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Author Bio
Chris Sanner

Home Town: Bethany, OK
Sports: Football, Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, Wrestling
Games: The Show, NCAA Football, NHL, FIFA, NBA 2K
Teams: The Sooners, Rangers, Thunder, Chiefs
OS Username: MMChrisS
Tags: Live: MMChrisS PSN: OSChrisS
Monday, April 18, 2016
10:02 AM - April 18, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner


The Kobe Bryant era in Los Angeles is over.

After a ton of pomp and circumstance to send the Mamba out, the Lakers are still where they always were -- but now they have an insane amount of cap room and one of the league's worst records to improve upon writes ESPN.

Quote:
"Los Angeles Lakers coach Byron Scott sat before rows of reporters and banks of cameras Friday, dissecting the worst season in franchise history. Among those tuning into the broadcast: Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, who watched on a flat-screen television mounted in his second-floor office overlooking the practice court where Scott conducted his verbal autopsy.

Kupchak studied what questions Scott faced, what answers Scott returned, prepping himself before facing the same media scrum. But then Kupchak's gaze wandered below the TV to a whiteboard where for years the roster has been written in marker. Every year, there's change as names come and go, but one has remained in ink, almost defiantly so, for two decades: Kobe Bryant's."


When it comes to NBA 2K16 (or 2K17) the Lakers are going to present themselves as a fantastic challenge in MyGM to rebuild from the ground up. There are some decent pieces present, with both DeAngelo Russell at the point and Julius Randle at Power-Forward.

But the team itself is coming off of a historically, woefully bad season. Last in the league in scoring, a 17-65 record, a defense that wasn't the worst in the league but might as well have been -- there's a lot of just flat out building to do with the Lakers.

What would you do with the cap space? Would you make a run at high profile free agents like Kevin Durant? Build through the draft? Sound off in the comments below!

Game: NBA 2K16Reader Score: 8/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PC / PS3 / PS4 / Xbox 360 / Xbox OneVotes: 45 - View All
Friday, April 15, 2016
10:51 AM - April 15, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner


What would it take to build a baseball team that could match the Golden State Warriors in terms of dominance? ESPN decided to give it a test using the baseball text-sim, Diamond Mind Baseball.

Quote:
"The Warriors finished with an .890 winning percentage. Of course, that's never been approached in baseball due to the different natures of the sports. The Warriors played in a league where seven teams finished below .400. In 2015, only the Phillies played below .400. The highest MLB winning percentage since 1900 belongs to the 1906 Chicago Cubs, who went 116-36 for a .783 percentage. The 2001 Seattle Mariners matched the Cubs with 116 wins, going 116-46 for a .716 percentage. Including the postseason, the 1998 Yankees went 125-50, a .714 percentage.

In other words, it would be impossible for an MLB team to match the Warriors. Unless: What if we put together a team of all-time greats? How good would that team be? Using the Diamond Mind simulation game, I constructed a 25-man team of greats. Each player is represented by a peak level of performance (not necessarily his single best season). I then placed this team in the 2015 American League and called this team the 'New York Yankees.'"


The results from the sim are certainly impressive, with the team of all-time greats barnstorming through the major league schedule and racking up impressive win totals each season. In one case, the team of all-time greats managed a 153-9 record (that's a .944 winning percentage if you are keeping score at home).

Be sure to check out the full article on ESPN for the full sim results...

Game: Diamond Mind BaseballReader Score: Vote Now
Platform: PCVotes: 0 - View All
Thursday, April 14, 2016
08:55 PM - April 14, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner

It's never too early to take a look ahead at what your team's season in Madden NFL 17 are going to look like, today the NFL announced their 2016 season schedule.

There are a few notable highlights including a Broncos/Panthers Super Bowl rematch to open up the season. Check out your team's schedule at the links below courtesy of FBSSchedules.com:

AFC
NFC



Game: Madden NFL 16Reader Score: 7/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / PS4 / Xbox 360 / Xbox OneVotes: 24 - View All
05:54 PM - April 14, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner

FiveThirtyEight recently published a great new piece taking a look at the new science of hitting. Given MLB The Show 16's recent inclusion of the information discussed, launch angle and exit velocity, there is a lot to learn about the new science of hitting and the typical outcome of each statistical measurement.

Quote:
"Except for those few line drives just before the doughnut hole, more exit velocity is generally better for batters. Although exit velocity most directly affects slugging percentage — harder-hit balls go farther and turn into extra-base hits more often — it is also correlated with almost every other positive indicator of offensive performance. It even affects how pitchers approach a given hitter; it’s positively associated with walk rate, presumably because pitchers fear throwing balls in the zone to high-exit-velocity hitters.

There are many things we can’t know from these two metrics alone, of course. Anyone who’s ever seen Billy Hamilton leg out an infield single knows that speed plays a significant role in what happens after a ball is struck. In fact, we can see the importance of swift base running by looking at ground balls and grouping batters according to their speed score, a Bill James-designed composite of stolen bases, triples and runs scored. The higher the speed score, the faster the runner."

Check out the full article at the link and be sure to talk about how you've been using both metrics in The Show thus far!

Game: MLB The Show 16Reader Score: 8/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / PS4Votes: 23 - View All
12:42 PM - April 14, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner


This video is based in part on Mike Lowe's article by the same name -- check that article here.

MLB The Show's Franchise mode is far from bad, but it's also not close to the best in our genre. There are several items baseball fans have been clamoring for -- let's break some of these down in a short video.

Check out the video above, and be sure to subscribe to us on YouTube.

Game: MLB The Show 16Reader Score: 8/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / PS4Votes: 23 - View All
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
11:18 AM - April 5, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner


The changes in Road to the Show in this year's MLB The Show may seem minor, but they make a huge difference in terms of how the mode plays -- and these differences all add up to the best Road to the Show experience yet.

See why this is the year of Road to the Show in the video above. Also subscribe to us on YouTube here.

Game: MLB The Show 16Reader Score: 8/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / PS4Votes: 23 - View All
Friday, April 1, 2016
02:48 PM - April 1, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner


EA Sports UFC 2 allows you to pick your next opponent after every fight. You can just simply pick an opponent without much thought, or you could employ a couple of approaches to the whole thing.

This is the third in a series of videos on career mode in EA Sports UFC 2. Keep checking back for more on career mode, including strategies on how to improve your fighter's moveset.

If you can't see the video above, click here. If you haven't subscribed to us on YouTube, do so as well!

Game: EA Sports UFC 2Reader Score: 6/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS4 / Xbox OneVotes: 17 - View All
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
04:55 PM - March 29, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner


MLB The Show 16 is now in stores!

I have personally been playing the game much of the day, and have logged several games and some brief stints in with the games core modes. Overall there's a lot to like about this year's game, check out the video above and comment with your own first impressions!

If you can't see the video above, click here. If you haven't subscribed to us on YouTube, do so as well!

Game: MLB The Show 16Reader Score: 8/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / PS4Votes: 23 - View All
02:21 PM - March 29, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner


EA Sports UFC 2's fighter progressions system is pretty basic -- but how you actually improve your fighter over time really has to do a lot with how you want to play the game.

This is the second in a series of videos on career mode in EA Sports UFC 2. Keep checking back all week for more on career mode, including strategies on how to improve your moveset and picking fights.

If you can't see the video above, click here. If you haven't subscribed to us on YouTube, do so as well!

Game: EA Sports UFC 2Reader Score: 6/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS4 / Xbox OneVotes: 17 - View All
Monday, March 28, 2016
04:47 PM - March 28, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner


EA Sports UFC 2's career mode isn't a huge change from the original's career mode. However, for the newly initiated -- there are several options hidden within the menus you may not be aware of.

This is the first in a series of videos on career mode in EA Sports UFC 2. Keep checking back all week for more on career mode, including strategies on building your fighter and picking fights.

If you can't see the video above, click here. If you haven't subscribed to us on YouTube, do so as well!

Game: EA Sports UFC 2Reader Score: 6/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS4 / Xbox OneVotes: 17 - View All
Thursday, March 24, 2016
01:53 PM - March 24, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner


In our newest EA Sports UFC 2 tip video, the tip of the day is so painfully simple that it may indeed hurt: you need to have a gameplan when you go to the mat.

In our initial tip video, the first recommendation we gave was to be willing to go to the mat -- now the reminder is even simpler, have a plan when you actually do get there.

Watch the video above and be sure to subscribe to us on YouTube!

Game: EA Sports UFC 2Reader Score: 6/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS4 / Xbox OneVotes: 17 - View All
10:43 AM - March 24, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner


MLB Manager 2016, an officially licensed MLB and MLBPA text simulation for mobile devices, has been released today.

Coming in at $4.99, the app features a pretty expansive list of features. The core features include:
  • Major League - Mobile managers guide their favorite Major League Baseball teams through the 2016 season and beyond
  • Fictional - A fresh customizable world full of fictional players, providing a unique challenge each time
  • Historical Major League - Three exciting past seasons to recreate -- 1919, 1939, and 2012 -- with the ability to buy more through in-app. (Historical seasons are $0.99 each, 10 for $4.99, or all seasons dating back to 1901 for $19.99.)
On top of those modes, you also have the ability to set your lineups, pitching rotations, and depth charts before your team takes the field and in-game calls are made. MLB Manager 2016 shares a lot of trappings with its older brother, Out of the Park Baseball 17.

MLB Manager 2016 is available for Android and iOS, and we will have a full review within the next week!

Game: MLB Manager 2016Reader Score: Vote Now
Platform: iOSVotes: 0 - View All
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
07:01 PM - March 22, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner

The US Supreme Court denied an attempt by EA to dismiss a suit centered around the game publisher's use of retired players likenesses in Madden NFL Football.

Quote:
"Thousands of retired NFL athletes originally filed suit against EA in 2010, alleging that the publisher violated their state-law right to publicity by using their likenesses on historic teams in Madden titles from 2001-2009. Like the collegiate athletes who received $60 million in the settlement of a similar case, the NFL players in question did not appear in the Madden games under their real names. However, all other identifying traits — height, weight, ethnicity and the like — were true to life, and the virtual athletes were rated to perform like their real-world counterparts.

Retired NFL players' lawsuit against EA's Madden series can go forward, court says (update)
EA did not compensate these players for the use of their likenesses. Since 1994, the publisher has paid licensing fees to the NFL Players Association for the rights to use active NFL athletes' names and likenesses. Retired players currently appear in Madden's Ultimate Team mode, and are paid for it.

In case this rings a bell, EA also just recently settled a case involving NCAA Football which did the same thing but for college athletes. That settlement cost EA $60 million.

In the big picture, its just incredibly unlikely any attempts at historical teams and/or any 'generic rosters' with realistic-ish players will ever be attempted again in any sports game. It would certainly seem EA will attempt to settle the case with the former NFL players as they did with the college athletes. We'll be following the case step by step!

Game: Madden NFL 16Reader Score: 7/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / PS4 / Xbox 360 / Xbox OneVotes: 24 - View All
Monday, March 21, 2016
12:50 PM - March 21, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner


When it comes to stamina management in EA Sports UFC 2, it seems that those with a plan tend to do a lot better than those without. For sure, this year's game punishes button mashing and rewards a more deliberate pace.

Watch the video above, then share your tips on how you manage your stamina in a fight.

Also, subscribe to us on YouTube!

Game: EA Sports UFC 2Reader Score: 6/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS4 / Xbox OneVotes: 17 - View All
Friday, March 18, 2016
12:27 PM - March 18, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner


Are you struggling to win fights online? What about against the CPU?

Most people default to relying on a strong stand-up game to win fights, but is it possible there is another path forward?

We explore that path in this quick tip video. Check it out in the video above. Also be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

Game: EA Sports UFC 2Reader Score: 6/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS4 / Xbox OneVotes: 17 - View All