Ken Meringolo's Lockout Diary: This Sony PS3 Madden Lockout is KILLING Me

by Ken Meringolo on May 4, 2011 5:40 PM EDT in Ken Meringolo's Lockout Diary

The Sony Madden Lockout is crushing me. I know, I know...people keep telling me to switch to XBox 360 and be done with it. But what about my team? I can't just abandon my online franchise. It is Season 3 and the window for my team is RIGHT NOW. Sam Bradford has developed into a stud. C.J. Spiller is destroying it out of the backfield. Vontae Davis and Rolando McClain lead a ferocious defense and my offensive line is so good right now, I can't make it through an entire game without changing my shorts.

How many simultaneous lockouts can there possibly be to mess with dudes like me who just want the simple pleasure of running a franchise properly and enjoying the success that goes with it? I had the foresight to draft Rob Gronkowski AND Jermichael Finley and run a brilliant Double TE set that nobody can stop...except for hackers? I make the gutsy decision to roll with a defensive line rotation that goes Dan Williams, Joseph Linval, Terrence Cody and Roy Miller and in return I see my precious defensive line reduced to nothing but an impotent digital fantasy?

As usual, the fans are getting bent over by a lockout. I have never purchased anything on Playstation Network--to my knowledge. So there is no potential threat to my fortune of tens of dollars. In fact, at the age of 34, I have to be like twice as old as the average video gamer on the network, right? Hackers are smart...are they really going after a bunch of kiddies' allowances?

No.

I'll tell you who is behind this. The other members of my online league, in an attempt to keep my digital powerhouse off the field, have organized an international shutdown of Sony's servers. I just know it. There is no other logical explanation.

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Sounds just

like the rest of the NFL owners who knew that Snyder and Shanny would win muliple Superbowls starting in 2011 and therefore set up this whole charade of a lockout to prevent the Redskins winning.

by G Fan in England on May 4, 2011 5:51 PM EDT reply actions

Great post. Totally relate

I to have been digitally locked out. Should be back up soon & never go to the xbox. It’s the Dallas cowboys of gaming.

I'm worried about the beer supply. After this case, and the other case, there's only one case left- Barney Gumble

by CptChaosSidekick on May 4, 2011 5:52 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

+1

by TheUberest on May 5, 2011 9:57 AM EDT up reply actions

You and Hen had your rematch yet?

"If everyone is thinking alike, somebody isn't thinking." -George S. Patton
Hogs Haven. On Twitter..

by Kevin Ewoldt on May 4, 2011 5:54 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

Not yet

Don’t worry…I will take my beating soon enough

by Ken Meringolo on May 4, 2011 9:38 PM EDT up reply actions

different thought but Madden related

Why the heck haven’t they released any Madden Rookie Ratings. Last year they released the first 3 rounds the day after the draft. Hope that wasn’t just a one year thing. Takes a while but it’s fun to create some of the rookies. Real curious to see the rankings for Hankerson, Jenkins, Kerrigan, Helu Jr.

Let's Go Capitals! Win Sir Stanley's Cup!

by HailToTheRedskins on May 4, 2011 6:38 PM EDT reply actions

I love XBOX, although if all my friends had PS3 I would love PS3...

by Andrew DeFrank on May 4, 2011 7:24 PM EDT reply actions

Ditto

although most do have PS3s they just don’t do much online gaming.

by PJ_21 on May 5, 2011 11:05 AM EDT up reply actions

The 8th Circuit is torturing us by delaying their decision on the stay

If they deny the stay of the injunction, the lockout is lifted, and there presumably wouldn’t be a decision unti after June 3 (the hearing date). If negotiations started up again in mid May (as planned, and as both sides say they want), there ought to be a new CBA before the court acts. I would think that the stay being denied would scare the owners into being reasonable.
    I had previously blamed the union as being unreasonable because of Smith’s gross trash talk (an opinion shared by one of the owners, reported in a Michael Silver column on Yahoo). But I think Smith may have backed away, leaving better, more sensible, people in charge. Right now, it seems the owners are desperate, and playing hardball with the lockout, in one slim chance of getting some concessions from the players. But they should recognize that they can’t get what they want, and make the best deal they can.
    If the court grants the stay, we’re screwed, and nothing will happen until after June 3, and the season would be in danger, unless, maybe, the players capitulated.
     The owners appear to be the intransigent ones now, which is very disappointing to me. But it could be explained by there being a small but influential group of owners who really think (rightly or wrongly) that the league is locked into a bad business model that will significantly hurt them over time.

by Donnio1234 on May 4, 2011 9:47 PM EDT reply actions

It killing me to...CoD as well...I also guarantee the avg age of a Madden player is higher than you think

That being said, anyone interested in a Hog’s Haven League next year? i guess we could even start one for the summer with 11.

Enough PS3 players out there?

by DavidDunn on May 5, 2011 1:31 AM EDT reply actions

I think that is a great idea

Fantasy Draft, right?

by Ken Meringolo on May 5, 2011 11:43 AM EDT up reply actions

SB Nation tried to do a league last year on XBox, I was the HH representative.

We played one game and the whole league fell apart haha.

Twitter: @RVAparks Check it out for the latest Redskins news and opinions

by Parks Smith on May 5, 2011 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions

Do you PS3?

by Ken Meringolo on May 5, 2011 11:55 AM EDT up reply actions

Just XBox and I only own one game at a time.

It’s annual rotation on of buying and selling on Amazon… Madden > NBA2K > NHL 2K (sometimes at the same time) > MLB2K > Madden> and the cycle continues…

Twitter: @RVAparks Check it out for the latest Redskins news and opinions

by Parks Smith on May 5, 2011 1:49 PM EDT up reply actions

Hogs Haven

by DavidDunn on May 5, 2011 1:32 AM EDT reply actions

"Sam Bradford has developed into a stud"

Developed? Maybe in the womb, he was born a stud.

by Nobetterthenbob on May 5, 2011 1:37 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Do you have any redskins on your team?

I always have to play as the redskins with our players, feels wrong not to, no matter how poorly we get ranked.

by Jornek on May 5, 2011 8:17 AM EDT reply actions

+1

by ATXSkinfan on May 5, 2011 10:31 AM EDT up reply actions

I am trying to think...my roster is light on Skins players

I do the online Fantasy Draft so we all start from scratch. I do have Jason Campbell backing up Sam Bradford. I have Malcolm Kelly, though he has not seen the field in 3 seasons…wow, talk about art imitating life. I have Reed Doughty and I think that’s it…I got beat to the punch for a lot of Skins players in this league.

by Ken Meringolo on May 5, 2011 11:43 AM EDT up reply actions

I'm surprised you don't have Gano.

Twitter: @RVAparks Check it out for the latest Redskins news and opinions

by Parks Smith on May 5, 2011 11:47 AM EDT up reply actions

HA..I DID have Gano

I picked him myself very late, but then the CPU auto-picked someone else…Carney I think. Then Leigh Tiffin became available. For about 3 weeks in Season 1, I had Gano and Tiffin and then I let Gano go.

As they say, if you love someone, set them free. Tiffin is a beast.

by Ken Meringolo on May 5, 2011 11:56 AM EDT up reply actions

I often do fantasy drafts as the Redskins

and just pick my favourites on the team along with others though i’ve hardly played 11.

I was stupidly addicted to 10 though.

by PJ_21 on May 5, 2011 11:54 AM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, I am the Skins in this one too

I was the Packers in the last league I was in and it was kind of awesome. But being the Skins has been so enjoyable. I drafted my offensive line first and ended up with Jake Long, Michael Oher, Maurkice Pouncey, Mike Iupati and Eben Britton. Long was my first pick and Oher came in Round 4 or 5. The other three were all rookies when I drafted them and now as you can imagine, my line is insane. As a result, my defense needed some work, but I was able to draft enough rookies in the middle of the draft to get a unit that would develop nicely. My defensive line is strong, but not great. My corners are decent, but Taylor Mays has not really progressed the way I would have thought at safety.

by Ken Meringolo on May 5, 2011 12:01 PM EDT up reply actions

Thats always the best way

pick up a few of the better guys early and then go for the rookies and guys with most potential.

The Pack were my online team and are almost unstoppable and that was before the playoffs. Iv’e not played in it in months after getting sick of the cheeser tactics most use.

by PJ_21 on May 5, 2011 12:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Oh man

Speaking of cheeser tactics my friend is such a b*tch in madden. He would take speed guys load them in as QB then spend forever configuring his roster around running with the qb 100% of the time. In previous maddens this worked REALLY well and i’m sure everyones gone up against it. Or at least gone against someone abusing vick the madden god.

Anyway eventually i realized that double corner blitzes would usually take care of his qb scramble tactics.

The art of madden. I haven’t played in months I sort of miss it.

The Beat Box aka skins secondary.

by Al_CaPWNED on May 5, 2011 5:17 PM EDT up reply actions