Commissioner Insists that NFL Network Will be "A Success"
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Are Copyright Warnings on DVDs and Games Too Scary?
We've quoted it before, and here it is again: "Any rebroadcast, retransmission, or account of this game, without the express written consent of Major League Baseball...." The CCIA points specifically at the NFL, Major League Baseball, NBC Universal, Morgan Creek, DreamWorks, Harcourt Inc., and Penguin Group, accusing them of misrepresenting consumers rights for using copyrighted material. The CCIA singled out the NFL and some movies studios as being particularly intimidating to consumers.
The warnings are there to prevent people from, say, recording a game and posting it on a peer-to-peer file-sharing site, but the CCIA thinks the warnings are so general that most people are afraid to simply record games for their own use in their own homes (preventing people from using their nice new Windows Vista Media Centers to record games, among other Microsoft products).
The first step the CCIA seeks is to bar the accused from using the overly broad warnings, that they should be more specific. Secondly, it is seeking to force the companies named in the complaint to foot the bill for Fair Use education for consumers.
From Boing Boing and Ars Technica
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NFL Pros Tackle 'Madden'
EA recently gathered a group of NFL stars past and present in New York City to celebrate the christening of Vince Young as the 'Madden 08' cover athlete. Switched caught up with a bunch of the guys, who taught us two important lessons:
Reggie Bush
Reggie, what are your thoughts on Vince Young for the cover of 'Madden 08'?
I think it's great. It kind of opens up the doors for other rookies coming into the NFL and what they can look forward to if they play well in their first year.
It seems like your name was in contention for a while. Do you think you might be on the cover at some point?
I think so. I think I've got a good chance of being on the cover. A lot of people in the Saints organization didn't want me to do it because of the 'Madden' jinx. We'll see. If Vince survives this year without getting hurt, then I'll consider it. If he gets hurt, I'm not gonna do it.
So, you believe in the 'Madden' curse?
I don't know. I think it's all superstition, but then it continues to happen and you're kind of like, "Okay, maybe there is something here."
What do you think of your in-game ratings?
This is really bothering me. I've got a 97 player speed, 98 agility, 98 acceleration, 85 toughness and 99 juke move. Now, how does that average out to an 87? Four high 90's and one 85 averages out to an 87 overall. It just doesn't add up. I'm not a mathematician, but something ain't adding up right. Somebody miscounted.
- NFL players love playing 'Madden.'
- NFL players don't love their 'Madden' player ratings.
Reggie Bush
I think it's great. It kind of opens up the doors for other rookies coming into the NFL and what they can look forward to if they play well in their first year.
It seems like your name was in contention for a while. Do you think you might be on the cover at some point?
I think so. I think I've got a good chance of being on the cover. A lot of people in the Saints organization didn't want me to do it because of the 'Madden' jinx. We'll see. If Vince survives this year without getting hurt, then I'll consider it. If he gets hurt, I'm not gonna do it.
So, you believe in the 'Madden' curse?
I don't know. I think it's all superstition, but then it continues to happen and you're kind of like, "Okay, maybe there is something here."
What do you think of your in-game ratings?
This is really bothering me. I've got a 97 player speed, 98 agility, 98 acceleration, 85 toughness and 99 juke move. Now, how does that average out to an 87? Four high 90's and one 85 averages out to an 87 overall. It just doesn't add up. I'm not a mathematician, but something ain't adding up right. Somebody miscounted.
NFL Pros Tackle 'Madden'
Steven Jackson
When are you going to be on the cover of 'Madden'?
You know what? Whenever they ask me I definitely accept the honor. Until then, I'll just keep putting up big years and eventually it'll happen.
Do you play the game a lot?
I do. I've been a collector since 1992, so I've seen it evolve from Super Nintendo to where we're at now with the systems.
Do you pay attention to your player ratings?
The overall rating has me at 89, so I do keep up with it. But I think they need to bump me up a little bit more.
A few more carries this year and maybe you'll get bumped up.
Well, after the season we put together -- after a Pro Bowl season -- I'm expecting to be in the 90's area or we're gonna have to make a phone call.
Do you think any of your ratings are too high? Your jumping ability is a 74.
Oh, that's definitely got to go up.
Tackling is 35.
That might be a little high. I don't get paid to tackle. What's my toughness?
87.
That ain't tough. In the Seattle game I dragged four people into the end zone on my back.
If you were on the cover, would you worry about the 'Madden' curse?
I'd definitely be nervous about the curse. And the only way I can think to prevent it would be to wear a lot of pads. I'd wear shin pads. I'd wear elbow pads. I'd wear knuckle pads.
And how do you feel about Mel Kiper's hair?
It's Mel. It's something he could definitely trademark. It's a silhouette. I think we should work with him on some marketing. You know how Jordan has the jumpman? Mel could have the little swoosh.
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NFL Pros Tackle 'Madden'
Mario Williams
What do you think of the chances of a lineman ever making the cover of 'Madden'?
I don't know. Everybody's so hard on them, so in order to make it you'd have to do something phenomenal. Something outrageous. But, there's a possibility for anything.
You were in 'Madden' for the first time last year. What did you think about your player ratings?
They were pretty modest as far as it being my first year and everything. Who knows what it'll be this year with everything that happened? It is what it is. It's just a video game. But I've seen some things where players had ratings that were obviously not fair.
Were you real tough in the game?
No. That's the problem. Every time I came off the line using myself I was getting knocked down and pancaked. I had just never seen that before. Everybody falls down now and then -- but this was like every other play. So I don't know. We need to correct that.
NFL Pros Tackle 'Madden'
Marshall Faulk
As a former 'Madden' cover star, tell us what it was like to be chosen by EA.
I was a gamer. I played the game, so I relished the opportunity to be on the cover. It was something that I looked at like, "Man, this the game that I played as a kid and enjoyed all through college and now I get to be a cover guy."
Did you pay a lot of attention to your in-game stats?
Only when they started to go down.
Do you think the game is realistic?
Obviously we know the ratings aren't as realistic as [they are for the real-life] players. But the graphics... I mean, now you can pause a play, freeze-frame it, turn around and look at a player's face. It's detailed from the eye black to the tape on the fingers to what kind of facemask he wears.
