John Madden no more?
Damn, I thought the legend would broadcast until we all rode on Hoverboards, played Wii Holograms and owned Star Trek Teleporters..
I guess all good things must truly come to an end..
There was no one like Madden in the history of the sport.
He was everything a fan a Football had to be and ever was:
Passionate, energetic and never afraid to get his point across. (I can only try to mimic)

He also helped make video game Football into a sport in it’s own right.
Have you ever seen a game with the history, art, gameplay and audio that Madden Football had brang to the World?
Hey, I’ve been playing Football games since Nintendo Tecmo Bowl, and I’m telling ya..
Madden was (is) simply the best! Even the professionals still play!!
(I only wish they implemented my shape in the crowd..)

As a Broadcaster, he was electric, knowledgeable and hilarious.. all at the same damn time..
“BOOM!”
“POW!”
“He sure knocked the stuffin’ outta that guy!”
Hell, that ain’t going to do it for me. Just for the sake of knowing what exactly a Booth Legend the guy was, I’ve compiled a few of John’s greatest Quotes. Enjoy!

“That wasn’t a boom! Al, that was more like a WACK!”

“Don’t worry about the horse being blind, just load the wagon.”

“The road to Easy Street goes through the sewer.”

“Coaches have to watch for what they don’t want to see and listen to what they don’t want to hear.”

“The fewer rules a coach has, the fewer rules there are for players to break.”

“If you see a defense team with dirt and mud on their backs they’ve had a bad day.”

“Self-praise is for losers. Be a winner. Stand for something. Always have class, and be humble.”

“With all his tumid boasts, he’s like the sword-fish, who only wears his weapon in his mouth.”

“He feels the real pressure and the pressure imagined”

“I still don’t know how that referee changed that call. He was right there - the referee has one responsibility and that’s the quarterback - he’s the guy standing right behind the quarterback. He sees that play and called it a fumble - that was his call on the field. His call - not a back judge, a side judge or an umpire - the referee made the call. Now he’s the same guy that goes and looks at it during a challenge. On the field he made the call a fumble and I didn’t see enough evidence with the pictures to change that from a fumble to an incomplete pass. I know the “tuck rule” and the arm going forward - all that stuff - but I still didn’t think there was enough visual evidence for him to change that.”
(Yeah, I thought all of you might like that one..)

“I guarantee you one thing, Jack Tatum never hit anyone from behind.”

“When you get hit like that it’s like having a bumble-bee stuck in your helmet, you just can’t get rid of it!”

“The only yardstick for success our society has is being a champion. No one remembers anything else.”

…and a Champion was what you truly were, John…as a Coach and a play caller.
Thanks for the memories,sir. Hopefully we’ll see you at the Coliseum in the near future.

So I sense you are all aware of the all around talents of the Crab..
and of course, the speed of the J-Mac..
But what about the Raji’s and Bey’s of the world???

Keep studying the profiles, your Football life just may depend on it, kids…
(ok, not really..)

Coaches told Darrius Heyward-Bey after spring practice of his redshirt-freshman season that he might want to consider doing something else with his time at Maryland. A track star with nice size who played high school football to make friends, Heyward-Bey has certainly improved since that meeting, but is by no means a polished receiver.
He had the worst production of his career in 2008 after averaging 49 catches for 740 yards and four scores his first two seasons, but was still honorable mention All-ACC after leading the Terps in receiving (42-609-5). It was not all his doing, however, as Maryland’s entire offense was very inconsistent and defenses were wise to simply double the Terps’ big-play threat.
For all of the hype surrounding this year’s other playmakers, no other receiver in the 2009 draft can match Heyward-Bey’s combination of size and speed. Whether that combination will ever translate into his becoming Pro Bowl-caliber playmaker, however, is the significant boom or bust gamble teams will be forced to make on draft day. Had an arm span of 33 5/8 inches and a hand span of 9 inches at the combine.

Built like a Coke machine and almost as difficult to move, BJ Raji’s dominant strength inside makes him the elite run-stuffer of the 2009 draft. An immediate standout for the Eagles, Raji worked his way into the rotation as a true freshman and started 38 of his final 40 games. A second-team All-ACC selection in 2006, Raji was expected to be the dominant cog in the BC defensive line in ‘07, but didn’t fulfill his academic obligations and missed the Eagles’ magical season. The increased expectations that came with his return to the field in 2008 didn’t slow Raji at all. In fact, despite constant double-team attention, Raji emerged as arguably the most dominant defensive lineman in the country, registering 42 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and eight sacks. An even more dominant performance throughout the week of practice at the Senior Bowl made Raji a top-10 player on some boards.

In conclusion, I believe if we don’t get the guy Al wants and desires, at least there are other talented college players to grab. Whether or not our 2009 1st round draft pick is selected to a future Pro Bowl?
Now, that’s another story..

May the force be with us!!!

Peace and have a great week!
-Darth Raider