Operation Sports
Feature Blogs
- Friday Other Stuff (11-20-09) by Steve_OS (2)
- NCAA Basketball 10 Initial Impressions by ehh (15)
- Thursday Other Stuff (11-19-09) by Steve_OS (4)
- Wednesday Other Stuff (11-18-09) by Steve_OS (7)
- Tuesday Other Stuff (11-17-09) by Steve_OS (11)
- Monday Other Stuff (11-16-09) by Steve_OS (10)
- New Video - NBA2K10: Where Will Amazing Happen This Year? by MessenjahMatt (17)
- Friday Other Stuff (11-13-09) by Steve_OS (5)
- Thursday Other Stuff (11-12-09) by Steve_OS (6)
- Wednesday Other Stuff (11-11-09) by Steve_OS (5)
See all the latest Blog Comments in one location.
Friday, November 20, 2009
I can't stand turning to sportscenter then seeing how a powerhouse wins against a small-time team by 50+points. Where is the accomplishment in that, it's like an NBA team beating up on a highschool team.
That's why when I saw Michigan State vs Gonzaga, it really put a smile on my face. Two perennial tourney teams going at each other, nothing is better than that.
I think that's why nobody watches college hoops until the tourney, or a big matchup happens in-season. That's the only place 2 big time teams are forced to play each other, and not punk out.
Let's get some competition going, please!!!
12:32 PM - November 20, 2009. Written by chefdad
I found this site last april with the release of MLB 08. I found everyone to be great and helpful which made me stick. This year I haven't really hit the sports gaming too much due to Family and Work. FNR4 is it for me because of the fairly quick matches. Compared to 45min long Madden Marathons. Offline no in-game saves killed it for me. So you'll see me hangin out around the "other" forums quite a-bit.
I'm married with 3 kids. Live in Central Cali, Executive Chef for a local rural hospital. Hence the ID chefdad.
I'm a Playstation fan as most can tell from my posts but I don't "fanboy" the threads.
This site is great.
Thanks Steve and those who are responsible for it.
I joined to get help with my sports games and gladly try to return the favor for those topics I know a-bit about.
I'm a Yankee fan, Jets Fan, Sac Kings Fan, SJ Sharks Fan, FS Bulldog Fan. Long story about how I became a fan of the NY teams but tecmo bowl had alot to do with it. LOL
My name is Matt and I'm glad to make your acquaintance.
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Happy Birthday to the following OS'ers!
Deathrowromeo21 (40), cuppylove (30), Thrasha (22), roonoc (20)
05:56 AM - November 20, 2009. Written by jameshanderson
NFL Week 11 Picks: San Diego Chargers Vs. Denver Broncos: Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver 4:15 PM EST Sunday November 22, 2009.This Sunday in Mile High City the struggling Denver Broncos host the streaking San Diego Chargers. The Broncos have lost 3 in a row and the Chargers have won 4 in a row and now both teams are tied atop the AFC West. The winner of this game will be all alone in 1st place in the division. The Broncos' defense has let them down in their 3 game slide and in their last game QB Kyle Orton hurt his ankle.
San Diego Chargers Vs. Denver Broncos Live:
In their L(o)ast match, Broncos allowed the Redskins to dominate in terms of time of possession (35:43 to 24:17). The Broncos were favored by 3 points so they did not cover and the total of 36.5 was surpassed.
In their win over the Eagles the Chargers finally were able to run the ball, as they had 119 yards rushing while the Eagles only had 29. This season the Chargers have not been able to run the ball and QB Philip Rivers has had to do it all. However, in the win over the Eagles the LaDainian Tomlinson looked like the LT of old rushing for 96 yards. If the Chargers can run the ball against the Broncos they will be in good shape.
Denver with their losing streak and possible loss of their starting QB made them underdog for this match. Chargers' rushing offense continues to play well they will not only win this game, but they have a legit shot to go far in the playoffs. The Chargers will keep rolling, as even though this game is in Denver they will win this game and take over 1st place in the AFC West.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
http://thereal2kinsider.blogspot.com/2009/11/real-2k-insider-11-16-09.html
My E-Mail to David Aldridge
http://thereal2kinsider.blogspot.com/2009/11/my-e-mail-to-david-aldridge.html
Rashidi Vs 2K: Top 30 PGs
http://thereal2kinsider.blogspot.com/2009/11/rashidi-vs-2k-top-30-pgs.html
82 Games = Misleading Stats
http://thereal2kinsider.blogspot.com/2009/11/82games-fake-stats.html
SRS Power Rankings {11-16-09]
http://thereal2kinsider.blogspot.com/2009/11/srs-power-rankings-111609.html
During the trade deadline I aquired Scott Hannan, Owen Nolan and Robert Lang.
Made the trade: Michalek and Chiodo For Wolski and Sullavan
I'm in the middle of my 1st season with the Sens we're 1st in the league (50-6-4.)
Michalek-Spezza-Alfredson Karrlsson-Bergstrom(drafted)
Oshie-Fisher-Kovalev Philips-Volchenkov
Cheechoo-Winchester-Neil Campoli-Kuba
Donovan-Kelly-Shanan
Oshie-Fisher-Kovalev Philips-Volchenkov
Cheechoo-Winchester-Neil Campoli-Kuba
Donovan-Kelly-Shanan
Leclaire-Rycroft(drafted)
Going to trade Michalek soon he only has (60gp 17g 12a 29pts.) I'm hoping I can get either Rick Nash or Wojtek Wolski for him.
Let's get the negatives out of the way, some larger issues from Live 10 that are in NCAA '10:
- Minimal fast breaks though the CPU will push the ball a lot if they're up tempo.
- Spotty/average animations
- Players step out of bounds sometimes (although it's much improved in NCAA thanks to the Boundary Forcefield Slider still being present)
- CPU never kicks the ball out after an offensive rebound
- CPU does not pass the ball out of the post enough
- Like Live pre-patch there needs to be more fouls though sliders may be able to fix this, more testing is needed.
- No CPU name indicator under the ball handler
- Dynasty is largely unchanged, recruiting changes still need to be evaluated. Sim logic is improved, maybe too strict (not enough upsets).
- At times there will be a whistle and you have no idea what happened, the commentator won't mention anything and there won't be an overlay. This happens far less frequently than it did in 09 though.
- The CPU's guards dominate the offense and they don't feature their star players enough. This seems improved to a certain degree but is not perfect. You shouldn't see stars taking less than 10 FGA. In two games against "stars" Luke Harangody had 19 FGA and Greg Monroe had 13.
- You cannot edit jump shot animations for each player.
- Rosters are still a mess. Guys missing and poor ratings.
- Still cannot edit a player's class/year.
- The CPU's offense doesn't do questionable/out of character things. No three pointers from big men who never shoot past 12' IRL, no fadeaway three's early in the shot clock, no 'one quick pass and shot' nonsense.
- Contested shots are much better in NCAA '10. They go in far less and the CPU recognizes when they are contested and don't shoot them as often.
- The contact in the paint is much less frequent than in NBA Live. It's pretty good, you'll get it every now and then but a majority of the time if you have space or a lane to the hoop you'll get your shot off instead of being sucked into contact (on Varsity at least). This applies to the user and the CPU.
- Players step out of bounds far less, since I upped the boundary forcefield slider to 100 I've seen one player set out of bounds in four games.
- Defensive rotations are better than Live post-patch, similar to Live pre-patch. Less skating, less speedy recovery (on Varsity at least).
Obviously there are more issues with the game but those are some of the more discussed ones on the OS boards.
Moving on, the game does a lot of things right. Starting with the biggie obviously, the presentation. They hit it out of the park, way, way out of the park. It's not just an overlay here and there, there is a lot of great stuff that you'll see. Starting with the CBS or ESPN intro, you get pretty pumped up right from the start of the broadcast.
- Highlight packages for players having a big game, complete with the ESPN/CBS swipe that says the players name.
- Highlight packages for your motion offense, points in the paint or three point shooting. Again, shows your team name, the type of highlight package you'll see and then 3-4 clips.
- After a time out we get 'commercial break' commentary and highlights, plus the score overlay. Nessler, etc will say, "And stay right there, we'll be back after this with more college basketball on ESPN."
- When the shot clock is winding down a box will pop up on the screen that shows it, just like in a real-life broadcast
- Overlays for scoring droughts (Team A is scoreless the last 2:03)
- Overlays for team fouls, rebounding, blocks, assists, etc.
- If you're ranked it will say it on the score overlay the entire game just like IRL.
- There is a very noticeable difference in players this year. Not just guards compared to bigs, but good, quick guards compared to slower, average guards. You'll notice a difference using Sherron Collins compared to a mid or low major point guard. Most SF's can't easily get by defenders with the dribble because their R-stick moves are slow and don't work well. Big men trying to drive into the paint will get stripped. This is something Live 10 did pretty well IMO and I'm not surprised that it's carried over to NCAA.
- Unlike in NBA Live, you cannot iso and pick-n-roll the entire game and expect to have success. The motion offense (more on this later) and set plays are beautiful, just like in Live, and will help you tremendously if you run them frequently.
- I have seen two illegal screens called.
- Controls from NCAA 09 are vastly improved.
- Freestyle passing is more responsive and more accurate than Live.
- Game tempo still works well. With UConn I played Notre Dame and won 85-77, then played Georgetown (half court tempo) and won 54-52.
- Zones work very well. No crazy turnovers/steals/interceptions like in 09.
- Drive, draw and dish game is still beautiful, and even a little better than 09.
- On the fly subs are really improved. It's much quicker and more response, shows fatigue and number of fouls each player has. Big, big improvement. You can also smoothly use on the fly subs while the CPU is shooting free throws, something that's a disaster in Live.
- When you pause the game you get a game reset on the screen, showing time, score, time outs left, team fouls and a few stats. All this information was no where to be found in 09.
- Roster editing is much quicker and more responsive. You can fly through all the accessories, faces, etc - it is instant. No more 2-3 second hitch when you change sneakers or a face.
- A lot of new accessories. Arm sleeves, black socks, knee braces/pads, jumper knee straps, more sweatband types (above elbow, on elbow, forearm, wrist) and all the dope sneakers from Live 10. Helps with individualizing players and making them more true to their real life counterpart.
- The arch on jump shots is fixed from 09, no more "only rainbows go in".
- Ball physics are improved from 09.
- Subs are shown checking into the game at the scorer's table.
- Net animations are much improved.
NCAA 10 is putting in a valiant effort after being left for dead by many people before it was even released. However, Live had a similar overwhelmingly positive initial reaction but that died pretty quickly and the patch arguably did more harm than good. Time will tell with NCAA '10, we'll see how everyone feels 6-8 weeks from now and if the initial shine has worn off or if the game is still impressing people. The game play is extremely solid so far (out of the box for gameplay sliders) and the presentation is out of this world.
Ultimately the dynasty mode will make or break this game for most people, is it good enough for people to invest two or three months with NCAA '10? Obviously it's no where near 2K8's legendary legacy mode but if it's serviceable then NCAA '10 might be a surprising title that satisfies a lot of gamers. If you're on the fence then rent or wait it out to see how everyone feels in a month, the depth and replay value will be the key with NCAA '10 in the end.
12:40 PM - November 19, 2009. Written by jameshanderson
South Africa Vs England 1st ODI 20 Nov Live Streaming After the T20I series between England and South Africa was tied at one game apiece, the ODI series promises to be as close if not closer. Of course, the five matches should give out a winner – apart from rained off games obviously – but the games could be a lot closer than what one thought originally.
For starters, Andrew Strauss will make a comeback to the side as the captain after missing out the T20Is. Rather strangely, the English side had gone into the shortest format with two different captain; Paul Collingwood and Alastar Cook. For the ODI series, they will have only one skipper, Strauss, as he will lead a more settled side into the five games.
Click for Live Score Card of South Africa vs England
The first ODI will be played at Johannesburg, in Wanderers. This is the same venue on which the English batsmen had smashed more than 200 and had the South Africans coming very close to chasing it down. The pitch shouldn’t offer much to the bowlers, especially given that it is a day-night encounter, which would mean that there will not be any moisture on the wicket and hence the quick bowlers may not get too much help.
Later on, the spinners may get some assistance from the pitch, but that would be for later.England will be happy to have Kevin Pietersen back into the side. He did not play the first game in the T20Is, but he did have an outing in the second T20I and should make his comeback to the ODIs as well. The other batsman to look out for would be Eoin Morgan, who should be a part of the side after his master class in the first T20I which had taken the match away from South Africa.
Adil Rashid’s start to the tour was nothing short of baptism by fire and he will be replaced by Graeme Swann, who had been rested. There wasn’t too much help for the spinners on both the grounds, Jo’burg and Centurion, but for the ODIs, it could just be different.
The South Africans will continue to open with Graeme Smith and Loots Bosman.
Bosman was the top-scorer in both the games, and looks every bit a part of the international arena. This should make him a virtual certainty. Jacques Kallis will, in all probabilities bat at number three, with the likes of Duminy, AB de Villiers and the all-rounders following them.
The toss may not make a lot of difference, and the team batting second should be able to chase down any total if they batted well.
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Happy Birthday to the following OS'ers!
bisons18, vikingsfan1 (46), DesmondHoward21 (32), ffaacc03 (31), str8stuntin03 (25)
UFC Picks: Takedown defence and the jab. Those should prove to be Forrest Griffin's best chances of success against Tito Ortiz this Saturday at UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin II.
While Griffin is usually the underdog, this time Ortiz is coming in at +120 to Griffin's -150 over at online sportsbooks.
Why the advantage to Griffin? It might be Ortiz's recent 0-2-1 showing for his last three fights. It might even be his lack of finishing against Machida that could still be lingering and giving the advantage to Griffin because of his decent boxing skill, height and reach advantage, but let's not bring up Griffin's loss to Silva though...
Well now that it's been said, Griffin's loss to Silva has makes this as much a fight for relevance for Griffin as it is for Ortiz. Both of these seasoned veterans want to remain in the running in the light heavyweight division. They are both former UFC LHW Champions and they have already faced each other the past. Ortiz took the first match-up via split decision at UFC 59 in April 2006. While some may not be overly excited to see these two faces off again, each one of these fighters needs this win to stay in the spotlight.
When the spotlight was on Ortiz, he was definitely exciting to watch when he took opponents down and ground them into the mat. While many other fighters have developed their wrestling abilities and takedown defense, Ortiz has seemingly failed to develop his stand-up game. To me, this leaves Ortiz as a star of yesterday and a faint hope for today. I hope Ortiz has developed his hands in the last year. Quite frankly, if it's more of the same old, I've seen it before and often enough that I'd want to see it from someone else. According to Tito, he's more than he ever was and he's more than in top form. In fact, he's going to give us the fight of the year. I'd settle for something new and exciting even if it wasn't fight of the year.
That's a lot to say against one of the top wrestlers in the sport, but Ortiz's hiatus was a bit of fresh air for me. If he's coming back to reign like he says he is, I for one have high expectations.
I hold those expectations for Griffin as well. Admittedly, Griffin's boxing is not the best, but it is good and at times has served him well. He could out-box Ortiz, but Ortiz is no marshmallow.
He can take a few good shots, and Griffin hasn't demonstrated the knock out power to put Ortiz down early or decisively, and Griffin's never been famous for his power. So, that leads me to think that Griffin will have to out point him to win. If he wants to achieve this, he has to stay on his feet and keep Ortiz from taking him down.
This may work some of the time, but in the end, I think Ortiz's attempts will start to wear Griffin down and eventually overwhelm him. I expect Ortiz will get his takedown and end up causing damage from the top position.
There, I've just talked myself into rooting for Ortiz. How does he make me do that?
I'm going with Ortiz, the underdog. Help us all...
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