The Madden 10 Tournament Preview

The Official Madden 10'
Tourney Preview
By: Willie Stroker Willie Stroker: Yahoo Columnist

People are roaming the streets, driving in circles, and hibernating for days on end all over the Lyndhurst, NJ area. Why is this happening you ask? I have the answer; it's because with only two days left before the first whistle in the 6th installment of the Madden Tournament, people don't have any more patience to wait. Two days can seem like an eternity when you are waiting for one sole event of the ages. It is on the fingertips of time waiting to fall into place and finally happen after all of the hype, practice, all nighters of straight Madden NFL Football, online games, trash talk, facebook messages, blog articles, controversies, complaints, and excitement; it all comes to an exhilarating climax on Sunday the 23rd.

Before I get into this whole preview mumbo-jumbo I would like to further elaborate on my previous write up on the "Kansas City Controversy". When I last reported on this situation there was no clear cut solution set for the problem. Yet only a few days later on a follow up I was doing I have found that there is no longer any problems with the young Jack Moran using the Chiefs. Anthony Dellavale has chosen to take the long way home (as us Southerners like to say it) and reprieve Jack of any type of retaliation for the time being of the Madden Tournament. There will still be much tension between the two throughout the tournament, especially if they meet one on one, mono-E-mono, there may be no stopping Ant on his path of revenge.

That brings me to my first topic of discussion in this introduction to the Madden Tournament. There has been some recent rumblings in Lyndhurst of an "Unstoppable Play". I had little information and knowledge of this play of sorts, so I decided to do some in-depth reporting on the matter. I took a day trip to the little New Jersey suburb to seek out an old friend from previous matters. I stopped by a quiet one way street, Thomas Avenue on the North end of town and sought out a certain Dave Raszick.

So Dave, tell me, have you heard of this "Unstoppable Play" yet?
"Nah, not at all. Is it that stupid direct snap again?"
I don't really have a clue Dave, that is why I came to ask you, I figured you might have some inside info on the matter.
"Oh well it is probably some type of glitch of some sort."
Okay Mr. Razzik, thank you for your time once again.

So I didn't get much information regarding this play. Yet since then the glitch rule (#36) has been adopted by the Madden Tourney President Brian Rehbein. It was very hard to find any info on the play, which leads me to believe that it is being groomed and saved specifically for Sunday's start of the tournament. Although I did hear from a few other Lyndhurst residents that it is spread across a few separate teams. Rumored users of the play are Danny Kesack, Anthony Pacillo, and Mike Catena. I guess everyone will just have to wait and see what occurs come Sunday!

The first Madden Tournament in history started with eight participants and grew from there. From eight to double digits, double digits to 24, to 29, and eventually to a full 32. Yet with its growth has come a bit of imbalance in the blood relation ratio of the tourney. For years there was the Rehbein brothers, the Catena brothers, and even a rumored love triangle including Josh Seo and two other men in the tourney a few years back, but never a cousin relationship. That was until this past year at the Madden 09' Tournament where Porta recruited multiple cousins, TJ and "Bad News" Tony. This year they may have lost one cousin, yet Porta would not go without adding many more.

The Madden 10' Tourney this Sunday will feature 3 more Porta-TJ cousins, upping there ante of Porta relations in some way to a total of 5 participants, over 15% of the tournament. Is it just a few friendly kids wanting to play some good ole' Madden football, or is there more to it than that? Could there be a possible takeover in the works considering the numbers grow higher and higher every time you turn your back? I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it plays out by the end of the Madden 10' Tournament.


In the beginnings of the Madden Tournament there was this invincible entity in Jimmy Gangi household. That my friends is none other than the "Candy Cane" itself. For 3 years it reeked havoc on anyone playing Jimmy in his house. The candy cane had powers unknown to any mere human being and would pick a bone with you if messed with. There was a curse of sorts that went with the candy cane if you messed with it. For example in the Madden 07' Tourney, Billy took the candy cane from its magnetic home atop Jimmy's basement ceiling and hid it. He then went on to be upset by Joey Catena and then eliminated on the Miracle Manning play.

After two years of candy cane absence, as well as championship absence, Jimmy has found the infamous entity and will utilize it this upcoming Madden 10' Tournament. Will this play a huge role in Jimmy's possible success this year? Will anyone reek havoc in Jimmy's house by taking it? Will anyone be cursed by the powers of the candy cane? All questions that shall be answered in a few days.

Three years ago Billy was defeated by Joey Catena in the worst game of his Madden career, and then screwed over in the Miracle Manning game. From that point on Billy would only lose two games in the past two tourneys, dominate both years' winners brackets, and go on to win two championships back to back. The repeat of Madden Titles made it 3 Tourney wins for billy in only 4 years.

Now with the lights on bright and all eyes watching will Billy be able to pull another one out of the hat and make it a 3-peat? It will be a tough road with 30 others rooting solely against him, yet when it comes down to it all there is is two players, two controllers, one game. All eyes will be on the path Billy takes in this years bracket for sure, but will this affect other players efforts in the tournament? We will soon find out!

This year's event will see many new faces staring at a bunch of TVs. As always, with the entrance of new faces comes the exit of some old faces. Some of these people include four time entrant Dooky and three year player Gabe Ruggerio. Yet the most notable exit from the Madden Tournament this year is Kevin Rehbein. Kevin, who has been in every Madden Tourney to date will exit for the year due to vacation. Kevin had been in 5 tourneys and finished in the top ten each of the 5 times including three 4th place finishes (his highest ranking). How will these departures affect this years Madden Tournament? Will Kevin still somehow find a way to blame Billy for his misfortune? Will Gabe's mom even allow him to ask someone the results of the Madden Tourney? Will any of these questions be answered?
Come Sunday we will find out.

Following Billy's defeats in the Madden 2007 Tournament and his short comings in a few Smackdown Tournaments, he sought out assistance, assistance of another breed that is. Enter Anthony Dellavale, the Robin to Billy's Batman. Immediately as it started the ALLIANCE was formed. The ALLIANCE since then has tried to add a member here and there to make it a power trio. Some temporary members included the Batgirl to Billy's Batman; Josh, as well as Dooky, and a turncoat appearance by Dave. Yet the ALLIANCE would always remain a duo of superpowers that could never be stopped, or at least that is what its members and many others believed.

Madden Tournament 2008, enter "the Kid". The Kid, fed up with the ALLIANCE set out on a journey to recruit members for his very own group. He would call this group the NWO, which stood for New World Order. "It's a New World Order in the world of Madden!", the Kid, aka Dave Dicrisi proclaimed at Jimmy's house last year. Since that moment these two groups have been at each others' throats for supremacy in the world of Madden. The ALLIANCE got the better of the NWO this past year, but who will come out on top? That's a question in it of itself only to be answered this weekend at the Madden Tournament!

One of the highlights of the Madden 09' Tournament was the temporary perfection of the Pacillo Strategy utilized obviously by Anthony Pacillo. Well with a new tourney comes a new strategy for Pacillo, now known as the "Man with the Plan". As Pacillo as played a few other Madden Tourney participants a few rumors have broken about the new strategy. Rumors that may very well be true, or they could just be one big hoax. Either way, Pacillo has been rumored to solely use the Pittsburgh Wildcat Offense over and over again until he makes the defense sick to their stomachs. Is this new strategy a true story, or is it just a distraction in a ploy bigger than anyone realizes with rewards more lucrative than anyone can imagine? Does the new "Pacillo Strategy" even work? You will have to see for yourself that is, come the 23rd of August.

I touched on the topic of many new faces in this years tourney earlier, and I will now elaborate on the matter. In the history of Madden there has been only two champions. One of them would be Jimmy Gangi, a two time champion. The other is three time winner and reigning and defending Madden Champion Billy Rehbein. So with the 6th tournament approaching, will there be a new winner? Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself here. In the 5 years of Madden Tournament play, there has never been a year where neither Billy or Jimmy were in the championship finale. With that these two have faced off twice in the finals, leaving only 3 others to ever garner even 2nd place in the tourney and that has been in the past 3 years. In the 2007 tournament Phil went down to Jimmy, in 08' Mark Naseef fell to the wrath of the ALLIANCE and so did Pacillo in 09'.

This leaves many questions unanswered leading into the 6th annual Madden Tournament. Will there be some new blood in the finals this year? Many participants have come oh so close, only to be denied by Jimmy and Billy. Players entering the tournament for the first time include Frank Spanola: a former LHS Madden Champion. Phil Spanola: brother of Frank who dearly wishes to follow in Frank's Madden footsteps. Travis: a hidden gem in the world of Madden, not to be underestimated in this tournament. Jack Moran: who entered with a bang digging up tons of controversy. Chris Demarco: a man of indecision on entry into the tourney. Jeremy Shafer: eager to get into the action, yet injury prone (Fragile Thumbs). Gary Job: not using the cowboys, his favorite team, could very well hurt his chances. Steve Gumble: the oldest player in Madden History to date, will be looking to hip toss an 8th grader or two. Finally, The "Porta Cousin Crew" (Dylan, Bestar, Eric): if this tandem sticks together they could very well leave their mark on this madden tourney.

So like the poll on your right hand side of the page asks, will it be Billy/Jimmy winning yet again, or will the field take this one? There is only one way to decide that and that is on the couch!

Come Sunday we see a few intriguing first round matchups. Billy v.s. Jack Moran entices many to watch. Will Billy start off strong or will the controversial Jack Moran look to make his point of controversy and upset Billy? Steve Gumble v.s. Mike Catena (Which is most likely going to happen Monday) is also a barn burner. Mike Catena garnered madden attention by winning 1st pick in the draft lottery and choosing the Patriots, Billy's winning team the past two years. Steve, using a very talented Oakland Raiders has a chance to stop Catena in his tracks right off the bat, but will he? Travis v.s. Mike Moron is another enticing one to watch out for. Travis is a sleeper in this year's tournament and Moron will be looking to earn respect from his fellow Madden goers, they both have something to prove, but who will actually go out and do it? The closest and most exciting first round game will more than likely be between PJ and Frank Spanola. Frank a former LHS Madden Champion will take on PJ's Colts in a very even matchup. Finally a game to also keep an eye open for is Dave v.s. Ant. Dave may get too cocky in this one. Let's not forget Ant has all the help in the world from his fellow Alliance member and 3 time champion Billy. Let's also not forget this game is being played on ALLIANCE grounds at Billy's house. Anything can happen and if I had to pick a sleeper in the first round Ant is the one to take.

Willie's Picks
Champion: PJ Miller
Runner Up: Billy Rehbein
Tourney Sleeper: Travis
Most Improved (From 09'): Dave Racszyk
First Eliminated: Jack Moran
Biggest Bust: Danny Kesack
MVP Player: Peyton Manning

Like I said before, were just 48 hours and counting away from the start of the 6th Annual Madden Tournament. It is poised to be the best one yet and I don't think it will disappoint. August the 23rd, of the year 2009 is sure to be a date to remember.

I AM THE #1 WILLIE STROKER!

Willie Stoker is Yahoo! Sports' national columnist. Send Willie an email at Willie1Stroker@yahoo.com

Madden Check In Times and Game Times

--------Madden Tournament 2010--------

August 23rd: Start of Madden Tourney

-8AM: Official Madden Breakfast of Officers (Billy's House)

Check In Times: For Participants

(ALL PARTICIPANTS CHECK IN AT BILLY'S HOUSE)

-9AM: Billy, Ant, Dave Raz, Jimmy, Phil, Josh, PJ Miller, Phil Spanola, Frank Spanola, Jack Moran, Petey Zeoli, Bestar

-9:15AM: Porta, Jeremy Shafer, Kesack, Demarco, TJ, Mark Naseef, Pacillo, Dylan

-9:45AM: Gary Job, Petey D, Mike Moron, Travis, Dom Martinez, Joey Catena, Franny, Eric

-10:15AM: Rob Nichirco, DTF (aka Dicrisi)

Game Times

Billy's House:-----TV1----------------TV2---------------- TV3
9:05AM-----Billy-Jack Moran-----Ant-Dave----------Josh-Phil S
9:40AM-----PJ-Frank S---------- Porta-Shafer-----Kesack-Demarco
10:10AM----Gary-Petey D-------Travis-Moron

Jimmy's House:----------------------------Phil's House:
9:15AM--------Jimmy-Petey Zeoli----------Phil-Bestar
9:50AM--------TJ- Mark Naseef------------Pacillo-Dylan
10:20AM------Dom-Joey Catena-----------Franny-Eric
10:40AM-------------------------------------Dicrisi-Rob

The Kansas City Controversy

The Kansas City Controversy
By: Willie Stroker Willie Stroker: Yahoo Columnist

For years there has been the sport we know as American Football. For 30 or more years there has been the world of video games. When you put those two together you get the Madden NFL Football franchise. The Madden franchise has also spurred many competitive tournaments throughout the nation, with one of the most interesting tournaments taking place in northern New Jersey.

In a tiny New York City suburb; Lyndhurst, New Jersey hosts a Madden Tournament of sorts annually. I have contacted Brian Rehbein about details on this tournament and he has filled me in completely.

This brings me to my first topic of discussion. It has been brought to my attention that a certain participant in this madden tournament will not be using the team he has been using in the yearly event for the past few years, put aside the same team he has supported for all his life. I recently contacted this somewhat disgruntled fan and Madden player for his thoughts on the situation.

Anthony Dellavale of Lyndhurst, NJ has been a Kansas City Chiefs fan for all of his 18 or so years of life. He has been right there through the glory days of Trent Green, Tony Gonzalez, and record breaking Priest Holmes; straight through the hard times of the Missouri football franchise, Anthony has been there supporting his team through and through. So when I was informed that this year Anthony would not be using the Chiefs in the sixth year of his participation in this madden tournament i was shocked and appalled.

"I was in complete and utter shock, I mean only a crazy person would pick the Chiefs at this point." said Anthony Dellavale when he was asked his first reaction to Jack Moran using the Chiefs in this year's madden tournament. I then questioned if that made him crazy and he responded
"No sir, I am just a supporter of the underdog." But Anthony, considering you were the Chiefs for many, many years in this tournament; was it easy making the transition from your favorites in the Chiefs to the Tennessee Titans?
"Of course not Willie, no Donte Hall, no Trent Green, Larry Johnson not being the same player, it just wasn't the same."

I was really confused by what Anthony had to say so I needed to seek a second opinion on the matter. I contacted another fellow madden tournament participant, ironically also from Lyndhurst, NJ; Dave Razzick. What are your feelings that someone else other than Anthony is using the Chiefs this year?
"I say its an outrage and the Chiefs aren't getting the ownership they deserve. The Chiefs themselves should be boycotting the tournament." That is a bold statement Mr. Razzik, considering that is very unlikely to happen, what are your expectations for Jack Moran and Anthony Dellavale in this tournament?
"The kid Moran will have no success because the curse of the Dellavale will fall upon him. Ant on the other hand will have some extra motivation to play for this year." When I heard this I was even more confused, because when I asked Mr. Dellavale the same question he responded,
"Maybe its time to pass the torch. Let's see what the kid's got." It seemed to me as the spectators and third party players were more outraged with whole incident more so than Anthony himself. Yet continuing with Dave Rassicck, I then asked him if Jack Moran knew what he was getting himself into by picking the Chiefs?
"Not at all Stroke, he shouldn't be surprised if Ant trashes his house as a warning sign. Jack needs to expect a retaliation by Ant. I see a new, heated rivalry in the making here. Is that all, I got to go help my dad with stuff." What stuff David? "Stuff, don't worry about it..." Oh alright just one more thing; Do you have any other comments on this whole situation?
"I say that Ant and Moran have an exhibition match before the tourney. They would each use the Chiefs for ownership of the team, pure braggin' rights at stake here."

When I asked Anthony about the possibility of playing an exhibition match against the newcomer Moran, or even for real in the tournament, he proclaimed,
"It would be an honor to face the Chiefs, but lets face it only one person can pull off the Chiefs in style and can use them perfectly to their exact purpose and that is the one and only Anthony Dellavale! Oh and also the Alliance will live strong." Alliance? What is this you speak of Anthony?
"The Alliance can never be defeated nor destroyed. It can only be transformed into Chuck Norris and Steven Segal, two kick ass dudes." Oh I see, so you are the counterpart to this NWO i hear of around these parts of Jersey?
"Who? The Alliance lived strong, lives strong, and will always live strong." Ok, that is it for now Mr. Dellavale, thank you.
"Anytime Willie."

So after hearing all the details, stories, opinions, and controversies, I have finally come up with my own opinion. Mr Dellavale is so construed on being loyal to the Kansas City Chiefs that he would rather not ruin the run he had with them. He is still a Chiefs fan for life, but all books have to include a final chapter. I guess Anthony wanted to close this book before it got out of hand, before a touching tale turned into a terrible tragedy. What I'm getting at here in plain and simple terms is that Anthony is a winner through and through and did not want to shame his beloved team by losing with them in this year's Madden Tournament.

Willie Stoker is Yahoo! Sports' national columnist. Send Willie an email at Willie1Stroker@yahoo.com

History of Madden: Part V

PART 5



With four successful years in the books, the notebooks that is, the fifth was the first real landmark year in The History of Madden. Each year the tournament had progressively gotten better and the fourth to fifth year was the biggest jump of them all. After the Madden 08' Tourney, which was the most well constructed tournament of them all, came the Madden 09' tourney in August of 2008, which was even better constructed.

The Madden 09' Tourney saw the introduction of many new and important aspects to help the tourney run much more smoothly. The first addition was the introduction of a staff of officers to help Billy run the tournament. Billy still held his position ad head tourney director and President of All Operations and still held much of the workload, but 3 more officers took on roles. The next Madden Staff member would be Jimmy, who would become the Tourney Treasurer considering he would always hold all money. Dave would become the Director of Seating Arrangements, considering he would always somehow gets construed into not playing for a number of hours and sitting in the same seat the whole tournament. Lastly Ant Dellavale, out of all comical purposes would become the Tournament Shrink/Health Inspector considering his infatuation with the Madden Health Risks imprinted on the game. These four would be the officials making all decisions needed for the tourney. Then an honorary member would be named, PJ Miller would become the Honorary Food and Beverage Director, in charge of all edible goods for the tourney.

The tourney also made another progressive jump, topping the previous year's 24 participants, making it 29 in the 09' tournament. It was also the first time we had a cousin of a participant in the tournament. It was also the first time there was multiple cousins of a participant in the tournament. Nick Porta had his cousin TJ and his other cousin Tony enter the tournament, and no one would forget either of them. TJ, would miss his Aunt Suzie's funeral for the Madden Tourney. This showed how committed the cousins of Porta really were. Tony on the other hand would be remembered for more infamous reasons. Tony, using the Miami Dolphins faced elimination at Phil's House. Playing PJ Miller frustrated Tony. Tony's game was not going very good and he started to swear and curse up a storm. Billy who was watching the event happen before his eyes would have an epiphany and text Phil and Dave a message that will forever be remembered. "This kid Tony is Bad News". Stemming from this text message, he would become known by all as "Bad News Tony".

Memories of the 09' Tourney were a dime a dozen. The Phil-PJ series took place as they played each other 3 times, once in every bracket, the first occurrence of this in Madden History. Another memory would be the close round of 16 game and almost defeat of Billy. Billy was the number one seed following his 08' tourney win and would face Marc Carrier the 16th seed. Billy was poised to win yet another tourney using the New England Patriots yet again in the 09' Tourney. Marc would take the lead though very early and after a fumble and interception in the first half Marc went up 14-3 by halftime. Billy would have to put together an untouchable 2nd half to end any thought of an upset. Billy would come out in the second half and have an impressive drive right off the bat to make it a 4 point game. By the 4th quarter Marc added another FG to make it 17-10. Marc would then stop Billy on a turnover on downs in the opening minute of the 4th, which looked to be the final blow in this battle of wits. Yet Marc, facing a 3rd and long after two stops, would choose to pass the ball and Billy and his Pat's would take full advantage. Asante Samuel would be accredited with the interception on this 3rd and long and give the Patriots great field position. Billy would go on to score a TD with the clock ticking down to the final moments and seemingly send the game into OT. Yet a gutsy Billy would choose a play out of the goal line formation after Marc had already chosen FG block. Billy would throw a quick pass to Laurence Maroney in the flats to take the lead 18-17 and end any talk of an upset. Billy would then go on to dominate all comers in the winner's bracket. Billy would defeat Phil with ease in Phil's own house, Pacillo in the semi-final, and beating Mike Catena by plenty in the winner's bracket final, which put him in the championship series on an undefeated streak yet again for the second year in a row.

Probably one of the most memorable, scratch that, the most memorable incidents in the History of The Madden Tournament's 5 years would be the NWO takeover. Billy, had a group known as the ALLIANCE which consisted of Billy and Ant Dellavale. The ALLIANCE at this point was a dominant force in the world of Madden and any organized tournament or event. Dave Dicrisi, otherwise known simply as "The Kid" would lead this takeover. Dicirisi would gather 20+ participants in the Madden Tourney to rally against the ALLIANCE. "The Kid" as he liked to call himself took over the bracket boards, writing NWO all over them and writing NWO next to each member on the bracket. Dicrisi would also draw a number of pictures to give visuals of the rebellion he was leading. The whole rebellion ordeal came to a climax at the championship of the tourney.

Pacillo would fight out of the loser's bracket to defeat Jimmy yet again for an uncounted amount of times in Madden History, sending him to the elimination bracket. Pacillo would then take on Mike Catena and send him to the elimination bracket as well. Jimmy won the elimination championship game beating Catena and would go on to the Loser's bracket championship against Pacillo once again. Jimmy needed to beat Pacillo twice, but Pacillo only needed to defeat Jimmy once, which he did once again. Pacillo was dominate in this tournament due to the "Pacillo Strategy". This Madden strategy was based on possession and clock management. Pacillo would get the ball and drive the field using every second of the play clock on every play, often frustrating the opponent into doing things they wouldn't normally do, thus giving him the edge. Pacillo would go on to face Billy in the championship of the 09' Madden Tournament. Billy dominating throughout the entire tourney would tend to believe this championship would be the easiest of all for him after he defeated Pacillo earlier in the day.

Billy had another thing coming though. The NWO leader, "The Kid" had rallied his forces to Jimmy's house to root against Billy in hopes of a Pacillo upset. Pacillo needing to win three games before he lost two was calm, cool, and collected behind his 20+ fans in Jimmy's basement on a cool summer night in August. Pacillo, with his Pacillo Strategy would frustrate Billy in the opening championship contest and go on to defeat him in their second meeting of the tourney much to the cheers of the NWO.

The second game of the championship, taking place immediately after would be another close one. Coming down to the wire, Billy seemed to figure out a solution to the "Pacillo Strategy and hit two TD passes to Wes Welker and Randy Moss down the field to win the game. At this point, most of the NWO faithful including Jimmy himself left Jimmy's house. Billy needed one more game for a repeat as Madden Champion, which had never been done before in Madden History. Billy would go on to mercy rule Pacillo in this third game and take what was his. This tourney win made it back to back championships, as well as 3 in 4 years. This also made Billy the most winning Madden player in history taking over in most wins, championship wins, and least losses in Madden's 5 year history.

This might all change though, because with a new year comes a brand new Madden Tournament. Madden !0' is poised to be the best Madden yet and the 6th installment of the Madden Tournament franchise will most certainly not disappoint.

Madden NFL Football 2010 Rules, Settings, and Guidelines

Madden NFL Football 2010 Rules

1. Players must sign contract and pay $5 before they play, all players will check in at Billy's House on the day of the tourney.

Game Rules

2. You can do whatever you want in the game with the exception of onside kicking and QB Kneels (SEE RULES 3 and 4)

3. You may not QB KNEEL at any point ever

4. . YOU MAY ONLY ONSIDE KICK WHEN YOU ARE LOSING IN THE SECOND HALF, BUT NOT ON THE OPENING KICKOFF

5. If a Game goes into Over Time, and no winner is decided (Meaning a Tie) the players will go to Madden Tournament Over Time Rules –(Start a new game, coin toss etc. Both teams get one possession) (Players must go for 2 Point Conversions when a TD is scored)This continues until after a double possession one team is leading.

ALL OTHER RULES AND CONDITIONS

6. Tournament is Triple Elimination Style

7. The HIGHER SEED HAS CONTROL OVER where he (Or [SHE] in Josh’s Case) sits, what controller he uses, the stadium they play in, and the weather of any sort.

8.ALL GAMES are played at ALL PRO Difficulty

9.ALL GAMES are played at HARDCORE Play-calling Gameplay

10. You will get absolutely NO [ZERO (0)] NFL REWINDS, if a rewind is selected on game setup screen and used at anytime in game you will forfeit the game

11. Games will be played in multiple houses: Billy’s, Jimmy’s, Phil’s, and any other designated location

12. You must use the same team throughout the entire tournament.

12 1/2. You may use any playbook you want.

13. All Winners’ Bracket games will be played at 4-minute quarters with the exception of the Championship, which are 5-minute quarters

14. All Losers’ Bracket games are 3-minute quarters with the exception of the final 3 games, which are 4-minute quarters

15.First three rounds of the ELIMINATION BRACKET (YELLOW) are 2-minute quarters and the remaining rounds are all 3minute quarters

16. No throwing controllers or breaking anything or you will be eliminated indefinitely

17.. No coaching or telling people what to do during the play of a game

18. Once you have been eliminated you must leave

19. House owners have the right to throw you out of their house if your behavior is out of control. You will be eliminated if thrown out.

20. If you fail to show up you will forfeit based on Official’s decision

20. NO ONE may write on any of the brackets or boards besides League Officials

21. No touching your opponent or anyone else in the game’s controller.

22. IF there is any kind of decision that needs to be made it will come down to a tournament meeting between the Tournament officials for a final decision

23. Tournament Officials are as follows:
- President of Operations: Billy Rehbein (Head Tourney Official)
- Director of Seating Arrangements: Dave Racszyk
- Tournament Shrink/Health Inspector: Ant Dellavale
- Treasurer: Jimmy Gangi
- Honorary Beverage and Food Director: PJ Miller (Not involved in decisions)

23 1/2. If it comes down to a tie (2-2) between officials, Billy has final decision.

24. Dave as the President Of Seating Arrangements has the right to make you move from any seat and controls where everyone sits.

25. The ALLIANCE lives strong

26. You must consult Tournament Shrink/Health Inspector Anthony Dellavale for a psychiatric examination and to become aware of health risks before playing.

27. There are no trading of teams whatsoever. All team picks were final as of 6 PM on August 16th, 2006.

28. No boxing with boxing gloves until no games are going on.

29. The ALLIANCE still lives strong

30. If anyone farts in closed quarters (Biological Warfare) you will be disqualified

31. Porta is allowed only a 2 cousin limit

32. If you are lucky you may receive free pie and punch, but only if your lucky

33. If you decide to gamble on a game, bet on the BYE beating Porta once again in this tourney.

34. Rosters for the Tourney are Updated ONLINE Rosters as of August 22nd, 2009, and are final rosters for rest of tournament.

35. Winnings shall be divided as follows:
-Winner: $110
-Runner Up: $40
-3rd Place: $10
-4th Place: Mystery Box

36. Glitches will not be tolerated. If you use a glitch purposely with intent to better yourself and your ranking you will be immediately ejected from the tourney.

37. All rules are subject to change


Settings for Madden Tourney

GAME OPTIONS
-Play Call Style: HARDCORE
-Quarter Length: Winners Bracket(4 Min.), Loser's Bracket(3 Min.), Elimination Bracket(2 Min.) All quarter lengths vary depending on how the deep a game is in the bracket.
-Accelerated Clock: OFF
-Camera Settings: STANDARD
-Injuries: 0 (OFF)
-Fatigue: 50
-Game Speed: SLOW
-Player Min Speed Threshold: 50
-Auto Instant Replays: OFF
-Coach Mode: OFF
-EA Sports Backtrack: DISABLED
-Fight For The Fumble: ON
-Motion Sensor Function: 0 (OFF)

PENALTIES
-ALL at 50

PLAYER SKILL
-Preset Skill Level: All Pro

CPU SKILL
-ALL at 50

Special Teams
-ALL at 50
Visual Feedback
-Pre-Snap Menu: ON
-In-Game Hints: OFF
-Player Names: ALWAYS ON
-Banners: Moderate

Madden Team Draft Results

Madden Tourney Teams

1. Mike Catena: Patriots
2. Anthony Pacillo: Steelers
3. PJ Miller: Colts
4. Nick Porta: Eagles
5. Mike Moron: Giants
6. Danny Kesack: Chargers
7. Billy Rehbein: Falcons
8. Jimmy Gangi: Panthers
9. Travis Mirigliotta: Cowboys
10. TJ: Texans
11. Dave Racszyk: Ravens
12. Ant Dellavale: Titans
13. Dom Martinez: Buccaneers
14. Petey Deluca: Broncos
15. Franny O'Rourke: Bears
16. Dave Dicrisi: Cardinals
17. Phil Gencarelli: Packers
18. Rob Nichirco: Vikings
19. Mark Naseef: Redskins
20. Josh Seo: Jets
21. Gary Job: Dolphins
22. Joey Catena: Rams
23. Phil Spanola: Seahawks
24. Chris Demarco: Jaguars
25. Jeremy Shafer: Saints
26. Petey Zeoli: Bengals
27. Frank Spanola: Bills
28. Steve Gumble: Raiders
29. Jack Moran: Chiefs
30. Eric: Lions
31. Bestar: Browns
32. Dylan: 49er's

History of Madden: Part IV

The fourth annual Madden Tourney would take on a total new approach. It would be moved to the Next-Gen format on the PS3 system, leaving PS2ers in the dust. The Madden 2008 Tournament also took on many new participants, upping the list of entry to a tourney high 24. With the 8 or so new participants, the tournament expanded to three locations. Joining Billy and Jimmy would be Phil hosting the tournament as well.

The 2008 tourney (In 2007) was also the first time the tournament went from double elimination to triple elimination. It was a tournament of pure Madden endurance. It lasted a whopping 3 days and 2 nights, to Dave's dismay.

The first round of the Madden 08' tournament saw a few upset and a few blunders as well. No one will forget the infamous Dooky-Dom game. Dooky, down only a point was driving in a two minute offense. Nearing the end of the game Dooky put himself in 20 yard field position for a winning FG, yet did not realize the clock was running. Dom went on to distract Dooky by complimenting the shirt he was wearing and before Dooky knew it the clock ran out, before he called timeout, before he kicked a winning field goal, before Dom had beaten him.

The Madden 08' Tourney if it could be described in one word was UPSET. The top seeds were dropping like flies and the "underdogs" were coming out on top over and over again. People like Jimmy, Phil, and Kevin went down early in the winner's bracket, forcing them to win over and over again to keep their chances alive. Jimmy, the winner from the previous (2007) tournament had been upset by Mark Naseef in the round of 16. Mark whooped Marc Carrier in the first round to get to Jimmy, while Jimmy on the other hand was enjoying his first round bye. Not playing could have been a factor into the upset, yet nonetheless the 16 seed Mark took down the number one player at the time in just his first game of the tourney.

The winner's bracket was the least of the action in that year's tourney though. The elimination bracket had some of the greatest games of the tourney that year. One of the most notable elimination games and eliminations period was the PJ v.s. Gabe game at Jimmy's house. In an intense game, Pj would win by a TD, stopping a drive at the end of the 4th quarter with an interception. Immediately following the game, Gabe would totally flip out. He threw his controller at Jimmys, hit the table, almost broke the glass table, then stormed out yelling frigging Packers!

Ironically, another great Madden 08' memory would be the game known only as "I Quit!" In an elimination game, Dave and the Seahawks would take on PJ and his "Friggin'" Packers. Dave got off to a fast start, as he kicked the ball off to start the game only to force a fumble in those first few seconds. This pissed PJ off very much as it seemed he had a fumbling problem the entire tournament. Yet he stuck in there and held Dave to only a FG. PJ would get the ball again, yet on one of his first plays another fumble, and Dave recovered once again. This whole time the fumbles were occurring, Dave was in and out of PJ's face telling him how bad he got Tatupooed. Yet PJ would hold Dave to a 3 and out and get the ball back once again. PJ drove the field and was on Dave's goal line about to score, but of course, on 1st and goal Ryan Grant fumbled again. Dave recovered again but on his own 3 yard line. Yet PJ so frustrated from the fumble-itis of his team threw his controller and stormed out of Billy's house yelling about how much it was bullshit and that he had "Quit".

While all this elimination nonsense was going on, there was a certain someone flying under the radar winning game after game without a hitch. Billy, a previous Madden champion (06') had the 7 seed as well as 7th pick that year. The team he ahd been using since February of that year, The New England Patriots, had someone fallen to his pick and Billy did not think twice to scoop them up immediately. He would eventually get to the winner's bracket final after winning four games in the bracket. The upset king at this point, Mark Naseef was waiting opposite him. Billy would take him on with ease, sending Mark to the loser's bracket final. Mark would win the one game he needed to to advance to the championship.

Considering that this tournament was triple elimination, and considering Billy had 0 defeats and Mark had just one, they would have to square off multiple times in a row. The championship would be held the next day, the 3rd day, at Jimmy's house. In order for Billy to win the tourney he had to defeat Mark twice, while Mark on the other hand had to win three times. In the first championship meeting Billy once again beat Mark, but not by a margin of much. Mark showed that he was a worthy contender, only losing by a TD, coming very close to tying it up at the very end. So now Mark faced elimination, needing to win three in a row to take down Billy and the Patriots. In the second meeting it seemed Mark had finally figured Billy's game plan out as he went on to somewhat upset Billy. This was Billy's first defeat in over a year since he had lost the previous year on the "Miracle Manning" play. Now Billy was on the ropes, or at least it seemed that way with Jimmy getting all excited over the possibility of Billy not winning for a second time in 3 years. Yet Billy would come back in game 3 of the championship with a vengeance and manhandle Mark to take the game, the trophy, and the money home to Beech Street, where it had been once before.

This was the second occurrence in Madden History that a participant had won on two separate occasions. In fact up to this point, 4 years in, only two champions had been crowned, both twice. Jimmy in 05' and 07' and Billy in 06' and 08'. Nonetheless the Madden 2008 tourney seemed to be the most well constructed tournament yet, which could only be great segway going into the Madden 09' Tourney just one year later.

Madden Tourney Bracket

Click picture for full view ^^^^

MADDEN TOURNEY 2010:
FIRST ROUND MATCHUPS

Bunched games: Winners play each other

1 Billy Rehbein vs 32 Jack Moran
17 D.T.F. (Dicrisi) vs 16 Rob Nichirco

9 Nick Porta vs 24 Jeremy Shafer
8 Danny Kesack vs 25 Danny Nahra

5 Franny O'Rourke vs 28 Eric
21 Gary Job vs 12 Petey Deluca

13 Dom Martinez vs 20 Joey Catena
29 Steve Gumble vs 4 Mike Catena

2 Pacillo vs 31 Dylan
18 Ant Dellavale vs 15 Dave Razscyk

10 Josh vs 23 Phil Spanola
26 Frank Spanola vs 7 PJ

6 Phil Gencarelli vs 27 Bestar
22 Travis vs Mike Moron

14 TJ vs 19 Mark Naseef
30 Alex Nahra vs 3 Jimmy Gangi

History of Madden: Part III

T he year 2006 was a quite a year for the one and only Madden Tournament. Madden 2007 was poised to be one of the best Madden games of all time. The 07' tourney would be the last on the PS2 system after a 3 year stint of great tournament memories. Although the Madden 07 Tournament was the last regarding the PS2 system, it was also a year of many Madden firsts.

The 3rd annual tourney was known as the tourney of Kick Returns. It seemed as if there was a kick return to the house for TD at least once in every game, and know one really knows why. This was most exemplified in the longest game in Madden History. Mike Morrone played Kevin Rehbein in the longest, as well as highest scoring game in the history of the tournament. If there was one run play the entire game that was it. Every play was deep pass, after deep pass, after deep pass and then after you mix in kick return, after kick return, after kick return; you end up with a game that ends in a 76-70 OT victory for Mike Morrone, eliminating Kevin in the process.

Another big first in Madden History was the Tournament of Seedings. Otherwise known by Dave as "Tournament to get into the Tournament". This was a single elimination mini tourney to determine the seedings for the actual Double elimination tournament, a concept that was frowned upon following the tourney by pretty much all participants. The mini tourney was split into two sections, Billy's house and Jimmy's house. A notable defeat in Jimmy's house would be Jimmy's surprising upset to Nick Porta in the first round of this mini tourney. Dave would dominate everyone in Jimmy's house, beating Gabe in the final. Yet Dave's domination would lead to his very own downfall in the end. Over in Billy's house, Phil came out on top defeating Billy. With very few seconds left in the game Phil had the ball down 3 points on the 10 yard line facing a 4th and goal. Yet instead of taking a trip to OT with an easy FG, Phil went for it all. On a fade pass to Terrell Owens, Phil ending the game on the last play and earned the number one seed opposite Dave in the Big Bracket.

One of the most notable firsts in this year's tournament was the championship participants. After two years of the championship being Jimmy v.s. Billy, it was the first and only year that the championship did not feature Billy. Billy suffered a first round defeat in another memorable Madden Tourney game. Billy, having the 4th overall seed in the Big Bracket, was already looking past his first round opponent Joey Catena, who he had already defeated via mercy rule in the mini tourney earlier in the day. In the first played game in the "Big Bracket" Billy with his New Orleans Saints would take on Joey's Rams along with MVP of the 2007 Tourney, FB Madison Hedgecock . In a game of intense "coaching", it seemed as if the rest of the tournament was playing with the Rams, rather than Joey. No one wanted Billy to win, not one person in the room with the exception of Billy. This was the start of the hate for Billy in regards to any competitive tournament or organization. From this came the "cheating books", the "notebook", etc. This defeat also brought up one of the most important rules in the Madden Tournament; (No Coaching).

While this was going on, Phil was dominating with his Dallas Cowboys. He ran through the bracket, making his tournament win streak to six, advancing to the winner's bracket final. On the other side of the spectrum Jimmy came back to get revenge on Nick Porta in the first round rematch, beating him 24-0 in the first quarter, a mercy rule in it of itself, probably the worst defeat in madden history. He would go on to face Joey Catena in a seemingly very good Madden player in Jimmy. The Cinderella story would come to a pause in the semi final as Jimmy would go on to play Phil in the winners bracket final.

After the first two rounds many faces that were known as winners in past Madden Tourneys looked across at each other in the loser's bracket, all facing elimination. The most renowned loser's bracket game that year was Dave v.s. Billy. The Saints v.s. the Giants. After a much intense game, the two players met in Overtime. Dave would win the toss and receive. After two sacks in a row on the first two offensive plays for Dave, Billy pinned him on a 3rd and 25+ yards on his own 15. This next play would forever be known as the "Madden Miracle". In the most ridiculous play in worldwide Madden video game history, Dave dropped back in an attempt to keep his tourney chances alive. In a total literal sense, with no exaggeration whatsoever, this is how it went down. Feeling the rush, Eli Manning would roll out out to the left, 3 plus Saints defenders were right there, yet somehow Dave juked them out and rolled across the backfield to the right side. While his receivers were all 80 yards down the field Dave had no clue what to do. The play was past the 25 second mark and the Saint defenders had their eyes back on Eli and the ball. After ducking another one defender Eli started running backwards to try and avoid contact, but Billy was literally right on his back taking Eli down, yet somehow Eli pulled off a spin move, and while being hit and spinning backwards Eli launched the ball without moving his arm 80 plus yards down the field, to Plaxico Burress (who by now was being covered by about 6 defensive backs) who would catch a ball tipped by just about every Saint D-back in the area and fall into the end zone, ending the game, and ending Billy's chances of repeating as a Madden Champion.

Dave would go on to beat Joey to narrow down the field to three players. Note* (Joey finished in 4th place that year, the highest he ever has excluding that year was 13th). This would be the last game of a long, long day and the Tourney would have to continue the next afternoon. With the field down to three, Jimmy would defeat Phil in the winner's bracket leaving Jimmy the only unbeaten player in the Big Bracket.

This would lead to Dave v.s. Phil with the winner advancing to the tournament championship. Phil had a major advantage. This advantage was Dave's incredible disadvantage. After winning the portion of the "Tournament to get into the Tournament" Dave would not play again for more than 5 hours. He just sat in one single spot and didn't move for the rest of the day, and this not only angered Dave, it annoyed him deeply, but most importantly it fatigued Dave. Dave had seen so much Madden and heard so much bitching and moaning from Kevin and Gabe that he had pretty much grown to hate the game. Phil saw this is took full advantage of this detail, which worked. Phil-Jimmy II would occur in the Madden 2007 Tournament Final. Yet Phil did not have enough to pull off two wins in a row, in fact, he didn't have enough for even one mere victory over Jimmy.

Jimmy would win his second Madden tournament, his 2nd in 3 years, making him the undeclared Madden Champion, even though Billy would beat Jimmy immediately following the Tourney and then he would go on to annoy Jimmy for months upon months that considering he beat the Madden Champion that he was the true Madden Champion. Yet Jimmy always did and always will know that he won that tournament and will never forget it. Well it wouldn't be that hard to forget it considering he keeps the bracket to this day in his Madden 07 game case stored safely in his basement drawer. So Madden 2007 up to that point was considered probably the best tournament yet, and very soon after would make the jump to the Next-Gen format in Madden 08'.

Madden Pick Order (Pick Lottery Results)

Madden Draft Lottery for Pick Order Results
1. Mike Catena
2. Anthony Pacillo
3. PJ Miller
4. Nick Porta
5. Mike Moron
6. Danny Kesack
7. Billy Rehbein
8. Jimmy Gangi
9. Travis Mirigliotta
10. TJ
11. Dave Racszyk
12. Ant Dellavale
13. Dom Martinez
14. Alex Nahra
15. Petey Deluca
16. Franny O'Rourke
17. Dave Dicrisi
18. Dan O'Neill
19. Phil Gencarelli
20. Rob Nichirco
21. Mark Naseef
22. Josh Seo
23. Danny Nahra
24. Gary Job
25. Joey Catena
26. Phil Spanola
27. Chris Demarco
28. Jeremy Shafer
29. Jack Moran
30. Eric (TJ's Friend)
31. OPEN
32. OPEN



Picks will be done shortly after the game comes out, you will be called for your pick.

History of Madden: Part II

With one year in the books, there was nothing stopping yet another Madden Tournament from happening the following year. The extremely hyped up Madden 06' had been released to the major liking of everyone in the area and it lead to the second annual tournament of all tournaments.

In 2005, the tournament doubled from the inaugural year, from 8 entries to a hefty 16 at the time. It was also the first year that the tournament went on the road and had two separate locations; the new one being Billy's house.

In a first of many occasions and for the second year in a row the final four came down to Billy, Jimmy, Kevin, and Dave. In the winner's bracket final at Billy's house a rivalry was forced to continue with Billy taking on his younger sibling Kevin for the second time in two years. And yet again for the second time in two years Kevin was defeated by his elder. On the other side of the spectrum at Jimmy's, Jimmy defended his title in the tourney semi-final against a worthy opponent in Dave and his Vikings. In a very close battle of mighty foes, Jimmy and the Jets were victorious over Dave and the Vikings by a field goal in the 4th quarter.

The winner's bracket final would then be a 2005 tourney championship rematch pitting Billy and his Pittsburgh Steelers against Jimmy's Jets. The final score showed that Jimmy was destined to win yet another Madden Tourney as he defeated Billy in a blowout.

Following the devastation of Billy's tourney chances was a match up of David v.s. Goliath, in figurative, literal, and contrary terms. Dave playing the part of the small, short, underdog would try and take on Kevin, the kid with a heart of a lion who would stop at nothing to win at any cost whatsoever. Whether it was yelling in your face, crying out loud about anything and everything, or taunting every flaw you had; Kevin was ready to do it as long as he could be declared a winner at the end. Yet at the end of this long, long game, Dave was able to keep his composure and come out with the W, eliminating Kevin in the process.

In a game then more forgotten than any that year, Billy would finally make a stand and stop the deep threat of the MVP of the tournament in Troy Williamson and defeat Dave with ease. This could only setup yet another championship match up between Billy and Jimmy.

With Billy reeling off a good win against Dave, he had his past 3 losses in 3 games in the back of his mind. In order to win the Madden 2006 tournament, Billy had to beat Jimmy two games in a row, where Jimmy had two chances to win just once to take home the trophy. The first game of the championship was a very close one, and was considered by those who watched as one of the best and most exciting Madden games not only that year, but in the History of the Madden Tournament. Billy up by a only a field goal stopped a 4th quarter comeback attempt with an interception in the red zone to put the first game in the books.

The impossible now seemed to be a viable option with the game that was only "If Necessary" now being totally necessary. One game for all the marbles between the Jets and Steelers. Jimmy seemed to run out of gas and Billy pulled away in the second half. Probably the worst collapse in Madden Tourney history had taken place. Theres been many major collapses in sports history, the Yankee collapse in the 2004 ALCS, the 4 year Super Bowl losing streak of the Buffalo Bills, and now the collapse of Jimmy after dominating 2 years in a row, only to go down in the final two games.

This collapse of numerous proportions would only lead into the following year's tourney of Madden 2007, the final Madden Tourney on the PS2 system.