris Brown. That put a whole new perspective on it and actually made it more interesting. We found ourselves hoping for the teams to get in field goal range but not too close to where we'd get less points for a shorter kick. We definitely wanted to avoid touchdowns because then we'd only get credit for the extra point.

Something about that week was refreshing. It brought a whole different perspective. I lost that week 9-3 but I can honestly say I didn't care. A win would probably have boosted me up to third place but hey, what am I playing for?

It's a free fantasy football league and there's nothing at stake. It's not like it used to be. When I started playing in high school, it was the coolest thing ever and the way technology has advanced since then, you'd figure I'd be into it all the more. Truth is though, I'm not.

Unfortunately, fantasy football is kind of losing it's novelty. I used to log on once or twice a day, anxious for the next football week to start so I can view my match up and talk trash to my opponent. Now, there's no trash talk happening. The only time I check it is Sunday morning before I rush of to church and I put literally no thought into it, as long as all the spots are filled.

I've said this before but heck, I'll say it again. One thing that fantasy football used to do for me was keep me interested in other games I normally wouldn't care about at all. However, I'm more interested in the league as a whole, I don't need fantasy to keep me interested in those games.

I can look at any team and find something intriguing. For example, I look at the Lions and ask myself "will they go 1-31 in a period of two years?". Maybe I'll see two teams playing and find a player on one of them that may have played for the other and suddenly I'm fascinated by that. Yes, if the Rams and Lions are playing and that's the only thing on TV, that's what I'm watching. Believe or it or not, it will be entertaining to me too.

It seems like there aren't as many die hard fans out there anymore. Instead of tuning in to see how their teams are doing, people are frequently checking to see how their fantasy teams are doing and that's all they care about. They root for Tom Brady to throw to Wes Welker over Randy Moss because they're going against Moss.

If the Cowboys lose, a fantasy win doesn't do justice. The opposite is also true. A loss from my fantasy team won't make things harder if the Boys win.

A rule I've had for a long time for fantasy sports is never play a guy facing your favorite team. That's one thing that's killing the die hards. If you're rooting for McNabb to throw a couple TD's against Dallas but call yourself a Cowboys fan, it's pretty obvious where your priorities lie.

When all said and done though, I think I know what the problem is. It's no longer new and the honeymoon phase is over (it's been about 10 years) but in order to keep that passion alive, I need to come at a different angle. That's why the kickers match up was intriguing. It was new and different.

It's not about the money, but I think I'm done with the free fantasy football after this year. I need something to keep me motivated and interested. Either that or maybe take a new approach to the draft. Maybe I should draft an entire team's second string or better yet, no taking guys under the age of 35. That could be interesting.

Anyway, there's still time in this season, fantasy football or not, I'm into the game.