http://www.mega-football.com

This is a league that I have been part of since it''s inception under other names since Madden 2002. If you are a PC Gamer, and don''t mind the waiting list then I recommend this to anyone who likes realistic play..and not just button mashing. With online franchise out of the game for a few years now, tools have been developed for drafting and free agents and what not to bring back the magic that was online franchise. A review of the league was recently done and can be viewed at http://www.maddennation.com/dol/

I know that a lot of the PC online leagues tend to advertise a more ""straight""/realistic style of gameplay. Frankly it''s just shameful the amount of ""cheesey"" gameplay that people use in these tournaments, and on EA Sports Online.

Certainly I''m not the only one that sees the irony in the game that is universally proclaimed in reviews as the most ""realistic"" requires cranking the difficulty up to the max in order to achieve anything close.

ESPN isn''t perfect but even on difficulties short of Legendary, it doesn''t facilitate the kind of flat-out arcade gaming I saw in the tournament finals (the 20-yard dropbacks for Vick was but only one such thing).

It makes me sad because an EA-based NFL game is all we''ll have next year. I need something that resembles real football.

You really have to work to make Madden more realistic, which can be done, but just takes more work than a person might personally want to do. Such is my experience.

ESPN''s not perfect, but I''ve played against some of the top ranked players and the level of cheese just isn''t there. Is there some? Of course.

One of the biggies is the fact that in ESPN, throwing on the run really does decrease accuracy. In Madden, during that tournament, I saw guys throwing off their back foot, across their body, across the field, and be on target. In ESPN, even if it is on target, the ball haaaaangs in the air and is an easy defense/INT waiting to happen. That takes away a lot of the QB-based ""cheese play"". In older NFL2K games, you could do a lot more on the run with the QB. Now, that loophole has been significantly weakened. You can still roll out to the ""correct"" side (right side for righties, and vice versa) and throw some passes to that side of the field, but no flinging it across to the other side of the field with perfect accuracy and velocity.

The other big thing is that running between the tackles is a part of the game in ESPN, whereas Madden really models that poorly and makes it less than useful. Guys in the Madden tournament were taking defenders off the line of scrimmage because there was no threat of an interior run - it''s almost useless. In ESPN, there''s PLENTY of threat for the run, and yanking defenders all over like that would be suicide.

ESPN is too permissive with QB runs, definitely. That''s probably its biggest offender. Outside of that, though, I''d argue that ESPN has really shut down a lot of the cheese play.

Um, ESPN will be an EA game, remember? Let''s hope that there''s a ""Take-Two 2k6"" with ""user-creatable"" teams/players and/or a ""Take Two College Football 2k6."" I would suggest an Arena League, but EA''s bought up those rights as well.

Actually, I had forgotten that. But you have the correct intent of my post, anyway. I wonder when we will find out what is going to happen. If Take 2 / VC only do college, I say we play that. If they do a ""pro"" game with made up stuff, I could go either way. I''d even be up for more NFL 2k5, after taking the summer off.

I want to finish out the 2005 league, then go on to other things until next season. We''ll be starting up a new Hockey season soon, and a MP baseball season is right around the corner.

I guess I will have to get my fix through other players on Live then or experiment a bit with Madden 2005 which has collected dust since purchased.