andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

It appears that Entourage is really reaching new heights with it’s cameos of athletes.

First Tom Brady- beyond awesome, then a brief Steve Nash- cool stuff, but now viewers should prep themselves to see one of the biggest global superstars on the planet, the King himself, LeBron James!

Not sure exactly which episode it’ll be, but Jeremy Piven -a huge fan of the NBA and James himself- took a little video of the guy on the set:

Almost like a souped up demo, you can get a taste of NBA 2K10’s all-new gameplay and My Player career mode as an NBA hopeful dealing with the stress and intrigue of the NBA Draft Combine.

This download-only title gives ballers the action of pre-season fun leading up to the launch of NBA 2K10. Coming out this September for Xbox Live Arcade and PSN; NBA 2K10: Draft Combine will allow fans to create their own personal player and begin their career from the ground up going through the Draft Combine at the ATTACK Athletics gym in Chicago. READ MORE »

2K Sports has announced NBA 2K10: Draft Combine, a download only game for basketball fans to have some fun with the pre-season. The game drops in September for Xbox (400 points) and PS3 ($4.99).

NBA 2K10: Draft Combine will allow fans to create their own custom player with the utmost detail and, for the first time in the NBA 2K series, begin their career by experiencing the on-court life of an NBA hopeful going through the NBA Draft Combine at the world-renowned, ATTACK Athletics gym in Chicago.

We’ve got some screenshots from the game.

READ MORE »

2K Sports has got a new NBA game in the works, and it’s not just the yearly 2K10 entry.  The company has announced a partnership to co-develop NBA 2K Online with Tencent Holdings Limited, an internet portal in China.  This new team will be dubbed Take-Two Asia, and will also release the game in Taiwan, South Korea and other parts of Southeast Asia.  Tencent has plenty of experience in the online world.  It represents China’s largest virtual community with 411 million active user accounts.  By comparison, Steam has a mere 1 million users.  Yikes.

NBA 2K  Online will be exclusive to the Asian market.  Paul Thornton, a portfolio manger, and founder of www.investorbootcamp.ca says Chinese game companies face a unique challenge.  “Online gaming is growing in China versus retail sales because there is a reputation of piracy in everything from music to movies,” he says.  ”This way revenues can be controlled.”  Tencent is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, where its shares are trading 30% higher on a year-over-year basis.  With its market cap at a whopping $160.75 billion, Tencent is ten times larger than Activision Blizzard’s market cap of $15.68 billion.  To be fair though, it is a holding company with diversified internet interests – Activision is focused on publishing games. READ MORE »

College sports fans rejoice. It’s college basketball season again and that can only mean one thing. My Syracuse Orangeman jersey is coming out of storage and College Hoops 2K8 from 2k sports is available. Am I excited? Well… Kind of. For me the college basketball games always just seemed a little less fun than all those NBA games out there.

The die hard college hoops fans out there are probably thinking how could I possibly even compare NBA and college hoops games. They are two different animals; apples and oranges. In real life maybe, in the virtual realm of video games not so much. Just different arenas, different jerseys and no names, but we’ll get to that later.

The game itself is actually quite good. The graphics are smooth and clean, and are every bit as sharp as next gen gamers have come to expect. I found myself watching the pregame warm-up for a couple minutes, and I immediately appreciated the realism of it all. The digital fans looked more like a real crowd than I have ever seen. Usually the fans are constantly doing the same thing or doing everything in some unnatural looking unison, but not these fans. They really seemed to have a life of their own. Same goes for the players during cut scenes. During the warm-up some players would shoot, others lay up, some would miss, most would score. It did not feel like a preprogrammed act, it looked and felt real.

The game has all the typical features of sports games nowadays: Legacy mode, Coach mode, tournament options as well as some mini games. The in game options are all there as well, with the ability to control everything from substitutions to how hard you want your team to go for rebounds. A nice new feature for 08 is the ability to create your own play, which comes in very handy if you are not satisfied with your teams playbook. The controls are good, new additions like the maximum pass ability let you choose how your player passes the ball: chest, bounce, lob etc. Lock on D is another helpful feature for those of us, like myself, who are defensively challenged. Everything I wanted was there.

The most commonly overlooked aspect of a game is whether or not it is fun to play. Today’s games are so visually stunning that it is easy for designers to forget that they are, first and foremost, supposed to be fun. Case and point, I would rather play Pac Man than Superman Returns for 360. Fortunately, for college hoops fans, 2K’s offering this year is both fun to play and easy on the eyes.

When it comes to Sports titles the experienced gamer knows that there are really only two viable options: 2K or EA. Each company brings different strengths and weaknesses to the table and at the end of the day it is a matter of personal preference as to which game you will enjoy more. I found that the 2K titles are slightly more arcade-like while EA games are generally more life like.

College Hoops 2K8 follows this trend and is definitely a closer relative of NBA jam than EA’s NBA basketball offering. I don’t want to give the impression that this is an arcade game but sometimes it can feel that way. Fast breaks are fast and mastering defense will only take you so far, offense is definitely the priority. The addition of features like the “sixth man meter”, which when filled gives your team a boost, add to the fun but take away from the realism. In the end it is up to you to decide what type of game play you prefer.

My only gripe with this game, and really it is with every college sports game, is the lack of real player names. I understand the NCAA’s position but I don’t understand why the issue cannot be resolved. It is a lot more fun to play as Paul Harris (Syracuse guard) than it is to play as #11 SG. Unless you know virtually every player by number it can be hard to see who has the ball, which after the third failed 3 point attempt with my center thinking he was my point guard, can become quite frustrating. They do allow you to enter the names manually, but to do the entire league would probably take until 09.

All in all, College Hoops 2K8 is a great game that is fun to play. It has deep controls, awesome graphics and cool extras. I had a blast playing with my buddies, but if I was not a serious college basketball fan I would probably pass on this one. However, if you just have to represent your school (GO CUSE!) you can’t go wrong with this title.

Graphics: 4.5 / 5.0
Gameplay 4.5 / 5.0
Sound 4.0 / 5.0
Replay value 4.5 / 5.0

Enter the College Hoops 2k8 Contest

When EA releases a new sports game it’s rarely a surprise. That doesn’t mean, however, that I was any less excited to get my hands on NBA 08 and give it a try. I have found that recently EA, for their 360 titles at least, have tried to create game play which has a much more authentic feel than some of the previous arcade type games. This trend has continued with NBA 08.

All new EA Sports titles have a free roam mode which appears as soon as you pop in the game. I played around for a while as Gilbert Arenas, who appears on the cover, to try and get a handle for the look and feel of the game. The first thing anyone notices is how a game looks; and I am no exception. The game looks awesome. Players can be easily identified by NBA fans simply by their appearance, as virtually every detail was captured.

More difficult to achieve than accurate looks is accurate movements and it is here that NBA 08 really shines. Virtually every player has their own unique movements in the game. Shawn Marion shoots like Shawn Marion, Arenas fades away like Arenas and Lebron dunks like Lebron. Little things that had always been a little dodgy in previous versions of NBA, like quick break passes, have mostly been taken care of as well. If you watch the NBA than you will be sure to appreciate the depth of visual detail in the game.

The next thing you notice when picking up any new game is the game play. A game can look great but if it isn’t fun to play it will soon be gathering dust on the shelf. Fortunately for all of us I don’t think NBA 08 will be collecting dust bunnies anytime soon, or at least not until NBA 09 comes out.

The game play is really good, not great, not amazing, but really good. Before all the new movement options are mastered, like the complete dribble control and signature move ability, the game play can be a little choppy. After spending a few hours playing the game though the choppiness I had noticed earlier seemed to be disappearing with my increasing skill level. In the end, NBA 08 provides a very realistic feel, while still managing to provide smooth, fun game play.

NBA 08 offers the gamer a choice between quite a few game modes including a Franchise, Dynasty, Online, All-Star Weekend and the FIBA league.

I love playing games in Dynasty mode. Dynasties start with your choice of taking over an existing franchise, with their current rosters, or truly start from scratch and complete a fantasy draft. I really appreciate games that allow you to draft your own team. I find that I have a much stronger emotional attachment to created teams, and therefore enjoy the long 82 game season that much more.

The only thing more satisfying than sinking a buzzer beater against the computer is doing it against a real person online. In my opinion, the most fun can be had playing online and if thats all the game came with I’d probably still buy it. It’s that good.

As for the other modes, they are fun the first couple times around but they lose their appeal and grow repetitive quite quickly. But nobody really cares about the International League or the dunk competition, do they? I sure don’t. While it is nice to have the option, I don’t foresee too many 3 point contests in my future.

One of the few complaints I have with the game is that the cross over rating system must be changed. Every point guard who is good enough to play in the NBA is capable of performing a crossover. EA apparently does not agree. Bottom tier point guards, like Jose Calderon on the Raptors, frequently, too frequently, loses the ball while trying to perform a simple crossover. I am not saying those players should never lose the ball but they are clearly under rated. EA allows you to remedy the situation, however, by allowing you to edit anyone’s ratings. The obvious problem being that the newly rated Jose Calderon is now as good as Jason Terry at doing crossovers so it kind of throws everything out of whack, but to a very minimal degree.

Another minor annoyance that should be mentioned is the in-game play calling and substitution interface. It requires the use of the D-pad, which in turn forces your thumb off the main joystick. In time, I am sure that I will be able to efficiently call a play on the fly, but for the novice gamer play calling can be a handful.

The last negative aspect that is worth mentioning manifests itself in the form of the new Hot/Cold feature which, when a button is pushed, reveals where the current ball handler is either hot or cold shooting the ball. In theory this is a great feature, but beyond the marquee players the hot/cold zones seem to be arbitrarily selected. Only die hard NBA fans will notice this though.

I must say, however, the good definitely outweighs the bad. All in all, whether playing a season against the computer, a game against someone online or simply having a dunk competition with friends, NBA 08 is a must have for all basketball fans.

Graphics: 4.5
Gameplay: 4.5
Sound: 4.0
Replay Value:5.0

Phoenix Suns forward Amare Stoudemire will grace the cover of NBA 08 exclusively for the Playstation 3, Playstation 2 and PSP consoles. Stoudemire has already been the cover athlete for NBA 06.

“Amare Stoudemire is one of the most dynamic players in the NBA, showcasing a range of power and finesse that makes him a favorite among the fans and a respected competitor among his peers,” said Scott Rohde, director, sports product development, SCEA. “We are elated that he has renewed his partnership with us and believe that with Amare back on our team, NBA ’08 will once again raise the bar for the franchise.”

The Playstation 3 version includes an all new progression system players can earn rewards that can be used to customize players and gameplay. Moreover, new controls allow gamers to become even more involved in the actual game. Finally, updated player rosters, animations and textures continue to increase upon the already realistic gameplay.

NBA ‘08 will ship in October 2007.

Appetizer

The All-Star weekend began in its usual fashion with the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge on Friday. This exhibition pits the rooks against the sophomores in 48 minutes of knock-down, defence packed carnage… ok, maybe not. As with every year there were a ton of thunderous dunks, long range three point shots and crazy ball handling- with little to no defence.

Andre Iguodala was spectacular, hitting 13 of his 17 FG?s and drilling four three balls in the sophomores? victory. In total he had 30 points, 4 steals, 6 rebounds and the game?s MVP trophy. Not a bad day at the office. Of the top 10 picks in the 2004 draft, 6 were selected to play for the sophomores- Iguodala being one of them.

Other notable performances came from Toronto?s Charlie Villanueva who flooded the box score with 18 points and 12 rebounds and Houston?s Luther Head who added 18 points and 4 assists.

Sophomores over Rookies 106-96
MVP- Andre Iguodala
Thoughts: I wonder when the rookies will next beat the sophomores? Charlie Villanueva continues to make Stephen A. Smith look like a jackass (not that he needs much help).

Main Course

Saturday night began with the RadioShack Shooting Stars competition which saw the San Antonio team of Steve Kerr, Tony Parker and Kendra Wecker destroy all other competition in a resounding win. Considering the San Antonio team went first and set the bar so high, it was a pretty uneventful competition.

Winner- San Antonio
Thoughts: Why can?t these All-Star athletes hit a simple jump shot? I won?t say anything bad about Kelly Miller.

The Shooting Stars competition was followed by the PlayStation Skills Challenge. Canada?s own Steve Nash won the Skills Challenge last year and was heavily favoured to repeat this year. However, that was not the case as Nash couldn?t sink the near free throw line jump shot. Dwayne Wade ended up winning in what has to be one of the worst stacked events of the weekend. If you have a Skills Competition without Jason Kidd and Tony Parker, you might as well just not have it at all.

Winner- Dwayne Wade
Thoughts: Nash?s inability to hit that shot was embarrassing. What a snoozer of an event. Dwayne Wade is the most skilled player in the NBA? I think not.

Next up was the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout which featured a couple great shooters in Dirk Nowitzki and Ray Allen with a supporting cast of scorers, including Gilbert Arenas, Chauncey Billups, Quentin Richardson and Jason Terry. As the TNT analysts kept reminding us, most of these players are scorers, not shooters. Which, again, begs the questions- who picks these players?!

It looked through the first round as if Allen was going to pull out an easy victory, but the determined German, Nowitzki had other plans in mind. Nowitzki heated up in the second round and easily took the competition.

Winner- Dirk Nowitzki
Thoughts: Dirk Nowitzki?s stroke is as smooth as Scarlett Johansson?s naked rump. Fill the competition with pure shooters, not star scorers.

Now to the good stuff- or so we thought. The Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk contest is not only the longest name in the history of competitions, it?s also an eye-sore of an event when not stacked with the best dunkers in the league- this year?s dunk contest would be one of those times.

There were two great dunks in this competition. One by Andre Iguodala, who threw the ball off the back of the backboard, caught it in mid-air and threw it down with authority. The creativity, power and danger-factor (Iguodala nailed his head on the backboard on his first attempt) made it one of the best dunks in recent years. The other spectacular dunk of the eve belonged to 5 foot nothing Knicks guard Nate Robinson, who took a pass from Spud Webb and jumped over the 5?5? dunk legend Webb and slammed it home.

Those two dunks aside, it was the worst dunk contest in recent history. Not only were all the other dunks average and unexciting, but the two aforementioned ones followed a good 20 or so failed attempts. In fact, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James were visibly frustrated with the number of attempts Robinson took. Iguodala could also be seen shouting ?Come on!?

Winner- Nate Robinson
Thoughts: Nate won, but shouldn?t have. That dunk by Iguodala was something special. If Rob Babcock was still working for the Raptors, he?d be fired after this weekend?s Iguodala-fest. Rafael Araujo over Andre Iguodala? Give me a break. Araujo has a Trump?esque penchants for getting people fired.

Desert

The 55th annual NBA All-Star Game took place in Houston?s Toyota Center and featured a slew of memorable moments. The show started off with Juno winner Jann Arden butchering Canada?s national anthem, which, unfortunately for Arden, was followed by Destiny?s Child?s flawless rendition of America?s Star Spangled Banner.

The game began as most NBA All-Star Games do- Lots of turnovers, lots of dunks and lots of three pointers. The West started strong and took a big lead, but the East turned up the defence and pulled ahead in the fourth quarter behind LeBron James’ 29 points.

Other notable performances include: Houston?s Tracy McGrady with 36 points, Miami?s Dwayne Wade with 20 points and San Antonio?s Tim Duncan with 15 points and 10 rebounds

This year?s All-Star Game was actually one of the better in recent memory. It wasn?t as high scoring as past games, but was quite competitive in the second half. The Detroit Pistons? Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton and B-B-B-Ben Wallace gave the East an edge on defence and a rare continuity that propelled their team to victory.

Memorable moments include LeBron James mocking physics with a gravity-defying lay in, Ben Wallace embarrassing Pau Gasol with two consecutive blocks, Vince Carter hitting back rim on two monster jam attempts, Kobe Bryant splitting two defenders and hitting a ridiculous shot in the last few minutes and, last but certainly not least, Eva Longoria?s exposed navel.

Winner- Eastern All-Stars
MVP- LeBron James
Thoughts: LeBron is the youngest All-Star Game MVP in league history. Who?s luckier- Tony Parker or Jay-Z? Those All-Star jerseys were the ugliest I?ve ever seen. You better believe Big Ben will be practicing his free throws after that air ball. Chris Bosh had no PT in the fourth. Just how many arm bands does Paul Pierce need? Shaq looks old. Tracy McGrady looks depressed. Nice Toronto connection with Bosh, Carter and McGrady playing. The All-Star game should decide who gets home-court advantage- like in baseball.

With most teams having played 30 or more of their 82 game schedule, the NBA landscape is becoming clearer. The good teams are separating themselves from the average and poor teams, and despite some interesting surprises, the outlook for the NBA Finals in June looks pretty much like what we predicted prior to the season. The San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons, and Miami Heat are still the clear favourites to win it all.

The Detroit Pistons are dominating the league and have many people not only talking about a Finals appearance, but also a regular season MVP award for their floor leader, Chauncey Billups. Some even see the Pistons challenging the record for most wins in a season. That record is currently held by the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls who won 72 games that year.

Miami is the only other legitimate contender in the East. They are still struggling with the transition from former coach Stan Van Gundy to new coach Pat Riley (who is also the team President and likely the reason for Van Gundy?s departure) and also with team chemistry after making significant roster moves in the off-season. Did Pat Riley tinker too much? After all, they would have beat Detroit in last year?s Eastern finals if it hadn?t been for key injuries to their star players, namely Shaquille O?Neal. Even if the moves were a good idea, will Riley be able to turn this club of self-centered players into a championship team? The regular season record doesn?t matter much for the Heat; as with most good teams, it?s all about preparing for the playoffs (in Miami?s case, preparing for the Pistons).

The Indiana Pacers have underachieved so far and are facing yet another media circus surrounding their troubled star wingman Ron Artest, who has publicly asked for a trade. Management has decided not to play Artest and have asked him to stay home until a trade can be arranged.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and New Jersey Nets have been positive surprises with their early season play and may be capable of a playoff upset.

The New York Knicks have been a huge disappointment this season after numerous questionable off-season moves to both their coaching staff and player roster. The Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards have also struggled much more than expected.

In the Western Conference the San Antonio Spurs continue to quietly and professionally go about their business of dominating the conference. Perennial MVP candidate Tim Duncan leads one of the deepest and best coached teams in the league. It is difficult to see anyone stopping a healthy Spurs team from reaching the Finals.

The Phoenix Suns have been a big surprise in the Western conference. The Suns have been without Amare Stoudemire the entire season and lost two key starters this summer. Reigning MVP Steve Nash is proving that award was well deserved by leading an entirely new club to third best record in the West. Yet surprisingly Nash has garnered no MVP buzz this year?

The second best record belongs to the Dallas Mavericks who are showing an astounding commitment to defense, along with their traditional high powered offense. Underachievers in the West include the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Seattle Supersonics, and Sacramento Kings who would all miss the playoffs if the season ended today.

Overall, it has been a very interesting NBA season to date? and we?re not even at the all-star break. The playoffs should prove to be worth the price of admission.

It?s now 2006, and because everyone is either hung over or just really tired , I?ll give you a nice quick-hitter column. Instead of doing clich? new years resolutions, I?ll put on my Dr. Phil hat and dish out some advice for our beloved sports celebs.

? Mike Tyson- For the love of all that is good in this world, please do not appear in Playgirl (as has been rumoured for some time). You can imagine what a slippery slope that is…

? Phil Jackson- Next time you decide to come back into coaching, try not to do it with a player you called ?uncoachable.? Oh, and maybe you could learn a thing or two from Pat Riley? your chances of success greatly increase when you have a guy named Shaquille O?Neal on your team.

? Lenny Wilkins- It?s over Lenny. The only thing you should be allowed to coach now is an octogenarian bingo team.

? Rudy Gay- Thought by many as being the best prospect in the next NBA draft, Rudy Gay should consider changing his last name. Many NBA players have openly stated they wouldn?t be comfortable with a homosexual teamate, which sets the tone for a very anti-gay sport. This trickles down to the fans, many of whom have already laughed at the potential purple Raptors jersey with Gay across the back. A Nightmare for marketing. I?m not saying it?s right, but it?s a reality.

? Minnesota Vikings- Sea a Ho, Land ahoy. I don?t blame the Vikings for the notorious ?sex boat? incident. I blame the sea; there have been many tales of what the sea can do to weak-willed men. Stay on land me matees.

? Larry Brown- Who leaves the Detroit Pistons to coach the New York Knicks? Larry, my advice to you? seek professional mental help, something?s not right there.

? Ron Artest- Call Larry Brown and ask for his psychiatrist?s number ASAP.

? Latrell Sprewell- Call Ron Artest for Larry Brown?s psychiatrist?s number ASAP. Or just see a financial advisor and learn how to feed your family on only tens of millions of dollars a year. Poor Sprewells.

? Michelle Wie & Annika Sorenstam- Not that they can?t compete at a high level in the PGA, I just don?t think they should. If I?m not mistaken, there is a LPGA, is there not? This just reeks of reverse-sexism. If they?re allowed to play in the PGA, I think NBA bench warmers should be able to play in the WNBA. It?s only fair.