CANUCKS FORWARD KESLER TO APPEAR ON COVER OF NHL 2K11

Marty Speed — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:28:35 +0000

Ryan Kesler has been on quite a roll of late.

At the recent Olympics, he scored in the men's hockey final and emerged with a silver medal as part of an impressive young U.S. team. Since returning to the Vancouver Canucks, he has three goals in four games -- with two of those goals coming in Detroit near where he grew up in Livonia.

And now the 25-year-old can celebrate being the cover athlete for the NHL 2K11 video game, following in the footsteps of Alexander Ovechkin, Rick Nash, Jason Spezza, Joe Thornton, Marty Turco, Martin St. Louis, Jeremy Roenick, Chris Drury and Brendan Shanahan.

Kesler calls it the "icing on the cake" after his Olympic experience.

"Everything just keeps getting better for me," he told The Canadian Press. "I'm very excited."

Kesler admits the only way he thought he'd ever be on a video game box was "if I put my own picture on there."

"It's a dream come true for me. ... I grew up playing and to be on the cover of 2K is unbelievable," he said.

Once known for his defensive skills -- he was a finalist last year for the Selke Trophy -- Kesler is enjoying a career year on offence with 19 goals and 40 assists in 65 games this season.

"I expected to maybe crash after the Olympics a little bit," he said. "Playing in front of my friends and family the first couple of games helped with that. I'm still, I think, on that Olympic high. I've been feeling good out there, I've been skating and using my strengths."

Kesler was involved with the game last year, taking part in an outdoor Las Vegas motion capture session with Ovechkin, who was the face of NHL 2K10.

"Obviously he's the best of the best," Kesler said of the Washington Capitals sniper.

But the Canucks forward takes pride in his game.

"I'm not a flashy scorer like Ovechkin by any means but I think I'm exciting in my own right," he said. "I think my performance in the Olympics is why 2K picked me to be on the cover."

That was confirmed by 2K Sports, which is engaged in an annual battle with EA Sports' NHL title. The EA game is made in Burnaby, B.C.

"Ryan is one of the most talented and exciting players to watch in the NHL today and his popularity has grown exponentially since the recent success of Team USA at the Olympics," Greg Thomas, senior vice-president of sports development for 2K, said in a statement.

Kesler is also a keen gamer, playing everything from sports titles to first-person shooters. But there has been little time to settle down in front of a console recently.

As the cover boy for this year's game, available this fall for the Nintendo Wii, Kesler jokingly says he wouldn't mind having his player attributes bumped up a little bit.

"Usually they're true to form, they're very accurate -- their attributes," he said. "I expect no special treatment this time."

Kesler probably won't need any. He was a plus-8 last season, when he had 26 goals and 33 assists in 82 games. He won 54 per cent of his faceoffs and ranked seventh among league forwards with 70 blocked shots.

NHL 2K11 is developed by California-based Visual Concepts.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=313064

February 21, 1948 - NASCAR born

gopens8711 — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 06:38:24 +0000

February 21, 1948 - NASCAR born: Six days after its first race was held, NASCAR was officially incorporated as the National Association for Stock Car Racing, with race promoter Bill France as president. From the beginning, stock car racing had a widespread appeal with its fan base. As the legend goes, the sport evolved from Southern liquor smugglers who souped up their pre-war Fords to outrun the police. NASCAR brought the sport organization and legitimacy. It was Bill France who realized that product identification would increase enthusiasm for the sport. He wanted the fans to see the cars they drove to the track win the races on the track. By 1949, all the postwar car models had been released, so NASCAR held a 150-mile race at the Charlotte Speedway to introduce its Grand National Division. The race was restricted to late-model strictly stock automobiles. NASCAR held nine Grand National events that year. By the end of the year, it was apparent that the strictly stock cars could not withstand the pounding of the Grand Nationals, so NASCAR drafted rules to govern the changes drivers could make to their cars. Modified stock car racing was born. Starting in 1953, the major auto makers invested heavily in stock car racing teams, believing that good results on the track would translate into better sales in the showroom. In 1957, rising production costs and tightened NASCAR rules forced the factories out of the sport. Today NASCAR racing is the fastest growing spectator sport in America.(History Channel)(2-21-2010)

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=7254&HPF_rid=38245046&HPF_mid=3399_T1_Url9

Penguins Bid for Next Year's All-Star Weekend

gopens8711 — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:00:19 +0000

The Pittsburgh Penguins have submitted a bid to host the 2010-11 NHL All-Star Weekend for the inaugural season of the Consol Energy Center, the team announced Tuesday.

The new, state-of-the-art arena will open for the start of the 2010-11 NHL season.

Consol Energy Center already has been selected to host the first and second rounds of the 2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, and Robert Morris and VisitPittsburgh will submit a bid on Monday for the 2013 or 2014 NCAA Frozen Four.

“The new Consol Energy Center will give us the opportunity to bring many such events to Pittsburgh,” Penguins president David Morehouse said. “We think it can help make Pittsburgh a destination for big national and regional events.”

The Penguins have not hosted the NHL All-Star Weekend since 1990.

“We’re excited by the opportunity to bid for the 2010-11 NHL All-Star weekend and believe we have made a strong proposal to the NHL,” Morehouse said.

AutoWeek makes your Forza Motorsport 3 garage even better

gopens8711 — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:39:04 +0000

How would you like to be able to drive the Aston Martin One-77 before virtually anyone else in the world? And then jump from that car into a Porsche Boxster S or a Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport?

You can do that, starting Jan. 12. That's when the special-edition AutoWeek Car Show Pack becomes available for Forza Motorsport 3 on the Xbox 360. The car pack will cost you only 400 Microsoft points on Xbox Live--about $5--for 10 of the hottest cars on the planet.

Here's the full lineup of the car pack, courtesy of our friends at Turn 10:

-- 2010 Aston Martin One-77

-- 2009 Audi R8 LMS

-- 2009 Audi RS 6

-- 2010 BMW Motorsport M6 Coupe

-- 2010 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport

-- 2010 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500

-- 2009 Holden HSV w427

-- 2009 Lotus 2-Eleven

-- 2010 Pagani Zonda R

-- 2010 Porsche Boxster S

Editors Dutch Mandel, Roger Hart, Natalie Neff and Dale Jewett sat down in our Detroit office to discuss the virtual metal in our car pack--most which we have driven. There were plenty of opinions, which you can hear in podcasts.

The highest praise went to the Shelby Mustang GT500. The 500-plus-hp beast drew remarks ranging from "the complete package" to "the best-handling Mustang ever."

As for the foreign marques, we can't wait to jump in to the Audi R8 Le Mans car. And the Pagani Zonda R, every 15-year-old's dream, has the potential to be the fastest car in the game.

Take a listen to the podcasts--there are so many cars, we broke it up into two segments--and find out what we think about the rest of the cars in the new pack.

Gamers, start your engines.

For more Car news, road tests, photos and insight, click here.

Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100107/CARNEWS/100109958#ixzz0by8OdFOf

Avatar Breaks the 1 Billion

LaserBolt — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:56:27 +0000

James Cameron is the "King of the World" once more, with the writer-director's sci-fi opus Avatar reaching a global box office total of $1.02 billion over the weekend.

In doing so, it became only the fifth film in history to reach the billion dollar mark, after Titanic ($1.8 billion), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ($1.12 billion) and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ($1.07 billion) and The Dark Knight ($1 billion).

And with the film topping charts all over the globe and with no sign of its popularity abating, it looks like Avatar will soon eclipse the latter three, leaving Cameron with the two highest grossing movies in history.

The director has also talked about his desire to shoot Avatar sequels and based on the above figures, one imagines Twentieth Century Fox will green-light further tales sooner rather than later.

EA’s dropping Madden ‘09 servers & more

gopens8711 — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 09:08:34 +0000

EA has announced they will be removing many servers for their sports title coming just 1 month away on February 2nd, 2010 for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and the PC.

Among one of the titles is Madden 09 which I believe it may be too soon. The closing of ‘09 servers makes it seem as if EA is just eagerly ridding of their $60 games and have it last only a year for online play. I do believe some of the games they’re looking to drop are justified considering sports titles usually do not last more than 2 to 3 years but ‘09?

Yes, you can still play in single player mode but there is just only that much comp stomping you can take before moving onto another title. So, I wonder why there’s no private server support? Here’s what EA has to say about the whole server shut down:

All of us at EA would like to thank you for your valued participation in our online gaming community and hope that your enthusiasm for these games extends to our current lineup and beyond.

Quite a disappointment to me, especially towards all the fans and communities that have been developed. The list of servers that will be removed are listed below. What do you guys think?

February 2, 2010 Online Service Shutdown
UEFA Champions League 07 PC and x360
Facebreaker x360 and PS3
Fantasy Football 09 x360 and PS3
FIFA 07 PSP, PS2, PC
Fight Night Round 3 PS2
Madden 08 Wii
Madden 08 PC
Madden 09 Xbox1
Madden 09 Wii and PSP
March Madness 07 x360
NBA 07 PSP, x360
NBA 08 PS2, PSP, Wii
NBA 09 Wii – Europe only
NBA Street (2007) PS3 and x360
NCAA Football 08 PS2
NCAA Football 09 PS2
NASCAR 08 PS2
NASCAR 09 PS2
NASCAR 09 PS3 and x360 – Europe Only
NFL Tour PS3 and x360
NHL 07 PSP and x360
NHL 08 PC
Tiger Woods 07 PC
Madden 09 x360 and PS3
Madden 07 Xbox 360

April 1, 2009 Online Service Shutdown
FIFA 07 Xbox
Madden NFL 07 PlayStation Portable
Madden NFL 07 Xbox
Madden NFL 07 PC
Madden NFL 07 PlayStation 2
Madden NFL 07 PlayStation 3
Madden NFL 08 PlayStation Portable
Madden NFL 08 Xbox
NASCAR 08 PlayStation 3
NASCARή 08 Xbox 360
NBA LIVE 08 PC
NCAA Football 08 Xbox
NHLή 08 PlayStation2
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 06 PC
Tiger Woods PGA TOURή 08 PlayStation Portable
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 08 PlayStation 2

July 1, 2008 Online Service Shutdown
Arena Football™: Road to Glory PlayStation 2
Burnout™ Dominator PlayStation Portable
FIFA 07 PlayStation Portable Asia
NCAAή March Madness 07 PlayStation 2
NCAAή March Madness 07 Xbox
Medal of Honor Pacific Assault™ PC
MVP™ 07 NCAAή Baseball PlayStation 2
NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup™
NASCARή 07 PlayStation 2
NASCAR 07 Xbox
NBA LIVE 06 Xbox
NBA LIVE 07 PlayStation 2
NBA LIVE 07 PC
NBA LIVE 07 Xbox
NCAAή Football 07 PlayStation 2
NCAA Football 07 Xbox
NCAAή Football 07 PlayStation Portable
NFL STREET 3 PlayStation 2
NHL 07 PlayStation 2
NHLή 07 PC
NHL 07 Xbox
Tiger Woods PGA TOURή 06 PlayStation 2
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07 PlayStation 2
Tiger Woods PGA TOURή 07 PlayStation Portable NA
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07 PlayStation Portable EU
Tiger Woods PGA TOURή 07 PlayStation Portable Asia
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07 Xbox
UEFA Champions League™ 2006-2007 PlayStation 2
UEFA Champions League™ 2006-2007 PlayStation Portable NA
UEFA Champions League™ 2006-2007 PlayStation Portable EU
2006 FIFA World Cup™ 360

February 21, 2008 Online Service Shutdown
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 08- The Daily Tournament feature is currently out of service for an indefinite period of time, but Play Now and Session Matches remain active.

September 1, 2007 Online Service Shutdown
Arena Football for PlayStation 2
Arena Football for Xbox
FIFA Soccer 06 for Xbox 360
FIFA Soccer 06 for PC
FIFA06 for PC
FIFA Soccer 06 for PlayStation 2
FIFA Soccer 06 for PlayStation Portable
FIFA Soccer 06 for Xbox
FIFA World Cup 2006 for PC
FIFA World Cup 2006 for PlayStation 2
FIFA World Cup 2006 for PlayStation Portable
FIFA World Cup 2006 for Xbox
Fight Night Round 3 for PlayStation Portable
Fight Night Round 3 for Xbox
Madden NFL 06 for Xbox 360
Madden NFL 06 for PC
Madden NFL 06 for PlayStation 2
Madden NFL 06 for PlayStation Portable
Madden NFL 06 for Xbox
Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects for PlayStation 2
Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects for Xbox
MVP 07 NCAA Baseball for PlayStation 2
MVP 07 NCAA Baseball for Xbox
NASCAR 06 Total Team Control for PlayStation 2
NASCAR 06 Total Team Control for Xbox
NBA Live 06 for Xbox 360
NBA Live 06 for PC
NBA Live 06 for PlayStation 2
NBA Live 06 for PlayStation Portable
NCAA Football 2005 for Xbox
NCAA Football 2006 for PlayStation 2
NCAA Football 2006 for Xbox
NCAA March Madness 06 for PlayStation 2
NCAA March Madness 06 for Xbox
NFL Head Coach for PC
NFL Head Coach for Xbox
NFL Head Coach for PlayStation 2
NHL 06 for PC
NHL 06 for PlayStation 2
NHL 06 for Xbox
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 for Xbox 360
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 for Xbox

November 1, 2007 Online Service Shutdown
Burnout Revenge for Xbox
Burnout Revenge for PlayStation 2
Need for Speed Underground for PlayStation 2
Need for Speed Underground 2 for PC
Need for Speed Underground 2 for PlayStation 2
Need for Speed Most Wanted for PlayStation Portable
Need for Speed Most Wanted for Xbox

Previously Shut Down Online Service
TimeSplitters 3: Future Perfect
Armies of Exigo for PC
Goldeneye: Rogue Agent for PS2
Goldeneye: Rogue Agent for Xbox
Goldeneye: Rogue Agent for NGC
Madden NFL 2005 for PS2
Madden NFL 2005 for Xbox
Madden NFL 2005 for PC
NASCAR 2005 for PC
NASCAR 2005 for PS2
NASCAR 2005 for Xbox
NFL Street 2: Unleashed for PS2
NFL Street 2: Unleashed for Xbox
Tiger Woods 2005 for Xbox
Need for Speed Underground 2 for PS2
Medal of Honor Rising Sun for PS2
MVP Baseball™ 2005 for PC
MVP Baseball™ 2005 for PlayStation 2
MVP Baseball™ 2005 for Xbox
FIFA Soccer 2005 for PS2
FIFA Soccer 2005 for Xbox
FIFA Soccer 2005 Demo for Xbox
FIFA Soccer 2005 for PC
EA SPORTS™ Fight Night Round 2 for PS2
EA SPORTS™ Fight Night Round 2 for Xbox
NCAAή March Madness™ 2005 for PS2
NCAA March Madness™ 2005 for Xbox
NBA LIVE 2005 for Xbox
NBA LIVE 2005 for PC
NBA LIVE 05 for PS2
NBA STREET V3 for PS2
NBA STREET V3 for Xbox
NCAAή Football 2005 for PS2
Need for Speed™ Underground 2 Demo for PC
Need for Speed™ Underground 2 for PC
Need for Speed™ Underground 2 for Xbox
NHL 2005 for PS2
NHLή 2005 for Xbox
NHL 2005 for PC
Total Club Manager 06 for PS2
Tiger Woods PGA TOURή 2005 for PS2
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 2005 for PC
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE™ 2004-2005 for PS2
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE™ 2004-2005 for PC
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE™ 2004-2005 for Xbox
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The Darkness Review

MasterBrief — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 00:53:57 +0000

It's been sometime since this game came out but I have finally bought it and beaten it. So I really loved this game had a great set up with combat and the powers were good. At sometimes things could get stuck or stuff like that but rarely. I found the story mode to be too short though but that is a given these days. But never the less the story mode was excellent and for the most part stayed very true to the comic books with a few minor tweaks to throw a bone to a game version of the comic. The game was a bit difficult I beat it on normal the first playthrough and found at times it was way too hard and even on easy this was the case. But it was only so in large firefights. So the gun play was very good, I liked the aiming around corners thing they put in. There are costumes for the Darklings to get and there are sidequest to complete to get phone numbers to call and you can find some and also letters. Then when you call or mail them they open some bonus content in the form of concept are and comics and that stuff. Now the powers were very good. So you got 4 the is Creeping Death where you control a snake like serpent in a kind of stealth slither to sneak up and kill people, the Demon Arm is a giant hook type arm that can break lights impale people etc., Darkness Guns which is a pair of 2 ancient guns one is a gatling gun type pistol and the other is a shockwave shotgun thing and the last is Black Hole which is you guessed it a mini black hole that sucks up enemies and objects then after a bit drops them. All this takes dark energy which is represented but the long colored streak on the two serpents necks, you regain engergy by eating hearts or when you in darkness they suck up the dark. Eating hearts will also start to level your darkness level up which in turn gives you better damage and stuff on the powers. You can also summon Darklings which are trash talking little killers. There is a Berserker which is melee and you can find different outfit with different weapons like a axe or a jack hammer. Then there is a Gunner who has a mini gun, Light Killer which has a car battery on his back and zaps lights, but he's useless cuz hes slow. Then theres the Kamikaze which you know blows himself up. So the game is good the hell level was very thoughtfully done the only thing I really had a problem with was that it was overly hard at times and then on the sidequests some once you passed a storyline area you couldnt go back to do it so you had to know that you had to do it then or you cant come back. All in all a very good adaption of the badass comics. I would give it a 8/10.

Story
9/10

Graphics
8.2/10

Replay Value
7.8/10

Alice in Wonderland Extended Movie Trailer

LaserBolt — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:59:58 +0000

Alice in Wonderland is an upcoming 2010 fantasy film directed by Tim Burton. It is an extension to the Lewis Carroll novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. The film will use a technique combining live action and motion capture technology. Mia Wasikowska plays the role of Alice, alongside Johnny Depp as The Mad Hatter, Helena Bonham Carter as The Red Queen, Anne Hathaway as The White Queen, and Crispin Glover as The Knave of Hearts.

The film is due for release on March 5, 2010 and the film will be released in Disney Digital 3-D and IMAX 3-D, as well as in regular theaters.

An extension on Lewis Carroll's original story, Alice, now 19, attends a party at a Victorian estate only to find she is about to be proposed to by a rich suitor in front of hundreds of snooty society types. She runs off, following a white rabbit into a hole and ending up in Wonderland, a place she visited many years before, yet she doesn't remember. The White Rabbit claims to have come back for Alice because she is the only one who can slay the Jabberwock, the beast who guards the Red Queen's empire. Alice remains completely unaware of why she is in Wonderland, and is confused about the fact that she had once visited Wonderland years before. She then embarks on an adventure of self discovery and to save Wonderland from the Red Queen's reign of terror with the help of her Wonderland friends.

Prince of Persia The Sands of Time Behind the Scenes

LaserBolt — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:49:00 +0000

Journey behind the scenes of Prince of Persia The Sands of Time. Learn the the idea behind the movie.

This short featurette features interviews with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Mike Newell, actress Gemma Atherton, actor Jake Gyllenhaal and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Yeah, I have a vlog too

Griff705 — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:21:45 +0000

YOU ALL LOST THE GAME!
Yeah thats how every blog is going to start
Do something.

So this is about todays vLog
I am going to post a link to it here, You guys will love it.

I AM GOING TO BE POSTING VIDEOS REGULARLY ON GF.
Love you guys.

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