Welcome to Starting 5 – a new weekly column by Operation Sports!
Each week, Senior Game Editor Clay Shaver and Columnist Shawn Drotar will tackle the world of sports and sports gaming in a rapid-fire discussion.

Is there a question on your mind? Find out below how to submit your question for next week’s column!

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Starting 5 – Five hot-button topics in the world of Sports and Sports Gaming

1) NCAA Football 2004 - Goldenboy or Madden's red-headed step child?

Shawn: Madden’s red-headed stepchild? I thought it was the other way around…

In my mind, the depth and breadth of gameplay in NCAA surpassed Madden two years ago. NCAA’s “Dynasty Mode” re-defined the way gamers looked at franchise-type modes, and it provides one of the most satisfying experiences a gamer can hope for.

All those different teams, different stadiums, and an authentic college atmosphere make this the definitive football game on the market today.

Clay: Madden, to me, is becoming the greatest game anyone ever stole. I can’t help but feel that I’m playing NCAA with a little extra shine (courtesy of the extra month of production time and 300% less players and teams to enter). NCAA drops an extremely cool and innovative new pop this year with their SI Covers and era-specific player models, and what do we get from Madden? They “borrow” Owner’s Mode from “Front Office Football”!

NCAA may never outsell Madden, but Jeff Luhr’s team is clearly putting out a superior product year in and year out. Maybe next year, when every EA title has implemented the SI integration and great audio commentary engine that the college team is using, the #1 football title will fall where it clearly belongs.

Shawn: Once again, NCAA has set the bar high – let’s see if anyone else can reach it.

2) Rush Limbaugh as the “average fan” on ESPN?

Clay: I like it. The idea that is, not Mr. Limbaugh. I will admit that this is a surprising move from ESPN, who have always prided themselves on presenting “real football”; X’s and O’s type of coverage. They always left the silly shtick to FOX and ABC. That being said, people have been crying for the “voice of the average fan” for years. But what can’t be lost in this is that this “average fan” needs to have some presence and some broadcasting ability or it’s just bad TV. You can’t pull “Joe 6-Pack” off the street and expect him to hold a segment in front of millions. Rush is far from average, but he is not a football guy. Sort of football shaped, but not an on-field guy like Tom Jackson, “Jaws” Jaworski, or Merrill Hoge. I think it’s a great call. Maybe not great football, but great TV.

Shawn: You’ve got to be kidding me! Rush Limbaugh makes millions of dollars a year, hangs around with politicos and their cushy free (or taxpayer-paid) seats, and is supposed to represent my voice on a NFL show? It’s simply ridiculous. Moreover, it’s bad business. Whatever anyone’s feelings about Limbaugh may be, there’s no question that he has alienated a lot of people – a lot of people who might watch that show – that is, until they see Rush sitting next to Chris Berman and Tom Jackson. Chasing away a large percentage of your audience is what typically gets people fired. Once the novelty wears off, ESPN will drop Rush, and scramble to regain the viewers they’ve lost to Fox and CBS. I have no idea what Disney and ESPN are thinking here – but I do know that it’s not going to work.

3) First Person Football - Pass the "rock" or pass the Tylenol?

Shawn: Let’s just say I’m cautiously skeptical…

I like it in concept, but in execution? We’ll have to see. I’ll give credit to Visual Concepts and Sega Sports for taking a shot at something special, though – whether it works or not. Sega has to innovate, do something that gets them noticed. This could be it. Now, if they could only get a quality ad campaign going…

Clay: Agreed. I love the fact that Visual Concepts is trying to be innovative. But, I’m not sure that “First Person Football” is what their fans want. Personally, I don’t know that I have the desire to play it for more then a little experimentation. Maybe, as a hardcore sports gamer and a stat junkie, I’m a little biased, but I wish they would have taken these developmental dollars and dumped them into “Online Franchise” mode or something akin to Microsoft’s XSN. Personally, I think that VC makes the superior NFL Football game in terms of gameplay. Cheesy stunts can kill that credibility.

Shawn: I think that’s a fair assessment. If it’s not awfully fun and very playable, a lot of their dedicated fans will be upset that valuable development time was essentially wasted, and should have been spent somewhere else.

4) Sergei Fedorov leaves the Wings - California Superstar or lame duck?

Shawn: Fedorov’s a first-class talent, and he’ll be a success wherever he goes. Anaheim had to do something to offset the shocking departure of Paul Kariya, and Fedorov was the next best thing available. The Ducks also added Vaclav Prospal from Tampa Bay. He’s a fine player, and should complement Fedorov very nicely. I truly believe that Anaheim will be as good, if not better than last season. That said, though, I think Anaheim played way over their heads in last year’s playoffs – and I’m not sure they can do it again.

As far as Fedorov’s departure from Detroit, however – I’m confused. Detroit wanted him back, he’s a favorite son in the Motor City, and I can’t imagine that his relationship with the Wings was that bad. I think he’s made a mistake; one that both the Red Wings and Fedorov will regret before too long.

Clay: When you’re one year away from a new Collective Bargaining Agreement and staring face to face with a lockout that could go for years, basic thinking would tell you to get paid as much as possible NOW. The Wings put $10M a year in front of Sergei on more than one occasion and Sergei said “Nyet”! Fedorov obviously wants his own team. As a Detroiter, I believe that Sergei labored under the idea that once Steve Yzerman hung up the skates, the Wings would become his team. However, with the emergence of Nick Lidstrom as a player and a leader, Lidstrom is now clearly the heir apparent to Yzerman’s “C”, leaving Sergei on the outside looking in.

What does this do to Sergei and the Wings? Well, that’s yet to be determined. I don’t really see how the 56 goal-scoring, Hart trophy winning Sergei that Fedorov wants to be again fits into Mike Babcock’s system in Anaheim. At the same time, the Wings lost a first-class center that will be hard to replace. I think it puts an even larger emphasis on moving CuJo for a quality scorer like Doug Weight.

Whatever the case, it will be interesting the first time Sergei takes the puck at the redline at Joe Louis without a Winged Wheel on his sweater.

Shawn: Well - personally I love it… but then again, I live in Colorado…

5) EA Sports Online - PS2-riffic or XBL’s little sister?

Clay: EA is a multi-million dollar company. Microsoft is a multi-million (if not billion) dollar company. They both got that way by trampling everything in their path to the top. Well, now they’re head to head. It’s sort of the irresistible force meeting the immovable object. I’m sure EA would love to have their games on XBL, but they also want control of the servers. Microsoft, on the other hand, wants control of everything.

So, with lemons, EA has teamed with Sony and made some tasty lemonade. With just the NCAA title under their collective belts, I’ve already heard it described by gamers as “Online Crack”. The huge mistake that could be made now is to stand pat and be happy with only the PS2 part of the market-share, especially in light of the advancements in the works for XBL (e.g. XSN). Take a second and picture a marriage of NCAA and XSN where you and 118 of your closest friends run an actual online Dynasty using the entire NCAA pool. Oh…the possibilities!

Shawn: I think it’s too early to really tell. It’s obvious that EA has put a lot of thought into what they’re doing (as well as borrowing liberally from Xbox Live), and its looks good thus far. While I personally feel that Xbox Live is a superior online system, there’s definitely a market for what EA’s doing. Given the limitations of the PS2’s online capabilities, EA appears to have done a bang-up job to this point. As the year unfolds, and more titles are added to the mix, we’ll really see what EA Sports Online is made of. It’s really a shame that EA and Microsoft can’t get their acts together and get EA’s wildly successful titles online for the Xbox. Remember what I said earlier about chasing away a large percentage of your audience? Find a way to split the pot, guys…

6th Man – A little help off the bench

6) Kobe Bryant - Career nightmare or "no harm, no foul"?

Shawn: Again, it’s too soon to tell. Regardless, Bryant’s sterling reputation has been mortally wounded. If he is exonerated, all will be forgiven by most fans. Adultery, however awful it may be, is not sexual assault. Notable athletes have had dalliances in the past (Michael Jordan, for example), and it didn’t hurt them much in the public eye.

However, if Kobe is convicted – it’s a complete disaster that could (and should) derail a Hall-of-Fame career. The stakes are high for him, and they could have easily been avoided. If there’s one thing Kobe Bryant is definitely guilty of in this case, it’s stupidity.

Clay: The biggest crime that could come out of this entire scenario is if Kobe, guilty or not guilty, gains “Street cred” for his actions. Shoe companies seem to like to market their athletes as these dark, shifty, thug type characters. Kobe was never that guy. And, he shouldn’t be that guy when this case ends. All I can say without the facts of the case is shame on him and shame on “Madison Avenue” if they try to use something as serious as rape to sell more shoes.

24 Second Clock – Get one more off in 24 words or less

Shawn: The MLB trading deadline is Thursday. Friday morning, we’ll know who’s a contender for the Series, and who isn’t. Down the stretch they come!