The Top Ten: Best Sports Video Games

With the release of Madden ’10 looming on the horizon and NCAA Football ’10 still fresh on the shelves, it seemed like the perfect time to break out a list. What list? The ten best sports video games ever conceived by mankind.

There are no fancy ranking systems or formulas to determine which of these is the best sports video game; purely my own personal experience and bias. If you don’t like my choices, post your own in the comments. Before we get to the list, though, we’ve got a few games that didn’t quite make the cut for best sports video game. And just as a point: racing games were not included for consideration. Read more

Confederations Cup Championship Preview: United States vs. Brazil/South Africa

With their remarkable 2-0 victory over FIFA #1 Spain still fresh, the United States will take to the pitch in South Africa on Sunday looking for its first ever FIFA Confederations Cup title. The Yanks will take on the winner of the Brazil-South Africa match (set for Thursday) in a game no one expected the U.S. to be in.

If I had to bet on the opponent, I would say Brazil, but I didn’t think there was too much of a chance the U.S. would be celebrating after today’s match either.

DETAILS:

Who: United States vs. Brazil/South Africa

What: FIFA Confederations Cup Final

When: 1:30 pm Central time (ESPN)

Where: Johannesburg, South Africa

Besides being the first final for the United States in the Confederations Cup, this is also the first final ever for the U.S. in any FIFA competition ever. Heading into the match, Spain was the top-ranked team in the world in FIFA’s rankings. The United States sat 14th.

The first two games of the tournament saw Head Coach Bob Bradley’s U.S. team post two lackluster efforts – losing 3-1 to 2006 World Cup Champion Italy and 3-0 to world power Brazil. But a 3-0 U.S. win over Egypt on Sunday along with a 3-0 Brazil win over Italy got the U.S. into the semifinals where they posted a two goal victory.

Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey each scored goals and goalkeeper Tim Howard made several key saves to key the win.

The game on Sunday will be played in South Africa’s capital city of Johannesburg, as the host nation of South Africa is looking to upset power Brazil and create what would surely be one of the unlikeliest finals anyone could have imagined at the start of the tournament.

If the U.S. has any hope of winning, they will have to do so without midfielder Michael Bradley, who was sent off in the 87th minute due to a red card.  Another key will be the defense, which was bolstered by the return of defender Carlos Bocanegra from an injured hamstring.

All of the defenders had a strong game along with Bocanegra. Jonathan Spector has been a stalwart at right back, starting every game in the tournament. Jay DeMerit and Ricardo Clark also turned in strong performances against the Spaniards.

The U.S. did not have many chances against Spain, but Altidore’s goal in the 27th minute set the tone. A similar play will be needed in the next game for the Americans if they hope to pull off another victory.

Hopefully the final will be an exciting one, as the effort against Spain from the U.S. came somewhat out of nowhere after some inconsistent international results. With strong defense and opportunities that can be turned into goals, the United States could be looking at flying home from Johannesburg with a first place trophy.