Monday Afterschool Special: Funball

​Playing Baseball the Fun Way

Major League Baseball’s official initiative to get kids excitied about baseball is Play Ball. But Bryce Harper and YasielPuig — two of the most exciting players in the majors — have another, unofficial program going. They’ve teamed up to try to bring some fun back into a sport loaded with “unwritten rules” about how to play the game “the right way.” 

​Madden Covers Through the Years

The franchise launches on Apple II computers. The same game was improved and released on MS-DOS and Commodore 64/128 computers in 1989.

Madden becomes more arcade style and is available on consoles such as Sega Genesis.

This is the one where the ambulances come on the field to take away injured players.

Go no-huddle and taunt your opponents with this iteration of the series.

For the first time, official team names and logos become available in Madden. Season mode also debuts.

Real player names are the highlight here. Plus, Madden hits the handheld gaming scene (Game Boy and Game Gear).

New features included create-a-player and classic teams.

Madden goes hi-rez with this first 32-Bit release on the PlayStation and Saturn game systems.

Madden debuts on the Nintendo 64 with stunning visuals.

Closet general managers were in heaven when Franchise Mode debuted this year.

On-field celebrations were enhanced for this version.

The first PS2 release for Madden featured player cards that unlocked secret game codes.

Madden hits the GameCube and XBOX platforms for the first time.

Madden hits cyberspace with online play.

This version offers gamers an expanded franchise mode.

Innovations include "Hit Stick" and "Create-A-Fan."

Control a player from his rookie year to retirement with Superstar mode.

The lead-blocking control proves to be a big hit.

Co-op play allows gamers to team up with their friends online to take on human or the CPU.

The first version to offer online, league game play, allowing up to 32 players to compete in an online, simulated NFL season.

PRO-TAK animation technology allows up to nine man gang tackles and fumble pile-ups to help players "fight for every yard."

This version features several new additions to the franchise, such as Online Team Play, Online Scouting and online attribute boosts for co-op play.

The release was delayed by two weeks due to the NFL lockout.

The first game in the series to have Kinect support as well as a new physics engine promoting real in game physics.

Precision Modifier unlocks the power, precision, and creativity of the NFL ball-carrier.

Camera-lock behind a selected defender to play the game from the defense's point of view.

All-new playmaking tools that highlight the battle for Air Supremacy.

New Ball Carrier UI Prompts help teach moves available to you, while the new Path Assist helps you navigate and anticipate down field. The New Defensive AI System is built on up to date NFL Strategies – such as Gap Play, Force Defenders and improved Zone Coverages.

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Putting the Cannon in Boston Cannons

Desperation plays are super exciting — especially when they work! On Saturday, Major League Lacrosse’s Boston Cannons were down a goal with 3.3 seconds left in a game against the Rochester Rattlers. That is, until Brodie Merrill did this: 



(By the way, Boston won in overtime, 15-14.)

Leap of Faith

While we’re talking about incredible individual efforts, check out what Army softball player Kasey McCravey did to get a run during a game on Saturday!

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Photos: Twitter (Harper, Wilfork), EA Sports (Madden)