Kotaku commenter Connor S. managed to get his hands on an early copy of Madden NFL 11, and played âthe most insane two minutes of football Iâve ever seen,â before anyone else got the game.
Connor says he got a copy of the game to try out pre-release thanks to the fact he works in a video game store. Playing as the Bengals, he hosted the Indianapolis Colts in a holiday game, using Madden 11âs optional presentation settings. Terrell Owens isnât on the Bengals roster in the launch version, but Connor retconned his absence as a âsprained wrist.â
Leading 7-3 entering the second quarter, the Bengals and Colts strapped in for a wild ride to the finish. âThere were five touchdowns inside the last two minutes of the first half,â he writes. âThe first one was a seventy-two yard bomb to Antonio Bryant who jumped at least five feet in the air to bring it down. Indy scored on their very first play from scrimmage after the return when Pierre Garcon caught one over the middle and ruined both of my safeties on the way to an easy trip down field.â
On the ensuing kickoff, Andre Caldwell fumbled and Indianapolis took it in for another touchdown. Undaunted, Carson Palmer connected with Chad Ochocinco for a touchdown in five plays. Peyton Manning responded by launching a missile at Austin Collie for another one-play TD. Palmer and Ochocinco tried to hook up again for a bomb before halftime, but the defensive back pushed Ocho out of bounds before he could bring it in. At the half, Indianapolis led 24-20.
If that sounds anticlimactic, it was. Connor struck fast in the second half to take the 27-24 lead, then held on defense and scored again for a 10-point lead. Manning drove the Colts midway through the fourth quarter but took a huge sack on third down and had to settle for a field goal. The onsides kick failed, and Connor registered one of the first victories of 2010 on Madden NFL 11.
Hereâs the box score!
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Now the Kotaku Sports open thread commences with the sports TV schedule for today and tomorrow. All times are U.S. Eastern.
Golf
The PGA Championship, this yearâs fourth and final Major, plays its third and fourth rounds tomorrow. Tiger Woods was seven strokes back, tied for 39th going into the third round, which will be broadcast at 11 a.m. on TNT today and 2 p.m. on CBS. Same times and channels tomorrow for the final round.
The U.S. Womenâs Amateur tournament holds its semifinals and championships today and tomorrow in Charlotte, N.C., both on the Golf Channel at 3 p.m.
Little League Baseball
It happens every summer. And by âItâ I mean, tortured joking comparisons of 12-year-olds to professional sluggers; equally mirthless handwringing over what television does to this competition; and teeth-sucking sanctimony about putting kids in that kind of spotlight. Itâs the Little League World Series, whose regional finals are being contested in Indianapolis, Bristol, Conn., and Southern California. ESPN 2 at 1 p.m. and ESPN at 5, 7 and 9 p.m. today. ESPN 2 at 1 p.m. tomorrow.
Big Boy Baseball
Foxâs game of the week is either the Cubs at Cardinals, Padres at Giants, or Orioles at Rays, 4 p.m. check local listings. The nightcap is the Tigers and White Sox on WGN at 7.
Tomorrowâs games are the Dodgers at Braves on TBS, 1:30; Cubs at Cards, WGn at 2:05, and ESPNâs game of the week is Philadelphia vs. the Mets, 8 p.m.
Motorsports
Carfax is doing a hell of a lot of paperwork this weekend at Michigan International Speedway, where the Nationwide Series Carfax 250 runs today at 2 p.m., and the Sprint Cupâs Carfax 400 runs tomorrow at 1, both on ESPN.
Tennis
The menâs Rogers Cup â this used to be called the Canadian Open â holds its semifinals and championship today and tomorrow on ESPN 2, from Toronto. Broadcasts are 3 and 7 p.m. today, 3 p.m. tomorrow.
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