Sports

Commentary

The buzz

By KEITH NIEBUHR and JAMAL THALJI
Published January 23, 2005

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PLAYOFFS OR PLAY TIME?

Is playoff football actually better than sex?

Yes, according to tbt* chief designer and Web surfer Adam Newman. Here are some of his reasons why:

You're guaranteed to get some. Every game is televised.

The games are always three hours long.

It's even better when you're drunk.

You don't need to worry who the other team played before you.

You actually want to talk about it afterward.

WHO'S HOT

Let there be no doubt about who the world's best golfer is. Tiger Woods has all the endorsements, but Vijay Singh has the better game. After dominating in 2004, Vijay has tied for fifth and won in two starts this year. He doesn't smile much on the course, but you can bet he's laughing all the way to the bank.

WHO'S NOT

Serena Williams debuted an outfit at the Australian Open that included a lime green top, short white skirt and shoes that look like moon boots. It's part of her new line with Nike. Question: Does anyone other than Serena actually wear this stuff?

WIDE WORLD OF WEIRD

A University of Calgary professor hopes a study into why women flashed crowds of Calgary Flames fans during last year's NHL playoffs will shed light on current Canadian attitudes about female nudity.

THUMBS UP

The first thing you should know about Sega's ESPN College Hoops 2K5 for XBox and PlayStation 2 is this: It's only $19.99.

Sega has gone after sports video game giant Electronic Arts, home of the Madden NFL franchise and games in every major professional and college sport, with a price less than half of most of EA's releases. In fact, EA has cut its own prices to compete.

But this is no blue light special. Fans and gamers get more than their money's worth out of CH2K5, which is no warmed-over version of the popular NBA version.

The graphics don't set the world on fire, and you can get lost in all the menu screen options, but the gameplay is solid. The computer AI is just challenging enough to leave you on the back end of a 12-2 run before you know what hit you.

There's instant play calling on offense and defense, and while the one-button free throw system has been criticized, isn't everyone tired of lining up the little line with the little ball or something like that? The real problem is that superstar players often aren't much better than that waste of a scholarship sitting on the bench. Another gripe is that in legacy mode, rookie coaches have to start out at the very bottom. Instead of taking over at top colleges, players have to climb the ranks from Bottomfeeder U with clueless assistants and one-star players. Maybe the option of starting at Duke would be nice.

Oh, well. At least you know you can out-recruit Seth Greenberg.

[Last modified January 23, 2005, 00:15:19]

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