Hey Cleveland, get ready for another excuse for why you never win anything: Browns running back Peyton Hillis is the face of Madden NFL 12. Hillis was announced Wednesday as the winner of the ESPN.com fan vote, garnering 66 percent of the vote in the final against Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick. When asked what he thought about getting the cover, Hillis seemed to forget how words work, saying he was “excited” and that he’s “always looked up to” Michael Vick. Which is, you know, sort of weird.

Regarding that whole “curse” thing:

“For people to believe in this so-called curse, I can’t wait to prove people wrong,” he said. “From what I believe and where I am in my spiritual life, it would be good to prove them wrong in that sense.”

Fun observation of the day: Peyton Hillis thinks the Madden Curse has something to do with spirituality. Put Deepak Chopra on the cover of Madden 13, he’ll prove them wrong!

EA avoids an inevitable controversy by pulling Hillis on the cover, and pleases the grass roots types who supported him through Facebook and Twitter campaigns, pushing him through over higher seeds like Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan. It makes sense for the no-nonsense, smash-mouth Hillis to be on the cover of a football game, as Michael Vick’s time in Philadelphia performing for remorseless, groaning monsters and experience murdering dogs makes him a better fit for Resident Evil 6.

Electronic Arts’s bracket, designed to select a cover athlete for the next Madden game, has finally reached its championship round. Browns running back Peyton Hillis and Eagles quarterback Michael Vick are the last two standing. As Ufford so eloquently pointed out, “The blackest player in the whitest position versus the whitest player in the blackest position. That’s marvelous.” Indeed.

The intrigue picks up here as Vick is only one vote away from making his second Madden cover, an unprecedented feat. Is Hillis, a lesser-known running back from a smaller market who probably likes dogs but not in that way, a formidable challenge in the polls? Peyton faced little adversity in the first two rounds before bettering Aaron Rodgers in semifinal voting, 61 percent to A-Rodg’s 39 percent.

Vick, conversely, seems to have completely rehabilitated his public image since returning to the NFL in 2009. The Eagles slapped the franchise tag on Vick, and he’ll play in what’s essentially a second straight walk year, provided that any football is played in 2011. I’m predicting that Vick will make the cover of “Madden NFL 12,” and cap off an amazing public comeback. And then he’ll probably get a sandwich or something, because achievement makes everyone hungry.

Instead of picking a cover athlete for their 24th edition of the Madden NFL video game series, the powers that be at Electronic Arts have passed the decision onto the fans, in the form of a 32-athlete bracket. One player from each NFL team was pitted in a vote-based elimination tournament, and the “winners” from second-round polling were announced today.

Michael Vick, who fronted the game’s 2004 edition, might be the favorite in this tournament, but oh look, there’s Danny Woodhead from the New England Patriots. One has to wonder if Woodhead, who had relatively easy matchups against Steve Johnson and Hakeem Nicks, has the scrappiness and deceptive speed required to blow past Aaron Rodgers. The winner would surely be favored against the Jamaal Charles/Peyton Hillis winner, and could conceivably face Vick, Drew Brees or Adrian Peterson for the right to appear on the cover of Madden NFL 12.

The full bracket is here. Enjoy it. It might be the last NFL competition we see for a while.

When Hollywood studios aren’t insulting us with films based on Candyland and Where’s Waldo?, they’re making terrible sports movies about dogs that can play football and Freddie Prinze Jr. throwing like Jim Abbott’s niece. And the latest sports-related movie idea receiving a green light is the Madden Curse. That’s right, EA is making a movie about a running joke based on coincidence. Why not?

So is this film going to be professional football’s Final Destination, as some magical force stalks elite players, ending their careers in their prime? No. Not at all. Instead, it will focus on a retired video game champion. Seriously.

Specific details concerning the plot remain sketchy, but EA VP Pat O’Brien reportedly said, “The story will follow a former ‘Madden’ video game champion who is forced out of retirement just as he finds himself on the corner of the game’s cover — and subject to the curse.” (Via Switched)

Hold on, the guy comes out of retirement because for some reason EA put him on the cover of Madden? The Madden Curse involves active players who have stellar, MVP-type seasons only to be injured the next season and never play at that elite level again. So why does the guy come out of retirement? Is he afraid that he’ll break his thumbs in a freak Call of Duty accident? Perhaps the main character could spend the entire film insisting that he’ll stay retired but then unretiring. And he can text a picture of his penis to Olivia Munn. Lord knows I’d like to.

A look back at the history of the Madden Curse after the jump…

Read the rest of this entry »

A class action lawsuit of more than 6,000 former NFL players has been filed against EA Sports, as the athletes claim that the video game company used their likenesses to profit without offering any financial compensation. The Madden franchise has evolved considerably over the years, with one of the favorite special user options is the ability to play with classic franchises and their Hall of Fame star players. In fact, playing for a Super Bowl with the 1991 Buffalo Bills is the only thing that keeps Jim Kelly from murdering Scott Norwood.

EA has seemingly protected themselves from such a claim, though, as no names are actually used and the numbers are scrambled. Despite the lack of these identifying factors, the players contend that it’s a situation of EA intending for users to recognize the players. Fortunately, no Tampa Bay Buccaneer legends have to worry about having their likenesses usurped because no Tampa Bay Buccaneer legends exist.

Hold this whole court in contempt, IGN:

Read the rest of this entry »

Video game outlets across America are ready for the annual barrage of video-gaming football fans and football video-gaming fans, as the newest installment of Electronic Arts’ Madden NFL franchise becomes available in stores midnight tonight. The new game features updated rosters and…well, the colors on the screen sure look nice.

Some of you might be stuck with the so-called “current gen” consoles, like my PS2. That version of the new game is $39.99. And it looks depressingly uncurrent. And to be honest, I’m enjoying the extra 10-plus hours I’ve had in my week since I sold my copy of Madden 07 back about 5 months ago. I still have a PC version of Madden 2003, and short of not having Owner Mode, it holds up very well, both in terms of gameplay and visual brilliance.

I’ve read that there were a handful of bloggers that received advanced copies of the game and to those good people I say Rock On. But I’m not sure what I would do with it if I had it, since it’s still the same game that I’ve been playing since high school. I won’t be making the trip to the store tonight. It’s just too hard to get worked up for the release date of something that’s never really been un-released.

…maybe I’ll get it next week. vid.