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Decided to change the name of my blog.  You can continue to follow me at www.padresfanblog.net

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MLB10 Road To The Show

I’ve kicked off yet another baseball related project.  This time I’ve created a fictional “me” and hope to find myself in the Baseball Hall of Fame when it’s all said and done.

Fantasy is a wonderful thing.  I’ve created myself as a 22 year old, 6’2″, 210lb infielder.  Pretty much like real life. :^)   Fresh out of college (University of Pittsburgh of course), I’ve been given a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres.  Here is a shot of me making my first plate appearance for the AA San Antonio Missions.  Great things are coming from this kid!!!

Play Ball!!

PC Replay Baseball V2 was released by Richard Hanna (of Roo Games – SAT fame) and Pete Ventura (Replay Sports Games) today, and it includes some of my efforts, so I’m pretty stoked to see the early positive reaction to the new features.  While I love to hear compliments for the Replay Radio feature introduced in V1, I am really proud of my involvement with the V2 “Replay Roundup” feature.  The original  idea was to provide the Replay gamer with a “Web Site” feature similar to games like OOTP and PureSim.   The more Richard and I kicked around ideas however, we settled on a Newspaper approach, and I think it works really well within the board-game context that exists throughout the UI.

To see my quick mockup become nearly exactly what the user will see in the game is damn cool.  To be trusted to help out with the design for this and other features is even cooler.  Maybe Richard indulges me to make sure I keep creating mods for the game for each season that is released, but I don’t care.  This may be the closest I ever get to being a involved with game development, so I’m going to jump at any opportunity I’m offered.  For those of you unfamiliar with the game, here’s an image of “half” of what the Replay Roundup looks like (Sorry, couldn’t grab the whole issue in a single screen shot, but this still gives you an idea…).  For more information, I suggest you download the 5-day demo at http://www.replaybb.com/

Highlighting The Championship Round

(This fictitious account of the 2009-2010 NFL Championship Weekend was driven by Highlight Maker Football by Soren Narnia.   For more information about his games, visit Nailbiter Games. – Ed.)

Championship Weekend opened with the heavily favored Colts hosting the upstart New York Jets.  The Jets won the toss and defered, hoping to start the game with a defensive stand to gain initial momentum.  Unfortunately, a pass interference call on Revis gave the Colts the ball in the red zone, but the defense came away with the small victory, holding the Colts to just 3 points.  Later in the opening quarter, the Colts forced Sanchez into a 3rd and long and Session picked off the errant throw.  A screen pass to Addai turned into a long gain, setting up Manning who threw a short shovel pass to Clark for the touchdown.  Later in the second quarter, Brad Smith broke a big run for the Jets and scored from 30 yards out on a 2nd and 1.  The Colts would go on to add a field goal, and held a very shaky 13-7 lead at the half.

The Jets opened the second half with a methodical 84 yard drive that took over 7 minutes off the clock, culminating in a 4 yard TD pass from Sanchez to Keller.  The Colts would be unable to answer back in the third quarter, as the Jets defense continued to get better as the game went on, much like their win in San Diego.  The Jets offense, on the other hand, continued to play out of their skin as Edwards made a spectacular leaping catch in the corner of the endzone to start the fourth quarter.  Manning finally got back on track in the 4th, hitting Garcon in stride for the 55 yard completion.  The drive ended in controversy however, as a 3rd and goal pass completion from Manning to Clark would be called back for offensive pass interference.  The Colts would settle for the field goal, as Rex Ryan pumped his fists wildly on the sideline.  The Colts defense would hold on the next Jets possession, but Manning would turn the ball right back over as Harris batted a Manning pass into the air and made the interception.  Putting the game seemingly out of reach with only 2 minutes left, Sanchez hit Braylon Edwards in stride for 64 yards and the touchdown.

With 2 minutes in the game, and facing a 28-16 deficit, Manning went to work from his own 39 following a Jets squib kick.  It only took the Colts 75 seconds for Manning to find Collie in the end-zone, setting themselves up for an on-sides kick, down by 5.  The miracle comeback wasn’t to be however, but the second straight miracle game for the Jets was to be, as the Jets recovered the on-side kick and ran out the clock.  Final Score: Jets 28 – Colts 23!!

In the second game of the day, the Saints hosted the Vikings in what was considered a toss up by most analysts.  In an exciting start to the game, Sharper blocked a Vikings punt and ran it back for the score.  Favre would put together a better drive on the next Vikings possession, but it eventually stalled and they settled for the field goal.  The Saints would tack on 2 field goals of their own, but that would be it for the first half scoring and the half ended with the Saints leading 13-3.

The Vikings continued to look rattled by the crowd noise in the third quarter as Favre turned the ball over again, this time on an interception by Vilma.  Reggie Bush would then make the highlight reel as he tore off a 73 yard run only to get caught from behind and fumble the ball away at the Vikings 8 yard line.  Both defenses continued to play tough, and there would be no scoring for either team in the third quarter.   In the fourth, Brees would lead the Saints 74 yards to the Vikings 8 yard line, but would get picked off in the end zone by Jared Allen.  With only 5 minutes left in the game, and down by 10, Favre went to work and drove the Vikings into the red zone.  Three straight penalties, two caused by crowd noise, would take the Vikings out of scoring position and following a failed 4th and 35 conversion the Saints were able to run the clock out for the victory.  What was supposed to be a game full of fireworks turned into a game of mistakes and turnovers in the Big Easy.  Final Score: Vikings 3 – Saints 13!!

New York Feelin Fine For Feely

(This fictitious account of the 2009-2010 NFL playoffs was driven by a “2009-2010 Playoffs Pre-play” using Momentum Football by Downey Games.   For more information about Momentum Football, please visit the Downey Games website. – Ed.)

Jay Feely kicking one of his eleven playoff field goals

One can never predict the story lines that will emerge from the NFL Playoffs, but it is usually a certainty each year that they will involve the big name players like Brady, Manning, Favre, Warner, or defensive standouts like Ware, or Lewis.  This was not one of those years.  Instead, this year, the NFL’s “second season” provided us with a story about second (and third and fourth) chances, and how a team can ride the leg of a kicker to NFL glory.

Jay Feely’s performance in the AFC Championship game versus the Colts was one for the ages.  Not only did he tie the record for the most field goals in a playoff game (5), he kicked three of them from 50+ yards.  He would go on boot three more in the SuperBowl, cementing his place in NFL History as one of the more unlikely heros, right up there with the Giants’ David Tyree.

Feely has been in the NFL since 2001, but his longest stint for any team was the 4 years he spent with the Falcons at the start of his NFL career.  Since then he has bounced around the league playing for the Giants, Dolphins and Jets.  He was also a Chief for a day in the 2007 off-season.  Before the NFL he played a season in the Arena Football League for the Tampa Bay Storm.  He is a career 81.6% field goal kicker, which is respectable, but not good enough for a lucrative long-term contract.  Additionally, Feely has missed some crucial kicks in key games in his career, so he certainly didn’t have the reputation as a clutch kicker coming into the playoffs this year.

In their 28-7 first round win over the Bengals, Sanchez, Smith, Greene and Jones did all the scoring so Feely wasn’t needed.  In the divisional round miracle upset of the Chargers in San Diego however, Feely kicked 3 field goals, including a 55 yarder, to help lift the Jets to the improbable win.  The 20-14 “Miracle in San Diego” was as much about the NY defense as it was Feely’s kicks.  But Feely was saving his best performance for the AFC Championship game in Indianapolis.

Indianapolis reached the championship game by beating the Ravens 44-32 in a classic AFC slugfest.  Cundiff nailed 4 field goals for the Ravens in the loss, but the Colts bend-but-don’t-break philosophy would pay off with a victory.  It was this same strategy that would fail them against the Jets.

In the AFC title game, the Jets stole the momentum from the Colts and took the crowd out of the game early.  Feely scored the first 9 points for the Jets, as the Colts kept the Jets out of the end zone, but not off the score board.  In the first half, Feely hit 2 consecutive 55 yard field goals, followed up by a 52 yarder.  Jones would score 6 points of his own on a 6 yard run, and the Jets went into halftime with a 16-0 lead.  The second half saw the  game turn into an instant classic.  Feely added his fourth field goal of the game, but Addai would finally lead the Colts on a 4 minute TD drive and score from 3 yards out.  How did the Jets respond?  With another field goal of course!  Feely was finally done with his 15th point of the game, and the Jets had a 22-7 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Addai started the Colts comeback bid by scoring his second short TD run of the game.   Following a Jets punt, Manning found Collie over the middle for a 45 yard TD pass.  With a little over 8 minutes left in the game, the Jets were hanging on to a 22-21 lead.  Another Jets punt would lead to another Manning TD pass, this time to Clark for 9 yards.  For the first time in the game, the Colts were on top, 28-22.  The pressure was on Sanchez, and he responded.  In a little under 3 minutes, Sanchez drove the Jets down the field, and with 40 seconds left in the game, found Cloney in the end zone for the game tying score.  The extra point by Feely put the Jets back on top.   Manning was unable to pull off the miracle comeback, and the Jets had stolen yet another game from a highly favored opponent, 29-28.   Destiny was clearly knocking on the Jets’ door, and it didn’t matter who their opponent in the SuperBowl would be, they were not going to be stopped.

In the NFC, first round winners Philadelphia (over Dallas 34-24) and Arizona (over Green Bay 27-10) moved on to meet the Saints and Vikings.  Philadelphia stunned New Orleans, winning 19-14.  The Vikings crushed the Cardinals 40-16, with Favre, Shiancoe and Peterson leading the Vikings high-powered offense.  The Metrodome fans had a good game going in the NFC Championship up until half time.  In the second half, the Eagles defense took charge en route to a 30-16 dismantling of the Vikings.

SuperBowl XLIV would be a matchup of two wildcard teams, each with their own strengths, but only one with destiny on their side.  The first half was dominated by the Jets defense, with Pace sacking McNabb in the endzone for a safety on the Eagles first possession of the game.   Picking up the offensive slack in the first 30 minutes were Sanchez who threw a 10-yard  TD pass to Cotchery, Jones who ran it in from 4 yards, and Feely who chipped one in from 22.   Akers would add a late field goal of his own, but the Jets held a 19-3 lead at the half.   The second half was not much different than the first.  The Jets defense dominated, Feely added two more field goals for a total of 11 in the post season, and the Jets would win the game 25-6.

Feely ended the playoffs a perfect 11 for 11 in field goal attempts, a perfect 10 for 10 in extra point attempts, and accounted for 43 of the Jets 102 playoff points.  While Thomas Jones was voted the SuperBowl MVP for his defensive work (including an interception), Feely was clearly the playoff MVP for the Jets.  If it weren’t for his consistency in the playoffs, and his clutch performance in the AFC Championship game, destiny would never have come knocking.

Joe Paterno Leads PSU to National Championship!

One of the more enjoyable projects one can perform with sports simulation games is creating fantasy match ups to explore the many “what-if” situations discussed on a daily basis by sports fans everywhere.  One of the more common conversations centers around the BCS determination of who will play in each years National Championship game.  The current system doesn’t seem to have too many fans, except for the two teams that get to play for the Championship, and any organizations that benefit financially.

This bowl season, I reached for the paper, pencil, and dice and ran my own 16-team BCS Tournament using Momentum Football by Downey Games.  Momentum Football is classified as a “quick play” football game, where each drive is resolved by the roll of the dice.  Games can be completed in about 20 minutes, but still capture the excitement, ebb and flow of the real game.  For my project, BCS rankings were used to identify the “Sweet 16″, and a bracket similar to the NCAA Basketball Championship was created.  You already know who won it all, but let me tell you how it happened.

The first round of 8 games held 3 upsets from teams that would all go deep in the torunament.  #13 Penn State knocked off #4 TCU 24-21 in OT.  PSU trailed for most of the game, but tied it up at 21 late in the third quarter as Clark hit Zug for a 30 yard TD.  #11 Virginia Tech took out one of the other undefeated teams #6 Boise State 24-17.  In maybe the most surprising upset, #15 Miami defeated #2 Texas 35-24.  So much for Hook ‘em Horns! In other action, #1 Alabama beat #16 West Virginia 44-24, #8 Ohio State took out #9 Georgia Tech 21-14, #5 Florida crushed #12 LSU 45-19, #7 Oregon held off a tough #10 Iowa team 34-24, and #3 Cincinnati knocked off #14 BYU 34-21.

The second round saw 3 of the 4 games end in dramatic upsets.  The only top team to advance to the Final Four was Alabama who handled Ohio State easily, 33-21.  Penn State won their second straight upset victory by only 3 points, as they knocked off Florida and Tim Tebow by the score of 31-28.  PSU held a 31-6 lead with only 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, but Tebow led a furious Florida comeback that came up 3 points short.  In the other upsets, Miami beat Oregon 35-27 and VirginiaTech defeated Cincinnati courtesy of a Williams TD with only 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter.

The Final Four matchups were #1 Alabama vs. #13 Penn State and #15 Miami vs. #11 Virginia Tech.   Penn State put an end to Alabama’s title hopes, while continuing their upset streak with a dramatic 17-16 victory over the Crimson Tide.  Both defenses played very well, but it was a Bowman interception of McElroy with 40 seconds left in the game that sealed the victory for PSU.  Miami’s upset streak ended as VT took advantage of an interception return for a TD by Carmichael to secure the 24-19 victory.

Either way, the title game was going to crown an unlikely champion.  No Alabama or Texas, not even a TCU or Boise State.  As a championship game, however, it did not disappoint.  Following halftime, the Nittany Lions trailed the Hokies 10-17.  On their second drive of the second half, Clark and Powell brought the crowd to their feet as they connected for a 99-yard TD play to tie the game at 17.  The PSU defense played up to expectations and shut-out the VT offense for the remainder of the game.  The winning score for PSU came with 6:20 remaining in the game as Newsome ran it in from 2 yards out.  Final Score: Penn State 24, Virginia Tech 17.

I doubt we’ll ever see a 16-team tournament to end the college football season, but until there is some sort of change in the current system, the debates will continue, and us sports fans will continue to say “what if….”

Blazing Speed!

If you share the same mini-addiction that I do, then you already know what this post is about.

I’ve surrounded myself with the best game consoles, the most high-tech gadgets, and an embarrassing number of PCs with enough combined computing power to launch a 20th century satellite, but what do I do with it all?  I play Bejeweled Blitz.  A lot.  Each week brings a new tournament, and unless I’m at the top of that list with at least 300,000 points, I am not a happy camper…

I’ve been playing Bejeweled off and on for years.  For a while I got my wife to play me competitively, but that didn’t last as long as I would have liked.  Seems losing wasn’t any fun for her.  (My victory dances may have become tiring as well.)  Of course that boosted my ego quite a bit, so when Blitz and it’s Facebook community of players came along, I was more than eager to take the challenge.  In fact I was downright cocky.  Winning the weekly tournament wasn’t a question, the only question was how badly I would beat my friends.  All went well for a few weeks and then the weirdest thing happened… I didn’t win.  Addiction, meet Al.  Al, meet addiction.  I’ll leave the two of you alone now…

Game design is fascinating to me.  There are so many games out there, and while certain games will always find their niche, there are those that find a much broader appeal.  In the PC age, I’d consider Tetris and Bejeweled two examples to contrast with Chess and Checkers in “the before times” – meaning that they are instant classics that will be around for generations to come.  Bejeweled Blitz in particular has a unique strength in that each game is only 60 seconds long.  There are no time bonuses.  You can’t freeze the clock.  The board can be kind from the start of the game, or it can be cold.  (I have a love/hate relationship with the randomness of the initial board layout and am still trying to decipher any possible patterns for spotting a “good” board from the start.)  The player is rewarded for being able to recognize patterns and act quickly.  This sense of urgency is the key ingredient in the games’ success and I think the game designer is absolutely brilliant for it.  Clones will surely follow.

Happy New Year, and here’s hoping that all my Blitz playing friends enjoy a taste of the top of the Blitz Leaderboard in 2010.  But don’t get used to it, I’m not going away anytime soon…

Gaming Hangover

I stayed up way too late playing Modern Warfare 2 last night.  Feel like an elephant slept on my neck last night.  Such a great game though.  I’m now up to rank thirty-something, the one with the single gold bar.  I must have at least a dozen games for the 360, and I don’t think I’ve taken MW2 out of the system since the day it was released.

I was woken up by the wife and kids this morning.  When I say kids I mean dogs.  When I say dogs I mean three relentless, barking, jumping, mud attracting, licking machines.  We can’t have people over to our house like normal people because of these beasts.  When someone comes to the door, our dogs suddenly think they are pit bulls and go absolutely bonkers.  Even our malti-poo starts frothing…

Only a few days left of my Christmas vacation and I’m starting to get that “oh crap I’ve got to go back to work again soon” feeling in my stomach.  Blech.

It was a dark and stormy night…

Kind of appropriate that my first blog entry is an homage to Snoopy.  I’m 41 on the outside, but still 12 on the inside.  Doubt I’ll ever get much older than that, gray hairs be damned…

So I’m digging this new 27” iMac Quad Core monstrosity that I gave myself for Christmas, although I’m still getting used to the size and the need to sit about 6 feet away in order to take in everything at once.  Kids seem, to be happy with their new “Apple toys” as well.  Ashley got an iPhone, Cody a MacBook, Aidan a hand me down iPhone that I converted into an iPod Touch, and Danny with a new iPod Touch.  You’re welcome Mr. Jobs…

It was a struggle getting this blog going, as I really wanted to use iWeb.  In the end though, a tool like WordPress is simply better for my needs.  I had fun composing the image for the title though.  Feels good to exercise the creative muscles from time to time…

On the gaming front, I’m going analog for a bit.  Really enjoying a couple of e-book & dice games from a guy named Jeff Downey.  He has done a great job of translating the performance of a football team into a couple of dice rolls…