The 12th annual Madden Bowl......

As most of you know Cutthroat Pirates try to bring you everything and anything to do with Buccaneer News. I am thankful to my sources, and to the job that keeps me informed about the Bucs.

Here is a neat little bit of info for my readers. If you are a lot like me and love football, fantasy football and if you like playing Madden like my friends and I do; Well here is an article about the Bucs and Madden just for you.

The 12th annual Madden Bowl was held in Motown and our very own Alex Smith, TE, for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won. NFL players went head-to-head in a video game rivalry. This was the 2006 Madden Bowl, hosted by ESPN.

The NFL players got to play Madden NFL 06 on the New Microsoft XBOX 360. The event was a single elimination matches with 5 minute quarters.

The players were:
Marcus Trufant, Seahawks
Willis McGhee, Bills
Antonio Gates, Chargers
Chad Johnson, Bengals
Santana Moss, Redskins
Edgerrin James, Colts
Alex Smith, Buccaneers
Mark Clayton, Ravens.

In the finals for the Madden Bowl Championship, neither Mark Clayton nor Alex Smith played with their respective teams. They both took the Indianapolis Colts, which they’d also used in their victories in the previous two rounds as well. The match was dead even after three quarters of competition. With the game knotted at 14-14, Smith drove down the field and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 3:15 left. Clayton ran three plays against a tough Colts defense and punted the ball back to Smith. With 1:47 left on the clock, Smith had a fourth and 7 on Clayton's 39 yard line. Smith heeded the chants of "Go for it" from the packed Colony Club crowd. His decision paid off as he scored his second touchdown within two minutes. The final nail in the coffin came when Smith intercepted a pass over the middle with under a minute left in the game.

Alex Smith had defeated Mark Clayton, 28-14, to win the 2006 Madden Bowl. "I can't believe I won this, Smith said. They (EA Sports) asked if I'd play at the last minute when Larry Fitzgerald was held up in traffic. I'm a Sony Playstation 2 gamer. It took me a while to get the hang of playing this version of Madden on the Xbox 360. I'm just glad it all worked out in the end."

On hand to present Smith with his trophy was Hall of Fame Lions running back Barry Sanders. "It's an honor to win this title," said Smith. "It's a greater honor to have Barry Sanders present the trophy to me. I'll remember this day as long as I live." Sanders also took part in the gaming activities by playing against Clinton Portis of the Redskins. Playing with the Eagles, Sanders lost to Portis' Redskins, 12-7.

In the end, a rivalry was created between the new champion Alex Smith and one of the players he defeated enroute to victory, Antonio Gates. "He copped out by using the Colts, the best team in the game, instead of using his own team like I did," said Gates. "I'm gonna play my butt off and practice playing Madden on the Xbox 360. Next year, I'll be ready and I'm gonna win that trophy. I guarantee it."

"As far as I'm concern, I played with the team that gave me the best chance to win," said Smith. "I'm gonna come back next season and defend my championship with a much tighter game. And you can bank on that." Let the trash talking begin.

I am a huge Madden EA Sports fan, I have had every Madden game ever made. I look forward to August every year for the new Madden. "Remember its in the game."