Many people believe that the U.S. pretty much has the gold medal in men’s basketball wrapped up, but I feel it’s still too early to evaluate how strong the team is. So far, they have yet to play from behind or deal with their big men being benched for fouls. The true test of a team is the ability to overcome obstacles. So far, they haven’t faced any legitimate tests. Their 119-82 dismantling of Spain was impressive, but also makes me wonder if we have seen the team peak. Peaking too early or gaining too much confidence could be their undoing. Spain’s undoing basically came down to ball control. When you turn over the ball as many times as Spain did, you simply cannot win a game against anyone. Spain had what I would call an “off day” and I expect them to come back strong in their next match.

At this point, I’d say it’s premature to consider the American team to be sure champions. We have to keep in mind that they are not even close to the skill of the original 1992 “Dream Team” and the rest of the world continues to get better each year.

written by Will Snizek \\ tags: ability, Bag, ball, Basketball, confidence, control, deal, Gold, haven, medal, peak, Peaking, Spain, Team, Test, U.S. Men, undoing, US

Full Press Release:

London 12th August: In her latest incarnation the new Lara Croft isn’t just a pretty face - as a former gymnastic representative for Great Britain, she’s now got the all action skills to match.

Athletic and agile, 23 year old Alison Carroll from Croydon is set to be catapulted from her current job as a receptionist to a world of superstardom as she follows in the footsteps of Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie and model Nell McAndrew to become the new face of Lara Croft.

Unlike her predecessors Alison does not come from a modelling background, but with 12 years’ experience as a professional display gymnast, she is completely at ease at the thought of appearing in front of thousands of screaming Lara Croft fans. She certainly had no trouble impressing the judges when she competed against hundreds of other hopefuls in the search to find the live model of the action heroine.

Alison is an elite gymnast who has flown the flag for Great Britain. She has performed across the UK and overseas as part of a team of twenty athletes, wowing Prince Charles when she appeared at a special event at Westminster Abbey. She is also a dedicated coach of younger gymnasts, and recently choreographed the routine for the junior team that won the British National Championships.

Alison already follows a rigorous training regime, visiting the gym six times per week, and will be well prepared as she embarks on the fast and gruelling training programme required to portray sexy heroine Lara Croft. Starting immediately she will undertake a series of courses which will include a SAS survival, combat and semi-automatic weapon firing courses in Eastern Europe, and a crash course in world archaeology, to become the world famous, archaeologist and action heroine.

Once completely trained in the ways of video gaming’s leading lady, Alison will be lining up a host of international modelling assignments, starring in TV commercials, appearing on chat shows and is set to travel the globe over the coming months.

Alison Carroll says; “This is a fantastic opportunity and I am really looking forward to embracing Lara’s world” said Alison Carroll “I still can’t believe they chose me to take on the role of Lara – and I can’t wait to get stuck in. This is my dream job – I have always wanted to be an action hero and hope to be able to use my gymnastic ability to perform all of Lara’s stunts. It is slightly daunting but I am really excited at the same time.”

Sarah Hoeksma, Eidos Group Marketing Director says; “With her tremendous athletic ability, dance training and striking look we feel Alison embodies all the assets required to be the live model of Lara Croft, and we are really looking forward to working with her.”

Alison follows in the footsteps of previous Lara Croft stars, Karima Adebibe, Lucy Clarkson, Rhona Mitra, Nell McAndrew, Lara Weller and of course Angelina Jolie in the Tomb Raider movies.

Tomb Raider: Underworld marks the first game in this popular, recognisable series that is designed specifically for next generation consoles. Lara Croft uncovers proof of the existence of the mythical hammer of the Norse God Thor, a weapon rumored to have the power to smash mountains into valleys and destroy the Gods themselves.

Setting an epic journey around the globe in motion, Lara visits the ruins of ancient civilizations, collecting clues that lead her to a forgotten power that could lay waste to civilization. Exploiting the power and capabilities of next generation consoles, Lara must hunt for clues across massive environments, solving multifaceted puzzles, facing foes both animal and supernatural, this time with the aid of enhanced weapons and abilities.

written by Will Snizek \\ tags: ability, action, Alison, Alison Carroll, Angelina Jolie, course, Eastern Europe, Face, God, Great Britain, gymnast, heroine, Job, Lara, Lara Croft, Lara Weller, LONDON, Lucy Clarkson, Mitra, model, Nell McAndrew, Oscar, Power, Prince Charles, Raider, Sarah Hoeksma, series, Team, Thor, Tomb, training, UK, Westminster, world

Was Brett Favre’s decision to return influenced by his Madden 2009 Cover Photo?

As you may already heard, Brett Favre is trying to make a comeback.  He currently has not reported to any camp yet, including his former team the Green bay Packers.  The couple of teams that have shown interest are the New York Jets and the Tampa Bay Bucs.  Since April 24th, when Brett was announced the new cover athlete for Madden 09, minor rumblings began about his return.  Could the video game football franchise have possibly influenced his return?  If he DOES play this upcoming year, I say it helped!  We have new screens of Madden 2009, and boy do they look good.  Here are some of the new features you can expect to see this year:

New Features

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written by Juan Perez \\ tags: ability, Brett, Brett Favre, Camera, carrier, Cover, Cover athlete, Favre, franchise, game, Gameplay, Madden, New York, New York Jets, Player, return, Style, system, Tampa Bay, Tampa Bay Bucs, year

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The NCAA Football franchise never sells the way Madden does, but it’s still a huge series.  I have always been partial to the little brother of Madden considering my love for college football.  We expected big things with the 2009 installment, but it seems there’s really not a lot to write home about.  Online Dynasty mode was surely welcomed and the ability to share custom roster files was a nice bonus.  Other than that, the game really doesn’t offer many improvements over NCAA 08. There are a few minor changes to the game that I’ll try to break down below.

Gameplay

Gameplay hasn’t changed a lot, but the offensive game is definitely more wide-open than ever.  This is great if you love offense and a step backward if you are a defensively minded player.  An unfortunate addition to the game is the ability of the home team to “ice” kickers.  This ability works entirely too well and really dilutes the realism of the game.  I suggest turning this option off in any game you play.  Another problem I noticed with the game is the fact that the AI simply does not work well at all, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.  AI controlled players will run the wrong direction and frequently miss easy tackles.  While the game certainly is slightly better than 08 in most areas, I expected more.  If you currently have NCAA 08, you may want to simply wait until NCAA 10 hits shelves to upgrade.

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written by Will Snizek \\ tags: ability, addition, bonus, Dynasty, football, game, Home, lot, Madden, NCAA, Online, replay, series, value, Xbox

We’ve been waiting a while for the Ninja Warrior video game and it’s finally here. While it does provide a little challenge, the game itself probably should have been tweaked a little more before being released. For a free flash game, there’s really not much I can complain about though. The sound effects are interesting and certainly get you in the Ninja Warrior mood. Any fan of the show will probably find this game enjoying for short bursts.  Being good at the game completely depends on your ability to time jumps.  When jumping over a gap, you almost have to press the space bar after you have already stepped off the edge.  

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written by Will Snizek \\ tags: ability, challenge, fan, flash, G4, game, gap, mood, Ninja, show, sound, space, time, video, Warrior, while