We've all felt, at some stage or another, that our favourite team has been cheated out of a win - almost as though the powers that be, whether they are referees, the sporting body, or the broadcaster, had complete control of the match. And not just when you watch WWE wrestling.

This next clip takes that premise, applies it to the Superbowl, and runs with it.

NFL Writers Room: Super Bowl XLIV

I've been on a bit of a break since last Monday. Why? I've been basking in the glow of a win.
As my last post may have suggested, I've been thinking more and more about history and rivalries. Do they really exist in rugby union any more? The Wellington Lions' loss to Taranaki in the Air NZ Cup barely caused a ripple in the Wellington community last year.

But then along came this game. This glorious game. Which showed, more than ever, the difference between fans and teams in American Football and rugby union.

What're you babbling about now then?

The most inelegant touchdown celebration ever?

I'm a fan of trick plays, my favourite being Antwaan Randle-El's pass in the Steelers win over the Seahawks [who does that in a Superbowl?!], but this one is plain ugly. Good in concept, but man, that 'pass' floats for an age and really should have been picked off if the coverage was better.

So my son, you've decided from my exposure of American sports that you want to start following a team. You don't know which one to choose, so you pick the one with the cool pirate logo/player who sets the most records/team which won last year. STOP!

Because I really, really care about you [and Dom too], I've done a team-by-team comparison of the NZ Super Rugby teams and revealed their Baseball, Basketball and American Football equivalents, so you can get that true patriotic feeling rather than just blindly following a side for no real reason.

You've captured my attention, take me to the article!

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To say that Madden is the greatest game ever seems a little too much. You can definitely say that it’s the biggest game franchise of all time, because that’s a fact. It’s the flagship of EA sports and has creates a huge buzz every year.

Madden is also responsible for creating huge numbers of American football fans who may have never seen a live game before and possibly even for helping the modern “fantasy football” leagues. There is an urban legend that one of the current General Managers in the NFL actually listed playing Madden as part of his job experience (which might explain the Lions).

This iteration differs slightly from other recent releases in that there is no flashy “gimmick”. No Hit Stick, no QB Vision, no create-a-fan. Instead EA seems have listened to their old motto: “If it’s in the game, it’s in the game”. The presentation feels a lot more like a television broadcast.

Players, and this will sound crazy, mill-about more realistically. They all move separately too which sounds odd, but in Madden 09 it drove me mad that players would all run up the field in sync, everyone had the same gait. For me this is the biggest advance in realism since Madden 2001 when the helmets became shiny and reflected the stadium lights.

You also have the freedom to do crazy things like lining your quarterback up as a linebacker. Sure it’s not realistic, but it could happen.

Beyond the in-game stuff, the online roster updates are so very welcome, so the teams reflect what is happening in real life (for example the Eagles getting Mike Vick and Vikings with Brett Favre occurred after the game was released). I’ve been waiting for them to bring back online roster updates for years. It makes the game feel more and more real (you know, for a game).

And the ratings actually mean something. If your guy is Adrian Peterson he’s going to outrun a linebacker. If it’s Troy Polamalu tackling you, it’ll most likely stick.

On the downside, those online updates seem to also download ads which will run on the screen while you’re playing the game. I noticed this when I saw ads for the new McDonalds McAngus burger show up.

Also when you buy the game, you don’t get the whole thing. In the Madden online shop you’ll find all these “extras” which allow you to do more things in the franchise mode (like talk a player out of retiring or accelerate an injury healing). To buy them all costs about $15 NZ, this seems reasonable until you add it to the total cost of the game.

Overall, it’s Madden. If you like sports simulation games, this is the best one out there.

The Dallas Cowboys have an amazing new hi-res video screen/scoreboard suspended above their new field. And it appears that it might not be quite high enough to stop the occasional kick from sailing into. Witness this, at a pre-season game against the Tennessee Titans.

The screen is already being referred to as "Jerry's Folly" (after Cowboy's owner Jerry Jones).

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Steve "Air" McNair was one of my favourite football players.

Back in 2000 I watched on the edge of my seat as McNair lead a 4th Quarter drive the brought his team to within an inch of winning the most exciting Superbowl ever.

McNair was one of the original running quarterbacks that created new offensive systems and, hence, many new defensive systems.

He was known for his extreme toughness and played most of games hurt in some way. As he got older the injuries kept coming, and after 10 seasons and a change of cities with the Tennessee Titans (Houston Oilers), he was traded to the Baltimore Ravens and after moderate success (including a 13-3 season in 2006) he retired.

This morning Steve McNair was found dead by Nashville police. Already reports are circulating and being retracted about the cause of death (welcome to Twitter journalism).

ESPN have this video report from including an interview with Nashville Police:

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The Dallas Cowboys training facility as a metaphor for the current global economic situation: An artificially inflated bubble that unexpectedly came crashing down injuring many and leaving someone paralysed.

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When you see a video on the internet called "The greatest [blank] you will ever see", you tend to take it with a grain of salt. But I have to say this actually is the greatest catch I have ever seen:

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