Tag: Video Games

Florida players get overall boost in EA College Football 25

After five weeks of college football, EA Sports has updated several players’ overall ratings, including these four Florida Gators.

Four Florida Gators received ratings boosts in the latest title update for EA College Football 25 — center [autotag]Jake Slaughter[/autotag] (88), quarterback [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] (81), running back [autotag]Ja’Kobi Jackson[/autotag] (75), and wide receiver [autotag]TJ Abrams[/autotag] (70).

Slaughter is the only every-down player for Florida on that list. He’s played all but 13 of Florida’s 249 offensive snaps this season and is the top-ranked pass-blocking center in the country, according to Pro Football Focus.

The fourth-year center is the anchor of Florida’s offensive line, so it’s not too surprising to see him increase his overall rating in the video game by one. Cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. remains the only Gator with a higher overall.

Despite being a true freshman, Lagway’s might be the most famous name on this list. A former five-star recruit, Lagway was thrust into a starting role in Week 2 against Samford with Graham Mertz recovering from a concussion. He’s now splitting time under center with Mertz, taking every third drive two weeks ago against Mississippi State.

But it’s the one game Lagway started that has his overall up one rating point to an 81. He threw for 456 yards against Samford, setting both a program record among freshman and the national high through five weeks of the 2024 season. The memorable performance may have come against an FCS team, but no one is holding that against Lagway.

Junior college transfer Ja’Kobi Jackson is the biggest mover on Florida’s roster, jumping up 11 spot to a 75 overall rating. Jackson has only seen the field for 12 snaps, but he’s made the most of his 11 attempts by rushing for 68 yards (6.2 yards per carry) and two touchdowns.

His overall rating on PFF (77.3) is the highest of any Gators running back as is his 76.1 grade on run plays. Ball security plays a big role for Jackson. Only Treyaun Webb has ran the ball (21 attempts) more without fumbling.

Last on the list is another true freshman, wide receiver TJ Abrams, who has played just 13 snaps. He reeled in his only target of the season, gaining three yards on the play, but this promotion is mostly because he’s getting playing time as a true freshman.

EA likely pegged him as a non-factor in his first year with Florida, but seeing the field has forced the developers to give him a bump from his initial 68 overall rating.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

LeBron James NBA 2K ratings through the years

One of the most exciting parts of buying NBA 2K annually is seeing the player ratings and how they’ve changed from seasons prior, particularly for one’s favorite players.

One player who has always ranked highly in the game is, of course, LeBron James, who was rated 78 as a rookie by NBA 2K, 88 as a sophomore and then never fell back below 94.

NBA 2K25 has the GOAT candidate rated as a 95, which could prove low depending on how James performs this season.

Below, check out LeBron James’ NBA 2K ratings through the years.

NBA 2k25 remains the best of the best when it comes to sports video games

This game is so fun. I just wish it didn’t cost so much.

Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Mike Sykes

Happy Friday, folks! Welcome back to Layup Lines. Thanks so much for joining me today. I hope you’ve had a fantastic week and have a great weekend ahead of you.

I’ve been playing the NBA 2k video game series for almost as long as it has existed. I picked up NBA 2k3 on the PlayStation 2 back in 2002 and have, generally, been a fan of the franchise ever since.

So when the opportunity to review Visual Concepts’ latest entry into the series with NBA 2k25, I didn’t hesitate to jump on it.

READ MORE: Every NBA 2k cover star since 1999

Now, let me be clear here. As a longtime fan of this game and the series, I do love it. But that does not mean that I love everything about it. Like everyone, I’ve had plenty of complaints about NBA 2k through the years — especially recently.

Every year, it feels like the microtransaction economy the game is now known for keeps slowly eating away at the playing experience. After playing the game for two days, I can confirm (to no one’s surprise) that it remains the same. It’s impossibly hard to play the game’s MyCareer mode without spending a little extra cash to improve your player and have a pleasant experience with the game and its PvP features. That will forever be a blight on this game to me.

READ MORE: Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo are the best players in NBA 2k25

But let’s put MyCareer on hold for a second. First, I’d like to talk about my experience playing this game. It was truly delightful.

As a longtime fan of the NBA, you’ve always seen players doing the impossible in games with dribble moves, crazy finishes, dunks, wild 3-pointers and more. The goal of this game has always been to capture that essence and package it for the rest of us to experience that in our own way.

I think 2k made immense progress with that through 2k24’s ProPlay feature. Instead of using motion capture technology to try and recreate player’s moves, the game used actual footage from NBA games to make them as accurate as possible.

For 2k25, they’ve improved on that ProPlay feature. And let me tell y’all: It works. Really, really well.

For 2k25, they’ve added a “go-to shot” feature that lets you do James Harden’s stepback, for example, or Stephen Curry’s sidestep 3-pointer or Luka Doncic’s slow-mo step.

Seeing is believing, though. So here I am playing as Kevin Durant in the 2k Freestyle mode, just messing around. Look at how insane this stepback is.

They’ve even got his “too small” celebration in the game.

The attention to detail is insane. It’s what makes the game so fun to play. The presentation is nice, but it’s not just fluff. There’s an infrastructure that comes with it that makes it truly feel like you’re in control of an NBA superstar. You can feel the difference if you’re playing with, say, Steph Curry or Trae Young. No two players feel the same — especially not the ones at the top of the ladder.

As far as the game modes go, there’s not much new added. But the selection was already robust between MyCareer, MyTeam, MyGM and, last season’s new add, MyEras.

The 2k eras mode now features a Steph Curry era timeline starting from 2016, which is a bit odd considering its a year after the Warriors won their first title. But it runs right up against the LeBron era, so I get it.

MyGM mode isn’t really that interesting. It feels more like an RPG now. There are six different GM archetypes you can choose from. None of them were really that interesting to me and, honestly, I didn’t play the mode too much.

What I’ve spent most of my time in (predictably) was the MyCareer mode. The start of it completely hooks out in.

You begin your journey as a player playing in the 4th quarter of a decisive Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Of course, you win the game. And you’ll probably finish with a 50-point triple-double, which feels awesome. But then you realize after the game that it’s just your player envisioning the future they’ve dreamed of.

From there, you build out your player. You can either build your player and adjust your attributes as you see fit or choose from several player and pro archetypes the game makes available.

I’ve found that it’s best to use those archetypes as a baseline for what you want and then blow everything up completely to figure out how you want to build your person.

Building your player is a delicate balance — several stat attributes are tied together, meaning sacrificing in one key area could mean a loss for another. For example, the higher your mid-range jumper is, the higher your close shot will have to be. That can create quite a conundrum for you in the builder as you try and balance things out.

This is what I landed on.

I’ve had fun playing with my player so far. We’ve already run a muck in the Rec so far. I caught my first body of the season, too.

https://twitter.com/MikeDSykes/status/1832116906699989436

It’s been a blast to play. The only issue is, again, the extra money you’ve got to spend on virtual currency to get your player to a point where they can compete online. It’s easily the most frustrating part about NBA 2k. It takes nearly 200,000 in 2k’s “virtual currency” to upgrade your player from a 60 overall to an 85 overall.

Sure, you can play enough games to get there eventually. If you’re raking in, say, 1,000 virtual currency points per NBA regular season game, that’d nearly be 3 full NBA seasons before you reach an 85 overall from your player’s baseline. And we haven’t even begun to discuss how long it’d take for you to get to the highest overall possible at 99.

That entire concept is frustrating and should be done away with. The game is so good otherwise that you just have to wonder how much better it could be if it weren’t going to cost you an extra $100 actually to get the most out of it. For how long some play it? Maybe it’s worth it. But if you’re only looking for a casual playing experience in MyCareer, this might be a hang-up for you.

With that said, I’ve enjoyed playing this game both in and outside of the MyCareer setting. As far as sports games go, NBA 2k is still the creme of the crop.

This is a solid 8 out of 10 game that could easily be bumped up to a 9 without VC struggles. That won’t happen. But, hey. A guy can wish, right?

Shootaround

— Here’s Bryan Kalbrosky speaking with Joakim Noah on the rise of Frances Tiafoe. This one was fun.

— Shaq is still roasting Rudy Gobert. Yikes, gang.

— And so is Dereck Lively II? Man. Come on. Rudy ain’t bad, y’all. Plus, Lively, my guy. Look in the mirror.

— Here’s Meg Hall on fuel being added to the fire for dating rumors between A’ja Wilson and Bam Adebayo. This is fun.

That’s a wrap, gang! Thanks so much for reading today. We appreciate you. Have a good one. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️

Why Sony is shutting Concord down less than two weeks after its launch, explained

This is tough to see.

There have been plenty of times in the last few years when we’ve seen video games have absolutely disastrous launches.

No Man’s Sky was pretty terrible. Star Wars Battlefront 2? Phew. Awful. Remember Anthem? Yikes, y’all.

Bad launches happen. It’s part of the fabric of the gaming world at this point. Games get released and sometimes they just flop. It’s not great, but it is what it is.

Rarely, however, do we see a launch so bad that a game is pulled from virtual shelves. That happened with Cyberpunk 2077 because it was just incredibly buggy, of course. But, usually, the studio just takes the initial L on the chin and patches the game up over the next few years until it’s better. Sometimes, it comes out awesome like No Man’s Sky. Other times, there’s nothing you can do like with Battlefront 2.

But we don’t typically see a game pulled because nobody wants it. That’s exactly what happened to Sony’s Concord.

The company announced the game was being removed from the PlayStation store on Tuesday, just a little under two weeks after its initial launch. Players who purchased the $40 game were granted full refunds for it.

Let’s talk about what this is and why it happened.

Wait, what is Concord?

Here’s the simple version: Concord is (or was?) a 5v5 first-person shooter game developed over the last eight years by Sony. You jump online, squad up with your friends and play the game the same way you would, say, Overwatch.

It cost $40, which is below the market for typical PlayStation games these days but way over the market against the other live service games it was meant to compete against.

That’s where this gets tricky.

What on Earth is a live service game?

Live service games are developed for the sole purpose of keeping the consumer playing for as long as possible.

They’re typically online-based and multiplayer games that are constantly in evolution. Games like Fortnite and Apex Legends fall into this category. They go through different “seasons” where they’ll add new characters, weapons, skins and new story beats for players to tap into.

Sometimes, those evolutions are presented to players through microtransactions. You’ll have to make a purchase to access some of the game’s new content. In Fortnite, for example, players can spend money to gain access to skins. However, they’re not needed to play the game. Other times, though, some games will require you to spend money to participate in new content.

It can all get pretty expensive once it adds up.

What does this have to do with Concord’s shutdown?

Quite a bit. Concord was a live service game. More content was going to be presented in the game down the line as it evolved and grew with its players.

That was the plan, anyway. But people just weren’t that into it.

On PlayStation’s blog announcing the move, Director Ryan Ellis said, “While many qualities of the experience resonated with players, we also recognize that other aspects of the game and our initial launch didn’t land the way we’d intended.”

People just didn’t seem to like it. The game reportedly sold as few as 25,000 units, according to IGN, which is extremely low. It debuted to 697 concurrent players on Steam, putting it on par with 2023’s disastrous Gollum game.

https://twitter.com/tomwarren/status/1827303102078128153

Wow. Did people hate this game that much?

I don’t really think it’s that people hated this game. I think the reality is honestly worse: People just didn’t seem to care that much about it.

In an era where live service games are popping up everywhere, you’ve really got to stand out to make a dent and capture people’s attention. Concord was never able to do that.

It didn’t have a unique spin like Sony’s Helldivers 2 did. In the end, people weren’t putting down what they were already playing to play this game.

https://twitter.com/cecianasta/status/1831047726496440755

Concord never broke through.

Is this really the end for Concord?

We’ll have to see. Sony says it’s time to “explore options” is starting now with the company pulling this game.

It’s possible that Concord may return and it could become a free-to-play game with optional microtransactions. That may help it garner a bit more of an audience in the future.

It wouldn’t be the first time a game was pulled and brought back, either. Cyberpunk 2077’s success proves that it’s possible things can still work.

There’s a tough and uncertain road ahead for this game and its developers at Firewalk Studios.

It’s in the Game: Simulating Florida’s Week 1 matchup vs. Miami on EA Sports College Football 25

We ran 10 simulations of the Battle for Florida on EA College Football 25 to see what the video game world thinks will happen on Saturday. The results might surprise you.

For the first time since 2014, college football fans can simulate their favorite matchup of the weekend with an updated roster.

EA Sports released College Football 25 in the middle of July, but its most recent title update came just two days before Week 1 of the season kicks off for the Florida Gators. So, we ran 10 simulations of the Battle for the Florida Cup to see what EA thinks will happen on Saturday.

The results might surprise you.

Before we dive into things, let’s talk methodology. We went with 10 simulations because five sounds like too small of a sample size and more than 10 sounds laborious. College Football 25 allows you “Super Sim” games and review the stats afterward before “restarting” the matchup. We did these in batches of two, just in case the computer resets significantly when a new game is set up.

The user control went with Florida, and the difficulty was set to Heisman. Neither should affect the simulation. Quarter lengths were set to six minutes with the accelerated clock off, which allows for semi-realistic final scores.

We also moved Kam Waites into the starting right tackle spot and removed Jamari Lyons, who is injured in real life.

Now let’s go over the results.

Overall Breakdown

Florida and Miami split the 10 simulations evenly, but the ‘Canes averaged more than a field goal better than the Gators on the scoreboard. Some quick math leads us to 33.3 points per game for Miami and 29.5 for Florida, which is a greater difference than the plus-2.5 spread UF has been awarded on most major sportsbooks.

Those numbers don’t tell the whole story, though. Four of Florida’s five wins came by a one-score margin, whereas Miami won four of five by multiple scores. In other words, Miami has the better chance to make this a blowout, but if things stay competitive, Florida might have the edge.

Offense

On offense, there’s little to worry about if you’re a Gators fan. Graham Mertz averaged 296 passing yards and 2.2 touchdowns per game, while staying turnover-free for six of 10 games. Montrell Johnson Jr. put up 102.6 yards and 0.7 scores on 18.3 carries, on average.

Eugene “Tre” Wilson III led the receivers room with 83.7 yards and 0.9 touchdowns per game, but Mertz spread the ball around fairly well. Chimere Dike and Arlis Boardingham each average four catches or more per game, although the latter benefitted from a few explosive performances. Elijah Badger is the wildcard here. He can boom for 100-plus yards and multiple scores, but he also can disappear from a game.

The offensive line wasn’t terrible, averaging 1.8 sacks allowed per game.

Defense

Florida’s defense allowed 321 yards of total offense on average, mostly due to a strong run game from Miami. The ‘Canes averaged 244 rushing yards on the ground in the simulations, and their best nights led to wins. That’s where Florida is most likely to win or lose the game, according to EA Sports.

Sacks and turnovers were hard to come by for both teams. Florida failed to get to the quarterback once in half of the simulations, and only one interception was recorded throughout. Neither of the forced fumbles were recovered.

Special Teams

We didn’t look into special teams too much here, but Trey Smack was solid for the most part. He nailed 18 out of 20 field goal attempts, 10 of which came from 40 yards or farther. One of his misses was from 53 yards out.

Most of you will stop reading there, but the true video game nerds want to know how each game went, and we’ve got you covered. Here’s a quick recap of each simulation we ran ahead of Saturday’s matchup.

Florida Gives Fans a New Hope

Our first simulation saw the Gators dominate the game and carry a double-digit lead through most of the fourth quarter. Graham Mertz threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns, and Montrell Johnson Jr. added another score on 17 carries for 132 yards. Tre Wilson III led all receivers with eight catches for 190 yards and two touchdowns (!!!), and neither team turned the ball over. Florida wins, 38-28.

The second simulation didn’t see Mertz clear 200 yards and he threw an interception, but Florida still came away with a win thanks to a touchdown by Chimere Dike with 41 seconds left on the clock. Johnson and Wilson were also less effective than they were in Game 1. In fact, this win was really on the defense. Jason Marshall Jr. forced the only turnover of the game, an interception, an Miami was held to 339 yards of total offense. Florida wins, 27-23.

The Canes Strike Back

It took until our third simulation for Miami to put the hurt on Florida. The Gators trailed 31-14 at the half, and they couldn’t cut into the deficit at all afterward. The ‘Canes ripped apart Florida’s defense for 560 total yards and seven scores (four passing, three rushing). Mertz completed more than 70% of his passes for nearly 300 yards but only one score (he also ran for a TD). Johnson had a good day, too, rushing for nearly 140 yards and a score. Jadan Baugh also scored. Trey Smack missed his lone kick, which came from 50-plus yards out. Miami wins, 52-34.

Apparently, wins come in bunches in this game. The ‘Canes won handily in our fourth simulation, although it wasn’t the same offensive clinic as Game 3. Instead, Miami did most of its damage on the ground, rushing for 262 yards and four touchdowns. Mertz crossed the 300-yard mark but threw two interceptions to three touchdowns. Johnson ran for over 100 yards but didn’t score, and it was Elihjah Badger who stood out among the receivers with 176 yards and two touchdown grabs. Once again, this loss is on the defense. No sacks, no turnovers and an inability to slow down the run game. Miami wins, 42-28.

Return of the Gators

Florida got back on the winning track in our fifth simulation. Mertz was back to Game 1 form with 319 yards and three touchdowns without throwing an interception. Once again, Badger led all receivers with 120 yards and THREE touchdowns. Johnson ran for more than 100 yards but he couldn’t find the end zone. Smack did some heavy lifting here with four made field goals, including two beyond 40 and one from beyond 50. Florida wins, 40-23.

Florida needed a 46-yarder from Smack to secure the win in our sixth simulation, marking our closest decision so far. This is the game most neutral fans are hoping to see, but it’s a weird one. Mertz was dominant, going for 364 yards and three scores with no interceptions, but Johnson barely managed 50 yards. Miami had its worst passing game so far (109 yards) but tore it up on the ground (256 yards) to compensate. Florida wins, 31-28.

Florida needs to avoid these timelines

Our seventh simulation saw both teams struggle to find any offense through the air, but Miami’s run game (267 yards, 1 touchdown) put the ‘Canes over the top rather easily. Florida trailed 24-0 at halftime, which rendered an 11-3 second half moot. Montrell Johnson Jr. was the only effective player on offense, and the defense failed to force a turnover to get back in the game. Miami wins, 27-11.

The nightmare scenario for Florida manifested itself in our eighth simulation. Graham Mertz completed 31 of 45 passes for 420 yards and five touchdowns without turning the ball over, and the Gators still lost. Pain. Arlis Boardingham hauled in 10 catches for 122 yards and a touchdown, while Wilson finished two yards shy of 100 and with two scores. Badger and Dike both found the end zone, too. Low rushing totals from Johnson aren’t a concern here, but the run defense certainly is. Florida held Cam Ward to 84 yards passing, but Miami’s running backs torched them for 324 yards and four touchdowns. Yikes. Miami wins, 41-38.

Finally, we get a split

Florida orchestrated a second-half comeback to win our ninth simulation, scoring 29 points after halftime to secure a .500 record in this series of 10. Mertz threw for 420 yards again, but only managed two touchdowns (and an interception). Johnson ran for his usual 100 yards and change while picking up two scores, and Wilson ran both of his catches into the endzone for a total of 114 yards. The Gators finally managed to slow down Miami’s run game, or at least kept it under 200 yards on the day, but Ward threw for 227 and three scores to make things competitive. Florida wins, 39-34.

Our final simulation was an ugly one… Florida scored all nine of its points in the third quarter, while Miami enjoyed a comfortable lead for most of the game. Mertz had his worst day, completing just 52% of his passes for 156 yards and no touchdowns, which naturally led to all receivers struggling. Johnson was the only Gator to put up normal numbers with 112 yards and the team’s lone score. Smack banged a 49-yarder for the other three points. Somewhat surprisingly, Florida’s defense was fairly average in this game. It allowed 178 yards and one score through the air and 260 yards and two scores on the ground. Not great, but a normal day from the offense would give Florida a shot. Miami wins, 35-9.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

The beloved Backyard Sports video games are returning and fans are thrilled

Pablo Sanchez returns!

This announcement is for you, 1990s kids!

On Tuesday, Playground Productions announced that the beloved video game series Backyard Sports will be returning “in the coming months”. While the series was still producing games until 2015, the version most are familiar with is Backyard Baseball, alongside other games like Backyard Football and Backyard Basketball from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Even more good news for fans, the series is returning to its iconic aesthetic it began with for this revival.

“We’re incredibly excited to reintroduce Backyard Sports to a new generation of players,” Chris Waters, Chief Product Officer at Playground Productions, said. “We’re taking great care to preserve the look and feel that made the original games so special while updating them with modern features and gameplay that today’s audience expects. I can’t wait for fans to see what we’re building on the Playground.”

Plus, fan-favorite characters are set to return, from Stephanie Morgan and Achmed Khan to Sunny Day and more. And, of course, the GOAT Pablo Sanchez!

Here’s how fans reacted to Tuesday’s announcement.

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Madden 25 review: This is the best Madden game in a while, but it still feels incomplete

This game is fun! But it still needs some work.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thank you so much for rocking with us today. We appreciate you.

After having had College Football 25 take over my life for the last few weeks, I decided to give Madden a shot. I’ve been a sporadic Madden player over the years but figured I’d give it another shot since we finally got another college football video game, and it was awesome.

After playing it for four days straight, my feelings are mixed.

Don’t get it twisted — this isn’t a bad game! Anyone who has been a fan of Madden will love this one. There were plenty of redeemable qualities that kept me coming back.

The first thing that you should know about it is that this is not a copy-and-paste job with CFB 25. The two games are entirely different. Madden actually does a lot of things better than CFB 25, if I’m being honest.

READ MORE: What College Football 25 can learn from Madden

The first thing I did was go into a Play Now game. I chose to replay the Eagles’ first preseason game against the Ravens.

Big mistake, guys. That defense is excellent. It destroyed me. But, honestly, I was in awe at how alive it felt. The defense kept shifting around pre-snap. It was like the players were communicating with one another. It felt like watching an honest NFL game, which was nice.

The playbooks were also unique. The Eagles offense was fun. It was filled with a ton of run-pass option plays with intricate route concepts for Jalen Hurts to cycle through. It was impressive.

What I really wanted to play was the game’s Superstar mode. I’d been glued to Road to Glory on CFB 25 since the game came out and wanted to continue my player’s career on Madden.

Things started off pretty well! My player transferred over neatly. He looked exactly like he did on CFB 25, which was nice.

Once your player loads in, you select an archetype. Since this was a quarterback, I had four choices: field general, scrambler, improviser and power runner. Ultimately, I built a custom improviser mix.

From there, you play the NFL Combine and do various drills to improve your player. There’s also a Combine interview you can take that impacts your draft standing, too.

The questions are super silly and easy if you pay attention to Madden and the NFL in the slightest bit.  The questions aren’t about defensive coverages and how to attack them. Instead, they’re silly things like who won Kick Tac Toe at the Pro Bowl in 2023.

Pretty sure I still got this wrong, but whatever.

Ultimately, the Jets drafted me with the 11th pick in the first round. They do the whole draft thing, too, by the way. Robert Saleh called me to let me know the Jets were picking me. You also get to shake hands with Roger Goodell, which was nice.

But things got super weird, super fast. For some reason, New York traded Aaron Rodgers to the Rams after picking me, and, well, that didn’t make any sense mostly because my player kind of stinks.

This is what really irked me. You’d think that as a Heisman-winning quarterback who broke virtually every passing record at USC, I’d have been a pretty good prospect. But nope! He’s a 65 overall quarterback.

It felt like the work I did on CFB 25 kind of didn’t matter, which sucked. But the mode was still fun to play. I played the preseason and, after a few quick games, he’s already a 70 overall. It’s not hard to level up. You get skill points upon completion of “quests,” which are basically stat goals for the season. The progression system is also much better than CFB 25’s. It’s more granular, so you can improve individual “core” skills instead of broadly improving a swath of them without control.

The mode was a bit glitchy. I had to restart the game a few times to get some of the menus to work. It also just completely kicked me in the middle of a fourth quarter, which was irritating, but I still had fun with it.

The presentation was excellent. The commentators knew I won the Heisman, which was nice. They also gave me a sweet chyron, too.

I haven’t had much time to explore the rest of the game, but these two modes gave me a pretty good sampling on what to expect.

Ultimately, this game is good. If you like Madden or love football, you’ll have a good time playing it. It’s an immersive NFL experience that breathes a lot of life into the experience.

Me, personally? I think I’m going to slide back to CFB 25 for a sec. I miss those drums.

RATING: 7 out of 10.

Not this year, Kap

Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

If Colin Kaepernick does choose to come back to the NFL as a coach, it won’t be happening this year.

Harbaugh reportedly told Kap he had a coaching job waiting for him with the Chargers if he wanted it. The head coach reportedly offered Kaepernick that job back in January.

Now, it seems, it’s a bit too late to take it. Harbaugh told reporters that Kaepernick wouldn’t be coaching on the staff or playing on the team this year.

“I love Colin, but he’s not going to be on the coaching staff I set for this year, and he’s not going to be playing on the roster either,” he said.

That’s a reasonable position for Harbaugh, considering that the NFL season starts in a couple of weeks here. It’s a bit late to be adding names to the coaching staff.

It also seems he’s closing the window on Kaepernick playing for him, too, which is a bit disappointing. I guess Easton Stick is good enough? Whatever.

Maybe next year. We’ll see.

Ws > Records

(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Angel Reese has done a lot of record breaking in her rookie WNBA season so far, but she’s more concerned with wins. That was made clear during her press conference after a rough loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday.

Here’s Meg Hall with more:

“After a rough loss to the Phoenix Mercury Thursday, Angel was asked about breaking Sylvia Fowles’ franchise single-season rebounding record. And, while that’s really dope, it’s probably the last thing she wants to hear following a loss.

That’s something she’s said before — for example, after she broke the rookie double-double record — and it certainly wasn’t going to change on a night where the team mostly struggled without Chennedy Carter. As you might suspect, Angel rattled off an icy but blunt “I don’t wanna hear about no record” response to a reporter who asked.”

Record, schmecord. Angel is trying to make the playoffs.

Photo Friday: The cycle, baby!

(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Weston Wilson got showered with sunflower seeds after becoming the first Phillies rookie to ever hit the cycle in a game.

Here’s every hit:

Good stuff, rook.

Quick hits: Every NFL stadium, ranked … The Raiders’ chaos … and more

— Here’s Andrew Joseph with his annual NFL stadium ranking. This is always fun.

— Christian D’Andrea says the Raiders should lean into their own chaotic nature because, well, they’re the Raiders.

— Here’s Robert Zeglinski on how Josh Allen is enough to keep the Bills afloat.

— Caitlin Clark is out here signing newborn babies. Here’s Meg Hall with more.

— Here’s Meg again with the best schedule reveals from NBA teams across social media.

— Here’s Blake Schuster with more on the gambling scandal amid Notre Dame’s men’s swimming team. Yikes.

That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for reading. Let’s do this again next week. We out.

-Sykes ✌️

The Minnesota Golden Gopher’s College Football 25 celebration is absolutely delightful

The Minnesota Golden Gopher is one of the breakout stars of College Football 25.

As college football fans celebrate this week’s release of College Football 25, the various Easter eggs and little details hidden in the game by its developers are beginning to come to light.

One fun twist that’s already catching fans’ attention is how the Minnesota mascot celebrates a big play for the team.

The Golden Gopher has indeed taken some spotlight with the new edition of the EA Sports game, as the mascot unexpectedly turns his head around a few times in a 360 circle whenever Minnesota is able to make a big splash on the football field.

While mascot celebrations aren’t anything out of the ordinary, watching Golden Gopher spin his head around in a full circle is the kind of unexpectedly hilarious surprise that makes this such a welcome return for a college football video game.

See for yourself how the Golden Gopher twists its head around below.

Apparently, the Golden Gopher has pulled this off in real life, too.

 

 

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The Golden Tee World Championships are going on in Las Vegas — and the purse is significant

The stakes are high for the Golden Tee World Championship being held at The Palms Casino Resort.

Who among us hasn’t thrown a few quarters in a Golden Tee machine while trying to impress friends with our knowledge of world courses, right?

Well, the stakes are a little higher than the next round of pints this weekend in Las Vegas as the Golden Tee World Championship is being held at The Palms Casino Resort.

The 5-course arcade qualifier begins at 2 p.m. ET and is being streamed live on the Golden Tee YouTube page.

The prize pool for this year’s event is $160,000. A total of 96 arcade players will compete for today’s cash prize of $35,000, with nine open qualifying spots available for last-minute hopefuls.

“We expect this to be a landmark year for the Golden Tee World Championships,” Kevin Lindsay, head of amusement marketing Incredible Technologies told RePlay Magazine. “On top of a record prize pool, our team has put a lot of thought into this year’s event, and we know this will set the bar for what players can expect in years to come. Both the game and brand of Golden Tee have a lot of momentum to build upon.”

Last year’s champion, Paul Tayloe, is among those on hand for the festivities.

Florida’s defense among best in upcoming EA College Football video game

Rankings weeks continues in anticipation of EA College Football 25’s release, and we now know Florida is a top-25 defensive team in the game

As part of its ongoing rankings week showcase, EA Sports released a list of the top 25 offensive and defensive teams in its upcoming college football video game, and the Florida Gators just made the cut at No. 25 on the defensive list.

The Gators’ defensive rating will be an 84 (out of 99) at the game’s launch, tying the program with Colorado, Kansas State, LSU, Louisville, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and potentially more.

Unfortunately, [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag]’s return to The Swamp didn’t get Florida’s offense into the top 25. While we don’t know what the team’s offensive rating will be, it won’t be higher than an 83.

Several of the nation’s top teams appear on both lists, giving an idea of what their overall ratings will be in the game. For example, Georgia is ranked first in offense and second and defense with a pair of 94s. The Bulldogs should be rated 94 overall, using basic math.

Florida’s number is a little harder to compute, but a low-80s rating feels likely. It certainly won’t be above the 84 mark the defense earned, but the offense is returning enough weapons to keep Florida from slipping into the high-70s.

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