Is That Really The Best Player For This Madden Cover?

In case you're not aware, EA Sports has decided to produce a Spanish version of the mega-hit Madden NFL '08. They're hoping to tap into the sport's popularity at a time when the NFL is ratcheting up marketing efforts aimed at Spanish speakers.

For the first time, Electronic Arts Inc. is producing a Spanish-language version of its hugely popular Madden NFL football video game, the company announced Tuesday.

The move is evidence of the growing popularity of the NFL among Spanish speakers as well as a sign of the company's desire to tap into new customers.

It's estimated that "about 12 percent of the NFL's 120 million fans are Hispanic", and it is nice that EA Sports has taken them into consideration. Eventhough, they've probably already purchased the English version of this year's game which has been available since August. But I'm sure that EA wouldn't mind someone buying two copies of the same game.

Probably the two biggest questions regard the announcer and the cover victim athlete. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately for our Spanish speaking friends, John Madden is not doing his schtick in Spanish. Which is really a shame because I wanted to hear him shout "auge!" at least once. No, instead it will be Alvaro Martin.

And who's the cover athlete?

Luis Castillo of the San Diego Chargers. Who was chosen because of his heritage.

The cover will feature San Diego Chargers defensive end Luis Castillo, the second player from the Dominican Republic to be drafted and start in the NFL.

Now, everything seems fine and dandy, but some of you may have heard of Mr. Castillo. And you probably remember that it wasn't all good.

Luis Castillo was an All-American defensive linemen while at Northwestern, but during his senior season he suffered a severe elbow injury that nagged him the entire season. He opted not to take a medical redshirt, and as the NFL Combine got closer he was scared that he wouldn't perform up to the level he was capable of. So, he used the steroid, androstenedione, for a short while and was able to put up 32 reps at 225lbs at the combine. However, he also tested positive for the steroid there, and instantly had to go on the defensive. All 32 teams knew of his failed test, but San Diego still took him with the 28th pick of the 2005 draft.

Here is what Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel had to say about it at the time:

"It sends a terrible message,'' Vrabel said. "He cheats. He cheated the system and got away with it."

Castillo admitted that he took andro to help him with his combine performance, and whether or not you justify his decision because he's a "great kid"(like Chargers' GM A.J. Smith) the fact is he did cheat to enhance his performance. He was rewarded back in 2005 with being drafted #28, and he's being rewarded in 2007 with the cover of the Spanish version of Madden '08. Well, if you can call being on the cover a reward.

And in a weird twist of coincidence, Castillo's teammate Shawne Merriman, who has also had some steroid issues, has been selected as the cover athlete for EA's NFL Tour.

So, that's two athletes with ties to steroids that are doing endorsements for EA's NFL marketing. Somewhere Roger Goodell is burning all of his EA games.

It's Here, The Productivity Gremlin That Is NCAA '08

You can thank NCAA '08 for the lack of updates today. Though, when something looks like this how can you not play the hell out of it?



Feel free to leave your gamer i.d. in the comments. I'm still on PS2, but I'm sure that there are others around here that are on different platforms.

Nothing Says "Athlete" Like A Madden Championship Ring

I admit, I enjoy participating in some of the not so physically taxing aspects of "sports" like video games and fantasy leagues. They entertain me, and the aspect of competition is always fun. However, I've never once thought "hey, I should get a ring to commemorate all of these wins". Though, someone has because famous ringmaker Jostens(you know, the company that made your high school ring that your parents spent a fortune on and you have no idea where it is) is partnering with EA Sports Tiburon(home of titles like NCAA Football and Madden) to provide rings for Madden gamers.

"Madden players progress through five ring levels as they win games. Once players reach the third level, they can turn their virtual rings into real ones by purchasing them through the Jostens Web site.

To design the rings, players choose from 32 NFL team logos and 19 EA logos. The sides of the ring display the achievement level reached.

The rings aren't cheap. They range in price from $149 for a nonprecious-metal ring to $495 for a 10-karat gold ring. Each ring has cubic zirconia, but players can spruce them up by adding diamonds. Doing so could lift the price over $1,000."

Adding diamonds? Pushing the price over $1,000? Wow, that might be a little over the top. Though, nothing screams "athlete" like a diamond encrusted Madden ring.