Welcome to PAC 10 Conference
By Poo-Diddy, COMISSIONER
Welcome to DaONE league PAC 10 Conference page.

Pac-10 Loaded With Top Dogs
By BDawg35, SPORTS WRITER
We know Washington’s tough, even if we don't know who will coach the Huskies. We know Southern Cal will be strong again, even though Carson Palmer has taken his Heisman Trophy skills to the NFL. We know Washington quarterback Cody Pickett, Washington receiver Reggie Williams, Oregon State running back Steven Jackson and UCLA cornerback Matt Ware are All-American candidates.

But that’s real life. This is DaONE.

On the online virtual gridiron, the Pac-10 Conference may bear little resemblance to its flesh-and-blood counterpart.

Arizona State and Washington State and picked to be middle-of-the-pack finishers in the Pac-10 this fall, but they have to be considered the favorites in DaONE.

Why? Well, while no one is quite sure if skilled Madden ballers will have similar success in NCAA online battles, you have to go with proven talent until events dictate otherwise. And, in the tight-knit world of the Madden Mania room, few ballers have the credentials of Lieb and TimsGiants.

When 128 Madden Maniacs got together for one final Madden 2003 online high-stakes bash, it was Lieb and TimsGiants who survived to meet in the championship game. Lieb went undefeated in pool play and beat TimsGiants in a tough championship game in the Summer Kickoff Classic, setting the stage for a thrilling race for the Pac-10 title in DaONE.

Lieb is rolling with Arizona State, his alma mater. He hopes to add to a Madden track record that includes three straight division championships in PowerMaddenLeague.com and an undefeated Super Bowl-championship season in the MM 220 League.

TimsGiants is taking up arms with Washington State.

But before we award the Pac-10 trophy to the winner of the Arizona State-Washington State game, let’s not overlook some outstanding ballers who are more than capable of taking home the title.

Newmanicator and his California Golden Bears would be clear-cut favorites in any other league, having won 84 percent of his online games and earning a top-200 ranking among the tens of thousands who played Madden 2003 online.

Flexgame is spoken of highly by the coaches in the Pac-10 and could have an edge with a highly rated USC team. McNabbaholic (Arizona) also got props from the top ballers in the conference.

Here’s how the highly credentialed Newmanicator assessed what is sure to be DaONE’s elite conference: “I know that I’m a good baller, but in this division it would take a near-miracle for me to come away with the division title.”

Sandbagging? Perhaps. We’ll see when the talking stops and the balling begins.

The high talent level in the Pac-10 already has the media speculating on how many teams from the conference will make DaONE’s 64-team tournament field. Will the strength of the conference prompt the committee to take an extra Pac-10 team or two come postseason time?

“This is no doubt the toughest conference, hands-down,” Newmanicator said. “If you were to ask all online ballers to list a top 20 ballers, at least five of us would be listed more often than not. It isn’t fair not to take this into account. They do in real life with the BCS ratings.”

Hoping to carve a name for themselves by taking down one of the big boys are RAC MM (Oregon State), CMartin28 (Oregon), Elbingzzzz (Stanford), Mellow221 (UCLA) and BDawg35 (Washington).

“I know all of the ballers in the Pac-10 and they are all tough competition,” Lieb said.

BDawg35’s Washington Huskies should have the highest rating in NCAA 2004, but how much will that matter? BDawg is playing in his first online league and had a losing record in Madden 2003. Can an inexperienced baller ride the coattails of a strong team to success in DaONE, or will a player’s skill remain the key to victory? No one is quite sure, given the fact there’s a wider gap in talent in college football than in the NFL, a gap that is reflected in NCAA 2004.

“I’ve never played the NCAA video game before, so I have no clue how much team rating will have an effect,” Lieb said. “My guess is it will have a great effect in comparison to Madden.”

TimsGiants is reserving judgment until he sees some of the nuts and bolts of NCAA’s gameplay.

“It seemed the past NCAA’s button reaction hurt me, because I could select to a DB in time, etc.,” TG said. “If this is tuned, then I think skill will be a big factor. If the controls are still off, then the big (colleges) have a big advantage.”

The Pac-10 produced the real-life Heisman winner last year and features some candidates for the award in DaONE.Washington quarterback Cody Pickett and receiver Reggie Williams could split Heisman votes or be horribly misused by BDawg. Pickett led the Pac-10 with 4,458 passing yards in 2002, while Williams led the conference in catches (94) and receiving yards (1,454).

Andrew Walter , QB, Arizona State

Oregon State running back Steven Jackson (1,690 yards, 15 TD in 2002) and USC receiver Mike Williams (1,265 yards and 14 TD) could rack up the numbers needed to impress Heisman voters.

The Pac-10 features some strong defensive talent like defensive linemen Kenechi Udeze and Shaun Cody of USC, UCLA cornerback Matt Ware, Oregon State inside linebacker Richard Seigler and Arizona State free safety Jason Shivers.

If you haven’t heard of Arizona State quarterback Andrew Walter yet, you will.

“Andrew Walter is going to take over the Pac-10!” Lieb promises.

Life-long Michigan Fan Chooses to Roll With Washington
By BDawg35, SPORTS WRITER
I remember crying. That’s how hard I took it as a high school freshman when I saw my Michigan Wolverines lose to the University of Washington in the 1978 Rose Bowl.

I had become a Michigan fan in 1971 (let me know when I’m dating myself) and it didn’t take long to learn what was in store for me the rest of my life: an endless cycle of having my hopes built up, then having my heart ripped out. But I was young enough and foolish enough to believe this year was going to be different. We had Rick Leach, the senior southpaw quarterback and master of the option attack who grew up in Flint, Mich., not far from B-Dawg’s current crib. The Wolverines were huge favorites and I sat down on New Year’s Day 1978 eager to watch Bo Schembechler win his first bowl game as Michigan coach.

Final score: Washington 27, Michigan 20. Thank you, Warren Moon.

That was the first time Washington crushed my spirit, but certainly not the last. I remember Mario Bailey catching six passes for 126 yards in a 34-14 thrashing of the Wolverines in the 1992 Rose Bowl. I still can’t stomach the memory of Michigan totally gagging during a regular-season game in 2001. The Wolverines were in control, up 12-6 in the fourth quarter, when Washington scored on a blocked field goal and interception in a 1:14 span to take control in a 23-18 victory.

Not all of my Michigan-Washington memories are so bleak. One of my favorite moments as a Michigan fan came when Bo finally won his first Rose Bowl, beating Washington 23-6 in 1981 behind Butch Woolfolk and Anthony Carter. I’d love to say I remember every detail of Michigan’s classic 38-31 Rose Bowl victory over Washington in 1993, but I was stuck in Boston’s Logan Airport all day as my flight to Quebec City was delayed. My cat is still frightened of me after my show of utter jubilation last year, when erratic kicker Philip Brabbs got lucky and nailed a 44-yard game-winning field goal against the Huskies as time expired. Brabbs badly missed kicks of 36 and 42 yards earlier, a prelude to a season of shoddy kicking for the Wolverines.

Southern Cal used to be Michigan’s biggest cross-country rival, but now it’s Washington. The passion and hatred doesn’t run as deep as it does for Ohio State, Notre Dame and Michigan State, but there’s a definite history there.

Why, then, would a life-long Michigan fan decide to roll with Washington in DaOne online NCAA league? I mean, besides the fact I couldn’t get Michigan (curse you, Thovind!).

Well, it seems the desire to be competitive is creating some very strange bedfellows in this league. Not everybody can run with Michigan, Ohio State, Texas or any of the other popular teams. Realizing I’d have a hard time getting Michigan, I listed Washington as one of the teams I’d take. I could have chosen my sentimental favorites, military academies Air Force, Army or Navy. It would have been the noble thing to do. It would have been the patriotic thing to do. In my case, it would have been the stupid thing to do. While I don’t particularly care for the Huskies, they give me a chance to be competitive in what promises to be a very tough league. I don’t have the mad skills of a Guido or Poo Diddy, so I need all the help I can get. Having quarterback Cody Pickett and receiver Reggie Williams will give me a formidable passing attack, if I don’t screw it up. I was disappointed to see halfback Rich Alexis had only 735 yards on 202 carries last year, but I’ve had success with underrated running backs online before, most notably James Stewart of the Detroit Lions. Alexis and I will work this thing out.

Props are in order for those ballers who have aligned themselves with the Vanderbilts, Baylors and Northwesterns of the world. It’s because of those brave souls that this venture is going to stand out among all of the NCAA leagues that are forming. Their victories will be all the sweeter because they’re rolling with lower-rated teams.

I, however, took the coward’s way out. But the pressure is on, too, as I’ll look pretty weak going 3-9 with a team like Washington.

I may not be a Washington fan in real life, but I promise to coach the Huskies to the best of my ability and bring honor and pride to the fine folks of the Seattle area. And I promise not to get caught up in any NCAA basketball pools.