Picture from Answers.com

Here’s a list of the top 5 best Tecmo Super Bowl running backs from the first Tecmo SUPER Bowl Nintendo game (1991). Remember this doesn’t include the previous Tecmo Bowl games or the Tecmo Super Bowls that would follow.

Picture from Tecmo Super Bowl

Honorable Mention:
Emmitt Smith, Dallas: Better in real life than the video game. Still good though.
Marion Butts, San Diego: Good for getting 90-100 yards against computer opponents.
Cleveland Gary, Rams: Does a good job of making people miss and has break away speed.

Picture from Tecmo Blog

5.Thurman Thomas
Another Techmo Super Bowl Hall of Famer at the running back position. He possesses the ability to do everything, and do everything well. He runs with great speed and power, has great hands, and will basically never fumble. One of the toughest run plays to cover is the fake to full back Jamie Mueller with the pitch to Thomas. Thomas is versatile, but he does have some help in the game from QB Bills and wide receiver Andre Reed. Although his stats have him as one of the best, he wasn’t a player I particularly was afraid of facing.
Thurman’s stats: 63 maximum speed, 69 rushing power, 75 ball control, and 50 receiving.

Picture from Chicago Bears

4.Neil Anderson, Chicago
The Chicago Bears running back lands in the fourth spot on the list. He always seems to hit the whole with speed and is a dual threat as a receiver. He also does a great job of making the first defender miss, which almost always leads to a big run. He’s one of those guys that if the defender you are controlling gets knocked down or blocked, breaks for a 50 yard touchdown. He might not have had the career he wanted to have in the NFL but he’s definitely a Tecmo Super Bowl Hall of Famer.
Neil’s stats: 63 maximum speed, 69 rushing power, 50 ball control, and 50 receiving.

3.Christian Okoye, Kansas City
If you know who wasn’t in this game, Christian Okoye could have been the face of Tecmo Super Bowl (see #2 RB also). I’ve never thrown my controller so many times in my life trying to stop this beast. You cannot trust any of your computer teammates to take this guy down, you can only hope they hold him up so it gives you enough time to get over there to make the play. Not to mention that at any given time he’ll bulldoze you over and your left watching in frustration as he races down the field for a touchdown. The Nigerian Nightmare could easily be switched with the number two running back on the list, but Okoye does lack versatility and can fumble.
Okoye’s stats: 50 maximum speed, 75 rushing power 50 ball control, 19 receiving, and a mind boggling 94 hitting power.

2.Barry Sanders, Detroit
The other candidate who could have been the face of Tecmo Super Bowl, Sanders runs circles around opposing defenses. His ability to dodge defenders puts him second on our list. When you control Barry, even the controller feels lighter in your hands. The slightest touch to the directional pad causes a defender to dive the wrong direction and look stupid. Since Rodney Peete is pretty pathetic at passing in the game, Sanders’ ability to catch short passes makes him a double threat, and at any time in the game he can break a big one.
Barry’s stats: 69 maximum speed, 69 rushing power, 69 ball control, and 44 receiving.

1.Bo Jackson, Raiders
Hands down no better player in Tecmo Super Bowl history. Bo was a great running back in real life, but more people remember him for how unstoppable he was in Tecmo Super Bowl. He has blazing speed, breaks tackles, doesn’t fumble, and if an opponent ever called a pass play, their defense was done for. He is the biggest game breaker in the game, and I’d rather take my chances leaving a wide open receiver down field, then trying to catch Bo after he breaks one. He’s so hard to stop, that you should make your buddy tell you what Bo Jackson play he is running, just to give you a chance.
Bo’s stats: 75 maximum speed, 69 rushing power, 81 ball control, and 19 receiving.
Bo knows Tecmo Super Bowl:

Now we’ve all heard the stories about what happens when you break an Ipod and how they are “designed to be disposable”. All you hear about is how if anything happens to your Ipod you basically have to go and get a new one, especially if the warranty is up. Well this is fortunately no longer the case. A company in Toronto, Canada has solved this problem by offering an Ipod repair service for any poor, neglected or damaged Ipod. From battery replacements, to click-wheel fixes to complete Ipod refurbishment it appears that there is nothing that iRepair.ca can’t do with our addictive little media players. So the next time you attempt to play your favorite song and your Ipod does not want to cooperate, don’t toss it, do a little research and let the professionals look at it first!

Today is Madden 2007 release day - a big day for geeks everywhere (including myself). Below is a great recap of all of the 32 NFL teams and how they rank. Enjoy!

Rating the teams of Madden 07

So we headed to IGN and have been looking through this year’s Madden roster ratings. Then we decided to do something stupid, rate all of the teams as they appear on Madden. In evaluating all of the teams on Madden we tried to look at a few factors.

* First was how many players each team had rated in the 90s, because in Madden the stars are the ones who are most likely to win the game for you.
* Secondly, I looked at how each team fared at the key Madden offensive positions (QB, RB, TE, and WR) and gave bonus points if they had a strong line.
* Thirdly we evaluated each team’s ability to pass rush and gave bonus points for highly rated DBs. You can agree or disagree, but I don’t value the defense as highly as the offense in Madden. Offense wins games in the video game world.
* And lastly we tried to factor in the classic Madden favoritisms that always seem to skew the competitive balance.
* While it is certainly an imperfect system, it gives you an idea what to expect from each team in this year’s game. So here’s the list with the number of 90 players in parentheses and their grades according to the evaluations.

Unfortunately… the Patriots, my beloved Patriots, are #15 - which is blasphomy!

15. Patriots (6, including 1 P) Off: (2) Def: (3)

Outlook: At first glance of the Patriots ratings, it looks like the people over at EA may have ended their love affair with the former World Champs. But upon closer examination you see that there are a ton of players rated in the 80s that give them more depth than most of the teams in the league. Unfortunately depth doesn’t really mean much in head-to-head games. But with Daniel Graham (87) and Ben Watson (86) and you can run some pretty good double TE sets, so that’s fun.

So I ordered the Sports Kit and received the package below. The contents are pretty straight forward - its small red senor that is slightly bigger and heavier than a quarter, an adapter that goes under the iPod Nano, and some software. Before you can use the Nike + iPod, you must download the newest version of the iPod software (v1.2) and restart your computer. That’s it. Plug the adapter into your Nano and you can start running.

If you’ve read my work before, you no doubt know that I am two things: 1) a huge fan of Nike, and 2) a huge sports fan. So when Nike announced the Nike + iPod Sports Kit , I rushed to get one.

Now let me preface by saying that this is not as biased as my introduction will lead you to believe… why? Well, I was very skeptical of the Nike + Ipod kit because I figured it wouldn’t be very innovative, useful, accurate etc - I thought it was purely a marketing ploy by two major companies with hot products - Apple and Nike.

So I ordered the Sports Kit and received the package below. The contents are pretty straight forward - its small red senor that is slightly bigger and heavier than a quarter, an adapter that goes under the iPod Nano, and some software. Before you can use the Nike + iPod, you must download the newest version of the iPod software (v1.2) and restart your computer. That’s it. Plug the adapter into your Nano and you can start running.

As an avid sneaker collector (I have over 20 pairs of Nikes) - I wanted to use the Sport Kit on my current shoes… I run in the Nike Frees and didn’t want to buy a new pair of Nikes for running (the standard Nike + shoe is shown below - its a mixture of Air Tuned and Nike Free ‘technologies’). The adapter is intended to rest in a ‘pouch’ created specifically for the Nike + Technology and is found in the sole of all Nike + sneakers. While there are several Nike + shoes on the market - and many more on the way apparently - the Nike Free shoes with Nike + technology are not yet available… Nike says they will be available in Q3 2006 (?).

Getting started with the Nike + iPod - Setting Up the Sensor

So what was I supposed to do? After reading a very popular Digg article - the answer was pretty simple. I visited my local crafts store and purchased velcro. I put some velcro on my Nike Free’s tounge and some on the back on the sensor. It took 2 minutes to do - and it works perfectly. For those who will surely ask - it is very sturdy and you can further secure the sensor by placing it under a cross lace. Very easy.

Testing & Using the Nike + iPod

My first Nike + iPod test was a two mile run on the treadmill. The distance was exactly the same as the treadmill - within a 0.01 miles. Perfect. The sensor never budged. So I was thrilled with those results.

Now that my Nike + iPod was all set up - I excitedly fidgeted with the options. On the press of a button, you can:

* prompt the woman or male (you choose) to tell you your distance, time, speed, etc
* trigger a pysch up song (ie anything from Rocky IV soundtrack )
* assess your current position vs. your goal

The best part is that, after your workout, your data easily transfers via iTunes and is saved for your personal logs, averages, etc. Say you are training for a marathon or a triathlon, you can log all of your progress or share it with a training partner across the web. You can also monitor your progress against your training partners. The possibilities are endless.

Conclusion… Buy!

The Nike + iPod Sports Pack retails for $29.00 and is a must own for any music or running buff. It will be interesting to see if Nike + iPod can release a similar product for biking and bikers. Being able to transfer from a run to a bike would do wonders for any triathlete.

Also of note:
* There is a line of Nike + clothing developed specifically for these products - making it very easy to hold your Nano and track progress
* Nike claims that by year’s end, over 100 styles of shoes and Nike + clothing will be available
* the Nike + iPod does NOT work on elliptical machines or bikes
* You can use the Nike + iPod without using the headphones and without playing music

Overall - this really is a must own product and I am delighted to see some true innovation!